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Some releases may not be showing locally this week.
21 (PG-13) Based on the true life-story
ot card-counting MIT kids who bilked
some Las Vegas casinos for millions.
21 is a crowd pleasing slice of instantly
forgettable entertainment. 21 isn't a bad
story, but it deals some clichfed cards
A better director and a more challeng
ing script could have turned 2Ts true
tale into something more significant
88 MINUTES (R) Nine years earlier.
Dr Jack Gramm (a distractingly coiffed
Al Pacino), a forensic psychiatrist and
college professor, gave the damning
evidence that sent Jon Forster (Neil
McDonough) lo death row On the eve
of his execution, one of Jack's students
is murdered using Forster's exact M 0,
and Jack receives a phone call declar
ing the gruff prof has 88 minutes to
live, and must solve the mystery before
lime runs out I felt like I was watch
ing a less sexy knockoff of Jade Still,
between Untraceabfe and 88 Minutes,
2008 has giveo pay cable a decent
double bill for a rainy Sunday spent on
the couch.
ALICE’S HOUSE (NR) Winner of the
Chicago International Film Festival
Award for Best International Film,
Alice's House is populated by manicur
ist Alice (Carla Ribas), her philander
ing, taxi driving husband (Z6 Carlos
Machado), Iheir three sons, and her
mother, who takes care of the apartment
despite her failing eyesight. Writer/
director Chico Teixeira's award winning
debul feature makes him one to watch
BABY MAMA (PG-13) Movie Pick
BOX ELDER (NR) Four slackers at the
University of Missouri get a wakeup
call when a professor asks the main
character, Scott (writer-director Todd
Sklar). what sort of heroic moment he
needs to start living Box Elder is a
snapshot of college life as it is (piles
of trash and lots of beer), not how
Hollywood pretends it to be. Filmmaker
Sklar and various members of the cast
and crew will be in attendance for a
Q&A at Cin6
THE BUCKET LIST (PG-13) If not for
the magnetic allure of Jack Nicholson
and Morgan Freeman, director Rob
Reiner might finally have tumbled to
the bottom of moviemaking's own pit
of despair Hampered by its schmaltzy
script, The Bucket List is a movie for
the terminally ill
THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN
(NR) Executive producer Ricki Lake and
director Abby Epstein take a long, hard
look at the way American women have
babies A panel discussion will follow
the 7pm screening on International
Midwives Day All proceeds will benefit
a local doula scholarship for a woman
of color.
THE COUNTERFEITERS (R) The
Counterfeiters, the 2008 Academy
Award winner for Best Foreign
Language Film, is a solidly con
structed, engaging film that has little
new to say aboul the Holocaust even
as it relates the untold tale of his
tory's largest counterfeiling effort
The Counterfeiters is a commendable
film, but in a year in which Athens
has already been exposed lo so much
wonderful foreign cinema, the tense
predictability of this Holocaust drama
lacks memorability.
DARIUS GOES WEST: THE ROLL
OF HIS LIFE (NR) 2007 As part of
a poverty awareness event to benefit
OneAthens, Ihe Young Partners for a
Prosperous Athens (YPPA) will hold
screenings of two documentaries.
Darius Goes West. The Boll of His Life
and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low
Price. Fifteen-year-old Clarke Central
student Darius Weems, confined to
a wheelchair by Duchenne Muscular
Dystrophy, had never left Athens until
some local college students, including
director Logan Smalley, look him on a
cross-country trip
DECEPTION (R) This overwrought
flick has the most unsatisfyingly
straight up climax I've ever seen An
accountant. Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan
McGregor), meets a suave lawyer.
Wyatt Bose (Jackman), who takes him
to a sleazy sex club where Jonathan
meets an anonymous blonde (Michelle
Williams) Toss in some serious
impiausibility and an aggressive score,
and Deception makes for one unneces
sary filmgoing experience
EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE
ALLOWED (PG) Equating scientific
acceptance of Darwin's theory of
evolution with communism. Expeiled
castigates many of the worlds top evo
lutionary biologists for their passionale
adherence to a 'mere' theory and
their dogged resistance to unprovable
intelligent design Fashioned in the
image of a Michael Moore documen
tary. Expelled chronicles Ben Stein's
counterfeit^ naive joyrney to discover
why scientists who believe in intel
ligent design are being muzzled by the
establishment.
FOOL’S GOLD (PG-13) Fools Gold
is as lazy and dumb as its cartoonish
main character, treasure salvager Finn
(Matthew McConaughey). A dud in
every way
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
(PG-13) Jackie Chan and Jet Li's first
on-screen pairing is Ihe only excit
ing aspect of the listless Forbidden
Kingdom The silly story has potential;
this family friendly chopsocky flick
would have been a perfect English-
language debut for Kung Fu Hustles
Stephen Chow
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
(R) Since January, 2008s best films
have all been holdovers Irom 2007.
allowing the juvenilely mature, bust-a-
gut hilarious Forgetting Sarah Marshall
to waltz right into that vacant top spot
Nothing special can be said aboul
Nicholas Stoller's direction, but the cast
and Segel's script, balancing lowbrow
sex gags with a heartfelt tale of heart
break and woe. are darn near perfect
GIRLS ROCK! (PG) If you didn't
think girls could rock, think again At
the Rock N Roll Camp for Girls, four
attendees ranging in age from eight
to 18—adopted Laura (15. vocals),
recovering meth addict Misty (17,
bass), sweet metaihead Palace (7
vocals), and dog-loving Amelia (8,
guitar)—learn to form a band, write
songs, plays gigs, and generally
behave in ways discouraged by years
of gender stereotyping Girls Bock 1
is the feature debut ot directors Arne
Johnson and Shane King
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE
FROM GUANTANAMO BAY (R)
Kumar smokes pot on an airplane,
landing the duo in Guantanamo,
from which they promptly escape
Back in the U S. Harold and Kumar
have several politically incorrect and
devastatingly unfunny encounters with
inbred rednecks and the Klan Writing/
directing team Jon Hurwitz and Hayden
Schlossberg tackle bigger issues than
getting to White Castle in this sequel,
but the 'South Park’-ian task of mixing
luvemle humor and politically astute
commentary is beyond their talent for
devising amusing, marijuana-driven
scenarios.
HORTON HEARS A WHO! (G) The
1954 children's classic about Horton
the Elephant (Jim Carrey), whose giant
ears allow him to communicate with the
tiny speck that is the town ot Whoville
is one of the good doctor's most
beloved tales, right behind Green Eggs
and Ham. The laughs in Horton ate
perfectly pitched for little ones' ears
IRON MAN (PG-13) With Spider-
Man and X-Men running out of steam
(maybe). Marvel Comics is unleashing
another big gun While imprisoned in
Afghanistan, billionaire industrialist
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) builds a
powerful suit of armor Upon his return
to the U S , Stark decides to refine his
suit and become a superhero All my
doubts about Jon Favreau (Elf\ direct
ing a big-time action flick have been
erased by the perfect cast (Downey Jr.
as Tony Stark and Terrence Howard
as Jim Rhodes/War Machine) and the
kick-ass trailer.
JELLYSCREAM! (NR) Here’s the syn
opsis I dug up from YouTube; ‘A small,
rural state park is being terrorized by a
mutant, man-eating, bipedal, humanoid
jellyfish... and it’s up to a rag-tad (sic)
team of local law enforcement officials
and a marine biologist to stop it before
it reproduces and replaces humans
as the dominant species on Earth.*
Judging from the trailer, this low-rent
homage to the B-n>ovies of the 1950s,
oirected by Clint Orr, has some charms
in its somewhat ploddingly paced,
three-minute trailer.
LEATHERHEADS (PG-13) George
Clooney's latest film is like an ugly
thro wback jersey 'whose days gone by
appeal makes one briefly forget how
unfashionable it is right now Director
Clooney momentarily creates a zany
Capra-Hawks-Sturges atmosphere,
he just doesn't sustain it Like 2003's
Down with Love (also with Zellweger),
Leatherheads is more enamored
with its conceit than its conceit is
enamoring
MADE OF HONOR (PG-13) Patrick
Dempsey is Tom. a serial dater who
decides his best friend Hannah
(Michelle Monaghan), is his soul
mate Too bad she's now engaged
to a Scotsman (Kevin McKidd from
"Journeyman*), and Tom is the Maid
of Honor Now Tom must stop the
wedding from the inside if he wants
Hannah for himself I think this enter
taining romcom looks like the perfect
vehicle to launch the former teen idol
from television heartthrob to big-time
movie star
MAO MONEY (PG-13) Diane Keaton.
Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes rob the
Federal Reserve The leads are game,
and interweaving a heist movie with
themes of female empowerment gone
awry, and the corporate downsizing of
white upper-middle class America is
intriguing. Too bad the direction stinks
MISTER LONELY (NR) Harmony
Korine's third feature contemplates
the isolation and identity crises of life
as a celebrity impersonator A Jacko
wannabe (Y Tu Mama Tambien) meets
a Marilyn Monroe lookalike (Samantha
Morton) and travels with her to a
Scottish commune filled with imper
sonators preparing for a gala
MARRIED LIFE (PG-13) Set in the
1940s. Married Life slats Academy
Award winner Chris Cooper as Harry
Allen, a middle-aged man who falls in
love with a younger woman (Rachel
McAdams) and decides to spare his
wife (Patricia Clarkson) the humiliation
of divorce by poisoning her to death
Based on John Bingham's novel, Five
Boundabouts to Heaven. Married Life
was cowritten by Oren Moverman
NIM'S ISLAND (PG) Nim's Island is
a serviceable family friendly adventure
film. Imaginative Nim (Abigail Breslin)
lives on an isolated island in the South
Pacific with her dad (Gerard Butler) and
concocts adventures mirroring those of
her favorite fictional hero, the world's
greatest adventurer Alex Rover
PENELOPE (PG) Penelope isn't
as bad as its trailers make it look
Nonetheless, this modern fairy tale suf
fers from the overconceptualization of
all Tim Burton wannabes
PROM NIGHT (PG-13) Sharing little
more than a title, a setting, and some
dead teens with Jamie Lee Curtis's
popular 1980 slasher flick, the new
Prom Night is as dreadful as the worst
ol the four proms I attended.
REDBELT (R) Top mixed martial arts
instructor Mike Terry doesn't like to
fight. But after a fateful run-in with a
movie star (Tim Allen) leads the finan
cially struggling Mike to a job in the
film industry, he finds himsell drawn
into a game where he might have to
light for his honor. Written and directed
by acclaimed playwright David Mamet
SMART PEOPLE (R) Professor
Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) hates his
colleagues, his students and the world
MOVIE LISTINGS
Theater schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead.
ACC LIBRARY (706-613-3650)
They Call it Murder (NR) 2:00 (Th. 5/1)
BIECHWOOD (706-546-1011)
Due to production deadlines. Beechwood movie times are
only accurate through May 1. Visit www Flagpole com tor
updated times.
21 (PG-13) 4:05, 6:50, 9:35
88 Minutes (R) 4:00. 6:50, 9:25
Baby Mama (PG-13) 5:30, 7:45. 10:00
Deception (R) 4:30, 7:05, 9:50
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (PG) 4:40, 7:15,
9:30
The Forbidden Kingdom (PG-13) 4:25, 7:10, 9:45
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R) 4:15, 6:55, 9:40
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (R)
4:20, 7:20. 9:55
Leatherheads (PG-13) 7:00
Nim's Island (PG) 5:25, 7:40, 9:55
Prom Night (PG-13) 4:35, 7:25, 9:40
Smart People (R) 4:20. 9:35
CARMIKE 12 ( 706-354-0016)
21 (PG-13) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00. 9:50 (ends Th. 5/1)
88 Minutes (R) 1:45, 4:30. 7:15, 9:50 (ends Th. 5/1)
Baby Mama (PG-13) 1:15, 4:25, 7:15, 9:35 (add'l time
F. 5/2-Sa. 5/3: midnight)
Deception (R) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:30 (no 7:00 or 9:30
on Th. 5/1) (add'l time F. 5/2-Sa. 5/3: midnight)
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (PG) 1:00, 3:15,
5:30, 7:45. 10:00 (new times F. 5/2: 7:00, 10:00)
(add'l time Sa. 5/3-Su. 5/4: 12:15 a.m.)
The Forbidden Kingdom (PG-13) 1:15, 4:15, 7:15,
9:50 (add'l time Sa. 5/3-Su. 5/4: 12:15 a.m.)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:40
(add'l time F. 5/2-Sa. 5/3: midnight)
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (R)
1:45, 4:30, 7:00, 9:45 (add'l time F. 5/2-Sa. 5/3:
midnight)
Horton Hears a Who! (G) 1:00, 4:00
Iron Man (PG-13) 8:00 (sneak preview Th. 5/1) 1:00,
1:15, 1:30, 2:00, 4:00, 4:15, 4:30. 5:00, 7:00, 7:15.
7:30. 8:00, 9:50, 10:05, 10:20, 10:50 (opens F. 5/2)
(add! time Sa. 5/3-Su. 5/4: 12:15 a.m.)
Leatherheads (PG-13) 7:15, 9:50 (W. 4/30)
Made of Honor (PG-13) 1:45, 4:15, 7:00, 9:30 (opens
F. 5/2) (add'l time F. 5/2-Sa. 5/3: midnight)
Nim's Island (PG) 1:00, 4:00 (ends Th. 5/1)
Prom Night (PG-13) 1:10. 3:20, 5:30, 7:40. 9:50
(add! time F. 5/2-Sa. 5/3: midnight)
Street Kings (R) 7:00, 9:30 (W. 4/30)
Under the Same Moon (PG-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00,
10:00 (W. 4/30) 1:00, 4:00 (Th. 5/1)
CINE (706-353-3343)
Alice's House (NR) 7:30 (ends Th. 5/1)
Box Elder (NR) 9:30, 11:30 (Tu. 5/6)
The Business of Being Born (NR) 4:00. 7:00, 9:30
(M. 5/5)
The Counterfeiters (R) 4:30. 9:30 (ends Th. 5/1)
Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life (NR) 10:00
(F. 5/2)
Girls Rock! (PG) 4:30. 7:30. 9:30 (starts F. 5/2)
Jellyscream! (NR) midnight (Sa. 5/3)
Married Life (PG-13) 4:15, 7:15, 9:45 (starts F. 5/2)
(no times M. 5/5) (no 9:45 on F. 5/2 or Tu. 5/6)
Taxi to the Dark Side (R) 4:15, 7:15, 9:45 (ends Th.
5/1)
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (NR) 10:00
(F. 5/2)
GEORGIA SQUARE 5 (706-548-3426)
Due to production deadlines. Georgia Square Five movie
times are only accurate through May 1. Visit www Flagpole,
com for updated times.
The Bucket List (PG-13) 4:10. 7:10, 9:55
Fool's Gold (PG-13) 4:15. 7:15, 9:45
Penelope (PG) 5:25, 9:50
The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG) 5:30, 7:45, 10:00
Step Up 2 the Streets (PG-13) 7:35
Vantage Point (PG-13) 4:20, 7:20, 9:40
HWY 17 DRIVE-IN THEATERS (706 213 7693)
Mad Money (PG-13) 8:30 (F. 5/2-Su. 5/4)
for not realizing how brilliant he thinks
he is His teenage daughter, Vanessa
(Ellen Page), is a walking robot of
Young Republican conformity His son
James (Ashton Holmes), is angry and
fairly purposeless, at least as far the
film is concerned Dr Janet Hartigan
(Sarah Jessica Parker) cannot com
mit, though she apparently wants to
Every smart person in Smart People is
unhcppy, and their clinical depression
is communicable.
SON OF RAMBOW iPG-13) This
British flick was a hit at Sundance and
could be a small summer charmer A
shy boy (Bill Milner) and his tough
neighbor (Will Pouller) collaborate to
make a shot-for-shot home version
of the first Rambo movie. First Blood
Written and directed by Garth Jennings,
Son of Bambowcould ride the nostal
gia wave, but not as long or as high as
Sly's January sequel did
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
(PG) Based on a series of bestselling
books by Terry DiTerlizzi and Holly
Black about the Grace siblings, twins
Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore)
and sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) who
discover a fantastical world existing
unseen within our own after they move
into the creepy old house that belonged
to their great granduncle. Arthur
Spiderwick (David Strathairn)
STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (PG-13!
The limber sequel to 2006s surprise
dance smash, Step Up 2 the Streets is
a step down in almost every way
STREET KINGS (R) Street Kings i$n t
as morally complex as it pretends to
be. and it won t set the box office on
fire Still the pulpy, hard-boiled crime
film is arresting for the two hours
before Ihe credits bail you out
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (R)
The Academy Award winner for Best
Documentary Feature, Taxi to the Dark
Side investigates the torture tactics
practiced by the U S military that led
to the death of an innocent Afghani
cab driver in 2002 Taxi director Alex
Gibney was responsible for Er.ron The
Smartest Guys in the Boom and served
as executive producer on No End in
Sight, a film that could have easily won
the Best Documentary Oscar
THEY CALL IT MURDER (NR) 1971
Based on characters created by 'Perry
Mason' creator Erie Stanley Gardner.
"They Call It Murder* is a mystery
about small-town District Attorney
Doug Selby (Jim Hutton) saddled with
a number of unsolved cases Featuring
a non-intrusive track for visually
impaired viewers
UNDER THE SAME MOON (PG-13)
All nine-year-old Carlitos (Adrian
Alonso) wants is to come to the U S
to join his mother Rosario (Kate del
Castillo) After his sickly abuela dies.
Carlitos takes mailers into his own
hands, enlisting some college kids
to smuggle him across the border.
Writer Ligiah Villalobos's scenarios
are manipulative and sappy, but Under
the Same Moon emerges from that
melodramatic plastic thanks to the
incredibly charming Alonso, who puts
a beatific face upon the millions of ille
gal immigrants living in the U S.
VANTAGE POINT (PG-13) In the
ever-expanding genre ol action movies
for old people, Dennis Quaid is like
Arnold Schwarzeneggar in his '80s
heyday Too bad the slam-bang prem
ise ot Quaid's latest action film for your
parents. Vantage Point, gives out short
of the climax
WAL-MART: THE HIGH COST OF
LOW PRICE (NR) 2005 Part of a
poverty awareness event to benefit
OneAthens. Director Robert Greenwald
takes on the world's most ubiquitous
retailer by recounting the personal
accounts of everyday Davids struggling
against this low price Goliath Are the
savings worth it?
Drew Wheeler
NEWS & FEATURES l CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
28 FLAGPOLE.COM • APRIL 30,2008