Late-Stage Capitalism

UNCUT GEMS (B) - Adam Sandler, believe it or not, is the main reason to watch this messy, overlong Safdie brothers rollercoaster ride through Manhattan's diamond district. Sandler is Howard Ratner, a jeweler with a gambling problem and whose juggling of grifts and debts threatens to unravel him, or worse.

This one is filled with a lot of macho posturing, long worn out by the likes of Tarantino and Scorsese. The hectic pace can be exhilarating at times, especially when Howard is chattering nonstop or frantically fiddling with his phone. But it can tedious at times, like when Howard and his young, beautiful mistress (because Adam Sandler is irresistible) quarrel angrily on the street. Too much is squeezed in here in a film that runs past two hours.

The plot involves a Howard's scheme to strike it rich at auction with an Ethiopian opal that happens to be coveted by NBA star Kevin Garnett (playing himself), whose playoff series is critical to Howard's complicated parlay of bets and gem deals. Howard is hounded by mob goons looking to collect on behalf, of all people, Howard's loan-shark brother-in-law, Arno (Eric Bogosian, in fine form). Sandler's manic performance holds things together until he simply can't anymore. A rushed, cop-out ending (with blood and gore cribbed from Tarantino) is a major disappointment, leaving you wondering why you let yourself get dragged into this would-be urban thriller.

DARK WATERS (B) - This environmental polemic has just enough powerful moments to help it rise above its general Movie of the Week cheesiness. It's a tried-and-true tale, albeit based in fact, of a corporate lawyer switching sides to fight for the little guy who for years has been poisoned in the name of obscene profits.

Mark Ruffalo ground this for more than two hours as attorney Robert Billot, who agrees to take on a case as a favor to a farmer in rural West Virginia who is an acquaintance of Billot's grandmother. Ruffalo the crusader, however, is surrounded by a few too many borderline-cliched characters. In the hands of the twee auteur Todd Haynes ("Carol," "I'm Not There"), the story has a suspicious odor of condescension hanging in the background.

Some of the characters that come with tremors of triteness include that determined farmer, Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp), who, in Haynes' framing, comes across as that stock character the Nobel Rube; Victor Garber as the evil corporate monster from Dupont; Tim Robbins somehow bringing a fresh take to the role of the exasperated boss who's going to give the maverick one more chance; Bill Pullman having fun as the proverbial tart-tongued country lawyer; and Billot's long-suffering wife, Sarah (who gave up her career to gift him three boys and a clean house), a Christian scold played by Anne Hathaway, so unsure of her elevation to Mom status that you expect her to break into a Laura Petrie "Oh, Rob!" at any moment. Hathaway salvages the role toward the end when Sarah explains Billot's motivations to a stranger in a way that suggests she knows her husband inside and out.

It's during moments like that -- as opposed to hackneyed scenes of Ruffalo mimicking the signs of stroke-like symptoms -- where Haynes, echoing one of his early films, "Safe" with Julianne Moore, understands the toll that modern life takes on our physical and mental health. Impassioned monologues railing against corporate greed generally ring true here, although, again, there's the underlying fear that this will all trip over into banality. It never does. Haynes, coming off a run of elegant period pieces, crashes and skids a bit putting together this mainstream story for the masses, but he somehow makes it to the finish line leaving you feeling just enough outrage and inspiration to tip your hat and walk out satisfied.