City of Angels

Lips will tremble over this schmaltzy spin on Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders' 1988 cult classic. Shifting the scene for this meeting of heaven and earth from Wenders' Berlin to L.A., City of Angels stars Nicholas Cage as a sensitive (and strangely morose) angel who risks losing his wings when he falls in love with a divinely down-to-earth heart surgeon (Meg Ryan). Lacking Wings' expansive lyricism but preserving enough of its visuals and conceits (e.g., angels hang out in libraries all day) to keep things interesting, this New Agey take will still engage the heartstrings of any mortal with the teensiest desire to believe. B