Yeah, even in paradise there are movies.

Maybe not the latest style of showing movies. At the Keauhou-Kona Regal Theatres 7, they show pre-movie company ads that date back to the 1990s. You know, the ones with the roller-coaster theme?

But they still show the latest movies. For example, last night we had a couple of hours to kill, and it was dark, so we went to see the Angelina Jolie/Johnny Depp film "The Tourist." As we ourselves are touring this, the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii, it seemed like an appropriate choice.

Oh, right. Did I say the "latest" movies? This movie would have felt old in 1957. And I know that the movie tries to confuse the issue of Depp's identity, but was it necessary to make him look like a complete dork? What, community college math teachers in Madison, Wisc., wear their hair like Audrey Hepburn badly in need of a shampoo?

The plot is simple enough: Jolie is being shadowed by police, some sort of team comprising French, Italian and British operatives, as she follows directions given to her in a series of embossed letters from a mysterious source.

One of her directives is to find someone who fits the basic form and shape of the letter sender, so as to throw off the police. Which is how -- for some strange reason -- she picks math-teacher-on-vacation Depp.

This begins a dance between Jolie, Depp, the cops and a British thug (plus his Russian henchmen), all of whom want both the mysterious letter-sender and the $2-plus-billion he stole (from the British thug). Which leads to a bunch of barefoot runs across Venetian tile roofs, gunplay along Venice's canals, threats and even a kiss or two.

It all adds up to nothing much. The movie tries to play fast and loose with the mysterious presence, wanting us to think Depp is the guy -- not the guy, is the guy, not the guy -- but the climax is both a surprise and not at the same time. By that point, it's hard to care either way.

What may be most surprising about the film is that it was directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the director of the 2006 Oscar-winning film "The Lives of Others." Which just goes to show you: Some directors, such as Stephen Frears or Danny Boyle, are talented at jumping from one genre to the next.

Others? Not so much. They have as much fluidity in their style as Depp's character has in hairstyle taste.

Below: The trailer for "The Tourist."