Friday, May 24, 2013
Movie picks
Accepted (PG-13)
Accepted wants to find its place in that underappreciated subgenre of American movie-making, the "slobs vs. snobs" comedy. The film begins as a rebel yell but refuses to go any farther than a PG-13 rating will withstand. " Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The Ant Bully (PG)
In this animated children's comedy, a boy accidentally floods an ant colony only to be shrunken down to ant size to fix the damage. Celebrity voices include Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep. Not reviewed
Cinemark 16 IMAX
Barnyard (PG)
In this animated children's comedy, a farmer leaves his land in the care of the livestock. Celebrity voices include Steve Oedekerk, Sam Elliott and Danny Glover. Not reviewed
Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Beerfest (PG-13)
From the makers of Super Troopers comes the story of two brothers who travel to Germany for Oktoberfest and stumble upon a secret, centuries-old competition described as a "Fight Club" with beer games. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Cars (G)
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Click (PG-13)
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The Devil Wears Prada (PG-13)
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Garfield: The Tail of Two Kitties (PG)
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How to Eat Fried Worms (PG)
During the first day of the new school year, a fifth-grade boy goes up against a bully and winds up accepting a dare with unexpected consequences. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
*Idlewild (R)
Idlewild is fantasy like we like our movies to be, a cinematic phantasmagoria of a dream version of the past of bootleggers and flappers and gangsters and speakeasies and Josephine Baker-esque bare-breasted showgirls in a lush, rich, ridiculously romantic tapestry of sex, violence and friendship and love and music and dancing and all those dramatic and electrifying things. Idlewild is at once timeless and timely, an elegant and elemental little masterwork. MaryAnn Johanson
Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown
Invincible (PG)
A part-time bartender and full-time Philadelphia Eagles fan, Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), tries out for the team during an open call and becomes an NFL player. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Lady in the Water (PG-13)
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The Lake House (PG)
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*Little Miss Sunshine (R)
Even with Little Miss Sunshine's occasional notes of wackiness, the cast is uniformly excellent, and its script so deftly captures the emotion of a dysfunctional family road trip that it's less like a sitcom than like a clan's real day-to-day life squashed into 101 minutes. Tricia Olszewski
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Kimball's Twin Peak Theater, Tinseltown
Material Girls (PG)
Two sisters, both heiresses to their family's cosmetics fortune, are given a wake-up call when a scandal and ensuing investigation strip them of their wealth. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Miami Vice (R)
Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell star as undercover cops that pose as drug traffickers to assist the FBI in uncovering a group responsible for three murders. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Picture Show
Monster House (PG)
Steve Buscemi lends his vocal talents to this animated children's film about a scary house that is actually a monster. Not reviewed
Cinemark 16
Nacho Libre (PG)
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Over the Hedge (PG)
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*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (PG-13)
Dead Man's Chest is over-plotted. By all rights, the 150 minutes should feel like a slog and a half through its plot points, but instead it's actually a crackling piece of action filmmaking. Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Pulse (PG-13)
When their computer hacker friend accidentally channels a mysterious wireless signal, a group of coeds rallies to stop a terrifying evil from taking over the world. Not reviewed
Tinseltown
Roving Mars (NR)
Cinemark 16 IMAX
RV (PG)
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Snakes on a Plane (R)
On board a flight over the Pacific Ocean, an assassin bent on killing a passenger lets loose a crate full of deadly snakes. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Step Up (PG-13)
A privileged ballet dancer (Jenna Dewan) seeks a partner for her senior showcase. Her attention is drawn to a gifted street dancer from the wrong side of the tracks (Channing Tatum). Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Superman Returns (PG-13)
Director Bryan Singer has made a movie about our need for hope in a dark time, trying to cobble his Superman/Jesus metaphors to the necessary machinations of a Hollywood blockbuster. The result is something slightly aloof a hero only briefly allowing us to touch his cape before he's off to the Fortress of Solitude. It's not enough to believe a man can fly. We need to believe that the thing that's flying is actually a man. Scott Renshaw
Cinemark 16 IMAX
*Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (PG-13)
It doesn't take long for Talladega Nights to get the stereotypes of its target out of the way: Ricky Bobby's (Will Ferrell) car is sponsored by Wonder Bread, his family eats a buffet of fast food every night, Skynyrd's king, foreigners are weird, etc. The subject's a softball, but Ferrell's vaguely Dubya-accented shtick makes it work for a while. Tricia Olszewski
Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
*World Trade Center (PG-13)
Director Oliver Stone captures the chaos at Ground Zero without conveying his notorious political leanings. World Trade Center lacks laser focus, but it's mature and confident " a movie made by a guy who actually believes he can get through to his audience without yelling at it. Scott Renshaw
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
*You, Me and Dupree (PG-13)
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