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Some releases may not be showing locally this week.
• indicates new review
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
tei Nicholas), Oz (Chris Klein), Finch
(Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Stifler
(Seanr. WilHam Scott). At their 13-year
reunion, the old gang-plus Michelle
(Alison Hannigan), Vicky (Tara Reid),
Heather (Mena Suvari), Jim* Dad
(Eugene Levy), Stilted Mom (Jennifer
Cootidge), Nadia (a brief, unnecessary
appearance from Shannon Elizabeth)
and the rest (Natasha Lyonne, John
Cho}—get up to their old antics. Once
they were randy teens trying to get laid;
now they're randy adults with the same
objective.
THE AVENGERS (PG-13) The various
Avengers—Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron
Man, Chris Evans' Captain America,
Chris Hemsworth* Thor, another
new Hulk (this time Mark Buffalo
gets to unleash the beast) and the
rest—have assembled, and together
they are a blast. But before they can
battle Thor* mischievous brottier,
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is intent
on enslaving the world with his other
dimensional army, Earths mightiest
heroes have to sort out a few things
among themselves. Joss Whedon and
Zak Penn capture the bickering essence
of a super-group. Every single one of
these heroes benefits from Whedon*
trademark snappy banter and his way
with ensembles. These characters
thrive by not having to cany the movie
on their own (the Hulk especially
benefits from sharing the spotlight).
Whedon has always loved the lady •
leads, and he gets more out of Scarlett
Johansson’s Black Widow than anyone
else would have. Critical grumbling
about The Avengers is minimal thanks
to Whedon* meticulously crafted '
screenplay aid directorial vision (he
heads his own verse for a reason)
and the engaging ensemble. Once the
paperwork Is finalized so the team can
go into action for the bang-up finale,
The Avengers lives up to all toe hype
and expectation.
BATTLESHIP (PG-13) An adapta
tion of my favorite childhood board
game (I still claim to be undefeated at
Electronic Talking Battleship) comes
complete with mysterious ships short
ing peg-like missiles! Admiral Liam-
Neeson and John Carter of Mari Taylor
Kitsch lead a fleet of ships against
an armada ot unknown origins. Why
is Peter Berg directing this very odd,
summer action movie? The screenwrit
ing Hoeber brothers previously wrote
Whifeoutand Red. This flick is already
an international blockbuster.
• BULLY (PG-13) Filmmaker Lee
Hirsch (Amandtaf) forces viewers to
confront the stark realities of bulfying
on five families, including two reeling
from the suicides of their bullied sons,
in this harrowing first-hand account
ot the daily victimization of millions
of kids. Amazingly and horrifyingly.
Hirsch captures footage of other
children victimizing the film’s central
figure, 12-year-old Alex, which begs
the question: Have children become
so desensitized to cameras that they
will break rules and laws even when
they know they are being watched?
This moving film begs only a couple
. of critiques. AH of toe kids profiled are
from either rural or Southern towns.
Obviously, Hirsch does not mean to
imply big city folk and northerners/
west coastefc are immune to buitying,
but the movie could have used more
geographical diversity. Also, a better
understanding of these kids before
bullying and toe circumstances sur
rounding their buitying would have
provided a greater insight into them,
th^r reactions—one gW is in juvie
awaiting trial; two rther.boys are
dead—and what drove them to such
extremes. A tough, probing look at a '
serious problem, Bully is a rewarding,
if uneasy, watch that does not pos8 any
easy answers.
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (R)
Horror movies do not come much more
perfect than The Cabin In the Woods,
written by geek god Joss Whedon
and one of his strongest proWgfe,
Drew Goddard. A sublime tweaking
ot the entire slashef genre, Cabirts
deconstruction may be less meta than
Scream, but its elaborate mythology—
a staple of the Whedonverse—is
transferable and adds a brand new "
reading to nearly every modem horror
Aim. Five college friends (the most
familiar face Is toe beardless one of
Chris'Thor'Hemsworth, who can be
seen in Whedon* TheAvengeri)\atea
weekend trip to the woods that ends in
a bloodbath.
CHIMPANZEE (G) Disneynature
releases their most stunning Earth Day
documentary yet Too bad they did not
indude an alternate narration to sub
stitute for Tim Alien*; toe sitcom giant
is no Morgan Freeman. Nevertheless,
the BxnbFlike story of chimpanzee
Oscar unfolds with some of the most
unbelievable footage ever witnessed in
a nature doc.
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (PG-13)
Whit Stillman has not been heard
from since 1990* The Last Days of
Disco, but his comeback pic suppos
edly shows the filmmaker picking up
where he left oft. Three coeds (Greta
Gerwig, Megalyn Echikunwoke and
Carrie Mademore) attempt to help
their peers at Seven Oaks College get
out of their funk via good hygiene and
musics! numbers. Then some boys
(including Adam Brody) get In the way.
I enjoyed Stillman* trio of *90s efforts,
(the Oscar-nominated Metropolitan,
Barcelona and the aforementioned Last
Days ofOiscd) and am rather looking
forward to catching his latest
• DARK SHADOWS (PG-13)
Having tried but never quite sunk my .
teeth into both previous versions of
Dan Curtis’ gothic soap opera, t had
few preconceptions going into Tim
Burton/Johnny Depp* high-concept
relrnagirang. Sadty, the duo merely
delivered a pretty-looking, rather dull
oddity. (Burton* output has become
increasingly miss-and-hit.) Tossing
much of the soap* suds and upping
toe camp, the big screen Dark Shadows
still involves many of the series’ major
players: vampire Barnabas Coffins
(Depp), Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
(Michelle Pfeiffer), Dr. Hoffman
(Helena Bonham Carter), Angelique
(Eva Green), Willie Loomis (Jackie
Earle Haley), Victoria Winters (Bella
Heathcote) and Carolyn Stoddard
(Chioe Grace Moretz). That list of
names will mean little to the scores
of uninitiated young Burton/Depp
fans looking for another Alice in
Wonderland, which this horror comedy
most certainty is not That movie*
billion-dollar success has fortunately
allowed Burton to indulge his quirkier
side at Coiiinswood. Still, his latest
movie becomes shockingly boring
after toe extremely amusing early
scenes of 200-plus-year-old Barnabas
adapting to the 19701 Depp produces
another entertaining character, a la Jack
Sparrow, but as the movie approaches
the two hour mark. He grows as tedious
as the blockbuster he solely supports.
THE DICTATOR (R) A hereto dictator
(Sacha Baron Cohen)seeks to save
his oppressed peoples from the evils
cf democracy. Director Lany.Charles
helmed both of Cohen* previous shock
comedies, Borat and Bruno. The funny
cast includes John C. Reilly, Megan
Fox and more. I’m more excited for this
political satire than I was for Bruno
(which l liked). The trailers are prov
ing my earty faith might be rewarded. .
General Aiadeen* beardless adventures
in America look pretty funny.
that merely summarizes the plot tt* a
well-written book report, but It* still a
book report. Saatoso//? director Gary .
Ross was not the most obvious choice
to direct this dystopian adventure .
in which 24 teenagers are randomly
selected tor a contest in which only one
will survive.
y HYSTERIA (R) Maggie Gyiienhaal
stars In this period sex comedy about
toe invention of the vibrator by Dr.
Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy, last
seen in Our Idiot Brother and Martha
Marcy May Marlene). Joining Maggie
G and Dancy are Jonathan Pryce,
Felicity Jones (UkeCrazft, Rupert .
Everett and Ashley Jensen. Hysteria
may be the third movie from director
Tanya Wexler (Ball in the House and
Finding North,), but it* toe first one to
get a wide release.
JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS
ISLAND (PG) Journey 2: 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 toe Brendan . \
Fraser/Dwayne “The Rock* Johnson
brand of family adventure movie. *.
Your vibrator is dusty. Just sayin’.
DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX(PG)
Released on Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday,
this pleasant animated adaptation of
the beloved children* 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.
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT (R)
As written by Jason Segel and Nicholas
StoHer, toe acting-writing-directing duo
behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The
Five-year Engagerm.italmost sells its
initial gag too well. Nearly toe entire
first act plays out like the airheaded
romantic comedy in which the smart
comedy writers plan to poke holes.
Then the change comes and The Five-
Year Engagement beQins Its lengthy,
though not overlong, slide into rela
tionship complications (more real than
scripted) and comic gags (some sold
with more skill and less obviousness
than others). Tom and Violet (Segel
and Emily Blunt) get engaged on their
one-year anniversary and then straggle
to pull the bigger, as life sends the
soulmates obstacle after obstacle.
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, tt* a visual book report
THE LUCKY ONE (PG-13) The
Notebook \i is not, but The Luck}-One
will not disappoint Nicholas Sparks'
fans looking (or some sappy romance
and a shiftless Zac Ebon. A Marine'
named Logan (Ebon) survives several
incidents after finding a picture of a
woman. When he returns to the states,
he seeks out this woman, whom he
learns is named Beth (Taylor Schilling,
still recovering bom Atlas Shrugged:
Part t) to thank her for saving his life.
But things get complicated when he
falls for her and her young son, Ben
(Riley Thomas Stewart), and runs afoul
of her ex/Ben* dad (Jay R. Ferguson,
who excels at clueless d-bags), a
deputy sheriff and son of big-time local
judge/prospect lye mayor.
MARGARET (R) After a ioooooong
time on the shelf {Margaret was filmed
in 2005), two-time Oscar nominee
Kenneth Lonergan* follow-up to the
fabulous You Can Count on Me Is
finally seeing the dark of a theater.
Before she was sexing it up on HBO*
True Blood,’ Academy Award winner
Anna Paquin was tackling Lonergan*
anti-commercial character study of a
young girt trying to make amends for
the fatal accident for which she feels
responsible. With Jean Reno. Alison
Janney, Matthew Broderick* Mark '
Rulfalo and Matt Damon.
MONSIEUR LAZHAR (PG-13) 2011.
An Algerian immigrant man is quickly
hired as toe substitute when a beloved
teacher at a Montreal elementary
school takes her own fife. The cultural
gap between teacher and students
along with the children* grief and toe
revelation ol the teacher* past trag
edies create a raw space begging to be
heated. Directed by Canadian Philippe
Faiardeau and Oscar-nominated for
Best Foreign Language Film in 2011.
THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS
(PG) You could do a lot worse than The
Pirates! Band of Misfits when choosing
animated flicks to see with your kids.
Aardman Animations, the British folks
that brought you Wallace & Gromit
and Chicken Run, hit the high seas
with the Pirate Captain (v. Hugh Grant)
and his oddball crew. While seeking
the coveted Pirate of toe Year Award,
toe Pirate Captain runs into Charles
Darwin (v. David Tennant, toe tenth,
and my personal favorite. Doctor), who
wants the scurvy rascal* feathered
mascot a thought-to-be-extinct dodo.
The jokes are funny and often smart,
and the stop-motion day animation
refreshingly different The voice cast
could have traded up (Jeremy Piven?
No Ian McShane? Mostly, Jeremy
Riven?!). Still, The Pirates! is cute,
humorous and well-animated. Kiddie
flicks come with a lot less booty than
th is buccaneer.
THE RAVEN (R) Too bad The Raven
wasn’t made by an Italian. As a giallo
flick, this fictionalized account of the
unknown events surrounding the last
week of Edgar Allan Poe* life could
have been a better match tor John
Cusack* laudable characterization of
the American literary giant. Instead, V
for VendkfafNinja Assassin director
James McTeigue chose an ill-fitting
Saw Meets Se7en vibe. When several
bodies turn up murdered in a manner
inspired by the works of Poe, America* •
premier writer of toe fantastic and
grotesque may be toe key to the police
investigation, led by Inspector Fields
(Luke Evans, The Three Musketesris
Aramis). After Poe* beloved, Emily
Hamilton (Alice Eve. She* Out of My
Leagud), is kidnapped, the author*
urgency manifestly increases.
The inventive story by writers Ben
Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare is
charged with potential that their screen
play, McTeigue* direction and subpar
supporting players quickly strangle.
Dialogue is weak, at best, and Cusack
is propping up everyone but Brendan
Gleeson (though the near cameo from
“Downton Abbey’* Brendan Coyle
pleases). Those weaknesses could be
overcome with a sense of giallo style;
imagine the mad field day even aged
Argento could have had with this tale.
SAFE (R) Fans who order the usual
from the successful House of Statham
franchise will be pleased by Safe, in
which the charismatic proto-man plays
Luke Wright, a former cop-tumed-cage
fighter viciously protecting a little
Chinese girl (Catherine Chan) from,
the cops, the mayor, the Russian thugs
who killed his family and the Triad. An
appearance by James To Pan* Hong
is always worth a few extra points,
but Safe is about as grimly typical as
a Statham Hick can be. I prefer mine
balls-out crazy like toe two Neveldine/
Taylor-helmed Crank hits. Having seen
enough of Statham* action movies to
know action means important, dialogue
not so much, Sato provided some key
moments for my never-to-be-written ~
essay on Jason Statham.
8AFE HOUSE (R) For Safe Housds
target tans of Denzel Washington, whiz
zing bullets and car chases, the action
flick is crfticafiy bulletproof; for me, it
was competently boring. Former CIA
operative turned rogue asset Tobin
Frost (Washington), goes on the ran
with green agent Matt Weston (Ryan
Reynolds, in the thankless role anyone
could have filled) hot on his heels.
Washington remains the laziest talent -
in Hollywood. What draws him to waste
his chops on these action-filled scripts
with such obvious plot trajectories?
You can tell which CIA bigwig (the
suspects being Sam Shepard, Vera
Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson) Weston
shouldn't trust from the trailers, and
try as they might to imply otherwise,
one can easily presume Washington*
Frost hasn’t gone rogue foisheer
psychopathic thrills or mere greed.
The predictable action is delivered with
the workmanlike craftsmanship (quick
edits, handheld camerawork, etc.)
one expects, from a production that
is dearly influenced by Washington*
work with Tony Scott, but lacks his
more artful eye.
SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (NR) 1941.
Cin6 concludes its Fifth Anniversary
Series: For toe Love of Cinema with
Preston Sturges’ screwball classic.
Hollywood big shot John L Sullivan
(Joel McOrea) decides he wants to
make a serious statement movie so
he hits the road to meet some real
Americans. But Sullivan gets more than
he bargained for when he is believed
to be killed and mistakenly put to work
on a Southern chain gang. This classic
ranks up there with the all time comic
masterpieces.
THINK LIKE A MAN (PG-13)
Anything I wanted to like about Think
Like a Man is tainted by toe casual
homophobii, ^ism and racism toe
movie attempts to pass off as comedy,
and that* a shame for toe hilarious
Kevin Hart, who is finally, smartly
given a showcase role. Based on Steve
Harvey* romantic self-help tome,
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,
toe movie, written by the scripters of
Friends with Benefits, sometimes feels
like a late night infomercial for Harvey*
patented way to win a man. We have six
unbelievably mismatched buddies—
Hart's divorced dude, Romany Malco*
"playa,’ Michael Ealy* “dreamer,’ Jerry
Turtle" Ferrara* noncommittal white
dude, Terrence J* "mama* boy’ and
some other white married guy—and
the women (Gabrielle Union, Taraji P.
Henson, Meagan Good and Regina
Hall) who want them to settle down.
Begin the chapter scenarios. Woody
Allen attempted something like this
to funnier results when he adapted
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
About Sex, a more relevant and even
less successful adaptation would be
2009* We* Just Not That Into You.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE
EXPECTING (PG-13) The experi
ences of five expecting couples are
collected in this romantic comedy
starring a hug£ Valentine* Oay-ish
cast that includes Elizabeth Banks,
Anna Kendrick, Cameron Diaz! Jennifer
Lopez, Dennis Quaid, Brooklyn Decker
(Just Go with It), Chace Crawford
("Gossip Girl"), Chris Rock, Megan
Mullalty, Thomas Lennon, Matthew
Morrison ("Glee") and more. Director
Kirk Jones’ best feature is Waking Ned
Devine.
WORLD’S SMALLEST AIRPORT
(NR) From Watkinsvilie’s own
Surprisingly Professional Productions
comes this documentary of the
Thrasher Brothers AeriaJ Circus. From
the end of World War II in 1945 to
1950, three Georgia brothers performed
astonishing feats via aircraft that have
yet to be exceeded. The film* Athens
premiere occurred at Cin6 in January.
Drew Wheeler
10 FLAGPOLE.COM • MAY 16,2012