Hit and Run ***

Refreshingly intelligent and funny, "Hit and Run" riffs on the elements of the chase movie and countless romantic comedies to produce an original, enjoyable winner. Dax Shepard ("Idiocracy," TV's "Parenthood"), who also wrote and co-directed, stars as Charlie Bronson, a man in witness protection in a small California town with a new life and a gorgeous and smart new girlfriend Annie (Kristin Bell). "Protected" by his hapless and accident-prone witness protection officer Randy (Tom Arnold), Charlie decides to break cover and return to L.A., the dangerous scene of his former life, in order to get Annie to an all-important job interview with a short and closing window. Needless to say, complications ensue, both scary and hilarious, including a dreadlocked Bradley Cooper, propelled by some of the best dialogue I've heard in a while. This little gem deserves more recognition than it's getting.

The Campaign ***

Not exactly biting satire, "The Campaign" does highlight some of the more depressing features of the America political landscape: safe seats, jingoistic empty-headed Congressmen, issue-free discourse, and limitless big money buying its way into policy. The humor is broad, but the movie is elevated by some notable talent, including Will Ferrell as the long-time incumbent, Zach Galifianakis as the lisping nebbish neophyte anointed by Republican Big Money, and John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd as the super-rich Motch brothers, the embodiment of said RBM. The director is Jay Roach, well-known and successful helmer of other broad comedies, including "Meet the Parents," "Meet the Fockers," and "Austin Powers." Intentionally or not, this movie is a man's world, with women relegated to roles as career-wrecking bimbos or plastic trophies. The outcome of the election is realistic, but the ending of the movie is not, which I hope doubles the point about the corrupting influence of unfettered money.

The Queen of Versailles ***

On the way to making a documentary about the couple who were building the largest single-family home in America, something happened that changed the focus for filmmaker Lauren Greenfield. What happened was the stock market crash and credit crunch of 2008 that put billionaire David Siegel's time-share empire in jeopardy and halted work on his wife Jackie's dream house. The before and after picture of the the Siegels, their eight kids, and numerous employees and nannies present contrasting portraits of The American Dream, and an up-close look at how the system can create great wealth and quickly collapse if its foundation is lies. As Siegel's son from a previous marriage says in the film, "easy money was the drug" that built the Westgate empire, that led them - and their customers - to borrow more and more. When the system collapsed, the banks came after their crown jewels. Meanwhile Jackie, the main subject of the film, is forced to adapt to her new situation. But old habits die hard. It's fascinating, revolting, and often surprising how rootless these lives of the super-rich appear.

ParaNorman 3D ***

Beautifully and creepily rendered, with wonderful advances in facial expression, Laika Entertainment ("Corpse Bride," "Coraline") presents the story of Norman, a lonely youngster who can see dead people, who is called upon to save his New England town from an old curse. I loved the look, the sound, the top-notch voices, the inventive and effective use of 3D in this stop action movie. I'm not sure the final revelation and battle is as good as the rest of the film, but there are some fantastic and memorable sequences. I'm glad I saw it.

The Bourne Legacy ***

They lost me in Manila. "The Bourne Legacy" is an action-packed re-boot of the Bourne franchise, where we learn that Jason Bourne was not the only enhanced operative of a secret government program. Jeremy Renner does a fine job as Aaron Cross, an outstanding example of the program, as we learn in the prologue, when the mysterious agency turns on its own. Running from his creators, he teams up with a program researcher, Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), whose life is also in danger. The set up, the handlers, the ruthless action sequences are all of the caliber one would expect from the writer of the previous Bourne scripts, Tony Gilroy, who also steps up to direct this one.

But things get a little too crazy in Manila, where Aaron and Marta go to access what she needs to free him from his dependency on agency-supplied medication. Manila, the exotic-location-du-jour, presents plenty of crowded picturesque places, but the roof jumping, chases, and narrow escapes are too long and too jumbled to follow. These sequences are just not up to Bourne standards. So they lost me. It's a plausible sequel, though, with good characters and actors, and may well live to fight another day.

Hope Springs **

An OK drama about a middle-aged couple who once were in love but are no longer bed mates or soul mates. It's mostly, maybe even solely, the fault of Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones), who has adamantly settled into his routine of work, eat, and the golf channel before retiring to his bedroom. His wife Kay (Meryl Streep) is desperately unhappy, and ready to do something drastic. So she enrolls them both in a couples therapy week with a famous doctor (played straight by Steve Carell) in the quaint New England seaside town of Hope Springs. Streep gives this role her usual unstinting labor, but the script, and Arnold's character, is as heavy-handed and stark as that town name. I can see this movie acting as a springboard for some serious conversations in the older demographic it's aimed at, and who filled the theater where I saw it, but it's a so-so movie with a few small moments.

Total Recall ***

An enjoyable action movie set in a dystopian future Earth where the 99% commute from the rainy, straight-from-Blade Runner world down under, to the highly mechanized and luxurious realm (with echoes of Minority Report) of the of the 1% in the only other livable space on the planet, "Total Recall" delivers a coherent vision of a world ripe for rebellion. Colin Ferrell as factory worker Douglas Quaid (who harbors a secret past) heads an extraordinarily good-looking cast along with female foes (or are they allies?) Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel.

Troubled by recurrent nightmares, Quaid visits a business that provides implanted memories that seem real, only to awaken another, more violent man inside. Ferrell is fine as the confused Quaid, drawing on reflexes he does not know he has, and searching for his real identity in a struggle that could spell the end, or the triumph, of the rebellion. There is mercifully little of the obvious is it real or is it a dream? trope, a few too many narrow escapes from hails of bullets, and a truly awful "listen to your heart to know the truth" speech. The rest is good action, a visit to another world, and a mild brain teaser.

The special effects are fine, and the atmosphere well-defined. The visual quotes from Blade Runner and Minority Report are well done, and act as tributes to the inspiration of their author, also as here Philip K. Dick, whose short story "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale" was the basis for the original 1990 "Total Recall" with Arnold Schwarzenegger as well. This one is set on Earth, not Mars, and makes a more relevant ecological point for today's audiences.