Capsule reviews: `Moneyball,' `Pearl Jam Twenty'

In this film image released by Open Road Films, Jason Statham is shown in a scene from "Killer Elite."  (AP Photo/Open Road Films, Dan Smith)
In this image released by Abramorama, a scene is shown from the film called “Pearl Jam Twenty." (AP Photo/Abramorama)— AP
In this film image released by Relativity Media, Gerard Butler portrays Sam Childers, the impassioned founder of Angels of East Africa rescue organization in a scene from "Machine Gun Preacher." (AP Photo/Relativity Media, Ilze Kitshoff)— AP

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

"Abduction" - Perhaps "Twilight" heartthrob Taylor Lautner should get a series of films with titles that make a pun on his famous abs. "Abilene Nights"? "Abashedly Yours"? "Abacus Calculation"? For now, we have Lautner's first stab at being a leading man in "Abduction," a consistently far-fetched thriller in which he plays a high-school teenager who's suddenly caught up in a world of lethal spies and corrupt CIA men. The motorcycle-riding, high school wrestling Nathan (Lautner) discovers his parents aren't actually his parents at the same time mean-looking men and the CIA begin chasing him for reasons he doesn't understand. With him is his longtime crush Karen (Lily Collins). The film, directed by John Singleton, exists cynically as nothing but a platform for Lautner. He handles himself reasonably well. The major deficiency of "Abduction" is the script. Screenplay writer Shawn Christensen's plot is increasingly absurd and the dialogue often comically poor. With Maria Bello and Alfred Molina, who can only help so much. PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, brief language, some sexual content and teen partying. 106 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

- Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer


"Killer Elite" - Head butts would seem to hurt, right? That's clearly the point of them, but it would seem to be just as painful to be the butt-er as the butt-ee. This is probably the most primal method of attack on display here, but even the noisy intensity and frequency of the skull bashings - and pistol whippings and gut punches - don't register as anything beyond generic action-picture violence. The fact that director and co-writer Gary McKendry has shot all these brawls with the usual shaky cam and cut them in quick, choppy fashion only adds to how forgettable the film is. And you'd think that any movie starring Robert De Niro, Clive Owen and Jason Statham would be one you'd want to remember. "Killer Elite" allows them to show off some of the presence and personality that made these men major movie stars, but ultimately they're just cogs in a cliched revenge tale. Statham stars as Danny, the typical special-ops, killing-machine-for-hire Statham tends to play. He wants to retire, but gets drawn back in for that tried-and-true One Last Job when his mentor (De Niro) is kidnapped by an Omani sheik. Danny has to kill the men who killed the sheik's sons to ensure his release. Owen plays the enforcer for a shadowy British society who's on Danny's tail. R for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity. 116 minutes. Two stars out of four.

- Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic


"Machine Gun Preacher" - Gerard Butler gives it his all as the title character in this drama based on the true story of biker-turned-humanitarian Sam Childers. It's a performance that's gruff and defiant, volatile and raging, and even tender at times - the kind of role Mel Gibson might have played 20 years ago. Childers lived a life of drugs and crime until he found Jesus, then traveled to Sudan to build an orphanage for the youngest victims of the ravaged African nation's civil war. But even though director Marc Forster's film is rooted in actual events, it's hard to shake the uncomfortable sensation of watching yet another story that glorifies the white savior. Aside from Souleymane Sy Savane as the rebel soldier who serves as Sam's friend and guide, the black characters who prompt Sam to sacrifice everything and put himself in danger feel more like ideas than fleshed-out humans. Forster clearly means well in bringing such an inspiring story to the screen, and he does depict this place vividly - both its natural beauty and its brutality. But he makes some awkward tonal shifts between the violence in Africa and the increasing instability at home in rural Pennsylvania, where his ex-stripper wife (Michelle Monaghan) and their daughter (Madeline Carroll) are waiting for him. Michael Shannon offers some intriguing moments, as always, as Sam's former running buddy, but ultimately doesn't get enough to do. R for violent content including disturbing images, language, some drug use and a scene of sexuality. 123 minutes. Two stars out of four.


