About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2011)
Some releases may not be showing locally this week. • indicates new review • 50/50 (R) Cancer is scary and depressing It's even scarier and more depressing when it happens to a young person So how is Jonathan Levine's second tilm so darn funny and uplift ing? Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the only young actor who can compete with Ryan Gosling in a battle of control and nuance). Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick (proving her Oscar-nominated performance in Up in the Air ms no fluke) and screenwriter Will Reiser are how Adam Lerner works for NPR. he works out. he doesn't smoke or drink, he recycles; he has a beautiful artist girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), a potty-mouthed BFF (Rogen) and an overbearing mother (Angelica Huston) he avoids He also has cancer Don t be fooled by its mild-mannered Disease of the Week" appearance, this tilm loosely based on screen writer Reiser's own struggles to beat cancer, is like Terms of Endearment for 20-somethings ABDUCTION (PG-13) Taylor Lautner whose apparent acting idol was Derek Zoolander, has translated his however- many-pack into a Taylor-made bomb Abduction attempts to force moviego ers to recognize Lautner as a superstar at gunpoint, and it's as terrible a movie as you suspect it to be Every adult involved with this MTV action movie, from director John Singleton to respected actors Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver, should be ashamed for cashing this paycheck. BEATS RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST (R) The career of A Tribe Called Quest is charted from their first appearance in the 1980s through their '90s peak as alternative hip-hop inno vators to the troubled 2006 reunion and beyond (where will Tribe go from here 9 ) Would you have guessed this doc was directed by actor Michael Rapaport 9 1 would not have, but he uses his actorly connections to snag interviews with seemingly everybody, including the Beastie Boys Mary J Blige Common, etc. BILL & TED S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (PG) 1989 Strange things are (certainly) aloot at the Circle K." hop in the phone booth and travel back to the late-'80s with Bill S. Preston. Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) My parents had to buy an overpriced VHS copy ol this "Excellent!" comedy after accidentally recording over less than a minute of it CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (PG-13) Director Joe Johnston smartly gives Captain America: The First Avengers sort of Saturday matinee serial feel Ninety- pound weakling Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to do his part in WWII, but army doctors keep 4Fing him until Dr. Abraham Erskine (the ever wonder ful Stanley Tucci) approaches with his super soldier serum. Soon. Steve Rogers turns into a muscled up super hero called Captain America, who must stop rogue Nazi, the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), from devastating the world CARS 2 (G) Cars 2 is an above-aver age children's cartoon Unfortunately, an above-average children's cartoon is way below Pixar's capabilities Any other animation house can make a Cars or a Cars 2. Pixar should leave the kidd e entertainment to D r °amWorks/ Sony and concentrate on singular mas terpieces like WALL-Fsnd Up CONAN THE BARBARIAN (R1 Conan (Momoa) seeks revenge against the baddie, Khalar Zym (Avatar's Stephen Lang), that murdered his loving barbarian papa (a heavily hirsute Ron Perlman) Fortunately. Conan gets an assist from his Malcolm Jamal- Warnerbe pal a pretty priestess (Rachel Nichols) and a thief (Said Taghmaoui) Conan might be content with living, loving and slaying, but a movie needs more than buckets cfCGI blood and topless extras Howard purists may not love John Milius' 1982 Conan, but everyone'll abhor the 2011 version CONTAGION (PG-13) Steven Soderberghs new "What if. " epi demic chiller is an excellent feature- length “Twilight Zone." What if a deadly new, highly communicable virus entered the population 9 How quickly and effectively would the world's governments and health agencies (represented by Laurence Fishburne. Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston and Marion Cotillard) respond 9 What sort of wildfire would spread via the blogo- sphere (thanks. Jude Law) 9 How would the rest of us (Matt Damon stars as the people's proxy) respond as loved ones (like Gwyneth Paltrow) quickly and mysteriously fall ill? • COURAGEOUS (PG-13) First, the nice things The technical skills of director Alex Kendrick and the folks (they are from Albany) behind Sherwood Baptist's latest evangelical epic have vastly improved since their breakthrough hit, Facing the Giants. On a completely technical level, you'd never know you were not watching a Hollywood production about four law enforcement officers forced to face themselves as men and fathers after a tragedy I've seen several Hollywood hits that looked worse (direction, cinematography, editing, etc). Now the bad The talent in front of the camera still reeks of amateurism. Awkward reaction shots and line deliveries of stilted homilies and forced proverbs mar the professional Hollywood slick production values. At least there's no “big" name bible beater, a la Kirk Cameron in Sherwood's previous release. Fireproof, to really show up the down home actors Judging from the success ol Sherwood's film ministry, evangelical audiences are hungry lor a movie that speaks to them in clean. Christian parlance For them, for now. Courageous is the best movie they can ask for You might call it an answered prayer DOLPHIN TALE (PG)lam not a sucker for sentimental animal mov ies Were I. then I am sure Dolphin Tale would have fit the bill. A lonely 12-year-old, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble), rescues a dolphin (real tail-less dol phin. Winter, as herself) caught in a crab trap With the help of a marine vet (Harry Connick Jr), his daughter (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and a doctor who special izes in prosthetics (Morgan Freeman), Sawyer helps save the dolphin by fashioning a take appendage Money woes, a hurricane and the fish's own dislike of potential new tails confound the boy's attempts. • DREAM HOUSE (PG-13) I'm not sure how Dream House happened It's hard to imagine this script having attracted so much A-list talent—Oscar winners Jim Sheridan and Rachel Weisz. plus Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts—seeing as the frozen thriller corpse they dumped into the cinematic wasteland ol September is DOA A fam ily (headed by Craig and Weisz) moves into a new home, only to discover the last family was murdered there When the young daughters claim to have a seen a strange man around the house, papa Will (Craig) believes it to be the man who was charged with killing his wife and two daughters before being released for lack of evidence Cue the mystery. It you thought director Sheridan (My Left Foot) was out of his comfort zone helming Curtis "50 Cent’ Jackson's biopic, Get Rich or Die Try in'. you don't know comfort zones (and you obviously didn’t see the decent rap drama) Dream House slogs through the drilts of discarded plot pieces and stylistic cues from other, better horror movies DRIVE (R) Drive slides through the alleys and sidestreets of its criminal Los Angeles with the precision, skill and style of its nameless Driver (Ryan Gosling), called the Kid by his boss/ handler. Shannon (Bryan Cranston; BTW why aren't you watching Breaking Bad" yet?). Stuntman by day. getaway man for hire by night, the driver slides his leather driving gloves on and gets his bumpers bloody when a cute neighbor (Carey Mulligan) with a little tyke runs afoul of some local toughs HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (PG-13) By now everyone knows what to expect from the Potter universe as conceived by director David Yates (he's helmed the final four Potters) and longtime series scribe Steve Kloves (he scripted the entire series save HP5) In the final journey to this magical world, the entire cast and crew deliver an emotionally impactful, thrillingly magic-tilled final installment to one of the biggest blockbuster franchises ol all time THE HELP (PG-13) An audience- wooer & la The Bund Side, this '60s Mississippi set melodramedy will draw raves from your mother, grandmother, aunt, the ladies ol the church, etc., but the whitewashed world of The Help lacks the proper depth to leel real Every black servant is a saint; every white employer a demon HIGHER GROUND (R) Actress Vera Farmiga tries her hand at directing with this religious drama based on Carolyn Briggs' memoir. This Dark World. Corinne’s (Farmiga) crisis ol faith throws a tight-knit, evangelical Christian community into turmoil. Farmiga did good to get “Deadwood' s John Hawkes, who received a well- deserved Oscar nom for Winter's Bone. as a costar Farmiga received a nomi nation for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize HORRIBLE BOSSES (R) Horrible Bosses is the summer's funniest movie (since the last time I crowned a film such). Nick (Jason Bateman) works for an evil corporate shark played perfectly by Kevin Spacey (with a wink and a nod to the darkly fun Swimming with Sharks). Dale (Charlie Day of the best sitcom on TV, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") is getting seriously sexually harassed by his seriously hot dentist boss (Jennifer Aniston) Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) answers to a cokehead douchebag that resembles a balding Colin Farrell (Farrell). With the help of a murder consultant with a very blue name (Jamie Foxx), these three friends decide the solution to their employment problems is to murder each other's boss. THE IDES OF MARCH (R) Based on a play. George Clooney's new political drama definitely has some shades of a Redford film. An idealistic staffer. Stephen Myers (Fiyan Gosling), learns to play dirty politics on the campaign trail of a hot, new presidential candi date (Clooney, pulling double duty). It remains to be seen whether or not Clooney's new picture can set the pace for the early Oscar front runners. With Paul Giamatti. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei. Jeffrey Wright and more GRANDMA HAS A VIDEO CAMERA 2007. The Hispanic Heritage Month celebration (this year's theme: Immigration and Transnational Experience) continues at the Georgia Museum of Art A family ol Brazilian immigrants record 20 years of their successes and struggles, joys and sor rows. via video camera The screening will be introduced by Susan Quinlan and lollowed by a Skype Q&A with director Tania Cypriano. Nominated for the Village Voice/LA. Weekly Poll for Best Undistributed Film of 2007 KILLER ELITE (R) What seems like another kinetic actioner in Jason Statham's interchangeable (besides the two hits of Crank) is actually a pretty solid exercise in real men (Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro and a bunch ol British toughs) playing war. Danny (Statham) is a retired mere, pulled back into the game to save his mentor. Hunter (De Niro) His latest renegade op places him in direct oppo sition with former SAS specialist. Spike (Owen) Gary McKendry confidently directs the action and spying in his feature debut THE LION KING (G) Tricked into thinking he killed his father, a guilt rid den lion cub llees into exile and aban dons his identity as the future king MONEYBALL (PG-13) Based on Michael Lewis' bestseller, director Bennet Miller's follow-up to the Oscar winning Capote actually makes base ball statistics interesting Oakland As General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) attempts to build a championship ballclub through On Base and Slugging Percentage rather than traditional scouting Does it work 9 Anyone famil iar with Major League Baseball already knows the answer, but the film, adapted by screenwriting superstars Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Moneyball isn't quite this year's The Social Network, Miller lacks Fincher's danger ously pure talent and the story lacks Facebook's volcanic relevance REAL STEEL (PG-13) The trailer for this Hugh Jackman action movie just screams Rock Fm. Sock 'Em Robots: The Movie (which apparently was in MOVIE LISTINGS Schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead. CINE (706-353-3343) check website for show times Crazy Stupid Love (PG-13) 9:45 (starts F. 10/7) (no 9:45 show Su. 10/9), 2:45 (Su. 10/9) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2 (PG-13) 9:30 (W. 10/5 & Th/ 10/6), 2:15 (Sa. 10/8 & Su. 10/9) Higher Ground (R) 5:00. 7:15, 9:30 (starts F. 10/7) (no 9:30 show Su. 10/9) Pedal Driven (NR) 7:15 (Sa. 10/8) Sarah's Key (PG-13) 5:00 (W. 10/5 & Th/ 10/6) Senna (PG-13) 7:15 (W. 10/5 & Th/ 10/6). 5:15 (starts F. 10/7) The Whistleblower (R) 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 (W. 10/5 & Th/ 10/6). 7:30 (starts F. 10/7) (no 7:30 show Sa. 10/8 or Tu. 10/11), 2:45 (Sa. 10/8) UGA TATE CENTER THEATER (706 542 6396) Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (PC) 8:00 (Th. 10/6) Transformers: Dark of the Moon (R) 3:00, 6:00. 9:00 (F. 10/7. Sat. 10/8 & Su. 10/9) Accurate movie times for the CARMIKE 12 (706-354-0016), BEECHWOOD STADIUM 1 1 (706-546-1011) and GEORGIA SQUARE 5 (706-548-3426) cinemas are not available by press time. Visit www.flagpole.com for updated times. I told you. we don’t know any R.E.M. songs! development al one point), Jackman is a struggling promoter of robot box ing. who thinks he has a contender in a discarded bot He also discovers he has an 11-year-old son Director Shawn Levy has been on a roll; his last three movies were the high-profile hits, Night at the Museum, its Smithsonian- set sequel and Date Night. SARAH’S KEY (PG-13) A Parisian journalist (Kristin Scott Thomas) inves tigating the notorious 1942 Vel‘ d Hiv Roundup becomes embroiled in the mystery of a young girl whose family ties were severed by the Holocaust. Director Gilles Paquet-Brenners last movie was a horror film, Walled In. starring Mischa Barton. Sarah's Key is based on the bestseller Files'Appelait Sarah by Tatiana De Rosnay With Meiusine Mayanceas 10-year-old Sarah Starzynski and Niels Arestrup. SENNA (PG-13) The late Brazilian Formula One racer Ayrton Senna gets the documentary treatment in this film from BAFTA Award winner and Cannes Film Festival nominee Asif Kapadia (The Warrior and the short, The Sheep Thief). The three-time F1 champion, revered as a saint in his native country, died like NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt, felled on live television by the sport he loved. I've never heard of Senna, but his life story sounds fascinating Senna won Sundance's Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary. TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (PG-13) What exactly did Michael Bay think was wrong with the last Transformers movie 9 Whatever he fixed made Transformers 3cringmgly bad and the worst of the bunch. •WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? (R) Abandoned to another flimsy romcom. Anna Faris amusingly tumbles from one lame setup to another as Ally, a young woman trying to find love before she sleeps with her 21st guy. Naturally, her neighbor is a hot stud (Chris “Captain America" Evans) look ing for a clumsy, busty, blonde reason to stop the assembly line bringing beautiful women into his bed. Faris is beautiful, funny and deserving of a showy role in a Woody Allen-level romantic comedy (think Mira Sorvino or Scarlett Johannson). It's high time for Evans to leave these easy paycheck roles behind, else he risk succumbing to Gerard Butler Syndrome, wherein a rising male actor is defined by his crap Katherine Heigl ogling rather than his exciting macho actioning (it's acting plus action; it's actioning). Things the world doesn't need: another "chick" flick to reinforce awful, dated gender stereotypes. Thing the world does need: more Anna Faris. THE WHISTLEBLOWER (R) Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardenei) stars as Kathryn Bolkovac, the Nebraska cop who, during a one year stint as Bosnian peacekeeper, outeo the United Nations' complicity in the cover up of cases of sex trafficking. Director Larysa Kondracki's feature debut won Audience Awards at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Whistler Film Festival. Kondracki picked up the Seattle Film Festival's Golden Space Needle for Best Director. With Monica Belluci and Vanessa Redgrave. ZOOKEEPER (PG) Kevin James is Griffin, a nice guy who nicely takes care of nice animals lor a nice living A pretty girl, Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), broke his nice heart because he's a nice zookeeper. The animals, who can talk thanks to the likes of Sylvester Stallone. Cher. Adam Sandler. Judd Apatow. Maya Rudolph, Jon Favreau and Nick Nolte, etc., break their code of silence to help the lovable Griffin win his dream girl Drew Wheeler 10 FLAGPOLE.COM • OCTOBER 5, 2011
