OCEAN'S 12 (PG-13) Much like its predecessor, there's nothing to be taken too seriously in Ocean's 12, but the movie is permeated with such quantities of tongue-in-cheek wit, style and all-around grooviness that it's often all we can do not to stand up in our seats and start dancing. Master thieves George Clooney, Brad Pitt and the rest of the Ocean gang are back in a gleefully convoluted plot that involves a couple of heists, a sexy detective (Catherine Zeta-Jones) in hot pursuit, a showdown with a rival criminal mastermind and an assortment of glitzy Euro-destinations including Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Lake Como. The actors all appear to be having a grand old time and director Steven Soderbergh moves the film along at a clip, with a pleasantly off-kilter, loosey-goosey style that, not to put too fine a point on it, evokes the energy and attitude (not to mention the jump cuts and radical temporal shifts) of the early French New Wave. The movie nearly breaks its own spell in the end with a final plot twist involving Julia Roberts' character that's so postmodern meta-meta it nearly breaks the film's flow, but it turns out to only be a minor disruption in what is basically a very good time at the movies. The soundtrack is pretty stellar, too. Also stars Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Vincent Cassel. 
1/2
THE POLAR EXPRESS (G) An amazing technical achievement, but one with a very big heart (even if it does occasionally wear that heart a little too openly on its sleeve), Polar Express looks a lot like an instant holiday classic. Based on Chris Van Allsburg's popular book, this beautifully animated feature follows a magical train as it transports a group of children to the North Pole for a close encounter with the Clausmeister. Along the way, all sorts of strange things happen, things both inexplicably surreal and, sometimes, terribly exciting, and it all culminates in an irresistibly sappy message about the child-like joys of believing in believing. Director Robert Zemeckis handles the movie's frenetic action sequences in fine style, but is equally adept at communicating the atmospheric poetry of the long, nearly wordless stretches. Tom Hanks, whose voice and movements provided the template for no less than five of the movie's characters, is in fine form here as well, although there's still something just a little unintentionally creepy about watching digitally generated humans who are this close to being exactly like us, but aren't. Also features Eddie Deezen, Nona Gaye and Peter Scorlari. PRIMER (PG-13) A big hit at Sundance, this made-for-$7,000 project offers an intriguing premise in addition to all the buzz, but precious little reward. Writer-director Shane Carruth — who also produced, edited and photographed the film, as well as composing the music and acting in it — attempts to give us the more utilitarian, underexplored aspects of one of sci-fi's favorite what-if stories: the one about time travel. Carruth doesn't go for the big hooks or price-prohibitive special effects here; instead, we get a couple of techno-babbling geeks who just happen to whip up a time machine in their garage, as the movie spins a convoluted narrative that focuses on the practical considerations and potential problems of the invention. There are some fascinating thoughts here, but they're mostly buried among a faceless blur of awkward storytelling, nondescript visuals, dry and clunky dialogue, and acting that is generally pretty terrible. Primer isn't exactly your typical, low-budget independent movie — which is probably exactly why the folks at Sundance responded so favorably to it — but it could certainly take a lesson or two from those same indies in generating some cinematic pizzazz. Also stars David Sullivan. 1/2RAY (PG-13) While not quite the modern American classic we were hoping for, Ray is still solid entertainment and a particular joy for Ray Charles fans. The movie presents Charles as a fusion of musical genius, tortured soul and Daredevil/Zatoichi (with an impressively developed hearing sense compensating for his blindness), and then dutifully walks us through the high and low points of his life. We get the music (thankfully, and lots of it), the childhood traumas, the drugs, the womanizing, the refusal to see blindness as a handicap, and the eventual rise to fame. The music is glorious, of course (with a heavy concentration on Ray's brilliant mid- to late-'50s period), and Jamie Foxx's performance/impersonation ranks with Jim Carrey's impeccable Andy Kaufman, but Ray is not immune to many of the problems that inevitably plague bio-pics. As is common with this form, the movie tends to play like a greatest hits (and flops) of Charles' life, with equal weight given to nearly everything, too much crammed in, and too little transitional material. The movie makes a stab at a narrative center, supplied by Ray's lifelong battle with heroin, but it's a battle we barely know is being waged until the movie's last few scenes. But these are basically minor bumps in what is for the most part a pretty groovy road. Also stars Kerry Washington and Regina King. 1/2
