Closed Circuit **

It's a promising premise: two defense attorneys in London, former lovers, get assigned to a high-profile terrorism case that requires one of them to review top secret information in order to argue for its admission at trial. This information must not be divulged to the other attorney, and the two attorneys must not have anything beyond a purely professional relationship. The two attorneys, played by Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall, decide to lie about their former affair, and find themselves in the thick of a conspiracy that implicates an agency of the government itself, an agency willing to kill to keep its secrets.

There are hidden agendas, double dealing, murderous officials, chases and attacks, and mysterious deaths. It should be exciting stuff, right? Unfortunately the movie is dull and flat, despite the good work of Bana, Hall, and Ciarán Hinds as Bana's friend, also a lawyer. Maybe it's the stuffy bewigged intricacies of English law. Maybe it's the pervasive pessimism of the story, the futility of bucking a powerful and ruthless foe. Maybe it's the lack of a hero, or the lack of a love story. Everything in the movie seems to be told at a level removed from real emotion. In any case, I found it hard to sympathize, and ultimately, to care about these characters.

We're the Millers ***

A small time drug dealer (Jason Sukeikis) must repay a big debt to his supplier, so he recruits a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a runaway (Emma Roberts) and a virgin high-school student (Will Poulter) to impersonate a typical American family so he can drive an RV loaded with marijuana across the border from Mexico. It's a road picture premise fraught with possibilities, and the writers and producers of "We're the Millers" shamelessly cash in on all of them. And it's hilarious.

Despite the occasional passing thought along the lines of "I can't believe they actually went there," the situations and jokes keep coming. So of course the drug run turns into something far bigger than they imagined, of course there's mortal danger and the threat of incarceration. Of course the runaway will meet a boyfriend. Of course the virgin will gain some experience. Of course the stripper will fit easily (maybe a bit too easily, Jennifer) into the suburban mom role. And of course the "dad" will do what it takes to keep this show organized and on the road.

It's not a great movie, but it's an entirely enjoyable if predictable bit of fluff, and will do very well at the box office.

Blue Jasmine *****

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is blue because her financier husband (Alec Baldwin in flashbacks) has turned out to be a swindler and her money and position as a New York socialite is gone. She arrives in San Francisco to stay with the sister she never had time for, looking and sounding grand and with a vague idea of starting over somehow. Clearly disgusted with her sister's apartment and boyfriend, she tries to find a connection to the taste and class she once had mastered. And master it she did, as we know from many key scenes from her past life.

The portrait of the troubled woman that emerges is I think the most textured, the most complete of Woody Allen's recent films, and his best since "Match Point" (2005). Jasmine's struggles with her station, her denial, her torment, her charm and ease at the highest levels of society, are all on view in Blanchett's incredible performance. I dare say Allen has crafted yet another Academy level part, the latest in a long line.

As usual in a Woody Allen movie, the minor parts roles true, and the actors lucky enough to get the call are uniformly very, very good. I was particularly impressed with Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard as the new suitor, Sally Hawkins as the imposed-upon sister, Bobby Cannavale as the sister's boyfriend, and pleasantly surprised by Andrew Dice Clay as the sister's ex-husband. But clearly Blancette is the one to watch for in award season.