REEL CRITICS -- Richard Brunette

Sometimes a few people will briefly clap at the end of a good movie.

For “Star Wars” films, well, let me try to put it the way master Yoda

would: “At ‘Star Wars’ films, clapping at beginning of movie do I always

hear.” And such was the case when I went to see “Star Wars: Episode II

Attack of the Clones” this past weekend.

At no other movie can I remember hearing clapping -- from dozens of

people -- at the beginning of the film. Call it what you will, but once

again “the force” is with director/writer/ producer George Lucas and his

crew. Fan enthusiasm is always so high it’s hard not to be affected by

the positive energy in the theater.

I confess. I’m a big fan of “Star Wars.” I was about 13 when the

original came out and, like most of the world, I was completely awe

struck. I think I saw it about 20 times during the next few years. And

“The Empire Strikes Back” is one of the few sequels in movie history that

I think rivals the first film.

“Clones” picks up 10 years after “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom

Menace” left off. We find Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) as a

Jedi-in-training under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor).

Obi and Ani are called in to protect the former Queen -- now Senator --

Amidala (Natalie Portman) from assassination, as she holds the deciding

vote for the Republic against a secessionist movement that is brewing.

While Skywalker and Amidala begin to fall in love, Kenobi tracks down

the assassin, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett (Temeura Morrison), who

fans of the film series know to be Boba Fett’s father (Boba Fett being

Han Solo’s nemesis from “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the

Jedi”).

Anyway, I reviewed the last film in the “Star Wars” saga, “The Phantom

Menace,” as a reel critic for the Pilot and I admit it was a bit of a

letdown. But, with all the hype and anticipation for the film, and

compared to the first films in the series, I say now as I did then, how

could it not be a letdown. It is impossible to capture the magic of the

original series of films.

“Attack of the Clones,” while not the equal to any of the first three

films, is a giant step in the right direction. The action is good, and

the special effects are better than “Phantom.” All in all, if you measure

“Clones” as a film unto itself, it is a decent movie.

The love story is a little lame, and the film’s dialogue often vapid,

but we definitely get a feel for the beginnings of how Anakin becomes

Darth Vader, we reconnect with the droids C3PO and R2D2, we meet Anakin’s

stepfamily and his son Luke’s Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru as young adults.

In McGregor, we have a hero we can root for and see as the future aged

Obi-Wan, as played so magnificently by Sir Alec Guiness in the earlier

films.

But the high point of the film has got to be the climactic battle

scene with Jedi swordsman Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and his Jedi

posse, and seeing little Yoda get down with his bad Jedi self against the

evil Count Dooku. That alone was worth the price of admission.

“Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones” is rated PG for sci-fi

action and violence.

* RICHARD BRUNETTE, 38, is a recreation supervisor for the city of

Costa Mesa and a Costa Mesa resident.

‘About a Boy’ you must see

“About a Boy” is adapted from a novel by author Nick Hornsby, who also

wrote “High Fidelity.” Like “Fidelity,” “Boy” has been transformed by an

expert cast and crew. “High Fidelity” starred John Cusack, was adapted by

Cusack and his partner D.V. DeVincentis, and was directed by Stephen

Frears, while “About a Boy” stars Hugh Grant, was adapted by Peter Hedges

and is directed by the Weitz Brothers.

Grant plays Will, an aging London bachelor who does “nothing” for a

living. He’s not particularly proud of this fact; it just is what it is.

His father wrote a classic holiday song, “Santa’s Super Sleigh,” so Will

can live off the royalties and spend his time watching TV, keeping up on

cutting-edge CDs and high-end slacker fashions. He pays a hairdresser to

maintain his “carefully disheveled” look. He wishes he were ambitious

only when he considers that doing something, anything, would make him

more interesting to women.

Will, in furtherance of his id, decides to join a single parents group

-- Single Parents, Alone Together, or SPAT for short -- in hopes of

picking up women. He even claims that his wife abandoned him and their

2-year-old son, “Ned.” Will, in his dementia, believes that single moms

will be easier to pickup and easier to dump.

His strategy is flawed: Single mothers invariably have children, and

what Will discovers is that while he would make a lousy husband, he might

make a decent father. Of course, it takes a child to teach an adult how

to be a parent, and that is how Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) comes into Will’s

life.

It is Will’s attendance at these meetings that sets the story in

motion. His girlfriend Suzie, whom he meets at SPAT, has a friend named

Fiona (Toni Collette), whose son, Marcus, comes along one day to the

park.

We’ve already met Marcus earlier in the film. He’s the typical geek

that we either all were in school or whom we mercilessly teased in school

(Hornsby’s stories are filled with socially awkward characters) and on

the school playground. His mother, Fiona, suffers from depression, and

this has made Marcus mature and solemn beyond his years. To emphasize the

solemnity of Marcus’ existence, Fiona has taught him several coping

habits that get him ridiculed at school, such as singing “Rainy Days and

Mondays” to himself.

When Fiona tries to overdose one day, Will finds himself involved in a

trip to the emergency room and other events during which Marcus decides

that Will belongs in his life whether Will realizes it or not. Will finds

to his horror that an attachment and fondness for the boy is forming.

The heart of the movie involves the relationship between Will and

Marcus. Rarely is a kid and his relationship with an adult well written,

acted and portrayed.

Kudos should really go to the cast and crew. Grant continues his

streak of great, yet subtle, comedic performances that span several

years. His acting abilities have unjustly been belittled, but as any

actor will attest, comedy is harder than drama.

In viewing this film, it is harder to not compare Grant to other

romantic comedy stars of yesteryear, such as Cary Grant and John Payne.

Toni Collette also gives a fine performance as the eccentric Fiona. But

the acclaim should be directed to the Weitz brothers, who helped in the

screenplay and directed this movie. The Weitzs are famous for their

comedy “American Pie” -- not to be confused with the countless inane

rip-offs it obviously inspired. While their pedigree may extract a wince

from readers, this film shows a definite growth as filmmakers who can

adapt complex works (read the original novel) and present it to a

(hopeful) discerning public.

“About A Boy” is rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some

thematic elements.

* ROB OROZCO is an attorney with Morris, Polich & Purdy. He lives in

Costa Mesa with his wife and two cats.