I still don’t like vampire movies. Call me contrarian and I know that what the critics say will not touch these pictures, but that does not remove from us the responsibility for commenting on their weaknesses.

Start with the actors: Robert Pattison still mumbles, poses and slinks his way through these films; Taylor Lautner still has little more than his abs to deal with in terms of talent; and Kristen Stewart’s lines never reach her eyes. She looks eternally vapid, a worthy and willing target of the vampires who are trying to recruit her or, in the case of Edward (Pattison), trying to save her from a fate worse than death as a fellow vampire. This is vampire who cares.

There is another problem with this film: The producers don’t seem to care about getting a new audience or are relying on DVD sales to let potential new viewers find out what the basic story line is in parts one and two. The first 30 minutes of “Eclipse” must be total gobbledygook to the uninitiated. In fact, it is an apparent assumption that no exposition at all is needed to enjoy this film, thus violating the primary rule of sequels: make sure the film stands on its own. This one simply does not.

Yes, there are touches of humor, sort of. Edward asks, wryly, of the bare-chested Jacob (Lautner): “Doesn’t he own a shirt?” And the only really clever line of the film, in which the high-temperature werewolf Lautner is stripping down to warm up a chilly Bella and says to Edward, the cold-blooded vampire, “After all, I am hotter than you.” In this series, that remark passes for profundity.

If you’re not careful, you forget that Bella is being asked to make a choice between dying as a “human” if she becomes a vampire and becoming a werewolf’s bride. Some choice!

This stuff will rake in the dough because there are readers of vampire literature and the films are by now a franchise. But I still have the right and obligation to say that it is a lousy film.

“Predators” (R) **

The actors in this film literally fall from the heavens to take part in it. That is part of the plot to make them, all “predators” of one sort or another on earth, targets of superior predators on some unnamed planet. As soon as you realize this is an interplanetary explosion of violence with lots of gooey stuff oozing out of open wounds, lots of sort of maggots, exploding limbs and improbably destructive fights that go on for a long time, you can relax because you know there is only one story line: Can the humans find a way to eliminate the super-villains before they are all wiped out?

Some strange things happen here: Royce (Adrian Brody) tells the human predators they can survive only if they don’t run. A scene later they run like crazy. Noland (Laurence Fishburne) brags about being a survivor for 10 years and in the next scene gets blown away.

But like I said, once you realize what this is, no attention to plot is necessary. The director and writers didn’t pay much attention, so why should you?

“Despicable Me” (PG) ****

This film takes some time to adapt to. Its atmosphere is strange, the cartooning old-fashioned in terms of exaggerated shapes and movement, and the premise a bit foggy. Once you get settled in and realize that this is the Scrooge story in terms of redemption of an old, crabby guy, and once you yield to the robots, you’re in good hands.

Gru (voiced extraordinarily by Steve Carell) is an arch-villain who finds himself outdone by somebody who steals the Giza Pyramid. Gru wants to steal the moon to expand his reputation. In order to do that, he has to shrink it so he seeks funding for a Shrink Machine. That funding is to come from a bank for villains run by the father of Gru’s greatest competitor and the guy who stole the pyramid, Vector, (voiced by Jason Segel). Because only three orphans are able to penetrate Vector’s lair to get the Shrinking Machine he steals from Gru, Gru “adopts” the three from Miss Hattie’s Home for Girls.

Take your pick: Either the robots or the trio of Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Geier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher) steal the movie as well as the heart of Gru. The film is filled with fantastic machines and events, including the shrinking of the moon and a conscience-stirring missed ballet recital, even though Gru gave a “pinkie promise” to make it. (Some things never change.)

I didn’t understand a word of the robots’ dialogue and will have to figure out the difference between the one-eyed ones and the two-eyed ones, but every appearance of them makes you chuckle if not giggle out loud. Certainly the kids in the audience related to them; the laughter that greeted their every appearance was ample evidence of youthful audience appeal.

Many of the recent animated features have appealed to both adults and children. This one is more targeted at the younger set. Their world is still magical enough for them to spend less time figuring out what’s going on and more time simply enjoying it.

Find more of Mike’s movie reviews on our website at www.towncourier.com.

Congratulations to the city and its Police Department for a continued proactive approach to combat gang crime.

It’s not easy public policy because just acknowledging gangs are around is bad PR. But there are gangs in Gaithersburg — and there are gangs everywhere. According to a gang prosecutor in the State’s Attorney’s Office who also teaches law, there were gangs in America before the country was founded and there will always be gangs.

Is the problem in Gaithersburg suddenly worse? No. Nobody says that. 

Gang problems are regional. Problems move around. Statistics are slippery. 

I first wrote a newspaper article about the gang problem in Montgomery County and the region a dozen years ago. In the years since, I have written five news stories or columns about some aspect of gangs.

I notice that whenever resources are devoted to fighting gang crime, it makes the news. Understandably, gangs make people uncomfortable.

Gaithersburg resident and Montgomery County Council member Phil Andrews chairs that Council’s Public Safety Committee. Last week members of his and another Council committee were briefed by police, prosecutors, social services people and others on the status of inter-jurisdictional cooperation in the county’s efforts to fight gangs.

He reports there is “excellent coordination” and is pleased by a “significant decrease in gang-related crime that mirrors a general decrease in the crime rate locally and nationally.” 

There are six Montgomery County police districts in the county. District three — Silver Spring’s — numbers for gang crime were highest. The sixth district, which encompasses both Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village, was second.

Overall, gang crime in the county has gone down for the first quarter of 2010 — and for the last several years, there has been a downward trend in gang crime.

Andrews shed some light on my observation that gang crime news — even when the amount of crime is small — seems to have a very loud sound.

“Street crime,” Andrews explained, “has a ripple effect on the perception of public safety.”

A three-pronged approach to gang crime — prevention, intervention and suppression — is shared by the Gaithersburg Police Department and the Montgomery County Police Department. Gaithersburg shares some services with the county department, and the two entities work together on many things.

As a reporter, I have always encountered a high degree of openness and accessibility working with the Gaithersburg P.D. when I have had questions about gangs.

Also the Gaitherburg police keep a very comprehensive data bank on all contacts with gang members and do not hesitate to answer questions about numbers.

This week Gaithersburg P.D. Detective Patrick Word told me that at the current time, there are 10 regional gangs operating in the city with 150 to 200 members.

It is estimated by the county that there are 40 gangs throughout the county.

In Gaithersburg, “our entire agency,” said Word, tracks gang contacts.

Therefore even when city police are called for something that is not a gang crime, or there is a crime in which a gang member is victim, the interaction with that individual is noted by Gaithersburg police as a gang contact. Information on individuals in gangs is updated at constantly.

“We are keeping our own numbers, and our number are accurate,” said Word. “We know what’s happening in our city.

“Usually in difficult economic times like these, crime goes up. We are lucky in our city that we have not seen an increase.”

Luck?

Mayor Katz has always been willing to talk gangs when I have asked for input.

Discussing the Olde Towne camera pilot program, the mayor said there has been no recent surge in gang activity in the city. But, he added, “[If crime is low] and you don’t do something, it doesn’t mean it will stay low.”

Katz emphasizes that the use of digital surveillance technology in Olde Towne, “is a trial.”

 Of course, there are important issues concerning the use of digital surveillance cameras to improve public safety for us to consider in this trial.

In some places, surveillance video has been used to hurt innocent people. There is debate about privacy and the impact on the U.S. Constitution’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure. People disagree on whether the data show the cameras lower the incidence of crime or aid effective prosecution. Some people say the cameras just move crime to hidden pockets.

This discussion will now take place in Gaithersburg, too.

I look forward to it.

Comments: karen@towncourier.com.

Louise Steinfort takes first prize on Noble Gesture in the sidesaddle class at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show.

I pictured my handsome grandmother in a long skirt, sitting as erect as the “fine lady upon a white horse,” and wearing a little plumed hat tilted over one of her blue, blue eyes. When I was young, I could only ride astraddle on a western saddle on my pinto pony, Billy. Nobody could ever have called me “a fine horsewoman” the way they did Grandmother Nora.

During my horseback riding days I never thought of trying to ride with my leg hooked over the pommel. I was too leery of my skills and Billy’s bad temper. But I’ve always wanted to see someone ride the way my grandmother did.

At last, one evening not long ago I had the opportunity. I learned that a person I had met recently, Louise Steinfort, is “a fine horsewoman” and frequently rides side saddle. When I told her about my grandmother, Lou invited me out to the farm where she rides almost every afternoon after her work as director of middle school admissions at Sandy Spring Friends School.

A week later two friends and I followed her car from New Hampshire Avenue north of Ashton as it winds through the lush Maryland countryside, then crosses Route 97 in Brookeville. Rolling Acres Farm, owned by Sam and Janice Nicholson, is well named — the epitome of an antebellum southern horse farm — with rail fences that separate meadows and hilly pastures. Several beautiful horses were grazing in each enclosure. Rolling Acres is a top flight hunter-jumper show stable and the home for more than 75 horses. Traditional red barns and a stone main house that dates back to 1806 form a complex, dedicated to the care and training of fine horses.

Lou told us that she had to take a few minutes to saddle “Jessie,” the nickname for a lovely mare whose official name is Noble Gesture. She disappeared into the tack room of a barn near the fenced-in arena where we sat. Shortly we heard an unearthly sound — a cross between a whinny and a scream. We looked at each other. One of my friends said, “Horses can be mean. I’m terrified of them.”

But Lou came out of the barn, leading a sleek, mahogany-colored Jessie, who emitted another piercing whinny. Lou explained, “That’s a request for information. Her barn mate is out in the fields. She’s calling to him, ‘Are you out there?’” Far off there came an answering snort.

Lou led Jessie over to the fence in front of us. She said, “There used to be two grooms to help someone mount — one to hold the horse and the other to assist the rider. But I’m going to climb up the fence and get on by myself.”

She scrambled onto the saddle in a few minutes and walked Jessie over to us. Lou’s right leg was hooked around a sheepskin-covered protrusion called a “pommel,” and her other leg was secured behind a second padded hook named the ”leaping horn.” Her left foot was in the one stirrup that a modern sidesaddle has. She mentioned that in earlier times women used only the pommel of a saddle to support one leg when they rode sidesaddle.

“Then that’s what Grandmother Nora must’ve done,” I thought, and I was even more proud of her.

Lou looked as comfortable riding sidesaddle as she would have sitting in an easy chair. She circled the arena several times. As she stopped in front of us and patted Jessie, she said, “To ride sidesaddle you need a quiet horse, level and smooth.”

She told us about the dark blue or black riding habit she wears in shows. I learned that what appears to be a long skirt is actually called an “apron,” which is about half a long skirt that buttons at the waist. Underneath it she wears skin tight black riding pants and polished black boots. A fitted jacket, a white shirt with a white stock tied at the neck, gloves, and a top hat with a face veil complete the outfit. When Louise competes in a horse show, she looks like the model for a lady horseback rider in a 19th century English hunting print.

We left Rolling Acres as twilight approached. It had been a magical hour or so, watching Lou on lovely Jessie and feeling that we had somehow reached back to a time when women took riding sidesaddle for granted. It made me feel closer to a grandmother I had known only in portraits of her and the stories my mother told me about her.

Written by Margot Livesey

Margot Livesey has explained how “Eva Moves the Furniture” (2001) came about again and again, because interviewers invariably ask her about its genesis. The story is quite unlike anything Livesey has written before or after. Her book, after all, concerns a young woman growing up in Scotland in the years around World War II
who is frequently visited by two ghosts. They periodically appear to her as helpers, but they also can meddle in her life when things don’t please them. Her explanation of the roots of the book and why it took her 12 years to finish is a great story itself.

As a child Livesey lived with her parents at the edge of the Scottish Highlands at the boys’ boarding school where her father taught geography and her mother was the school nurse. Livesey’s mother, Eva, died of cancer when the daughter was just 2 1/2. Livesey grew up hearing stories about her mother, but the ones that always sparked her writer’s imagination were those concerning her mother and the bothersome ghosts that came banging around the school infirmary at night.

“Them again!” Eva is said to have exclaimed as she straightened the room back up each time.

One day, the adult Livesey was getting a ride to the train station with her mother’s friend, Roger, who told her about the day he visited Eva’s office and saw a woman in a dark raincoat quickly leave. When he asked Eva who the stranger was and why she left in haste, Eva laughed and showed him that the door the visitor had used was screwed shut.

A light bulb flashed in Livesey’s mind. Her story ideas could have specifics about how poltergeists move around our world. Livesey got on the train that day, jotted down this very title, and began a draft of the book and the long process of research.

In the novel, Eva McEwan is a motherless child who lives in Troon, Scotland, at a boys’ boarding school with her father, David, a teacher, and her Aunt Lily who cares for her. Eva’s mother, Barbara, had died immediately after giving birth to her when a formation of six magpies was observed out the window, indicating a death would take place.

When Eva is 6 years old, two ephemeral beings, an older woman and a freckled girl with braids, appear to her. The much-loved but lonely little girl likes to think of them as her “companions” who come in and out of her life. As a young woman, Eva becomes a nurse serving in the war effort and then makes the safe choice of a husband who becomes a teacher in a boys’ school.

I found that knowing the story behind the book is an enrichment; we understand that the novel is one writer’s attempt to explore the world of a mother who was taken from her so early and to feel closer to her. Yet Livesey’s story is filled with moments of tenderness and love that all readers can relate to.

McCann’s seventh book is a breathtaking work — an appropriate description for a novel that is centered on a truly breathtaking event that took place on August 7, 1974, when the pixie-like Frenchman, Philippe Petit went back and forth across a wire strung from one of the World Trade Center towers to the other. Petit stunned the crowds by running, dancing, even hopping from one tower to another before his arrest.

Yet the Irish-born McCann, now a New Yorker, did not want to focus on Petit’s feat — an author’s note refers readers to Petit’s own book “To Reach the Clouds” (2002). Rather, as McCann immersed himself in the history of New York during the mid-‘70s, he tells interviewers he found he was more interested in the lives of ordinary New Yorkers, “ones who walked a tightrope just one inch off the ground” during those tense times. The city was going bankrupt, the Vietnam War soldiers were returning and the racial conflicts in the Bronx were out of control.

McCann telescopes down to tell the stories of 10 New Yorkers starting on that summer day. What McCann accomplishes so masterfully is the way in which each story has its own tone, it’s own language, yet they become so gracefully entwined as he proceeds. The first story, a gritty one, features Corrigan, an Irish street priest who lives in the deteriorating South Bronx and devotes his life to helping the prostitutes who work the streets below his barebones apartment; yet the next story involves Claire, a wealthy Park Avenue matron who is entertaining a group of women she met through a newspaper ad for mothers who have lost sons in Vietnam. That same day a young, married pair of artists with their bodies still full of cocaine from the night before drive into the city and on the FDR Drive are involved in a small accident with huge consequences.

It’s beautiful to watch how effortlessly McCann connects these people’s lives. A book that begins so powerfully ends the same way, with small, beautiful acts by ordinary people bringing light into the lives of others.