Weekly Film Listings for July 10

Opening

Hellboy II: The Golden Army - (Odeon/SilverCity) Go-to fantasy stylist Guillermo del Toro directed this sequel, which promises to be lots of fun as it pits scrappy (and mouthy) underdog Hellboy (Ron Perlman) against an armada of singularly unpleasant monsters. Starts Friday.

** Journey to the Center of the Earth - (Capitol/SilverCity) The action may be in 3D but the characters sure aren’t, in a lame retelling of the Jules Verne classic about finding a lost world in the bowels of the earth. Starts Friday.

Before the Rains - (Odeon) The setting is 1930s southern India, and against a backdrop of a growing nationalist movement the drama gets very personal when an interracial love affair comes into conflict with personal ambition. This is the first English language film from the East Indian director of The Terrorist. Starts Friday.

Meet Dave - (SilverCity) Eddie Murphy has a double role in this truly peculiar sci-fi-flavoured comedy about a crew of tiny space aliens whose ship—cleverly disguised as a human being—becomes romantically attracted to a pert earthling. If that makes any sense, you may actually find this funny. Starts Friday.

Continuing

Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia - (IMAX) Donald Sutherland narrates this speculative account of the life of a dinosaur in the Argentina of hundreds of millions of years ago.

**1/2 Get Smart - (Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4) One of the highlights of ’60s TV was the sitcom about bumbling spy Maxwell Smart. Steve Carell puts on the tux and the befuddled expression for this amiable, reasonably entertaining big-screen adaptation, co-starring Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp.

**3/4 Hancock - (SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) Will Smith stars in a quirky comedy about a dissolute, widely despised superhero who tries to reform himself and win back the respect of ordinary citizens. See review.

* The Happening - (Odeon) M. Night Shyamalan (Signs) craters his career with this laughably inept horror-thriller about a plague of unexplained suicide that is sweeping across America. Starring Mark Walhberg and Zooey Deschanel.

*** The Incredible Hulk - (Odeon/Caprice) Hollywood is rebooting its Hulk franchise with a new version starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt. Call me crazy, but I thought that this was engaging and quite successful on its own terms as a blowed-up-real-good Marvel superhero movie.

***1/2 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - (Odeon/SilverCity) Everyone’s favourite whip-cracking archeologist-adventurer returns to the screen after a 19-year sabbatical. Welcome back!

***1/2 Iron Man - (Roxy, 7:15) Robert Downey, Jr. plays a double role in this engaging adaptation of the comic book about a self-indulgent, billionaire industrialist (and arms manufacturer) who has a moral awakening and uses his inventor's powers to mount a personal fight against evil. This is easily the best superhero movie since the original Spider-Man. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - (Odeon) Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) stars in this ’30s-era film about a young girl who inspires her family to confront the challenges of the Depression.

*** Kung Fu Panda - (Capitol/SilverCity) The newest animated family movie stars a lazy panda (voiced by Jack Black) who is chosen via prophecy to save his valley from a dire villain. Although no threat to the highly imaginative Pixar brand, this is a funny and imaginative tale. Other voices supplied by Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan.

*1/2 The Love Guru - (SilverCity) The shag-a-delic Mike Myers hits rock bottom with this vulgar, repetitious and rarely funny comedy about an ashram-raised American who becomes Guru Pitka and returns home to make it big in the “self-help” racket. Co-starring Jessica Alba, Ben Kingsley and Justin Timberlake.

*** Mongol - (Odeon) A rather fanciful account of the early years of Genghis Khan is told in this Oscar-nominated and multiple award-winning epic from Russia. Despite being a bit of a romantic soap opera, this is an exotic and compelling tale.

**1/2 Sex and the City: the Movie - (Capitol/SilverCity) Carrie and her three gal pals sashay onto the silver screen, in a superficial but entertaining reprise of the ground-breaking TV show. There are lots of heartbreaks, laughs, lust and Manolo Blahnik shoes to titillate viewers more interested in fashion than feminism.

***1/2 Shine A Light - (IMAX) Martin Scorsese filmed the Rolling Bones over two nights in a small Manhattan theatre in 2006; the resulting concert film is an intimately ear-throbbing tribute that captures Mick, Keith et al. in top form—after an amazing 45 years of being the bad boys of rock ‘n’ roll.

****1/2 WALL-E - (Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) The newest Pixar sure-to-be-smash stars a lonely trash-collecting robot left behind on a depopulated earth for 700 years. When a cute “search robot” named EVE lands on earth to check things out, WALL-E gets one look at her and his circuits start to smoke. Subtle, wildly imaginative and poignant, this masterwork is like intergalactic Kubrick for kids.

*** Wanted - (Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy star in a delirious, hyper-kinetic action-thriller about a once-apathetic man who is transformed into a kick-ass machine dedicated to fighting evil. Just accept that the plot is utterly ludicrous, lean back and enjoy the ride. (From the Russian director of the cult vampire film Night Watch.)

*1/2 What Happens in Vegas - (Roxy, 9:30) . . . should have stayed in Vegas (or a backshelf in Hollywood). Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher hook up on a drunken bender in Vegas, get married, wake up hating each other, then things get really ugly when they start fighting over a $3 million jackpot. This is a vulgar, nearly-toxic version of one of those screwball comedies where Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell sparred with wit, grace and good dialogue.

***1/2 Wild Ocean - (IMAX) Although a bit preachy, this gorgeously photographed account of South Africa’s massive herring migration—and the thousands of predators it attracts—is an awesome portrait of nature’s brutal magnificence.

IMAX

Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia - (10am, 1:00, 4:00, 6:00)

***1/2 Mummies: Secrets of the Pharoahs - (noon, 7:00)

***1/2 Shine A Light - (8:00)

**** Whales - (3:00)

***1/2 Wild Ocean - (11am, 2:00, 5:00)

Screenings

Love and Fearlessness - After an 11am free lunch, check out this noon showing of a right-to-sleep documentary. Afterwards, stick around for a panel discussion. THURSDAY at UVic’s Vertigo, Student Union Building. Free. 661-0989.

Outdoor Movie Night - Showcase in the Square continues their summer fun with a screening of one of the best movies from the 1980s, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Don’t forget to dress in your ’80s best for the costume contest. Pre-show entertainment kicks off at 8:30pm and the movie follows at 9:30pm. SUNDAY in Market Square. $4 recommended donation. smartalecproductions.ca

Movie Monday - Showing Mandela: Prisoner to President, 1994. Help celebrate the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela by watching this documentary of the esteemed statesman who helped topple apartheid. 6:30pm at Eric Martin Pavillion, 2326 Trent. By donation. 595-FLIC. moviemonday.ca

Anarchist Bookfair Fundraiser - A double bill featuring One Nation Under God, a documentary look at religious organizations offering curative therapies for homosexuality. Then it’s a lighter look at the subject with But I’m A Cheerleader, where a bubbly teen is sent to camp to be deprogrammed. 7pm WEDNESDAY at Camas Collective, 2590 Quadra. By donation.

Cinecenta

**** Antonio Gaudi - (Wed.-Fri., July 9-11: 7:10, 8:45)) Spain’s legendary architect—most famous for the eccentric and sublime Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona—is profiled in this essentially wordless documentary that is deeply in tune with its subject.

Bread and Roses - (Sat., July 12: 7:00, 9:10) The newest from Ken Loach is a based-on-true-events tale of a Mexican immigrant to the U.S. who is encouraged by an activist to protest against his employer in order to get standard union benefits.

*** Stop-Loss - (Sun.-Mon., July 13-14: 7:00, 9:10) Ryan Phillippe stars in a drama about a soldier who comes home a hero from Iraq, then starts his own private war when the army unexpectedly orders him to return. Directed by Kimberley Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry).

*** La Vie en Rose - (Tues., July 15: 7:00 only) Legendary French singer Edith Piaf gets an old-fashioned biopic treatment in this lavish, warts-and-all movie featuring the original vocal performances and a truly Oscar-worthy performance.

My Blueberry Nights - (Wed.-Thurs., July 16-17: 7:00, 9:00) Cult Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai (Chunking Express) didn’t wow the critics with this more mainstream tale of a woman (singer Norah Jones) trying to figure out love and other mysteries of life. With Jude Law and Natalie Portman.

Leaving Thursday

* Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - (Capitol)

**1/4 You Don’t Mess With The Zohan - (SilverCity)