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AFTER EARTH (PG-13) With his
father, Cypher Raige (Will Smith)
injured, young Kitai Raige (Jaden
Smith) must survive Earth, 1000 years
after humanity was forced to escape
the planet. Learning that After Earth
was an M. Night Shyamalan film—his
first time directing someone else’s
screenplay (he received co-writer credit
with original scripter Gary Whitta, who
wrote The Book of Eli)—excited me
more than star Smith, who conceived
the story. With Isabelle Fuhrman
(Orphan), Sophie Okonedo and Zoe
Kravitz.
THE CALL (R) Until a final act that
is so predictably out of character for
Halle Berry’s heroine, The Call knows
exactly what it is: a pulpy genre thriller.
After feeling responsible for the death
of a teenage girl, veteran 911 opera
tor Jordan Turner (Berry) is reluctant
to take another emergency call. But
when another teenager, Casey Welson
(Abigail Breslin), is kidnapped by the
same nondescript white guy, Jordan
makes it her mission to save this
victim. Couple those two talented
actresses with the claustrophobia and
helplessness of the central locations,
and the audience is treated to a pretty
gripping first two acts. Answer this
Call.
THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (R)
You’ve seen a Robert Redford movie
before, right? Then you know what to
expect from The Company You Keep.
A lawyer (Redford, as stalwart and
slightly stiff as ever) goes on the run
after a young reporter (Shia LaBeouf,
who reminds us of his appeal) outs
him as a member of the domestic
terrorist organization, the Weather
Underground. The Company You Keep
isn’t hip (though one might wonder
how Bedford’s nearly 80-year-old
fugitive doesn’t break one), but it’s a
natural narrative extension of Bedford’s
career. (Cine)
THE EAST (PG-13) The intriguing
trailer for this mysterious dramatic
thriller might be more confusing than
the movie, which sounds a bit more
straightforward. A PI (Brit Marling,
the familiar face from Redford’s The
Company You Keep who wrote Sound
of My Voice and Another Earth) must
infiltrate a group of freegan anarchists
(including Alexander Skarsgard, Jason
Ritter and Ellen Page) targeting major
corporations. (Freeganism is an anti-
consumerist ideology practiced by
reclaiming and eating discarded food.)
Director Zal Batmanglij also directed
Marling’s Sound of My Voice.
EPIC (PG) A teenage girl (v. Amanda
Seyfried) is transported to a shrunken
down world where she assists a ragtag
band of warriors known as the Leafmen
against the Boggans and their evil
leader Mandrake (v. Christoph Waltz).
Longtime fee Age co-director Chris
Wedge adapts William Joyce’s The
Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs.
Featuring an all-star voice cast includ
ing Colin Farrell, Beyonce Knowles,
Aziz Ansari, Pitbull (?!) and Steven
Tyler, this animated flick had best do
better than last winter’s Joyce adapta
tion, Rise of the Guardians.
ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH
(PG) Did your kid love Monster vs
Aliens? Then they’re bound to momen
tarily enjoy Escape from Planet Earth
while you catch a guick nap or check
out the Oscar nominee playing next
door. Nobody expects cartoons like
Escape from Planet Earth to com
pete with Pixar’s animated features
for awards; they’re made to replace
babysitters and entertain kids for 90
minutes. A space adventurer, Scorch
Supernova (v. Brendan Fraser), is cap
tured on Earth by the villainous General
Shanker (v. William Shatner). Shanker
is making a fortune off his alien cap
tives’technological innovations, and
his latest prisoner is Scorch’s brainy
brother, Gary (v. Rob Corddry). Now
the Supernova bros must work together
to get back home. The animation is as
shiny as the story is recycled.
FAST & FURIOUS 6 (PG-13) Dorn
Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner
(Paul Walker) reassemble the team to
help federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson) take down a
former Special Ops tough guy (Luke
Evans), whose second-in-command is
the love of Dorn’s life, Letty (Michelle
Rodriguez), believed to be dead since
Fast 4. Justin Lin returns to direct his
fourth F&Fentry.
G.I.JOE: RETALIATION (PG-13)
G.l. Joe: Retaliation is everything that
G.l. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was not.
The second Joe movie is also the
movie for which my inner child has
been waiting since 1987. Mostly ignor
ing Stephen Sommers’ 2009 misfire,
this franchise reboot introduces three
new lead Joes: Roadblock (Dwayne
Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne
Palicki) and my childhood favorite,
Flint (D.J. Cotrona). Featured Cobra
players—Zartan (Jonathan Pryce),
Storm Shadow(Byung-hun Lee) and
Firefly (Ray Stevenson)—plot to break
Cobra Commander from a super-secret
prison. But the plot is inconseguential.
G.l. Joe blows stuff up real good and
has just the right amount of stupid
smarts (and Bruce Willis) to be a nos
talgic blast of action.
GINGER & ROSA (PG-13) Two teen
age girls grow up in 1960s London as
inseparable friends, but as the Cuban
Missile Crisis and nuclear annihilation
loom, Ginger (Elle Fanning) and Rosa
(Alice Englert, Beautiful Creatures)
clash over love. Writer-director Sally
Potter has not done much high profile
work since 1992’s Orlando with Tilda
Swinton. The film has picked up a few
awards including a couple for Fanning’s
work, the Santa Barbara International
Film Festival’s Virtuoso Award and the
Valladolid International Film Festival’s
Best Actress prize. (Cine)
THE GREAT GATSBY (PG-13) Like
all Baz Luhrmann’s films save Moulin
Rouge!, The Great Gatsby left me highly
conflicted. A creative, stylistic tour de
force, the film starts off kinetic to the
point of claustrophobia. The constant
moving and zooming camera and
non-stop edits choke the air out of the
first act; the film just needs to stop and
catch its breath for a moment. The film
doesn’t stop its constant Charlestoning
until Nick Carroway (Tobey Maguire)
meets reclusive millionaire Jay Gatsby
(Leonardo DiCaprio) at one of the
latter’s renowned parties. Finally,
the film takes a hiccupping breath.
Luhrmann’s always favored style over
substance (it’s why his Romeo + Juliet
is so appealingly frustrating), and
the Roaring ’20s are a great place to
indulge his whims. However, his hyper
active visualization fill his adaptation of
Fitzgerald’s classic novel with the air of
parody. The film often feels like a musi
cal with the song-and-dance numbers
cut out. Still, its liveliness bests Jack
Clayton’s dull 1974 adaptation starring
an especially wooden Robert Redford.
DiCaprio better imbues Gatsby with the
decade’s decadent hopefulness.
• THE HANGOVER PART III (R)
If one's main complaint about the
second Hangover was that it was a
mere narrative retread of the original
with a geographical transplant, then
The Hangover Part III has addressed
your concern. Gone are the weddings,
the hangovers and the amnesia. The
Wolfpack—Phil (Bradley Cooper),
Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach
Galifianakis)—now find themselves
thrust directly into a Charlie Huston
crime novel. Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong)
has escaped a Thai prison, and the
Wolfpack are charged with finding
him by crime lord Marshall (John
Goodman). Laughs are not as plentiful
as in either of the first two movies, but
the biggest problem with Part III is its
lack of character. The script feels as
if it were revamped for the Wolfpack,
not written for them. Phil is far too
laidback; did Cooper film the entire
film while on Xanax? Writer-director
Todd Phillips and collaborator Craig
Mazin smartly allow Galifianakis to
carry the largest load. However, the
film could have used less Jeong and
more Goodman. Give Phillips and crew
credit for the old college try, but recap
turing the comic freshness of the first
Hangover once, much less twice, has
proven too Herculean a humorous task.
IDENTITY THIEF (R) With two
kids and another on the way, Sandy
Patterson (Jason Bateman) is strug
gling to make ends meet. Having his
identity stolen by friendless Diana
(Melissa McCarthy) only further aggra
vates his financial distress. Strangely,
the gags work best when Bateman’s
straight man and McCarthy’s manic
criminal bond rather than fight. Too
bad the mean-spirited comic scenarios
cooked up by screenwriter Craig
Mazin (Scary Movies 3and 4and The
Hangover: Parts IIand III) lack origi
nality. Director Seth Gordon and his
hilarious stars have done and will do
comedy better.
IRON MAN 3 (PG-13) Happily, Shane
Black has taken over the Iron Man
franchise from Jon Favreau, and it’s
mostly a blast right out of 1987. Tony
Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) may be the
rare superhero alter ego that is more
interesting out of costume, but watch
ing him investigate a mystery in Small
Town, Tennessee (child sidekick in tow)
felt more like episodic television than
the initial, post-Avengers solo adven
ture. The Iron Man franchise goes 0 for
3 on villains; none are in Iron Man’s
league. The potential of The Mandarin
(Ben Kingsley) is wasted with a twist
that, while amusingly executed, leaves
the film villainously bereft. Such minor
quibbles don’t devalue Iron Man 3s
entertainment worth; it’s one high qual
ity blockbuster.
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (PG-13)
While far from a bad fantasy film, this
retooled telling of the classic children’s
stories, Jack the Giant Killer and Jack
and the Beanstalk, does little to fire the
imagination once the credits roll. We
all know the story; young Jack (Marcus
Hoult, whose romzom Warm Bodies
showed loads more creativity) gets
some magic beans, from which a giant
beanstalk grows. At the top of the leafy,
green ladder is a land full of giants who
have a taste for human flesh. Of course,
this new telling has to involve a love
interest, headstrong Princess Isabelle
(Eleanor Tomlinson), who Jack sets out
to rescue.
THE KINGS OF SUMMER (R) This
sweetly sour indie comedy, a nominee
for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize,
hopes to be the biggest little hit of
summertime. A comedy friendly cast—
including Alison Brie and husband and
wife team Nick Offerman and Megan
Mullally—cannot hurt, but how much
will it help? Frustrated with life and
their parents, three teenage boys (Nick
Robinson, Gabriel Basso and possible
breakout Moises Arias) head into the
woods to build a house and live off the
land. The trailers show a lot of laughs
and heart; I’m looking forward to this
one.
MUD (PG-13) Boasting a star-studded
cast of Matthew McConaughey,
Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard,
Ray McKinnon, Michael Shannon,
Sarah Paulson and Joe Don Baker,
Jeff Nichols’ third feature offers this
promising rising filmmaker with his
best chance of widespread success.
A coming of age tale set in the disap
pearing wilds of the small town south,
Mud aims high, as Nichols attempts
to channel Mark Twain, and hits the
target square in the bull’s eye. Two
teens—Ellis (Tye Sheridan, Tree of
Life) and Neckbone (newcomer Jacob
Lofland)—discover a boat in a tree.
They also discover McConaughey’s
Mud, a fugitive living in the boat in the
tree, while he waits to escape with the
love of his life, Juniper (Witherspoon).
Ellis also feels the sting of family
troubles and first love/first heartbreak.
Mud watches like a work of modern
literature, capturing the last gasps of
a dying culture as one boy becomes
a man. As one of 2013’s more chal
lenging films, Mud dethrones its
closest competitor, The Place Beyond
the Pines, as it reminds me of early
David Gordon Green, before all his
releases blended into the same, artless
marijuana-addled haze.
< NOW YOU SEE ME (PG-13)
Something tells me this magic bank
heist flick would have made a killing in
the winter. As a summer release, this
movie has a tough go battling the big
boys, even with star power including
Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson,
Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Mark
Ruffalo and Michael Caine. The plot
involves a group of magicians, the Four
Horsemen, being investigated for the
bank robberies that occur during their
performances. These magical Robin
Hoods then reward their audiences with
their ill-gotten loot. Directed by Louis
Leterrier (Clash of the Titans).
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
(PG) First and foremost, Sam Raimi’s
The Wizard of Oz prequel is no Wizard,
it’s not even Return to Oz, the very
dark, very underrated 1985 sequel.
Disney’s latest family blockbuster
reveals the wizard’s own cyclonic entry
to Oz. Carnival magician and con man
Oscar Diggs (James Franco) meets
three witches—Theodora (Mila Kunis),
Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda
(Michelle Williams)—who believe him
to be the great wizard whose appear
ance in Oz was prophesied. In the void
left by the recently deceased king,
Oscar must determine which witches
are wicked and which are good. Raimi
CINEMAS
Movie showtimes are not available by our deadline. Please check cinema
websites for accurate information.
CINE • 234 W. Hancock Ave. • 706-353-3343 • www.athenscine.com
GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART • (UGA Campus) 90 Carlton St.
• 706-542-GMOA • www.uga.edu/gamuseum/calendar/films.html
TATE STUDENT CENTER • (JGA Campus) 45 Baxter St.
• 706-542-6396 • www.union.uga.edu/movies
BEECHWOOD STADIUM CINEMAS II • 196 Alps Rd.
• 706-546-1011 • www.georgiatheatrecompany.com
CARMIKE 12 • 1570 Lexington Rd. • 706-354-0016
• www.carmike.com
GEORGIA SQUARE VALUE CINEMAS 5 • 3710 Atlanta Hwy
• 706-548-3426 • www.georgiatheatrecompany.com
Who is Joe Havasy?
trots out his usual visual wizardry,
and Oz is as successful as his first
Spider-Man entry once it gets going.
I just wish Raimi had chosen to make
his Wicked Witch via makeup, like
the original’s Margaret Hamilton, as
opposed to CGI. Ozwon’t make anyone
forget the original, but it doesn’t shame
its memory either.
PAIN & GAIN (R) With the subtlety of
an 18 wheeler, Pain & Gain chronicles
the true story of three bodybuilders—
Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), Paul
Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian
Doorbal (Anthony Mackie)—who
turn to crime in order to achieve the
American Dream. If you were hoping
director Michael Bay had a quirky indie
crime caper in him, he doesn't. The film
is too long, sledgehammeringly artless
and mindnumbingly dumb. It’s a film
created in the image of its characters
and equally as appealing as those ama
teur criminals. Would I have preferred
a shorter, pulpier, Elmore Leonard/Carl
Hiaasen version of this tale (or better
yet, an award winning documentary)?
Yes. Will I accept this musclebound,
meathead movie? Certainly, but only
once.
THE PURGE (R) Horror fans have a
number of flicks to look forward to this
summer. The Purge, starring Ethan
Hawke (who's becoming a bit of a
genre fixture), kicks the scary festivi
ties off with a Strangers-esque home
invasion flick. In the future (2022, to
be exact), unemployment and crime
are down in America thanks to a new
yearly tradition, The Purge. One night
a year, emergency services and law
enforcement are halted so everyone
can get their violent jollies on. When
the Sandins let a stranger into their for
tress, a group of mask-wearing thugs
attempt to break in and retrieve their
chosen victim. This flick, from writer-
director James DeMonaco, has excited
the horror freak inside me.
RENOIR (R) 2012. On the French
Riviera in 1915, future filmmaker Jean
Renoir (Vincent Rottiers) returns home
to convalesce from an injury suffered
in World War I. While there, he meets
Andree Heuschling (Christa Theret),
the last model for Jean’s father, the
Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste
(Michel Bouquet). Fascinatingly, direc
tor Gilles Bourdos used the skills of
convicted art forger Guy Ribes to recre
ate Renoir’s paintings on screen. The
film competed in the Un Certain Regard
at the Cannes Film Festival. (Cine)
THE ROOM (R) The Room, from baf
fling “auteur” Tommy Wiseau, might
be the Mona Lisa of bad movies;
its greatness lies in its mysterious
smile, which a laughing Wiseau trots
out at the oddest moments. Johnny
(writer-producer-director-star-charlatan
Wiseau) is engaged to “beautiful”
blonde Lisa (Juliette Danielle), who
embarks on an affair with Johnny’s
“best friend," Mark (Greg Sestero), for
no apparent reason, which may be why
she constantly reminds him (and us)
that she loves him. The RoommW leave
you with so many questions that don’t
need answering. Did Johnny and Lisa
get married? What about Claudette’s
cancer? Who uses a fake pregnancy
bomb to spice up an uninteresting rela
tionship? Why do they want to throw
the football so much? Why am I in a
theater at one in the morning watch
ing this strange, hysterical man vomit
drama on the big screen? (Cine)
THE SAPPHIRES (PG-13) In the
late ‘60s, an Australian Aboriginal girl
group entertains the boys in Vietnam.
Naturally the sweet, inspirational
movie—director Wayne Blair’s feature
debut—is based on a true story (and
garners a few comparisons to Muriel’s
Wedding). The only familiar face is
Chris O’Dowd, so likable on “The I.T.
Crowd" and Bridesmaids, and one of
the more likable characters from sea
son two of “Girls.” I really feel like I’ve
12 FLAGPOLE.COM-MAY 29, 2013