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Some reteases may not be showing locaiiy this week.
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21 JUMP STREET (R) 2012$ biggest
surprise to date has to be this brilliantly
dumb comedy from star-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.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE
HUNTER (R) The second novel by
Seth Grahame-Smith, author o( Pride
and Prejudice and Zombies, concocted
a false history of our 16th president
as a vengeful vampire slayer. The film
version stars little-known Benjamin
Walker as the Great Emancipator in
what could be a fun summer surprise a
la director Timur Bekmami. etov$ previ
ous summer hit, Wanted. Wifh Dominic
Cooper, Anthony Mackie (The Hurt
Locket), Mary Elizabeth Winstead and
Rufus Sewell as the main vamp.
ATHENS BURNING (NR) This locally
produced documentary recounts the
history of that once proud downtown
landmark, the Georgia Theatre.
Beginning with the devastating blaze,
Athens Burning recounts the history of
our city'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 20T2 Rock
Docs series
THE AVENGERS (PG-13) The various
Avengers—Robert Downey, Jr.$ iron
Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America,
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, another
new Hulk (this time Mark Ruffalo
gets to unleash the beast) and the
rest—have assembled, and together
they are a blast. But before they can
battle Thor's mischievous brother,
Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is intent
on enslaving the world with his other
dimensional army, Earth: 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 Wbedon’s
trademark snappy banter and his way
with ensembles.
BATTLESHIP (PG-13) For a giant,
dumb summer movie that could only
be called Bay-esque, Battleship doesn't
sink itself. Earth gets more than it
bargained for after scientists send
signals into space in an attempt to add
some extraterrestrial Facebook friends.
The ETs that answer are not friendly,
answering with massive Transformer-y
ships and personality-less shock
troopers. Battleship I haven’t seen
such a great deadly game night since
Never Say Never Again. The best/worst
salvo i can launch at this flick is that it
made me really yearn to play Battleship
for the first time in years. Two hundred
million dollars bought Hasbro a hell of
a commercial.
BERNIE (PG-13) Richard Linkiater’s
latest fiim 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. Sound like
another Bernie you know? I find certain
linklater comedies to require a specific
sense of humor; well have to see if
Bernie is one of those films. With
Matthew McConaughey.
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 slay 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.
BRAVE (PG) In Pixar’s summer 2012
surefire winner, a Scottish princess,
Merida (v. Kelly Macdonald), attempts
to change her destiny, which leads to
an adventure requiring all her brav
ery and archery skills. Co-director
Brenda Chapman, also a co-writer, is
Pixar$ first female director. Featuring
voice work by Billy Connolly, Emma
Thompson, Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s
Anatomy"). Robbie Coltrane, Julie
Walters, Craig Ferguson and John
Ratzenberger, the only voice heard in
every single Pixar feature.
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (R)
Horror movies do net come much more
perfect than The Cabin in the Woods,
written by geek god Joss Whedon
and one of his strongest proteges,
Drew Goddard. A sublime tweaking
of the entire slasher genre, Cabirts
deconstruction may be less meta than
Scream, but its elaborate mythology—
a staple of Ihe Whedonverse—is
transferable and adds a brand new
reading to nearly every modern horror
film. Five college friends (the most
familiar face is the beardless one of
Chris Thor* Hamsworth, who can be
seen in WhedonS The Avengerd) take a
weekend trip to the woods that ends in
a bloodbath.
DCf 2012 TOUR PREMIERE (NR)
A one-night-only showing of footage
of the 2012 Drum Corps International
Tour filmed two days prior at the DCi
competition. Showing Monday, June
18.
OR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX (PG)
Released on Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday.
. this pleasant animated adaptation of
the beloved children^ authoi $ envi
ronmental fable fails to utterly charm
like the filmmakers’ previous animated
smash, Despicable Me. The Lorax may
visually stun you, and Danny DeVito's
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.
A FIGHTING CHANCE (NR) 2010.
Director Takashi Doscher's feature
documentary follows Kyle Maynard.
Kyle was born with only three major
joints—his neck and two shoulders—
yet Kyle has learned to live without
prosthetics^nd has become a top-
ranked wrestler, ESPY Award winner
and bestselling author. However, his
plans to compete in a sanctioned
Mixed Martial Arts match spark contro
versy. The screening will be followed
by a Q&A with fhe filmmaker. Part
of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Athens
Picture Show.
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT (R)
As written by Jason Segel and Nicholas
Stoller, the acting-writing-direcUng duo
behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The
Five-Year Engagement almost sells its
initial gag too well. Nearly the 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 begins its lengthy,
though not overfong, 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 Emify Blunt) get engaged on their
one-year anniversary and then struggle
to pull the trigger, as life sends the
soulmates obstacle after obstacle.
HYSTERIA (R) (NR) Maggie
Gyllenhaal stars in this period sex
comedy about the invention of the
of her ex/Ben's dad (Jay R. Ferguson,
who excels at clueless d-bags), a
deputy sheriff and son of big-time
local ju'jge/prospective mayor. The war
scenes are thankfully short, making me
wonder how much worse they could
have been on the page, and director
Scott Hicks (some fine films like Shine
and Snow Falling on Cedars) illustrates
this romance with some gorgeous,
magazine spread cinematography
(word lo Alar Kivilo, whose work to
date has never betrayed this artistic an
eye). Will love conquer all or is this
another one of Sparks’learjerkers? .
Only 141 minutes of your life stand
between you and the answer. .
MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S
MOST WANTED (PG)Bynow,
franchise fans know what to expect
from the adventures of Alex the lion (v.
Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (v. Chris
Rock), Melman the giraffe (v. David
Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (v.
Jala 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
I got It at Wuxtry.
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
(Like Crazfi, Rupert Everett and Ashley
Jensen. Hysteria may be the third
movie from director Tanya Wexler (Ball
in the House and Finding North), but
it’s the first one to get a wide release.
JUNE8U6 (R) 2005. Amy Adams
blew up after stealinglhis low budget,
independent show as the young and
pregnant sister-in-law of art dealer
Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), who has
traveled to North Carolina to meet an
artist and the family (Celia Weston,
Scoff Witson of The Walking Dead"
and former troubled teen of The
O.C.\ Ben McKenzie) of her new
husband (Alessandro Nivola). Part of
the GM0A$ Summer Fiim Series, held
in conjunction with the exhibit, ‘John
Bdcdcr *
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 shirtiess 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, whom he
learns is named Beth (Taylor Schilling,
still recovering from Allas 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
Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer
and Andy Richter) in an aborted
attempt to return 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
McDormand), is hot on the animals’
trail. No one should be coming into
Madagascar 3 blind. This third entry
proffers more cute fun in a long first act
chase than either of its predecessors,
and that’s before any of the appeal
ing new characters are introduced.
Madagascar 3 should keep the kiddies
happy until Pixar$ Brave on June 22.
MARLEY (PG-13) Academy Award-
winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald
(the award winning docs One Day in
September and Touching the Void, as
well as the award winning feature The
Last King of Scotland^ documents 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 besl A can’t
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 II. I’m OK wifh that oversight. Will
Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise
their roles as Agent J and Agent K.
Apparently, Smith’s J time travels back
to 1969 to stop an alien from assas
sinating his partner, whose younger
version is played by Josh Brolin.
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 rous-
ingty delightful. !t$ not.
MONTEREY POP (NR) 1968. This
documentary from DA Pennebaker
(The War Room) 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 Athfest$ heritage.
Nominated for the Golden Satellite.
Award for Best Overall DVD. Part of
the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock Docs
series.
THE MOPPET MOVIE (PG) 1979.
Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo
and more meet celebrities galore
as they travel across the country to
Hollywood. However, frog legs magnate
Doc Hopper (Charles Duming) is hoi
on Kermit$ heels. Featuring classic
songs like "Rainbow Connection,"
The Moppet Movie is one of the best
family films for pleasing moms, dads
and kids. Screening as one of the
Summer Classic Movie Series’ Family
Classics, the movie will be followed
by family activities in the Lab thanks
to Treehouse Kid & Craft and Canopy
Trapeze.
PROJECT X (R) As a responsible
adult, I lament how this teen comedy,
produced by The Hangover's Todd
Phillips, condones the Internet era$
hedonism as teenage rite of passage.
Three unpopular high schoolers
(Thomas Mann. Oliver Cooper and
Jonathan Daniel Brown) throw a party
so wild (sex, drugs, alcohol, fire, a
midget; it’s like the boys go to Bret
Easton Ellis High) that not even the
cops can stop it, a conceit that play
rights into teenagers' already over
inflated egos. As a former teenager.
I wish I'd been invited. The appeal
oi Project Xtruly depends on the
perspective—adult or teen—from
which you view it as the party supplies
few surprising acts of debauchery. It
does add a novel running gag about
two overzeaious, overmatched teen
security guards. Their misadventures
had a sense of freshness from which
the rest ot this slightly tired party flick
could have benefited.
PROMETHEUS (R) A beyond com
petent, philosophical science fiction
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, cor
porate shenanigans and body horror.
Prometheus is not quite the Alien
prequel fans may be expeefing/hoping
for, but the feature is one of 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 Saiander), Chariize
Theron and Michael Fassbender,
encounter a species of extraterrestrials
they call the Engineers, but something
more deadly also lurks on moon
LV-223. Big ideas meet big production
values, and the result is an intelligent
first two acts of epic science fiction that
call to mind 2001 as much as Alien.
However, the untidy final act fails to tie
events together in a satisfying way for
fans of either Prometheus or Alien.
• ROCK OF AGES (PG-13) Warning:
Anyone with a keen knowledge of rock
and roll from 1977-1987 will be end
lessly sidetracked by this popular juke
box musical’s utter disregard for the
chronological progression of the peri-
od$ rock music. Early '80s Journey hits
are supposedly written in 1987; Guns
N’ Roses favorites were popularized in
the era of KISS’ "Alive II"; songs from
1989 are included as diegetic music.
Yet the musicological stupidity matters
little when Tom Cruise takes the stage
as Stacie Jaxx, an Axl Rose-ian fallen
rock god. Cruise inhabits the insular
American idol, generously giving him
unexpected extra-dimensionality, and
the star can belt out the hits to boot
Even with the stage musical$ rough
edges and rougher characters (Jaxx in
particular) worn down and its lack ot
nudity (or hard drugs), Rock of Ages
could still have earned an R rating tor
thematic elements alone; one wonders
if the MPAA does more than look for
nipples and listen for f-bombs. Pay
less attention to the trifling story ot a
small-town girl and city boy and more
to the ‘80s earworms and tun perfor
mances from Cruise. Russell Brand.
Aiec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones
and more for a Broadway treat at a
seventh of the price.
THE ROOM (R) 2003. The uninten
tionally hilarious cult favorite returns
for a midnight showing.
< SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE
END OF THE WORLD (R) When an
asteroid careens towards the Earth, a
man named Dodge (Steve Carell) is
abandoned by his wife. His end-of-
the-world itinerary includes a road trip
to reunite with his high school flame.
Along for the ride is Dodge's neigh
bor, enny (Keira Knightley). Lorene
Scafaria, who wrote the excellent Nick
and Norah's Infinite Playlist, makes her
directorial debut. The trailers for this
apocalyptic romcom are promising.
SNOW WHITE AND THE
HUNTSMAN (PG-13) 2012 s sec
ond Snow White movie (she's also a
television star on ABC’s ‘Once Upon
a Time") tweaks the fairy tale with the
pale beauty (Kristen Stewart,, Twilight}
and the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth,
Thor), sen! by Chariize Theron's Evil
Queen to kill her. instead teaming up
to overthrow her majesty. Director
Rupert Sanders is an unknown entity,
thankfully, the cast includes the familiar
laces ol Toby Jones, Ian McShane, Ray
Winstone, Nick Frost and Bob Hoskins.
Written by Drivtis Hossein Amini.
SONGS (NR) 2011. Creative lives
are explored through live footage and
interviews with local musicians and
artists such as Dave Dowless, Hope for
Agoldensummer, Creepy, Incendiaries.
Puddiri Tang, Lysa Sullivan, The
Jumpin' Jesus Christers. Kaitlin
Jones, Tunabunny. The Buddy System,
Athens Boys Choir, Poet Jett Fallis,
Mandy Jane and Hola Halo in director
Jennifer Formwalt's debut, formally
titled Songs. A Documentary Record of
Music from a Relational Perspective.
Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock
Docs series
8 FLAGPOLE.COM • JUNE 20, 2012