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42 (PG-13) Sports biopics are largely
interchangeable. Still, something
about the challenges faced by Jackie
Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) as he
broke the color barrier in professional
baseball feels so much more singular
than your average true tale of success
fully bucking the odds. Boseman’s
performance is not a skilled mimicry
like so many other portrayals of
famous persons; he imbues Robinson
with such strength of character and
composure.
AT ANY PRICE (R) The trailer sports a
lot of impressive critical quotes, includ
ing one from the sorely missed Roger
Ebert, but its two minute reduction of
this tale of fathers and sons, farmers
and race car drivers feels a bit too
familiar. Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron
star as a farmer and his rebellious, rac
ing son. When a crisis threatens to take
everything from this family, their bond
is tested more than ever. (Cine)
BEFORE MIDNIGHT (R) Jesse and
Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy)
have come a long ways from 1995’s
Before Sunrise. Still not married but
with a pair of towheaded twin girls, the
couple have given up some dreams
in favor of love and reality. Our third
glimpse into Jesse and Celine’s lives
paints a realistic landscape of adult
relationships founded upon love. They
care deeply for each other, yet their
closeness belies a growing distance.
Many viewing pairs will see them
selves, arguing and rearguing their
own alternatingly petty and weighty
complaints. Hawke and Delpy, both
credited as co-writers, have grown into
and as Jesse and Celine.
THE BIG WEDDING (R) The Big
Wedding should be celebrated as a
strong candidate for worst film of the
year. Justin Zackham’s Americanization
of France’s Mon frere se marie—in
which a long-divorced couple (Diane
Keaton and Robert De Niro) must act
married for their adopted son’s wedding
because the grown man will not tell his
devoutly Catholic birth mother (Patricia
Rae) that they are divorced—is popu
lated by offensive, meanly unfunny
characters differentiated by their virgin
ity or lack thereof. This sinking ship of
a movie has nary one likable, nuanced
character to grab onto like a life raft.
Avoid these nuptials at all costs.
•THE BUNG RING (R) Sofia
Coppola’s fifth feature stylishly
recounts the fascinating real-life
story of a gang of privileged L.A.
teens that used their Internet savvy to
rob the vacant homes of celebrities
such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan
and Orlando Bloom. Rebecca (Katie
Chang), Mark (Israel Broussard), Nicki
(Emma Watson), Sam (Taissa Farmiga)
and Chloe (Claire Julien) steal over $3
million in clothes, jewelry, watches and
cash before being caught. The Bling
Ring floats a bit in the middle; Coppola
has always favored a dreamy border
ing on soporific tone. Considering the
film’s content, she could have made a
stronger statement about our celebrity
culture and the state of the modern
teenager (and their parenting). Instead,
Coppola seems content in merely
portraying conspicuous consumption
gone wild. Watson has firmly separated
herself from her Harry Potter persona.
As an actress, she’s come a long way
from Sorcerer’s Stone and unlike the
similar turns by former child stars
Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez
in Spring Breakers. Watson’s role
in Bling Ring feels less like a stunt.
She’s simply perfect in the role. This
made-for-E!TV movie isn’t Coppola’s
cinematic best, but the true life tale is
crazy captivating.
THE CROODS (PG) The Croods
stands out as one of the best non-Pixar
animated family films released in the
last few years. A family of cavemen—
dad Grug (v. Nicolas Cage), mom Ugga
(v. Catherine Keener), teen daughter
Eep (v. Emma Stone), dumb son Thunk
(v. Clarke Duke), feral baby Sandy and
grandma (v. Cloris Leachman)—are
forced on a cross-country road
trip after their cave is destroyed by
the impending “end of the world."
Fortunately, Eep meets Guy (v. Ryan
Reynolds), whose developed brain
filled with “ideas” might just help them
all survive.
DESPICABLE ME 2 (PG) Now that
Gru (v. Steve Carell) is no longer a vil
lain, will this sequel to the surprising
2010 hit work? The former criminal
mastermind has been contacted by the
Anti-Villain League to assist in captur
ing the newest big bad. The girls—
Margo, Edith and Alice—are still cute,
but the Minions better not disappoint,
as they have a 2014 spinoff in the
works. Featuring the voices of Kristen
Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Ken Jeong,
Russell Brand and Steve Coogan.
THE EAST (PG-13) Private inves
tigator Sarah Moss (Brit Marling) is
assigned to infiltrate an eco-terrorist
group who targets large organizations.
After convincing them of her sincerity,
she begins to find the group’s leader
(Alexander Skarsgard) and message
appealing. With Ellen Page. (Cine)
FAST & FURIOUS 6 (PG-13) The
unlikeliest blockbuster franchise of
all-time has enough gas left in the tank
for several more entries. Following the
international hijinks of Fast5, Furious
6puts Dominic “Dorn" Toretta (Vin
Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker)
and the rest on the heels of big bad
Shaw (Luke Evans), as they seek to
recover Letty (Michele Rodriguez) and
attain pardons all around from Hobbs
(Dwayne Johnson). These movies keep
improving under the direction of Justin
Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan. It’s
arguable that Furious 6 is the best of
the high gloss bunch. If a muscle car
mag filled with bikini-covered boobs
and chrome was adapted into a movie,
this flick would be it. This live action
comic book sags a little in the talky,
plot-driven sections, but gets back on
crazy course whenever the gang gets
behind the wheel for another ridiculous
car chase.
FRANCES HA (R) Could this be Greta
Gerwig’s big, Lena Dunham-ish break?
She co-wrote this comedy with direc
tor Noah Baumbach (The Squid & the
Whale), and judging from the trailer, it
could be an indie smash. Think “Girls"
on the big screen (but no Dunham).
Frances (Gerwig) works for a dance
troupe, though she’s not a dancer,
and goes all in for her dreams. With
Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver (“Girls")
and another daughter of Meryl Streep,
Grace Gummer. (Cine)
• THE HEAT (R) After taking far too
long to warm up, this buddy cop
comedy starring Sandra Bullock and
Melissa McCarthy hits its stride when
it counts. Uptight FBI agent Sarah
Ashburn (Bullock) needs the help of
foulmouthed, unpopular Boston cop
Shannon Mullins (McCarthy) to take
down a dangerous drug lord. Bullock
and McCarthy don’t have Fey/Pohler
chemistry. The just under two hour
comedy needs about 45 minutes for
its actors/characters to lose enough
of their flaws for the jokes to stick.
McCarthy flails too wildly early, while
Bullock’s too tightly wound for comedy.
Nevertheless, enough cannot be said
about how refreshing it is to watch
a buddy cop comedy starring two
women; “Cagney & Lacey” has been
off the damn air since 1988, for crying
out loud, and still no campy remake?
Unlike a sillier, lesser comedy, writer
Katie Dippold and Bridesmaids director
Paul Feig never explain away Ashburn
and Mullins’ tough, brash exteriors as
shields needed to survive their male
dominated profession. Ashburn’s just
weird and Mullins grew up with four
brothers (Michael Rapaport, Bill Burr,
Nate Corddry and, yes, that is Joey
McIntyre). The Heat may not be smok
ing, but after a barren first act, it’s pretty
darn funny
KEVIN HART: LET ME EXPLAIN (R)
Kevin Hart is one of the more entertain
ing and, more importantly, least disap
pointing stand-up comics turned actor.
If you missed his return to the stage
for the 2012 “Let Me Explain" world
tour (and I did), you can now catch
his sold-out show at Madison Square
Garden in this concert film which may
or may not have been directed by
the Tim Story of Fantastic Four and
Barbershop fame. For a warm up to Let
Me Explain, you can always check out
2010’s Laugh at My Pain.
A THE LONE RANGER (PG-13)
Most of my Lone Ranger memories
were formed by the underwhelming
The Legend of the Lone Ranger in 1981
(kid-me loved it, especially its accom
panying action figures) and reruns
of the classic series starring Clayton
Moore. That fondness has me excited
for the big budget revival of the beloved
radio serial starring Armie Hammer
(The Social Network) as the masked
man and Johnny Depp as his partner,
Tonto. Gore Verbinski, Depp's Pirates
of the Caribbean director, is behind the
camera. The trailers show promise.
MAN OF STEEL (PG-13) Superman
returns (again) with Christopher Nolan
tasked to give Supes his Dark(ened)
Knight treatment. Then Nolan, writer
David S. Goyer and director Zack
Snyder realized Superman is an alien
and nearly impossible to ground in
the real world. Their solution: Treat
the material like serious science fic
tion. The extended time spent with
Superman’s birth parents (Russell
Crowe rules as father Jor-EI) on dying
Krypton is the film’s strongest, most
original segment. The middle chunk,
retelling Kal-EI’s transformation from
a hunky Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) into
Superman, intriguingly tweaks a well-
known origin with the benefit of fatherly
wisdom from Kevin Costner’s Jonathan
Kent. Despite some well-executed set
pieces pitting Superman against fellow
Kryptonian General Zod (cast standout
Michael Shannon) and his alien army,
the final act never fully takes flight.
Instead, the blockbuster soars in fits
and starts, seeming most confident in
its final frames than the previous hour
and a half of repetitive conflict.
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (G) Cars
2 was a clunker; Brave was good verg
ing on really good but not close to
great; and Monsters University lacks
the Pixar pop of their undeniably great
features (Up, Wall-E, Toy Story 3). In
this prequel to Monsters, Inc., we learn
how Mike (v. Billy Crystal) and Sully
(v. John Goodman) met. Apparently,
the two scarers didn’t start as best
buds. First, they were scaring rivals at
Monsters University. This Revenge of
the Monster Nerds doesn’t creatively
bend college life for monsters as one
would expect from Pixar. Fortunately,
the animation, especially the creature
design, is as lush and lifelike as ever.
MUD (PG-13) A coming of age tale set
in the disappearing wilds of the small
town south, Ato/aims high, as director
Jeff 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
(Jacob Lofland)—discover a boat in
a tree. They also discover Matthew
McConaughey’s Mud, a fugitive living
in the boat in the tree, while he waits to
escape with the love of his life, Juniper
(Reese Witherspoon). Mud watches
like a work of modern literature, captur
ing the last gasps of a dying culture as
one boy becomes a man. (Cine)
NOW YOU SEE ME (PG-13) Four
street magicians (Jesse Eisenberg,
Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave
Franco) are enlisted in a mysterious,
magical plan to do something, but
nobody is really sure what until the last
reel. Hot on their heels is a dogged FBI
Agent, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo),
and a debunker of magicians (Morgan
Freeman). Now You See Me is as enter
taining as it is eye-rollingly contrived.
Clash of the Titans' Louis Leterrier
keeps the illusions moving along too
fast for anyone to see through the
script’s tricks until the woeful reveal.
OBLIVION (PG-13) The new Tom
Cruise action, sci-fi spectacle is a
visual/aural knockout. After fighting off
an alien invasion via nuclear destruc
tion, humanity has moved off-planet to
Titan, a moon of Saturn. Two people,
tech Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and
his communications liaison Victoria
(Andrea Riseborough), have been left
behind. Tron: Legacy director Joseph
Kosinski co-scripted Oblivion from
his own graphic novel, and despite its
derivative pieces, the whole narrative
coheres rather well.
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (R)
Olympus Has Fallen feels like a relic
from the bygone era of the 1980s,
where audiences were satisfied by
old-fashioned, bloody action movies
wherein stone-faced heroes faced off
against despicable bad guys without
obfuscating their violent exploits with
frenetic camerawork. Disgraced Secret
Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard
Butler) is the only person in America
who can save the President (Aaron
Eckhart) after North Korean terrorists
take over the White House. With a
franchise-worthy new hero and a well-
choreographed, well-shot focus on
physical conflict, Olympus Has Fallen
kicks butt better than the muscular bulk
of recent action movies.
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
(PG) Disney’s latest family blockbuster
reveals the wizard’s own cyclonic entry
to Oz. Carnival magician and con man
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
UNIVERSITY 16 CINEMAS • 1793 Oconee Connector
• 706-355-9122 • www.georgiatheatrecompany.com
The one thing I asked you to get at the store... horses.
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 Ozwas prophesied. Ozwon’t
make anyone forget the original, but it
doesn’t shame its memory either.
THE PURGE (R) In the future, America
is a paradise of low unemployment
and low crime, all thanks to the
Purge instituted by the New Founding
Fathers. One night every year, all
laws are suspended for twelve hours.
During this Purge, any citizen may
empty themselves of all the pent-up
rage and frustration by doing whatever
violence they want. Mostly, the Purge
affects the poor. Wealthy families
like the Sandins (Ethan Hawke, Lena
Headey, Max Buckholder and Adelaide
Kane) lock themselves behind fancy
security systems. But this Purge is
different, as the Sandins’ young son
lets in a bloody stranger, who is being
hunted by a creepy pack of rich kids
that want their prey returned to them.
Despite the slight bait-and-switch, this
flick is a fine example of how to do an
exploitation-thriller right—emphasis
on tension, intimidation and bloody
violence. Audiences expecting more
thrills and fewer scares should enjoy
this summer changeup.
SCARY MOVIE V (PG-13) A
Paranormal Activity/Mama mashup
provides the frame that is rattily cov
ered by an hour and thirty minutes of
puerile, scattershot jokes. Airplane!
worked as a spoof of disaster movies
that developed its own witty gags. The
Scary Mo vies simply tosses pop cul
ture references and cameos by celebri
ties who have passed their sell-by date
with no real interest in spoofing the
genre they allegedly came to spoof.
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
(PG-13) The second film in J.J.
Abrams’ revamped Trek-verse, is the
best Star Wars movie since 1983. Don't
think I typed that wrong. The second
new Star Trek is the giant, sci-fi,
matinee serial that the Star Wars pre
quels never were. Captain Kirk (Chris
Pine) leads the crew of the Starship
Enterprise after a rogue Federation
operative (Benedict Cumberbatch)
turns terrorist. Trek has never looked
better, been more thrilling or more
humanly humorous. Star Trek2seems
like the luckiest of numbers; this sequel
achieves Khan-Wke greatness.
THIS IS THE END (R) This pot-fueled
“apoc-comedic" nightmare from Seth
Rogen and Evan Goldberg is far fun
nier than most meta-comedies starring
comic actors as themselves. On the
night of James Franco’s housewarming
party, the seeming Rapture occurs,
leaving behind this band of famous
faces (Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Jay
Baruchel) to survive on a Milky Way
and little more. Turning to and on one
another, Judgment Day brings out
the best, worst and funniest in writers
Rogen/Goldberg and their cast. These
guys make the day of reckoning a fun
one.
THE WAY, WAY BACK (PG-13)
After winning an Oscar for writing The
Descendants, Jim Rash (Dean Pelton
on “Community") and Nat Faxon
(the sadly cancelled “Ben and Kate")
reteamed for their directorial debut.
This coming of age comedy stars Liam
James as Duncan, who negotiates a
summer with his mom (Toni Collette)
and her boyfriend (Steve Carell) by get
ting a job at a local water park, where
he is befriended by its odd owner (Sam
Rockwell). This Sundance favorite
looks appealing enough to be sum
mer’s indie breakout hit.
•WHITE HOUSE DOWN (PG-13)
Much like the summer of 1998 when
discussions of July’s Armageddon
required mentioned of May’s Deep
Impact, a critique of White House Down
cannot take place without comparisons
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FLAGPOLE.COM • JULY 3, 2013