By Mal Vincent The Virginian-Pilot The couple in "Away We Go" were apparently born a bit too late for their style or, for that matter, for the style of the movie they inhabit. They are would-be Bohemians who seem to harbor some illusion that there are still flower children in the world and that they can wander about and "find themselves."

Beneath all those ruffles, flourishes and hoop skirts, the movies keep informing us that hot love affairs existed long before texting, Googling or even stereophonic sound. France in the early 20th century provides a convenient distance and an opulent setting for the love affair between the characters played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend in "Cheri."

The guessing is over. The fifth annual festival of classic films at the Naro Expanded Cinema will open Monday with "From Here to Eternity" starring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed - all nominated for Oscars.

There is Donald Duck. Chip and Dale. Bambi. And now, there is Scrat and his beloved acorn. A new star is not so much born in "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" as he is established. Scrat, complete with his bulging, often bloodshot and frantic eyes, and his ever-twitching nose may not look like Brad Pitt, but he's a star.

When a party girl goes serious, it's time to cry.
Take, for example, Cameron Diaz, the blond, blue-eyed, A-list movie star who has more often specialized in raucous comedies ("There's Something About Mary," "What Happens in Vegas") and will customarily go to any length to get a laugh (the classic hair gel routine in "Mary.")

As a heart tugger that would challenge even the wisdom of Solomon, "My Sister's Keeper" offers a sober antidote to all the flippant noisemakers in the other theaters. You may even get involved in the debate that has been taking over book clubs since the publication five years ago of the Jodi Picoult novel on which this is based.

It's time for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," the sequel that is critic-proof and brain-proof - and, we are told over and over, is likely to be the summer's box office king.

Sandra Bullock enters "The Proposal" as Meryl Streep and comes out as Lucille Ball. In between, she feverishly attempts to avoid the fate of Meg Ryan.
Bullock is still that irresistible non-Hollywoodish tomboy kind of girl every guy's mother would like him to bring home to meet the family. She can do no mean.

As caper movies go, "The Brothers Bloom" is way too cute for its own good - highly stylized, uneven, unfocused and a half-dozen cons too many. Director-writer Rian Johnson should know that if he's going to con us, there had better be a payoff.

Mal’s rating: two and one-half stars