Reel Critics:

Three young actors who are already major Hollywood players combine their talents in the sensitive yet gritty tale of “Brothers.” Tobey Maguire is a Marine Corps captain on his way to Afghanistan. Natalie Portman plays his beautiful military wife and the mother of his two darling children. Jake Gyllenhaal plays his bad boy brother just released from prison.

Soon after deployment, the captain is shot down in a helicopter. He is presumed dead, but has really been captured by terrorists. We see the total turn around as the good man becomes a tortured prisoner while his ex-convict brother lives the good life hanging out in the captain’s home stateside.

Our hero is rescued and returns home to his loved ones who thought he was dead. Of course, his resurrection turns the family dynamics upside down. The effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and violent outbursts lurk at every turn.

But child stars Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare almost steal the show as the captain’s daughters. In spite of their tender years, they tell the adults what’s really going on. The acting is outstanding, but the tension is strong and this film is not easy to watch. For those who can handle it, it’s a worthy effort and a cut above ordinary Hollywood fare.

This film was less than ‘Fine’

“Everybody’s Fine” should have been named “Everybody’s Yawning” in this soapy family drama featuring Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale.

DeNiro plays Frank Goode, a recent widower who decides to spring surprise visits on his four children after they bail on him for a visit. I don’t know which is more sad — the idea of grown kids not wanting to spend time with their lonely father, or the sight of one of America’s greatest actors sleepwalking through this movie.

As he makes his way cross country via bus and train, Frank proudly points out that he used to make PVC covering for telephone wires, and that it took more than a million miles of wire to educate his children who are now an artist, a dancer, a music conductor and an advertising exec.

Things do not go as well as Frank envisioned, of course, and he learns that everybody has hidden key details about their lives so as not to disappoint or worry him.

This film could have used some dark humor to save it from being just another greeting card of tired clichés. The actors, especially Sam Rockwell, do their best with what they’re given, but it doesn’t feel genuine. Real family, real life is not without irony. What’s wrong with putting the fun back in dysfunctional?

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.