DARK PLACES

DARK PLACES (2015). Director/writer: Gilles Paquet-Brenner.

Libby Day (Charlize Theron) was a child when her brother, Ben, murdered his mother and his two other siblings; she was the only survivor. Years later she is contacted by Lyle Wirth (Nicholas Hoult), head of an organization called the Kill Club, one division of which tries to solve crimes. Wirth and his colleagues feel that Ben (Corey Stoll of Ant-Man) might have been innocent. Could it have been their drunk, nasty father, Runner (Sean Bridgers) who did the deed, or some of young Ben's (Tye Sheridan) associates? Based on a novel by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote Gone Girl, this has intriguing aspects to it and a solution that is far-fetched, to say the least. The movie is also a bit slow, and lacks the taut suspense that it needs (except for the climax). Charlize Theron [Prometheus] is okay in the lead, but no more than that, although there is some vivid acting from Chloe Grace Moretz [Carrie] and Andrea Roth, who plays Ben's girlfriend Diondra at different points in her life. Bridgers is quite effective as Runner, and Hoult [Jack the Giant Slayer] is fine as Lyle even though his part is very under-written. Tye Sheridan is very good as young Ben. Few of the characters in this are especially sympathetic or likable.

Verdict: Minor-league suspenser when all is said and done. **1/2.

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Al Pacino

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997). Director: Taylor Hackford.

Coming to realize that his accused pedophile client is guilty, Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) proceeds with his defense [as if he had any other choice] and wins him an acquittal. This brings him to the attention of a certain New York City law firm that is less concerned with ethics than it is with winning. Kevin accepts a large fee to participate in a jury selection, then is offered a position with the firm with lots of perks, including a fabulous Manhattan apartment and a huge salary. But his wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron of Prometheus), is soon feeling neglected as he spends all of his time preparing for a case, and she is having very disturbing hallucinations as well. Even Kevin wonders if there's something -- strange -- about his boss, the charismatic John Milton (Al Pacino of The Son of No One), who figures in one of Mary Ann's more unpleasant nightmares. As more and more disturbing evidence piles up, will Kevin look the other way, or face the consequences of dealing with the devil... ? The Devil's Advocate is an entertaining and well-acted horror film that is perhaps at times too influenced by films that came before, but it has its moments, even if it's ultimately a kind of silly picture. It might have been better or at least just as interesting without the supernatural overtones.

Verdict: Pacino is always fun to watch. **1/2.

PROMETHEUS

Michael Fassbender as David  the robot

PROMETHEUS (2012). Producer/director: Ridley Scott.

In 2093 an exploratory ship called Prometheus carries scientists and others toward a world in which they hope to find life, based on some cave paintings they discovered in Ireland. Unfortunately, the world they land on turns out to be the same one as in Alien -- yes, this is a prequel -- and they discover more than one especially nasty life form. There's friction among the men and women on the ship, as well as a slightly sinister robot named David (Michael Fassbender), and a bitchy gal named Meredith (Charlize Theron) who thinks she's running the show and is full of attitude. With Prometheus Scott is clearly attempting to recreate the success of one of his most famous movies, and although there are stupid and illogical moments [and the ending of this film doesn't quite match up with the beginning of Alien, which it easily could have], some spectacular action sequences and truly horrific tableau smooth over the rough spots. A scary and suspenseful operating room sequence is meant to out-do the chest-burster scene in the original movie, and it comes pretty close to doing so. But for a futuristic movie, the screenplay has its old-fashioned moments. It's great that the captain (Idris Elba) is African-American, but does he have to be a dumb [if ultimately heroic] Black Dude Stereotype who tells two guys left temporarily isolated on the planet not to "bugger each other?" The business with the elderly man [an unrecognizable Guy Pearce] who financed the expedition is obscure and rather nonsensical, like something out of a bad comic book. The performances are good, however, especially Noomi Rapace as Dr. Shaw, Fassbender as David, and big-lipped Logan Marshall-Green as Dr. Holloway and Shaw's lover. Prometheus attempts to answer some of the unanswered questions posed by Alien  -- especially regarding those giant humanoid aliens who were forgotten by the sequels -- but it leaves some lingering questions of its own. Still it's a fun ride.

Verdict: Imperfect but exhilarating for action-horror Alien fans. ***1/2.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS (2004). Director: Stephen Hopkins. Based on the biography by Roger Lewis. An Australian film shown on HBO in the U.S.

This biopic skips over most of Sellers' early life and really begins with him winning the British Academy Award. But a bigger problem is that director Hopkins eschews a sensible narrative style and has Sellers [as played by Geoffrey Rush] speaking directly to the audience, or dressing up and playing his wife at one point and his mother at another. This approach doesn't help the movie and certainly doesn't help us understand Peter Sellers. Emily Watson and Charlize Theron play the wives, Ann and Britt [Ekland]; John  Lithgow is Blake Edwards and Stanley Tucci is Stanley Kubrick. Miriam Margoyles does a nice job as Sellers' loving mother, Peg, as does James Bentley as her grandson, Michael. In its attempt to celebrate a great artist yet condemn him as kind of a prick, the movie succeeds in doing neither. Rush is fine, but the movie quickly becomes tedious. Who needs reproductions of Sellers' movies when we can see the real things for ourselves? And Rush was seen to better advantage in The King's Speech, a far better picture than this. Heck, Green Lantern, in which Rush only contributed a voice, is better than this.

Verdict: All you need to know about Sellers is in his movies. **.