DARK SHADOWS

A supernatural soap opera may sound like a creation of Tim Burton, but the new movie Dark Shadows is his take on the television soap opera of vampires, witches, and ghosts. And despite some camp, the movie may be too close to the original.

RANGO

The Wild West is a ripe setting for adventure, discovery, heroes -- and a chameleon? This is the setup for Rango, an animated movie that's about a fish out of water -- or, more exactly, a reptile in a town just about out of water.

Rango opens with the title reptile (Johnny Depp) as a family pet, practicing his acting and very, very lonely. A bumpy ride leaves this reptile stranded in the desert, near the highway, where a philosophical armadillo (Alfred Molina) sends the reptile to the aptly-named town of Dirt.

In Dirt, water is the town commodity -- and in very short supply. The reptile creates a larger-than-life persona for himself called Rango and, through tall tales (killing the Jenkins brothers with one bullet; "All seven of them?") and an accidental victory over a hawk, becomes the town sheriff out to solve the mystery of what happened to the town's water.

For a romantic interest, Beans (Ilsa Fisher) is a reptile out to save her daddy's farm; she also goes motionless from time to time -- "It's a defense mechanism." For a cute kid, Priscilla (Abigail Breslin) is a sloth-like critter that is always armed. The Mayor (Ned Beatty) is a turtle with a motorized wheelchair and a suspicious way about him. Balthazar (Harry Dean Stanton) is a blind burrowing bank robber whose kin ride bats and throw dynamite. A chorus of mariachi band owls provide commentary during the movie. Finally there's Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy), a terrifying, giant villain who is merciless, has a gatling gun at the end of his tale -- and only stayed away from Dirt because of the hawk Rango killed.

Rango brings Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski together again (they also work on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies), and Rango shares some of the flaws of the Pirates films. Johnny Depp's voicework is reminiscent of Jim Henson's Kermit the Frog, but after a while his bragging, comically inept, accidentally lucky persona starts to wear thin. The movie owes a lot to Chinatown (a whole lot) and the "Flight of the Valkyries" sequence from Apocalypse Now, but it's a pretty straightforward kids' film about false hope, disappointment, and redemption. Rango is also slightly long: There are at least two action sequences where they could have wrapped up the film, instead of the actual finale.

The only thing that stood out for me here were the visual effects -- and they are stunning. The texture of every creature here is amazing, from hairy sloths to the skinny Rango to the monstrous Rattlesnake Jake. You'll feel thirsty after seeing the desert town of Dirt: Dryness and the parching sun seem to have left its mark on everything. Apart from the tremendous visual impact, though Rango is ordinary stuff.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

PUBLIC ENEMIES

Gangsters and feds slug it out during the 1930s in Public Enemies, the latest crime flick from director Michael Mann. This movie is a clash of personalities -- but something is missing from the movie.

It's the Great Depression and bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is America's most famous and infamous criminal. Dillinger robs banks and blasts away with his machine gun -- yet he doesn't steal from individuals and proves amusing and charming even while committing crimes.

Naturally, the bad guys have to be pursued by the good guys. J.. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) wants publicity and funding for his Bureau of Investigation, and he sees getting Dillinger as the key to both. His pick to lead the pursuit of Dillinger is Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), who made headlines for killing Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum). The supporting cast includes Billie (Marion Cotillard) as Dillinger's love, a coat check girl who is as excited by Dillinger's lifestyle as she is aware that he'll wind up in jail or in the ground; and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham), a mobster who seems to enjoy killing.

Public Enemies misses a great chance to contrast its too leads. We learn much about Dillinger -- that he has a code of honor while also ruthless and self-serving -- but Purvis remains almost a mystery. Did the fed hate Dillinger, respect him, have qualms about the wiretape and brutal interrogations, or have his own ambitions? Bale plays Purvis as almost stoic and efficient, with little revealed beyond his duty.

Public Enemies is still an intriguing movie of crime and law enforcement. Depp's performance doesn't glamorize the criminal yet makes us able to see why he was so popular. The setting of the Great Depression also reveals why people would admire a criminal who went out and took what he wanted -- even if that was outside the law. And unlike many other movies, this shows the blood and guts of guns and violence, not neat, inoffensive little bullet holes. Public Enemies is far from perfect, but it is an entertaining diversion.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the third part of this wildly successful franchise. Based very loosely on the Disney franchise ride, Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow as he leads his band of marauding pirates.

I didn't really like the first two parts, so I'm not quite sure why I even wanted to see the third. Oh yeah, it was that they worked overtime on the special effects department including some new mathematical formula for water modeling in the CGI scenes with the ships circling a whirlpool. For the record, that part was pretty good, but hardly revolutionary from what I saw.

This third installment of Pirates follows the pattern of the other two. We begin with a bang, we have a quite s-l-o-w middle that goes on interminably, and we end with a great shootout and special effects. Unfortunately, at least for me, a veteran of the ride in both Disneyland (California), and Walt Disney World (Florida (I remember when it was an E ticket ride)), who has sailed with the pirates more times than I can remember, I just can't see what all the excitement is with these films. Along the way, Captain Sparrow has to reclaim his ship, scenes with Davy Jones get interjected but really make no sense, and the whole thing becomes one big drag- I'm not sure how the kids can sit through this! Just when I can't take it any more, the cannons fire a broadside volley, the boarding party jumps into action, and we finish strongly in the last few minutes.

I simply feel that it's just not worth it to me to sit through over two hours of movie to see a half an hour of content worth watching. Clearly, from the film's gross earnings, I'm on the minority here. At any rate, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has first rate special effects, but I wish the story made more sense and was more developed in keeping with the length of this film.

Overall Grade: C+

Reviewed by Jonas