Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here.

I've been trying to meet a deadline all week, and it ended up consuming every waking hour for about six days in a row, so I honestly lost track of what was opening this weekend until I got this from Capone in the inbox. Now that I've turned in, I think I'm going to try to spend all day Saturday and Sunday catching up on some of the new releases I haven't seen like THE RUINS or THE BANK JOB or THE VISITOR or... well... these three...

Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here.

SMART PEOPLE

Clearly hoping to siphon off some of Ellen Page's newfound JUNO fame, first-time director Noam Murro's long-on-the-shelf dark comedy is actually a smart and sharp examination of a deeply wounded family left adrift after the death of its matriarch. Literature professor Lawrence Wetherhold (a scruffily bearded Dennis Quaid) is the classic self-obsessed teacher who is constantly frustrated with life because no other human being sees his genius as clearly as he does. His miserable parenting skills (made all the more awful by the death of his much-beloved wife years earlier) have resulted in a son (Ashton Holmes of THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE), who won't even talk to him or treat him with any respect, and a driven-to-perfection, young-Republican daughter (Page), who strives for perfect SAT scores at the expense of any meaningful friendships. When Lawrence passes out, his doctor (and former student, played by Sarah Jessica Parker) refuses to let him drive his car until he returns months later for follow-up tests. Coincidentally, Lawrence's half-brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) shows up looking for free lodging and a little extra cash. It just so happens that Lawrence now needs a driver, and Chuck is up for the job.

Once the premise is established, SMART PEOPLE effectively eliminates plot in favor of character study, and the remainder of the film is a series of encounters (nicely penned by writer Mark Jude Poirier) between characters, all of which add up to a subtle shift in the family's dynamics and attitudes about what constitutes importance in today's world. Haden Church is especially good as the monk-like, borderline homeless brother/uncle who dispenses terrible advice to his kin that somehow makes things better. Without really wanting or trying to, Chuck finds the keys to loosen up his brother and niece from their tight-assed bonds. Meanwhile, the very down-to-earth doctor and Lawrence begin dating, but when the professor begins to experience some level of success with his newly completed book, a fun vacation to New York City with his new lover turns into a work-intensive bore. Perhaps the most difficult relationship to watch transform is that between Lawrence and his kids, both of whom resent him in completely different ways. I don't think anyone is going to burst out crying while watching the family's tribulations, but that doesn't mean they aren't moving.

This top-notch group of talented actors takes what could have been a standard quirky drama and turns it into something more, something much better. Parker isn't so lucky, mainly because her character isn't given nearly as much to do, and I think there's a presumption that she's the normal one of the bunch and she doesn't need changing; I respectfully disagree. Still SMART PEOPLE made me laugh and cringe with recognition, and that's pretty great.

STREET KINGS

It's too bad that the FX television drama "The Shield" is ending its mind-blowing run after its upcoming (already shot) season ends this fall because writer-director David Ayer seems perfectly suited to have scripted or helmed an episode or two of that show. With scripts like TRAINING DAY, DARK BLUE and his directorial debut, HARSH TIMES (the grossly underrated Christian Bale-Freddie Rodriguez work from 2005), Ayer has proven that he has a talent for presenting compromised cops, some of whom still have a shot at redemption. Now, Ayer didn't write his latest work as a director, STREET KINGS--the screenplay is credited to crime novelist James Ellroy (THE BLACK DAHLIA; L.A. CONFIDENTIAL), Kurt Wimmer (THE RECRUIT; THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR remake) and newcomer Jamie Moss--but that doesn't stop the movie from being a fairly solid, if slightly crowded, affair that starts at full speed and rarely lets off the gas.

At the center of the complex work is Keanu Reeves as Tom Ludlow, a member of a team of renegade officers not unlike those on "The Shield" (other members include Jay Mohr and John Corbett). Since the team gets results, the department tends to look the other way, especially since the group's captain (Forest Whitaker, totally fun to watch here as he chews up scenery like it was make of gummy) has a great deal of pull with the bosses. After Ludlow uses highly unorthodox methods to single handedly wipe out a group of child flesh traders, he comes under the microscope of internal affairs (represented by a stellar Hugh Laurie) and his former partner (Terry Crews), who has a reputation for turning in dirty cops. Reeves isn't bad here, but after seeing Christian Bale play a similar role in HARSH TIMES, my mind kept wanting to insert him into the part.

In what is absolutely an overly complicated plot involving dirty cops, an officer's brutal murder, more dirty cops and Ludlow possibly taking the fall for something he didn't do, the film tracks Ludlow as he is forced to go against his own learned behavior and uncover the mystery of who might be setting him up for a fall. As someone who has seen enough films to know to suspect the least likely person, I knew almost from the first frame of this movie who Ludlow's enemies were, but that only partly took away from my enjoyment of STREET KINGS. Ludlow forms an uneasy alliance with the detective (Chris Evans) investigating the crime he's suspected of committing. Despite his attachment to the FANTASTIC FOUR movies, Evans continues to impress me as an actor in a mixed bag of films like last year's SUNSHINE, FIERCE PEOPLE, and LONDON. The films aren't always particularly strong (such as THE NANNY DIARIES), but he's always been good in them. I was also impressed with rap artist Common, who has a small but terrifying role here. After excelling in strong supporting roles in movies like SMOKIN' ACES and AMERICAN GANGSTER (and apparently in a fairly large role in the upcoming WANTED), this guy has proven himself a solid acting talent with actual range. As far as I'm concerned, he's just about due a meaty starring role.

As you may have noticed from all the name-dropping up above, this film is loaded with name actors (I didn't even mention Cedric the Entertainer or Naomie Harris or The Game or a cameo by former L.A. chief of police Daryl Gates), and the film does feel a little busy more often than not. But most everyone pulls their weight and gives performances that lift this flawed work above the level of most films about dirty cops and the lives they lead and often need to get out of. Reeves is a stable center around which insanity revolves and threatens to envelop him. I love that he plays a hero, whose behavior and attitudes are deplorable 99 percent of the time. The script tries to soften his dark edges by saddling him with an unnecessary dead-wife backstory, but it isn't necessary or effective. While far from a raging success, STREET KINGS has enough going for it to recommend it if you're feeling an aggressive need to vent your frustrations at the world in a movie theater. The acting and flawed but often-compelling script ultimately carry the day.

CHAOS THEORY

I can never explain exactly why, but I am entertained by Ryan Reynolds. I guess I should stop trying to understand the reasons and just go with it. His last film DEFINITELY, MAYBE was a surprisingly strong romantic dramedy that almost everyone I know who saw it liked. The simple fact is the guy has made me laugh a lot over the years even in the truly shit he's been in, which probably explains why I didn't think his latest, CHAOS THEORY, was all that strong, but I thought he was pretty good in it. Is this what a man-crush feels like?

This disjointed little movie follows the romantic misadventures of Frank Allen (Reynolds), a personal efficiency expert and celebrated author who believes that scheduling every minute of your day is the only way to lead a productive life. He even schedules his downtime. Somehow this hopeless stiff manages to find a lovely wife (Emily Mortimer), spawn a cute daughter (Matreya Fedor), and lead a fairly successful life running seminars based on his theories on time and scheduling. One night while he's out of town teaching, he has a moment of unscheduled weakness and almost has an affair. Attempting to flee from one woman, he nearly runs into (literally) another in her car. Turns out woman number two is pregnant and on her way to the hospital to deliver, and Frank being a good guy decides to make sure she gets there safe and sound. This series of events somehow leads Frank's wife to believe her husband is leading a double life and has two families. To prove her wrong, Frank gets a paternity test and discovers that he has been sterile since birth, which means his daughter isn't his. I guess the betrayal shoe is on the other foot.

Often bordering on the absurd, CHAOS THEORY seems like it was made up as it went along. Characters and conflicts drop in and out seemingly with no rhyme or reason. For example, Frank's best friend (Stuart Townsend) only seems to show up when he's needed to keep the plot going. Sometimes Frank seems to want to lead the life of a free spirit and jettison his faithful index cards; other times he seems to rely on them, even when he's supposedly acting on a whim. Reynolds has a few great moments, but the film changes tone so schizophrenically from comedy to family drama and back again that it made my head hurt. Even the themes of leading a regimented life versus being a free spirit aren't really brought to any kind of resolution. Many times in CHAOS THEORY, Reynolds writes down three ideas on separate note cards, shuffles them and selects one as his next course of action. I feel like that's how this screenplay was written. It's not a wholly unpleasant experience, but it is sloppy and makes it tough to really dive into this film. Reynolds is fun, as always, but the rest of the story kind of falls dead around him.

Capone