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ALICE IN WONDERLAND (PG) In
Tim Button's Alice in Wonderland,
Lewis Carroll’s young heroine is now
an adult. This nearing-20 Alice seeks
to escape an arranged engagement
to the odious son of her late father’s
business partner by again falling into a
hole while chasing a tardy white rabbit.
Sadly, this Alicebas, like the Hatter
astutely announces, lost its muchness.
This return trip feels less like Tim
Burton's adventures in Wonderland
than a Disney approximation of the
auteur’s vision.
AUX 4 EXPERIMENTAL ARTS
FESTIVAL (NR) Event and publication
series AUX presents its fourth annual
festival. Featuring performances, visual
art and sound installations, video
screenings and an artists' market in
its return to downtown Athens, AUX 4
will take place at Cin6 and Little Kings
Featuring video screenings from Ash
Sechler, EHiott Earls, Ries Straver,
Seth Nicholas Stephens, John Crowe,
Carlos Casas, Ashley Ohman, Joleen
Toner and Chris Cogan.
AVATAR (PG-13) On a remote planet,
a paraplegic marine, Jake Sully (Sam
Worthington), is promised the use of
his legs if he helps the Corporation
relocate a race of blue warriors, the
Na'vi, whose home is located atop the
planet's richest supply of unobtanium.
Jake takes control of a Na’viJ human
hybrid, infiltrating the aliens to learn
their ways, but falls in love with them,
particularly the chief’s daughter, Neytiri
(Zoe Saldana), instead. Now Sully
must lead the Na'vi against the space
marines led by General Miles Quaritch
(Stephen Lang), a scarred hulk of a
military man.
THE BLIND SIDE (PG-13) A rich
white couple, Leigh Anne and Sean
Touhy (Sandra Bullock and likable,
easygoing Tim McGraw), take in Big
Mike, an African-American giant given
up on by most of Memphis. They turn
his life around; he eventually earns a
scholarship to Ole Miss. He doesn't
really do anything to change their
lives, although the-movie insists that
he does.
THE BOUNTY HUNTER (PG-13)
Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), the titular
bounty hunter, discovers his latest
quarry is his ex-wife. Nicole Hurly
(Jennifer Aniston), a reporter who
knows too much. Now the constantly
arguing duo must run for their lives.
Wow, this high-concept action comedy
reeks of the 1980s. Hitch director
Andy Tennant did not show a talent for
these sorts of flicks with 2008s Fool's
Gold. With the usually entertaining
Christine Baranski and Jason Sudeikis
("Saturday Night Live’).
BOY, INTERRUPTED (NR) Nuci’s
Space presents a screening of a film
by Dana Perry, a documentary which
chronicles, through home movies,
photographs, interviews and more,
the life and loss of her fifteen-year-old
son Evan who struggled with bipolar
disorder.
CHLOE (R) Notable as the shoot
Liam Neeson had to leave after wife
Natasha Richardson’s eventually fatal
skiing accident, Chloe stars Julianne
Moore as a doctor who hires an escort
(Amanda Seyfried) to seduce her hus
band (Neeson). Apparently, the good
doctor thinks her hubby’s cheating and
wants to catch him in the act. The films
of director Atom Egoyan often intrigue
more than they entertain. Maybe Chloe
can do both and grant the Canadian
filmmaker his greatest mainstream suc
cess since 1 BOB'S The Sweet Hereafter.
LA CIOCIARA (NR) 1960. Get your
final Sophia Loren fix as Cinecitta
2, this semesters Italian film series
entitled Sophia Loren. Celebrating 60
Years in Cinema, winds down. For four
consecutive Tuesdays, the Department
of Romance Languages has screened
films starring the irreplaceable, ageless
beauty. Cesira (Loren) and her.teenage
daughter flee Rome during the Allied
bombings of World War If. Another col
laboration between Loren and director
Vittorio De Sica. La Ciociarawon the
actress her only Academy Award.
CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG-13)
See Movie Pick.
CRAZY HEART (R) Crazy Heart stars
Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake. Bad—a
holdover from the long-gone days
when country music meant pedal steel,
hurting souls and cowboy boots, not
crafted hooks, electric gee-tars and
MOVIE LISTINGS
Schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead.
ACC LIBRARY (706-613-3650)
The Storm (NR) 7:00 (Th. A/9)
CSMi (706-353-3343)
Boy, Interrupted (NR) 8:00 (M. 4/12)
Chloe (R) 5:15, 7:45, 9:45 (ends Th. 4/8)
Cntry Hecrt (R) 9:30 (new times f. 4/9:5:15 except on W. 4/14) (add!
times f. 4/9, Tu. 4/13 & Th. 4/15: 9:30)
The Home Boy (NR) 5:15 & 7:30 (W. 4/14)
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come (NR) 3:30 &
10:00 (Sa. 4/10) ^ '
Not Since You (NR) 7:30 (new times F. 4/9: 7:30 except on M. 4/12 &
% ) (add! times Su. 4/11: 3:30; & M. 4/12 & W. 4/14: 9:45)
PeUce, Adjective (NR) 5:00 (ends W. 4/7)
The White Ribbon (R) 5:00,8:00 (sddT times Sa. 4/10-Su. 4/11:
2:00) (starts F. 4/9)
bca fun smusT center (706-542-63%)
Invictus (R) 3:00. «:00, 9:00 (F. 4/9-Su. 4/11)
Shawsfeank Redemption (PG-13) 8:00 (Th. 4/8)
Accurate movie times for the CARttlXC 12 (706-354-0016),
II (706-546-1011) and MMMIA
(706-548-3426) cinemas are not available by press
time. Visit www.flagpole.com for updated times. > i
Taylor Swift—-has nursed a career built
on a single hit still getting occasional
radio airplay, through several divorces,
his own crippling alcoholism and
country's merger with pop. Hauling his
gear across the Southwest, Bad runs
into a young reporter. Jean Craddock
(Maggie Gytlenhaal), who wants an
interview. Not surprisingly. Bad falls in
love (again) with the single mother ot
an adorable four-year-old, Buddy (Jack
Nation). Suddenly, an inspired Bad is
writing songs again. Surely, (hat pesky
old alcoholism, given hall the chance,
is going to screw this good thing
up. A sweet, slow-cooked character
Typical family films are stocked with
ironic/hip comics and big-name stars
Wimpy Kid is all about the kiddies.
Gordon. Capron and Russell are ter
rific little comedians.Cowriters Gabe
Sachs and Jeff Judah bring a definite
“Freaks and Geeks’ vibe to middle
school While the movie never slows
down enough to deliver a really seri
ous message, it does impart its share
of comic, valuable insights into the
middle-school experience Diary of
a Wimpy Kid reminds me ot the days
when Hollywood, especially Disney,
produced live-action (are that was not
dominated by CG-ed talking animals or
I wish I had an iPad...
study, Crazy Heart slnQS a familiar
Country & Western song—divorce,
alcoholism, pickup trucks—that is not
quite as memorable as its troubled,
charming main character and Bridges'
performance.
A DATE NIGHT (PG-13) Despite
the presence of director Shawn Levy,
who is responsible for Cheaper by
the Dozen, The Pink Panther and both
Nightis) at the Museum, I anticipate
- lots of laughs from this team-up ot two
of NBC’s Thursday night stars. Tina
Fey and Steve Carell are the Fosters, a
married couple'tyfng to liven things up
with a night on the town. But a simple
case of mistaken identity turns into
more than the Fosters bargained for.
The hilarious supporting cast includes
Mila Kunis, Mark Wahlberg, James
Franco, Ray Liotta. Kristen Wiig and
more
DEAR JOHN (PG-13) More Nicholas
Sparks (The Notebook and more Lasse
. Hallstrom (Chocolat) could mean sac
charine overload with this tearjerker
about a soldier, John Tyree (Charming
Tatum), who falls in love with a gal,
Savannah Lynn Curtis (the Amanda
Seyfried), while home on leave. But the
terrorist attacks of 9/11 cause him to
reenlist, an act that puts long-distance
strain on their relationship. Thank
goodness for Richard Jenkins, whose
reassuring presence as Johns distant
dad just might be enough to make this
drivel tolerable,
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (PG)
Greg Heffiey (the expressive Zachary
Gordon) is just starting middle school,
and he is not thrilled. Deeming it “the
dumbest idea ever invented," Greg
must navigate the pitfalls of seat selec
tion, die cafeteria. PE and the constant
bullying. His terrorizing older brother,
Rodrick (Devon Bostick), bets Ns
tittle bro will either be ’dead or home-
schooled by toe end of toe year.’ The
most familiar adult faces are those of
Rachael Harris and Seve Zahn—GregS
parents who truly do not understand.
M
Home Alone’s slap-shtick. They were
age-appropriately smart, did not con
descend, and were genuine about the
highs and lows ot being a kid.
FURRY VENGEANCE (PG) An arro
gant real estate agent Dan Sanders
(Brendan Fraser), runs afoul of some
smart critters when he seeks to develop
a new subdivision. The supporting cast
is the usual cast of familiar TV faces
and hit movie bit-parters—Brooke
Shields, Ken Jeong, Angela Kinsey,
Rob Riggle and Samantha Bee. This
family film is a strange change of
pace for Cruel Intentions director
Roger Kumble. From the writers of Mr.
Woodcock, Michael Carnes and Josh
Gilbert.
THE HORSE BOY (NR) 2009.
Director Michel 0. Scott documents the
journey of the Isaacson family as they
traverse the hills of Mongolia seeking
a shaman who they believe can heal
their autistic son. Two of the featured
interviews are Sacha Baron Cohen’s
cousin, Dr. Simon Baron Cohen, and
Dr. Temple Grandin, the autistic scien
tist whose life was recently chronicled
in an HBO film. Nominated for the
Sundanfce Rim Festival's Grand Jury
Prize.
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (R) Hot
Tub Time Machine is so disgustingly,
unhygienically raunchy that you worry
you might catch something from
watching iL Surprisingly, all you will
catch is a good case of the laughs.
The premise is simple and silly. Three
adult losers—Adam (John Cusack).
Nick (Craig Robinson) and Lou (Rob
Corddry)—and Adamfc loser nephew,
Jacob (Clark Duke) are transported
back to 1986 thanks to the titutar
hot-tub-cunHime-travel device. As
technically graceless as this send-up
of U(h teen sex romps and tone travel
fficks is, it is equally funny. After Lou
accidentally (on purpose?) attempts
to kill himself while air drumming to
the Croc's “Home Sweet Home/ Adam
and Nick decide to take him back to
the place of their greatest triumph,
Kodiak Valley A night ot wild partying
in the aforementioned Jacuzzi sends
the guys back to 1986, when they were
cool (kind ot) and the future looked
bright(er).
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
(PG) Howto Train Your Dragon is a
terrific computer-generated animated
feature, and the first I recommend you
should watch in 3D. As great as it is tor
families (if I had a kid. I would rush out
to see it with him/her), Dragon left me
breathless at the animation and kind ol
bored with the familiar story and tired
pop culture jokes. Dragon is the latest
from DreamWorks Animation, the home
ol Shrek, and the family resemblance
is strong. Hiccup (v. Jay Baruche!) is a
scrawny Viking screw-up who wants to
hunt dragons like his gigantic, heroic
dad (v Gerard Butler) But after captur
ing his own flying firebreather, Hiccup
learns there may be more to these crea
tures than hunting them. The voicework
is excellent (especially Baruchel. Butler
and Craig Ferguson as blacksmith/
dragon slaying instructor Gobber), and
the script is written with humor and
heart. Dragon is an excellent film for
parents and kids to see together (much
better than the family crap peddled in
the pre-film trailers... Furry Vengeance
and Marmaduke look awful). Without
a child’s awe to buoy me, I found my
mind wandering when Hiccup was
not soaring. Note: the action might be
intense for the Irttlest ones.
INVICTUS (PG-13) 2009. Before
setting foot in the theater, you know
exactly what to expect from Invictus
a flawless Academy Award nominated
performance from Morgan Freeman,
stately direction from Clint Eastwood,
further diversification from Academy
Award nominee Matt Damon, and
a strong streak ot boring that mars
even Eastwood’s best work (save Gran
Torino). Recently elected South African
President Nelson Mandela (Freeman)
encourages unity in his divided nation
by enlisting the captain of the national
rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Damon),
in his quest to win the World Cup. I
love Eastwood; his body of work this
past decade speaks for itself. Invictus
' is another tremendous film from a
celebrated Hollywood veteran who
specializes in just that, tremendous
films that tread ever so closely to a
grandfatherty dullness.
THE LAST SONG (PG) Bestselling
novelist Nicholas Sparks (The
Notebook) wrote this screenplay
specifically for Miley Cyrus, who is
making her live-action, non-Hannah
Montana feature debut. Cyrus plays
Ronnie Milter, a rebellious young girt
who Tinds love the summer she is sent
to live with her estranged father (Greg
Kinnear). Cyrus's love interest Liam
Hemsworth, should be believable; he$
her real life beau. Television vet Julie
Anne Robinson ^Pushing Daisies,*
■Weeds,’ "Big Love,* ’Grey'S Anatomy*
and much more) makes her feature
debut - , .
LETTERS TO GOD (PG) More
faith-based drama from some of the
people behind Fireproof, Letters to
God is inspired by the true story of
a young boy, Tyter Doherty (Tanner
Maguire), who write tetters to the big
guy upstairs white fighting cancer. The
-letters start making a difference for a
hurting postman (Jeffrey Jbhnson).
Another familiar ‘80s face (though not
one near or dear as Mr. Kirk Cameron),
Powder Springs, Georgia native Robyn
Lively of Teen Witch tame also stars
Co-director David Nixon coproduced
both Facing the Giants and Fireproof
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: THE LIFE
OF THE WORLD TO COME (NR)
The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle
performs songs from the band’s 2009
release ’The Life of the World to Come"
in this film by Rian Johnson, director
of Brick and The Brothers Bloom
NOT SINCE YOU (NR) 2009. Filmed
locally in Athens. Not Since You con
cerns a group of friends, all NYU grads
personally affected by 9/11, reuniting
in our small northeast Georgia town for
a wedding. Sam (Desmond Harrington.
‘Dexter’) is “the world traveler, the
romantic, the writer.’ All-American
Amy (Kathleen Robertson) broke Sam's
heart when she left him to marry Ryan
(Christian Kane. ’Angel'). Billy (Will
Estes, ’Reunion") is marrying Victoria
(Sunny Mabrey). who dated Howard
(Jon Abrahams) throughout Coi.ege
Fudge (Elden Henson) dwells on the
past, while Southern belle Doogs (Sara
Rue. ‘Popular’) keeps looking for love.
With Barry Corbin.
PECCATO CHE SIA UNA
CANAGUA (NR) 1954. Get your
Sophia Loren fix at Cinecitta 2, this
semester’s Italian film series entitled
Sophia Loren: Celebrating 60 Years
in Cinema. For four consecutive
Tuesdays, the Department of Romance
Languages will screen films starring
the irreplaceable, ageless beauty
The third selection, the romantic
farce Peccato che sia una canaglia,
stars Loren as Lina Stroppiani. a
thief from a family of thieves, who
does not expect the consequences ot
her attempted theft of cabbie Paolo's
(Marcello Mastroianni) taxi. Directed
by Alessandro Biasetti. See Calendar
Events Apr. 6.
POLICE, ADJECTIVE (NR) Romanian
director Comeliu PoromboiuS black
humor has become even more deadpan
with Police, Adjective, his second
feature; its the comedy of frustration,
absurdity and torpor. The story is lean
and straightforward: a young police
detective in toe small Romanian city
of Vaslui is assigned to a surveillance
detail on three high school students,
under pressure to arrest one ot them
for distribution of hashish. As he
follows the teenagers, by turns as a
group and individually, the detective, •
Cristi (Dragos Bucur), becomes con
vinced that the suspect, who has been
’squealed’ on by one of his friends,
hasn’t done anything harmful enough
to merit the punishment that awaits
him should Cristi make his arrest. The
resulting crisis of duty and conscience
is thoroughly worked over in toe film's
climactic scene, a 20-minute meeting
between Cristi, Ns partner and their
boss that formally echoes an equivalent
scene in 12:08 East ol Bucharest but
takes a far more rigorous approach.
(Dave Man] *
REMEMBER ME (PG-13) This dra
matic romance is Robert Patti nsonS
cinematic excursion from The Twilight
Saga. Two young lovers. Tyler (RPattz)
and Ally (Emilte de Ravin, lost*), find
each other in the wake of personal
tragedy. Tytert brother just com
mitted suicide, and Ally witnessed
her mother's murder. Director Allen
Coutter is a TV vet (tots ot HBO and
a little FX) who directed toe feature
Hoilymxxfland. The seasoned cast
includes Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper,
Martha Plimpton and Lena Otto.
THE SHAWSHANX REDEMPTION
(R) 1994. Rightfatty hailed a new
classic by TNT, Frank Darabonfs The
Shawshank Redemption, based upon
a short story by Stephen King, was •
another one ot toe films unrightfully
passed over in favor of Forrest Gump
at toe 1995 Academy Awards cer- v "
emony. Tim Robbins is Andy Duffesne,