CINEMA
At The Movies
Sneak Preview
Ratatouille
A young rat aspires to be a chef in a Paris bistro but is hindered by the rat-despising staff and patrons. (G)
Opening
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
The superhero team returns to unravel the mysterious arrival of an enigmatic intergalactic herald that precedes a planet-destroying force. Plus, Dr. Doom is back. Review on Page 16. (PG)
Nancy Drew
Julia's niece Emma Roberts stars as the resourceful teen sleuth who goes to Hollywood and involves herself in the long-unsolved death of a glamorous movie star. Review on Page 18. (PG-13)
Now Playing
PG
Are We Done Yet?![*](star.gif)
1/2
Ice Cube and Nia Long return in the sequel to the popular "Are We There Yet?" Nick and his ever-growing family move out to the Oregon countryside and have an adventure rebuilding their dream Victorian house. No cleverness was exerted on this movie, as it's more of an endurance test than a comedy.
Shrek the Third
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Everybody's favorite green ogre is back, this time embarking on a quest to find a suitable replacement king (besides himself) to rule the land of Far Far Away. This installment of the monster of an animated franchise still subverts the fairy tales we grew up with, but it's smothered in a suffocating sense of been-there, done-that. While visually more dazzling than ever, it lacks the zip of its predecessors.
Surf's Up
In this animated movie, a documentary crew follows Cody Maverick, a young penguin with a gift and passion for surfing, as he enters his first pro competition. Shia LeBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Jon Heder and Zooey Deschanel lead the voice cast.
PG-13
Away From Her
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1/2
The comfortable life of an aging couple living in the country is disrupted as the wife develops Alzheimer's, something she realizes, and she insists upon going to a full-time care facility. The film's far from depressing because actress Julie Christie goes down like a luminous ship at sea. In the end, nothing's for keeps, not even matters of the heart.
Gracie
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A teenage girl overcomes the loss of her brother by fighting the odds to play competitive soccer at a time --the late '70s -- when girls' soccer did not exist. Unfortunately the movie breezes through life-altering developments superficially and with dizzying speed.
In the Land of Women
1/2
A brokenhearted young man moves in to care for his grandmother and stumbles into the lives of the family across the street, a mother and her two daughters.
Kickin' It Old Skool
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In 1986, a 12-year-old boy ends up in a coma after a break dancing accident at a school talent contest. He wakes up 20 years later as a man-child. When his parents' yogurt store faces closure, the dancer attempts to save the place by entering a top-dollar competition with the help of his old crew, who have all long left breakin' behind them. This movie is more amusing than it has a right to be, thanks to the surprising subtlety of Jamie Kennedy's performance and the script itself.
Next
1/2
Nicolas Cage stars as a man who can see into the future. His ability makes him a target of the FBI, which wants him to help stop America's enemies before they strike. This supposed paranormal thriller, unfortunately, shows how a solid crew of filmmakers and performers can apply a big-studio budget to a good story and still have absolutely everything come out wrong.
Ocean's Thirteen
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Danny Ocean and the gang are back as they team up with an old nemesis to help settle a score. George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh return with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia, plus new cast members Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
1/2
With Jack Sparrow trapped in Davy Jones' locker, Will and Elizabeth ally with Capt. Barbossa on a desperate quest to free him. But first, the trio must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront a cunning Chinese pirate. Generous as the movie may be with action and spectacle, there's still a ponderousness to this sequel that counterweights the good booty.
Spider-Man 3
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In this latest installment of the hugely successful franchise, there are more villains, more supporting characters and more plot lines, and the result is a bloated, uneven behemoth of a flick. Peter Parker/Spider-Man not only battles human foes and their supervillainous alter egos, he goes to the dark side when a black goop from outer space attaches to him -- and he juggles two love interests! As people and threats come and go, the movie's narrative feels scattered.
The Valet
A French comedy about a billionaire industrialist who is caught with his mistress by the paparazzi. To avoid a messy divorce, he invents an outrageous lie and asks his mistress to pose as the sweetheart of a parking attendant.
Waitress
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When a waitress in a cheery Southern diner discovers she's pregnant with her immature husband's baby, her dreams for a better life are squashed until a sympathetic and good-looking doctor arrives in town. With the help of the late director-actress Adrienne Shelly, Keri Russell gives one of the best on-screen performances of the year. It's clipped, direct and self-aware -- utterly unromantic and yet full of feeling.
Wild Hogs
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Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy play a group of middle-aged friends who decide to rev up their routine suburban lives with a freewheeling motorcycle trip. Too bad that the guys are not all that wild and, more important, not all that funny, as the humor and hi-jinks in this road romp are tame and tranquil.
R
300
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Director Zack Snyder painstakingly re-creates the panels from Frank Miller's graphic novel about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans fought off a much larger Persian army. But the movie is so over-the-top it's laughable, and so full of itself it's hard to take seriously. The CGI effects and inventive violence are extremely cool at first, but the gimmicks wear off quickly and ultimately become overbearing, including the pounding musical score and profuse use of voice-over narrative.
The Condemned
Stone Cold Steve Austin plays Joe Conrad, a prisoner on death row who is put on a desolate island with nine other killers to fight to the death. The last living person gets his freedom back.
Fracture
Ryan Gosling plays a hotshot assistant district attorney prosecuting a man (Anthony Hopkins) who readily admits to murdering his wife.
Hostel: Part II
Director Eli Roth's horror sequel is about three young American women who are lured to the Slovakian torture chamber by a beautiful model, who promises them restful R&R at an "exotic destination."
Knocked Up
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From Judd Apatow, the man behind "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," comes a new comedy more consistently hilarious than its predecessor, and with even greater heart. A goofball of a slacker-stoner (Seth Rogen) enjoys a drunken romp with an up-and-coming entertainment reporter (Katherine Heigl) who's way out of his league. When the reporter realizes she's gotten pregnant from the one-night stand, she decides to keep the baby, and major life changes ensue.
Mr. Brooks
1/2
Kevin Costner stars as a respected family man trying to hide a deep, dark secret: He's a cunning serial killer. There's not much beyond the character's image, so extra material is thrown into the mix, like a second serial killer, a relative who might be a killer as well, and a witness who turns out to want to help the next time Brooks kills. And don't forget the tough homicide detective (Demi Moore) and an imaginary friend (William Hurt). It's just too much to make this movie work.
Vacancy
Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale star as a couple who wind up at a middle-of-nowhere motel, complete with creepy night manager. They find graphic snuff movies on the TV set and find out that they were shot with hidden cameras right in their rundown room. This is the kind of horror flick that hopes the audience will get off on the violence it portrays, which is especially distasteful and, frankly, misogynistic.
Not Rated
Paano Kita Libigin
Regine Velasquez and Piolo Pascual star in the romantic story of a bad boy and a single mom trying to find love again.
Art House | Revival
The Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts
900 S. Beretania St.; $7 general; $6 seniors, students and military; $5 Academy members (532-8768):
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
(NC-17) At 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Ever Since the World Ended
At 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Monday; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Sir! No Sir!
At 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and June 14.
Movie Museum
3566 Harding Ave.; $5, $4 members; reservations recommended due to limited seating (735-8771):
My Mother Frank
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Friday and Monday.
The Graduate
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Festa Di Laurea (Graduation Party)
Hawaii premiere. At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday.
Letters From Iwo Jima
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. June 14.