Review: Powerfully moving, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a must-see, unforgettable motion picture experience that will be talked about for years to come.

Story: Adapted from John Boyne’s award-winning novel, Pajamas presents a different view of the Holocaust, told as a fable primarily through the eyes of an 8-year-old German boy, Bruno (Asa Butterfield), whose father, a Nazi officer (David Thewlis), is transferred from Berlin to a desolate outpost. Bruno finds nothing much to do and no new friends to play with. His older sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) pretty much ignores him, preferring to spend time playing with dolls or talking to Lieutenant Kolter (Rupert Friend), an eerie young man working for her father. What the father knows and doesn’t tell his family is that his new assignment is running a concentration camp. Despite the warnings from his mother (Vera Farmiga) to stay away from the huge backyard, Bruno heads to a “farm” he sees in the clearing, where he meets and befriends a Jewish boy, Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), on the opposite side of a barbed wire fence. As the frequency of his visits with this boy in the striped pajamas increases, Bruno learns more about intolerance in the world and the fences that divide them. As his “education” continues, the story takes a surprising turn.

Acting: Although the film has typically fine performances from an impressive roster of actors – including Thewlis, Farmiga and Friend, as well as veteran Richard Johnson as Grandpa – it’s the remarkable young stars who make the most vivid impression. Butterfield is especially impressive showing the emerging curiosity of a young child caught up in a new environment and circumstances he can’t quite grasp. His outgoing friendly nature and his discovery of a human connection, despite the barrier of a barbed wire fence, is well-played and carries the entire film. This is perhaps the first time the tragedy of the Holocaust has been portrayed in such a manner, and it’s all on Butterfield’s able shoulders. Equally fine is Scanlon, playing the title role with haunting, sunken eyes but who, like Bruno, shows us a better way through an uncorrupted, innocent perspective. Their scenes together are touching and quietly intense, and both are easily up to the task.

Direction: Smartly adapted for the screen by director Mark Herman, this delicate fable about the effects of hatred, senseless violence and unimaginable prejudice as filtered through the eyes of children, has become far more dramatic and complex in its trip to the big screen. The novel is essentially FOR children, an attempt to show the Holocaust in terms they could more easily understand. The film uses the children at the center of the story to express a more universal and tragic view of war and the Holocaust. Herman has still captured the surreal fable at the heart of Boyne’s book, but it’s pointedly real and effective in its devastating impact when seen on film. Shot on location in Budapest, Herman expertly captures the lone note of youthful hope and power of friendship embodied in his two remarkable young leads who seem immune to the reality of the death and hate that surrounds them. This is a daringly different and gut-wrenching movie that stays with you long after the theater lights have gone up.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.

Review: Who needs role models when you can laugh your ass off with Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott pretending to BE role models?

Story: Meet Wheeler (Scott) and Danny (Rudd) – two salesmen, who get to hawk a blue sugary caffeine-filled energy drink called Minotaur. Wheeler is a swingin’, KISS-lovin’ single guy who loves his job playing THE Minotaur, while depressed Danny has settled into a nice mid-life crisis, loathing just about anything and everyone. These two are just destined to become role models. And so after some very bad circumstances, Wheeler and Danny do just that, forced into 150 community service hours at a mentorship program. It’s either play big brother to a couple of kids or go to jail. Danny gets assigned to Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a 16-year-old obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons medieval role play, while Wheeler gets a 10-year-old, foul-mouthed troublemaker named Ronnie (Bobb’e J Thompson). After one day, jail isn’t looking half-bad.

Acting: For a premise that sounds a bit shaky, the cast of Role Models simply sell it. Thanks to the likes of Anchorman and 40 Year-Old Virgin, Paul Rudd has found his niche as the go-to guy for deadpan humor. Seann William Scott , too, seems more mature this time, finally shedding that American Pie smug arrogance he’s had to live with for so many years. Virgin’s Jane Lynch is hysterical as the head of the mentorship program Sturdy Wings, an ex-addict who takes no crap. Elizabeth Banks (she’s in everything lately) also does a nice job as Danny’s girlfriend who has had it with his behavior. And the kids add to the flavor: Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin’ from Superbad, gets to try something different as the geeky Lord of the Rings wannabe, while newcomer Thompson plays the smartass kid who curses with a certain panache.

Direction: Can you believe producer/writer/director Judd Apatow had nothing to do with Role Models? It seems to have many of his signature touches, including a pretty hard R rating for a movie with kids in it. But actually, Role Models comes from the minds of ex-The State members David Wain and Ken Marino, along with Paul Rudd and a few other writers. And for once, a long list of writers doesn’t spell trouble for the film; it seems to have only enhanced the comedy. The best part of Role Models has to be the medieval role-playing festival, where all known D&D and LOTR enthusiasts come out in droves, dressed in full gear, ready to wage battle and clash rubber swords for their made-up countries’ supreme dominance. It really happens, folks, and to have front-row seats to this world is quite a comedic treat.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.