Flick it: New film reviews

"The Dark Knight"

Fanboys everywhere are in crisis. Sure we've been treated to the wondrous exploits of "Iron Man" and "Hellboy" this summer, but those flicks were sandwiched in between the mediocre flights of the "Hulk" and "Hancock." We're crying out for another hero to save our summer and, fortunately, Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger have answered the call. That's right "The Dark Knight" is finally here, plunging us back into Gotham City, where everyone's favorite vigilante (Bale) is about to meet his most dangerous, destructive villain, the Crown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker (Ledger). But that's not all! Knight also introduces us to ambitious DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) who, as every comic-book fan knows, eventually morphs into the psychotic Two-Face. As another Joker once said, wait until you get a load of this...

2 hrs. 32 mins.

"Mama Mia!"

There have been a lot of odd sights at movie theaters this summer, from a trash-compacting robot falling in love with an iPod-style probe to Hellboy battling an elemental plant creature. But for my money, few images are more bizarre than Meryl Streep belting out that old ABBA chestnut "Mama Mia!" while writhing around on a rooftop. The big-screen version of the hit musical is filled with these kinds of moments, and if you don't give yourself over to its oddball energy early on, it's going to be an excruciating viewing experience. The negligible plot casts Streep as the mother of a starry-eyed bride (Amanda Seyfried), who invites the three men that might be her father (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) to her nuptials. What follows is lots of misunderstandings and miscommunications, all scored to the timeless tunes of the Swedish disco quartet. "Mama Mia!" is as dumb as a post, but in its own demented way, it's kind of awesome.

1 hr. 48 mins.

"Space Chimps"

As the sacrificial lamb going up against the Bat and ABBA this weekend, the animated sci-fi comedy Space Chimps might as well have been titled "Dead Movie Walking." Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines and Patrick Warburton provide the voices of the three titular monkeys, who are blasted off to a distant galaxy, where they battle the evil Zartog (Jeff Daniels), the villainous ruler of an otherwise friendly alien planet. Expect to see this one turning up in the discount bin of your local big-box retailer within a month.

1 hr. 21 mins.

Ethan Alter is a New York-based film critic and journalist. He can be reached at nycfilmcritic@gmail.com.