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THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS This unusual production doesn't offer the sort of instant guffaw gratification we generally get from American comedies; instead, its laughs are like stealth bombers, sneaking up on us to the extent that we suddenly find ourselves chortling even as we're wrapped up in the movie's unexpected air of melancholia. Through odd circumstances, the members of a dysfunctional clan -- the estranged parents (Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston) and their grown kids (Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson) -- find themselves living under the same roof, a pressure cooker situation that causes all sorts of messy emotions to spill over. The brand of eccentric humor is often heavy-handed, but its ability to make us care about these flawed, sad characters can't be underestimated. The entire cast clicks, though this is clearly Hackman's show: Refusing to pander to audience sympathies, he makes his character both endearing and infuriating. Come to think of it, the same can be said about the movie itself. 
THE SHIPPING NEWS When it comes to awards season, director Lasse Hallstrom has become Miramax Films' go-to guy: His past two releases, The Cider House Rules and Chocolat, both earned Best Picture Oscar nominations. Whether this one makes it three-for-three remains to be seen, but the Academy could do worse than toss votes at this tasteful adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Kevin Spacey delivers a soft, sensitive turn as Quoyle, a meek man who returns to his family's Newfoundland home after his slatternly wife (Cate Blanchett) dies in a car accident. Backed by his headstrong aunt (Judi Dench), he tries to build a new life for himself -- he accepts a job at a newspaper and courts a local widow (Julianne Moore) -- but he soon discovers that dark secrets from the past stand poised to undermine any chance at happiness. Hallstrom largely stifled his own creative impulses with the stridently plainclothes Chocolat, but working in tandem with cinematographer Oliver Stapleton, he comes up with some unusual storytelling techniques that serve to deepen the emotional relevancy rather than cheapen it. A sober tale of redemption that's frequently punctuated with quick bursts of mordant humor, the film effectively overcomes a certain calculatedness that creeps into its more melodramatic moments.
VANILLA SKY Before breaking through with The Others, writer-director Alejandro Amenabar made a handful of films in Spain; these included 1998's Open Your Eyes, an intriguing drama about a self-centered hunk who suffers from strange visions after getting disfigured in a car accident. This is Cameron Crowe's risky remake, and what's most shocking about this controversial conversation starter is how faithful it remains to the original. In short, this isn't a typically dumbed-down rehash, a designation that will cost it millions at the box office but which will earn it the appreciation of adventurous filmgoers. Tom Cruise, a narcissist who nevertheless won't back away from perilous parts, shrewdly mixes both facets of his career as the pretty boy whose perfect life turns into a living hell, while Cameron Diaz, as his fatal attraction, slinks through the proceedings like a feral feline. Unsettling, perplexing and playing like the visualization of a caffeine buzz, this is a Hollywood flick with a kick. 1/2
