Enchanted ***1/2
Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Susan Sarandon, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey
Director: Kevin Lima
Running Length: 1:47
MPAA Classification: PG

In the animated world of Andalasia, Giselle (Adams) dreams of falling in love with a prince. Fortunately, Prince Edward (Marsden) falls in love with her the moment he sees her. Of course, Edward’s evil step-mother, Queen Narissa (Sarandon) is not happy with the match, and banishes her to New York City – the real world. With the help of Nathaniel (Spall) and a talking chipmunk, Edward goes on a quest to return Giselle to their world. In the real world, Giselle is a fish-out-of-water who is rescued from wandering the streets by Robert (Dempsey), a single parent who doesn’t believe her story but is too nice to just leave her. If Edward is able to find her, she may have to decide who really is her true prince.

“Enchanted” is a great movie, capturing the spirit of Disney’s princess movies. Amy Adams is adorable as Giselle. She clearly has done her homework, and has the mannerisms down pat. She looks and acts like she just stepped out of a Disney cartoon. She is the reason that this movie is as good as it is. The rest of the cast fill their roles nicely. Marsden is good as the dopey prince, and Sarandon gets to have some fun as the evil Queen. “Enchanted” is an enjoyable film, and I highly recommend it.

In the Valley of Elah ***Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, Barry Corbin, Josh Brolin
Director: Paul Haggis
Running Length: 2:04
MPAA Classification: R

After returning from Iraq, soldier Mike Deerfield goes AWOL. His dad Hank (Jones), a retired officer, is given a courtesy call. Mike will be reported missing if he doesn’t return in a few days. Hank decides to head to the base and do some looking for his son. Once there, he quickly hooks up with Emily Sanders (Theron), a civilian cop. When Mike’s charred corpse is discovered, Hank must figure out who is behind the grizzly murder and what caused it to happen.

Tommy Lee Jones gives a strong performance in a movie that is above average, but not great. It cover no new ground, showing the audience that war changes people, and not for the good. Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon both give credible performances but are underused. This is Jones’s movie to carry, and while the story takes some interesting twists, the ending will have many viewers rolling their eyes as they are beat to death with symbolism. Still, “In the Valley of Elah” is better than most movies out there and worth checking out.