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21 JUMP STREET (R) 2012* biggest
surprise to dale has to be this brilliantly
dumb comedy from star-producer-
story contributor Jonah Hill. A pair of
pathetic new cops, Schmidt and Jenko
(Hilt and comedy revelation Charming
Tatum), blow their first bust. As a
result, they are transferred to a special
undercover unit that sends fresh-faced
policemen into local schools to nab
drug dealers and the like. Their angry
black captain (played with perfect apo
plexy by Ice Cube) tasks the duo with
finding the supplier of a new synthetic
drug. Schmidt and Jenko hilariously
discover that todays high school flips
their previous experiences.
AMERICAN REUNION (R)
Sometimes reuniting with old friends
isn't all that bad, and American
Reunion is much more entertaining
than the last two times we hung out
with Jim (Jason Biggs), Kevin (Thomas
Ian Nicholas). Oz (Chris Klein), Finch
(Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Stifler
(Seann William Scott). At their 13-year
reunion, the old gang—plus Michelle
(Alison Hannigan), Vicky (Tara Reid),
Heather (Mena Suvari), Jim's Dad
(Eugene levy), Stifled Mom (Jennifer
Coolidge). Nadia (a brief, unnecessary
appearance from Shannon Elizabeth)
and the rest (Natasha lyonne, John
Cho)—get up to their old antics.
• THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (R)
Horror movies dc not come much more
perfect than The Cabin in the Woods,
written by geek god Joss Whedon.
and one ol his strongest proteges,
Drew Goddard. A sublime tweaking
of the entire slasher genre, Cabirfs
deconstruction may be less meta than
Scream, but its elaborate mythology—
a staple of the Wbedonverse—is
transferable and adds a brand new
reading to nearly every horror modern
film. Five college friends (the most
familiar face is the beardless one of
Chris Thor’ Hemsworth, soon to be
seen in Whedon's The Avengers) take
a weekend trip to the woods that ends
in a bloodbath. The setup may be
threadbare, but rest assured the twisty
execution, hinted at in the trailers
and established from the first scene
between the excellent, seemingly out
of place duo of Bradley Whitford and
Richard Jenkins, hits its mark with
every bloody, brilliant shot I dare not
say more without ruining the surprise.
The Cabin kiltie Woods deserves Its
considerable genre hype and is the
best horror movie of the year. It* not
going out on too weak of a limb to
say it* the best (written) horror movie
since Scream.
CHIMPANZEE (G) Disneynature*
latest Earth Day feature documents the
family life of chimps, like an orphaned
chimp and his adopted father, tMng
in the rainforests ol the Ivory Coast
and Uganda. The previous movies—
Earth, Oceans and African Cato—have
entertained and educated like Disney*
nature films of old. Filmmakers Alastair
Fothergill and Mark Ltnffefd were
responsible for the incredible television
series, “Planet Earth* Disrteyn&ure*
annual Earth Day cinematic celebration
continues to provide families with a
pretty swell entertainment alternative.
DR. SEU88' THE LGftAX (PG)
Released on Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday,
the beloved children’s author* envi-
:, ronmental fable fails to utterly charm
like the filmmakers' previous animated
smash, Despicable Me TheLoraxmay
visually stun you. and Danny DeVito*
brief time as voice of the Lorax could
stand as his greatest role, one that will
go unrecognized by any professional
awards outside of the Annies.
FRIENDS WITH KIDS (R) Jessica
Stein herself. Kissing Jessica Stein star
and writer Jennifer Westfeldt, heads
back to the big screen in her directo
rial debut. Two besties, Julie Keller
and Jason Fryman (Westfeldt and the
increasingly awesome Adam Scott),
decide to have a baby together, thinking
their platonic relationship will suffer
less from childrearing than a romantic
one would. The cast is tough and
tilled with Bridesmaids (Kristen Wiig,
Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm and Chris
O'Dowd) and Edward Burns.
FUNNY FACE (NR) 1957. Fred Astaire
and Audrey Hepburn star in the classic
musical from Singin'in the Rain direc
tor Stanley Donen. A young woman
becomes enamored with Paris, the life
of a model and her big-time photogra
pher. This Dress the Part Film is part of
the Fashion in Movies and Magazines
Film Series held In conjunction wrtTi
the exhibition ‘Pattern and Palette in
Print: Gentry Magazine and a New
Generation of Trendsetters.' Nominated
for four Academy Awards including
Best Original Screenplay and Best
Costume Design.
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF
VENGEANCE (PG-13) Marvel*
Neveldine/Taylor experiment might
have gone better had the company had
the guts to release another R-rated flick
a la their two Punisher flops. The Crank
duo brings their frenetic, non-stop
visual style, but those wicked paeans to
hedonism had a narrative need to never
slow down (its lead character would
die). Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance
must pump the brakes occasionally to
let the ‘story* catch up, and Neveldine/
Taylor never seem as comfortable when
the movie* not rocketing along at 100
miles an houL
THE HUNGER GAMES (PG-13)
While a successful adaptation of a
difficult book that near everyone has
read, The Hunger Games has little cin
ematic spark. It* a visual book report
that merely summarizes the plot ft* a
; well-written book report, but it* still a
book report Sesbiscult director Gary
Ross was nGt the most obvious choice
to direct this dystopian adventure
•in which 24 teenagers are randomly
selected for a contestln which only one
wili survive
A JIHAD FOR LOVE (NR) 2007. In
A Jihad for Love, filmmaker Parvez
Shsffma (who self-idertifies as both
gay and Muslim) investigates the often
dangerous lives of gay, lesbian and
transgender Muslims in Iran, Pakistan,
Egypt Turkey, France. India, South
Africa and more. The international
award winner is screening as part of a
film series sponsored by the alliance of
student organizations in support of the
Campaign Against Spiritual Violence,
particularly when said violence Is
directed ai the LGBT community.
MO DREAMS Of SUSHI (2011)
P& This documentary is a portrait of
86-year old Jiro Ooo. a sushi master
in Tokyo. Director David Gelbf glimpses
Ono* young life, his journey to revered
chef, his craft and his heirs.
JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS
ISLAND (PG)Joumey2: The ...
Mysterious Islands biggest problem
might be time. Many of the young
people who enjoyed its 2008 forebear,
Journey to the Center of the Earth,
might have outgrown the Brendan
Fraser/Dwaync The Rock" Johnson
brand of family adventure movie.
• LOCKOUT (PG-13) Lockouts a
lot of things going against it from the
opening credits, which may contain
the year's biggest laugh. 'Based on an
original story by Luc Besson?’ Sure, an
original story Besson had while watch
ing a double-bill of John Carpenter* •
Escape from New York and LA Let*
compare. A disgraced government
operative, whose one word nom de
cool begins with the letters SN, must
sneak into a prison filled with lowlifes
to rescue a high profile presidential
hostage. You tell me which movie I just
summarized. The answer is all three of
them. And Lockout despite its highly
derivative concept that would have
ft ain’t stealin’ If no one sees ya.
starred Christopher Lambert (sigh) had
it been released in the mid-’90s, and
the most infuriatingty Idiotic setup ol
toe past 10 years (gcr) and the utterty
frustrating character motivations/plot
devices totally achieves its gung-ho,
sci-fi/action objectives thanks to Guy
Pearce* wickedly amusing badass.
Snow. The videogame influences at
first-time feature directors, Stephen
St. Leger and James Mather, are overt,
and the flick should have gate for the
R-rated jugular. Nonetheless, it* more
fun than most of the gertre-mashup
dreck Hollywood cobbles together
these days. I’d have rather had a new
Escape entry, but lockout scratches
the itch.
A THE LUCKY ONE (PG-13) The
latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation is
directed by Scott Hicks of Shim and
Snow Falling on Cedar S? Maybe The
Notebook w\\\ finally have a worthy
peer. After surviving three tours in
Iraq, a Marine (Zac Efron) travels to
North Carolina to meet the woman
(Taylor Schilling, the barely seen
Atfas Shrugged: Part) he believes to
have been his good luck charm. How
does this flick differ from DearJohrft
With Gwyneth Paltrow* mom, Blythe
Danner. *
MIRROR MIRROR (PG) Not much
clicks in 2012* first reimaging of Snow
White {toe darker Snow White and
the Huntsman drops in June). Julia
Robots does not an Evil Queen make;
the anachronistic dialogue is wtocingly
unfunny; and the live action cartoon,
overflowing with Stooge-y slapstick,
is a tonal decision only pleasing to
undiscriminating children, many of
whom found Mirror Mirror to be rous-
ingly delightful. It* not.
PINA (PG) 2011. A nominee for the
Academy Award for Best Documentary
Feature, Wim Wenders’ latest film
pays tribute to the late German cho
reographer Pina Bausch. Filmed in
3D. Wenders takes audiences onto
the stage alongside the Tanztheater
Wuppertal Pina Bausch and into the
streets of Wuppertal where Bausch
brought her creative visions to life for
35 years.
THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO
(PG) 1985. Cin6 celebrates its fifth
anniversary with five films about
cinephilia shown In glorious 35mm.
The second, Woody Allen* The Purple
Rose of Cairo, is a charming, fantasti
cal romantic comedy about a movie
character, played by Athens, Ga. native
Jeff Daniels, who comes to life and
falls in love with a woman, Cecelia
(Mia Farrow), who watches his movie
everyday.
•THE RAID: REDEMPTION (R)
You must forgive me. I’m not used to
watching foreign action flicks outside
of the comfort of my living room and
Nettiix. Subtitled violence doesn’t make
it to Athens’ big screens very often
as they don't fill the multiplex seats
(violence is the universal language,
but subtitles dont go over well with
The Raids target demo) and are not
Cine* jam (that is not a criticism of our
beloved arthouse, merely an accepted
understanding that genre films are an
extremely exotic sighting there). The
actioner. directed by Welshman Gareth
Evans, has been hailed by many as
the best action movie of (insert time
period), and they’re right ft* a tough,
ultraviolent hail of bullets and body
blows from beginning to end. A rookie
SWAT office. Rama (Hco Uwais), and his
tram infiltrate tha maximum security,
high-rise sanctuary of Jakarta’s top
thug. When the mission goes beily up,
Rama must escape with his life and the
lives of any other officers he can save.
Fists fly as the film showcases the
Indonesian martial art, Pencak Silat
In one hallway-set piece, Rama takes
down 13-plus criminal soldiers all by
himself, ft* a thing of violent beauty, if
one can stomach the carnage.
RED TAILS (PG-13) Red Tails, a pet
project of Star Wars creator George
Lucas, succeeds everywhere it should
and tails nowhere that should surprise
anyone. The valor of the Tuskegee
Airmen is every bit as worthy of
patriotic, big screen fanfare as the
flyers of Pearl Harbor and the WWI-
era Lafayette Escadrille in Flyboys,
and their movie is every bit the equal
of dramatic lightweight and action
heavyweight
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (R)
2001. Writer/director Wes Anderson*
third film may not be as darkly funny
as his mighty Rushmore, but it surety
equals that film's dark emotional
core. The Tenenteums, an estranged
(and just plain strange) family, which
includes father Royal (Gene Hackman),
mother Etheline (Angelica Huston) and
their three tortured, genius offspring
(Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paitrow, and Luke
Wilson), reunites after the paterfamilias
announces his imminent death.
THE ROOM (2003) R. The uninten
tionally hilarious cult favorite returns
for a midnight showing.
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
(PG-13) A fisheries expert (Ewan
McGregor) attempts to make a sheik*
dream of bringing ffy fishing to Yemen
a reality. The newest film Jrpm mul
tiple Academy Award nominee Lasse
Hallstrom {My Life as a Dog and The
Cider House Rules) sounds like tne
sort of feel good, crowd pleaser at
which he excels (think Chocola/).
A script by Slumdog Millionairds
Academy Award winning screenwriter
Simon Beaufoy should not hurt With
Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas and
Amr Waked.
THE SECRET WORLD OF
ARRIETTY (G) In an era when
most animated features are brash,
loud commercials (or action figures
with fast food tie-ins, Studio Ghibli
releases a quiet, thoughtful, humor
ous cartoon adaptation of Mary
Norton* The Borrowers. A young boy,
Shawn (v. David Henrie), is sent to
recuperate in the solitude ot his aunt's
home. There he meets a tiny family
ol 'Borrowers’—-father Pod (v. Will
Arnett who docs surprisingly well in a
- non-comedic role), mother Homily (v.
Amy Poehler) and Arrietty (v. Bridgit
Mendler)—and protects them from
the nosy housekeeper, Hara (v. Carol
Burnett).
TALES OF THE NIGHT (NR) 2011.
The latest masterpiece from interna
tionally acclaimed animator Michel
Ocelot (Klrikou and the Sorceress. Azur
& Asmai) returns to the shadow pup
pet contrasted against bright Day-Glo
backgrounds style of his Princes and
Princesses. Six fables set in the exotic
lands ot Tibet medieval Europe, the
plains of Africa, the Aztec empire and
the Land of the Dead blend history with
fantastical creatures like dragons and
THINK LIKE A MAN (PG-13) When
. four friends learn the women in their
l ives have been using the advice from
Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like a Lady,
Think Like a Man, against them, the
men attempt to turn the tables. The
cast—Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara,
Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart,
Taraji P. Henson, Terrence J, Romany
Maico and Gabrielle Union—is young,
attractive and appealing. This romantic
comedy will probably fit Fantastic Four
director Tim Story* skill set better than
those mediocre Marvel movies.
•THETHREE STOOGES (PG)
Apparently, a modern update of Three
Stooges is not an idea as utterly bereft
of laughs as one would imagine. As
staged by the Farrelly Brothers, the
violent misadventures of Moe (Chris
Diamantopoulos). Larry (Sean Hayes,
'Will & Grace’) and Curly (Wili Sasso,
“MADtv*) now Involve a murder plot a
reality TV show and saving an orphan
age at which Larry David entertainingly
plays a nun. Fans of the Stooges
should be pleased as the chosen trio
and their younger counterparts—
Skyler Gisondo, Lance Chantiles-
Wertz and Robert Capron—are swell
stand-ins for the originals. Their
performances may simply be long-form
impressions, but they stand up to
scrutiny. If anyone could be knocked
tor shallow, sketch-level work, it is
'MADtv’ alum Sasso; however, Curly*
mannerisms and catchphrases have so
long been repeated, it is hard to imag
ine his “nyuck, nyucks’ not seeming
mere imitation.
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (R)
2011. Despite the climactic presence
of all the proper puzzle pieces, Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy leaves the viewer to
believe there* more to be worked out
as a result of retired British spy George
Smiley* (an excellently restrained Gary
Oldman) return to semi-active duty to
uncover the identity ol a mole among
the highest echelons of MI6.
TITANIC (PG-13) 1997. One of the
biggest hits of all-time and the win
ner of 11 Academy Awards (including
Best Picture and Best Director) gets
even bigger with the addition ol a third
dimension. The shocking maritime
disaster that took 1,514 lives becomes
the backdrop for the love story of Jack
and Rose (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
Winslet) in King of the World James
Cameron* blockbuster epic.
TO THE ARCTIC 3D (G) Meryl Streep
narrates this nature documentary about
a mother polar bear negotiating the
once familiar, constantly changing
Arctic that is her home with her two
seven-month-old cubs. As these nature
docs become more common. I cannot
help but think there has to be more
to the natural world than polar bears
How many movies about polar bears
do we need?
THE VOW (PG-13) Nicholas Sparks
has to be kicking himself for not com
ing up with this plot first A young
couple, Paige and Leo Collins (Rachel
McAdams and Channing Tatum),
struggle to fall in love again after a car
accident erases all of Paige* memories
ot Leo and their marriage. As Ihese
plots are wont to do. Paige* rich
parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange)
and her ex-lover (Scot! Speedman)
use her tabula rasa to rewrite their past
wrongs, while Leo must cope with the
realization that his wile might never
remember him.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
(R) Lionel Shriver* terrifying epistolary
novel is brought to the big screen in
an almost entirely different form by
filmmaker Lynne Ramsay {Ratcatcher
and Morvern Callar). A mother, Eva
Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton). strug
gles to rebuild her life amid flashbacks
to raising her sociopattiic son. Kevin.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK (PG-13)
Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe,
returns to the big screen for his first
role since the epic story of the famed
Boy Who Lived ended. Sporting
tremendously manicured sideburns,
Radcliffe stars as lawyer Arthur Kipps,
a widower struggling to raise his young
son. To save his job, Kipps must travel
to a small, isolated village and tidy up
the affairs at an abandoned, creepy
old house.
WRATH OF THE TITANS (PG-13)
Is the problem that they don’t make
them like they used to or that they
make them too much like they used to?
Wrath of the Titans, the tedious sequel
to the boring remake of Clash of the
Titans, is fully stocked on seen-that-
before moments.
Offfw Wheeler
12 FLAGPOLE.COM • APRIL 18,2012