Young guys, old men, generic titles

These two movies have been sitting in my mental queue, and it's time to just get them out of the way. They have plenty in common: came out last year, have a hot young star matching wits with a grizzled veteran, and have titles that don't tell you much at all. Oh, and neither one is anything great.

Breach

"Inspired by a true story," Chris Cooper is a senior FBI agent suspected of leaking secrets to the Soviet Union on an epic scale. Ryan Phillippe is a young agent recruited to win Cooper's trust and help Laura Linney catch him. Gary Cole, Dennis "Pedro Cerrano" Haysbert and Kathleen Quinlan are lurking around in supporting roles.

It's not a horrible cat-and-mouse game, although the proceedings are hurt somewhat by us never doubting that Cooper is guilty. Worse, we get no real insight into why he does what he does. I'm not saying "The Good Shepherd" was stellar in this regard, but I bought those deceptions more.

While ultimately a letdown, "Breach" still offers decent performances -- Linney is nice, and I've kind of come around on Phillippe, who also was good in "The Flags of Our Fathers," "Crash" and "The Way of the Gun." It just doesn't seal the deal as far as being a compelling tale of treason.

Fracture

Here we have a different kind of cat-and-mouse game, with Anthony Hopkins accused of shooting his wife and Ryan Gosling playing the hotshot prosecutor assigned to the case. Gosling also is ticketed for a gig as a big law firm, but he just needs to get Hopkins convicted. Darn it if Tony doesn't want to let that happen.

In fact, Hopkins relishes the whole game. As in "Breach," the reasons aren't totally clear. I get that he's all about precision and every action having a reaction, based on his engineering-type job. As for Gosling, he's more one-note than in "Half Nelson," but you gotta like how he's still deliberate with the roles, popping up in movies only once a year or so.

Supporting characters include David Strathairn as the DA, Rosamund Pike as a lawyer at the private firm and Embeth Davidtz as Hopkins' wife -- who was having an affair, hence the shooting. But this is really about Hopkins needling Gosling, and even if Tony isn't breaking new ground here, it's somewhat interesting to watch their dance. I also thought the ending wasn't too bad. You know, where Hopkins peels off Gosling's face and then wears it as a mask. That never gets old.