"EXPELLED -- NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED"

 

There was a time when documentaries were considered BORING. Usually they were news specials that pre-empted TV shows, or were films shown in history or science classes that put students to sleep. Now, thanks to Michael Moore and Al Gore, the documentary has become an art form, and a forum for various political and social issues.

 

The latest person to enter this mode of moviemaking is the sometimes droll, sleepy-eyed TV and movie personality Ben Stein in "Expelled -- No Intelligence Allowed." Stein, who gained fame as the Economics Teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and later as the monotoned Mr. Cantwell in "The Wonder Years" TV series, tackles the issue of evolution versus intelligent design as the explanation for life on the planet. He does not, however, focus on which is more valid. Instead, his motivation for this film is his concern that people in the scientific and academic field who take a stand that intelligent design -- called by its detractors as a euphemism for creationism -- might have validity are being repressed by what he says is a deeply entrenched coalition of evolutionists.

 

Upon hearing that a respected scientist who expressed support for intelligent design had been eased out of his job, Stein admits being skeptical. His investigations, though, lead him to a handful of other people, teachers and scientists, and even a journalist, who have lost their jobs or put their careers in jeopardy for suggesting intelligent design has merit.

 

Concerned about an effort to silence those who offer differing views, Stein travels the world (including a stop at nearby Biola University) to talk with respected people who embrace either evolution or intelligent design.

Using clips, sometimes for humorous effect, of old movies, TV shows and educational films as segues, he interviews several people, trying to get insight on both sides of the issue.

 

Stein, in press interviews, has put himself firmly on the side of intelligent design, stating he believes the evolution theory is shaky, thus has set himself up in blogs to be accused of being a religious fanatic bent on getting creationism (read: religion) back into the classroom.

 

That's not a fair assessment, although Stein does not help himself with recurring images in "Expelled" of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of the alleged suppression of debate on intelligent design -- a rather harsh comparison.

 

Also, it is inevitable any tough look at evolution is going to lead observations on how Hitler's perverse twisting of Darwin's theory was used to justify the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Stein also ties in evolution theory with eugenics, a scary school of thought wherein the human species is "perfected" by weeding out the defective people and preventing the poor from breeding.

 

Whether a person believes in evolution or intelligent design, or is ambivalent on the issue, "Expelled" can be fascinating viewing as several people with opposite views are given a chance to speak. Those who see intelligent design as possible, despite being dismissed by at least one scientist as IDiots, profess not be particularly religious.

 

They even admit that indeed life has evolved, as it must to survive in a brutal world. They just cannot dismiss the notion that upon viewing how life has progressed, there has to be some sort of plan, not just happenstance, to explain it.

 

Those who support evolution insist they are not suppressing debate on intelligent design, but have dismissed it because no evidence of its existence has been presented.

 

Stein directs his most pointed questioning toward Richard Dawkins, an atheist and evolution believer and author of "The God Delusion." Stein pins Dawkins down with the query of: OK, life began with some simple organism and evolved. But what sparked that organism to come to life in the first place? Dawkins can only offer theories, even suggesting that some alien society came to Earth and planted that life. Disappointingly, Stein does not challenge Dawkins further by asking: How did that alien life come to exist?

 

Stein concludes "Expelled" with his assertion that intelligent design support is being quashed and the real issue here is denial of expression of free thought and the right to open debate. He presents himself as a man on a mission to bring to light what he sees as a massive effort to demean and stop intelligent design proponents, which he argues, is an affront to the foundations of what makes the United States great.

Viewers can agree with him or dismiss him as an alarmist, but either way, he should be commended for putting himself up for praise and criticism.

 

"THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM"

 

Movies based on old myths usually offer no real surprises. They are basically good versus evil and the viewer can count on the heroes ultimately prevailing. What distinguishes these films from one another are the characters and the challenges they face.

 

"The Forbidden Kingdom" offers a familiar element of a person in modern times being propelled to some ancient and faraway land and thrust into situations way beyond that person's comfort zone.

 

In "Forbidden," the reluctant hero is Jason Tripikitas (Michael Angarano), a teen living in South Boston who seemingly has few friends and spends a lot of time hanging out at a pawn shop owned by an ancient Chinese man named Old Hop. Jason is a fan of martial arts movies, and Old Hop has a steady supply of such films on DVD. Also in the store is a golden staff that Old Hop says has been in the shop for three generations, waiting for its rightful owner to come and claim it.

 

Jason also is bullied by the local tough guy and his toadies and forced to participate in a robbery of the pawn shop. In the ensuing violence, the golden staff winds up in Jason's hands and he them literally falls into another world and time.

 

He lands in a village that immediately is raided by horseback-riding warriors. Jason is almost captured but along comes a wine-guzzling, shoulder-hair-length drunk (Jackie Chan), who dispatches the bad guys and rescues the teen. Chan is Lu Yan, who later over tea enlightens Jason on the story of the staff. It is said to belong to the Monkey King, who butted heads with the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou), and in a battle with the lord was encased in stone, but not before he was able to fling the staff away. So the story now is that dark times prevail over this land until the staff is returned to the Monkey King, freeing him from the stone and giving him a chance to topple the Jade Warlord.

 

Thus it is Jason's destiny to get to the encased Monkey King (as usual in a faraway place that is not easy to get to) and return to him the staff.

 

Soon Jason and Lu Yan are encountering a seemingly endless stream of warriors but manage to escape, thanks in part to Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), a young woman bent on avenging the death of her parents at the hands of the Jade Warlord.

 

Lu Yan is not interested in accompanying Jason on his journey, as he fears he will run out of wine -- it turns out Lu Yan is an immortal but needs the vino to sustain him. Nevertheless, he agrees to stay on and teach kung fu to Jason -- and despite his apprehension about his wine supply, never seems to run out.

 

After a lull, the movie picks up the pace when the Silent Monk (Jet Li) pops up and steals the staff from Jason. This leads to the best segment of the adventure when the monk squares off with Lu Yan. It's Jet Li versus Jackie Chan, in their first film collaboration ever, and the extended scene of these two launching an all-out martial arts

assault on one another is worth the price of admission.

 

Eventually, the monk allies with the trio and off they go to find the incapacitated Monkey King. Chan and Li are in their element, with Chan offering his charming silliness against Li's stoic, let's get down to business approach in life. Together they transform Jason from a wimp to a lean, mean fighting machine. Their instruction gets interrupted when they find they are being pursued by a bounty hunter, Ni Chang (Li Bing Bing), a white-haired woman who uses her mane and a whip as effective weapons.

 

Once everything is resolved in the kingdom, Jason is returned to Boston, where you know he will use his newly learned skills to redeem himself back home. Also, he finds links to the past and the kingdom he helped liberate.

 

Angarano, who at age 20 already has a long list of TV and movie appearances, including a recurring role as Scott Wallace in "24," handles himself well in a role that is more physically challenging than emotional. He really takes a pounding but grows in strength and determination.

 

"The Forbidden Kingdom" is a satisfying warm-up to the action-packed summer blockbuster season.

 

"STREET KINGS"

 

Jack Webb has to be spinning in his grave.

 

Webb, who died in 1982, was the driving force behind the radio and TV series "Dragnet" along with "Adam-12," both of which put the Los Angeles Police Department in a positive light. Since then, James Ellroy's books, "L.A. Confidential" and "The Black Dahlia," have been made into movies, and they are not exactly recruiting films for the LAPD. Ellroy is at it again, having co-written the screenplay, along with Kurt Wimmer, to "Street Kings."

 

Interestingly, Ellroy professes to be an admirer of the LAPD and is said to have friends within the department. One of his early inspirations was Webb's book, "The Badge," which detailed sensational cases at LAPD.

It has to be intriguing to speculate what kind of conversations he has with his police buddies in explaining why his works are not very flattering toward the LAPD. To his credit, "L.A. Confidential," "The Black Dahlia" and "Street Kings" do have strong, if flawed, heroes.

 

"Street Kings" really is a rehashing of cop dramas that preceded it. The film has elements of "L.A. Confidential," "The Black Dahlia," "Training Day" and even the Dirty Harry series in it.

 

The hero is Det. Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves, who previously portrayed L.A. cop Jack Traven battling wits with an embittered ex-cop in "Speed"). Right away we know this guy is messed up. He sleeps in his clothes, with his gun. He gets up, staggers to the bathroom and throws up. Then he goes to work.

 

Several hours later he has single-handedly wrapped up a high-profile case involving a set of missing twins, having dispensed justice in a way that saves taxpayer money on potential trials and setting it up so it looks like the shootings are justified.

 

Unfortunately, Ludlow has skeletons in his closet and he learns that his former partner, Terrence Washington (Terry Crews), with whom he has had a falling out, is chummying up to the guys in Internal Affairs. Despite stern warnings from his superior, Capt. Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) to stay away from Washington, Ludlow cannot resist forcing a confrontation with his ex-partner. This results literally in a bloody and deadly mess and even bigger problems for Ludlow.

 

Confined to a desk job, Ludlow begins an unofficial investigation of his own, even drawing in the legitimate investigating officer, Det. Paul Diskant (Ricky Nelson look-alike Chris Evans).

 

Naturally, things are more complex than they seem, and to his dismay, Ludlow is being dogged by Capt. James Biggs (Hugh Laurie of "House M.D." who also has written a mystery novel, "The Gun Seller"), one of those despised Internal Affairs characters.

 

Before long, Ludlow and Diskant find themselves in way too deep, battling forces seemingly too strong to overcome.

 

Ludlow really is a compilation of other fictional cops seen on television and movies. He's likely alcoholic (that's always a favorite in cop portrayals), prefers to shoot first then ask questions, like "Dirty" Harry Callahan, uses aggressive interrogation tactics like Andy Sipowicz of "NYPD Blue," is a widower (again, Callahan), and shocks a younger, greener cop with his questionable methods, like Denzel Washington's Alonzo in "Training Day."

 

Despite covering familiar ground, "Street Kings" is engrossing. Reeves does what he is best at here -- the laconic police officer who is much like his earlier Traven character, except unlike Jack, who buys muffins before going to work, Tom buys airline-sized bottles of vodka. Whitaker is as usual very competent in his role as a man who appears to be a beacon of efficient and honorable leadership.

 

Jay Mohr, the comedian, gets a chance to ham it up as one of Ludlow's colleagues, the designated wise-cracker.

 

Ellroy's close association with police does help in providing gritty, realistic views of cops. He captures the camaraderie, that unfortunately can disintegrate when other forces, like power and money, come into the picture.

 

 

"LEATHERHEADS"

 

George Clooney is one of those talented actors who can slide easily between serious drama ("Michael Clayton") and lighter projects like his latest movie "Leatherheads."

 

Serving as director of "Leatherheads," Clooney probably devoted more energy behind the camera rather than in front, where he was able to use his natural charm and good looks to get away with a likable if thin performance.

 

His work as "Dodge" Connelly, an aging pro football player in the 1920s, is hardly a stretch. But given the challenges he faced in "Michael Clayton" and particularly in his Academy Award-winning performance in "Syriana," we should let him lighten up a bit. In "Leatherheads," one could subtitle it as: "If Danny Ocean played football rather than plotted elaborate theft schemes."

 

Dodge is a star for the Duluth Bulldogs in 1925, a time when pro football was nowhere near the massive enterprise it is today. Played before sparse crowds, it had little oversight on or off the field. It was gridiron chaos, with an -- anything goes -- sentiment that unfortunately did not add up to box-office success. With franchises mired in financial distress, teams disbanded, creating schedule instability as games were cancelled.

 

To Dodge's distress, the Bulldogs also are disbanded, leaving Dodge and his teammates no choice but to go back to laborers -- jobs in the ields and mines.

 

But while the pro version of football is floundering, the college scene is a hit, thanks largely to Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski of "The Office"), a handsome man who is revolutionizing the game at Princeton. Also he is a World War I hero.

 

Dodge comes up with the idea of luring Rutherford into the pro game, the precursor to the NFL draft today, which is a major event. Rutherford agrees to go pro, although he has a tag-along "manager" in CC Frazier (Jonathan Pryce), perhaps the first greedy sports agent.

 

The Duluth Bulldogs are brought back together and with Rutherford on the squad, the team starts tearing up its foes.

 

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune gets word from a war colleague of Rutherford that his supposed heroism is a fraud. The editor sends reporter Lexie Littleton (Ren?©e Zellweger) to cozy up to Carter and maybe get him to confess the truth. Naturally, while trying to charm Rutherford, Lexie butts heads with Dodge in the usual setup wherein they cannot admit falling for each other. This is where "Leatherheads"  the sports movie also tries to become the romantic comedy. That was a mistake.

 

 "Leatherheads" was co-written by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, the latter who has put together an impressive career as a writer at Sports Illustrated and author of sports biographies. Both Brantley and Reilly know football, but not romantic comedy. Trying to light up the screen with brilliant love-hate repartee a la Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Brantley and Reilly land with a thud. A lot of the lines between Dodge and Lexie, meant to prompt chuckles, did not get such a response from the audience.

 

Casting may have been a problem. Zellweger is a fun actress to watch, but she lacks the spark that would have made Lexie more compelling. Her lines come off as if she is thinking: This is what I should say to be witty and spunky, not what I really want to say.

 

A pivotal scene occurs when Dodge runs into Lexie in a speakeasy, and they slow dance to a marvelous rendition of "The Man I Love" sung by Ledisi Young as their defenses break down and they start to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Then it all splinters into a screwball comedy flee-from-the-police sequence that seems out of place.

 

"Leatherheads" is movie-lite, a nice little diversion with attractive people who unfortunately are not very engrossing. Krasinski comes off OK as the humble Rutherford, a nice guy who knows he is talented but seems bewildered by all the adoration heaped upon him.

 

Clooney is smart enough to know what he needs to do on screen -- he also is capable of saying so much just with a silent look. The final scene in "Michael Clayton" that simply focuses on his face is a masterful example of a giant talent able to convey many emotions mutely. To some extent he uses this skill in "Leatherheads" to simply charm everyone into submission.