Weekly Film Listings – March 3-9

Johnny Depp slithers into Rango, Don Quixote gets the ballet treatment and Waste Land visits Cinecenta.

Is one person's trash another person's art? Find out in the Academy Award-nominated doc Waste Land (See CINECENTA)

Is one person's trash another person's art? Find out in the Academy Award-nominated doc Waste Land (See CINECENTA)

OPENINGrango -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) This wacky animated feature stars a chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who dreams of being a hero — then finds himself in a western town besieged by banditos and has to reach way down deep to connect with his inner swashbuckler. Starts Fri. the adjustment bureau -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4) Hard-working Matt Damon stars in a sci-fi thriller about a man who defies a mysterious agency that secretly controls events on Earth in order to pursue a love affair that was not supposed to happen. Starts Fri.beastly -(Capitol) A vain young man gets a fairy tale curse placed on him and turns rather, well,  beastly, in a contemporary version of the Beauty and the Beast story. Starts Fri. CONTINUING★★★½ another year -(Odeon) The latest from Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy) is a quiet portrait of several North Londoners, some much happier than others. The wonderful Jim Broadbent heads up a great cast.★★★½ barney’s version -(Odeon) Mordecai Richler’s last novel comes to the screen starring Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly rascal of a romantic who struggles mightily with the vicissitudes of life and love — and his own outsize flaws. Co-starring Dustin Hoffman.★★★★ biutiful -(Odeon) Oscar-nominated Javier Bardem is amazingly soulful in this grim portrayal of life and death amongst illegal immigrants and their criminal overseers in the seedy outskirts of Barcelona. See review.  ★★★★ black swan -(Odeon) Get ready for some brilliant and disturbing ballet noir from arty director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, The Wrestler) in an intense psychological thriller about two gorgeous dance rivals, played by Oscar winner Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.★★ drive angry -(Capitol/SilverCity) A vengeful man (Nicolas Cage) escapes from Hell in order to put the hurt on some evil cult members who killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby girl for use in a satanic ritual. This is just B-movie trash with a couple of A-list actors. See review.★★★½ the fighter -(Roxy, 9:15; Sat.-Sun., 4:30) One of last year’s most pleasant surprises, this boxing drama stars Mark Wahlberg in a well acted and wonderfully entertaining biopic about “Irish” Micky Ward, a blue collar boxer who overcame lots of personal challenges to get his shot at pugilistic fame.gnomeo & juliet -(SilverCity/Uni 4) I wish I were making this up, but Hollywood’s latest tribute to the Bard features a retelling of his classic tale of star-crossed lovers — only this time the characters are garden gnomes. The casting ranges from Maggie Smith and Michael Caine to Ozzy Osbourne and Jason Statham.hall pass -(SilverCity/Caprice) The latest comedy from the Farrelly Brothers features a married guy who gets permission from his wife to have an affair. Things may get interesting when the wife joins in the fun. Starring Owen Wilson and Christina Applegate.i am number four -(Capitol/SilverCity) Here’s one teen male with a right to be moody: he’s got some kind of secret power and some nasty people want to destroy him because of it. ★★★★ incendies -(Capitol) This Oscar-nominated film from Quebec portrays the unwrapping of a dark and violent mystery as two children probe their mother’s shocking personal history from a long-ago civil war in the Middle East. Note: moves here from the Odeon on Friday.just go with it -(Capitol/SilverCity) Adam Sandler is on the loose again, this time playing a cynical bachelor who pretends to be unhappily married as a gimmick to tug on women’s heart strings. Of course, when he does fall in love his sneaky scheme has put him into a tricky spot. Most critics have advised: Just go without it.justin bieber: never say never -(Odeon/SilverCity) Canada’s pop music phenom hits the big screen with a 3-D concert film that will have the tweens swooning.★★★★ the king’s SPEECH -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) Long live this royal Oscar champ, the much-loved and lauded historical drama about King George VI and his struggle to overcome a crippling stammer and lead his country into war against Germany. A fascinating story and exceptional performances make this crowd-pleaser a must-see. Note: returns to the Caprice this Friday.★★★★ TRUE GRIT -(Roxy 7:15, Sat.-Sun. 2:30) Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon star in the Coen Brothers remake of the famed revenge western that originally starred a grizzled John Wayne as aging U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn. Dark and mythic, this is a classic western and classic Coen Brothers — who were shut out at the Oscars. Note: moves here from SilverCity.★★½ unknown -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4) Liam Neeson continues his late-blooming move into action cinema with this thriller about a man who awakens from a coma to discover that someone has stolen his identity and that not even his wife will say she knows him. So is he insane, or just trapped in a slick B movie? yogi bear -(Roxy, Sat.-Sun., 1:00) That ’60s TV comedy about a nearly-clever bear graduates to the big screen. leaving thursday★★ no strings attached -(Capitol) ★★★¼ the company men -(Capitol) ★★ green hornet -(SilverCity)★★ sanctum -(SilverCity) IMAX★★★½ ARABIA -(11am, 3:00  6:00) The past and the present merge in this exploration of the rich history and present-day exoticism and complexity of Saudi Arabia. ★★½ tron: legacy -(7:00) The original TRON  was a visionary sci-fi classic that never got the box office it deserved. Twenty years later, we return to the inner world of a video game, with mixed results: the visuals are killer, but the plot is a mix of muddle and pretension.★★★ horses: the story of equus -(10am [except Thurs.], 1:00, 4:00) The lives of three very different horses are portrayed in this charming film that will appeal to all eque-files. ★★★ legends of flight -(Noon, 2:00, 5:00) The creation of the “next generation” commercial jetliner is detailed in this fascinating documentary.mystery of the nile -(10am Thurs. only)SCREENINGSBizarre Movie Night – Screening Marat/Sadt. When notorious critic and inmate of Charenton’s asylum for the insane — the Marquis de Sade — stages a play about the murder of the French Revolution’s Jean-Paul Marat, the production takes on an alarming life of its own. 7pm THURSDAY at Camas Book and Infoshop (2590 Quadra). Free. Don Quixote – Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet presents a production based on the epic masterpiece by Miguel de Cervantes, originally created for the Bolshoi by Marius Petipa in 1869. Choreography by Alexei Fadeyechev. Music by Ludwig Minkus. 11am SUNDAY at SilverCity. $22.Movie Monday – Screening Leave Them Laughing. Death becomes a laughing matter in this unusual documentary — a “musical comedy about dying” — that profiles a singer and comic in the final stages of ALS. 6:30pm MONDAY in the 1900-block Fort. By donation. 595-FLIC. moviemonday.caSpike & Mike’s – The annual screening series celebrating weird and warped animation is back.  9:30pm MONDAY at SilverCity. $12.Awareness Film Night –  Screens The War You Don’t See, British  journalist John Pilger’s investigation into the media’s role in war  from WW1 through Hiroshima, Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq.  7 p.m. WEDNESDAY at Edward Milne Community School theatre (6218 Sooke Rd., Sooke).  By donation. CINECENTACinecenta at UVic screens its films in the Student Union Building. Tickets are available 40 minutes prior to showtime. Info: 721-8365. cinecenta.com.★★★¾ the girl with the dragon tattoo -(Wed., March 2: 7:00 only) The cult trilogy of novels from Sweden that became a publishing phenomenon has made it to the big screen, with the first film being by far the best. It’s the tale of a crusading journalist and a goth-punk cyberhacker gal who are investigating a long-ago murder that continues to haunt a wealthy and dysfunctional family.★★★ the girl who played with fire -(Thurs., Mar. 3: 7:00 only) The investigating journalist and the goth gal with the dragon tattoo are back in a much-anticipated sequel, this one about a Swedish sex-trafficking ring. Oh, and Lisbeth is on the run, suspected of being responsible for three murders. Although not as good as the original, this is a fine albeit very dark crime thriller.★★½ the girl who kicked the hornets’ nest -(Fri., Mar. 4: 3:00, 7:00, 9:45) The extremely dark and violent thriller trilogy about the goth-punk cyber-hacker gal comes to a flat-footed close, due to a convoluted and somewhat pulpy plot. But the superb performance by Noomi Rapace makes this journey into the Swedish heart of darkness well worth your time.how to train your dragon-(Sat.-Sun., Mar. 5-6: 1:00 matinee) A wimpy young Viking aspires to be a brave dragon hunter, only to end up “adopting” a baby one and discovering that there is more to the breed than he had assumed. This Oscar-nominated animated romp is a fine and fun serving of family entertainment.cinevic 20th anniversary retrospective -(Sat., Mar. 5: 7:15 only) See FEATURE. This special celebration honours 20 years of local filmmaking, and features mostly short works by the region’s most inventive directors.waste land-(Sun., Mar. 6: 3:00, 7:00, 9:00 & Mon.-Thurs., Mar. 7-10: 7:00, 9:00) This Academy Award nominee for best documentary has galvanized audiences worldwide with its heartfelt message about the transformative power of art. That it is set amidst the “garbage pickers” in the world’s largest garbage dump gives it a rare emotional power.