“HEREAFTER”

* 1/2 (out of four)

The unifying story thread involves a former psychic (played by Matt Damon, who has given us better work) who ditched the high-pressure lifestyle for a simple existence as a factory worker. He sometimes performs readings, but they rarely go well and his “gift” always poses some kind of problem for his personal life. Eventually, he decides to travel and “find himself.”

So ... What the hell is all this? Of course the stories eventually intertwine on a literal level, but only superficially, and without much thematic relevance. By the end, some things have been resolved and some characters have forged immediate (and therefore meaningless) connections to each other, but to what end?

“PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2”

**

Studio execs have seen fit to expand the mythology established in the first film to fill a needless sequel  — or, in this case, a prequel. To be fair, “Paranormal Activity 2” is no “Blair Witch 2”  — it’s not objectively terrible or torturous, the acting is serviceable, and the direction is even, at times, inspired. But it’s all just so repetitive, isn’t it? Cue security camera footage showing the pool. Cut to the living room. A curtain moves when it shouldn’t be moving. Cut to the little boy’s room. Cue loud banging noise and barking dog. Repeat for 90 minutes.

“RED”

***

When I say that “Red” represents a cast in search of a movie, you may take it as a harsh criticism. And, certainly, it is an issue when the power of your cast absolutely dwarfs anything your film could possibly have to offer in terms of plot or dialogue or visual appeal. However, in the rare case of a movie like “Red,” such shortcomings take on less significance. See, “Red” is almost exclusively concerned with how its characters — and, by extension, the stars themselves — interact with one another. More pointedly, it’s all about the feel-good vibe of cooperation and camaraderie that steadily builds between this cast of characters, even if most of them do happen to be retired assassins. 

“SOCIAL NETWORK”

****

Were it not for the involvement of David Fincher, I would have had little interest in “The Social Network,” the new film about the founding of Facebook. ’Cause here’s the thing: I hate Facebook. I hate the manner in which it was conceived, I hate its effect on the online community, the banality of its users’ content and its needlessly confusing interface. Most of all, I hate everyone always asking me if I’m on Facebook, and when I tell them that I have no intention of ever starting a page, seeing them look at me as if I just asked where the Internets are. Facebook is a bunch of crap, and resistance to its influence can only make you a better, stronger person.