Friday, May 24, 2013
Movie Picks
Films recommended by our reviewers are indicated by an *.
Appaloosa (R)
A small town hires a pair of friends to police their Western town. Not reviewed
Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
Beverly Hills Chihuahua (PG)
Drew Barrymore provides the voice of a Beverly Hills chihuahua who finds herself lost on vacation in Mexico. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Body of Lies (R)
Body of Lies is a story that often seems poised to tell us more about why the War on Terror has turned into such a quagmire, then retreats to the relative safety of explosions and shouting matches. Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Hollywood Interquest
Burn After Reading (R)
A CIA analyst (John Malkovich) gets pushed out of his job, pushed out of his marriage, and pushed around by two blackmailers. Jonathan Kiefer
Picture Show
Changeling (R)
In the clunky, overlong Changeling, a true tale of child abduction, authoritarian corruption and maternal indignation, director Clint Eastwood's restraint becomes its own kind of mugging. Jonathan Kiefer
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
Eagle Eye (PG-13)
Two strangers fight for their lives when an unexpected phone call puts them into dangerous situations. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
The Express (PG)
The story of Ernie Davis' struggle to become the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner. Not reviewed
Picture Show
Fireproof (PG)
To save their failing marriage, a fireman and his wife enlist in "The Love Dare." Not reviewed
Cinemark 16
*Get Smart (PG-13)
There's a constant silliness to the proceedings of this film based on the 1960s TV series but on the whole, Get Smart is highly entertaining. Jeff Sneider
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*Hancock (PG-13)
There are many joys to be found in Hancock, not the least of which is Will Smith's effortless performance as an ordinary guy turned reluctant superhero. MaryAnn Johanson
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The Haunting of Molly Hartley (PG-13)
After surviving a brutal attack, a girl tries to start fresh at a new high school only to be haunted by her past. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (G)
The gang put on a musical about their hopes for life beyond high school. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
The House Bunny (PG-13)
A Playboy bunny becomes the house mother at a college sorority. Not reviewed
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*Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (PG)
This film, based on the novel, has no pretensions of being anything other than a virtual theme park ride. MaryAnn Johanson
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Kung Fu Panda (PG)
Po (Jack Black), a lazy panda, is schooled by Kung Fu master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to become the Dragon Warrior. Not reviewed
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The Longshots (PG)
The story of a girl who becomes the first to play Pop Warner football. Not reviewed
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Mamma Mia! (PG-13)
A young woman searches for her father so he can walk her down the aisle at her wedding set to the music of ABBA. Not reviewed
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Max Payne (PG-13)
Mark Wahlberg stars as a New York City DEA agent seeking revenge. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Pineapple Express (R)
With gratuitous dope smoking and violence, Pineapple Express probably could have been a meeting of B-movie minds, but the story doesn't congeal. Scott Renshaw
Picture Show
*Pride and Glory (R)
Pride and Glory (with Colin Farrell and Edward Norton) isn't just a cop movie: It's a people movie set against the immediacy and passion of the cop world. MaryAnn Johanson
Cinemark 16, Tinseltown
Religulous (R)
TV host Bill Maher takes on organized religion in this documentary directed by Larry Charles. Not reviewed
Kimball's Twin Peak
RocknRolla (R)
When a London real estate scheme puts piles of money into play, the city's underworld turns out for a piece of the prize. Not reviewed
Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
Saw V (R)
Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is the latest to carry on Jigsaw's legacy of killing. Not reviewed
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
The Secret Life of Bees (PG-13)
This film's inspiration, Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling novel? Not a big fan. Maybe it's a gender thing, what with its emphasis on matriarchy and a girl's adolescence. Or maybe it's my aversion to a certain strain of fiction by white authors set in the segregated South vaguely guilty yet still nostalgic. Scott Renshaw
Kimball's Twin Peak, Tinseltown
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (PG)
George Lucas himself has described this backstory to the Star Wars saga as "extraneous." Here he has a credit for creating the "characters and universe," and probably should also get a permanent one for creating a monster. Jonathan Kiefer
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Tropic Thunder (R)
Through a strange turn of events three actors (Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.) portraying soldiers in a big-budget war film are forced to actually fight. Not reviewed
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*W. (PG-13)
Director Oliver Stone reportedly took a while to get this movie funded because some potential backers thought the thing was too pro-Bush. And yes, it tends to depict Dubya as a well-meaning regular fella stuck in dad's shadow. But it's not like Oliver Stone has somehow become a freaking FOX News correspondent. Jonathan Kiefer
Tinseltown
*WALL-E (G)
A trash-compacting robot abandoned on an uninhabitable Earth for 700 years falls in love with a robot probe. Scott Renshaw
Picture Show
What Just Happened? (R)
Robert De Niro plays a Hollywood producer trying to juggle his real life and the bizarre crises of the film world. Not reviewed
Kimball's Twin Peak
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (R)
Writer-director Kevin Smith is funny when the muse strikes, but his attempt to build romantic comedy out of sentimentalizing pornography is just too awkward. Scott Renshaw
Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown
