Author: devin-oleary

Arts

Movies playing in town

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG, 140 minutes) The Pevensie kids return to the magical land of Narnia, only to find that 1,000 years have passed since their last visit, leaving Narnia a far different place than it was before. Wouldn’t you know it, an evil general has taken over the land and it’s up to our pubescent crew to restore the true heir, tousle-haired hunk Prince Caspian (Stardust’s Ben Barnes), to the throne. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Dark Knight (PG-13, 140 minutes) Just as Batman (Christian Bale) makes real headway cleaning up Gotham’s streets, with help from a top cop (Gary Oldman) and an aggressive D.A. (Aaron Eckhart), some joker calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) decides to mastermind a terrifying criminal rampage. Out comes the heavy artillery–and the moviegoers who don’t usually bother with this superhero silliness but are morbidly curious about the late Ledger’s final full performance. Opening Friday

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R, 111 minutes) Up-and-comer Jason Segel (Knocked Up, “How I Met Your Mother”) pens and stars in this latest anti-romantic comedy addition to the increasingly large Judd Apatow canon. Segel plays a sad sack musician whose TV star girlfriend (TV star Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. In an attempt to get over it, he jets off to a resort in Hawaii, only to run smack dab into the ex and her new, clueless rock star boyfriend. There’s a fair amount of raunch here, but a decent amount of sentiment as well, placing it well above Drillbit Taylor, but slightly below Superbad. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Hancock (PG-13, 92 minutes) Will Smith stars as the world’s only superhero. Unfortunately, his random acts of heroism, resulting in lots of collateral damage, mean he’s extremely unpopular. Drunk, bitter and mostly invulnerable, our hero tries to turn his life around after saving a public relations man (Jason Bateman) with a plan. Action, drama and a little comedy combine in this rather original take on comic book mythology. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Happening (R, 91 minutes) For better or worse, M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Lady in the Water and, so long ago, The Sixth Sense) is back with an R-rated environmental horror film. Mark Wahlberg is the head of a family who tries to survive a bizarre global crisis, which has all of humanity going nuts and committing mass suicide. At least the script is more of a straightforward thriller, far less twisty than Shyamalan’s gimmicky previous works. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (PG-13, runtime TBA) Full review above. Opening Friday

The Incredible Hulk (PG-13, 114 minutes) Forget that last angst-filled Ang Lee outing. The green goliath gets a reboot with lots more action and Edward Norton in the lead role. This version combines the original comic book with the old TV series, casting Dr. Banner as a wandering outcast hunted by the government—that is until they need him to help rid New York City of mad Russian mercenary-turned-monster The Abomination (Tim Roth, another fine casting choice). Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (PG-13, 120 minutes) It’s been a few years since the last adventure—for us as well as for Indy. It’s now the ’50s and our aging adventurer is called upon to engage in one last globe-hopping trek. Teaming up with a James Dean wannabe (Shia LaBeouf) and his ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy travels to South America to foil an evil Soviet plot. Seems the Russkies are trying to get their hands on a mysterious collection of ancient crystal skulls that might (possibly, maybe, who knows?) hold proof of extraterrestrial life. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Iron Man (PG-13, 126 minutes) Marvel Comics brings another superhero to life. Robert Downey Jr. headlines as billionaire playboy Tony Stark, a military industrialist who is kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists and forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident. Escaping his captors, he decides to use this new technology to fight evil as the invincible Iron Man. Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges help round out the cast. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (G, 91 minutes) The much-beloved history-centric doll line comes to life on the big screen, no doubt enchanting thousands of doll-mad 9-year-old girls. Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) is our gal Kit, a plucky pre-teen living in her parents’ rooming house in Depression-era Cincinatti. Apparently, there’s a murder mystery. And a bunch of guest stars (Joan Cusack, Julia Ormond, Chris O’Donnell, Stanley Tucci, Jane Krakowski). Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Kung Fu Panda (PG, 91 minutes) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Love Guru (PG-13, 88 minutes) Mike Myers returns with a new character, a kooky American raised in India who returns to the United States to break into the lucritive self-help business. His first challenge is to settle the romantic troubles of a star hockey player and his estranged wife. … Um, didn’t Homer do the same thing on “The Simpsons” a few years back? Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Mamma Mia! (PG-13, 108 minutes) On a cute Greek island where she runs a little hotel, a single mom (Meryl Streep) prepares to give her daughter (Amanda Seyfried) away to marriage. Wedding guests include mom’s former bandmates (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski) and the three men who might be her daughter’s dad (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgaard). Romantic mayhem and many ABBA songs ensue. Opening Friday

Meet Dave (PG, 90 minutes) Dave is a weird guy. Maybe it’s because he’s not a guy, but a man-sized (and man-shaped) spaceship piloted by a crew of miniature aliens who have been sent to Earth to study the human race. Eddie Murphy plays both the ship and it’s tiny captain, who threatens to sideline the mission by falling in love with a human (Elizabeth Banks). Opening Friday

Mongol (R, 120 minutes) From Kazakhstan comes this Academy Award-nominated epic recounting the early life of Mongolian prince Temudjin (Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano), who grew up to be a guy named Genghis Khan. The film moves at a sometimes rapid pace, hop-scotching almost 30 years in just over two hours. But this is no dry history lesson. With its revenge-fueled storyline, exotic setting and blood-spewing battle scenes, this rousing biopic plays like Lawrence of Arabia crossed with Conan the Barbarian. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Sex and the City (R, 135 minutes) Four years after the popular TV series went off the air, “Sex and the City” returns as a feature film. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all back dressing in outrageous outfits and discussing their sex lives over cocktails. How did we ever get along without this? Seriously, this one’s for fans only. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Space Chimps (G, 81 minutes) At least you know from its title what this movie is about. Chimpanzee astronauts, including one descended from the original chimp on whom outer space was first tested, travel through a black hole to a planet whose despotic leader they’ve been ordered to oust. The cast includes Andy Samberg, Jeff Daniels, Stanley Tucci, Cheryl Hines and cartoon voice-over maestro Patrick Warburton. Opening Friday

The Strangers (R, 107 minutes) Milking the phoney “based on a true story” line for the umpteenth time in horror movie history, newby writer/director Bryan Bertino presents an atmosphere-soaked thriller about a couple (Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler) staying at an isolated vacation home who are terrorized by three random, mask-wearing assailants. This one’s all slow-building tension, so don’t go expecting a whole lot of plot. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

WALL-E (G, 97 minutes) Animation giant Pixar returns with another sure-fire winner. This one’s a sci-fi tale set in the far future. Seems mankind has squandered the Earth’s resources with its rabid consumer addictions. The big blue marble has been abandoned as a junkheap to be tended over by a handful of waste allocation robots (among them, our titular hero). One day, after hundreds of years on the job, WALL-E meets a sleek robot named EVE and goes on a quest across the galaxy to find her–and unwittingly save Earth in the process. The animation is incredible, and damn if that boxy little robot isn’t the cutest thing ever. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Wanted (R, 108 minutes) Mark Millar & J.G. Jones’ hit comic book series gets (loosely) adapted to the big screen. James McAvoy (Atonement) stars as an apathetic office drone who finds he’s the heir to a secret society of super-powered assassins whose mission it is to shape the fate of the world by shooting a whole lot of people. Wisely or unwisely, the film dumps the costumed superhero angle of the book. Still, the cast (including Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and Terence Stamp) is impressive and the action propulsive. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

What Happens in Vegas (PG-13, 99 minutes) Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher play a couple of Sin City revelers who wake up after a night of debauchery to find out they took part in a drunken marriage ceremony. A quickie divorce is in the offing—that is, until the newlyweds discover that they also won a fortune playing a slot machine. Naturally, they do their utmost to make each other’s life hell in order to get their hands on that money. Naturally, they find time to fall in love over the course of the film. Screenwriter Dana Fox adds a touch of War of the Roses to her previous rom-com The Wedding Date and calls it a day. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (PG-13, 113 minutes) Adam Sandler is a deadly Israeli Mossad agent who fakes his own death so he can re-emerge in New York City and live out his dream of becoming the world’s greatest hair stylist. Ooooh-kay. Bottom line: You’d better love Adam Sandler movies (goofy voices, sappy love stories, stupid Rob Schneider cameos and all) to put this one on your list. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Arts

WALL-E World

You may think you have a low tolerance for cute. But all your prejudices against Hello Kitty stickers, Precious Moments figurines, Anne Geddes photographs, interspecies snorgling (if you don’t know, you don’t want to) and Knut the polar bear have done nothing to steel you against the onslaught of adorability that is WALL-E.

WALL-E is the latest masterpiece from Pixar, makers of such computer-animated classics as Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. WALL-E also represents the first true collaboration between Pixar and Disney since the two companies merged and, if this film is any indication what Steve Jobs’ multibillion-dollar corporation has in store for the venerable family film giant, Disney is surely poised on the edge of a brand new Golden Age.

Close encounters of the romantic kind: A trash-compacting robot finds love among the rubble—and puts that robot from 2001 to shame—in Pixar’s spectacular WALL-E.

For such a family-friendly film, WALL-E begins in a rather unexpected setting—the postapocalyptic ruins of Earth. Seems that human beings, in a fit of consumer greed brought about by the ubiquitous Buy N Large chain, have trashed the planet and fled to the stars in a gigantic luxury liner. Earth, meanwhile, has been left in the stewardship of the WALL-E robots—an army of miniature trash compactors whose job it is to clean up the mountains of garbage left behind. Hundreds of years later after humans first jumped ship, the Earth is still a mess, and one lonely WALL-E robot remains to do the work.

Over the centuries, our solitary, duty-bound robot has developed some interesting quirks. He meticulously collects and catalogues souvenirs of the long-lost human race (Rubik’s Cubes, Zippo lighters). He’s also developed a fondness for ancient movie musicals (My Fair Lady being a favorite—check out the musical at Ash Lawn Opera this weekend). Plus, his best friend is a perky little cockroach. (These darned filmmakers—they even made the cockroaches cute!)

One day, while carrying out his endless trash-compacting duties, WALL-E spots a rocket ship that lands and deposits a sleek, white robot named EVE. Fueled by the romantic notions he’s absorbed from his beloved musicals, WALL-E is instantly smitten. He shyly pursues EVE, hoping to hold her delicate, curvilinear hand, but EVE is far too driven by her classified “mission directive” to be distracted by the plucky little robot for long.

Eventually, EVE finds what she’s looking for and is compelled to bring it back to the humans floating out in space. This, of course, motivates WALL-E to bravely pursue his lady (or whatever gender) across the galaxy. As long as you’re ignoring your hatred of all things cute, you might as well forget all those formulaic, wedding-centric romantic comedies you’ve been watching; WALL-E looks to be the sweetest, most heartfelt love story of the 21st century.

And WALL-E is also more than just a great, sappy cartoon. The details of the impeccable design work are an absolute delight, from EVE’s clean, iPod-inspired lines to the way the annoyingly efficient first mate robot (aptly named “GO-4”) pops up his shoulder-plates like epaulets. Matching the meticulous visuals is a tight script which relies as much on silent comedies (none of the robots actually “speak,” per se) as on its light-touch environmental message (a moral so simple and direct, Woodsy Owl himself would approve). Mathematically speaking, it’s impossible to work out how Pixar, a company with an unblemished track record, manages to get better with every outing. But it does.

Arts

Movies playing in town

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R, 111 minutes) Up-and-comer Jason Segel (Knocked Up, “How I Met Your Mother”) pens and stars in this latest anti-romantic comedy addition to the increasingly large Judd Apatow canon. Segel plays a sad sack musician whose TV star girlfriend (TV star Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. In an attempt to get over it, he jets off to a resort in Hawaii, only to run smack dab into the ex and her new, clueless rock star boyfriend. There’s a fair amount of raunch here, but a decent amount of sentiment as well, placing it well above Drillbit Taylor, but slightly below Superbad. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Get Smart (PG-13, 110 minutes) The old TV show remakes just keep coming. Here, Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway take over as Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, one bumbling, one sexy secret agent who must join forces to stop the evil organization KAOS from destroying the world. The film does have fun resurrecting a lot of the original jokes and props–although how many people actually remember them is a legitimate question. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Hancock (PG-13, 92 minutes) Will Smith stars as the world’s only superhero. Unfortunately, his random acts of heroism, resulting in lots of collateral damage, mean he’s extremely unpopular. Drunk, bitter and mostly invulnerable, our hero tries to turn his life around after saving a public relations man (Jason Bateman) with a plan. Action, drama and a little comedy combine in this rather original take on comic book mythology. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Happening (R, 91 minutes) For better or worse, M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Lady in the Water and, so long ago, The Sixth Sense) is back with an R-rated environmental horror film. Mark Wahlberg is the head of a family who tries to survive a bizarre global crisis, which has all of humanity going nuts and committing mass suicide. At least the script is more of a straightforward thriller, far less twisty than Shyamalan’s gimmicky previous works. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (PG-13, runtime TBA) Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his evil-smashing cohorts are back. This time, the mythical world of elves and fairies is considering a rebellion against humanity in a bid to rule the Earth. Guess it’s up to one reformed demon, a pyrokinetic and a fishman to save the day. Thankfully, writer/director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) is back in charge of this fantasy-heavy comic book adaptation. Opening Friday

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (PG-13, 120 minutes) It’s been a few years since the last adventure—for us as well as for Indy. It’s now the ’50s and our aging adventurer is called upon to engage in one last globe-hopping trek. Teaming up with a James Dean wannabe (Shia LaBeouf) and his ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy travels to South America to foil an evil Soviet plot. Seems the Russkies are trying to get their hands on a mysterious collection of ancient crystal skulls that might (possibly, maybe, who knows?) hold proof of extraterrestrial life. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (G, 91 minutes) The much-beloved history-centric doll line comes to life on the big screen, no doubt enchanting thousands of doll-mad 9-year-old girls. Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) is our gal Kit, a plucky pre-teen living in her parents’ rooming house in Depression-era Cincinatti. Apparently, there’s a murder mystery. And a bunch of guest stars (Joan Cusack, Julia Ormond, Chris O’Donnell, Stanley Tucci, Jane Krakowski). Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Kung Fu Panda (PG) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Love Guru (PG-13, 88 minutes) Mike Myers returns with a new character, a kooky American raised in India who returns to the United States to break into the lucrative self-help business. His first challenge is to settle the romantic troubles of a star hockey player and his estranged wife. …Um, didn’t Homer do the same thing on “The Simpsons” a few years back? Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Meet Dave (PG, 90 minutes) Dave is a weird guy. Maybe it’s because he’s not a guy, but a man-sized (and man-shaped) spaceship piloted by a crew of miniature aliens who have been sent to Earth to study the human race. Eddie Murphy plays both the ship and it’s tiny captain, who threatens to sideline the mission by falling in love with a human (Elizabeth Banks). Opening Friday

Sex and the City (R, 135 minutes) Four years after the popular TV series went off the air, “Sex and the City” returns as a feature film. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all back dressing in outrageous outfits and discussing their sex lives over cocktails. How did we ever get along without this? Seriously, this one’s for fans only. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

WALL-E (G, 97 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Wanted (R, 110 minutes) Mark Millar & J.G. Jones’ hit comic book series gets (loosely) adapted to the big screen. James McAvoy (Atonement) stars as an apathetic office drone who finds he’s the heir to a secret society of super-powered assassins whose mission it is to shape the fate of the world by shooting a whole lot of people. Wisely or unwisely, the film dumps the costumed superhero angle of the book. Still, the cast (including Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and Terence Stamp) is impressive and the action propulsive. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

What Happens in Vegas (PG-13, 99 minutes) Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher play a couple of Sin City revelers who wake up after a night of debauchery to find out they took part in a drunken marriage ceremony. A quickie divorce is in the offing—that is until the newlyweds discover that they also won a fortune playing a slot machine. Naturally, they do their utmost to make each other’s life hell in order to get their hands on that money. Naturally, they find time to fall in love over the course of the film. Screenwriter Dana Fox adds a touch of War of the Roses to her previous rom-com The Wedding Date and calls it a day. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (PG-13) Adam Sandler is a deadly Israeli Mossad agent who fakes his own death so he can re-emerge in New York City and live out his dream of becoming the world’s greatest hair stylist. Ooooh-kay. Bottom line: You’d better love Adam Sandler movies (goofy voices, sappy love stories, stupid Rob Schneider cameos and all) to put this one on your list. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Arts

Guns, guts and graphic novels

Post author By devin-oleary
Post date July 1, 2008
No Comments on Guns, guts and graphic novels

Amidst the high-profile comic book movies flooding theaters this summer (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2), there’s one more whose roots trace, rather quietly, back to the graphic novel format. Wanted is based on a six-issue miniseries by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones published in 2003. Admittedly, the movie version takes a few liberties with the original property. (Like, for example, dumping the entire central conceit.) Sure, it’ll inspire the ire of dedicated fanboys, but the film is just as likely to impress the hell out of average, non-inkstained viewers eager to bliss out on pure summertime action.

Now that is how you curve a bullet! Angelina Jolie shows off her guns in the firepower-heavy flick Wanted.

New go-to actor James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland; Atonement) headlines a big-ticket cast as Wesley Gibson, an apathetic, cubicle-dwelling office drone who hates his job, his girlfriend and himself (pretty much in that order). One fateful, life-altering day, Wesley finds out he’s the heir to a secret society of super-powered assassins. Seems Wesley’s long-lost (now deceased) dad was one of them, and they’ve got a fresh opening in the people-shooting department. Led by the mysterious Sloan (Morgan Freeman) and his right-hand badass, Fox (Angelina Jolie), The Fraternity (as it’s known) adheres to a strict code of secrecy and honor. Their motto? Kill one to save thousands.

Turns out Wesley isn’t the sad-sack, talentless nobody he always thought he was. Like the other members of The Fraternity, he’s a wizard with a gun, able to hit a target from a mile away and curve bullets in a graceful, physics-defying arc. Needless to say, this makes for some inventive, adrenaline-pumping action sequences—a natural evolution of the now rampant “bullet time” style developed in The Matrix.

Crazy action aside, the tone of Wanted is surprisingly dark and cynical, putting it in the same category as the black, bleakly comic Fight Club. The script puts forth an awful lot of far-fetched notions (though probably not as many as the original comic, which was set in a world where costumed supervillains and mad scientists had banded together, wiped out all the heroes on Earth and ruled with an iron fist). And yet—rattling, shaking and threatening to blow apart at any moment—the entire film holds together. While featuring some of the most over-the-top action sequences since 2007’s unapologetically insane Shoot ’Em Up, Wanted still manages to feel gritty and somewhat real. How?

For starters, Russian director Timur Bekmambetov takes a lot of the eye-popping visual fireworks he brought to his previous modern fantasy series (Night Watch, Day Watch and the upcoming Twilight Watch) and refines them. Rushing headfirst, leaving viewers little time to catch their breath between spectacular action sequences, Bekmambetov treats every mad plot twist as God’s Honest Truth. Couple that with the script’s witty and realistic dialogue, and it’s easy to swallow (at least for under two hours) this hyperbolic vision of bullet-riddled loveliness.

Bloody as all get-out, laced with the occasional sexual exploit and foul-mouthed to boot, this ain’t no family outing. It’s crazy, it’s violent, it’s got Angelina Jolie’s bare ass. Really, what’s not to like? Run around the movie theater parking lot three or four times to get your adrenaline surging, buy an extra large Dr. Pepper and then settle down for some next generation Bang-Boom-Blam! served just the way you like it: loud and proud.

Arts

Movies playing in town

Get Smart (PG-13, 110 minutes) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Hancock (PG-13, 92 minutes) Will Smith stars as the world’s only superhero. Unfortunately, his random acts of heroism, resulting in lots of collateral damage, mean he’s extremely unpopular. Drunk, bitter and mostly invulnerable, our hero tries to turn his life around after saving a public relations man (Jason Bateman) with a plan. Action, drama and a little comedy combine in this rather original take on comic book mythology. Opening Friday

The Happening (R, 91 minutes) For better or worse, M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Lady in the Water and, so long ago, The Sixth Sense) is back with an R-rated environmental horror film. Mark Wahlberg is the head of a family who tries to survive a bizarre global crisis, which has all of humanity going nuts and committing mass suicide. At least the script is more of a straightforward thriller, far less twisty than Shyamalan’s gimmicky previous works. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (G, 91 minutes) The much-beloved history-centric doll line comes to life on the big screen, no doubt enchanting thousands of doll-mad 9-year-old girls. Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) is our gal Kit, a plucky pre-teen living in her parents’ rooming house in Depression-era Cincinatti. Apparently, there’s a murder mystery. And a bunch of guest stars (Joan Cusack, Julia Ormond, Chris O’Donnell, Stanley Tucci, Jane Krakowski). Opening Friday

Kung Fu Panda (PG) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Love Guru (PG-13, 88 minutes) Mike Myers returns with a new character, a kooky American raised in India who returns to the United States to break into the lucrative self-help business. His first challenge is to settle the romantic troubles of a star hockey player and his estranged wife. …Um, didn’t Homer do the same thing on “The Simpsons” a few years back? Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Priceless (PG-13, 104 minutes) Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Wanted (R, 110 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

What Happens in Vegas (PG-13, 99 minutes) Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher play a couple of Sin City revelers who wake up after a night of debauchery to find out they took part in a drunken marriage ceremony. A quickie divorce is in the offing–that is until the newlyweds discover that they also won a fortune playing a slot machine. Naturally, they do their utmost to make each other’s life hell in order to get their hands on that money. Naturally, they find time to fall in love over the course of the film. Screenwriter Dana Fox adds a touch of War of the Roses to her previous rom-com The Wedding Date and calls it a day. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Young@Heart (PG, 107 minutes) With a repertoire of cover tunes borrowed from the likes of The Ramones, Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, David Bowie, OutKast and others, it’s strange that a chorus comprising senior citizens could ever be mustered to sing them. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Arts

“Sorry about that, chief”

Post author By devin-oleary
Post date June 24, 2008
No Comments on “Sorry about that, chief”

Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and it’s one of the driving forces behind the new, feature film adaptation of the ’60s spy spoof TV series, “Get Smart.” Rather than totally reinvent the show (Mission: Impossible), slavishly re-create it (The Addams Family) or completely lampoon it (The Brady Bunch Movie), the makers of this action comedy chose to pay tribute to the original by cramming in as many in-jokes, guest cameos and familiar characters as possible.

Still a cut-up: Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) stands by her bumbling man, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell), in a Get Smart that sticks a little too close to the original.

The original TV series, which ran from 1965 to 1970, was created by funnymen Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. (Neither of whom, sadly, are employed here.) The show was a slapstick-filled spoof on the then-popular James Bond film franchise. Decades of syndication, Nick at Nite reruns and the ever-reliable TV Land marathons have kept the show in the public consciousness long past its expiration date. Hence, even young viewers popped out of the womb long after 1970 are likely to get a lot of the references woven throughout this new iteration.

Popular comic actor Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) seems as good a substitute as any for the late, great Don Adams. The 2008 version of Maxwell Smart is a bit different, though. Instead of the overconfident boob of the ’60s, today’s Agent 86 is a surprisingly competent analyst working for the secret government spy agency CONTROL. Bored with his desk job, Max dreams of becoming a field agent like his idol, the supremely capable superspy Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Unfortunately, Max is too good at his job as a data miner and the Chief (Alan Arkin) wants to keep Max right where he is. However, an untimely attack on CONTROL headquarters by the evil international criminal organization KAOS leaves the spy agency short on spies. Max is quickly promoted and teamed with sexy spitfire Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to help stop KAOS’ mad scheme.

Trailer for Get Smart.

The plot (some “24”-inspired nonsense about nuking the President) is a slim excuse to string together a few comic vignettes, most borrowed from other, more serious films (the “agents’ identities have been compromised” gimmick from Mission: Impossible, the “limbo under deadly lasers” sequence from Entrapment). Honestly, 1980’s long-forgotten “Get Smart” feature, The Nude Bomb, had a more intricate plot.

Most of the laughs here come from nod-and-a-wink references to the old series. Maxwell Smart’s catchphrases get recycled. There are a couple clever cameos. And even some of the show’s iconic props get their day in the sun. (“Cone of Silence,” anyone?) Most of this isn’t enough to raise more than a knowing chuckle, but it’s consistently fun to watch and see what will crop up next.

The only major complaint about this new Get Smart effort is that all involved seem a little too concerned with paying tribute to the source material. While it’s great fan service to see robotic CONTROL agent Hymie make a late appearance, for example, there’s no real reason for him to be in the film. Most of the people on screen, in fact, aren’t really given much to do. Techie agents Bruce and Lloyd (Masi Oka and Nate Torrence) basically stand around waiting for their chance to headline the soon-to-be-released direct-to-DVD sequel, GS: Get Bruce and Lloyd.

While it’s reassuring to see the reverence Get Smart has for “Get Smart,” a little more effort could have been put into crafting a more solid framework around which to hang all these loving references. Get Smart is entertaining—but, in the immortal words of Agent 86, the filmmakers “missed it by that much.”

Arts

Movies playing in town

Get Smart (PG-13, 110 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

The Incredible Hulk (PG-13, 114 minutes) Hulk Forget that last angst-filled Ang Lee outing. The green goliath gets a reboot with lots more action and Edward Norton in the lead role. This version combines the original comic book with the old TV series, casting Dr. Banner as a wandering outcast hunted by the government—that is until they need him to help rid New York City of mad Russian mercenary-turned-monster The Abomination (Tim Roth, another fine casting choice). Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Kung Fu Panda (PG) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Love Guru (PG-13, 88 minutes) Mike Myers returns with a new character, a kooky American raised in India who returns to the United States to break into the lucrative self-help business. His first challenge is to settle the romantic troubles of a star hockey player and his estranged wife. …Um, didn’t Homer do the same thing on “The Simpsons” a few years back? Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Priceless (PG-13, 104 minutes) Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Arts

Movies playing in town

Baby Mama (PG-13, 96 minutes) Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”) goes for big screen fame, starring as a workaholic single businesswoman who decides it’s time to have it all and spawn a kid. Sadly, her uterus isn’t in on the plan, and she’s forced to hire a surrogate mother in the form of white trash breeder Amy Poehler (also of “SNL”). Cross-cultural hijinks ensue. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Incredible Hulk (PG-13, 114 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Kung Fu Panda (PG) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Love Guru (PG-13, 88 minutes) Mike Myers returns with a new character, a kooky American raised in India who returns to the United States to break into the lucrative self-help business. His first challenge is to settle the romantic troubles of a star hockey player and his estranged wife. … Um, didn’t Homer do the same thing on “The Simpsons” a few years back? Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Made of Honor (PG-13, 101 minutes) Patrick Dempsey (Dr. McDreamy himself) headlines this unapologetically chick-flicky rom-com. He plays Tom, a serial dater who decides one day that he’s in love with his best friend, marriage-minded Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). Unfortunately, she chooses that moment to announce that she’s engaged to some Scottish chap and wants Tom to act as her maid of honor. He accepts, with the hope that he can break up the wedding before it happens. Original? No. Fun? Maybe, if you’ve never seen When Harry Met Sally… Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

My Blueberry Nights (PG-13, 90 minutes) Renowned Chinese director Wong Kar-wai’s latest is an unlikely romance starring otherworldly beauties—among them, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Norah Jones and Natalie Portman. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Son of Rambow (PG-13, 96 minutes) This nostalgic British import coasts fairly far on charm. It spins the early-’80s-set tall tale of two small-town schoolboys—one a naive lad raised by a fundamentalist mother, the other a rambunctious latchkey kid—who are united by their mad obsession with a pirated VHS copy of Rambo: First Blood. So enamored are these boys with the art of filmmaking that they attempt to shoot their own no-budget, two-man sequel. The character drama is undercooked, but the movie-loving in-jokes are a lark. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Then She Found Me (R, 100 minutes) Actress Helen Hunt directs this dramedy about a New York schoolteacher (Hunt) who hits a midlife crisis when her husband leaves her, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mom pops up out of the blue. This old-fashioned indie “women’s pic” ocassionally teeters between realistic and drab, but Bette Midler enlivens things quite a bit as Hunt’s real mother, an outspoken TV talk show host. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Arts

Hulk smash box office?

Remember Ang Lee’s angst-ridden art house take on 2003’s The Hulk? Well, Marvel Comics would prefer you didn’t. Just put it all out of your mind. Forget about Bruce Banner’s abusive childhood, his contemplative moods and his battle with mutated dogs. Marvel is rebooting the film series with this summer’s The Incredible Hulk. As with the mega-successful Iron Man, Marvel has taken control of the project, yanking it away from the often idiotic movie studios and producing it in-house. It makes sense. Who’s more protective of Marvel Comics superheroes than Marvel Comics?

Ditching the high-minded helming of Ang Lee, this second Hulk outing aims right for the common man, recruiting Frenchy Louis Leterrier (director of the smash-and-grab sequel, Transporter 2). It’s as good a sign as any that the action will be beefed up for this round. The secret weapon, though, is actor Edward Norton, who takes over the lead role from Aussie Eric Bana. Not only is Norton a great actor, he also had his hand in nearly every aspect of this film, even co-writing the script (along with X2: X-Men United writer Zak Penn) under a pseudonym.

“You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry”: Edward Norton goes green in the bashingly enjoyable The Incredible Hulk.

The Incredible Hulk isn’t exactly a ground-up reimagining (a la Batman Begins). It’s a direct sequel that assumes (as more of these films probably should) that people already know our hero’s “origin story.” As soon as the credits end, we’re off and running. The story here combines elements of the original comic book as well as the popular TV series of the ’70s. Our scientist hero is on the run, hitchhiking around the country under various assumed names, trying to find a cure for his acute monsterism.

This time around, the U.S. Government, led by General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt, replacing Sam Elliott), is trying to get its hands on the Hulk. It seems that certain forces want to exploit the angry green goliath for his weaponized potential. Imagine dropping thousands of ’roid-raging green soldiers on Iraq. It’s enough to make Dick Cheney crack a smile.

Trailer for The Incredible Hulk.

Hoping to avoid dissection, Bruce has fled the country, but it isn’t long before a team of crack commandos hunts him down and gives chase (in a thrilling rooftop showdown). The commandos fail, but their leader (Tim Roth) is given another chance. Emil Blonsky (transformed from an evil Russian mercenary in the comics to a U.S. Special Forces commando here) volunteers to be injected with some experimental “super soldier” serum (yes, the very stuff that will serve as the basis of the Captain America movie a couple years from now). That doesn’t work out quite the way everyone planned, however, and Blonsky mutates into the hideous creature known as The Abomination.

Eventually, with The Abomination trashing huge chunks of New York City real estate, everybody turns their eyes to poor Bruce Banner, who’s now called upon to employ his massive alter ego for good and bring down The Abomination in an epic, CGI-filled climax.

The script, although arguably “dumbed down” from the first film, is rather well thought-out. It casts The Hulk in just the right light—not a villain, not quite a hero, but more a force of nature that can occasionally be harnessed for good. It’s a formula that’s worked for Godzilla for 50-odd years, and it suits The Hulk quite well.

The bottom line is that audiences for a Hulk movie don’t want to see Oedipal drama, they wanna see Hulk smash! This film is smart enough to give the people what they want.

Arts

Movies playing in town

Kung Fu Panda (PG) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Made of Honor (PG-13, 101 minutes) Patrick Dempsey (Dr. McDreamy himself) headlines this unapologetically chick-flicky rom-com. He plays Tom, a serial dater who decides one day that he’s in love with his best friend, marriage-minded Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). Unfortunately, she chooses that moment to announce that she’s engaged to some Scottish chap and wants Tom to act as her maid of honor. He accepts, with the hope that he can break up the wedding before it happens. Original? No. Fun? Maybe, if you’ve never seen When Harry Met Sally… Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Son of Rambow (PG-13, 96 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Speed Racer (PG, 129 minutes) The Wachowski brothers throw every visual trick in the book into this live-action adaptation of the classic Japanese cartoon. The result is a 10,000 RPM action movie that’s somehow more cartoony than an actual cartoon. Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) is our boy Speed, a futuristic race car driver who dreams of winning the legendary cross-country rally that claimed the life of his older brother. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are along for the ride as Mom and Pops Racer, and Christina Ricci offers support as Speed’s loyal g.f. Trixie. It’s probably too over-the-top for many audiences, but—if you can get into the proper 8-year-old mindset—this is pure techno-bliss.. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Strangers (R, 107 minutes) Milking the phoney “based on a true story” line for the umpteenth time in horror movie history, newby writer/director Bryan Bertino presents an atmosphere-soaked thriller about a couple (Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler) staying at an isolated vacation home who are terrorized by three random, mask-wearing assailants. This one’s all slow-building tension, so don’t go expecting a whole lot of plot. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Then She Found Me (R, 100 minutes) Actress Helen Hunt directs this dramedy about a New York schoolteacher (Hunt) who hits a midlife crisis when her husband leaves her, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mom pops up out of the blue. This old-fashioned indie “women’s pic” ocassionally teeters between realistic and drab, but Bette Midler enlivens things quite a bit as Hunt’s real mother, an outspoken TV talk show host. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre