Sunday, May 19, 2013
Movie Picks
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Aliens of the Deep (G)
James Cameron teams up with NASA scientists to explore the Mid-Ocean Ridge, a submerged chain of mountains, and its ecosystems. In IMAX 3-D. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark IMAX
*Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (PG)
First understand: This is a revision, not a remake. Cast presumptive likenesses to 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to the wind, and let the movies exist as separate entities. Director Tim Burton both remains true to Roald Dahl's book and departs wildly from it. Charlie's conclusion tosses some loops -- especially for Wonka -- to create what ultimately is a satisfying twist. Though Charlie isn't all cotton-candy fluff, it's mostly exciting, mindless fun. -- Kara Luger
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Domino (R)
Keira Knightley stars as a model-turned-bounty hunter. Also starring Mickey Rourke, Mena Suvari, Lucy Liu and Christopher Walken. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Doom (R)
A space-action film loosely based on the "Doom" video games. -- Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (PG)
A horse trainer (Kurt Russell) and his daughter (Dakota Fanning) nurse an injured horse back to health with the intent of racing her in the Breeders' Cup. Also starring Kris Kristofferson and Elizabeth Shue. -- Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Elizabethtown (PG-13)
If director Cameron Crowe had managed to find a way to connect Elizabethtown's touches of bliss with a clearer sense of purpose, it might have been transcendent. But he meanders around thematically, at times grappling with tangled father-son connections, then drifting over to grief awkwardly manifested by Drew's mother (Susan Sarandon), then wandering back to Drew (Orlando Bloom) wallowing in self-pity. The only ray of sunshine comes from chatty flight attendant Claire (Kirsten Dunst), who soon never is far from Drew's life. -- Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Everything is Illuminated (PG-13)
A young Jewish-American man endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II. Directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood. -- Not reviewed
Kimball's Twin Peak
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (PG-13)
It shouldn't be difficult to make an exorcism scene scary, but director Scott Derrickson succeeds only in making it nearly impossible to follow what's going on. The priest is attacked by a housecat jumping at his throat. Also, a snake drops on his head. I only wish I were making that up. -- Scott Renshaw
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Flightplan (PG-13)
The notion of hide-and-seek within a jetliner is intriguing and buys the film some decent moments. With Flightplan, we get to see what happens when a passenger loses it and starts running up and down the aisles mid-flight. If it were anyone but Jodie Foster, we might be tempted to laugh. But because it's Jodie Foster, mother of steel, this ain't no laughing matter. -- Kathryn Eastburn
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The Fog (PG-13)
A quiet seaside town is engulfed by a thick fog of ghosts a century after a boat full of lepers sunk just off its coast. -- Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (R)
It's unfortunate and ironic that Steve Carell's debut performance as a movie star, in a film he co-wrote, is lacking his comedic signature. Carell sedates his expressive face to play a kind of straight man among stooges, the butt of everyone's jokes because he's made it to age 40 without getting laid. And even though The 40-Year-Old Virgin packs a bevy of laughs, it is just another riff on an increasingly familiar Hollywood theme: Everyone secretly wants to be a frat boy. -- Dan Wilcock
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The Gospel (PG)
A young singer turns his back on God and his father's church, only to return years later to find the congregation in disarray. He has to face his family, career and his father's illness. -- Not reviewed
Carmike 10
The Greatest Game Ever Played (PG)
Based on the true story of the 1913 U.S. Open, where 20-year-old Francis Ouimet defeated reigning champion Harry Vardon. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark 16
Herbie: Fully Loaded (G)
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*In Her Shoes (PG-13)
Curtis Hanson's detour from testosterone-laden texts (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, 8 Mile) to chick lit -- is an imperfect success. In Her Shoes wanders for about 30 minutes too many, between the worlds of Maggie Mae Feller (Cameron Diaz), a pretty party girl whose direction in life is obscured by a literacy problem and a careless attitude, and Rose Feller (Toni Collette), Maggie's serious and seriously plodding older and more successful sister. -- Kathryn Eastburn
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
*A History of Violence (R)
This is the story of mild-mannered family man Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), owner of a town diner, and the fateful day two sleazebags walk in and threaten him and his business. Knocking off both bad guys in record time, Stall's newfound fame as hero beckons more bad guys to the diner, headed by a darkly comic Ed Harris, who believes Tom really is a former tough guy from Philly. -- Kathryn Eastburn
Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown
*Junebug (R)
Cosmopolitan gallery owner Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) meets and falls in love with southerner George (Alessandro Nivola) at an art gallery fund-raiser in Chicago. Six months later, they travel to North Carolina to pursue the paintings of an outsider artist while paying a visit to George's utterly provincial family. The film's pitch-perfect dialogue and tone make its point -- that we are all outsiders, even within our own families. -- Kathryn Eastburn
Kimball's Twin Peak
Kids in America (PG-13)
A diverse group of high school students band together to give their principal a hard time. -- Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15
Madagascar (PG)
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A Magnificent Desolation (NR)
Walking on the moon in 3-D. Produced by Tom Hanks. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark IMAX
*March of the Penguins (G)
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North Country (R)
Earnestly Political Legal Dramas -- like this one, based as it is on a real-life landmark sexual harassment class action case -- can pretend all they want to that they are about the characters and their journeys, but they're not. They are about an Issue, and movies about an Issue are annoying. They bury all the good, hard work of talented filmmakers beneath a blanket of thesis statements thicker than a Minnesota snowpack. -- Scott Renshaw
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
*Red Eye (PG-13)
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*Serenity (PG-13)
Damn you, Joss Whedon! Damn you and your honesty and integrity and unwillingness to succumb to Hollywood bull and ... This is total-immersion science fiction. Creator/writer/director Joss Whedon throws you in the deep end of the pool, and you either just can't deal with it, and sink, or you're so thrilled to find something so smart and believable that you swim through it like it's an alternate aspect of your own reality. -- MaryAnn Johanson
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Sky High (PG)
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Stay (R)
A thriller focusing on the efforts of an Ivy League professor who is trying to prevent a student from committing suicide. Starring Ewan McGregor. -- Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
*Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (PG)
Though the narrative basically is satisfying, Corpse Bride works fundamentally as a visual showpiece. When the action moves from the land of the living to the land of the dead, Burton portrays the underworld in vivid primary colors and with boisterous carousing. Songs by Burton's longtime collaborator Danny Elfman give the story lines an extra jolt of energy, and the talented voice cast contributes better work than you often find from celebrity names slumming in animation. -- Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Transporter 2 (PG-13)
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Valiant (G)
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Waiting (R)
Young employees at Shenanigan's restaurant stave off boredom and adulthood together. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (G)
Wallace and his dog Gromit set out to find out who is sabotaging their garden in this stop-action film. -- Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
War of the Worlds (PG-13)
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*Wedding Crashers (R)
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The Work and the Glory: American Zion (PG-13)
A film based on Gerald N. Lund's book series, which is an interpretation of the Mormon faith's history. -- Not reviewed
Cinemark 16
