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Up *****
As ambitious and strange as its title is simple, Up tells the story of Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), a curmudgeonly widower who decides to tie thousands of helium-filled balloons to his house and float away to South America — the place where, for many decades, he had hoped to travel with his late wife. The plan works but for the emergence of young Russell (Jordan Nagai), an 8-year-old boy who happens to be on the front porch when Carl’s house goes lurching into the sky. Placing a depressed septuagenarian at the center of a children’s film is its own kind of eccentricity, though we’ve come to expect nothing less from the extraordinary Pixar Animation Studios. The real surprise of Up is the boldness of the storytelling and the unexpected depth of the emotions. A miscarriage, a terminal illness, a young boy’s inability to connect with his father — they are all touched upon here with a grace and delicacy that pays the audience a tremendous compliment. This is a children’s film that refuses to condescend to anyone. Christopher KellyThe Ugly Truth is a romantic comedy that pits a control-freak morning news show producer (Katherine Heigl) against a chauvinist commentator just hired by her station (Gerard Butler). The lead actors are appealing, but they can’t overcome a predictable, unconvincing screenplay. ** Christopher KellySpread has a terrific premise: A nihilistic smoothie seduces older women and then holes up in their luxury Los Angeles homes, living off their wealth in exchange for sex and attention. But star Ashton Kutcher is too lighthearted a presence to bring such a dark and intriguing character to life. ** Christopher Kelly
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