OPENING
source code -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4) Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a sci-fi-ish thriller about a soldier who is temporarily teleported into the body of a stranger in order to save a train due to blow up in six minutes. Starts Fri.
insidious -(SilverCity) Expect some gore and gasps as an ordinary, Hollywood-style family tries to save their comatose child from strange supernatural forces. Starts Fri.
hop -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) In this fluffy bit of animated fun for the whole family the teenage son of the Easter Bunny heads to Hollywood to join a rock ‘n’ roll band only to encounter some unexpected adventures. Starts Fri.
CONTINUING
★★ the adjustment bureau -(Odeon/SilverCity) Hard-working Matt Damon stars in a tepid 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.
★★ battle: los angeles -(Capitol/SilverCity) Aaron Eckhart heads up a platoon of marines who have the daunting task of defeating an invasion force of heavily armed space aliens, in what proves to be a less-than-engaging combination war flick and sci-fi thriller. Note: moves from the Odeon to the Capitol this Friday.
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.
★★★★ black swan -(Roxy, 8:50) 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 Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.
diary of a wimpy kid: rodrick rules -(SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) A grade seven kid is the protagonist in this sequel to last year’s popular piece of family entertainment, based on a series of bestselling books.
gnomeo & juliet -(Roxy, 1:00, Sat.-Sun.) 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.
hall pass -(Roxy, 7:00) 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. Note: moves here from SilverCity on Fri.
★★ hobo with a shotgun -(Capitol) Spring has sprung and here comes a grumpy Rutger Hauer playing a homeless vigilante who blasts his pump-action shotgun at a variety of shitweasels including crooked cops and a pedophile Santa (!). This deliberately trashy send-up of exploitation cinema is not without its rancid charms. See review.
just go with it -(Roxy, 4:25, Sat.-Sun) 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.
★★★★ the king’s SPEECH -(Odeon) 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.
★★½ limitless -(Odeon/SilverCity) Bradley Cooper plays an unmotivated writer who discovers a new drug that somehow gives him super-human mental powers, in a thriller with aspects of a headtrip movie. Co-starring Robert De Niro and Australia’s Abbie Cornish (Bright Star).
★★★½ the lincoln lawyer -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4) This tricky crime thriller stars Matthew McConaughey as an unconventional lawyer who gets in over his head while representing a wealthy client accused of murder. Based on the novel by Michael Connelly. McConaughey brings his natural gifts — roguish charm overlaid with dollops of sleaze and smug self-regard — in what could be a career-saving role. The great supporting cast includes Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo and Ryan Phillippe.
★★★ paul -(Odeon/SilverCity) A pair of comic-book geeks in love with sci-fi get more than they bargained for when they come across a cute but decidedly profane hipster extra-terrestrial. A bit slow at first, the movie sets up lots of gags, has good comic timing, and a sweet heart beneath all the crudity. Starring Simon Pegg (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and SNL’s Kirsten Wiig (who nearly steals the show).
★★★¼ rango -(Capitol/SilverCity) This wacky animated spoof of classic westerns stars a chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who dreams of being a hero — then finds himself appointed the sheriff in a troubled western town and has to reach way down deep to connect with his inner gunslinger. Great fun!
red riding hood -(Capitol) Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman star in this elaborate reworking of the gothic and gory fairy tale beloved of morbid children, here featuring a werewolf plaguing a medieval village.
★★ sucker punch -(Capitol/SilverCity/Caprice) The newest visual extravaganza from the director of 300 and Watchmen features a young woman sent to a brutal insane asylum where she escapes from the horror of her imprisonment by believing that the power of her imagination is enough to set her free. See review.
★★★½ west is west -(Odeon) This sequel to 1999’s East Is East is an equally funny and touching look at the travails of the Khan clan, Pakistani immigrants to England who eventually don’t really seem to fit in either country.
IMAX
★★★½ ARABIA -(10am, 2:00 5:00) The past and the present merge in this exploration of the rich history and present-day exoticism and complexity of Saudi Arabia.
journey into amazing caves -(11am, 1:00, 3:00, 6:00).
★★★ legends of flight -(noon, 4:00) The creation of the “next generation” commercial jetliner is detailed in this fascinating documentary.
★★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. Note: showtime shifts to 8:00 on Tuesday, April 5.
★★★★ true grit -(Roxy, 2:30, Sat.-Sun) Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon star in the Coen Brothers remake of the famed revenge western that originally featured a grizzled John Wayne as aging U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn. Dark and mythic, this is a classic western and classic Coen.
SCREENINGS
Movie Monday – Screening Horse Boy. This film follows a couple on their unusual journey across Mongolia on a quest to break through the autism that has engulfed their young son. 6:30pm MONDAY in the 1900-block Fort. By donation. 595-FLIC. moviemonday.ca
CINECENTA
somewhere -(Wed.-Thurs., Mar. 30-31: 7:00, 9:00) The latest from Sofia Coppola (Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation) stars Stephen Dorff as a self-absorbed movie star who gradually realizes that his 11-year-old daughter is an important part of his life.
★★★½ barney’s version -(Fri.-Sat., April 1-2: 3:00, 7:00, 9:35) 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.
★★½ chronicles of narnia: voyage of the dawn treader -(Sat.-Sun., April 2-3: 1:00 matinee) British director Michael Apted returns to the allegorical realm of Narnia for some sea-based adventuring, in a long-winded epic that is short on the magic that made the original so much fun.
★★★★ blue valentine -(Sun., April 3: 3:20, 7:00, 9:10 & Mon., April 4: 7:00, 9:10) The extremely talented Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, Fracture) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) are the protagonists in a frank, emotionally raw and hard-hitting drama that shuttles back and forth in time to explain a marriage breakup.
★★★ the big lebowski -(Tues., April 5: 7:00, 9:20) Everyone seems to love this Coen Brothers goof-off more than me, but there’s no denying that this sun- and weed-baked tale of The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and his troubles with a bunch of gangsters has wonderfully insane dialogue and wacky situations.
marwencol -(Wed.-Thurs., April 6-7: 7:15, 9:00) Lots of praise has landed on this documentary, which explores the strange and compelling world of an emotionally damaged man who transformed his backyard into a replica of World War 2-era European village, at one-sixth life size.
