<strong><span class="subhead">Opa!</span></strong></p><p>**</p><p><strong>PG-13 (brief nudity, brief strong language); 93 min.</strong></p><p>You can be forgiven if the mind wanders during <em>Opa!</em>, an amiable if easily forgotten story of middle-age romance set amid the sun-splashed Greek Islands.</p><p>There’s the distraction of the landscape itself, a panorama of sea and solitude. There’s the reminder that Matthew Modine never quite lived up to his potential as one of the bright young stars of the ’80s. And there’s the radiance of actress Agni Scott (<em>House of Saddam</em>).</p><p>What there isn’t is much of a compelling story to snap the viewer back to attention.</p><p>Modine is Eric, a second-generation American archeologist who comes to Greece to continue the quest of his father: to find St. John’s Cup, a chalice supposedly used by St. John. The uptight Eric — who doesn’t get his hands dirty digging but uses computers and satellites to locate treasure — discovers more than he expected when he falls for Katerina (Scott), an earthy single mom and owner of the island’s favorite taverna.</p><p>But, wouldn’t you know it, his technology tells him that the cup is buried right beneath Katerina’s place, meaning the building would have to be bulldozed. So he has to choose: his lifelong dream or the woman of his dreams?</p><p>Director Udayan Prasad and writers Christina Concetta and Raman Singh keep things moving briskly in this UK-Greek co-production, injecting some humor (as in a "Greek chorus" of elderly women) even if they strain credibility. Alki David (<em>The Bank Job</em>) does a memorable job as Spiros, a worker in Katerina’s restaurant.</p><p>Still, <em>Opa!</em> is done in by the clichéd plotting and the lack of any real chemistry between Modine and Scott even though both are likable. The film was made in 2005 and obviously has been sitting around for awhile, just waiting to pop up in the back of the "O" section at the DVD store.</p><p><strong>Exclusive:</strong> AMC Grapevine Mills 30, AMC Stonebriar 24 Frisco</p><p>— Cary Darling