HOW DO YOU KNOW 2.3***



Somewhere hidden in this 2010 comedy is a small independent film about flawed characters trying to take charge of their lives when they really never had the control to begin with. That more intimate movie is the one I wanted to see, but veteran director/screenwriter James L. Brooks missed the boat on this one… not by much but enough for it to be a lost opportunity. That's not to say the movie isn't smart, insightful, and funny in its scattershot way, but it's just too unwieldy and too long .

The story focuses on 31-year-old Lisa Jorgenson(Reese Witherspoon), a popular career softball player who suddenly gets cut from the Team USA roster. Cast adrift from her one passion in life, she starts dating Matty Reynolds(Owen Wilson), a self-indulgent, womanizing pro baseball player. In this tenuous situation comes George Madison,(Paul Rudd) a financial executive whose world comes crashing down when he becomes the target of a criminal investigation for corporate malfeasance at a company run by his conniving tycoon father Charles Madison(Jack Niholson). George's shallow girlfriend dumps him, so he calls Lisa(a mutual friend of both puts him on to her) for what turns out to be a disastrous blind date. At the same time, they haphazardly bond over their respective misfortunes just as Matty tries to acquit himself of his selfish, womanizing ways. This romantic triangle is set up for further complications and an interesting ending.

The stars perform admirably under the circumstances but it is as if each actor is working alone and never talked to the others. Much worse, Director Brooks( also the director of classic films: “Broadcast News” and “Terms of Endearment”) seems to have no control over the cast and fails to bring any has coherence to the story. Too cute, too star-studded and entirely too long, “How Do You Know” is a jocks’ Rom-Com that offers proof that Brooks has lost his fastball .

Clark

KNIGHT AND DAY 3.0*** (close to 3.5***)
“Knight and Day” may be one of the most fun times you'll have at the movies this summer. Fasten your seatbelt and just ride on “Cruise” control. It's non-stop action, entertaining, mysterious, thrilling, full of surprises and just plain fun.

June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is an average perky beautiful blonde who accidentally runs into the charming and mysterious Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) at the airport and is swept into a series of wild and dangerous adventures when Roy turns out to be a secret agent fighting rogue elements in his own agency . . . or maybe HE's the rogue agent . . . it depends on whom you or June believes. The initial sequence after the chance meeting at the airport is a well done action packed and hilarious scene on the plane with Cruise doing his action thing in the cabin while Diaz is in the bathroom considering whether she should flirt with Cruise and is totally oblivious to the mayhem going on outside in the plane. This sets the tone for what turns out to be a FUN film.

Cruise and Diaz play off each other off very comfortably and both are terrific in their roles. The chemistry between them is excellent. Cruise does what he does best as the super (sometimes almost TOO super) secret agent. But here he’s not always so serious…he’s funny with great comedic timing , poking fun at his "Mission: Impossible" character with tongue-in-cheek wit . Diaz scurries around as an a supposedly average non-hero thrust into an almost “impossible” series of events and constantly being baffled but managing to keep up with Cruise. ….. she is funny, warm, beautiful, and spunky.
Knight and Day" is a delightful action/romance movie that will make you laugh and feel good. It's a pleasant diversion from the stresses of our day-to-day routine… a really fun time at the cinema that doesn't ask a lot of you and offers an enjoyable ride. Yes, we've seen it all before, but it worked pretty well then, and it works pretty well now.
It’s rated PG-13 and is okay for the kids.
Clark