Martian Child

Another installment in a current spate of magical realist films, "Martian Child" focuses on the primal fear of abandonment of a young orphaned boy named Dennis (Bobby Coleman) who professes to be from Mars. John Cusack plays David Gordon, a widowed science fiction writer who sees himself in Dennis, and adopts the troubled boy. With help from his sister Liz (Joan Cusack) and would-be girlfriend Harlee (Amanda Peet), David breaks through Dennis's defense mechanisms and teaches him to see life on terms he can relate to-like baseball. John Cusack's favored co-actors (Oliver Platt, Joan Cusack, and Angelica Huston) add color to a sweet movie that intermittently gets bogged down by poor pacing. Special features include English and Spanish subtitles, a commentary track with produceres Corey Sienega and David Kirschner, and screenwriters Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins, two making-of featurettes and fourteen deleted and additional scenes. Aspect ratio is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with sound quality processed in choice of Dolby Digital Surround or 2.0 Stereo Surround. (Movie – Three Stars, DVD features – Two Stars). Rated PG, 108 mins. (New Line)