At the Movies
Opening
Scary Movie 4
Anna Faris, Leslie Nielsen and director David Zucker reunite to spoof not only fright films, but also the latest box-office hits, music, current events and celebrities. Some of the sendups include "War of the Worlds," "The Grudge," "The Village," both "Saw" flicks, "Million Dollar Baby" ... and Tom Cruise. (PG-13)
Thank You For Smoking
1/2
This satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son. Review on Page 19. (R)
Tsotsi
Set amid the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto, the winner of this year's Best Foreign Film Oscar traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader who ends up caring for a baby accidentally kidnapped during a car-jacking. It's a solid, earnest drama of moral redemption that places old clichés in an unfamiliar setting.
The Wild
It's not "Madagascar Part II," but rather a computer-animated film about a New York City zoo lion (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) who enlists his animal friends to escape and search for his cub, who was mistakenly shipped to the wild. Voices of Jim Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Izzard and William Shatner are also featured. Review on Page 20. (G)
Now Playing
G - General audiences.
Doogal
No stars
Originally a Franco-Anglo animated feature, and retitled, shortened and redubbed by American actor voices, a dog and his animal friends embark on a quest to find three magic diamonds in order to keep an evil sorcerer from deep-freezing their enchanted land forever. The animation is ugly and the incomprehensible American rewrite adds nothing.
PG - Parental guidance suggested.
Aquamarine
1/2
Two friends try to help a mermaid capture the heart of a hunky lifeguard at their neighborhood beach club. Heartfelt but clunky, this mermaid-out-of-water story offers enough female-positive messages to make it worthwhile viewing for 'tween girls.
Glory Road
1/2
The true story of the underdog Texas Western college basketball team, with history's first all-black starting lineup, and their surprising championship win in the 1966 NCAA tournament. Though the performances are understated, the inspirational story is amped up unnecessarily with an overbearing score, hyperactive camerawork and jumpy edits that obscure the action at crucial spots.
Hoodwinked
1/2
Detectives try to unravel the mystery at Granny's house in a new satirical, animated take on "Little Red Riding Hood." Kids might be entertained by the color and nonstop energy, but adults, the movie's real target, will see the film is really hackneyed and irrelevant.
Ice Age: The Meltdown
1/2
The cheery animated sequel might as well come with another subtitle: "Featuring Scrat!" The fanged little goof constantly upstages the top-billed talent with his manic antics to secure his precious acorn. The movie is right on par with the 2002 original: brisk, pleasant and loaded with slapstick that should keep young children giggling, though repetitive enough that parents at times may feel they're sitting through the first "Ice Age" all over again.
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Filmmaker Jonathan Demme's latest musical documentary focuses on highlights from a two-night stint by the veteran rocker at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, performing music from his earliest years up to his latest album "Prairie Wind." This is a deep and touching piece of work, as Young's songs address matters of death, aging and remembrance.
The Pink Panther
1/2
Steve Martin plays a variation of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau character in this remake of the 1960s original. The bumbling French detective takes on a mystery involving the death of a soccer coach, a missing diamond ring, and femme fatale pop star (Beyoncé Knowles). The movie is sporadically funny, and Martin engages in his silliest screen behavior since "The Jerk."
The Shaggy Dog
Another remake, this time of the 1959 Disney classic. A top-secret serum turns a high-powered district attorney (Tim Allen) into a pooch. Before he can become human again, he must stop the evil forces behind the serum. This is a well-intentioned but forgettable mutt without any new tricks, the gags harmlessly predictable.
PG-13 - Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under age 13.
Annapolis
A dream comes true for a young man from the wrong side of the tracks when he is accepted into the Naval Academy. But once there, he's not sure he measures up against the best and the brightest. Starring James Franco, the movie is pretty to look at, but heavy and boring.
ATL
This is the classic example of a music video director (Chris Robinson) making the leap to feature films and emphasizing style over substance. He could've made more of his Atlanta-based coming-of-age story, and its complex issues of race, class, money and identity. Rapper Tip "T.I." Harris makes his film debut.
The Benchwarmers
1/2
A baseball buffoonery comedy, this latest project from producer Adam Sandler packs more pop than you'd expect from a film made up of former "Saturday Night Live" second-stringers (Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Lovitz, plus Jon Heder from "Napoleon Dynamite"). Three grown-up dweebs form a barnstorming team seeking to lay the smackdown on full-rostered youth squads. The movie takes this inherently funny concept and frontloads its best gags to get you in a good mood, then plays small ball the rest of the way to maintain its dwindling lead.
Big Momma's House 2
1/2
Martin Lawrence goes back undercover in his disguise as a plus-size granny, this time to be a nanny for the three kids of a suspected killer. You get just about every fat joke ever made in the movie, and the plot doesn't hold much interest. But if you're a fan of Lawrence's manic comedy, this is for you.
Failure to Launch
Matthew McConaughey plays a 30-something slacker who still lives with his parents. They hire a professional motivator (Sarah Jessica Parker) to lure him out of the nest. The movie has something of a TV sitcom-y shine to it as it gets started, but it contains some surprises, such as quirky and appealing characters played by its talented cast, sly and hilarious dialogue, and slapstick magic realism.
Firewall
When his family is kidnapped by a ruthless criminal mastermind, a bank security specialist (Harrison Ford) is forced to find a flaw in his own system and steal $100 million. It's a great-looking movie, but this supposed thriller contains little suspense, and Ford, at age 63, is too old for his role.
Phat Girlz
A smart-mouthed, size-plus, aspiring fashion designer (Mo'Nique) tries to find love and acceptance in a world full of "hot-bodied" babes. Review on Page 21.
She's the Man
This movie takes a little bit of "Bend It Like Beckham" and a lot of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and twists them into a cross-dressing teen farce with occasional forays onto the soccer field. Amanda Bynes pretends to be just one of the guys in this energetic but unspectacular comedy. While she's no Lindsay Lohan, she has a natural spunkiness that serves her and the film well.
Stay Alive
Frankie Muniz and Samaire Armstrong are part of a group of teens who play a mysterious online video game -- and suddenly find themselves being murdered the same ways as their game characters. This is a cheesy, unintentionally funny and, worst of all, not at all scary movie.
Take the Lead
1/2
Antonio Banderas stars as a former professional ballroom dancer who volunteers at a New York public school to teach dance, even though the hip-hop instincts of his students clash, at first, with his methods.
When a Stranger Calls
This slick remake of the 1979 horror-thriller is about a teenage baby sitter (Camilla Belle) who is terrorized by a stranger's phone calls. The story takes place in such a breathtakingly designed modern mansion that it's actually a distraction to the unscary plot.
R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Ask the Dust
Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek star in this drama about a young man, castigated back at his Colorado home for his Italian heritage, who moves to 1930s Los Angeles to become a novelist, where he then becomes obsessed with a Mexican barmaid. This movie has been in the works for three-plus decades, ever since writer-director Robert Towne read the 1939 novel while researching "Chinatown." He earns points for perseverance but seems to have lost sight of the story's core ideas and contemporary relevance along the way.
Basic Instinct 2
1/2
Sharon Stone reprises her career-making role of Catherine Tramell. This time, the best-selling crime novelist is brought in by a Scotland Yard detective following the mysterious death of a sports star. The sequel to 1992's overheated sex thriller shows plenty of skin and erotic exercise, but little else to arouse viewers either physically or intellectually. And Stone seems campy and shrill instead of fun and alluring this time 'round.
Caché (Hidden)
Writer/director Michael Haneke delivers a masterpiece of unsettlement. The comfortable lives of a bourgeois Parisian couple (Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche) and their adolescent son starts spiraling out of control when an anonymous videotape turns up on their doorstep, showing their house under surveillance from across the street. It's a creepy psychological thriller that commands the audience's attention throughout.
Casanova
1/2
Heath Ledger stars as the legendary Venetian lover who meets his match in the form of a feisty feminist writer, played by Sienna Miller. Director Lasse Hallstrom tries too hard to evoke the complex hilarity of a Shakespearean comedy with this giddy romp.
Freedomland
1/2
A working-class woman blames a black man for kidnapping her child, but a police detective doubts the truth of her story. The impending investigation ignites long-simmering racial tensions. Despite director Joe Roth being over his head, his cast handle their characters well, particularly Julianne Moore, who gives a full and realized portrait of the downtrodden single mother.
The Hills Have Eyes
A remake of Wes Craven's 1977 cult flick about a family stalked by a group of mutant killers. The script by director Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur makes this remake more like a GOP pro-gun platform plank than a mindless horror thriller, and Aja aims to splatter, impale and eviscerate as many people as possible for as long as he thinks viewers can stand it.
Inside Man
1/2
A tough detective matches wits with a clever bank robber as a dangerous cat-and-mouse game unfolds during a perfectly planned bank robbery. A power broker with a hidden agenda emerges to inject even more instability into an already volatile situation. This latest "joint" from director Spike Lee is consistently engaging and boasts fine performances from stars Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and especially Jodie Foster, her best in years.
Lucky Number Slevin
1/2
Part mistaken-identity thriller, part flimflam game, this film stars Josh Hartnett as Slevin, a sap caught in the middle of a mob war being plotted by a pair of New York's rival crime bosses (Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley). Slevin is also under constant surveillance by a relentless detective (Stanley Tucci) and an infamous assassin (Bruce Willis). Lucy Liu is the perkily resourceful love interest who helps Hartnett play both sides against the middle.
The Matador
Pierce Brosnan stars as a cynical, washed-up, irresistible cad of a hit man, who befriends an optimistic, straight-laced businessman (Greg Kinnear) in a Mexico City hotel bar while on a job. It's a breezy, stylish, darkly funny thriller that transcends the clichés of the mismatched-buddy movie genre.
Slither
Residents of a small town are terrorized by an alien plague in the form of bloodthirsty slugs, whose bite transforms people into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters. Director James Gunn recycles parts of different horror movies to make a whole new one with lots of goo, lots of gore and quite a few intentional laughs. It's a B-movie delight.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Actor Tommy Lee Jones directs this moralistic and non-linear tale of a Texan taking the corpse of his Mexican best friend south across the border to bury him, accompanied by the patrolman that killed the man. Barry Pepper, January Jones and Melissa Leo co-star.
V for Vendetta
1/2
Natalie Portman stars as a young British woman enlisted by a masked revolutionary to help fight against the totalitarian government in this thriller set in the near future. The saga scores well enough in its first hour, but loses focus midway through, the tone shifting from silly but smart to just silly. The Wachowski brothers wrote the screenplay based on Alan Moore's graphic novel, and the result lands somewhere between the neo-noir freshness of their original "The Matrix" and the indecipherable bombast of the two sequels.
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):
Heroic Grace II: The Chinese Martial Arts Film Retrospective: The New One-Armed Swordsman (Xin Dubi Daowang)
At 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Five Venoms (Wu Du)
At 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Legendary Weapons of China (Shiba Ban Wuyi)
At 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen
1/2
At 1 and 4 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and 1 p.m. Saturday.
Manderlay
Preceded by local short "A Team Like No Other." At 7:30 p.m. April 17; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. April 18 to 20.
MOVIE MUSEUM
3566 Harding Ave.; $5, $4 members; reservations recommended due to limited seating (735-8771):
Malcolm
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Friday.
Dear Frankie
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Quo Vadis
At 12:30, 3:45 and 7 p.m. Sunday.
San Francisco
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. April 17.
Yolngu Boy
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. April 20.
FILIPINO INDIE FILM FESTIVAL
6 to 10 p.m. at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Hemenway Hall (April 17, 18, 20 and 21) and Art Auditorium (April 19); Free admission:
Mansyon and The Blooming of Maximo Oliveros
At 6 and 7 p.m. Monday.
Kultado and Pepot Artista
At 6 and 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Babae and Big Time
At 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Sarong Banggi and Astig
At 6 and 7 p.m. April 20.
"THE HEALING WORLD" FILM SERIES
Spalding Hall Auditorium, University of Hawaii-Manoa; $5 general and $3 for UH students, faculty and staff (223-0130):
Powerful Medicine / Amchis: The Forgotten Healers of the Himalayas
At 5 p.m. Sunday.
Shaman of the Andes / Kau Faito'o: Traditional Healers of Tonga
At 7 p.m. April 20.
