CINEMA
At The Movies
Opening
Fool's Gold 1/2
Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson star as a former couple who meet again when he, a good-natured, surf bum-turned-treasure hunter, convinces her boss, a millionaire, to take his yacht on a search for a missing treasure. Review on Page 26. (PG-13)
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show
The popular actor hosted a cross-country comedy tour -- 30 shows in 30 days -- in the fall of 2005, and the film shows both the on-stage performances and behind-the-scenes action. (R)
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Martin Lawrence stars as a successful Hollywood self-help guru who returns home to his crazy but lovable Southern family to help celebrate his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. (PG-13)
Now Playing
G
Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert 1/2
Originally scheduled for a one-week run, this specially priced concert movie, screened in digital 3D, will now remain in theaters until EVERY tween girl in the U.S. has seen it. The talented and likable Cyrus plays herself and her blond alter ego on stage.
PG
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Brothers Alvin, Simon and Theodore are back, making music and mischief in this CGI/live-action adventure. The movie engages for about a half-hour, or about 10 minutes longer than you might expect.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets 1/2
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Nicolas Cage team up again for this sequel. This time, treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, in order to exonerate his great-great grandfather, must track down a top secret tome -- plus kidnap the current commander-in-chief. It's mediocre action spiced with American lore.
PG-13
27 Dresses 1/2
This movie is so chock full of romantic comedy clichs, it almost plays like a parody. Katherine Heigl stars as a perennial bridesmaid whose own happy ending is nowhere in sight ... until her younger sister (Malin Akerman) captures the heart of her boss (Ed Burns), with whom she is secretly in love.
The Bucket List 1/2
Director Rob Reiner's comic drama puts him back in commercial, if not artistic form. The movie's easily accessible, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as terminally ill men who become buddies; they elevate a story overloaded with clichd life lessons.
Cloverfield
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the movie is a document of their attempt to survive. The characters remain indistinguishable, the storytelling confusing, and any truly interesting subtext -- such as our preference for recording reality, rather than experiencing it -- willfully ignored.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
An astonishingly beautiful film about the once lively editor of the French Elle magazine who, after becoming paralyzed due to a massive stroke, writes about his new life while pondering the survival of the human spirit. Nominated for two Oscars, including Julian Schnabel for Best Director and Ronald Harwood for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Eye 1/2
The latest homely Hollywood remake of an Asian horror film finds Jessica Alba starring as the unfortunate woman who sees frightening images after her sight is restored through corneal transplant surgery.
First Sunday
Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan play bumbling petty criminals who come up with a scheme to rob their neighborhood church. The movie sometimes feels more like a script read-through, but its warmth is likely to carry you through the stretches of clich and tedium.
How She Move
A student step-dancer is forced to leave her private school when her parents can no longer afford to pay her tuition. She plans to get back to her school by winning the cash prize at a fierce dance competition. The movie surrounds its flashy moves with well-developed characters and a realistic story.
Juno
A whip-smart teen, confronted with an unplanned pregnancy, tries to find a "perfect" set of parents for her unborn child in an affluent suburban couple. (Nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, Ellen Page for Best Actress, Jason Reitman for Best Director, and Diablo Cody for Best Original Screenplay.)
Mad Money
The likable cast of Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes star as unlikely friends who plan to rob one of the most secure banks in the world. The movie may be perky and spunky and celebrate the shopping gene found in women of all economic stripes, but after it's over, it's nearly impossible to remember.
Meet the Spartans
From the guys who saw "300" and made "Epic Movie" comes an equally epic satire where the mighty warriors fall victim to parody. Celebrity not-so-lookalikes and unfunny reality-show takeoffs vie for our attention and gag reflex.
Over Her Dead Body 1/2
A lifeless romance about a jealous ghost trying to scare off her former fianc's new girlfriend has Eva Longoria Parker in such familiar form it might as well be titled "Desperate Corpse Bride."
R
Atonement 1/2
Adapted from Ian McEwen's book, a servant's son falls in love with an upper-class woman in 1935 Britain, just as her teenage sister falsely accuses him of sexual assault. It's a gripping film, with fine performances by Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan. Even the occasional artiness can't detract from the painful events at this story's heart-rending core. (Nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Ronan for Best Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Original Score and Costume.)
Michael Clayton
George Clooney stars as a shadowy fixer with a legal New York empire. The Oscar-nominated film is a fulsome exploration of the legal thriller genre. And the trio of actors at the movie's core -- Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton, all Oscar nominees -- operate at full thrusters in tautly realized, mature performances. (Tony Gilroy is also up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay Oscars, and the film is also nominated for original score.)
No Country for Old Men
The Coen brothers' latest film is set in West Texas, as a man on the run with a suitcase full of money is pursued by a number of individuals. It's vintage stuff for the writing-directing team and their best work in a while. (Nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor, the Coen brothers for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound Mixing and Editing, and Film Editing.)
The Orphanage 1/2
Co-produced by Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth"), this well-crafted if familiar horror-suspense film is about a mother who moves her family back to the former orphanage where she grew up happily, in hopes of restoring and reopening it. But then her son develops an unnerving coterie of imaginary friends -- and disappears.
Rambo
Sylvester Stallone returns as the iconic action hero who ventures into a brutal Burmese war zone to rescue captured aid workers. The movie is a bloodbath punctuated by occasional bouts of clumsy dialogue. But it does have its own kind of blockheaded poetry.
The Savages
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Oscar nominee Laura Linney play siblings -- he's a neurotic college professor and she's a struggling playwright -- who put their already arrested lives on hold when they have to help their father (Philip Bosco), who is slowly being consumed by dementia. Despite its dark humor, the film tackles the tough topics of aging, frailty, humiliation and death with a delicate touch. (Director Tamara Jenkins is also an Oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay.)
There Will Be Blood 1/2
Director Paul Thomas Anderson's latest offering is a masterfully told epic tale of family, faith, power and oil set on the incendiary frontier of California's turn-of-the-century petroleum boom. (Nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor, Anderson for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing, and Film Editing.)
Untraceable 1/2
Diane Lane plays an FBI agent in a race against the clock to track down a tech-savvy serial killer who shows his murders on the Internet. Solid performances by Lane, Colin Hanks and Billy Burke disguise some of the script's flaws.
Second-run Movies
Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem 1/2
The iconic killer monsters from the two sci-fi/horror film franchises return to wage a brutal battle. (R)
August Rush
A musical prodigy, who has grown up in orphanages, holds fast to the belief that his parents are alive and he will find them. (Oscar nominee for Best Song for "Raise It Up.") (PG)
Awake 1/2
Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba star in this thriller about a man who finds himself conscious during heart surgery. (R)
Beowulf 1/2
Robert Zemeckis presents another motion-capture animated film, this time the epic fantasy about the Viking warrior and his battle with the demon Grendel. (PG-13)
Charlie Wilson's War 1/2
Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Oscar nominee Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this comedy, based on a true story, about an alcoholic congressman who teams up with a CIA spook and a socialite in the 1980s to arm the Afghan mujahadeen against Soviet invaders. (R)
The Game Plan
A pro quarterback must juggle his party-and-practice lifestyle with bedtime stories and dolls when the daughter he never knew existed shows up. (PG)
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
A once simple man sets out to find his kidnapped wife and avenge the death of his son, amid the backdrop of war. (PG-13)
P.S. I Love You
Hilary Swank stars in this comedy about a widow who gets over her grief with the help of motivational letters left behind by her husband. (PG-13)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 1/2
John C. Reilly stars in a satirical biopic about a fictional music legend that spans more than six decades, countless musical genres and tons of sex and every drug known to man. (R)
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):
Great World of Sound
Review on Page 27. (R) At 1 p.m. Saturday, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
Times and Wind
At 1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Movie Museum
3566 Harding Ave.; $5, $4 members; reservations recommended due to limited seating (735-8771):
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Nominated for two Oscars, including Casey Affleck for Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography. At 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Friday.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Hawaii premiere. At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Across the Universe
Oscar nominee for Best Costume. At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Sunday.
Ira and Baby
Hawaii premiere. At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Monday.
Valentn
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Feb. 14.