The Tale of Despereaux ***

Cast (voices): Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Waston, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Frank Langella, Sigourney Weaver
Directors: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: G

Despereaux (Broderick) is a mouse who is banished from Mouseworld for not acting like a mouse. He doesn’t cower, he doesn’t intentionally trip mousetraps, and he speaks to humans. In the human’s world, he meets Princess Pea (Watson), and decides to go on a quest for her to restore sunlight to a dark and grey kingdom. He is assisted by the rat Roscuro (Hoffman), who had caused the problem in the first place. Meanwhile, Miggory Snow (Ullman), the princess’s servant, is plotting to remove the princess and take her place.

“Despereaux” has a more complex story than one might expect from G-rated fare, but it is not too much to alienate younger viewers. The storylines intersect well, and all come together in the end. The animation is good, but not Pixar quality. That is a small complaint, and Pixar is in a league of their own anyway. The voice talent is made up of many big names, and Broderick, Hoffman, and Watson are all excellent. This is an entertaining family film that can be enjoyed by all.

Spartan ***

Cast: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, Tia Texada, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill, Kristen Bell
Director: David Mamet

Marine operative Scott (Kilmer) is selected to help find the kidnapped daughter of a politician. He is given 48 hours to do this before the media gets wind of the story and runs with it. Aided by Curtis (Luke), he dives into an investigation that takes new twists and turns with each new bit of data they recover. It seems that the reason for the kidnapping might not be what everyone thinks, but that doesn't mean the the girl is not in danger. And as he draws closer to finding her, other forces begin to work against him to actively prevent him from succeeding. Director David Mamet has constructed an interesting tale with motivations that are sadly believeable in today's age. Spartan is an interesting film that is not afraid to slam the politics of today's world.

The Cooler ***

Cast: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Rong Livingston, Paul Sorvino, Estella Warren, Arthur J. Nascarella
Director: Wayne Kramer

Bernie Lootz is a loser. He is so much a loser that he makes the people around him have bad luck. And that comes in handy in his job as a "cooler" at the Shangri-La Casino in Las Vegas. Whenever someone is getting a little too lucky in the casino, in comes Bernie, and the hot streak is over. But then a funny thing happens...Bernie finds love in a cocktail waitress at the Shangri-La, and all of a sudden, Bernie's cooling powers are failing him. This is not good news for the owner, Shelly Kaplow who is feeling pressure from a mob boss to update his business methods. William H. Macy has sort of perfected the loser guy roles, so it is no surprise that he gives a good performance as Bernie, and when things start to go right for him, you feel happy for the poor guy. Alec Baldwin does a great job as the casino owner clinging to an antiquated way of doing things. All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable little movie.