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Last Updated: April 30, 2008 - 9:48 AM
Due to the ever-changing nature of the movie biz, showtimes as they appear in any and all newspapers should always be double-checked with the theaters before setting off for a night at the flicks. Please call theater for times.
>>> Designates items highlighted in this week�s issue.
OPENS SUNDAY
Will Superhero Movie fall flat on its face while trying to unbuckle for some below the belt (and mental level of a bonobo) humor? |
>>> WOMAN ON THE BEACH
Though long, Woman on the Beach, from Korean filmmaker Sang-soo Hong (Woman is the Future of Man) is a film of rare psychological insight (see SFR review).
The Screen, NR, 127 min.
OPENS FRIDAY
21
Directed by Robert Luketic (Legally Blond), 21 is about a group of MIT students who become experts in card counting and take Vegas casinos for millions. It�s based on the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich. How can these kids steal the casinos� honestly earned cash by rigging the game so that the odds are stacked in their favor? By �how,� of course, I mean to say: teach me! Stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Jacob Pitts and Laurence Fishburne.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, PG-13, 123 min.
FLAWLESS
Not really. But Flawless is an entertaining enough heist movie. It stars Demi Moore as a woman working at a London-based diamond trading corporation in the 1960s who decides to break the glass ceiling by breaking into the vault. Her partner in crime is the corporation�s observant janitor (Michael Caine). Twists, turns and comeuppance ensue. CCA, NR, 108 min.
STOP-LOSS
Could the deluge of not very good Iraq-themed films actually be a Rumsfeld/Rove/Cheney/Lizard People conspiracy to delegitimize artistic commentary on the war? To tire us of the subject until we�re so sleepy and complacent and blah feeling that we�ll just say, �uh, I dunno, invading Iran kinda seems like a bad idea,� and then lethargically acquiesce? This one�s about a brave soldier who returns home only to have the Army try and send him back. Directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don�t Cry) and starring Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish and Channing Tatum.
Regal Stadium 14, R, 113 min.
SUPERHERO MOVIE
At what point will the parody movie become so overdone that it will, itself, constitute a genre ready for parody? Now. Superhero Movie makes fun of, you guessed it, superhero movies. If Superhero Movie�s writer/director, Craig Mazin�s writing past (Scary Movie 3 and 4) is any indication, his latest will be filled with excruciatingly sophomoric potty-humor. And if his directing past is any indication, Superhero Movie is going to be an unfunny spoof on the superhero genre: The last and only film he�s ever directed was 2000�s The Specials, which was also a �funny� take on superheroes.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, PG-13, 85 min.
SHORT RUNS
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BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
This documentary disses on the Gregorian calender and gives mad props to the Mayan calender. Includes footage from the travels of director Jos� Jaramillo in the Mayan world of southern Mexico.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 90 min.
BIG DREAMS, LITTLE TOKYO
Big Dreams, Little Tokyo is a funny indie flick about a pair of cultural misfits who room together in Little Tokyo. One is Boyd, a Japanese-speaking American who strives to make it in the Japanese business world, only to find himself ostracized. Boyd�s roommate, Jerome, is an aspiring sumo wrestler, as slight of frame as he is of chance at sumo success.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 86 min.
FAIRY FAITH
Fairies, those winged little flutterers, have appeared in cultures the world over, including that of ancient Celts, the peoples of Northern Dweebville and the Weirdos of Suburbialand. This documentary takes a serious look at fairies, in art and �reality,� including interviews with some people who claim they can see into the world of fairies. Oh man, this is going to be so unintentionally hilarious.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 75 min.
KIDS FIRST!: ALVIN AND THE CHIPMINKS: GET YOUR SQUEAK ON
The chipmunks finally get some style in Get Your Squeek On. Theodore�s got a goatee, a puffy �fro and wrap-around shades. Alvin�s sporting a bling �A� medallion and a faux-hawk. Even the normally nerdy Simon decks himself out with a fly disco shirt; a few buttons undone to show off a little of his chest fur. But will their stylish gear translate into boy-squirrel-band success?
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 52 min.
THE LONGING: THE FORGOTTEN JEWS OF SOUTH AMERICA
Best Latino Film Award winner at the 2007 Santa Fe Film Festival, Gabriela Bohm�s thoughtful documentary follows several South Americans who explore their Jewish ancestry after they learn of their family�s conversions to Catholicism during the Inquisition. This subject may be of interest to the many crypto-Jews of New Mexico who are searching for their own historical identity.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 75 min.
LOST AND FOUND IN MEXICO
A documentary that tells the stories of several ex-pats living in beautiful San Miguel de Allende. Whether Lost and Found mentions the inflation caused by neo-colonization and the effects of gentrification on the local populace is unknown.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 53 min.
SPIRITUAL WARRIORS
Spiritual Warriors is about Finn (Jsu Garcia) a pretty boy, out of work actor who, instead of taking the normal out of work actor route of waiting tables and male prostitution, decides to mix it up and start drug-running in order to get by. One day Finn meets a wise, bearded old man and is catapulted onto a spiritual quest that takes him from Malibu to the pyramids of Egypt. He finds romance and self-love along the way. But does he land a Pepsodent commercial?
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 99 min.
NOW SHOWING
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4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
Winner of the Palme d�Or at Cannes, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is a harrowing, brilliant Romanian film, set during the waning years of Nicolae Ceausescu�s totalitarian regime. An illegal abortion is its central event, but this is no message film.
The Screen, NR, 113 min.
10,000 BC
Writer-director-producer Roland Emmerich�s action movies have, historically, been better than the average adrenaline- and effects-fueled fare. In 1994 he made Stargate, in 1996 he made Independence Day and then, in 1998, he made Godzilla. If you�ve already noticed a significant downward trend, consider that, in 2004, he made The Day After Tomorrow, a ridiculous global-warming-themed movie that, despite icy effects and fang-baring wolves roaming New York, was still less exciting than Al Gore�s PowerPoint presentation. 10,000 BC is about a mammoth hunter who has to save his tribe, in case you were still wondering (see SFR review).
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, PG-13, 109 min.
THE BAND�S VISIT
A winner of numerous festival awards, Eran Kolirin�s The Band�s Visit was supposed to be Israel�s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars but was disqualified because more than half of its dialogue is in English. It centers around an Egyptian police band that heads to Israel on a mission to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center. Instead, the language barrier causes the band to wind up in a small Israeli town where the locals try to show them a good time. Looks to be pure cross-cultural charm.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 87 min.
THE BANK JOB
Directed by Roger Donaldson (The Recruit, Thirteen Days, Cadillac Man), The Bank Job is the true (though highly spiced up) story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery, perhaps the most notorious bank job in history. An interesting story, The Bank Job promises to have a fair amount of British humor as well as intrigue.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, R, 83 min.
BE KIND REWIND
When junkyard employee Jerry (Jack Black) attempts a terrorist-style attack on the power plant he suspects of causing his migraines, he accidentally magnetizes his brain. Thus magnetized, he then ruins the entire stock of VHS movies in his friend Mike�s (Mos Def) video store. In order to satisfy the store�s sole loyal customer, an elderly lady who displays signs of dementia, the duo set out to recreate enough films to keep her coming back.
UA North, PG-13, 111 min.
CARAMEL
Caramel is a romance-infused comedy that revolves around four Lebanese ladies who work at a beauty parlor in Beirut. With colorful cinematography, a score of moving Lebanese music and interwoven socio-political themes, Caramel looks like more than just a Lebanese Sex and the City.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 95 min.
COLLEGE ROAD TRIP
Melanie (Raven-Symon�), an overachieving high school student (she can locate America on a map), is totally stoked about her all-girl road trip to check out prospective universities. But when her overbearing police chief dad (Martin Lawrence) insists on escorting her, she soon finds herself embroiled in a chuckle-inducing adventure that culminates in life lessons. A recipe for disappointment: This movie will excite young girls about going to college and, simultaneously, dumb them down so that they can�t manage to get in.
Regal Stadium 14, G, 83 min.
THE COUNTERFEITERS
This year�s Foreign Language Oscar Winner tells a fascinating, f�d up and little-known tale about the biggest counterfeiting operation in history (see SFR review).
CCA, R, 98 min.
DOOMSDAY
The writer-director of Doomsday, Neil Marshall (The Descent, Dog Soldiers) is counted among the unofficial members of �The Splat Pack��a term coined by film historian Alan Jones to describe the new wave of filmmakers who have a penchant for grotesquely extreme horror. But, though it�s certain to be violent, Doomsday looks to be more post-apocalyptic thriller than horror flick. Transpiring in London, 25 years after it�s been totally screwed over by a virus that was unleashed in 2008, Doomsday looks very much like a mashup of Mad Max, 28 Weeks Later and Escape From New York�except that it�s fronted by a hot chick (Rhona Mitra) and an even hotter black Bentley.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, UA NOrth, R, 105 min.
DRILLBIT TAYLOR
Written by Kristofor Brown, Seth Rogan and John Hughes (under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes), Drillbit Taylor stars Owen Wilson as the titular Drillbit Taylor, a homeless-man-turned-discount-bodyguard. When some nerdly high schoolers hire Drillbit to protect them from bullies, Drillbit goes undercover as a teacher at their school by camouflaging himself in teacher garb, that is, he carries around a coffee mug. Plot predictions: Drillbit finds love with a �co-worker� who discovers that he is actually a homeless man masquerading as a teacher (but she loves him anyway) and the nerdy kids get revenge on the bullies. There is lots of silly, slapstick humor along the way, of course.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, PG-13, 102 min.
FOOL�S GOLD
Will the latest incarnation of a film called Fool�s Gold, which features Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson as a married couple who are put in situations that cause them to disrobe as they search for buried treasure, be the real deal? Or will it turn out to be a shiny but valueless hunk of dirt that draws the attention of those with sub-par skepticism?
UA North, PG-13, 110 min.
FUNNY GAMES
Only Vienna, the repressed, beautiful and ghoulish capital of Austria, could have produced the singular minds that are Freud, Wittgenstein and, now, auteur Michael Haneke (Cach�, The Piano Teacher, The Seventh Continent). Funny Games is a shot-by-shot remake of his 1997 original by the same name. The earlier iteration�a shockingly violent commentary on violence in the media�has became something of a cult film, though it is as despised in some circles as it is loved in others. The latest version is still about a family being tortured in a lakeside cabin, but it now stars Naomi Watts and Tim Roth.
UA DeVargas, R, 107 min.
HORTON HEARS A WHO!
Based on the book by the ingenious Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who!�s two directors� (Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino) r�sum�s include such comedic hits as Finding Nemo, A Bug�s Life and Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. It�s voiced by Jim Carrey (who starred in another Dr. Seuss-based animation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett and Judd Apatow staples Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. All told, Horton Hears a Who! is the most promising mainstream kids� cartoon since Ratatouille. It�s about an elephant who has vowed to protect a microscopic civilization that lives on a speck of dust.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, G, 88 min.
IN BRUGES
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as a pair of London-based hitmen who, after a hit gone bad, are ordered by their mob boss to chill out for a bit in the quaint, medieval city of Bruges, Belgium. With nothing to do but live the tourists� life, the two check out art, muse on life and kick it with prostitutes and, oddly, an American midget acting in a European art film. Martin McDonagh, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his live-action short, Six Shooter, directs.
UA DeVargas, R, 107 min.
JUMPER
Director Doug Liman�s precipitous artistic decline has gone like this: Swingers, Go, The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and now Jumper. Jumper is about some good-looking dude (Hayden Christensen), who had it rough as a kid, only to discover he has the ability to teleport. Turns out, a war has been raging for centuries between Jumpers and those haters who have sworn to kill them. Who knew?
UA North, PG-13, 90 min.
JUNO
Juno is a touching counterpoint to such male-perspective pregnancy sagas as Knocked Up. Still, like the hipster aesthetic it idealizes it�s trying hard to have pseudo off-kilter tastes, banter and plot directions rather than just genuinely having these things. This, however, hasn�t stopped it from winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 92 min.
MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY
Frances McDormand (Fargo) stars as the titular Miss Pettigrew, a middle-aged governess living in 1939 London. When she is yet again unfairly fired, Miss Pettigrew seizes the opportunity to become the �social secretary� to the glamorous American diva, Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is a fun and well-made film with terrific performances, witty banter and strong character development (see SFR review).
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 92 min.
NEVER BACK DOWN
Or should you? It was just a matter of time, with the rising popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts (MMA), for Hollywood to capitalize and target that lucrative 18-34 male demographic. Never Back Down is about the Daniel-san-type handsome-but-troubled new kid at school who, after he gets his ass kicked, begins training in a combination of martial arts. It�s like The Karate Kid except the moves work way better and the movie works way worse. Statisticians: Will someone please keep track of how many extra teenagers get themselves stabbed in the weeks that follow this movie�s release? (See SFR review.)
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, R, 106 min.
OFF THE GRID: LIFE ON THE MESA
This documentary by Jeremy and Randy Stulberg is about a group of radicals in New Mexico who live in the absolute middle nowhere, 25 miles from the closest town. With no electricity and barely any food or water, this group of eccentrics (with names such as Mama Phyllis, Dreadie Jeff, Gecko and Moonbow) have chosen the type of freedom not offered by cell phone companies. Escaping society, and modern standards of hygiene, the loosely knit, rag-tag bunch is livin� its own version of the American Dream.
CCA, NR, 64 min.
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory, which was already adapted for television in 2003 and shown on BBC, The Other Boleyn Girl tells the semi-true story of two sisters who competed for the affection of King Henry VIII, a man who was notoriously difficult to be in a relationship with. Stars Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson as the sisters in rivalry and Eric Bana as Henry the Bastard.
Regal Stadium 14, UA North, PG-13, 105 min.
PENELOPE
Christina Ricci stars as Penelope, a girl cursed with a snout nose, in this light-hearted fairytale supposedly about accepting one�s self but, more than likely, equally confirming the notion that a woman�s looks are her main asset. James McAvoy, sporting an American accent, plays the suitor.
UA North, PG, 102 min.
SEMI-PRO
One-hit-wonder disco star Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell) took his loot and bought himself a basketball team. Now Moon is player, owner and coach of The Tropics, the worst team in the league. To save his team, Moon must fluff his fro, don his short shorts and lead the Tropics to victory. Fans of Ferrell won�t be disappointed, as it is rumored that Ferrell says words and his face continues to look so damn funny when you�re high. As to how Semi-Pro will compare to other Ferrell stoner-classics, the wild card may be the director, Kent Alterman. This is Alterman�s�a former producer�first time at the helm. For bets on artistic quality and comedy sensibility I�d put more faith in a model-turned-actor than a producer-turned-director.
UA North, R, 90 min.
SHUTTER
Shutter is a remake of a Thai movie that is supposedly really damn scary. It�s concerns an American couple, Ben (Joshua Jackson) and Jane (Rachael Taylor), who live in Tokyo. One night they kill some girl with their car. Soon after, Ben, who is a fashion photographer, starts to notice weird blurs in his images. Does he have a smudge on his lens? Or could the dead girl be back for revenge? Hint: Don�t try to use Occam�s razor.
Dreamcatcher, Regal Stadium 14, PG-13, 85 min.
THE SILENCE BEFORE BACH
Catalonian writer/producer/director Pere Portabella refuses to release The Silence Before Bach on DVD, so this might be the only chance to see it. Silence is composed of several experimental vignettes, both modernized and in period costume, that speak to the joys of German composer/organist Johann Sebastian Bach�s genius. With its avant-garde structuring, it may be somewhat like last year�s Bob Dylan biopic I�m Not There�but with its poetic prowess dedicated more to music than man.
The Screen, NR, 102 min.
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
The formula: Little white kid discovers secret world inhabited by magical creatures and somehow comes to possess an object that bestows him with powers (a golden compass, crystal shard, ruby slippers); kid heads out on an adventure in which his friend and/or little sister tags along; friend and/or little sister is eventually captured; adults are incredulous but are finally forced to believe; kid saves the world. In The Spiderwick Chronicles the makes-you-special object is a magic book and the creatures resemble those nasty plaque and bacteria blobs from the old Listerine ads. Kids, with their narcissism, desire for omnipotence and beautiful romanticism, just can�t get enough of this stuff.
UA North, PG, 97 min.
STEP UP 2 THE STREETS
Fashioned from suburban fantasies of being a sexy street dancer in �da hood��fantasies that could only exist if your entire conception of city life came from watching MTV videos�Step Up 2 the Streets is about two blah-ly attractive white kids at a fine arts dance academy (again!?!), 4 whom gaining acceptance among �minorities� with �attitude� is the ultimate test.
UA North, PG-13, 105 min.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a greedy oilman who will stop at nothing to get rich in the turn-of-the-century West. Loosely based on the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair, There Will Be Blood explores the worst that human nature has to offer through a stunning (and Academy Award-winning) performance by Day-Lewis.
UA DeVargas, R, 158 min.
TYLER PERRY�S MEET THE BROWNS
Playwright-turned-director Tyler Perry is back with another bland family comedy that includes his name in the title. This one is about a single mother who travels to the funeral of the father she never knew. The script is adapted from Perry�s play by the same name and Perry does double-acting duty as both the female and male characters. Also stars pretty boy and former Lakers benchwarmer Rick Fox and Angela Bassett.
Regal Stadium 14, PG-13, 90 min.
>>> UNDER THE SAME MOON
Under the Same Moon centers on a cute little kid in Mexico whose mother works as a maid in Los Angeles. She sends back remittances and hopes to see her boy again someday. When Enrique�s grandmother passes away, he heads out on a solo mission to reunite with his mother, avoiding la migra but finding adventure along the way (see SFR review).
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 109 min.
VANAJA
Vanaja is not only Rajnesh Domalpalli�s first film, it�s also his thesis project at Columbia University, where the South Indian native recently got his masters. Something tells me that, while the rest of his classmates were turning in films in which upper-class hipsters mumble to each other about their solipsistic ennui, this multi-film festival award-winner garnered Domalpalli an A+. The film�s protagonist is Vanaja, the 15-year-old daughter of a fisherman, who begins working in the home of a wealthy woman in the hopes that she might pick up the traditional South Indian dance, Kuchipudi. But the film, which looks gorgeously, vibrantly colorful, takes a darker turn when an older man develops in interest in Vanaja.
The Screen, NR, 111 min.
VANTAGE POINT
Vantage Point tells its story of the assassination of the president of the United States from multiple angles and stars Dennis Quaid as a secret agent who took a bullet for, it now appears, no reason; Forest Whitaker as the hapless, camcorder-toting tourist-turned-modern-day-Zapruder; Sigourney Weaver as the journalist know-nothing; and William Hurt as The Prez, aka The Decider, aka the dude who just got capped.
UA North, PG-13, 90 min.
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