REEL CRITICS:

Transforming a children’s book into a major motion picture should be an easy formula for success. “Inkheart” begins with an interesting and family-friendly premise. Wholesome actor Brendan Fraser plays a man who is a rare “Silver Tongue.” He has the power to read the words in a book and bring any character in the text into real life.

Reading from the title story, he releases into the world a wild collection of travelers, villains and mythical monsters. But each time a fictional character escapes from the book, a human is pulled out of the real world and trapped in the pages of text. Fraser’s wife and child are drawn into this dangerous interplay by forces beyond their control.

The special effects that give visual life to this plot are first-rate. They feature a parade of strange creatures charging across the screen. But the whole enterprise is dark and muddled and not really meant for young children. The notable talents of Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis and other fine actors are wasted as they ham it up for the camera. In the end, it’s a technical show of CGI wizardry with not much else to recommend it.

You say you want a revolution…

Well, you know — we all want to change the world. Ernesto “Che” Guevara was a Marxist, an iconic figure of modern revolution both loved and hated for trying to unite Latin America to better the life of the campesinos (peasants).

In “Che,” Steven Soderbergh’s ambitious but impersonal two-part epic, we get a bravura performance by Benicio Del Toro in the title role (he was also a producer) that has sadly been overlooked for an Oscar nomination. Dreamer, doctor, scholar, field commander, celebrity, father — Che was everything, it seems, but mall cop.

“Part One” is fascinating, as it starts in 1955 when Guevara first meets Fidel Castro and the seeds of revolution are sown. Based on Guevara’s memoirs, it gives us a lot of technical detail into the overthrow of Cuba’s Batista government in 1959.

“Part Two” pretty much skips everything that went on after Castro took power and focuses on Guevara’s ill-fated attempt to repeat his revolutionary tactics in Bolivia in 1966.

Everything that was right about the first campaign — and the first movie — seems to go downhill in the second.

In spite of its length and its flaws, I would recommend “Che” for the outstanding performances and a little more insight about the man who may now be most famous for inspiring a zillion T-shirts.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.