Films This Week
Check out the movies playing around town.
With reviews and trailers.
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AFRICAN CATS In the spirit of Earth (2009) and Oceans (2010), this third Earth Day-oriented offering from Disneynature turns the spotlight on the lives and social habits of two families of wild felines—lions and cheetahs—in the savannahs of Africa. I am SO there! (G) Starts Friday. Watch film trailer >>>
SUPER After his ex-girlfriend falls in with a sinister drug dealer, an average guy with no powers decides to suit up as The Crimson Bolt and fight crime in this contemporary comedy. Rainn Wilson stars as the wannabe superhero; Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, and Kevin Bacon co-star. Look for Nathan Fillion in a featured role. James Gunn directs. (Not rated) 96 minutes. Starts Friday. Watch film trailer >>>
WINTER IN WARTIME Reviewed this issue. (R) 103 minutes. In Dutch and German with English subtitles. (★★1/2) Starts Friday.
Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan Friday & Saturday night Midnight showing
Arthur Fri-Tue + Thu 7:30, 10:10 + Wed no shows
CONTINUING SERIES THIS WEEK: THE MET: LIVE IN HD AT THE CINEMA 9 Digital broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera projected live, onscreen, Saturday mornings throughout the season (with repeat encore re-broadcasts, as noted). Tickets: $24 general, $22 senior for the live broadcasts; $18 for everyone for the encores. This week: CAPRICCIO Famed diva Renée Fleming sings the leading role in this Strauss opera that explores life, art, and opera itself. Joseph Kaiser and Sarah Connolly also sing; Andrew Davis conducts. LIVE: Saturday (April 23) at 10 a.m. At the Cinema 9.
CONTINUING SERIES: MIDNIGHTS @ THE DEL MAR Eclectic movies for wild & crazy tastes plus great prizes and buckets of fun for only $6.50. This week: STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN 62-year-old Ricardo Montalban displays an impressive torso that would make any genetic engineer proud in this second installment of the franchise from 1982. Montalban plays a genetic superman with a grudge against the Enterprise crew. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and then-newcomer Kirstie Alley (as a half-Vulcan cadet) co-star. (PG) 113 minutes. (★★1/2)—Lisa Jensen. Fri-Saturday midnight only. At the Del Mar.
CONTINUING SERIES: WEEKEND MATINEE CLASSICS AT APTOS CINEMA If you've only ever seen them on TV, don't miss this series of classic movie matinees unspooling each weekend at Aptos Cinema. This week: THE PARTY Peter Sellers stars in this slapstick 1968 comedy as a bumbling movie extra of vaguely (East) Indian origin who is mistakenly invited to a swanky Hollywood party. Claudine Longet co-stars. Blake Edwards (the Pink Panther movies) directs. (PG) 99 minutes. Sat-Sun matinee only, 11 a.m. Admission $6. At Aptos Cinema.
CONTINUING SERIES: FLASHBACK FEATURES Oldies and goodies on Thursday nights at the Cinema 9, presented by your genial host, Joe Ferrara. $5 gets you in. This week: ON THE WATERFRONT Marlon Brando won his first Oscar in Elia Kazan's 1954 drama of dock workers in New York City. As a young ex-fighter who "coulda been a contender," Brando's Terry Malloy learns to be his own man after years of watching older brother Rod Steiger genuflect to the mob. Eva Marie Saint co-stars, along with Leonard Bernstein's lush, moody score. A classic of sophisticated Hollywood melodrama (Not rated) 108 minutes. (★★★)—Lisa Jensen. Tonight (Thursday) only, 8 p.m., at the Cinema 9.
CONTINUING SERIES: THE MET: LIVE IN HD AT THE CINEMA 9 ENCORE: LE COMTE ORY Bel canto sensation Juan Diego Florez stars in the title role in this new production of Rossini's vocally witty romantic comedy from director Bartlett Sher. Diana Damrau and Joyce DiDonato co-star. Maurizio Benini conducts. Wednesday (April 27) at 6:30 p.m. At the Cinema 9.
CONTINUING EVENT: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MOVIES This informal movie discussion group meets at the Del Mar mezzanine in downtown Santa Cruz. Movie junkies are invited to join in on Wednesday nights to discuss current flicks with a rotating series of guest moderators. Discussion begins at 7 pm and admission is free. For more information visit www.ltatm.org. Now Playing
ARTHUR The old Dudley Moore comedy gets a reboot for Russell Brand in the role of the lovably boozy rich boy who will have to get a grip and grow up to keep the woman he loves (Greta Gerwig). Helen Mirren plays his ally and nanny (a female version of the butler role for which John Gielgud won an Oscar in the original film). Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte co-star for director Jason Winer (TV's Modern Family). (PG-13) 105 minutes.
THE CONSPIRATOR Robin Wright's fierce dignity as a boarding house proprietress charged with conspiracy in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and James McAvoy as the conflicted Union war hero defending her at a military tribunal, highlight Robert Redford's historical drama. The witch-hunt to blame and punish scapegoats in times of national crisis make the story timely, but Redford is too meticulous a craftsman to beat us over the head with these comparisons; he lets the story unfold at its own pace, with his usual eye for period detail and sense of restraint. There may be a whiff of staid earnestness about the whole thing, but the actors are engaging, the story is gripping, and the film achieves moments of quiet power. (PG-13) 123 minutes. (★★★) Lisa Jensen.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES The original cast is back in place for this second installment of the series based on the illustrated novels of Jeff Kinney. Zachary Gordon returns as the adolescent hero, back in middle school and coping with all the usual suspects—including an older brother (Devon Bostwick) who’s blackmailing him to do his bidding. Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, and Steve Zahn co-star for incoming director David Bowers. (PG)
HANNA Saoirse Ronan (Atonement; The Lovely Bones) stars in this action thriller as a 16-year-old girl raised in the wilds of Finland by her ex-CIA op father (Eric Bana) and dispatched on a deadly mission across Europe, pursued by agents dispatched by a sinister spymaster (Cate Blanchett). Olivia Williams and Tom Hollander co-star for director Joe Wright (Atonement). (PG-13) 111 minutes.
HOP The suddenly-ubiquitous Russell Brand lends his voice to this live-action/animation comedy as E.B., teenage son and heir apparent to the Easter Bunny, who runs away to Hollywood to become a drummer. (PG)
I AM An uplifting doc that dares to ask: What’s right with the world? Filmmaker Tom Shadyac, who was more of a mainstream film director, seems to want to come to terms with life here—he survived a tragic accident and suddenly got to thinking more deeply. There are some fine moments in the film and it works because the director takes us along his journey, rather than trying to force feed us his opinions. (PG) 76 minutes. (★★★) Greg Archer
INSIDIOUS Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne star in this supernatural thriller as parents battling to stop an evil force from dragging their comatose child permanently into an alternate realm. Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey co-star for director James Wan. (PG-13) 102 minutes.
JANE EYRE Mia Wasikowska is a poised, yet fiercely self-directed Jane to Michael Fassbender’s wry, stormy Rochester in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s fresh take on the evergreen, Victorian-era Gothic romance. It’s a deeply felt, beautifully wrought little gem of mood and sensibility. Moira Buffini’s smart script mines every nuance of feeling out of Charlotte Bronte’s story, spoken and otherwise; together, the filmmakers resist every temptation to resort to overheated melodrama, weaving instead a compelling narrative of urgent emotional suspense. (PG-13) 120 minutes. (★★★1/2) Lisa Jensen
THE KING'S SPEECH And the Oscar goes to this juicy and rewarding true story about an accidental monarch struggling to conquer a private affliction that makes public life a nightmare. Director Tom Hooper also won gold, along with the formidable Colin Firth as the prince who will be George VI, cursed with a crippling stammer just when the nation needs a strong, confident leader. Geoffrey Rush is great as his eccentric speech therapist; the marvelous Helena Bonham Carter leads a Who's Who of splendid British thesps in supporting roles. (R) 118 minutes. (★★★1/2) Lisa Jensen
LIMITLESS Bradley Cooper stars in this thriller about a lowly copywriter and wannabee novelist who’s slipped a radical, secret “smart drug” that enables him to use 100% of his brain power—but also brings him to the attention of a powerful mogul (Robert De Niro), and sinister forces out to obtain his supply of the drug. Adapted from the Alan Glynn novel. Abbie Cornish and Anna Friel co-star for director Neil Burger. (PG-13) 97 minutes.
THE LINCOLN LAWYER Slick, invigorating and, most of all, interesting, The Lincoln Lawyer packs a punch. Matthew McConaughey plays a criminal defense lawyer-for-hire in L. A.(he does a great deal of business from the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car) who must defend a rich boy accused of assault. This is McConaughey’s best role in years and the supporting cast—Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, and William Macy—shines. From the bestselling Michael Connelly legal thriller, here’s hoping that should a series of films be launched, the filmmakers create just the right amount of edge and intrigue as they do here.. (R) 119 minutes. (★★★1/2) Greg Archer
MIRAL Artist-turned-filmmaker Julian Schnabel (Basquiat; Before Night Falls; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) directs this drama set in war-torn East Jerusalem. Frida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) stars as a young woman raised in an orphanage on the principles of peace and education; radicalized by her mission to teach children in a Palestinian refugee camp, she falls in love with an activist (Omar Metwally), and gets swept up in the war. Based on the semi-autobiographical book by Rula Jebreal. Alexander Siddig, Willem Dafoe, and Vanessa Redgrave have featured roles. (PG-13) 114 minutes.
RIO Brazilian animation director Carlos Saldanha (the first three Ice Age movies) turns to more familiar turf with this CGI comedy about a domesticated pet macaw (voice of Jesse Eisenberg) on the adventure of a lifetime with a free-spirited female (Anne Hathaway) and a flock of exotic wild birds in Rio de Janeiro. Jamie Foxx, Jane Lynch, George Lopez, and Will i Am contribute voices. (PG) 96 minutes.
SCREAM 4 Well, it’s better than you think. And much more brutal than some of the other Screams. Still, I had a ball in this fourth outing, which seems to deliver a sobering commentary on the state of today’s youth and how modern media, social networking and the undying thirst for fame—”sick is the new normal”—have bled the culture dry of real integrity. Neve Campbell is back. Her Sidney has written a self-help book, but when she returns to her hometown for a book signing ... let the stabbings begin. Take note of the clever movie within a movie within a movie within a movie thing happening here at various points. And the final sceness? Well played. David Arquette and Courtney Cox are back. Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Hayden Panettiere and Emma Roberts. Wes Craven directs. (R) 103 minutes. (★★1/2) Greg Archer
SOUL SURFER AnnaSophia Robb stars as Bethany Hamilton in this inspirational true story of the teenage girl who lost her arm in a shark attack, but didn't let it stop her from returning to the world of competitive surfing. Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Craig T. Nelson, and Kevin Sorbo co-star for director Sean McNamara. Shot on location in Hawaii. (PG)
SOURCE CODE I smell a sequel. In this clever film, Jake Gyllenhaal is a government agent transported again and again into the mind of a passenger on a commuter train just before it blows up. The idea is to determine the identity of the bomber before another strike. Look for the stellar subplot about why this is actually happening. Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan, and Jeffrey Wright co-star; Duncan Jones (Moon) directs. (PG-13) 93 minutes. (★★★) Greg Archer
WIN WIN Paul Giamatti stars in, yet again, a standout film about a character trying to come to terms with what life is handing him. GIamatti is a lawyer and volunteer high school wrestling coach who winds up caring for a displaced teen (newcomer Alex Shaffer). He decides to mold the boy into a star athlete. There’s an interesting back story, too, about the boy’s grandfather and mother.. Written and directed by quirk-meister Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent; The Visitor). Amy Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor, Bobby Cannavale, and Melanie Lynskey co-star. (R) 106 minutes. (★★★) Greg Archer
YOUR HIGHNESS The creators of The Pineapple Express (stars Danny McBride and James Franco; director David Gordon Green) come together again and the result ... is not that pretty. Franco plays a prince hoping to rescue his kidnapped love (Zooey Deschanel).He drags his weed-smoking, slacker brother (McBride) along. And then Natalie Portman shows, not offering much to this tired tale. (R) 102 minutes. (HH) Greg Archer
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