2 Days in Paris (R, 96 minutes) Julie Delpy, unwilling to leave Paris in the wake of Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, sticks around the City of Lights for this romantic comedy/drama about a squabbling couple (Delpy and Adam Goldberg) who go to France to rekindle their relationship. Delpy writes and directs as well, channeling a bit of Woody Allen—with an extra dose of discomfort thrown in for good measure. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
3:10 to Yuma (R, 117 minutes) Russell Crowe and Christian Bale replace Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in this remake of the highly regarded 1957 western. Crowe is the outlaw leader on his way to court via the titular conveyance. Bale is the small-time rancher charged with escorting him there alive—no small task when droves of gun-toting bad guys show up. The film’s tense, ticking clock narrative plays out quite a bit like High Noon, with Bale and especially Crowe turning in compelling performances. James Mangold (Walk the Line) directs. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Balls of Fury (PG-13, 90 minutes) What could be better than the folks behind "Reno: 911" taking Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon and re-writing it as a rude comedy about an illegal underground ping-pong tournament lorded over by evil Christopher Walken? Completely absurd, but I dare you not to giggle on multiple occasions. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Becoming Jane (PG, 113 minutes) Winsome Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) stars in this speculative biopic about young Jane Austen. Prior to becoming a famous author, Austen was just another romantic chick being wooed a young Irish hunk (James McAvoy from The Last King of Scotland). Brits James Cromwell, Julie Walters and Maggie Smith class up the joint in supporting roles. Perhaps the biggest blow to this romantic drama is the fact that it wasn’t actually penned by Austen. As a result, it’s no Pride and Prejudice. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Bourne Ultimatum (PG-13, 111 minutes) The third (loose) adaptation of Robert Ludlum’s spy thriller series wraps things up for our amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). This time, our boy is racing around the globe, trying to shake a government agent and uncover the final mysteries about his dark past. This, of course, involves shooting a whole lot of people. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
The Brave One (R, 119 minutes) A mere two weeks after Kevin Bacon tried his hand at starring in a remake of Death Wish comes Jodie Foster doing largely the same thing. Foster takes on the role of Erica, a New Yorker who struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission of bloody vigilante revenge. The script feels awfully knee-jerk stereotypical at times, but some tight direction from Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) and a typically gritty performance by Foster keep things from becoming too trite. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Death at a Funeral (R, 90 minutes) Former Muppet man Frank Oz directs this very British farce about a funeral gone very wrong. A large, dysfunctional family (all mostly unknown actors on this side of the pond) gathers at a lovely house in the English countryside to mourn the passing of its patriarch. Over the course of the chaotic funeral, various wacky situations (homosexual dwarves, hallucinogenic drugs, diarrhea) rear their ugly head. Farce should appear effortless, and Death at a Funeral strains so hard to be funny that it nearly busts a blood vessel. Unfortunately, it aims for the drawing room wit of Oscar Wilde and lands somewhere near the sitcom zaniness of Benny Hill. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Dragon Wars (PG-13, 100 minutes) A Korean film with an American cast, this old-fashioned monster movie finds two mythical serpents (one good, one bad) battling for supremacy in modern-day Los Angeles. Lots of tiny humans are caught in the crossfire. The story has been pared to its bare minimum (probably for the best), but the special effects are plenty of fun. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Eastern Promises (R, 96 minutes) Director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, Naked Lunch) contributes another sober rumination on violence. This one stars Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) as a mysterious tattooed driver tied to a family of Russian mobsters om London. Our taciturn criminals worldview goes through some serious changes when he crosses paths with an innocent midwife (Naomi Watts, King Kong) caught up in the death of a pregnant teen. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Feast of Love (R, 102 minutes) Morgan Freeman, Selma Blair, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Jane Alexander, Fred Ward and Billy Burke star in this ensemble meditation on love and its various incarnations set within a community of friends in Oregon. Naturally, Morgan plays the village wise man who also narrates. Based on the book by Charles Baxter and directed by Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer). Opening Friday; check local listings
The Game Plan (PG, 110 minutes) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as a cocky professional quarterback who, out of the blue, finds the 8-year-old daughter he never knew dumped on his doorstep. This lazy family comedy recycles the most clichéd elements available from the sports movie genre and the “selfish adult learns a lesson form the impossibly cute little kid” genre. Suitable only for those mourning the loss of very special episodes of “Full House.” Opening Friday; check local listings
Good Luck Chuck (R, 96 minutes) Dane Cook (still swimming in the crude romantic comedy pool after Employee of the Month) stars as a love-’em-and-leave-’em stud whose one-night stands immediately go on to meet the true love of their life. When our boy Chuck meets "the one" (embodied by Jessica Alba), he hopes to break his lifelong curse and form a lasting relationship. Opening Friday; check local listings
Halloween (R, 110 minutes) Rocker Rob Zombie (House of 1,000 Corpses) tries his hand at remaking (or “reimagining” or whatever) John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher classic. Zombie crams the cast with great cameos (Malcolm McDowell, Udo Kier, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Ken Foree, Sid Haig, Adrienne Barbeau, Sybil Danning, Richard Lynch). The story remains largely unchanged, with disturbed, knife-wielding Michael Meyers returning to his hometown of Haddonfield after spending 17 years in a mental institution. Zombie obviously loves the material and adds a bit more backstory (probably too much) to chew over in this not entirely unwelcome go-around. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
In the Valley of Elah (R, 121 minutes) Writer/director Paul Haggis follows up his string of Oscar-winning efforts (Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima) with this slow, somber, war-weary murder mystery. Tommy Lee Jones gives a brilliant, understated performance as a patriotic, long-retired MP who goes looking for his AWOL Army son. Contrary to expectation, the film doesn’t preach against the Iraq war. Instead, it’s a thoughtful rumination on sending young men off to war—any war—and the effect that has on them when they return. The film isn’t a thriller by any stretch of the imagination, but it boasts some fine, sympathetic performances. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Trailer for In the Valley of Elah. |
The Kingdom (R, 110 minutes) The Iraq War dramas continue with this thriller about an FBI counter-terrorism team sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate the bombing of an American facility. Of course, both the Saudi government and the American military stymie the investigation at every turn. Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman and Chris Cooper fill out the cast. Opening Friday; check local listings
 Jamie Foxx puts some star power into counter-terrorism in the thriller The Kingdom. |
Mr. Woodcock (PG-13) Seann William Scott (American Pie) stars as a young man who returns to his hometown only to find that his mom (Susan Sarandon) is marrying his arch-nemesis (Billy Bob Thornton), the high school gym coach who made his life a living hell. And, yes, you can expect more balls in the crotch jokes. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Resident Evil: Extinction (R, 95 minutes) The Resident Evil franchise ups the ante (so to speak) with this postapocalyptic outing. Apparently things have gone very wrong since the last couple of movies, as Alice (Milla Jovovich) is now leading a small band of survivors across the Nevada desert. While passing through the ruins of Las Vegas, the group must battle hordes of undead monsters created by the Umbrella Corporation’s now rampant T-Virus. Speaking of coming back from the dead, Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) directs. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Rush Hour 3 (PG-13, 90 minutes) Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker and director Brett Ratner are back for another exciting, occasionally obnoxious go-around in the Rush Hour franchise. This time, mismatched buddy cop duo of Chief Inspector Lee and Detective Carter are in Paris and have indavertantly gotten themelves mixed up with a murderous Chinese Triad. This calls for some kung fu and some wacky "yo mama" jokes! Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Superbad (R, 114 minutes) From the makers of Knocked Up comes another outrageous comedy. This one stars Jonah Hill (Accepted) and Michael Cera ("Arrested Development") as a couple of dorky, codependent high schoolers who figure they’ll get lucky if only they can score some booze for an upcoming graduation party. This is unrepentant R-rated stuff and all the better for it. Underneath all the shocking talk about male and female anatomy, however, is a rather sweet story about friendship and growing up. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Sydney White (PG-13) Credit where credit is due: Sydney White is certainly the first film to combine Show White and the Seven Dwarves and Revenge of the Nerds. Amanda Bynes, arguably the most talented of the Disney Channel’s tween queens, stars as the titular college freshman who tries to pledge her long-dead mother’s sorority, only to run up against a shallow and vindictive beauty queen (Sara Paxton). Booted from the paradise of sorority row, she shacks up with a septet of super dorks, who help her get revenge against the evil Greeks. It’s awfully silly stuff (the poisoned apple is now an iMac), but young gals will like it just fine. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4