Quick Review: I Am Number Four

The premise of "I Am Number Four" is this: the planet Lorien was destroyed by alien invaders called the Mogadorians, but nine children (along with guardians) were able to escape to Earth. These kids have special powers and at some point in the future will be able to defeat their enemy, so the Mogadorians are hunting them down. For reasons that aren't clear they have to be killed in order, and at the beginning of the film we see Number Three meet his maker. Hence the title, and the teenager in question (Alex Pettyfer) is in hiding with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in Ohio. They had to leave Florida because his powers began kicking in. With faked ID, etc. he enrolls in high school and falls for a girl (Dianna Agron from "Glee"), deals with a bully -- her ex-boyfriend -- and befriends a fellow student whose father disappeared years earlier, and things happen that draw the attention of the Mogadorians. So it's sort of like "Twilight" with a Superman-like twist (alien kid's home planet destroyed, he survives by being sent to Earth, develops super-powers) and a girl from "Glee" who isn't much of an actress. Not horrible but not in any way special. My grade: C-minus.

Quick Reviews: The Wolfman, The Crazies

I still need to get to the two Oscar Best Picture nominees I haven't seen yet. One, "The Hurt Locker" is at one of the Ritz theaters downtown. The other, "A Serious Man," isn't playing but I think I can watch it at home through On Demand. Only a week to go! Meanwhile...

"The Wolfman" is a remake of the 1941 film. It stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. I didn't have high hopes, but, just like with "From Paris With Love," I was hoping for some fun. Instead, it was just dull. Not horrendously bad, but definitely a wait-for-the-DVD at best. The release date had been pushed back a number of times. I wouldn't have minded if they kept pushing. My grade: D-plus.

On the other hand, "The Crazies" -- also a remake, as it turns out -- was a lot of fun at times. People in a quiet little farming community in Iowa suddenly start acting, well, crazy. The town's sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) starts to investigate and finds a possible solution. Things get out of control when the military swoops in. It becomes an entirely different movie at that point -- not as much fun. Still, it's definitely worth checking out. My grade: B.