He's Just Not That Into You, Battle in Seattle, Sex Drive, The Unborn

Sitcom-level material bolstered by a likable cast, Ken Kwapis´ He´s Just Not That Into you is surprisingly watchable and refreshingly inoffensive compared to like-minded recent films The Women and Sex and the City: The Movie. Still, it´s no great shakes, and a 129-minute runtime asks a lot of the audience; this isn´t exactly an Altman-like ensemble. Filler material showcasing ‘real´ people in faux-documentary scenes should have been the first thing to go. The title sums up He´s Just Not That Into You as a variety of female characters struggle to understand why their male counterparts don´t want to be with them. Which is something male viewers should be able to relate to: who would want to marry Jennifer Aniston, or remain faithful to Jennifer Connelly, or have a fling with Scarlett Johansson, or go out with Ginnifer Goodwin? Beth (Aniston) has been together with beau Neil (Ben Affleck) for years, but he´s never popped the question; he just doesn´t believe in marriage, and when push comes to shove it forces a split. Beth´s colleague Gigi (Goodwin) can´t seem to get a guy to go out with her on a second date, despite a little stalking, but she gets some advice on men from friendly bartender Alex (Justin Long); of course, she starts to develop feelings for Alex along the way. Beth and Gigi´s other colleague, Janine (Connelly), is successfully married to Ben (Bradley Cooper). Ben however, has his doubts, and half-starts something with pretty young yoga instructor Anna (Johansson); he also might be smoking, which is even worse. Meanwhile, Anna´s graphic friend Mary (Drew Barrymore) can´t seem to find a man in this age of MySpace and instant messaging until she sets her sights on realtor client and Anna´s lover/friend Conor (Kevin Connolly). It´s all TV-level situation comedy, but at least it´s a decent sitcom, on the level of an episode of Friends: light and painless and pleasing to the eyes (Aniston, and particularly, Johansson, have never looked better). Goodwin is extraordinarily likable here, overcoming her flighty and obsessive character and creating someone we actually care about; this should be a breakout role for the young star. He´s Just Not That Into You is pleasant enough to merit a recommendation for rom-com fans, and at the very least, doesn´t travel the same tired road of your standard fare. Still, Kwapis´ film is visually dull, the pacing is off, and there´s nothing new here: despite an impressive cast, other audiences would be best advised to stay away.

A dramatic re-enactment of the riots that erupted in the wake of the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle, actor-turned-writer-director Stuart Townsend´s Battle in Seattle is a surprisingly effective little piece of propaganda. André Benjamin´s protestor Django declares at the end “a few days ago people didn´t know what the WTO is, and nowwell, they probably still don´t know what it is, but they know it´s bad.” I got the same gist from the movie, which doesn´t successfully explore the situation but serves as an effective rallying cry that something is wrong.

Battle in Seattle follows the events from a variety of angles. Seattle mayor Jim Tobin (Ray Liotta) initially wants to keep the peace, allowing protestors and a labor march and ordering police not to make any arrests but to contain the crowds as best as they can. Activist leader Jay (Martin Henderson) organizes the events, which have front-line protestors like Lou (Michelle Rodriguez) cementing their arms together to prevent delegates from entering the meeting, charismatic Django speaking to the press, and some distaff members disrupting the ‘peaceful´ protest by chucking rocks through storefront windows. Cop Dale (Woody Harrelson) watches the events unfold while his pregnant wife Ella (Charlize Theron) is an innocent bystander caught up in the riots. Reporter Jean (Connie Nielson) eventually gets caught in the protests herself.

18-year old Ian (Josh Zuckerman) has a crush on best friend Felicia (Amanda Crew), who in turn has a crush on their mutual friend, unlikely ladies´ man Lance (Clark Duke). Ian has also never had a girlfriend, despite Lance´s best efforts, but he´s been making some progress on IM with a certain misstasty, who thinks he´s a football stud. When Ian´s family leaves town for the weekend, Lance urges him to steal brother Rex´s (James Marsden) car and make the titular drive from Wisconsin to Knoxville to meet his internet girl. Felicia, of course, tags along for the ride.

I appreciated The Unborn for a very short while, as Goyer wastes no time jumping right into things: the very first scene has Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) haunted by a small child, then a dog with an upside-down head, and then – ah, it´s all a dream. You might expect the usual exposition at the beginning, who this girl is, who her friends Romy (Meagan Good) and Mark (Cam Gigandet) are, but the film is all ghosts and jump scares for a good half hour with almost no context to put them in. Then we get the ridiculous holocaust backstory, an unfortunately laughable mire from which the film never returns, delivered by Jane Alexander, no less. I did love the scene where Casey asks a rabbi (Gary Oldman) for an exorcism. Reminds me of a joke I once heard. I was a little less amused when the exorcism was actually performed.