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THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (PG-
13) The trailers do nothing for the cut
of this latest Philip K. Dick adaptation.
Matt Damon and Emily Blunt play star-
crossed lovers, David and Elise, being
kept apart by the Adjustment Bureau,
who resemble a team of Mad Men
in suits and hats (one is even played
by “Mad Men'ls silver-haired, silver-
tongued John Slattery). These angels
as pencil pushers and bureaucrats
make sure The Plan, as envisioned by
The Chairman (one of many names for
the man upstairs), is adhered to. The
love aflair between David and Elise is
not part of the plan, and the Bureau
will stop at nothing, even sending in
their heavy hitter (Terence Stamp), to
ensure the couple does not end up
together. Writer-director George Nolfi
meshes romance and sci-fi with more
coolly intricate success than you would
suspect. Damon and Blunt generate
surprisingly easy chemistry, and the
men in hats idea works well thanks to
Slattery, Stamp and The Hurt Lockefs
undervalued Anthony Mackie. A new
score from Thomas Newman and gor
geous urban cinematography from
Oscar winner John Toll merely ice this
romantic cake. The Adjustment Bureau
is one of the better films of young
2011.
BEGINNERS (R) Thumbsuckerm\e\-
director Mike Mills (not to be confused
with the R.E.M. bassist) returns for
his first fictional feature since 2005
with this family-dynamic drama
about 75-year-old Hal (Christopher
Plummer), who decides to confess two
secrets to his grown son, Oliver (Ewan
McGregor). First, Hal has terminal
cancer. Second, he is gay and has
a younger lover. Hal sounds like a
plum role for Plummer, who is aging
wonderfully. With Melanie Laurent and
Goran Visnjic.
BRIDESMAIDS (R) Considering its
competition, calling Bridesmaids the
funniest movie of 2011 may be as
much an insult as a compliment to
this hilarious comedy, written by and
starring Kristen Wiig (winner of the
year's It's About Time Award). This
female-driven flick needs to be judged
and compared to its raunchy, hearty
brothers, all raised under the banner
of the House of Apatow. These brides
maids prove to be just as funny and
dirty as the groomsmen of The 40 Year
Old Virgin, Knocked Up, etc. When
Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged,
crazy, broken best friend Annie (Wiig)
takes on the task of Maid of Honor and
screws it up with uproarious results.
Wiig has the awkward build and the
instincts of a classic screwball come
dienne, and, given choice material (i.e.,
her own), could have every bit of the
success of Tina Fey. As a'writer, Wiig's
a little ballsier. Wiig and Rudolph also
share that magical comic chemistry
once exemplified by Fey and Amy
Poehler. Include the terrific support
ing turns from the wonderful Melissa
McCarthy (‘Gilmore Girls” beloved
Sookie) and Chris O'Dowd of “The IT
Crowd,’ just to unjustly name two, and
Bridesmaids is worth the affirmative
RSVP.
FAST FIVE (PG-13) Might the fifth
model of The Fast and the Furious
-franchise be its best yet? Dare I inquire
if anyone actually cares about the
answer to that question? The sum
mer blockbuster arrives earlier than
usual, thanks to the modified hot rods
preferred by car thief/street racer/
ex-con Dominic “Dorn’ Toretto (Vin
Diesel) and his buddy, former FBI
agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker).
Fans of the non-Diesel editions of F&F
will be exciteo to know Luda, Tyrese
and Sung Kang reprise their characters
from 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast
and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. As the
“plot’ goes, Dorn, Brian and Dorn’s
sister/ Brian’s squeeze, Mia (Jordana
Brewster), are on the lam after a daring,
non-fatal prison break. In Rio. the trio
runs afoul of super drug lord, Reyes
(Joaquim de Almeida, doing what
Joaquim de Almeida does best, intimi
date in a bespoke suit). They also have
to outwit federal bounty hunter Hobbs
(a more gigantic than usual Dwayne
Johnson). Other stuff goes on to set up
the “Ocean’s 11 on wheels’ heist that
creates the climax. Most of the other
stuff—baby drama, potential betrayal,
Dorn gruffly connecting with a griev
ing hot Brazilian policewoman (Elsa
Pataky)—is boring, and unfortunately,
at 130 minutes, Fast Five features a
lot of the other stuff. But when the car-
based action gets moving, it is a pedal-
to-the-metal blast. The final setpiece,
involving two muscle cars towing a
large bank vault, sets a new standard
for a series that has always excelled
where high-speed action is concerned.
Beautiful people (that Paul Walker sure
is dreamy), glistening hoods and exotic
locales make for an entertaining two-
plus hours. Three-time F&F director
Justin Lin (rumored to be helming a
new Arnold-starring Terminator) knows
the limitations of the series but most
importantly, knows how to shoot bang-
up action scenes. If you can stomach a
couple of hours of Diesel huffing and
gruffing (I'm a fan), Fast Five will get
your summer blockbuster blood pump
ing like your heart’s a 6.1-liter SRT
HEMIV8 engine.
THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER
SOLD (PG-13) Super Size Me docu
mentary and Oscar nominee Morgan
Spurlock returns to explain the process
of product placement with a film com
pletely financed by product placement.
I enjoyed his debut but have grown
fonder of Spurlock through the three
seasons of his FX show, “30 Days.’
His last feature, Where in the World Is
Osama Bin Laden?, didn't seem to get a
proper release. Hopefully, we’ll be able
to view his latest feature at the local
multiplex.
GROW! (NR) Grow!looks at the
sustainable farming movement bur
geoning across the state of Georgia.
Filmmakers Christine Anthony and
Owen Masterson shine a light on the
hard work of 20 passionate, young
independent farmers laboring on 12
Georgia farms. I'm digging the tagline:
“Who knew Georgia farmers were so
hot?!’ Followed by a panel discussion,
this screening will benefit Slow Food
Athens, a grassroots movement whose
goal is “to bring good, clean and fair
food to all."
• THE HANGOVER PART II (R)
Sequels to hit comedies mostly suck.
Think about it. Caddyshack II. Fletch
Lives. American Pie 2. Major League
2. Arthur 2: On the Rocks. Porky's II:
The Next Day. Blues Brothers 2000.
Weekend at Berniers II. The list goes
on. The reasons these sequels fail are
numerous: failure to comprehend what
was funny about the original; loss of
the original stars; characters lose li
ability; sequel mines exact same jokes
as the first movie; etc. The Hangover
Part //sidesteps the landmines that
blow away the humorous limbs from
most comedy sequels. Lobbing critical
grenades at the movie’s lack of creativ
ity ignores the ingenuity that fashioned
a funny facsimile without simply recy
cling wholesale gags from the 2009
blockbuster. Anyone who saw the first
one can deduce what’s going to hap
pen to Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed
Helms) and Alan (Zack Galifianakis).
After a night of partying, the Woltpack
awakens minus one member and any
knowledge of what transpired. But
one night in Bangkok, the sequel’s
exotic locale, is raunchier and nastier
than one lost in Las Vegas. This Todd
Phillips directed comedy works hard,
delivering the laughs necessary to
make up for its lack of surprises.
JANE EYRE (PG-13) Charlotte
Bronte’s classic novel (just ask any
high schooler) is brought to the big
screen yet again, this time by an
intriguing filmmaker, Sin Nombre's
Cary Fukunaga. The titular, mousy gov
erness (Mia Wasikowska, who is every
where right now) falls for her employer,
Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender),
only to discover he harbors a horrible
secret. Screenwriter Moira Buffini also
wrote last year's Tamara Drewe. With
Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot}, Imogen Poots
(Solitary Man), Sally Hawkins (Happy-
Go-Luck/i and Dame Judi Dench.
JUMPING THE BROOM (PG-13)
Jumping the Broom has all the familial
melodrama of a Tyler Perry production
without Madea’s tonal aggression.
When uptown girl Sabrina (Paula
Patton) meets downtown boy Jason
(Laz Alonso), they quickly get engaged.
The wedding on Martha's Vineyard
highlights the divide between the two
families, led by tough-verging-on-
unlikable matriarchs played by Angela
Bassett and Loretta.Devine. In his first
feature, veteran television director
Salim Akil (“Girlfriends,’ “The Game’)
shows a better understanding of
cinematic conventions than Perry did
in his 10th. Jumping the Broom isn't
much more than a made-for-TV movie
writ large, but the family dramedy goes
down smoothly thanks to an appealing
cast and a stolid behind-the-camera
foundation.
• KUNG FU PANDA 2 (PG) However
much I dug the first Kung Fu Panda,
the second adventure of Dragon
Warrior Po (v. Jack Black, who is bet
ter heard than seen) and the Furious
Five—Master Tigress (v. Angelina
Jolie), Master Crane (v. Cross), Master
Viper (v. Lucy Liu), Master Mantis (v.
Seth Rogen) and Master Monkey (v.
Jackie Chan)—has more visual inven
tiveness than it does comic or narrative
combined. Peacock Shen (v. Gary
Oldman) plots to rule China with a
gunpowder-based weapon that nullifies
the powers of Kung Fu (always spoken
of as a capitalized entity). Shen also is
responsible for Po's orphaned status,
adding a personal vendetta on top of
the world saving. The cute, gravity-less
Kung Fu Panda universe renders the
drama so light it floats away. With the
story no match for KFP2s furious,
fist-flying computer animation (and
Po’s lovely hand-drawn memories), the
sound effects take on a role of near
heroic importance. Yet the animated
feature's childish target audience
will never notice how far back Kung
Fu Panda 2retreats from its stellar
predecessor, as the animated bells and
auditory whistles are that pleasantly
distracting.
MEEK’S CUTOFF (PG) Whether
you love her or have never heard of
her, writer-director Kelly Reichardt
returns with a new feature—a period
piece at that!—to join her impressive
filmography of River ot Grass, Old Joy
and Wendy and Lucy. In 1845 Oregon,
female settler Emily Tetherow (Michelle
Williams) begins to question whether
or not bold guide Stephen Meek (Bruce
Greenwood) has led her astray. Meek's
Cutoff has already picked up a couple
of awards from the Independent Spirit
Awards.
MIA AND THE MIGOO (PG) 2008
Impressively created from 500,000
hand-painted frames of animation,
French Animator Jacques-Remy
Girerd's second feature (Raining Cats
and Frogs was his first), Mia and
the MigoocaWs to mind the modern
classics of Hayao Miyazaki. Led by a
premonition, young Mia goes on a wild
adventure to save her father, who is
trapped by a mudslide at a construe
lion site. Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew
Modine. James Woods and the great
Wallace Shawn lend their voices to this
winner of the European Film Award for
Best Animated Feature.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:
ON STRANGER TIDES (PG-13) You
would think Johnny Depp's Captain
Jack Sparrow would soar to the surlace
now that he’s shed of the dead weight
that was Will Turner (Orlando Bloom)
and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley).
Instead, the fourth adventure of Captain
Jack is terribly unexciting and, worst
of all, boring, as he canters frantically
about for no reason more dramati
cally pressing than box office booty.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a need
lessly extended series; I haven't cared
about since the Black Pearl's initial
outing. Depp does what Depp does
as Captain Jack battles the Spanish,
Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Blackbeard
(Ian McShane, who almost makes it
worth watching) and a beautiful lady
pirate (Penelope Cruz) for the Fountain
of Youth. The cinematic equivalent of
stale popcorn and flat soda, Pirates of
the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is
missing the key component that set the
unlikely first blockbuster apart from its
peers: fun.
PRIEST (PG-13) An aggressively
boring movie, Pr/es/ doesn’t bring one
original idea to its tale of a warrior man
of the cloth battling an army of vam
pires in the cities of Blade Runner and
the desert wastelands of Mad Max. The
graphic novel series, upon which the
second unimpressive movie directed
Scott Charles Stewart and starring Paul
Bettany is based, may be acclaimed,
but I cannot see why from its filmed
version. In a world ruled by the Church,
man lives in the aftermath of a brutal
war fought to extinguish the vampire
threat. When the Priests (Bettany)
family is attacked by the very vampires
he helped eradicate, he must break his
vows to save his only living relative,
an 18-year-old girl named Lucy (Lily
Collins). Joining the Priest are a young
lawman (Cam Gigandet, continuing his
career as punchline to some unfunny
joke) and another rogue Priest (Maggie
Q). As the Eastwoodian Priest with No
Name, the can-be-charismatic Bettany
proves yet again to be a plastic action
figure. This ugly, murky sci-fi/western/
horror/action hybrid is a soulless
second-tier summer “blockbuster’ bled
of even more color by the pointless
addition of 3D.
SUPER (NR) Could 20m best film
come from a Troma grad whose only
other directorial credit is the fun,
gross-out B-mov*e homage, Slither
(starring the oh so wonderful Nathan
Fillion, who has a small, albeit hilari
ous part in Super)? Three-and-a-half
months in, the answer is, “Yup." James
Gunn, who learned moviemaking at
the feet of Lloyd Kaufman, takes the
genius idea of Kick-Ass the comic,
not Kick-Ass the movie, and tells the
credible story of a regular, probably
schizophrenic, guy. Frank D'Arbo
(Rainn Wilson), who becomes a real-
life superhero, who, the film posits,
might be at best, a ruthless psycho
path, and at worst, a serial killer. Slither
may be a more polished looking movie,
but Super shows Gunn's growth as
a writer and moviemaker. He reins in
some of his wilder inclinations without
softening the moviels cddball, cultish
appeal Short-order cook Frank is
married to a beautiful recovering drug
addict, Sarah (Liv Tyler), who is lured
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ACC LIBRARY (706-613-3650)
Two Spirits (NR) 7:00 (Th. 6/2)
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Due to the Memorial Day holiday, screening times were not available at press
time. Call or check website for times: www.athenscine.com
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (PG-13)
Jane Eyre (PG-13)
Meek's Cutoff.(PG)
Mi2 and the Migoo (PG)
Super(NR)
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back into addiction by Jacques (Kevin
Bacon), a smalltime hood who has
kingpin-ish dreams, I guess. Jacques
isn't fleshed out, beyond what Bacon
brings to a role that other professionals
would deem slumming. Calling himself
Crimson Bolt, Frank cranks out a
homemade costume and, red wrench in
hand, awaits crime behind dumpsters
in the middle of the sunny afternoon.
Joined by a 22-year-old sidekick,
Libby (Ellen. Page), AKA Boltie, who
is slightly loonier than Frank, our
“hero’ sets out to rescue Saran from
Jacques’ evil clutches. Anyone familiar
with Gunnls previous work knows to
expect the unexpected, something a bit
discomforting. He never outgrew his
Troma roots, and that is a good thing.
THOR (PG-13) The summer of
second-tier superheroes begins with
Marvel’s latest precursor to next sum
mer's all-star Avengers movie. The
mighty Thor, with his magical hammer,
Mjolnir, joins the Hulk and Iron Man
as Avengers recruits brought to the
big screen (only Captain America,
coming this July, remains to complete
the team), and the God of Thunder’s
premiere issue falls squarely between
the gold standard of Iron Man and the
green giant’s two bronze-medal fin
ishes. After a raid on the Frost Giants
goes awry, a petulant Thor (Chris
Hemsworth) is put in timeout by his
Allfather, Odin (Anthony Hopkins).
Until he learns to use his godlike pow
ers selflessly, he is forced to exist as
one seriously cut. regular dude who
gets to woo Natalie Portman as astro
physicist Jane Foster. When Odin goes
down for the Odinsleep. Thor's trick
ster brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston),
assumes the throne while his banished
bro cools off. To connect Thor to its
older Marvel siblings, Shield Agent
Coulson (Clark Gregg) arrives to
investigate the mysterious hammer
that fell from the sky. Kenneth Branagh
proves an excellent choice to direct
the initial adventure of the banished
Norse god. The acclaimed Brit lends
a Shakespearean gravitas to the halls
of Asgard and the game of thrones
orchestrated by Loki. Surprisingly,
the film’s best feature is not its well-
executed, though pedestrian, action
sequences but its super-powered
humor. Hemsworth is no Robert
Downey, Jr., but he imbues Thorls con
fident reaction to his god-out-of-realm
situation with a hearty conviviality. It’s
not hard to understand why Jane falls
for Thor, AKA Donald Blake. Portman
seems to be having a blast, meshing
well with her unlikely entourage, which
includes Stellan Skarsgard and Kat
Dennings.
TWO SPIRITS (NR) At the age ol 16,
Navajo youth Fred Martinez became
one of the youngest hate crime victims
in modern history. Born in a male body
but with a feminine nature, Fred was
a nadleehi, considered a gift amongst
the Navajo people. In modern America,
it was a death sentence. Director
Lydia Nibley reveals Fred’s tragic
story through his mother, who broke
the Navajo cultural injunction against
speaking of the dead to, hopefully, save
the lives of other gay teens.
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (PG-13) The
newest X-Men follows the early friend
ship of a young Charles Xavier (James
McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr. AKA
Magneto (Michael Fassbender), which
eventually splinters into Professor X’s
X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood
of Evil Mutants. Kick-Ass filmmaker
Matthew Vaughn finally joins the
X-franchise after skipping the third
X-Men movie to make Stardust. I like
the cast: “Mad Mcrf's January Jones
as busty, barely-clad Emma Frost;
Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence
of Winter's Bone as Mystique; Kevin
Bacon as Sebastian Shaw.
Drew Wheeler
10 FLAGPOLE.COM-JUNE 1,2011
