Thursday, May 23, 2013
Movie Picks
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Are We There Yet? (PG)
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Because of Winn-Dixie (PG)
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Cinderella Man (PG-13)
Russell Crowe plays Depression-era boxer and folk hero Jim Braddock, who beat heavyweight champ Max Baer in a 15-round bout in 1935. Also starring Renee Zellweger and Connor Price. -- Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Kimball's Twin Peak, Tinseltown
Crash (R) -- Kathryn Eastburn
The big collision here is between race and class in Los Angeles, personified by a group of barely interlinked characters who are brought into confrontation with one another through a series of inexplicably linked incidents and car crashes, all involving guns. The directorial debut of Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis, Crash lingers at the edge of importance and greatness, but delivers straw people for characters and serendipity for fate. Anchoring the cast is the great Don Cheadle as a LAPD detective whose younger brother has taken to carjacking. Sandra Bullock is cast distinctly against type as a disaffected, angry housewife, and the rest of the cast, including Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser and Terrence Howard, lend gravity to what feels like an underdeveloped concept. Essentially, the message is that racial and class divisions drive our dissatisfaction, frustrations and fears here in America, but that message is diverted by bland characterization and sidestepping that tends to offer justification for vicious behavior. Mark Isham's musical score intrudes with loud electronic chanting. Crash could have been a smash, but turns out to be a mere fender bender.
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown
Fever Pitch (PG-13)
Jimmy Fallon plays a die-hard Red Sox fan who falls in love with Drew Barrymore's hard-working businesswoman character. As the Sox season picks up, they struggle to make their relationship work. -- Not reviewed
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Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (NR)
Cinemark 16 IMAX
Forces of Nature (NR) -- Not reviewed
A National Geographic film showcasing earthquakes, volcanoes, severe storms and interviews with the scientists who study them.
Cinemark 16 IMAX
Guess Who (PG-13)
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Hitch (PG-13)
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Hostage (R)
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Ice Princess (G)
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The Interpreter (PG-13)
Master director Sydney Pollack (Cold Mountain, Out of Africa) knows how to craft an excellent film, so it's a disappointment that The Interpreter is so haphazardly constructed and emotionally vague. Beautiful as always, Nicole Kidman is well cast as Silvia Broome, a hyper-intelligent but icy United Nations interpreter who overhears a coup d'etat threat in an obscure African language. She can understand the language because she grew up in Africa, and as the plot thickens, the viewer learns that her connections to the assassination plot may be personal. Charged with protecting the visiting African dignitary (and coup target) is agent Tobin Keller (played by a boozy Sean Penn), a man who is struggling to deal with the recent death of his wife. The problem is there are two many plotlines to tie together, and an otherwise intriguing film becomes a messy meditation, rather than a taut thriller. -- Dan Wilcock
Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Kicking and Screaming (PG)
Family man Phil Weston (Will Ferrell) coaches his kids' soccer team and learns how competitive he is. Also starring Robert Duvall and Mike Ditka. -- Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
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Kingdom of Heaven (R)
During the Crusades, Balian of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom), a young blacksmith from Jerusalem, rises to protect his people from foreign invaders. Directed by Ridley Scott, also starring Liam Neeson. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The Longest Yard (PG-13)
Adam Sandler stars as an ex-football star who ends up in prison and is encouraged to start an inmate football team that plays against the prison guards. This re-make also stars Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, Nelly and James Cromwell. -- Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16,
Tinseltown
Madagascar (PG)
See full review on page 29.
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16,
Tinseltown
Million Dollar Baby (PG-13)
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*Millions (PG)
That Millions, the heartwarming tale of a pair of motherless Irish brothers, is directed by grim meister Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) is a big surprise. The child actors, Alex Etel as Damian and Lewis McGibbon as Anthony, are natural and charming despite their eccentricities. They don't do cute; they merely are cute. Damian converses with saints and Anthony has an uncanny knack with finances, and when the two unexpectedly are gifted with a duffel bag full of cash, a series of adventures and misadventures is set in place. The film stumbles forward with a shifting focus, but enough endearing scenes to hold it together. The ending should have been dispensed in the cutting room, but it doesn't ruin the effect of having watched a sweet family heal itself with a little help from the spirit world. -- Kathryn Eastburn
Kimball's Twin Peak
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and
Fabulous (PG-13)
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Monster-in-Law (PG-13) -- Not reviewed
Charlotte Honeywell (Jennifer Lopez) has a disastrous dating life until she meets "the perfect man," Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan). However, his mother, Viola (Jane Fonda), is willing to go to great lengths to destroy their relationship.
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16,
Tinseltown
The Pacifier (PG)
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Robots (PG)
Cinemark 16 IMAX, Picture Show
Sharks 3-D (NR)
Jean-Michel Cousteau presents an up-close experience with a variety of shark species found around the world. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark 16 IMAX
*Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith (PG-13)
Despite more of the same lousy acting and poor character ideas that marred I and II (the prequels to the well-loved trilogy), Sith wins in the end due to its unrelenting dark vision. After all, this is what everybody has been waiting for: the story of how Anakin Skywalker -- the boy foretold to unite the galaxy -- becomes a black-clad mass murderer named Darth. While the special effects sometimes are too much to grasp, they are stunning nonetheless. When it comes to commanding believable acting and penning good dramatic transitions, Lucas has a wooden heart. As for the showdown between Anakin and Obi-Wan, all there is to say is that it's worth seeing on the big screen. -- Dan Wilcock
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16,
Tinseltown
