Movie Reviews

Onward saddened soldiers

"Angels of death" Woody Harrelson, left, and Ben Foster.  (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

The Messenger

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Running time: 112 minutes

MPAA rating: R (profanity, adult situations, nudity)

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"The Messenger"

They park down the block.  That way their target has no idea it's their lives that are about to be drastically altered.

Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster don't portray burglars, murderers or even rapists in the riveting drama "The Messenger."

Instead, officers Will Montgomery (Foster) and Tony Stone are assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service.

They are grim reapers.  Casually, they refer to themselves and others like them as angels of death.  When a soldier falls in Iraq or Afghanistan, the knock on the door comes from these stern-faced soldiers of mercy.

Arriving in theaters in the wake of the Fort Hood, TX shooting rampage, which left 13 dead and over two dozen wounded on Nov. 5, one of this year's most powerful dramas will likely electrify emotional nerve endings with a heavier charge than it might otherwise.

Harrelson, on screen recently in the outrageous comic monster-mash "Zombieland," can also bring it as a dramatic actor.   The veteran actor from Midland is the perfect seemingly hard-edged vet to star opposite Foster's mentally tortured returning war hero.

Will's got three months left to serve.  The fact that his girlfriend Kelly (Jena Malone) hooked up with a new fiancé when he was half a world away taking shrapnel in the eye weighs heavy on Will's heart as he delivers emotional knock-out punches to strangers.

Foster, so convincing as  trigger-happy gunslinger Charlie Prince in the 2007 remake of "3:10 to Yuma," doesn't make a single false move or bad acting choice as Will.

Oren Moverman, who co-wrote Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," turns out to be a first-time director who knows his way around drama.  Moverman also co-wrote this gripping screenplay with experienced producer Alessandro Camon.

Even with such a compelling story to tell, outstanding acting all around and more than adequate work from the director's chair, there's another element of note.  "The Messenger" rises to a higher level every time Samantha Morton enters the frame as Olivia Pitterson, a stunned recent war widow.  

Will and Olivia connect on a level that transcends sexual attraction, or even empathy.  It's complicated, as they say, and Foster and Morton pull off the difficult acting assignment beautifully.

Morton is a two-time Oscar nominee for "In America" (2002) and Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999).  Anyone who witnesses this deeply nuanced performance as Olivia will have no problem understanding why.

A whole new meaning to 'cracking' the case

Terence (Nicolas Cage) and Frankie (Eva Mendes) in a rare calm moment.
(First Look Studios)

Bad Lieutenant:  Port of Call New Orleans

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Running time: 121 minutes

MPAA rating: R (harsh profanity, extreme violence, extreme drugs, extreme adult situations, nudity)

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"Bad Lieutenant:  Port of Call New Orleans"

Filmmaker Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage, a talented actor who thrives on taking chances, are volatile enough in separate projects.

Put them together in a violent crime-drama like "Bad Lieutenant," however, and it's like holding a stick of dynamite with a very short, fast-burning fuse.

Frankly, "Bad Lieutenant:  Port of Call New Orleans" (the full title) might be too jolting for the unsuspecting.  Cage, as daring as any actor I've seen in about 30 years, plays the title character like he gets a rush from living down to that "bad" rap.

A back injury on the job in very recent post-Katrina New Orleans leads to pain killer addiction, then a desperate descent into what can best be described as a male version of a crack ho.

Rogue, out-of-control cop Terence McDonagh (Cage) doesn't just sell his body to get the smack he so craves, however.  Terence gives up something that cheapens not only himself, but his fellow officers:  justice.

"Bad Lieutenant" plays like the ugly flip-side of Al Pacino's "Serpico." Terence isn't just a dirty cop arresting dope dealers and doing buiness with them on the  side.  He wallows in it.

Terence is so consumed by "gotta-have-it-right now" that when he's away from his call girl girlfriend (Eva Mendes as Frankie Donnenfield) Terence is very likely to "arrest" a young women to grab what might be in her purse.  He's always thinking sexual, too, and demanding "favors." 

With Herzog in the director's chair, we get a filmmaker versatile enough to turn out a bone-chilling documentary about a bear lover who pays the ultimate price ("Grizzly Man") and an actor who'll stop at nothing to slither under the skin of even the seediest character.

Herzog ("Rescue Dawn," "The White Diamond"), working from William Finkelstein's sledgehammer of a screenplay,  gives Cage a very dark cinematic alley to venture down.  The result is a performance a rivet or two beyond riveting.

Cage doesn't always make wise project choices.  "The Wicker Man" is a good enough example of that.  When he's acting on his front burner, as he does here and as he did in "World Trade Center" and "The Weather Man," though, Cage is as good as any actor out there.

He shows that here.  We don't just feel Terence's shaky, hair-trigger desperation.  We can almost taste it.  "Bad Lieutenant" isn't a pleasant cinematic destination, of course.  People merely on extreme edge would be considered middle-of-the-roaders in this harsh environment.

It's impossible not to admire Cage's frantic, caged-animal performance, however, and Mendes ( "The Spirit," "We Own the Night") is equally up to speed, if you know what I mean, as the prostitute gal-pal.

'Fox' on the run equals big-time family fun

Mr. Fox is given vibrant vocal life by George Clooney.  (20th Century Fox)

Fantastic Mr. Fox

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Running time: 88 minutes

MPAA rating: PG (action violence, smoking, slang humor)

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"Fantastic Mr. Fox"

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Filmmakers set themselves up for easy ridicule with a word in the title like "fantastic."

Eccentric, daring filmmaker Wes Anderson needn't concern himself, though.  "Fantastic Mr. Fox," the animated big-screen version of the late Roald Dahl's  best seller, is darned good.

Perfect for a holiday-week debut, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" expands Roald's modern children's classic with added scenes that fit seamlessly into a clever, bouncy yarn that'll serve up a bounty of entertainment for the entire family.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voiced absolutely on-target by George Clooney and the incomparable Meryl Streep) are happy enough living in a huge beech tree at the top of a hill.  Their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) is a bit of a comic-book obsessed oddball, though, and dad works as a newspaper columnist.

Mr. Fox has trouble fighting his itchy wild animal instincts, however.  He's a sneaky chicken thief by nature.  It doesn't help that the Fox family tree, which they can't really afford, overlooks three tempting farms (Boggis, Bunce and Bean) down below.  

Giving in to nature, Mr. Fox raids the farms of their chickens, geese, turkeys and even cider, which puts his own home in danger.  When the farmers retaliate with every means at their disposal, Mr. Fox loses his tail and must fight for survival along with his not-so-pleased animal neighbors.

Listen closely, and you'll hear Bill Murray as Badger the attorney, Willem Dafoe as the villainous Rat and great British actor Michael Gambon ("Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince") as mean Farmer Bean.  Even Anderson's pal Owen Wilson stops by to voice Coach Skip.

I think what I enjoy most about "Fantastic Mr. Fox," other than the outstanding vocal cast, is the animation itself.  Anderson is known for going out on a limb in live-action features such as "Rushmore" (his break-out film), "The Royal Tenenbaums," the disappointing "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" and "The Darjeeling Limited," the epitome of off-the-wall zaniness that works.

An enterprise like this is chancy because this is Anderson's first animated feature.  We've got to give the Houston native, this, though.  He never bowed to the standard animation process.

There's no state-of-the-art computer animation.  Instead, Anderson goes retro for the offbeat-but-potentially wonderful stop-motion animation process.  Puppets are photographed then moved one frame at a time.  

If you've seen "Chicken Run," "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" or the recent "Coraline," you get the idea.

The stop-motion process makes for slightly jerky movements, which fit Anderson's skewed version of heightened animation "reality" just perfectly.

The story, co-written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, who collaborated on the underachiever "Life Aquatic," moves along briskly and with real filmmaking smarts.

It's all extraordinary, in fact, in Anderson's signature wacky style.

In this case at least, Anderson's visionary technique appears smart as a, well, really gifted filmmaker.

A jolting, well-acted 'Road' through the ruins

The Man (Viggo Mortensen) and The Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) on "The Road."  (Dimension Films)

The Road

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Running time: 113 minutes

MPAA rating: R (profanity, violence, nudity)

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"The Road"

Except for the quality acting and poignant, effective screenplay, the post-apocalyptic drama "The Road" could serve as a follow-up to the popular, but one-dimensional doomsday thriller "2012."

Thankfully, it's not.  Based on Cormac McCarthy's decidedly dismal 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the simple, yet haunting story follows two disaster survivors; a father and his terrified young son on a scorched, devastated road to somewhere, hopefully, but possibly nowhere.

"It's just another earthquake.  I'm right here," the near-starving father played by Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen says to his son, The Boy (Australian Kodi Smit-McPhee).

We never learn what caused all this devastation that has knocked Mother Earth to her knees.  War?  Global warming?  Giant meteor strike?  All we know about the past is that The Man woke up to a blindling light outside the window.

 

He filled the bathtub with water before the devastation reached them.  We learn in flashbacks that The Woman (Charlize Theron) chose not to accompany her husband and son when they hit what's left of the road.

All we know is that The Man and The Boy, desperately weak, hungry and often cold, are trying to make it to the ocean.  The Boy has never seen one.  That gift, if he can make it there, is all a father slapped to near death by circumstances has to possibly offer a son.

Horrific destruction mixes with a will to live in this effective, minimalist screenplay by playwright Joe Penhall.   Heightened fears since the terrorist attacks of 2001 add another element to the mix.  What happens to humanity when the world around up has been reduced to ash?

Australian director John Hillcoat ("The Proposition") set up location camp in Pennsylvania, where blackened coal landscapes, devastated mining areas and the abandoned freeway or two could be located.  The shoot also ventured to the shores of Lake Erie, Katrina-stricken areas of Louisiana and to Oregon.

As convincing as the backgrounds are (becoming a central character themselves), the heart of "The Road" comes from performances Hillcoat draws from excellent actor Mortensen, an Oscar nominee for "Eastern Promises," and young Smit-McPhee, who appeared in "Romulus, My Father."

There are other stunned wanderers along the disaster-stricken road, of course.  Robert Duvall ("The Godfather," an Oscar winner for "Tender Mercies"), barely recognizable as The Old Man, is as good as you'd expect him to be.  And Guy Pearce, who appeared in Hillcoat's "The Proposition," provides a little hope for whatever is left of mankind as The Veteran.

Just know going in that "The Road" is a long, hard one that adheres faithfully to McCarthy's masterpiece of devastation.  

A 'Blind Side' Hail Mary pass

Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) offers a little gridiron advice.  (Warner Bros.)

The Blind Side

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Running time: 128 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13 (one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references)

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"The Blind Side"

The exciting thing about "The Blind Side" is that for the first time since the ensemble drama "Crash" Sandra Bullock molds her persona to fit a character.

More often than not, forgettable cinematic silliness such as the "Miss Congeniality" films and "The Lake House" and, more recently, the awful "All About Steve" have been all about Sandra Bullock, the lovable kook next door.

A bristling family comic sports drama dripping with Southern pride and discomfort, "The Blind Side" throws a Hail Mary pass at the Bullock we rarely see on screen.

John Lee Hancock,  the talented filmmaker behind the noble box-office failure "The Alamo" (2004), scores by forming the most genuine sports related project since, well, Hancock's "The Rookie" starring Dennis Quaid in 2002.

This one works to near-perfection primarily because Bullock is all-business instead of kooky-funny for a change.

Of course Bullock retreated into ice queen frostiness for the highly successful romantic-comedy "The Proposal" back in June.  But that was just a shell that cracked when the goofiness launched.

"The Blind Side" is based on a real well-to-do Memphis family.  They, guided sternly by the Mrs. (Bullock), take in a very large and virtually homeless black high school student (Quinton Aaron).  The uplifting tale of a shy big guy with football and a loving safe residence in his future forms the heart of this story.

Bullock's Leigh Anne Tuohy supplies the engine to motivate a troubled young man named Michael Oher without once talking down to him.  Hancock, proving once again how astute he can be mixing real life sports sagas into mass-appeal entertainment, lets the comedy of his script (based on Michael Lewis' book) flow naturally.

The funny moments -- and there are quite a few -- never appear forced.  Tim McGraw, terrific in the big-screen version of "Friday Night Lights," is very good here as Sean, Bullock's husband.  No doubt about it, McGraw could make a very good living as as an actor if he every grows weary of that superstar country singer night job.

And young Jae Head, who has appeared on the TV version of "Friday Night Lights," turns out to be quite a  funny little scene stealer as SJ, the precocious Tuohy son. 

As Michael, Aaron, a New York based actor ("Be Kind Rewind," "Fighting"), moves into the spotlight with much of the same effectiveness newcomer Gabourey Sidibe brings to the gritty urban drama "Precious."

Shot in Atlanta (doubling for Memphis), "The Blind Side" isn't just one of the finest sports-related movies of '09, it's one of the most entertaining films overall.

The Oscar campaign has already begun for Bullock.  From this aisle seat, it would be a well-deserved Academy Award nomination if it comes.

'New Moon' falling, not rising

 

Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) come to a fork in the road of their relationship.  (Summit Entertainment)

Twilight Saga:  New Moon

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Running time: 130 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13 (violence and action)

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"The Twilight Saga:  New Moon"

"New Moon" sulks.

Not sucks, mind you, for a couple of reasons, except it kind of does that as well.

First off, frenzied fans of the initial "Twilight" movie last year or those bedazzled by Stephenie Meyer's four best-selling fantasy-romance novels are probably predestined to like, perhaps even gush over "The Twilight Saga:  New Moon."

They'll probably barely notice, if at all, that director Chris Weitz's continuation of the brooding girl-meets-handsome vampire yarn brings nothing more to a movie screen than generally poor acting (especially from younger cast members), worse dialogue ("I guess the wolf's out of the bag now")  and a couple of shirtless hunks-to-wolf computer graphic transitions that grow tiresome quickly.

The other reason "New Moon" doesn't suck is that no humans were sucked bloodless during the making of this motion picture.  At least not where the audience is privy to the grisly process.

It's too bad "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke, the Texas native who called the shots on "Thirteen" and  "The Nativity Story," was separated from this installment over "creative differences."  The second outing, in which the franchise lets the "dogs" out, so to speak, is an overly drawn-out sequel that merely rehashes the human/otherworldly creature attraction that Hardwicke made near-magical last year.

High school teen Bella (Kristen Stewart) flirts with two "guys" and danger in "New Moon."  In a plot twist I fail to comprehend, Edward pushes true love Bella away and even uproots his vampire family from woodsy Forks, WA (but shot mostly in Vancouver) shortly after her 18th birthday.  Why?  There's a vampire price on her head, or to be more accurate, Bella's neck.

Vindictive red-headed vampire Victoria, played briefly by Rachelle Lefevre here (and in "Twilight") but who'll be replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in the next outing, is coming for Bella.  Edward and his night-stalkers appear to offer her the only protection.  So, they exit stage right?

Bella may be unlucky in love, but just as there are other fish in the sea, there are other creatures lurking in the forest (where she wanders a lot despite continual horrific danger).  Conveniently, her old childhood pal Jacob (Taylor Lautner) just happens to be transitioning into his werewolf years.  Killing vampires is what these larger-than-life band-of-shirtless-brother wolves do.  

So screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg ("Twilight," "Step Up") fills time between Edward's absence and his return with angst-filled nights where Bella is prone to screaming fits and daylight hours spent rebuilding an old motorcycle with Jacob.  She needs the bike to fulfill her only link to Edward through adrenalin-junkie rush brushes with danger.  (How many girls do you know who'll jump off a cliff to see a CGI image of their best fella?)

It's all pretty silly, except it won't be for the target audience who can't seem to get enough of Lautner whipping off his shirt at every opportunity.  (Lautner must have been a Matthew McConaughey fan growing up.)

Most of the "Twilight" actors are back.  One thing Weitz ("The Golden Compass," "About a Boy") does well -- one of the only things, in fact -- is cut down on the chalky white makeup on Peter Facinelli, who plays Cullen clan patriarch Carlisle.

By the time "New Moon" makes a mad dash to a rustic village in Italy near the end, I thought I had fallen asleep and woke up in another "Da Vinci Code" sequel because of all the folks in red robes.  I'm glad this plot goes there, though.  Michael Sheen, who played a creature in the "Underworld" series, is creepy enough as head vampire dude Aro.

The real treat is seeing all-grown-up Dakota Fanning as sweet-faced Jane, an innocent-faced vampire that can inflict pain merely by willing it.

That's what this slow-paced, morose franchise needs, a red-eyed Little Miss Sunshine with fangs.

Now that's something to howl at the "New Moon" about.

Rock 'n' roll was there to stay

 
"Take me to the microphone," DJ royalty  Gavin (Rhys Ifans) says as he boards the Radio Rock tanker.  (Focus Features)

Pirate Radio

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Running time: 129 minutes

MPAA rating: R (harsh profanity, adult situations, nudity)

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"Pirate Radio"

For those who don't know or can't remember, there once was a wonderful thing called personality rock radio.  

And it rocked back in 1960s.  In North Texas, the late Mike Selden and Jimmy Rabbit rocked the nighttime airwaves at KLIF.  They, and othrs like them, thrilled teen-age listeners and caused conservative parents to raise eyebrows and red flags.  

Full disclosure:  I was a closet teen rocker back then.  Theater of the mind, that exciting collision of ballsy rock music, a talented DJ's audience manipulation and anticipation of a wild, free unknown, blew my mind night after night.  I didn't just want to listen to the audacious magic, either.  I wanted to be a part of it.  And I was, sort of.

I began my broadcasting career as a disc jockey in Fort Worth, TX.  Sadly, I never got to really rock on commercial radio.  Fate shuttled me off into something new in the late '60s called country music.  And something old:  news.    

So I would be lying if I said I didn't approach "Pirate Radio," an audacious, music-blaring comedy from  Richard Curtis, with much hope.

I was not disappointed.

Although "Pirate Radio" pumps up the entertainment value with comic nonsense and sexcapades, Curtis has a blast recreating that era in Great Britain when DJs had to set sail to reach their eager listeners.

The BBC banned rock 'n' roll just as the Beatles, The Who, the Kinks and the Stones (to name a few) were beginning to roll.

Not to be denied, clever businessmen set up rock 'n' roll shop on pirate radio ships (in this case, an old tanker) in the North Sea; just offshore enough to be out of staid British jurisdiction.

Curtis, the gifted writer-director from New Zealand, has directed only one feature film before this raucous comic-rocker.  That was the very funny romantic-comedy "Love Actually" of 2003. 

Think of "Pirate Radio" as pumping out the hits somewhere between Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" and "Animal House."  Unflappable station owner and ship's captain Quentin (unflappable Bill Nighy) welcomes his naive teen-age godson Carl (Tom Sturridge) aboard.  Look at it as practical education in the fine art of never growing up.

Carl, who's shy at first, slowly becomes the ship's mascot as famous DJs like The Count (Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman), womanizer Dave (Nick Frost of "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead") and jock legend Gavin (Rhys Ifans) try to stay one step ahead of a stuffy British government official.  Minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) ruthlessly plots to "shut that filth down."

"Pirate Radio" is a must-see for music lovers as well as movie fans.  Curtis and his crew manage to cram around 50 tunes from the period into the fast-paced comic rocker.  

Noticeably absent from the soundtrack are The Beatles.  The most famous British rockers of the era are mentioned, though, and a Beatles album cover pops up on screen briefly.

My guess is that getting rights to the Beatles library proved too much of a "Hard Day's Night" financial obstacle to overcome.

Other than that, however, "Pirate Radio" rocks wildly steady -- near brilliantly, in fact -- as it worships and celebrates the lost art of rock radio magic.

'2012' an unintentional disaster-laugher

John Cusack's Jackson  fights to hold on as the Earth crumbles. 

(Sony Pictures Entertainment)

2012

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Running time: 158 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13 (extreme disaster violence, harsh profanity)

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"2012"

"2012" is quite entertaining, really, as a comedy of absurd preposterous overkill.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Roland Emmerich, who juggles hats and the Earth's crust as director, co-writer and executive producer, hoped for a slightly more reverent response as our planet crumbles and L.A. goes bye-bye.

Emmerich, you see, is a victim himself, of sorts.  It would seem that ever-advancing special-effects, especially when gifted computer nerds are writing the codes, have reached the point where nothing is impossible.  In reality, that is not the case.  

Dialogue without heaping helpings of cheese remain out of the grasp of disaster filmmakers; especially one named Emmerich.  He's the director who scored big with the patriotic flag-waver "Independence Day" in 1996 but managed to turn hulking sea monster "Godzilla" into a giant bore two years later.

Emmerich co-wrote this astonishingly inept and seemingly never-ending doomsday script (two and a half hours and change) with composer/screenwriter Harald Kloser, who penned the grunts in "10,000 B.C.," Emmerich's most recent expansive yawner.

The premise of this one hooks onto the Mayan myth/prediction (take your pick) that on Dec. 21, 2012 something catastrophic or quite enlightening (take your pick) is going to happen to Mother Earth.

It's no surprise that Emmerich, who subjected moviegoers to a fierce alien attack in "Independence Day," the citizen stomper/chomper "Godzilla"  remake and global warming floods with "The Day After Tomorrow" would take the negative, destructive view.

The guy obviously likes to wipe out iconic landmarks.  Granted, he destroys things real good in "2012."  Los Angeles slips off into the Pacific.  A tsunami slams the U.S.S.  John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier into the White House and earthquakes rumble.

John Cusack ("The Ice Harvest," "1408") is a very good actor ("War, Inc." was too cynical to catch on) who manages to keep a straight face throughout.  He takes on failed author, failed husband and failed dad Jackson Curtis, this scenario's everyman who stumbles across a plan to save a select group of Earthlings.  Amanda Peet has too little to do as his ex-wife  Kate.

And then there are the politicos.  Cusack may have top billing, but the real lead is Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Redbelt," "Talk to Me").  He's the scientist who informs President  Danny Glover that, basically, Mother Earth is about to blow her top.

It's a huge ensemble cast.  Thandie Newton (daughter of the prez), Woody Harrelson (a mountain kook who may not be as dumb as he sounds) and Oliver Platt (greedy government official) all show up between spectacular shots of Yellowstone National Park erupting in molten fireballs, Hawaii in flames, Vegas crumbling, etc.

Before things get too erratic and divorced husband/loving dad John Cusack fights to get his estranged family to safety, a mom and her plastic surgeon boyfriend have this little dialogue exchange (or something similar) in the local supermarket.

He:  "I don't know.  I just sense that something is coming between us."

Cue the earthquake.  Sure enough, a giant abyss -- literal, not emotional -- separates them.

Roland, Roland, Roland.

If you go for the unintentional fun, you can get your money's worth of yuks from "2012."  Just don't expect much gee-whiz end-of-the-world awe.  Emmerich and visual effects supervisor Marc Weigert destroy so much and do it so well technically, it all plays like elaborate falling dominoes after a while.

"2012" is an extremely drawn-out overblown (and overly blown up) special-effects ride driven by grossly overstated melodramatic cheese warmed over with a few tender moments.

Urban drama erupts into something 'Precious'

Gabourey Sidibe makes a stunning feature film debut as the title character.  (Lionsgate)

Precious

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Running time: 109 minutes

MPAA rating: R (violence, harsh profanity, extreme adult situations including sexual assault)

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"Precious"

"I shouldn't have said none of that.  Mama gonna kill me."

It's 1987 in the welfare state of Harlem when "Precious:  Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" opens.

A 16-year-old illiterate 9th grader named Precious has just served up undercooked pig's feet to her monstrous, anger-ravaged mother.  Precious isn't exaggerating when she says her mama might kill her.  Her mother's fits of violence can go from zero to 60 in a racing heartbeat.

It's unlikely, though.  Mama is too lazy to cook her own pig's feet.

Actually, it's her father who comes closest to destroying Precious's life force.  Precious is pregnant with her absentee dad's second child when the slightest glimmer of hope shows up in the deeply troubled teen's hard knock life.

It's fair to wonder why we as movie-goers should go to see a grim urban drama gritty enough to leave lasting dark shadows not only on the souls of the characters, but on ours as well.

Overweight and overwrought, Claireece "Precious" Jones (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) escapes into flights of fantasy whenever the real world becomes too ugly.  Her mother Mary, a monster in almost every sense of the word, is portrayed to perfection and a step or two beyond by outspoken (and we can now add "fearless") comedian Mo'Nique.

In some ways, "Precious" is a disaster movie.  It works as startling, bleak entertainment because when the projector shuts off, many of us can walk out into the sunlight of better circumstances.  

There are other reasons to embrace "Precious."  Better reasons.  Hailed with Audience Awards at both the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, which is a first, this tough love/tougher hate drama is one of the finest films of 2009.

It could rank as the absolute best from this aisle seat, although a few other films remain to be seen.  Certainly, "Precious" impacts the psyche with the most emotional force of the year so far.

Part of the dramatic impact comes from the filmmakers, of course.  In only his second feature film in the director's chair, Lee Daniels ("Shadowboxer") pulls no punches on grim reality; poverty, ignorance and the welfare misery-go-round that blindsides too many of our citizens with a life-force knockout punch.

The script, adapted from the novel "Push" by Sapphire, comes from newcomer Geoffrey Fletcher, who studied under Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee.  Fans of the book will notice that Fletcher expands on the flights of escapism fantasy.

What I admire most about "Precious" are the performances.  Sidibe, who was 24 at the time of filming in 2007, could very well find herself in the Oscar race her first time in front of a feature film camera.  Mo'Nique, who also appeared in Daniels' "Shadowboxer" (ironically as a character called Precious), is a shoo-in for at least a supporting actress nomination, if you ask me.

Also, look for solid performances from singer Mariah Carey as Ms. Weiss, the matter-of-fact social services worker, and Paula Patton ("Deja Vu"), the empathetic alternative school teacher. 

Spike Lee has explored the urban landscape for over 20 years.  But even Lee's gritty style of his early work ("She's Gotta Have It," etc.) has always involved some sort of heightened reality.

There's nothing heightened with "Precious."  It's about as painfully real as a dramatic feature film can get.

A 'Christmas' classic morphs into a thrill ride

Scrooge (Jim Carrey) feels the icy grip of his haunted past.  (Disney Enterprises)

A Christmas Carol

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Running time: 96 minutes

MPAA rating: PG (scary sequences and images, violence)

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"A Christmas Carol"

Robert Zemeckis' spooktacular "A Christmas Carol" plays more like a Disney theme park thrill ride than homage to the Dickens miser-and-his-three-ghosts classic.

Zemeckis, perhaps straining a bit in search of big-screen magic, returns to the somewhat eerie performance capture animation technique he wowed audiences with in 2004 with "The Polar Express" and continued with "Beowulf" in 2007.

A major hump for even a great creative filmmaker  like Zemeckis to get over is how to make a novella written in 1843 pop from the screen as something fresh.  "A Christmas Carol," of course, has already appeared in more forms than Scrooge has ghosts.  "Mister Magoo" even morphed into Scrooge on TV in 1962.

The new version, which sends the title and snowflakes into the audience in 3-D in some theaters, utilizes every trick in Zemeckis' film-making book to bring new thrills to the old story.

Jim Carrey, who stole Christmas as Ron Howard's "Grinch" in 2000, is barely recognizable as Old London skinflint Ebenezer Scrooge (but also the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come).  Even motion-capture computerized, Carrey turns in a worthy, energetic showcase performance.

Gary Oldman (James Gordon in "The Dark Knight") excels as well as the voice of Scrooge employee and poor, but loving family man Bob Cratchit.  That's also Goldman as Young Marley, Marley's Ghost and Tiny Tim.

With the exception of the very young, everyone's probably familiar with the classic tale.  Crotchety old businessman Scrooge "Bah, humbugs" 
Christmas Day, which he sees as just stealing an employee (Cratchit) from his employ for a ridiculous day of good cheer.

Things go bad for Scrooge, of course.  He's visited during Christmas Eve night by three ominous ghosts (Christmas past, present and future) who scare him straight and full-of-good-cheer merry, so to speak.

Zemeckis doesn't just go for the thrill ride, which is likely to show up in Disney theme parks soon.  He also goes dark; both in extremely dreary mood  and via computer animation.  The theme is so dark and scary, in fact, that I recommend parents think twice before exposing very young children (3-6 or so) to this Christmas themed ghostly monster mash.

Some full disclosure:  At the screening I attended earlier this week, it was difficult to make out what was happening on screen during the film's darker moments (which comprise much of the viewing time).  I strongly suspect that the projector bulb was dimmed as a cost-cutting measure.  It's a practice I deplore.  (Click here to discover why).

Since Disney is offering "A Christmas Carol" in both 3-D and 2-D (standard projection; no special glasses needed), the images might be a little easier to see in 2-D, especially if your theater fails to project at full bulb capacity.

Zemeckis has been one of our most innovative filmmakers ever since he started toying with animation technology with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in 1988.  He may have hit his creative peak with the enchanting, wonderful  "Polar Express," though.

Like "A Christmas Carol," "Polar Express" was a wildly imaginative thrill ride.  It was all about awe, while this "Christmas Carol" chooses shock.

We also know where this one's going, with the exception of a detour into a drawn-out "Honey, I Shrunk Scrooge" chase, which is totally unnecessary, and likely to be featured in the theme park thrill ride.

That doesn't help, especially when the final moments, though cheery, must adhere to the well-worn story.