REEL CRITICS:

“Race to Witch Mountain” adds modern special effects and a few welcome plot twists to Disney’s original version of this PG sci-fi tale.

Anna Sophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig play an apparently wholesome pair of teenagers. But they are really aliens with paranormal powers from another planet. They are on a mission that may save the earth from total destruction.

Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as “The Rock,” plays a reformed ex-con who drives a taxi to make an honest living. He becomes the unlikely protector and champion of the two young aliens after they become a surprise fare in his cab. They battle against government agents who captured their spaceship and chase after them relentlessly.

What follows is predictable Hollywood formula for the genre. The alien kids are put in jeopardy several times.

There are car chases, explosions and gunfights creating lots of noise, but no graphic violence. Overall, it’s harmless and mildly entertaining, but there’s no reason not to wait for the video

Award-winning film is a ‘Class’ act

Finally saw the long-running “The Class, ” a most excellent docudrama nominated this year for Best Foreign Film and which also won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Francois Bégaudeau is a French junior high school teacher virtually playing himself based on his book “Between the Walls” about a year in his life.

Francois’ students are multi-ethnic, and are by turns bright, bored, sullen, angry, and they constantly challenge him on every thing he says “Why do you always use ‘white names’ in your examples?”

Without using glamorous actors, you feel like you are watching a real classroom, real kids and teachers with very real flaws. The kids can frustrate and annoy the heck out of you with their constant questions, just like they do to their teachers and vice versa.

Yet the fact that they question everything shows they have a curiosity about the world, and that means a desire to understand and to learn. It’s moments like these where you begin to comprehend why teachers do what they do in spite of the frustrations and constant struggles.

The absence of a musical soundtrack is particularly effective. We are thus able to judge for ourselves the merits of each scene, and the silences convey more than words ever could.

At the end of the school year, Francois asks each student what they learned. Their responses will surprise you, warm your heart and then break it.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.