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I Some releases may not be showing locally this week. • indicates new review 13 ASSASSINS (R) Don’t be arraid of 13 Assassins because ot the presence of renowned Japanese genre filmmaker Takashi Miike. His latest is no Audition chiller or /ch/gorefest. Instead, he has fashioned a good old-fashioned jid- aigeki ("period drama") film. As the age of the samurai wanes, a small band of warriors plots to slay an evil relation to the shogun. But the forces they plan for are much larger than anticipated. Miike audaciously climaxes his film with a 45-minute battle sequence, filled with everything one expects and wants from a samurai tale. A fun history lesson for those intrigued by Jeudal-era Japan. 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. 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. A new score from Thomas Newman and gorgeous urban cinematography trom Oscar winner John ToJI merely ice this romantic cake. The Adjustment Bureau is one of the better films of young 2011. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (PG-13) This real-life event somehow led to this science fiction/war movie about the battle fought over Los Angeles during an alien invasion. A group of mixed military personnel (led by Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Ne-Yo) try to get back to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) before bombs are dropped that will hopefully wipe out the invading extraterrestrials. 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 star ring 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 broth ers, all raised under the banner of the House of Apatow. These bridesmaids prove to be just as funny and dirty as the groomsmen of The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, etc. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES (PG) I really enjoyed the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, and its sequel, Rodrick Rules, is no different. Middle schooler Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) must contend with brotherly abuse from his mean older sibling, Rodrick (Devon Bostick). Adding to Greg’s middle school misery is the return of Chirag Gupta (Karan Brar) and an unrequited crush on Holly Hills (Peyton List). Fortunately, Greg still has best bud. Rowley (Robert Capron), by his side. FAST FIVE (PG-13) As the "plot" goes. Dorn (Vin Diesel). Brian (Paul Walker) and Domls sister/ Brians 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). 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 cre ates the climax. THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD (PG-13) Super Size Me docu- mentarian and Oscar nominee Morgan Spurlock returns to explain the process of product placement with a film com pletely financed by product placement. 1 enjoyed his debut but have grown fonder of Spurlock through the three seasons of his FX show, “30 Days." 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 Bemie's 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. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (PG- 13) I cannot find fault with this flawless penultimate installment of the stalwart franchise. The three young leads have matured tremendously as actors; Emma Watson has improved vastly MOVIE LISTINGS Schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead. ACC LIBRARY (706-613-3650) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 (PG-13) 2:00 (Sa. 6/11) CINE (706-353-3343) The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (PG-13) 5:15. 9:45 (W. 6/8 & Th. 6/9) Jane Eyre (PG-13) 7:15 (W. 6/8 & Th. 6/9) Meek's Cutoff (PG) 9:30 (W. 6/8 & Th. 6/9). 4:45, 7:00 Midnight in Paris (PG-13) 5:00. 7:15, 9:30 (starts F. 6/10) (no 9:30 show Su. 6/12), 2:30 (Sa. 6/11 8. Su. 6/12) Rubber (R) 9:15 (starts F. 6/10) (no 9:15 show Su. 6/12), 2:45 (Sa. 6/11 & Su. 6/12) Skyscraper (R) 8:00 (Tu. 6/14) VGA TATE CENTER TNEATER (706-542-6396) Battle: Los Angeles (PG-13) 8:00,10:00 (M. 6/13 &W. 6/15) Accurate movie times for the CARMIKE 12 (706-354-0016), BEECHWOOD STADIUM 11 (706-546 1Q11) and GEORGIA SQUARE 5 (706-546-3426) cinemas are not available by press time. Visit www.flagpole.com for updated times. since the game-changing third film. Director David Yates continues to bring Rowling’s magical world to rousing, tangible life. HOP (PG) I’m still a sucker for a grand holiday fantasy factory sequence, and Hop opens with a spectacular one, detailing how all the marshmallow chicks and hollow chocolate bunnies are produced Unfortunately; the family film goes creatively downhill from thaf high point. JANE EYRE (PG-1J) 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. JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER (PG) This ‘ energetic third-grader escapes from the pages of Megan McDonald's best-selling kid-lit series for a big screen, summer adventure. When Judy Moody’s (Jordana Beatty) parents take a trip to California sans Judy and her little brother, Stink (Parris Mosteller), the rat’s nest redhead creates a series of summer dares to entertain herself and her friends. Fortunately, the sum mer sitter, Aunt Opal (Heather Graham), is way cool. JUMPER (PG-13) A genetic anomaly allows high school student David Rice (Hayden Christensen) to teleport anywhere he chooses in the blink of an eye. After robbing a NYC bank vault, he comes to the attention of a shadowy group of government hunters and finds himself in a war between ‘Jumpers’ and those who have sworn to kill them. 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. 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. LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE (PG) 300 director Zack Snyder was made for ani mation, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls ol Ga'Hoole proves it. Unfortunately, the film, based on the first three books in Kathryn Lasky’s bestselling children’s series (I made it through one and almost a half of the short books), feels rushed and poorly explained. LIMITLESS (PG-13) Limitless, the new film from Illusionist director Neil Burger, is pretty much about star Bradley Coopers career. He goes from being *Alias”s Will Tippin to The A-TeamV Face in the course of two hours. Writer Eddie Morra stumbles upon a designer drug that opens up the limitless potential of the human brain. Soon, Eddie is making millions from the stock market and drawing the atten tion of a Wall Street bigwig (Robert De Niro). 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 cf River ol 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. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13) Woody Allen's still in Europe, and the buzz says Midnight is one of his recent best. In the Woodster’s latest, an entire family family takes a business trip to Paris. The cast—Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates. Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard. Adrien Brody, Alison Pill and Tom Hiddleston—is good, but not as sharp as most put together by Allen. I hope it’s better than You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (PG-13) You would think Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow would soar to the surface now that hets 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 ol all. boring, as he canters frantically about for no reason more dramatically pressing than box office booty. RANGO (PG) Boasting a cute trailer, this animated feature from Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski stars his lead pirate, Johnny Depp, as the voice of a chameleon that wants to be a gunslinging hero. Rango must put his skills, if he has any. to the test to protect a Western town from bandits. RUBBER (R) When a tire named Robert comes to life and discovers it has the telekinetic power to kill, it rolls around a desert town looking lor victims. Robert is particularly intrigued by a mysterious woman named Sheila (Roxane Mesquida). Writer-director Quentin Dupieux, AKA French techno artist Mr. Oizo, has crafted a horror/ comedy hybrid that works better when it sticks to straight-faced terror. SCREAM 4 (R) By no means a disappointment as many wish it to be, Scream 4 (Scre4m) shows Kevin Williamson can still entertainingly tackle the tropes of the horror genre. After a decade-long absence during which the genre saw nearly all its classics remade. Ghostface's fourth murderous rampage naturally sends up the remake craze. SOURCE CODE (PG-13) Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie, tones down some of his art house-ier inclina tions for Source Code, a thrilling sci-fi/ action movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier, Colter Stevens, enlisted in an experimental operation to travel back in time for eight minutes and uncover the mastermind of a terrorist attack on a Chicago commute, train. If he doesn't, a dirty bomb will level downtown Chicago. SUPER 8 (PG-13) J J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg team up for an hom age to the sort of wide-eyed, wonderful extraterrestrial adventures that made Spielberg a box office sensation in the 70s and ‘80s. This retro take on the found footage subgenre is set in 1979 when an alien being transported cross country from Area 51 escapes. Number one on my list of must-see summer movies. THOR (PG-13) 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. THE TRIP (NR) Director Michael Winterbottom (Tristram Shandy, A Mighty Heart} has edited together his BBC series in which Steve Coogan plays an(other) exaggerated version of himself. Asked by The Observerfo tour Northern England’s finest restaurants. Coogan plots a perfect getaway with his girlfriend; instead, he finds himself tortured by his aggravating best friend. Rob Brydon TROLLHUNTER (NR) Apparently, trolls are real, and the Norwegian government has been covering up their existence for years. Naturally, a group ot Norwegian film students discover the truth and decide to go capture these giants on film This Nordic horror film has been a genre favorite of festival audiences WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (NR) Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) hops a train carrying the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth to its next stop. Soon, he con vinces ringmaster August Rosenbluth (an absolutely terrifying Christoph Waltz) to hire him as the circus' ele phant trainer. With Reese Witherspoon as his nal pal. • X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (PG-13) With Kick-Ass filmmaker Matthew Vaughn in charge, X-Men: First Class is what the third X-movie should have been. A prequel to the preceding cinematic issues, X-Men Zero explains how Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr, AKA Magneto (Michael Fassbender), came to be friends and then mortal enemies. With its early-’60s style and Cold War tensions, X-Zeio exceeds its predeces sors in energy, style and fun. Smart casting decisions more than make up for some C-fist mutants. This fourth entry in the superhero series is the first X-film to fully live up to the property's huge potential. Drew Wheeler A KOutyJ j> ToujfJ CITY t OthiT TO C^uFotsjtA THt<, uxBCK PoR aw SeoTHCft^ <OfOPJA»6 rue kJgod/oo uj*5 jusr CuTStOe SAW PRAWOKO fn£cirv T °° Pe, iu nj Crk€ YotlU, 5AO PSAOClSCO HA> A 3CR»OuS Qgt> 60& pgo8i€»V OAOf O 5YTf/f €*Jt> OP I'*'* TRiP f OJA S F~CpftCTTV FEAtJOc ojujuj. v*\o tuner FrMoens.ver 10 FLAGPOLE.COM JUNE 8,2011
