My Super

Ex-Girlfriend

Starring Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson. Rated PG

You gotta see this if: You’re a recent dumpee and ready to take your revenge.

final analysis: ** “My Super Ex-Girlfriend isn’t entirely without merit. If you’re a woman who’s recently been through a bad break-up and are fantasizing about the many ways you’d like to make your ex’s life miserable, then you’re primed to appreciate this movie. Or, if you’re a man who believes that old adage, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” and you’d like to see this theory acted out on screen, this is the flick for you. Otherwise, you’ll probably be better entertained at home with a DVD of “Wonder Woman” episodes. “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” is about a man who dumps his clingy, controlling, mousy-looking girlfriend only to find out that she’s actually sexy superhero G-Girl. G-Girl has super strength, can fly, and possesses the personality of my Siamese cat after falling in a tub of water. I thought the premise sounded like a promising take on how a man might react to being a super woman’s Lois Lane. However, the character of G-Girl is too unlikeable for this premise to work. Instead, the story focuses on acts of vengeance but gives its audience no-one worth rooting for.

Scoop

Starring Scarlett Johannson, Hugh Jackman. Rated PG-13

You gotta see this if: You need further proof that Woody Allen should stay out of his own films.

final analysis: ** Woody Allen seems to have run out of ideas for movie plots. Instead of retiring, however, he’s just recycling his old story ideas and setting them in London instead of New York. “Match Point” was essentially the same idea that propelled “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” And “Scoop” could be called, “Manhattan Murder Mystery” London edition. It stars Scarlett Johannson as, once again, an American in London canoodling with the upper crust. This time she’s a journalist with the potential scoop of a lifetime. She suspects a dashing socialite of murder and tries to flush him out while falling under the spell of his boyish charm at the same time. Allen plays her cynical sidekick, but the lack of chemistry between Allen and Johannson is enervating. They’re awkward together, and Johannson doesn’t have the comedic skills of Diane Keaton. The humor falls flat more often than not. Thankfully, delightful performances by Hugh Jackman and Ian McShane prevent the movie from being a complete dud. It’s just too bad they’re not playing the main characters.

Miami Vice

Starring Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx. Rated R

You gotta see this if: You like your movies strong on style, soft on substance.

final analysis: ** ½ Don’t go to this flick expecting to see a spoof on the ‘80s TV hit ala “Starsky and Hutch.” You won’t find pastels or blazers with rolled sleeves, and that’s a good thing. This “Miami Vice” is deadly serious and in director Michael Mann’s signature style, which is slick, cool, and all about ambiance. He is a master at taking you so deep into the world he’s created that you can smell the pollution in the air. The storyline for this “Miami Vice” is nothing new. Drug lords, guns, prostitution, the usual hoops every silver screen cop gets to jump through. But it’s the aesthetics that make this movie imminently watchable, the neon of Miami at night, the glare of the Carribean, and the grit of the South American ghetto. It all feels like a graphic novel rendered on screen. Colin Farell and Jamie Foxx play the main characters with such serious intensity that they seemed more tightly wound than a spool of thread. A few moments of laughter would have been a welcome release. Instead Mann uses sex to elevate the mood but never lets up on the tension.