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50 501R) Cancer >$ scary and
depressing So no* is Jonatnan
Levines second film so darn funny
and uplifting 7 Joseph Gordon-Levift
Seth Roger, Anna Kendrick and
screen*'iter Will Reiser are ho* Adam
lemer works for NPR he works out. he
doesnt smoke or drink he f etycles he
has a beautiful artist girttnend (Bryce
Dallas Howard) Dont be fooled by
its mild-mannered "Disease of the
Week' appearance this film loosely
based on screenwriter Reiser's own
struggles to beat cancer is like Terms
ot Endearment tor 20-somethings
ABDUCTION RG 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 ;t 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
tor 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 7 ) Would you have guessed this
doc was directed by actor Michael
Rapaport 7 1 would not have but he
uses his actorly connections to snag
interviews with seemingly everybody
including the Beastie Boys Mary J
Biige. Common, etc
•THE BIG YEAR PG
like that really nice guy you know who s
really boring You feel bad not wanting
to hang out with him. but what a wasle
of time he is Jack Black. Steve Martin
(whose putty visage and tiny eyes look
more and more strange) and Owen
Wdsor >ar as three birders compet
ing to see the most species of North
American birds in one year Ail three
of these actors are likable enough but
none of them have the charisma or
sc r een presence to overcome such an
uncompeilmg script Black s awful VO
does not help Thematically the movie
invites comparisons to The Bucket
List which is less complimentary than
it sounds The wacky competition at
the heart of the Mark Obmasok book
The Big Year 4 Tale of Man nature,
and Fowl Obsession upon which the
turn is based would make the perfect
subject tor a quirky Christopher
Guest-ish mockumentary But film
maker David Frankel (The Devil Wears
Prada Mariey & Me) and screenwriter
Howard Frankfm (his first since 2001 s
Antitrust) unfortunately chose to go
schmaltzy and inspirational rather than
poke gentle fun at three grown men
spending thousands of dollars and
skipping important familial milestones
to chase birds
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST
AVENGER lPG-13) Do you remember
The BocketeeO I do and so does
Captain America director Joe Johnston
who should seeing as he directed the
1991 throwback Johnston smartly
gives Captain America The First
Avenger)talk about unnecessary sub
titles) the same sort of Saturday mati
nee serial feel Ninety-pound weakling
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to
do his part in WWII, but army doctors
keep 4Fmg him until Dr Abraham
Erskme (the ever wonderful Stanley
Tucci) approaches with his super sol
dier serum Soon. Steve Rogers turns
into a muscled-up superhero called
Captain America who must step rogue
Nazi the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving),
from devastating the world
CARRIE R) 1976 B ? an De Palma
helped kickstart the late- 70s horror
revolution with this adaptation of once
and future Stephen Kings first novel
A young girl Came White Sissy
Spacek) raised by an abusive reli
gious nut of a mother (Piper Laune)
develops telekinetic powers that she
uses to get revenge on John Travolta
and Nancy Alien
CARS 2 . vs2is anabov
age childrens cartoon Unfortunately
an above-average childrens cartoon
is way below Pixar's capabilities Any
other animation house car make a Cars
or a Cars 2 Pixar should leave the
kiddie entertainment to DreamWorks,'
Sony and concentrate on singular mas
terpieces like WALL S and Up
CONTAGION RG 13) Steven
Soderberghs new What it epi
demic chilier is an excellent ’eature-
length "Twilight Zone ’ What if a deadly
new highly communicable virus
entered the population 7 How quickly
and effectively would the worlds
governments and health agencies (rep
resented by Laurence F.shburne Kale
Winslet Bryan Cranston and Manor
Cotiiiard) respond 7 What sort ot wild
fire would spread via the biogosphere
(thanks Jude Law) 7
COURAGEOUS (PG-13) 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 tour law
enforcement officers forced to face
themselves as men and fathers after a
tragedy
CRAZY. STUPIO. LOVE (PG 13)
What a crazy, stupid idea- Write a
mature comedy script Cast pretty, tal
ented appropriately aged stars Direct
them with care, humanity and simplic
ity Who would ever think those actions
would develop into the summer s most
charming w*de release 7 Only almost
everyone who doesn t greeniight studio
projects Steve Carell stars as Cal
Weaver whese wife Emily (Juitanne
Moore), suddenly bombs him with a
divorce pronouncement that leads him
to a local bar where Cal meets inveter
ate womanizer Jacob (Ryan Gosling)
While Cal the nice guy is learning to
objectify women, Jacob the man-whore
is falling tor law student Hannah
(Emma Stone)
DOLPHIN TALE (PG) I am not a
sucker for sentimental animal mov
ies Were I then I am sure Dolphin
Tale would have tit 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 (Coz:
Zuehlsdortf) and a doctor who special
izes m prosthetics (Morgan Freeman).
Sawyer helps save the dolphin by
fashioning a take appendage
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 thrliter corpse they
dumped into the cinematic wasteland
of September is DOA A family moves
into a new home only to discover the
;ast family was murdered there When
the young daughters claim to have a
seen a strange man around the house
papa Will (Craig) believes 1 to be the
man who was charged with killing his
wife and two daughters before being
released for lack ot evidence Cue the
mystery
DRIVE R) Dnve slides through the
alleys and sidestreets of its criminal
Los Angeles with the precision skill
and style ot its nameless Driver (Ryan
Gosling), called the Kid by his boss/
handler Shannon (Bryan Cranston
BTW why aren t you watching
Breaking Bad' yet 7 ) 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
• FOOTLOOSE PG-13) What Hustle
& Flow filmmaker Craig Brewer has
done in remaking the seminal 80s flick
is impressive Brewer relocates the
dance banning town of Bomon! from
Oklahoma to Georgia, adding another
film to Brewer s resume of intriguing
cinematic stones about the New South
Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormald
looking like he transferred from Rydell
High) migrates south to live with his
aunt and uncle (Kim Dickens and
scene-stealing Ray McKinnon, an Adel
native and Oscar winner) There he
runs afoul of Rev Shaw Moore (Dennis
Quaid), who instituted the dancing ban
after his son died in a car accident,
and woos Moores beautiful troubled
daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough)
Brewer 's movie has a nice rhythm and
does the South more justice than any
other major Hollywood release
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (R)
No. you didn t like this movie better
when it starred Natalie Portman and
Ashton Kutcher Just act like No Strings
Attached doesn t exist, and enjoy the
tar superior genre stylings ot Friends
with Benefits
THE FUTURE (R) Popular indepen
dent filmmaker Miranda July (her
debut. Me and You and Everyone
We Know was all the rage in 2005),
returns with her second feature
Adopting a stray cat changes the
course of time and space for a couple
(July and Hamish Lmklater) The film,
narrated by the cal. Paw-Paw (v July),
sounds a bit more intriguing and
original than much of the indie fare
that emerges from the festival scene
Nominated tor the Golden Bear at the
Berlin international Film Festival
GONZORIFFIC 10th
ANNIVERSARY SHOW NR)
Gonzooffic celebrates its 10th anni
versary with its latest films--“Dr
Humpmstem sErotik Castle' "Bitter
End * ‘One Nine Hundred Tooth
Fairy Assassin The Last Tooth' and
more—all filmed around town over the
past 12 months Though most of the
films are funny they are til unrated
audiences watch at their own risk Thai
disclaimer makes me want to watch
these shorts even more
HARRY POTTER AND THE
DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 (PG-
13) Its over The final battle rages over
the and through the hallowed halls ot
Hogwarts as Harry (Daniel Radclifte),
Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert
Grin!) attempt to end Votdemorts
(Ralph Fiennes) evil reign HP7 2 is
filled with blood death and violence yet
is still fit tor the entire family (besides
the iittlest ones)
HELLA-BlG SHOW NR) Grab your
camcorders 1 Bramdead Gemous pres
ents VHS Videograpber sHella-Btg
Show your chance to get your amateur,
aspiring or professional work on a local
big screen on a monthly basis If you re
interested in submitting your original
work or just want more information,
contact vhsfest@gmail com
THE HELP (PG-13) An audience-
wooer a la The Blind Side, this 60s
Mississippi set melodramedy will draw
raves from your mother grandmother,
aunt the ladies of the church, etc, but
the whitewashed world of The Help
lacks the proper depth to feel real
Every black servant is a saint, every
white employer a demon
THE IDES OF MARCH R) Based on
a play George Clooney s new political
drama definitely has some shades ot
a Bedford film An idealistic staffer
Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), iearns
to play dirty politics on the campaign
trail ot 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
tor the early Oscar front runners
JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN (PG)
Eight years after the first film, British
superspy Johnny English (Rowan
Atkinson) returns His latest mission
Save the Chinese premier from a pack
of elite international assassins Johnny
English Reborn is a bit ot a tonal
change from director Oliver Parker s
literary fare like Othello. The Ideal
Husband and Dorian Gray
MARGIN CALL (R) A thriller about
the financial crisis, Margin Call follows
some key players al an investment
banking firm during a 24-hour period
near the beginning of the financial
meltdown Whoever J C Chandor is.
tine Golden Berlin Bear nominated
first-time feature filmmaker corralled a
hell of ? cast
MONEYbALL (PG-13) Baserfon
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
bailclub through On Base and Slugging
Percentage rather than traditional
scouting Does it work 7 Anyone famil
iar with Major League Baseball already
knows the answer
MOVIE LISTINGS
Schedules often change after our deadline Please call ahead
CINE (706-353-3343) check *^t>site for show times
Beats, Rhymes & Life (R) 9:30 (W. 10/19 & Th. 10/20)
Crazy, Stupid Love (PG-13) 9:45 (W 10/19 & Th. 10/20)
The Future (R) 7:30 (daily, except W. 10/19). 5:15 (W. 10/19 & Th.
10/20), 2:45 (Sa. 10/22 & Su. 10/23)
Drive (R) 5:00. 7:15 (W. 10/19 & Th. 10/20) 5:15, 9:30 (F. 10/21-Th.
10/27 (no 9:30 show Su. 10/23)
Gonzoriffic 10th Anniversary Show (NR) Midnight (F. 10/21 & Sa.
10/22)
Mysteries of Lisbon (NR) 4:30 (starts F. 10/21)
Psycho (R) 9:45 (starts F. 10/21) (no 9:45 show Su. 10/23), 2:15 (Sa.
10/22 & Su. 10/23)
The Room (R) 12:00 Midnight (F. 10/21 & Sa. 10/22)
UGA TAT! CENTER THEATER (706 542 6396)
Carrie (R) 3:00. 6:00. 9:00 (Sa. 10/22)
Paranormal Activity 3 (R) 8:00 (Th. 10/20)
The Silence of the Lambs ( R) 3:00. 6:00. 9:00 (F. 10/21)
The Thing (R) 3:00. 6:00, 9:00 (Su. 10/23)
Accurate movie times for the CARMIKE 12 (706-354-0016).
BEECHWOOD STADIUM 1 1 (706 546 1 011) and GEORGIA
SQUARE 5 (706-548-3426) cinemas are not available by press
time. Visit www.flagpole.com for updated times.
So f did this move and he crappethed his pantaloons.
mystery killer uses the titoiar tool
to avenge the gang rape of a young
woman by a construction crew The
vengeful mystery man (or woman 7 )
sports a motorcycle helmet and drives
a stylish gold hearse
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 R)
With Jigsaw tmtity dead (tor now )
Paranormal Activity is the new
Saw releasing a fresh entry every
Halloween whether you like it or not
REAL STEEL PG-13) The trader tor
this Hugh Jackman action movie just
screams Bock Em Sock Em Robots
The Movie Jackman is a struggling
promoter ot robot boxing, who thinks
he has a contender m a discarded Dot
He also discovers he has an 11 -year-
old son
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE
APES l PG-13) The best Planet ot the
Apes movie in nearly 40 years In pres
ent day San Francisco a researcher,
Will Rodman (James Franco) is work
ing on a cure for Alzheimer s When
one of his test chimps goes nuts Will’s
project is shut down but not before he
gams a houseguest, a hyper-intelligent
chimp he names Caesar who goes on
to lead the revolution that places the
apes m charge
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS R)
1991 A modern masterpiece and one
of the tew perfect films, The Silence ot
the Lambs wastes not a single frame
Director Jonathan Demme and screen
writer Ted Tally show respect tor the
true horror of author Thomas Harris
chilling novel However the film s
cinematic gift that keeps on giving is
Anthony Hopkins immortal portrayal of
cannibal psychiatrist Hannibal Leder
THE SMURFS PG) The live achon/
CGI hybrid version ot The Smurfs is
not as bad as its atrocious trailers
would imply thanks largely to the
smurfish talents of Neil Patrick Harris
SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE
WORLD (PG) Robert Rodriguezs
family espionage franchise is reborn,
and Miramax is hoping tor this flick
to L a big hit A former spy (Jessica
Alba) returns to battle the villainous
Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) who is
plotting to rule the world Expect
appearances from senes regulars
• THE THING (R) This remrte-
cum-prequel to John Carpenter s
1982 horror classic starts out right,
with Carpenter s trademark Albertus
font, and ends well with a shot-
tor-shot bridge to its predecessor
Unfortunately the middle sags and
drags more than it chills and thrills
When a Norwegian research party
discovers a UFO and its frozen pilot, a
pretty paleontologist (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead) must explain the unexplain
able find But the alien wakes a bit on
the groueny side, slicing, dicing and
replicating everything it meets Director
Matthijs van Helinmg, Jr captures the
spirit of Carpenter's original but the
script by Eric Heisserer (he also wrote
the Nightmare on Elm Street remake)
forces its bland band ot blood bags,
including Warrior s Joel Edgerton as
the Kurt Russell proxy (Carter's no
MacCready). to commit all the typically
dumb horror movie moves
A THE THREE MUSKETEERS
(PG-13) Three Musketeers—Athos
(Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos
(Ray Stevenson), and Aramis (Luke
Evans)—plus young wannabe
D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman), must
battle the evil Cardinal Richelieu
(Christoph Waltz) Alexandre Dumas'
novel remains one of the greatest
action stories ever told.
WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? (R)
Abandoned to another flimsy romcom
Anna Fans amusingly tumbles from
one lame setup to another as Ally, a
young woman trying to find love before
she sleeps with her 21st guy
Oiaw Wheeler
10 FLAGPOLE.COM-OCTOBER 19,2011
