Where are Bob Hope and Bing Crosby when you really need them for a “road” picture?

I can practically hear the new opening number for “The Open Road:”

We’re off on the road to some ennui.
We’re angst and frustration bound.
Where we’re goin’, why we’re goin’ how are we to know?
I’ll lay you 8 to 5 we’ll have star power to glow.

Sorry, that’s the best you get when my brain is addled by fever and sinus infection medicine powerful enough to take down a bull elephant.

Back to “The Open Road.” A struggling minor league ballplayer learns that his mother might die if she doesn’t have emergency surgery. The trouble is, she won’t go under the knife without seeing her estranged husband, again.

That husband is the ballplayer’s Hall of Fame slugger father who hasn’t spoken to the family in five years. The son must find him and bring him back before it is too late.

You might have never heard of this movie, but hold on to your hats as I rattle off the cast.

Justin Timberlake brings sexy back to minor league baseball as the son named Carlton. Jeff Bridges plays his famous Hall of Fame dad, Kyle. Mary Steenburgen plays the mother. Ted Danson plays Carlton’s coach. Lyle Lovett plays a Memphis bartender. Retired real baseball All-Star Bret Saberhagen even makes an appearance. Who isn’t in this movie?! I’m sure Bing and Bob would be if they weren’t dead.

If you are a big fan of movies about broken families who are loaded with unresolved troubles and argue a lot (think “Junebug” or “Rachel Getting Married“) this is for you. I know there are lots of you fans out there.

Me, I have a short tether for that kind of film. Even the best of them don’t necessarily do much for me. Please take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I certainly can’t knock the caliber of the cast, but the writing or film editing seemed lacking. Kyle–the dad–never really strikes me as being all that bad. He’s obliging and never really establishes himself as a “loser” or hard case. Subsequently, Carlton’s constant agitation with him comes off as peevish. Carlton’s girlfriend is also along for the ride, and mostly I wondered why she and Kyle put up with Carlton.

The seemingly endless montages of the threesome traveling through the Midwest is excessive. As little to no dialog transpires during these scenes, I really don’t see the need to watch their S.U.V. cruise around just for the sake of it.

To make these types of movies work without much conflict, there needs to be some hefty transmission of sage wisdom passed from one character to the others. Unfortunately, nothing here really struck me as being all that prophetic. That’s not to say there isn’t any–it just wasn’t life changing.

Then again, this isn’t my usual type of movie. If I were to grade it a C, I’m sure there are others who’d gladly pump it up to a B.

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Well, now. Here’s a little something that you don’t see every day.

“Franklyn” is a sci-fi thriller that unfolds in two worlds: modern London and an alternate realm called Meanwhile City.

In Meanwhile City–a sprawling gothic metropolis ruled by religious fanatics bent on using people’s fear of God against them–a lone atheist vigilante is out to protect the innocent and avenge the death of a little girl.

In the parallel universe of modern London, a college student confronts her past of childhood sex abuse through suicide attempts and multimedia documentaries of them. On the verge of death, she alone can see between the universes.

Elsewhere in modern London, a young man copes with a bitter break up just before his wedding.

Also, a father searches for his missing son.

The two universes grow increasingly interwoven in a story that unexpectedly held my attention. I say unexpectedly because I cannot explain why and how I got hooked–I simply got hooked.

The story is unique. It might build on concepts or imagery from “Fight Club,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Blade Runner,” “12 Monkeys” and “The Matrix,” but it is original.

The gothic Meanwhile City is beautifully laid out. Its costume designs seem like the modern versions of 14th century plague-era London to 17th century London.

There is virtually no blood or gore, but the set design is tasty.

Two themes play large parts in the story. One is human psychology, which I won’t discuss for fear of spoiling the movie. The other is religion. It is fascinating to me how the Meanwhile City vigilante has a bitter, skewed Marxist view of religion while the modern London scenes are more of a balm showing religion in a more favorable light. Of course, that might have something to do with a bipolar psychology theme that I can’t talk about.

The religions of Meanwhile City are open to anyone who can think of a new one. My favorite was the “7th Day Manicurists.” Who could ask for a more practical and fun faith…I mean if you’re into girly things like manicures?

The main cast members, who include Eva Green and Ryan Phillippe, often play more than one role due to the various parallel universes. However, there is no confusion between the realms. It also is not quite Haley Mills and Haley Mills in the “Parent Trap,” darlings.

“Franklyn” is definitely worth a gander for sci-fi and B-movie fans.

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One of the most influential and hotly debated anime series just got an upgrade. Hideaki Anno revisits his stellar series “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” retrofitting the remastered 26-episode series into 4 streamlined feature films collectively known as the “Rebuild of Evangelion”-the first of which is the Japanese box-office smash “Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone,” now available on DVD in North America.

It is the story of the world after what is called the Second Impact. The planet’s axis has shifted, the coasts have flooded and half the global population has died. In order to survive, humanity must also fight and defeat a series of marauding Angels who intend to wipe mankind from the face of the Earth.

“EVA: 1.01″ begins with Shinji Ikari’s arrival in Tokyo-3. Shinji lives life on an emotional tightrope. His father abandoned him, his mother is deceased and he feels completely isolated. Friendless, he lives his life meekly following orders while further cutting himself off with his headphones, listening to the same songs over and over. Shinji’s mysterious father, Gendo Ikari, heads the organization NERV, which combats the invading Angels using EVA Units, gigantic synthetic beings piloted by gifted teenagers–those born after the Second Impact. Piloting one of these EVAs is exactly why Gendo summoned his son to Tokyo-3. Combining the first 6 episodes of the series, “EVA: 1.01″ climaxes with the sniper shot utilizing all the power Japan has to offer.

Anno sidesteps the expected clichés that accompany stories about giant robots battling giant monsters. The story is swimming with psychological allegory, mental illness, silly humor, intrigue, deception, political drama, military conflict…and let’s not forget the hardcore monster fights drenched in post-modern sci-fi and Judeo-Christian-Kabbalistic mythology.

The Evangelion series elicits viewer responses ranging from “This is the greatest show ever!” to “What the hell is happening?” This story is so dense that a book was once issued in an effort to help people understand the canon themes of the story (the Red Cross Book) and forums all across the net still boil with analysis and debate about what the show means.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll love this film. If you’re a noob, definitely check it out, and I wish you luck. It’s a lot like going to summer school: If you didn’t get algebra in 9 months, how are you gonna get it in 6 weeks? It’s a heady series which flies by as a feature film. If you’ve seen the entire show you will understand it despite the brevity and adore the touch-ups the anime receives.

The animators cleaned the picture, layered in new effects, inserted amazing 3-D models and tweaked the image brightness and clarity. It’s paradise for those with a machinery fetish. The industrial design is awesome. The writers redesigned the narrative, refined the story in an effort to make the series a bit more understandable. Also, a key character is introduced who appeared much later in the original series.

Extras include a big assortment of trailers for other shows, but oddly lack the cool “making-of” reel that was present on the foreign DVD release, which showed the wire-frame models, lighting renders and matte shots that went into making this impressive looking film. Perhaps this bonus feature will accompany a U.S. Blu-ray release, whenever it comes?

Along with the rumored Blu-ray, I’m desperately waiting for “Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance,” which will feature a new character, a new EVA, and the arrival of Shinji’s rival, the second child, Asuka!

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