The Next Three Days
It's damn hard to enjoy a thriller when you don't, won't, can't believe a word of it. Russell Crowe stars as a mild-mannered teacher (huh?) whose wife (Elizabeth Banks) is suicidal about doing a life sentence for killing her boss. So he decides to break her out of prison. For ideas, he watches YouTube. Handy. Writer-director Paul Haggis (Crash) has the actors, including Ty Simpkins as the couple's nine-year-old son, race preposterously all over Pittsburgh with the cops in hot pursuit. In case you want to try this at home, wearing different-colored jackets really throws the law off your trail. Say what? Credulity isn't just strained, it practically crawls into your lap and cries for mercy.