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Some releases may not be showing locally this week. • indicates new review ► THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (PG) T he first of Steven Spielbergs two holiday 2011 entries is already a hit m Europe Merges Belgian globe trotter. Tinlin, and Captain Haddock are in search of sunken ship in this MoCap'd CGI adventure. The teaming of Spielberg and Peter Jackson, who is producing (and has signed on to direct a sequel), is nearly as exciting os a script by Stephen Moffat ( Doctor Who"). Edgar Wright and hot new comer Joe Cornish, whose Attack the Block was one of my tavorite surprises of 2011 ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED (G) Come on. Fox' If you're going to keep releasing new Chipmunks entries each holiday season, the least you can do is make a Christmas-themed movie featuring the furry trio's classic holiday tunes Instead. Alvin. Simon, Theodore, the Chipettes and Dave (poor, paycheck cashing Jason Lee) start out on a cruise ship and wind up on a deserted island Judging by the boffo box office of the previous two features p! jS the young audience's reaction to the new pics trailer, Chipwrecked should pro vide its studio with some holiday cheer. ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (PG) I'm a sucker lor a good, creative, behind-the- holiday-scenes sequence (Hop boasts a good one), and Arthur Christmas opens with a doozy But this charm ing holiday surprise—coming from Aardman Studios—keeps charming as it delightfully recounts the Christmas Eve adventure of Santas younger son. After another successful, hi-tech run masterminded like a military operation by Santa's oldei son. Steve (v Hugh Laurie) Arthur (v. James McAvoy) discovers one little girl was missed. In a last-minute effort to save Christmas tor that little girl. Arthur his Grandsanta (v. Bill Nighy) and elfin wrapping specialist Bryony (v Ashley Jensen. Ricky Gervais's ' Extras") fire up the old sleigh, hitch up the eight famous rein deer and attempt to fly to England Brits just get Christmas, and the animation gurus at Aardman. best known for Wallace and Gromit have conjured up a loveiy. happy holiday film THE DARKEST HOUR (PG-13) Aliens invade Moscow, and five Americans (including Rachael Taylor, the ever-inventive Emile Hirsch, Juno's Olivia Thirlby and Max Minghella) must fight to survive Wanted direc tor Timur Bekmambetov is becoming Russia's answer to that Gallic purveyor of international sci-fi action. Luc Besson. The flick is the sophomore effort from Tulane alum Chris Gorak, an art director who apprenticed under an impressive resume of directors (David Fincher, the Coen Brothers and Terry Giiliam) Moscow's exotic environs Strangely intrigue, despite the familiar ity of the scenario DOLPHIN TALE (PG) I am not a sucker for sentimental animal mov ies Were I then I am sure Dolphin Tale would have fit the bill. A lonely ' ^-year-old, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) ,;-$r:ues a dolphin (real tail-less dol- Warier, as herself) caughl in a •r: trap. With the help of j mar'lie vet tij f ry G muck Jr). his daughter (Coz: .ehisuorfti and a doctor who speciat- . -s in prosthetics (Morgan Freeman) Sawyer helps save the dolphin by fashioning a fake appendage Money woes, a hurricane and the fish's own dislike of potential new tails confound the boy's attempts. EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE (PG-13) A young boy ("Teen Jeopardy" champion Thomas Horn in his acting debut) named Oskar searches for the lock that matches the mysterious key left behind by his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the World Trade Center on September 11 Academy Award winner Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) adapts the Jonathan S Foer novel for three-time Academy Award nominated director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot. The Hours and The Reader); that's what we call a pedigreed film. FOOTLOOSE (PG-13) Let's go ahead and dispel any thoughts that the Kevin Bacon slarrer is somehow above being remade Whal Hustle & Flow filmmaker Craig Brewer has done in remaking the seminal '80s flick is impressive Brewer relocates the dance banning town of Bomonl from Oklahoma to Georgia, adding another film to Brewer's resume of intriguing cinematic stories about the New South Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormatd. 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 (Dermis Quaid). who instituted the dancing ban after his son died in a car accident, and woos Moore's beautiful, troubled daughter. Ariel (Julianne Hough, “Dancing with the Stars") Brewer s movie has a nice rhythm and does tire South more justice than any other major Hollywood release. THE HELP (PG-13) Every black ser vant is a saint, every white employer a demon College-educated Eugenia ‘ Skeeter Phelan (the extremely likable Emma Stone!) comes home to Jackson to save its minority population through bestselling pop liction. She collects the stories of long-serving maids Aibileen (Viola Davis). Minny (Octavia Spencer; and more into an illegal (in 1960s Mississippi) tome that scandalizes the gentry. HUGO (PG) Oh, to be an orphan liv ing in an early-20th-century clock! Despite its near perfection, this 3D family film—Martin Scorsese's first- may be the loveliest wide release to struggle to find its audience this year Yet it's no wonder Scorsese, himself a film historian as well as a film lover, decided lo adapt Brian Selznicks The Invention of Hugo Cabret. whose central mystery revolves around an early cinematic master Parisian orphan Hugo (Asa Butterfield), who lives inside the clocktnwer of the train sta tion seeks the answer to a mysterious automaton, tell unsolved by his late father and clockmaker (Jude Law), with the help of a toymaker named Georges (Ben Kingsley) and his charge. Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) Knowledgeable cinephiles will be enthralled by Selzmcks story, wonderful, adapted ay Oscar-nominated scribe Johr Logan which * reluse to spoil, and enchanted by the legendary lilmmaxer's gorgeous imagery, which conjures memories ot Amelie. Sadly, the family audiences that ensured the existence of a third Alvin and the Chipmunks will not be Hocking to this thoughtful, liter ary two-plus-hour masterpiece, easily one of this cinema great's best pictures IN TIME (PG-13) Gattaca writer- director Andrew Niccol tweaks the sci-fi genre again with this take on Logan's Run. In a future world, every one is genetically engineered fo stop aging at 25. To ward oft oveicrowding, people are also designed to only live to 26. In this ageless new sociely. a man accused of murder (Justin Timberlake) goes on the lam with a pretty hostage (Amanda Seyfried. Mamma Mia!) With Olivia Wilde. Alex Pettyfer. Cillian Murphy, Johnny Galecki and Vincenl Kartheiser (“Mad Men"). JACK AND JILL (PG) Adam Sandier must have thought the fake movies from Funny People had real potential to have signed on for this pitiful comedy where he plays both Jack Sadelstein and his twin sisler, Jill. They key to the entire one-joke movie is that Sandler makes an ugly woman MARGIN CALL (R) A thriller about the financial crisis. Margin Call follows some key players at an investment banking firm during a 24-hour period near the beginning of the financial meltdown. Whoever J C. Chandor is, the Golden Berlin Bear-nominated, first-lime feature filmmaker corralled a hell of a cast Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons. Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci all appear. But can Chandor, who also wrote Ihe film, make the most of this massive collec tion ot talent? MELANCHOLIA (R) Apparently. Europe has forgiven renowned film maker/provocateur Lars von Trier for his lailed Nazi joke (one hopes), as his masterful new film took top prize at the European Film Awards It's the end of' the world as the Dane knows it, and Justine (Cannes Best Aclress Kirsten Dunst in her bravest performance to date), a sometimes blushing, mostly depressed bride, is getting married while a mysterious new planet threat ens fo collide with Earth Starting with the stunning, nearly 10-minute open ing montage, von Trier has composed an extravagant, mature meditation on the apocalypse both personal and planetary and it is beautiful to behold Tne Danish firebrand loves putting his female leads, boln actress and charac rer through the paces and Meianchol.a s no mlferent Fortunately. Antichrist aciea like a colonic, cleansing von Trier of his worst tendencies and allowing him to produce a product of incompa rable purity Visually the two pictures are kin; thematically and emotionally, they could not be any more distinct. He might have doomed these two sisters (Dunst and Antichrist's warrior Charlotte Gainsbourg). but hopefully their end marks a brilliant new cin ematic beginning lor him. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13) Owen Wilson stars as the latest Woody stand-in, Gil, a Hollywood hack trying to finish a novel while on a business trip to Paris with his fiancee's (Rachel McAdams) family. On a magical midnight walk. Gil runs into Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill), gets writing advice trom Papa Hemingway (Corey Stoll) and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) and falls tor Picasso's girlfriend, Adriana (Marion Cotillard). MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—GHOST PROTOCOL (PG-13) When the IMF is implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team must clear their name while on Ihe run. Brad Bird, director of ani mated standouts The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, transitions to live action with the fourth entry in Cruise's sur prisingly still viable franchise. Several of the action sequences were shot-for- IMAX, so this flick might be the one to see on the BIG big screen. With Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyqvisl, Josh "Sawyer" Holloway and Tom Wilkinson. THE MUPPETS (PG) You can tell cowriter-star Jason Segel loves Ihe Muppets. His reboot of Jim Henson's lovable puppets is built with obvious love and understanding of what made their 1979 film debut so special. Gary (Segel), his puppet brother. Walter, and Gary's longtime girlfriend. Mary (Amy Adams) travel to Los Angeles, where they discover a plot to destroy the Muppet Theater by oil tycoon Tex Richman (Oscar winner Chris Cooper). Together they help Kermit reunite the old gang—Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, et at.—to put on a telethon in order to raise the money needed to buy back the property Self-referential with a joke .alio that favors adults two-to-one (a Muppet staple), some terrific songs by one half of Flight of Ihe Conchords and a bevy of celebrity cameos, this film revives the Muppets as you remember them. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (R) Michelle Williams sta's as the legend ary blonde bombshell in this drama tization of Marilyn and Sn Laurence Oliviers tense relationship while tilming The Prince and the Showgir! The film is based on the accounts of Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), who was employed by Olivier at the time. The rest of the cast sounds fun; Julia Ormond plays Vivien Leigh and Kenneth Branagh is Olivier However, director Simon Curtis has done most of his work on the small screen. NEW YEAR’S EVE (PG-13) Almost every actor you could possibly recog nize appears in the second, two-hour holiday party thrown by director Garry Marshall. (Scratch that. No Julia.) At least Valentine's Day had a semblance to what normal people might expect on Feb. 14. The folks preparing to ring in 2012 (dating it could sorely limit this flick's already weak repeat watchability) aren t doing a single thing you or I do, unless you cater swank New York parties while arguing with your music superstar boyfriend (naturally played by Jon Bon Jovi). This movie feels crafted by the celebrity-worshipping cult of E! PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (R) I cannot think of another horror franchise as chronologically interesting. Oren Peli's scary 2007 blockbuster occurred last, ending without the typical survi vor. Then, rather than have demonic Katie terrorize some unsuspecting family, the series’ creative minds chose to go backwards. Consider PA3 the origin story, revealing the footage, shot in 1988 by their mother's boyfriend. Dennis, that explains why sisters Katie and Kristy continue to be haunted. Catfish filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, working from a script by Paranormal Activity 2's Christopher Landon, up the action ante. Just plain more happens in PA3. without chang ing the series' less-is-more-scary attitude. If the first and second movies scared you. the third will. too. •SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (PG-13) Much like its 2009 predecessor, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a perfectly forget table crowdpleaser. Robert Downey, Jr revisits his hyper-bordering-on-manic, streetfighting master sleuth, this time tasked with defeating his literary arch- nemesis, Professor James Moriarty (the appropriate Jared Harris of AMC's "Mad Men"). Assisted as always by Dr. John Watson (Jude Law, again a game companion to Downey). Holmes is also joined by his brother, Mycroft (Stephen Fry), Watson’s new wife (Kelly Reilly) and a gypsy fortune teller (Noomi Rapace, best known as the original Lisbeth Salander). Director Guy Ritchie coats everything in his usual super-stylish action sheen, lending the movie a surfeit of style, minus that pesky substance that might give the flick the little literary weight that could make this a classic reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation. No ticket buyers should leave disappointed, unless they expect an entertainment satiation more enduring than the original. THE SITTER (R) This surprisingly semi-sweet comic confection from director David Gordon Green in his cinematic equivalent to a rubber match (he won big with Pineapple Express; he got blown cut by the disappoint ing Your Highness: The Sitter is the deciding third comedy neete a better trail? Jonah Hiil's-Noan Griffith is a lot nirer of a dude than he or the trailer let uii, and that liability saves Ihe movie from descending into the Danny This is a newspaper. They use them for packing material. McBriuv, i(jii U1 otll loathing and asshole-ishness. Tasked with babysitting three miserable kids— anxiety-ridden Slater (Max Records ot Where the Wild Things Are), makeup- drenched. celeb-worshipper Blithe (Landry Bender) and Salvadoran foster kid Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez)—this irresponsible slacker goes on a big city adventure just to get laid Hill, the kids and the rock-solid Sam Rockwell, keep the concept and gags, most of which expired in 1990. fresh for the flick's 80 brief minutes, while the quirky refer ences (Gymkata. Alyssa Milano's work out video, etc.) and sweet electronic score evoke the '80s action vibe ot the movies Green, Hill, me and the rest of The Sitter's target audience grew up on. Still, Green needs lo make another critical darling before he blows through his entire stash ot goodwill. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN-PART 1 (PG-13) Stephenie Meyer's extremely popular teen-vamp- romance took a surreal turn in the fourth book. Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) finally marry. On the honeymoon, Bella becomes pregnant with a thing that should not be. Now the Cullens are caught between the Quileute wolves and the ancient Volturi, both of whom are threatened by this unknown new adversary. WE BOUGHT A ZOO (PG) This movie just generates some odd feel ings. A movie directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Thomas Haden Church sounds like a serious win ner, but then there’s the title. A dad (Damon) moves his family to Southern California to renovate a struggling zoo. The Devil Wears Prada scripter Aline Brosh McKenna and Crowe relocate Benjamin Mee’s memoir from England to SoCal. Some say a similar move didn't affect High Fidelity; I'm not one of those folks. •YOUNG ADULT (R) I know it's a bit de rigueur to dislike Diablo Cody (Juno), but her latest collaboration with Jason Reitman, one of the best new comic directors of the past decade, should win back some of the Academy- Award-winning scribe's fickle fans. As the ghost writer of a popular Sweet Valley High ripoff, high school hottie Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) escaped her tiny hometown of big-box stores and chain restaurants to live a chic life in Ihe "Mini-apple," i.e., watching loads of E! and guzzling Diet Coke straight trom the two-liter after a hard night's drinking Now she returns to her old kingdom to gel her former beau, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), back, despite his happy marriage and new born daughter. Fortunately, she runs into Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), a former classmate crippled by a vicious beating, who applies his wicked humor and insight to Mavis' desperate plan. Young Adult may not be as perfectly balanced a comic drama as Reitman's last two Oscar nominees, but it is as well-cast. Theron and Oswalt own the film and deserve the nominations they will not receive; if Hollywood were a perfect place, this role would finally catapult Oswalt onto the A-list. YOUNG GOETHE IN LOVE (NR) 2010. When Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Alexander Fehling) falters in the legal path chosen for him by his father, the aspiring poet is relegated to a small German town where he falls for Lotte (Miriam Stein), who, as always, is promised to another man Winner of the German Film Awards Prize in Gold for Best Makeup, Young Goethe was also up for their Most Outstanding Film prize, the tilm was also nominated tor the Palm Springs Internationa! Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Drew Wheeler 8 FLAGPOLE.COM-DECEMBER 21. 2011
