REEL CRITIC:

I expected better from “Crossing Over,” a well-intentioned film about immigration issues that had potential for serious commentary, but wound up a condescending mess. It tries to follow in the tradition of “Crash” and “Babel,” but it’s pure melodrama programmed to tug at our heartstrings.

Harrison Ford, looking bored, plays an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. After raiding a sweatshop, his conscience is bothered by a Mexican woman’s pleas that her young son will be left alone after she’s taken into custody.

Her troubling, urgent story is relegated to the back burner to focus on a comely Australian actress (Alice Eve) who submits to sleazy sex with an INS bureaucrat (Ray Liotta) to get a green card. It’s a toss up as to who’s more exploited — the character or the actress.

People of varying ethnicities are casually woven in without going very deep into their situations. About halfway through, a silly murder plot is thrown in so that Ford can reveal and bring the perp to justice — apparently he knows more about homicides than the actual LAPD.

Meanwhile, the plight of the Mexican woman and her family is left largely ignored until the very end. But once again, Ford is the hero when he makes the pilgrimage to Tijuana to console the family in stilted, monotone Spanish.

For a classier, more thought-provoking movie about the pitfalls of our immigration system, go rent “The Visitor.”

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What movie to watch at home

The big studios release more than 200 major films each year. But only five can be nominated for Best Picture. This ratio pushes some quality movies outside of the Oscar loop. There are worthwhile films now on video from 2008 that beat some dreadful new movies currently in theaters.

In the action hero category, the clever and witty “Iron Man” easily knocks out the dreary and dismal “The Dark Knight.”

Among animated films, “Wall-E” is the clear winner, but “Bolt” and “Kung Fu Panda” are worthy offerings.

For war stories, the WWII epic “Valkyrie” and the small budget Iraq War film “Stop Loss” make the grade. For grown-ups looking for an offbeat crime drama, “The Bank Job” is quick and sharp. But the best films of this genre were made famous by the Coen Brothers.

They hit the mark again last year with their eccentric, strange and comical “Burn After Reading.”

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