Up ****

A delightful, touching, and at times thrilling ride, "Up" tells the story of the improbable South American adventure of an irascible old retiree, Karl Frederickson (voiced by Ed Asner), and his stow-away sidekick, Russell (Jordan Nagai) who was hiding under Karl's porch when the house was lifted by thousands of balloons. Karl is fulfilling an old dream, expertly told without a word of dialogue, which is something of a Pixar specialty. (Remember the long pantomime sequences in "WALL-E"?) Young Russell wants to complete his Wilderness Scout badge for helping the elderly. So between them we have a cross-generational interchange that ultimately brings both what they really wanted. The movie is available in 3D, one of a host this year, which truly adds to the experience, especially in some daring moves in flying machines in the clouds.

Rated PG. 96 minutes. Pete Docter - Director / Writer (screenplay) (story), Bob Peterson - Co-Director / Writer (screenplay) (story), Thomas McCarthy - Writer (story), Jonas Rivera - Producer, Michael Giacchino - Composer, Ricky Nierva - Production Designer. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.

Principal voices: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Delroy Lindo, and Jordan Nagai.

Every Little Step *****

A remarkable and moving documentary, "Every Little Step" recounts the original construction of "A Chorus Line" by Michael Bennett as it shows us the casting of the revival of the Broadway smash, which is, of course, about the casting of a Broadway chorus line. Bob Avian, co-choreographer of the original, leads a team working through thousands of dancers, and ever-smaller call-backs. Thanks to unprecedented access to Equity actors in the auditioning process, we see, for real, what goes on in the casting of a show. Michael Bennett appears in archival footage explaining the show's origins. Composer Marvin Hamlisch explains how the songs and the show evolved in the "workshop" process that Bennett invented.

This movie has everything we love about backstage stories. We see the real stories of the dancers vying for the roles based on other real dancers. We see an audition that brings the veteran producers to tears. We see performances that bring joy and delight, and some that are just not up to Broadway standards. At the end we've seen much of the show, and realize with something of a start how many great songs were absorbed into the culture in the fifteen-year run of "A Chorus Line." Any fan of song and stage will absolutely love it.

Rated PG-13. 96 minutes. Adam Del Deo - Director / Producer, James D. Stern - Director / Producer, Jane Antonia Cornish - Composer, Marvin Hamlisch - Composer, Brad Fuller - Editor, Fernando Villena.  Produced by Endgame Entertainment.  Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Principal subjects (as themselves): Bob Avian, Michael Bennett, Charlotte d'Amboise, Ramon Flowers, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Marvin Hamlisch, Megan Larche, and Donna McKechnie.

Star Trek *****

"Star Trek" is everything you could ask for: a muscular, effects-laden reboot of the franchise that is totally accessible to non-trekkies. Add availability in IMAX and you've got a sure winner. (It's too bad "Night at the Museum 2" knocked it off the big screen after just two weeks, but I'm sure it will be back for those of us no longer up to midnight shows.)

This origin story pulls the familiar crew of the starship Enterprise together with some cadet rivalry and romance along with a time-jumping story line. Chris Pine as Kirk brings just the emotional, intuitive, rule-breaking quality that was so attractive in "Bottle Shock," while Zachary Quinto distills the role of Spock the half-human, half emotionless Vulcan to a clear essence. Producer/director J.J. Abrams has done an outstanding job pulling the pieces together, and whetting our appetites for the sequels sure to come.

Rated PG-13. 127 minutes. J.J. Abrams - Director / Producer, Roberto Orci - Writer, Alex Kurtzman - Writer, Gene Roddenberry - Writer (television series "Star Trek"), Damon Lindelof - Producer, Dan Mindel - Cinematographer, Michael Giacchino - Composer, Scott Chambliss - Production Designer, Maryann Brandon - Editor, Mary Jo Markey - Editor. Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Principal actors: John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, and Leonard Nimoy.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine **

Blow-out special effects, a very buff Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, a secret government program, and sibling rivalry (with a fierce Liev Schreiber) populate this origin story. The story is functional, but hardly original. The acting is adequate, but one does wish that Jackman was not cast as the least articulate of the mutants. The movie will be well-received by its target audience of teenage males.

Rated PG-13. 107 minutes. Gavin Hood - Director, David Benioff - Writer (screenplay), Skip Woods - Writer (screenplay), Hugh Jackman - Producer, John Palermo - Producer, Lauren Shuler Donner - Producer, Ralph Winter - Producer, Donald M. McAlpine - Cinematographer, Harry Gregson-Williams - Composer, Barry Robison - Production Designer, Nicolas De Toth - Editor, Megan Gill - Editor. Produced and distibuted by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.

Principal actors: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Will.i.am, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, and Daniel Henney.

Monsters vs Aliens IMAX 3-D ***

"Monsters vs Aliens" is fun for all, not just the kids. A rag-tag collection of top-secret 'fifties provenance monsters sequestered by the government is called into service when conventional arms fail to stop an alien invasion. There's a blob, a mad scientist/cockroach, a giant caterpillar, a man-fish, and an incredible giant woman, voiced by Reese Witherspoon, who's really just an ordinary girl who got struck by the wrong meteor. The exploits of the team, and the growth - no pun intended - of the giant woman into a strong and confident leader makes for an entertaining ride, with plenty of asides and references that will be best appreciated by the grownups in the audience.

And 3D enhances everything. In a continuation of their strategy and of a clear industry trend, Dreamworks' latest animated feature was released in 3D and IMAX 3D. And the public loves it, with 28% of screens in 3D producing 58% of the gross its first weekend. There are 10 more 3D features slated for release this year alone, and I, for one, am delighted. 3D heightens the experience, and when combined with the immersive size of an IMAX screen, it can be truly thrilling. While "Coraline" made good use of 3D and color to differentiate the hidden world and the "real" world, "Monsters" uses it to add depth to hugely-scaled sets and punch to action sequences.

The monsters are engaging and each is funny, and effective, in its own way. This wild bunch clearly could come back to fight another day.

Rated PG. 94 minutes. Rob Letterman - Director / Writer (screenplay) (story), Conrad Vernon - Director / Writer (story), Maya Forbes - Writer (screenplay), Wallace Wolodarsky - Writer (screenplay), Jonathan Aibel - Writer (screenplay), Glenn Berger - Writer (screenplay), Lisa Stewart - Producer, Henry Jackman - Composer, Joyce Arrastia - Editor, Eric Dapkewicz - Editor.

Principal voices: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Colbert, Renée Zellweger, and Rainn Wilson.

I Love You, Man ****

Witty, observant, refreshingly grown-up, but with an appreciation for the kids that lurk in the hearts of men, "I Love You, Man" explores male bonding from the point of view of a neophyte. When Peter Klaven (the always adorable Paul Rudd) realizes he has no obvious candidate for Best Man at his wedding, in fact, no close male friends at all, he embarks on a series on man-dates. His early attempts are hilariously off base, but he does manage to hook up with the colorful and outgoing bohemian investment advisor Sydney Fife (a well-cast Jason Segal).

From here the plot resembles the usual boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl structure, except that it's the bros playing the parts. Through it all Peter's fiancee Zooey (a luminous Rashida Jones) is an island of sanity and understanding. The complications and family involvements play out winningly, and ultimately we all have a warm-hearted smile spreading goofily across our faces.

Rated R, 105 minutes. John Hamburg - Director / Writer (screenplay) / Producer, Larry Levin - Writer (screenplay) (story), Donald De Line - Producer, Lawrence Sher - Cinematographer, Theodore Shapiro - Composer, Andrew Laws - Production Designer, William Kerr - Editor.

Principal actors: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samber, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, and Jaime Pressly.

New Puppy *****

There have been several weeks with no posts.  Readers want to know, where have I been?  We adopted a new golden retriever puppy on March 12, and she totally took over the house and our lives.  Now that she can be left alone for the length of a feature movie, the blog is back.  Here are a few  links to pictures of Lorna's progress from puppy to young dog.

Puppies at 4 weeks:  http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090219ptgrpuppies/Page.html

Puppies at 6 weeks:  http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090304ptgrpuppies/Page.html

We did adopt the one the kids called "Beluga," because she was big and white.  We liked her because she was so curious and independent. We named her Lorna, following the line of names we started with our first golden Judy, who was followed by our second golden Liza.

Lorna at 8 weeks:  http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090313ptgrpuppies/Page.html

Lorna at 9 weeks:  http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090321ptgrpuppies/Page.html

Lorna discovers snow March 27:  http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090327ptgrpuppies/Page.html

Lorna 10 and 11 weeks:  http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090328ptgrpuppies/Page.html

Snow and Sun 13 weeks: http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090419ptgrlornasnow/Page.html

Lorna 14 weeks: http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090425ptgrlorna/Page.html

Lorna 15 weeks: http://home.comcast.net/~ptgrpuppies/20090425ptgrlorna/Page.html