REEL CRITICS:

It was only a movie, but with images that quickly formed and took root,

As the screen images vanished, tears were forming, you wanted to stand erect and salute,

“Lions for Lambs” watched on the birthday of the Corps

Once again the guarding oceans shrinking, exposing our shores.

A work of pure ticket-driven fiction,

Or a reflective wistful heroic benediction?

Are there still among us men whose safety and comfort will forsake,

To leave hearth and home and “the good life” to do what sadly it takes?

While the sons and daughters of our political elected or appointed elite,

To enlist would take all manner of kicking and screaming and dragging of feet.

When each of us age and begin our slow march to our inevitable mortal grave,

Can we face the children, siblings or parents of those who far too early gave?

How do you honor those who volunteered, but did not have to lock ‘n’ load and go?

To stand by a buddy ebbing youthful life on searing desert sands or freezing mountain snow?

Not another meter of etched granite on a Washington lawn,

But rather involvement to rise above the obedience of a Pavlovian pawn.

If we are to send troops into harm’s way, the truth of why we cannot spurn,

Go to any length of dollars and support to give them the best chance to quickly return.

“Lions for Lambs,” a movie that has misnamed two soldiers; they are the only worthy pride,

True lions facing death and refusing to flee against the deadly, evil, onrushing tide.

How to make a robbery complicated

Director Sidney Lumet brought us gritty crime dramas in “Serpico” and “Dog Day Afternoon.” He focused a bright light on our legal system in “The Verdict” and our newscasters in “Network.” His latest effort channels the Coen Brothers’ best work in a tense and riveting thriller about a nasty caper gone wrong.

“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke as unlikely brothers. They are both in dire financial straits, but for very different reasons. To solve their money problems, they hatch a plan to pull off an easy nonviolent robbery of a mom-and-pop jewelry store. The fact that their parents are the owners of the store leads to many bizarre complications.

Albert Finney plays the father of the two brothers whose bad decisions come back to haunt everyone they touch. Marisa Tomei is the femme fatale in the middle of the unfolding madness. All the acting is excellent in this dark and brooding study of human folly and desperation. Reminiscent of “Fargo” and “Blood Simple,” the outrageous screenplay will take you on a wild ride that’s food for thought long after you leave the theater.

Claus family movie not really for whole family

November always brings shorter days, cooler nights and a Christmas movie playing at the mall.

But if you take your kids to see “Fred Claus” they will probably be bored. Directed by David Dobkin (“Wedding Crashers”) this is a family-friendly movie, but the humor is aimed at their parents.

The irrepressible Vince Vaughn is Fred, a Chicago repo man whose estranged little brother Nick (Paul Giamatti) became an actual saint and lives at the North Pole. When one of Fred’s moneymaking schemes lands him in jail, he’s forced to call his brother to bail him out.

Practicing tough love, Nick — a.k.a. Santa Claus — makes Fred fly up to work off the money. His arrival coincides with that of an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who audits Santa’s workshop with the intent of outsourcing it to the South Pole or even — gasp — shutting it down.

Giamatti makes for a sad-sack Santa. I’m a big fan of Vaughn’s motormouth style, but so much of the movie is taken up with his cynical rants there’s very little opportunity for warm moments.

There’s a most inspired bit when Fred attends a Siblings Anonymous meeting attended by Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton and a Baldwin brother. It’s hilarious, but definitely way over the heads of anybody under 18. All a 6-year-old wants to see is Claus and FX.

SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company. MICHAEL P. RIDLEY is a lawyer in Newport Beach representing venture capital funds, small business investment companies, and emerging companies. JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office.