Stranger Than Fiction

Will Ferrell is a really good actor who has done some really interesting movies with really strong casts. There, I said it. He has also done some total crap in which he barely even tried to write a script, much less memorize it. The adorable “Stranger Than Fiction” (2006), thankfully, falls into the former category. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hulce, Linda Hunt, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson have all been nominated for or have won Oscars. Plus, there’s the two dudes from the Sonic commercials. And Mr. Ferrell, as an IRS agent whose life imitates art. Or vice versa.

Adaptation

A movie about a guy writing a movie about a book. About orchids. Seriously? Yet “Adaptation” (2002) works. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a Maggie Gyllenhaal sighting. And a Catherine Keener sighting. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper as stars don’t hurt, either. But mainly it’s the intricately interwoven plot that’s part book, part writing a movie about the book, and part crazy, made-up shit. I’m loathe to make the comparison, but it’s like an orchid. Delicate, high maintenance, occasionally satisfying. (I love gardening and houseplants. I’ve had a couple orchids. What pains in the ass. But… oh, hello, Nicholas Cage.)

White House Down

People enjoy looking at Channing Tatum. That’s good, because his picture’s in the dictionary next to “derivative.” Want to see Tatum, big ass explosions and helicopters on a big screen? By all means, go and see “White House Down” (2013). Otherwise, save your money and wait for Netflix. It’s not a bad action movie (yes, I’m damning it with faint praise). But it has no original ideas. It steals its plot (and Bruce Willis’ dirty old shirt) from “Die Hard,” sprinkles in a little “True Lies” and gives you a knockoff 98 days after the release of “Olympus Has Fallen.”