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After a handful of bad intelligence reports and fruitless raids on supposed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) begins to question his superiors and their motivation in Iraq. Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), a high ranking CIA official also senses something suspicious is afoot. Working together Brown and Miller set out to uncover where exactly the weapons of mass destruction are hidden, but their work will not be easy, especially if Pentagon official Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) has anything to do with the investigation. Can the conspiracy, corruption, and spin control be exposed or will the efforts be in vain?

Directed by Paul Greengrass with basically the same feel and fervor as his last several films featuring leading man Matt Damon, the Bourne Supremacy and the Bourne Ultimatum. To that end, intense handheld cinematography and fast paced action sequences lend to a frenetic and claustrophobic feel. Although a fairly safe storyline doesn’t exactly challenge viewers imaginations. Tough guy action hero acting seems to come naturally to Damon at this point and weasel bad guy acting is perfectly fitted for Kinnear which is all well and good; however, none of the actors in this film were particularly stretched in their abilities. In summary, there’s nothing technically wrong with this film, but we’re not getting anything that hasn’t already been done before– several times over. Maybe a matinee or rental later. Green Zone is rated R.

TSA inspector Kirk Kettner (Jay Baruchel) doesn’t think much of his fortunate opportunity to return a cell phone lost at the airport to Molly (Alice Eve), a beautiful, smart, and recently single woman. But, as the case may have it Molly is actually into Kirk; he’s down to earth, relaxed in himself, and not the slightest bit pretentious, he is however a bit quirky. Without much delay friends of the couple become concerned for each other’s well being since the two appear to be such an ill fit based on looks alone. This in mind and with many other outside forces pulling on their relationship the big question remains will the two stay together or will Kirk’s behavior and Molly’s other suitors sink the ship?

 Weak attempts at humor provide a few chuckles but overall this screenplay falls flat and is predictable at almost every turn. Furthermore, any conflict that is developed to keep the film interesting hardly seems legitimate or likely to cause real distress, even in the most superficial relationships now days. If a mind numbing and poorly scripted romantic comedy is your cup of tea, this will certainly fit the bill, fish on dear friend fish on. Maybe a rental but I’d still pass this one up. She’s Out of My League is rated R.

Thirteen years after her original experience down the rabbit hole, a now grown Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Wonderland, meeting up with friends the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), and Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas). Whilst trying to remember specific details of the magical world Alice learns of her fate, to slay the Jabberwocky, overthrow the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and return power to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway).

Based on characters from Lewis Carroll’s books Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass, this re-hashed coming of age tale directed by Tim Burton offers much of what we’ve come to expect from the director but not much more. Artistic and graphic direction of the film makes for an eyeful of visual candy that has been meticulously detailed. Unfortunately, the cast of Burton’s usual suspects come across as relatively uninteresting  as the screenplay does little to capitalize on the wonder that is Wonderland. And, for as much as I generally enjoy Depp’s character work, his portrayal of the Mad Hatter can perhaps be likened to a one note samba that we’ve already heard several times before. Furthermore, the musical score from Danny Elfman does little to inspire any sense of “new” which seems unusual since many of his recent works have been refreshingly different. Maybe worth a matinee for the family but more likely a rental later. Alice In Wonderland is rated PG.