“Jack Reacher”

3 stars

Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Robert Duvall, David Oyelowo, Werner Herzog, Jai Courtney

Popular book series makes a disappointing transition to the big screen

By Derrick Bang
Enterprise film critic

Director/scripter Christopher McQuarrie’s “Jack Reacher” is a serviceable thriller: standard-issue Hollywood suspense, with Tom Cruise delivering his usual charm while working his way through a murder mystery that unfolds with the customary blend of plot twists, car chases, gunplay and bare-knuckle fist fights.

In other words, a reasonably diverting way to spend two hours.

That said, fans of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels will hate this film. With good cause.

His star wattage notwithstanding, Cruise is wrong for the role. Reacher is, quite famously, 6 feet 5 inches tall; he sports a 50-inch chest, weighs between 210 and 250 pounds, and has hands “like two supermarket chickens.” When Reacher chooses to attack a thug, the impact — to borrow from Child’s prose — is akin having a mountain fall on the guy.

Cruise is 5 feet 7 and might hit 170, dripping wet. To say he lacks Reacher’s all-essential physical presence is gross understatement.

At one point during this film, as investigating police are trying to determine whether Reacher is staying at a particular motel, the desk clerk immediately suggests a specific room, insisting they “couldn’t miss this guy.” That line might have made sense in the book, when describing the actual Reacher; it’s a daft bit of dialogue here, when referencing Cruise.

During the months leading up to this film’s release, Child — well aware of the casting controversy — made the magazine and talk-show rounds, attempting peremptory damage control. He pointed out that Reacher has three salient characteristics: He’s always the smartest guy in the room; he’s still and quiet, yet menacing; and he’s huge. Child quite reasonably pointed out that Hollywood inevitably is about compromise, and that getting two of out three should be acceptable.

Fair enough, and yes: Cruise’s Reacher moves stealthily, even when at rest, and he radiates an intriguing aura of latent menace. And yes, he always seems to be the smartest guy in the room.

But that’s only because most of the other people in the room, in this film, are idiots.

And that’s this film’s biggest disappointment: worse, even, than Cruise’s grandstanding insistence that he can too beat up five guys without even breathing hard. (One cannot help snickering, during the opening credits, at the initial line that insists this film is “a Tom Cruise production.” No kidding.)

Child writes smart and ferociously clever novels, and this adaptation is neither.

Which is an even bigger mystery than the one at the center of this storyline, because McQuarrie won a well-deserved Academy Award for writing 1995’s impressively twisty “The Usual Suspects,” which remains a benchmark of ingenious cinematic suspense. The casting of Cruise may have angered fans, but McQuarrie’s involvement felt inspired.

How tragic, then, that McQuarrie takes every opportunity to dumb-down Child’s tightly plotted novel, ruining or eliminating numerous “reveals” while turning Reacher into little more than a standard-issue blunt instrument.

Consider, as Exhibit A, a scene when Reacher tracks a no-account opponent — the leader of the aforementioned five guys — back to the ramshackle home he shares with his mother. In Child’s “One Shot,” the novel on which this film is marginally based, Reacher’s subsequent conversation with this forlorn woman is illuminating, even tragic, for what it reveals about her, and her relationship with her wayward son.

OK, fine; that’s unnecessary exposition in this cinematic context. But was it really necessary to transform this encounter into another assault on Reacher, with two goons surprising him — which would, needless to say, never happen — and then blowing their advantage by knocking each other senseless with (respectively) a clumsily wielded crowbar and baseball bat?

Honestly, the scene plays more like an outtake from a Three Stooges short. It’s absolutely ludicrous, and apparently present only so that Cruise can earn a chuckle by peering warily over the lip of the bathtub that, by sheer chance, has saved his ass.

No, no, no.

This isn’t an adaptation of a Lee Child novel; it’s a Tom Cruise vanity production very much in the mold of 2010’s equally silly “Knight and Day.” Since we know McQuarrie can do much better, we can assume that Cruise wielded ultimate control and shaped Child’s novel according to his own desires.

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, but the disappointment is palpable.

Things begin chillingly — particularly given recent real-world events — as a sniper calmly executes five random citizens strolling along an attractive Pittsburgh waterfront park; the killer then vanishes. The case falls to police detective Emerson (David Oyelowo), whose team methodically processes a wealth of forensic evidence that leads, fairly quickly, to James Barr (Joseph Sikora).

Confronted by both Emerson and Rodin (Richard Jenkins), a district attorney who only takes slam-dunk cases, Barr surprises them with a request that they find Reacher. Jack, at ease in Miami, has learned of the killing spree via TV news; he obligingly arrives in Pittsburgh just as Emerson and Rodin have realized that Reacher lives totally off the grid and can’t be found … unless he wishes otherwise.

As it happens, though, Reacher has little interest in helping Barr, much to the dismay of defense attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), who has taken this high-profile case in part to spite her father. Reacher knows Barr from their service days in Kuwait, when the latter was a military-trained sniper who snapped and killed four American soldiers; the case was hushed up only because the victims turned out to be serial rapists. Rather than risk the public censure, the U.S. government buried the case and freed Barr.

Reacher, the military investigator who put that case together, warned Barr that he dare not step out of line again … or else.

Reacher therefore would seem the last person Barr would want in town … so why make that request? Helen can’t figure it out, and although Reacher initially intends to leave after confirming that the cops have an airtight case, she correctly deduces that this core question will eat at him, as well.

And after Reacher finds himself in the middle of such a blatantly contrived attempt to “discourage” him with a five-way beating, he knows somebody else is pulling the strings. At which point … game on.

The always effervescent Pike deftly navigates her intricate role, as Helen initially trusts Reacher but then begins to wonder if his increasingly elaborate conspiracy theory is no more than the fanciful ravings of a social misfit. And yet there’s no denying the growing physical attraction, and one of McQuarrie’s best-staged scenes occurs in Reacher’s motel room, as Helen’s close proximity becomes combustible.

Pike also shines during an encounter with one of the victim’s grieving family members: a scene that seems benign but suddenly, unexpectedly, turns scary.

Robert Duvall pops up in the third act as Cash, a former U.S. Marine who owns a shooting range where Barr practiced his craft. Cash’s part is greatly expanded from that in the novel, to take advantage of Duvall’s engaging presence; he delivers a feisty performance that brings greater snap to the film’s climax.

Much of this story takes place at night, with Pittsburgh’s mean streets given an additional veneer of menace by veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.

But while the film’s climax certainly is exciting and cathartic, McQuarrie takes the plot in an entirely different direction … and not a very satisfying one. The so-called answers aren’t sufficiently linked to earlier events, which results in an odd paradox: Viewers are more likely to follow the plot if they’ve read Child’s novel … even though McQuarrie changes so many key details.

All in all, not a very auspicious cinematic debut for Jack Reacher. Sadly, the source novel’s title — “One Shot” — may be a prophetic indication of this character’s big-screen lifespan.

— Read more of Derrick Bang’s film criticism at derrickbang.blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www.davisenterprise.com

‘Rock of Ages’

3.5 stars

Starring: Diego Boneta, Julianne Hough, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige

Rating: PG-13, and quite generously, for sexual content, lewd behavior, profanity, revealing clothing and nonstop alcohol abuse

This film is a shotgun wedding of “Moulin Rouge” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” with a bit of “Phantom of the Paradise” (remember that one?) sneaking in from beneath the woodpile.

At its best, the result is raucous, exuberant and quite funny, notably when the tag-team of Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand take the screen. But all that cheeky energy aside, “Rock of Ages” sags badly at times; it’s much too long and self-indulgent. The third and final act, when we finally cruise into it, feels more like the fifth; the wafer-thin story isn’t strong enough to support all the glitter and musical bombast.

The film is adapted from Chris D’Arienzo’s rock/jukebox musical of the same name, which opened in Los Angeles in 2005. A short Off-Broadway run eventually followed in late 2008; the show transitioned to Broadway in the spring of 2009 and has remained a popular draw ever since.

Sadly, that happy fate probably doesn’t await this big-screen adaptation.

The time is 1987, a musical breakpoint in terms of both art and commerce: LPs are on their way out, rapidly being forced off store shelves in favor of new-fangled CD “longpacks.” Similarly, glam, heavy metal and power-rock are being threatened by the onset of grunge, rap and (God help us) boy bands.

Perky Sherrie Christian (country singer Julianne Hough), seeking fame and fortune, departs Tulsa, Okla., with a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. Her destination: the Bourbon Room, a landmark but now dilapidated rock ’n’ roll club (probably suggested by the Troubadour). Historically, the club is famed for having introduced many now-famous acts, none more celebrated than Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), lead singer of the band Arsenal.

But the Bourbon Room is in trouble these days; owner Dennis Dupree (Baldwin) faces a whopping unpaid tax bill. And although Dennis’ right-hand man, Lonny Barnett (Brand), insists that rock ’n’ roll will never die, such pronouncements won’t keep the IRS at bay. And as if this weren’t bad enough, Dupree and his club have been targeted by Patricia Whitman (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the ultra-conservative wife of newly elected Mayor Mike Whitman (Bryan Cranston).

Sherrie’s barely off the bus when she loses her possessions to a mugger, but that’s all right; she’s just as quickly “rescued” by Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), an aspiring rocker who works behind the bar at the Bourbon Room. Just like that, Sherrie has a new job, a new boyfriend and close proximity to the music scene she loves so much.

This exposition doesn’t unfold dramatically; it sorta-kinda surfaces in a series of rock-hued song-and-dance numbers, much as the plot advanced in “Moulin Rouge.” Director Adam Shankman’s touch emerges immediately, when Sherrie breaks into song during her long bus ride, and her fellow passengers join the fun. Shankman comes by this approach honestly, having helmed several episodes of TV’s “Glee” and the big-screen adaptation of “Hairspray.”

Dramatic tension, such as it is, comes with the theatrical arrival of Jaxx, whose condescending rock god attitude has made him impossible to deal with. Rolling Stone journalist Constance Sacks (Malin Akerman) perceptively punches through Jaxx’s poseur affectations, but we’re not sure this relationship will gel; meanwhile, Drew dumps Sherrie after mistakenly thinking that she has slept with Jaxx.

She, in turn, assumes that his band’s one-off success as an opening act has turned Drew’s head.

But wait: Sherrie sinks even lower, quitting the Bourbon Room and reluctantly accepting a job as a stripper at the nearby Venus Club, run by the compassionate Justice Charlier (Mary J. Blige). Except that Sherrie never really strips — at least, not that we ever see — and so we can imagine that her virtue remains intact. Sort of. Maybe.

Which calls attention to another problem. This is the smuttiest PG-13 film I’ve ever seen, despite the fact that nobody sheds enough clothing to reveal forbidden fruit. Instead, we get double entendres, intense tongue action — to the point of nausea, more than once — and plenty of underwear, particularly by the Venus Club regulars who deliver athletic pole-dancing routines that would be the envy of a Bob Fosse musical or a Cirque du Soleil spectacular.

This adaptation of “Rock of Ages” absolutely, desperately needs to be rated R; it should embrace its naughty undertone unapologetically, as was the case with “Almost Famous.” The contrived lengths to which Shankman goes, in order to preserve his ill-advised PG-13, become quite irritating.

Such carping aside, Cruise is absolutely hilarious as the vainglorious Jaxx: the epitome of a rock god gone to seed, consumed by too much fame, too much alcohol and far too many nubile young lovelies who swoon at his mere appearance. It’s a crackerjack role, brilliantly conceived, and Cruise inhabits it with impressive credibility. Although Jaxx is a figure of derision, intended to amuse and disgust, Cruise plays it straight, with intense, method mannerisms that one would expect in a high-tone drama.

Trouble is, we eventually get tired of Jaxx and the long, extended pauses during his booze-dulled behavior and s-l-o-w speaking cadence. Too much of a good thing stops being a good thing, and Shankman makes that error with Cruise’s screen time.

Baldwin and Brand fare much better. Both are held back, injected at the fringes of various scenes, the better to insert well-timed double-takes or witty asides. I was prepared to believe that Cruise had run away with the film, until a surprise duet by Baldwin and Brand, as Dennis and Lonny do a montage cover of REO Speedwagon’s power ballad, “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

Those few minutes, by themselves, are worth the price of admission.

Boneta and Hough are attractive and reasonably talented as singer/dancers, but uninspiring as actors. Hough is a bit better here than she was in last year’s ill-advised remake of “Footloose,” but that’s not saying much. Boneta is seeking big-screen fame after his season on the recent reboot of TV’s “90210,” but thus far nothing separates him from the hundreds of others seeking similar fame and fortune in Lotusland (much like his character in this film).

Despite D’Arienzo’s involvement with this film — he co-wrote the script with Justin Theroux and Allan Loeb — he couldn’t prevent the anticlimactic thump with which the final act descends. This celluloid version of “Rock of Ages” opens well and seems destined for greatness, but — alas — the whole is less than the sum of its rock ’n’ roll parts.

— Read more of Derrick Bang’s film criticism at derrickbang.blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www.davisenterprise.com

And with a global box-office take of $1.18 billion — as of last weekend — it’s safe to say that no other entry has a prayer of duplicating that success between now and late August (although “The Dark Knight Rises” certainly will try hard).

Perhaps that’s just as well. For the first time in many, many years, the season isn’t entirely dominated by sequels and would-be franchises … although you’ll still find plenty of the former, from “Men in Black III,” the fourth “Ice Age” and second “Expendables” entries, to re-boots of “Spider-Man” and Robert Ludlum’s “Bourne” series. After all, it is vacation time, and our brains also need a break.

But — and for a change — more discriminating viewers also will find a solid slate of smarter fare on the menu: a Sundance sci-fi charmer with Frank Langella; engaging comedies starring Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep; a new Woody Allen comedy, this one set in Italy; gritty crime thrillers from directors Oliver Stone and William Friedkin; and a cheerfully warped fantasy from the folks who brought us “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Just remember: These release dates are tentative and subject to change. Smaller indie films, in particular, may not reach the Sacramento Valley until weeks or months later.

June 1

“Piranha 3DD” — Wow, what a way to start the month. Could the summer movie season get more vulgar? Gore-hounds gleefully recall the, ah, anatomical flotsam gobbled up by one of these sharp-toothed nightmares in this film’s predecessor; given the title, I’m sure stars Christopher Lloyd, David Hasselhoff and Danielle Panabaker are in for similar, um, thrills.

“Snow White and the Huntsman” — This year’s first Snow White saga (“Mirror, Mirror”) shattered the dreams of all concerned, and I’m equally dubious about this second effort. Charlize Theron should be a superbly wicked Queen Ravenna, but the notion of sullen Kristen Stewart turning Snow into an action babe is too ludicrous to consider. Nobody. Will. Care.

June 8

“Bel Ami” — Late 19th century Parisian rogue Robert Pattinson charms his way from poverty to wealth and social standing by seducing some of the city’s most influential women: Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci. If nothing else, we must be impressed by a summer movie bearing a script (by Rachel Bennette) adapted from a novel by Guy de Maupassant (!).

“Lola Versus” — Writer/director Daryl Wein’s light-hearted relationship comedy stars fast-rising Sacramento native Greta Gerwig as a young woman who, dumped by her fiancé mere weeks before their wedding, attempts to survive her approaching 30th birthday as a singleton. Co-star Zoe Lister Jones (TV’s “Whitney”) co-wrote the script.

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” — Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith return once again to voice displaced New York zoo critters Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria, still trying to get back to the Big Apple after the globe-trotting adventures in their first two films. This time, they wind up touring Europe while “disguised” as the stars of a traveling circus. What will those pesky penguins make of this?

“Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” — Director Bruce Beresford (“Tender Mercies,” “Driving Miss Daisy”) helms this dramedy about the culture clash that results when uptight Manhattan lawyer Catherine Keener drags her two teenage children (Elisabeth Olson and Nat Wolff) along for a family vacation at her hippie mother’s (Jane Fonda) upstate farmhouse. Expect plenty of pot jokes and tie-dye shirts.

“Prometheus” — A prequel to “Alien”? Director Ridley Scott isn’t saying, but the set-up sure sounds like it. Deep-space explorers Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, seeking clues to the origins of mankind on Earth, wind up on a planet that carries a terrible secret that could eradicate humanity without a trace.

June 15

“Rock of Ages” — Director Adam Shankman’s (“Hairspray” and a few memorable episodes of TV’s “Glee”) time-tripping ode to the late 1980s stars Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough as two wild ’n’ crazy kids with Hollywood fame on their minds, who fall in love amid a raucous Los Angeles music and nightlife scene. The impressive supporting cast includes Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones and a fearless Tom Cruise, riffing Bon Jovi as hair band icon Stacee Jaxx.

“That’s My Boy” — What would summer be, without a terrible Adam Sandler comedy? The deserves-no-respect star plays an estranged father who shows up, uninvited, on the eve of his son’s wedding: a young man (Andy Samberg) he hasn’t seen for years. Could this be worse than “Jack and Jill”? No takers here…

June 22

“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” — With a title like this, how could it miss? Seth Grahame-Smith adapts his own cheeky 2010 novel, which stars Benjamin Walker as a particularly energetic “Honest Abe” who, upon learning that vampires plan to take over the White House, decides to have a stake in his country’s future.

“Brave” — Pixar’s new animated feature, the first to star a human heroine, features Kelly Macdonald as the voice of Princess Merida, a plucky young woman who defies local custom while matching her archery skills against a particularly dangerous curse. Additional voices are supplied by Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Craig Ferguson and Pixar stalwart John Ratzenberger.

“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” — Writer/director Lorene Scafaria insists that this is a romantic comedy, but it sounds like a major downer: With Earth mere weeks away from being destroyed by a rogue asteroid (truly!), abandoned husband Steve Carell embarks on a road trip to reunite with a high school sweetheart … while reluctantly giving a ride to neighbor Keira Knightley.

“To Rome, with Love” — Woody Allen shifts his focus from France to Italy, in this romantic soufflé about the misadventures of Roman natives and American visitors to the historic titular city. The cast features Jesse Eisenberg, Penélope Cruz, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Greta Gerwig, Robert Benigni, Judy Davis and Allen himself. Does Woody have another “Midnight in Paris” up his sleeve? Fingers crossed…

June 29

“Magic Mike” — Speaking of Tatum, he’s likely to do much better in this comedy from director Steven Soderbergh, playing experienced male stripper Mike Martingano, who takes newbie Alex Pettyfer under his wing. Matthew McConaughey and Joe Manganiello have supporting roles — the latter as “Big Dick Richie” — and hottie Olivia Munn is along for what promises to be plenty of naughty fun.

“Take This Waltz” — Michelle Williams stars in this dramedy from indie writer/director Sarah Polley, as a happily married woman whose marriage to cookbook writer Seth Rogen is threatened by her rising interest in the affable artist (Luke Kirby) who lives across the street.

July 3

“The Amazing Spider-Man” — Toby Maguire’s three-film arc as this character concluded just five years ago, and we’re re-booting the franchise already? Whatever … Andrew Garfield takes over as a younger Peter Parker, bitten by the radioactive spider and smitten by Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. Waiting in the swamp: Rhys Ifans as mad scientist Curt Connors, who turns all scaly as the Lizard.

July 4

“Katy Perry: Part of Me” — The imagination doth run riot over the notion that this concert documentary will be presented in 3D, which means the whipped cream industry must have made a killing during filming. Directors Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz also promise some “intimate” offstage footage, but we all know better. That said, this extended pop/rock video is bound to be a lot of fun.

July 6

“The Magic of Belle Isle” — Director/co-scripter Rob Reiner helms this tale of a discouraged, wheelchair-bound author (Morgan Freeman) who moves to a small rural town, where he befriends single mom Virginia Madsen and her three children. Will they help him rekindle his passion for writing? Do ducks quack?

“Savages” — Director Oliver Stone goes for the gut again, in this adaptation of Don Winslow’s best-selling 2010 crime novel. Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch star as two independent pot growers who face off against a Mexican drug cartel led by Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro, after the baddies kidnap our protagonists’ shared girlfriend (Blake Lively). Enter dirty DEA agent John Travolta, determined to help bring down the cartel.

July 13

“Ice Age: Continental Drift” — Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo and Queen Latifah once again voice prehistoric critters Manny, Diego, Sid and Ellie, with fresh characters supplied by Peter Dinklage and Jennifer Lopez. As global warming casts our heroes adrift on an iceberg, they encounter fresh danger from sea creatures and … pirates?

“Red Lights” — Paranormal investigator/debunker Cillian Murphy sets his sights on spooky Robert De Niro, a supposed psychic whose “powers” definitely seem … unusual. The supporting cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Joely Richardson, Toby Jones and Elizabeth Olsen. The early word: Expect plenty of heart-stopping chills.

“Ted” — “Family Guy” and “American Dad!” creator Seth MacFarlane takes his off-color act to the big screen, with Mark Wahlberg starring as a misfit guy who can’t leave his childhood behind, because the teddy bear he wished to life (voiced by MacFarlane) has become a vulgar, trash-talking nightmare. Can girlfriend Mila Kunis come between them?

July 20

“The Dark Knight Rises” — Director Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy, moving eight years into the future, with the dark knight (Christian Bale) having “retired” after taking the fall for Two Face’s crimes in the previous film. But when a new terrorist, Bane (Tom Hardy), blows into Gotham City, Batman — and new companion Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) — have no choice but to suit up and meet the challenge.

July 25

“Ruby Sparks” — “Little Miss Sunshine” co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris re-unite for this romantic fantasy, which concerns a novelist (Paul Dano) who, struggling with writer’s block, throws his hopes and dreams into a female character created on his keyboard. Imagine his surprise when this idealized young woman (Zoe Kazan, also scripted) actually comes to life!

July 27

“Killer Joe” — Director William Friedkin couldn’t escape an NC-17 rating for this “totally twisted, deep-fried Texas redneck, trailer-park murder story,” which stars Matthew McConaughey as a deranged hit man hired by Emile Hirsch to kill his evil mother for her life insurance money. Rumored to be more twisted than David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” … and I believe it.

“Little White Lies” — French filmmaker Guillaume Canet’s smash romantic comedy finally reaches our shores, with Oscar winners Marion Cotillard and Jean Dujardin toplining this saga of close friends who take an annual vacation — despite being forced to leave one of their number in the hospital — and find that grief and secrets further threaten the already compromised group dynamic.

“The Watch” — Suburban dads Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade, looking to spice up their humdrum family routine, become would-be vigilantes by forming a neighborhood watch group … and then find themselves defending Earth from an alien invasion. (Following the controversial real-world incident in Florida, this film shed its original title, “Neighborhood Watch.”)

Aug. 3

“The Bourne Legacy” — No, they’re not trying to replace Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne; hard-charging Jeremy Renner stars as CIA operative Aaron Cross, in a thriller “suggested by” Robert Ludlum’s popular novels. Director Tony Gilroy certainly knows the espionage territory, having previously brought us “Michael Clayton” and “Duplicity.” Can he keep this franchise going?

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” — This series, on the other hand, shows no signs of slowing. Zachary Gordon returns as eternally put-upon Greg Heffley, the kid who gets no respect in this third film drawn from Jeff Kinney’s delightful books. This time out, Greg and his friends are out of school for the summer … and looking for something to do.

“Total Recall” — Arnold Schwarzenegger’s presence notwithstanding, the original 1990 adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” was a mess: all style, no substance. Ergo, director Len Wiseman (“Live Free or Die Hard” and two “Underworld” entries) and star Colin Farrell can hardly do worse, in this futuristic saga of a factory worker who suspects that his virtual reality “vacation” may be all too real.

Aug. 10

“The Campaign” — Veteran politician Will Ferrell, angling to represent his small North Carolina congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, commits a very public gaffe with the election pending, leading two wealthy CEOs to front puppet candidate Zach Galifianakis as a challenger. Supporting players include Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow and Dylan McDermott.

“Hope Springs” — Thirty years-married Kay and Arnold Soames (Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones), hoping to work on their relationship, attend a weeklong counseling session led by Steve Carell’s Dr. Bernie Feld. Needless to say, they get far more than they bargained for.

Aug. 15

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” — Novelist-turned-filmmaker Peter Hedges (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Pieces of April” and “Dan in Real Life”) uncorks another bent comedy with this tale of a childless couple (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton) who bury a box in their back yard, after filling it with all their wishes for an infant. Cue the arrival of young Timothy (Cameron “CJ” Adams), who’s not at all what he seems.

Aug. 17

“The Expendables 2” — Who’d have thought that aging action heroes could make so much money? Sylvester Stallone’s gang re-unites for another testosterone-fueled battle royale that features even more famous fighters: Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, in addition to returning anti-heroes Jet Li, Jason Statham, Terry Crewes, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Can the movies survive?

“ParaNorman” — Animator Chris Butler, a veteran of “Corpse Bride” and “Coraline,” turns director and joins co-director Sam Fell (“Flushed Away,” “The Tale of Despereaux”) for this warped tale of a misunderstood boy who — using his ability to speak with the dead — takes on ghosts, zombies and nasty grown-ups in order to save his town from a centuries-old curse.

“Sparkle” — Whitney Houston’s final acting job comes in this period musical, set in the 1960s, as three sisters form a girl group and soon become Motown sensations. Alas, fame has a price that threatens to tear apart their close-knit family ties. Jordin Sparks plays the title role, as Sparkle Williams.

Aug. 24

“Premium Rush” — Veteran Hollywood screenwriter David Koepp (“Jurassic Park,” “Panic Room”) also takes the director’s chair for this thriller, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a Manhattan bike messenger who picks up an envelope that attracts the attention of dirty cop Michael Shannon. The result? A hell-for-leather chase throughout the entire city.

“Robot and Frank” — Director Jake Schreier’s crowd-pleasing Sundance winner, set in the near future, stars Frank Langella as an elderly former cat burglar who develops a most unusual bond with his new caretaker robot. After all, this new companion would make the perfect partner-in-crime!

— Read more of Derrick Bang’s film criticism at http://derrickbang.blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www.davisenterprise.com