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Film Clips

Capsule reviews from recently released flicks

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MONSTER HOUSE Young DJ realizes that something's not right with the creepy house directly across the street; suspecting it's possessed by an evil spirit, he sets out to uncover its secrets. At its best, this animated adventure harkens back to the fantasy flicks of the 1980s, movies in which innocent children leading sheltered suburban existences often had to cope with the supernatural terrors that lurked around every corner and often even under the bed -- it's no coincidence that the era's leading practitioners of this sort of unpretentious fun, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, are executive producers on this new film. As with many of the 80s titles, there's more here than meets the eye, as what initially appears to be a straightforward haunted house tale morphs into a haunting tale about love, retribution and acceptance, complete with a back story that's as affecting as it is unexpected. ***

MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND Like those superheroes who hide their costumes under street clothes in order to protect their identities, this likewise masks its intriguing subtext under the surface charms of a romantic comedy. Luke Wilson plays a mild-mannered guy who learns that his new girlfriend (Uma Thurman) is also the superheroine G-Girl; once he sees how needy, possessive and jealous she can get, he foolishly attempts to break up with her. Superhero yarns often center on the personal travails of their protagonists and how difficult it is to balance saving the world with establishing meaningful relationships. This takes that notion to more realized extremes, detailing how the awesome responsibility of perpetually being expected to make things right can weigh heavily on a hero's psyche, turning them into an edgy, paranoid and lonely individual. Thurman locates the inner angst in this character, and while she's effective in full-on comic mode, she's even better when we can see the madness peeking out from behind the super-facade. ***

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Those expecting amazing feats of derring-do won't be disappointed by this sequel to the 2003 smash. The effects-driven action scenes are clearly the picture's highlights, and they alone make this worth the price of admission. But while the first Pirates felt like both a self-contained movie and the theme park attraction on which it was based, this one just feels like a roller coaster ride, full of momentary thrills but leaving little in its wake except a sudden desire to rest for a minute. It isn't breathless as much as it grows tiresome, and it's especially depressing to see how little the characters have been allowed to evolve. The central thrust finds Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) tangling with the ghostly Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) in an effort to save his own soul from eternal damnation; it's possible that his scheme will require sacrificing his friends (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley), but that's a compromise the self-serving Jack can accept. The best fantasy tales are often the ones in which the special effects are subservient to the characters, not the other way around; still, this moves quick enough to keep most customers satisfied. **1/2

A SCANNER DARKLY Once again employing the rotoscoping process that he used in 2001's Waking Life (basically, filming in live-action and then tracing over the images), writer-director Richard Linklater this time unleashes the technique on Philip K. Dick's 1977 novel -- a match made in hallucinatory heaven. Seven years from now, 20 percent of the population will be comprised of junkies, and the US government is trying its best to break the nation of its habit. It sends an agent known only as Fred (Keanu Reeves) into the field to track down the suppliers of a deadly drug called Substance D. Posing as a slacker named Bob Arctor, he forges relationships with several dopers (Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane), but as his own use of Substance D continues to fry his brain, he finds it increasingly difficult to ascertain what's real and what's imagined. Even with its animated overlay, A Scanner Darkly is far more restrained in its storytelling methods than other notable "drug flicks" (Requiem for a Dream, Naked Lunch), though the uniqueness of its visual style (that "scramble suit" is a wow!) nevertheless insures that there's always something eye-catching on view. ***