"Rumor Has It," "Howl's Moving Castle," "Cheaper by the Dozen 2"

Please excuse J-Dawg's lengthy hiatus, as I've been out of town this week. My trip did, however, allow me the chance to check out a couple of truly mediocre films, as well as a pretty fantastic one. Can you guess which of the three is the good one without looking at my reviews?

• "Rumor Has It"--This quasi-romantic comedy has a really icky premise, one that pretty much ruins the movie: Jennifer Aniston plays a beautiful, slightly neurotic, commitment-phobe (haven't we seen her in this role before?) who discovers that her mother and grandmother slept with the same man years before. The charming lothario is played with some ease by Kevin Costner, who shows up and succeeds in seducing Aniston (Generation #3), in what is supposed to be a hilarious and touching coming-of-age film. There are a few things going for the movie: It has a great cast--in addition to Aniston and Costner, it also boasts Shirley Maclaine, Kathy Bates, and Mark Ruffalo (much more charming than in his last two generic boyfriend roles). It also had one brief sight gag midway through the movie that had me giggling. But that was about it, and one laugh does not a great romantic comedy make. This is especially disappointing coming from Rob Reiner, director of some true classics ("The Princess Bride," "A Few Good Men"). I fell asleep midway through the movie, and woke up just in time for the contrived and sappy ending. (*1/2 out of four)
• "Cheaper by the Dozen 2"--Do I really need to say much about this one? If you've seen the first "Cheaper" or either of the "Father of the Bride" movies, you've seen this Steve Martin retread. Predictable, offensively trite, and just plain dumb: has Steve Martin stopped reading scripts altogether? And for crying out loud, aren't there any good comedies being made anymore?!?! (* out of four)
• "Howl's Moving Castle"--This Japanese import is another bizarre delight from Hayao Miyazaki, creator of "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away." The visuals are imaginative, the animation is unique and breathtaking, and you'll never guess where his stories are going. If you've never seen one of Miyazaki's films, you might want to start with "Spirited Away" first, but if you're looking for something dazzling and refreshingly quirky, this fantasy is a great option. And even though Walt Disney Pictures is distributing this movie domestically, this is a far cry from "Lilo and Stitch".... (***1/2 out of four)