Thursday, June 20, 2013
Movie picks
The Ant Bully (PG)
Picture Show
Babel (R)
At least one-fourth of Babel ranks among the year's finest pieces of filmmaking. The problem is the rest of the story isn't nearly as captivating. Portions of the intertwined stories seem to function strictly as ethnography, rather than fulfill their promise to illuminate how we are separated by continent, culture and language. Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Kimball's Twin Peak
Barnyard (PG)
Picture Show
*Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (R)
Sacha Baron Cohen takes reality comedy to new heights as the character he plays, Borat, interacts with real people. It works because his dedication to the identity of Borat is so complete. The movie's subtitle describes Borat's assignment to visit the United States to bring back information to help modernize his country. The filmmakers have created not just the funniest movie of the year, but probably the best of any kind. Scott Renshaw
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Cars (G)
Picture Show
*The Departed (R)
Screenwriter William Monahan and Director Martin Scorsese have taken a good movie the 2002 thriller Internal Affairs and remade it into something even deeper and more resonant. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has risen through the police ranks, though his loyalty lies with a local crime boss (Jack Nicholson). Frustrated by their failures, the police bring in an undercover man (Leonardo DiCaprio). Scott Renshaw
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Flags of Our Fathers (R)
The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is a patriotic look at America's need for heroes and villains when perhaps none exist. It follows three World War II servicemen during a public relations campaign designed to exploit their heroism and sell war bonds. However, Eastwood and the film editor toy too much with the movie's structure keeping the movie from becoming the genre classic that it could have become. Jeff Sneider
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Flicka (PG)
Picture Show
Flushed Away (PG)
In this animated adventure, Roddy, a spoiled, pet mouse lives in an upper-class English flat when he is flushed down the toilet and must find his way through the sewers of London. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
A Good Year (PG-13)
Based on the book by Peter Mayle, the movie features Russell Crowe as an Englishman who inherits a French vineyard and travels to Provence to claim the property. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The Gridiron Gang (PG-13)
Picture Show
Harsh Times (R)
Christian Bale portrays a troubled gulf war veteran who is struggling to find a job and settle down in South Central Los Angeles. He instead falls into a life of petty crime. Not reviewed
Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Invincible (PG-13)
Picture Show
Kidtoons: A Christmas Carol (G)
Chapel Hills 15
Man of the Year (PG-13)
Picture Show
The Marine (PG-13)
A Marine returns home from war to discover that his wife is entangled in a kidnapping plot. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Picture Show
Monster House (PG)
Picture Show
One Night with the King (PG)
The story of a Jewish girl who becomes the Queen of Persia and saves her people from destruction while winning the love of King Xerxes. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15
Open Season (PG)
A grizzly bear named Boog and a mule deer named Elliot form an unlikely alliance and lead the forest creatures in a battle against the hunters. This animated adventure features the voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise and Debra Messing. Not reviewed
Tinseltown
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (PG-13)
Picture Show
The Prestige (PG-13)
In turn-of-the century England, one man stands accused of murdering another with motives that only become evident in flashback. The two were both stage illusionists with an intense rivalry. The filmmakers pull off some impressive tricks with their adaptation of Christopher Priest's novel, but ultimately the movie disappoints by clumsily revealing its big secret. Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The Queen (PG-13)
Following the death of Princess Diana, the Royal family and British Prime Minister Tony Blair struggle to balance the family's personal mourning with the nation's tragedy. Not reviewed
Tinseltown
The Return (PG-13)
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in a thriller about a Midwestern woman fighting to learn the truth behind the frightening visions of a brutal murder that haunt her. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (G)
Santa (Tim Allen) aka Scott Calvin must stop Jack Frost (Martin Short) from taking over Christmas. Scott's extended family and lead elf Curtis work together to thwart Frost's plan. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Saw III (R)
Madman "Jigsaw" and his apprentice kidnap Lynn, a hospital employee, and take her to an abandoned warehouse where she must keep the dying madman alive while another victim completes a series of vicious tests. Not reviewed
Carmike 10, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Stranger Than Fiction (PG-13)
Will Ferrell plays an IRS auditor who suddenly begins to hear his life narrated by a voice that only he can hear. Not reviewed
Carmike, 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (R)
Picture Show
Wired To Win (NR)
A documentary about the Tour de France that combines live-action footage with computer and medical imagery to demonstrate how the human brain responds to physical challenge. Not reviewed
Cinemark 16 IMAX
