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Some releases may not be showing locally this week.
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2} JUMP STREET (R)2012$ biggest
surprise to datetesto bc.this bfURantty
dumb comedy tester-producer. ,
story contributor Jonah Hill. A pair of
pathetic new cops. Schmidt and Jenko
(Hill and comedy revelation Channing
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.
ATHENS BURNING (NR) This
locally-produced documentary tells
the story of that once proud down
town landmark, the Georgia Theatre.
Beginning with the devastating blaze,
Athens Burning recounts the history of
our cily^s music scene from the 1970s
to present day. Featuring interviews
and performances with several artists
who played the venue over the years,
the film also chronicles the efforts to
rebuild the Athens Institution into the
brand spanking new beacon it is today.
Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock
Docs series.
THE AVENGERS (PG-13) The various
Avengers—Robert Downey, Jr.'s Iron
Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America,
Chris Hemsworth's Thor, another new
Hulk (this time Mark Ruffalo gets to
unleash the beast) and the dftst—have
assembled, and together they are
a blast. But before they can battle
Thorns mischievous brother, 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.
BERNIE (PG-13) Richard UnklaterS
latest film stars Jack Black as Bernie
Tiede, a local Texas mortician who
strikes up an unlikely friendship
with wealthy widow Marjorie Nugent
(Shirley Maclaine). When Bernie kills
Marjorie, the model citizen (choir
member, Sunday School teacher, all
around helping hand) goes out of his
way to make the townspeople believe
she is still alive.
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD
HOTEL (PG-13) No better Avengers
counterprogramming could exist than
this British dramedy starring Oscar
winner Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy,
Dev Patel, Oscar winner Maggie Smith
and Oscar winner Tom Wilkinson and
directed by Shakespeare in Love Oscar
nominee John Madden. A bevy of Brits
travel to the subcontinent to stay at the
posh, newly renovated Marigold Hotel,
but the adverts prove misleading.
Still, the hotel does begin to charm its
English patrons. Based on the novel by
Deborah Moggach.
CHERNOBYL DIARIES (R) In this
new flick from Paranormal Activity
creator Oren Peli (visual effects vet
Bradley Parker makes his directorial
debut), six American tourists (including
multiplatinum recording artist Jesse '
McCartney) hire an extreme tour guide
to take them to Pripyat, the ghoslcily
left by Chernobyl. The visitors soon
discover they are not alone. Peli jet
tisons the found footage gimmick upon
which his previous features have relied.
The trailer looks appropriately creepy,
but that title is terrible.
DARK SHADOWS (PG-13) Having
tried but never quite sunk my teeth
into both previous versions of Dan
Curtis’ gothic soap opera, I had few
^preconceptiorgjgoing Into Tim Burton/
:^Jofeiny D^)p^ high-conceit reim^in- H
ing. Sadly, Ihe duo merely delivered ’
a pretty-f6oking,rather dull oddity. M
(Burton's output has become increas
ingly miss-and-hit.) Tossing much 7 ??
of the soapi suds and upping the
camp, the big screen Dark Shadows
still involves many of the series' major
players: vampire Barnabas Collins -
(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
(Chloe Grace Moretz).
DEATH DRUG (PG-13) 1978. Philip
Michael Thomas stars in this anti-drug
feature film a mere six years before
becoming Miami ViedS detective
Ricardo Tubbs. The horrible hilarity
grows from the movies sincere warn
ing against the drug PCP. Thomas, on
his way. to music stardom, tries the
drug and hallucinates, opening the way
for behind-its-time special effects and
over-the-top drugged reactions. Part of
Cines Bad Movie Night.
THE DESCENDANTS (R) 2011. The
bittersweet dramedy starring Academy
Award nominee George Clooney is
among the top two or three best films
of last year. After a tragic accident
leaves his wife in a coma, lawyer
and owner of the last parcel of virgin
land in Hawaii Matt King (Clooney)
struggles to raise his two daughters, .
come to peace with revelations about
his dying wife and decide what to do
with his important land. Clooney is this
generation's Paul Newman, a cool cat
who can pull off anything he's asked
to do on screen, shots, and dramatic
bombs with ease.
THE DICTATOR (R) Sacha Baron
Cohen and director Larry Charles may
have left their guerrilla mockumentary
tactics behind, but their offensive
strategy still elicits massive bombs
of laughter, even in this much more
conventionally-structured comedy.
Cohen’s Admiral General Aladeen, the
dictator of the fictional North African
nation of Wadiya, is stripped of his
beard and power on a trip to speak to
the United Nations. With the help of
a crunchy feminist (adequately sup
plied by an atypical Anna Paris) and
a should *be-dead nuclear scientist
("The League* MVP Jason Mantzoukas
aka El Cuftado), Aladeen must
infiltrate a peace summit before his
beloved oppressive regime becomes a
democracy.
DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX (PG)
Released on Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday,
this pleasant animated adaptation of
the beloved children's authors envi
ronmental fable fails to utterly charm
like the filmmakers’ previous animated
smash, Despicable Me. The L o/ax may
visually stun you, and Danny DeVito's
brief time as voice of the Loraxpould '
stand as his greatest role, one that will
go unrecognized by any professional
awafds outside of the Armies.
A FIGHTING CHANCE (NR) 2010.
Director Takashi DoscherS feature
documentary follows Kyle Maynard.
Kyle was born with only three major
joints-^-hls neck and two shoulders—
yet Kyle has learned to live without
prosthetics and has become a top-
ranked wrestler, ESPY Award w:
and bestselling author. However, hfe
plans to compete in asanefioned^.
Mixed Martial Arts match spark contro
versy. The screening will be followed 7
by a O&A with toe frtmm^cer. Part ^
of the AtbfesT-FlImfest 2012 Athens ,
Picture Show. %-J -
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT^)
As written by Jason Segei and Nicholas
Stoller, the acting-writing-directing duo
behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The
Five-Year Engagement almost sells its
initial gag too well. Nearly the entire
first act plays out Ijke the airheaded
romantic comedy in which the smart
comedy writers plan to poke holes.
HYSTERIA (R) Maggie Gyllenhaal.
stars in this period sex comedy about
the invention of the vibrator by Dr. •
Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy, last
seen in Our Idiot Brother and Martha
MarcyMayMarfend). Joining Maggie
G and Dancy are Jonathan Pryce,
Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (v. Chris
Rock), Melman the giraffe (v. David
Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (v.
Jada Pinkett Smith). These four former
denizens of the New York Zoo team up
again with those wacky penguins and
some nutty Lemurs^voiced by Sacha
Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer
and Andy Richter) in an aborted
attempt to refum home. This time, the
gang is waylaid in Europe by a circus
featuring animals voiced by Bryan
Cranston (’Breaking Bad’ season five
cannot get here fast enough), Jessica
Chastain and the reliably funny yet
equally annoying Martin Short. But a
crazed French animal control officer,
Captain Chantel Dubois (v. Frances
McOormand), is hot on Ihe animals’
trail.
MARLEY (PG-13) Academy Award
winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald
(the award winning docs One Day in
September and Touching the Void as
A glimpse of Tom's self image...
Felicity Jones (Like Crazfl, Rupert
Everett and Ashley Jensen. Hysteria
may be the third movie from director
Tanya Wexler (Ball in the House and
Finding North). but ills the f irst one to
get a wide release.
JOHN CARTER (PG-13) Civil War
veteran John Carter (’Friday Night
Lights"’ alum Taylor Kitsch, whose
career is poised to blow up or implode
in 2012) is transported to Mars, where
12-foot-tall barbarians rule. WALL-E
director Andrew Stanton becomes the
latest Pixar filmmaker to make the jump
from animation to live action.
THE KID WITH A BIKE (PG-13)
2011. Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre
and Luc Dardenne (Rosetta and The
Childj wrote and directed this feature
about a young boy (Thomas Doret)
abandoned by his father, who spends
his weekends with a local hairdresser
(Cecile de France). Unfortunately,
he also gets mixed up with a local,
criminaL His mode of transportation: a
bike. The Palme d*0r nominee picked
up Cannes^ Grand Prize of the Jury
and was nominated for Best Foreign
Language Film at the Golden Globes.
THE LUCKY ONE (PG-13) The
Notebook it is not, but The Lucky One
will not disappoint Nicholas Sparks'
fans looking for some sappy romance
and a shirtless Zac Efron. A Marine
named Logan (Efron) survives several
incidents after finding a picture of a
woman. When he returns to the states,
he seeks out this woman to thank her
for saving his life.
• MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S
MOST WANTED (PG) By now,
franchise fans know what to expect
from the adventures of Alex the lion (v.
well as the award winning feature The
Last King of Scotland! portrays the
life, music and legend of Bob Marley.
The feature documentary makes use
of rare footage, live performances and
interviews with the family, friends and
Waiters that knew Marley best A cant-
miss for Marley fans. Part of the Athfest
Filmfest 2012 Rock Docs series.
MEN IN BLACK III (PG-13)
Confession time: I never saw Men in
Black It. I’m OK with that oversight. Will
Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise
their roles as Agent J and Agent K.
Apparently, Smiths J time travels back
to 1969 to stop an alien from assas
sinating his partner, whose younger
version is played by John Brolm.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld returns and
could really use a hit. With Alice Eve,
Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson
and Bill Hader as Andy Warhol.
MIRROR MIRROR (PG) Not much
clicks in 2012$ first reimaging of
Snow White (the darker Snow White
and the Huntsman is out now). Julia
Roberts does not an Evil Queen make;
the anachronistic dialogue is wincingly
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 mus
ingly delightful. It’s not.
MONTEREY POP (NR) 1968. This
documentary from DA Pennebaker
(The War Roorri) chronicles the greatest
pre-Woodstock rock and roll music
festival. Featuring such legendary
acts as The Who, The Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding,
The Mamas and the Papas, Simon
and Garfunkel and Jefferson Airplane,
reliving the Monterey Pop Festival is a
great way to honor Athfesfc heritage.
Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock
Docs series.
THE PRINCESS BRIDE (PG) 1987.
Cin6 opens its Classic Kids Series
with one of the best The Princess
Bride benefits most'from an acidic yet
heartwarming script by Hollywood
legend William Goldman, who adapted
his own novel. A charming, droll love
story, The Princess Bride is truly a fairy
tale for all ages as well as for the ages.
• PROMETHEUS (R) A beyond
competent philosophical science fic
tion film, director Ridley Scott's return
to the Alien universe he helped create
in 1979 is good without ever fulfilling
its promise to be great. Prometheus,
co-written by ’Lost* co-creator Damon
Lindelof, is so fueled by mystery that
you may want to avoid the Internet
and this review until you've seen it.
Even with series tropes like androids,
corporate shenanigans and body hor
ror, Prometheus is not quite the Alien
prequel fans may be expecting/hoping
for, but the feature is one ol the most
thought-provoking, recent science fic
tion films released by a major studio.
The origins of human life are, if not
explained, forever altered as a group
of scientists, including Noomi Rapace
(Sweden^ Lisbeth Salander), Charlize
Theron and Michael Fassbender.
encounter a species of extraterrestrials
they call the Engineers, but’something
more deadly also lurks on moon
LV-223.
< ROCK OF AGES (PG-13) In
1987 Los Angeles, a young couple,
Sherrie and Drew (Julianne Hough
and Diego Boneta), chase their musi
cal dreams. Tom Cruise may be the
big name here, but the real star is
the awesome ‘80s soundtrack, which
includes hits from Styx, Journey, Bon
Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve
Perry, Poison, Asia and more. Director
Adam Shankman scored a big hit with
Hairspray, the rest of his fare has been
family-movie bland (The Pacifier,
Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Bedtime
Stories).
SECOND GLANCE (NR) 1992. Pretty
much a play-by-play rip-off of It's a
Wonderful Life, a high schooler and
Christian named Daniel is unhappy
with his unpopularity and lack of
freedom to mack on some teen ladies,
and wishes that he had “never become
a believer.’ Does an angel appear and
grant his wish? Yes. Part of Cin6$ Bad
Movie Night.
SNOW WHITE AND THE
HUNTSMAN (PG-13) 2012s sec
ond Snow White mom (she's also a
television star on ABC$ ’Once Upon
a Time") tweaks the fairy tale with the
pale beauty (Kristen Stewart, Twilight!
and the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth,
Thod, sent by Charlize Theron$ Evil
Queen to kill her, instead teaming up tp
overthrow her majesty.
SONGS (NR) 2011. Creative lives are
explored through on-stage footage and
interviews with local musicians and
artists such ds Dave Dowiess, Hope for
Agoldensummer, Creepy, Incendiaries,
Puddin’ Tang, Lysa Sullivan, The
Jumpin’ Jesus Christers, Kaitlin
Jones, Tunabunny, The Buddy System,
Athens Boys Choir, poet Jeff Fallis,
Mandy Jane and Hoia Halo in director
Jennifer FormwalFs debut, formally
titled Songs: A Documentary Record ol
Music from a Relational Perspective.
Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock
Docs series.
THAT'S MY BOT (R) A lather (Adam
Sandier), who lathered a son (Andy
Samberg) in high schoo 1 , moves in
with his grown kid on the eve of his
son's wedding. Unfortunately, pops
gets into a feud with th$blushing bride
(LeightonMeester),tf<YTub Time
Machine directing duo, Sean Anders
and John Morris, are behind the cam
era. The rewrite of “Happy Endings’
creator David Caspe’s script 1 by Ken
Marino and David Wain, both “State"
alums, bodes well. With James Caan,
Susan Sarandon and Vanilla tee (l?).
THE THREE STOOGES (PG)
Apparently, a modern update of Three
Stooges is not an idea as utterly bereft
of laughs as one would imagine.
VHS: LOCAL VIDEOGRAPHERS
HELLA-BIG SHOW (NR) As part of
Athfest Filmfest 2012, the Society of
Greater Things presents a showcase
for local filmmakers. Featured shorts
include Matt Beaty$ “215 Lumpkin
Street,’ Evan Seitz$ “ABCinema,' Erina
Francesconi/Adam Mutter’s “A Small
Turn,’ Sarah Gutierrez’s “Break the
Silence," Chris While's ‘Dobraojca,’
Adam Klein's “Dugu Wolo," Brian
Garrett$ Triday Night,’ ?’s “Tofu,*
Raines Plambeck's “Grade Has a Glass
EyeT and many more. Enjoy a meet and
greet with the filmmakers before and
after the Thursday screening.
WAITRESS (PG-13) 2007. One of
the buzziest films of 2007, Waitress
will always carry a tragic sense of the
bittersweet. Writer-director Adrienne
Shelly, crowned the first It Girl of 1990s
independent cinema thanks to Hal
Hartley, was on the verge ot stardom
with this Baker’s chocolate sweet tale
about an unhappily married, pregnant
piemaker, Jenna (Keri Russell), who
meets the doc of her dreams (should-
be-a-bigger-star Nathan Fillion). See
it if you haven't. Part of the GMOA's
Summer Film Series, held in conjunc
tion with the exhibit, "John Baeder."
WE HAVE A POPE (NR) 2011. An
Italian man is elected to be Pope
against his wishes, prompting an
embarrassing lack of enthusiasm for
God's chosen post in this comedy
directed by Nanni Moretti. The cardi
nals bring in a psychiatrist to help the
new Pope deal with his anxiety.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE
EXPECTING (PG-13) What to Expect
would have been a decent Apatow/
Bridesmaids knockoff had it slimmed
down to one main plot and shed the
extra plot poundage involving Jennifer
Lopez adopting an Ethiopian baby,
Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford's
uh-oh moment and Cameron Diaz's star
pregnancy (with that wet blanket from
“Glee,“ Matthew Morrison). The almost
interstitial scenes with the daddy club
of Chris Rock, Rob Heubel, Thomas
Lennon and Anr Talai amuse, as
does Rebel Wilson as Banks's mostly
clueless employee. Like unfortunate
clockwork, every time the movie started
to get things comically right, the scene
would shift to JLo$ woes or the young
couplers romantic predicament. Still,
I expected little, and the romantic
dramedy delivered a bundle of tiny,
intermittent joy that, like some babies,
cried more than it laughed.
THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH (R)
An American writer. Tom Ricks (Ethan
Hawke), loses his job in a scandal and
flees to Paris to reconnect with his
estranged wife and daughter. While
abroad, he runs into a widow, Margit
(Kristin Thomas Scott), who might be
involved with several murders. Pawel
Pawlikowski (a BAFTA award winner
and European Film Award nominee for
Last Resort and My Summer of Love)
wrote and directed this mystery based
on the book by Douglas Kennedy (The
Big Picture).
Drew Wheeler
10 FUGPOLE.COM • JUNE 13,2012