Here are the Mini Reviews presented by Cineman Syndicate for movies released during the week of August 11, 2008:

TROPIC THUNDER. A self-referential movie about making a movie, Ben Stiller's fearless comedy tosses combat-film actors into an actual jungle setting and then slowly strips away their personality shields until they're left staring deeply into their Hollywood hearts of darkness. From the audience's perspective, the view is gut-bustingly funny. Stiller's wisest choice behind the camera is to keep the lens focused on his inspired cast mates – including Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Steve Coogan, and a vulgar Tom Cruise – who embrace the hilarity in the fantastic screenplay. Tropic Thunder gleefully skewers the film industry and its pampered acting community. It's one of the year's funniest films. (R) GREAT ACTION-COMEDY. Director - Ben Stiller; Lead - Robert Downey Jr.; Running Time - 115 minutes; Release date - August 13. Capsule review by Sean O'Connell.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS. On George Lucas' infinite Star Wars timeline, this animated saga bridges 2002's Attack of the Clones and 2005's Revenge of the Sith. Technically, that makes it a prequel to a prequel, the equivalent of reading chapters 21 to 24 in a lengthy novel after you’ve digested chapters 25 through 30. The story has Obi-Wan and Anakin (Lanter) rescuing Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped child so they can secure the slug's allegiance in the battle against Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). The animation makes these sci-fi icons look like wood carvings and new character Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) is a more petulant than whiny Anakin. (PG) FAIR ANIMATED ADVENTURE. Director - Dave Filoni; Lead - Matt Lanter; Running Time - 98 minutes; Release date - August 15. Capsule review by Sean O’Connell.

FLY ME TO THE MOON. 3-D animation comes to the very young in a gentle adventure story about three little flies that stow away on the historic Apollo 11 space mission. It's 1969 when Nat and his buddies, IQ and Scooter, buzz into the rocket's cockpit along with the astronauts after hearing their grandfather's often-told story about riding along with Amelia Earhart on her solo cross-Atlantic flight. A jealous Russian spy fly attempts to sabotage the mission, adding a certain Rocky & Bullwinkle element to the plot. While not a scintillating movie for adults, it's easy fun for tykes and a learning experience to boot. (G) FAIR ANIMATED ADVENTURE. Director - Ben Stassen; Lead - Tim Curry; Running Time - 85 minutes; Release date - August 15.. Capsule review by Cole Smithey.

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. Although certainly not on the level of his best work, Woody Allen's 39th feature is consistently engaging, thanks largely to the smoldering lead performance by Javier Bardem as a Spanish artist who gets involved with two American tourists (Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Miller) spending the summer in Barcelona. Penelope Cruz is equally dazzling in a fiery supporting turn as the artist's mentally unstable ex. The movie is occasionally marred by stiff dialogue and contrived plot points, but compared to much of the director's recent output Vicky Cristina Barcelona gives us reason to hope he's still got a few good movies up his sleeve. (R) GOOD DRAMA. Director - Woody Allen; Lead - Javier Bardem; Running Time - 96 minutes; Release date - August 15. Capsule review by Ethan Alter.

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(Submitted by John P. McCarthy, Editor of Cineman Syndicate LLC)