Weekly Film Listings May12-18

 

Opening

 

bridesmaids -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4) SNL’s Kristen Wiig co-wrote and stars in this raucous comedy about a woman picked to be her best friend’s maid of honour; perennially lovelorn and also broke, she decides to bluff her way through the expensive and peculiar rituals awaiting her with the assistance of a wacky group of bridesmaids who seem to be understudies for Girls Behaving Badly. The fun starts Fri.

priest -(Odeon/SilverCity) Possibly as penance for starring in the atrocious religio-horror flick Legion, talented English thespian Paul Bettany gets to star in another religio-horror flick, this one featuring a priest who takes on a particularly nasty nest of vampire beasties. The biting and bleeding start Fri.

Continuing

 

★★★ fast five -(Odeon/SilverCity/Caprice) In the latest Fast & Furious installment, those sort-of good guys once again end up on the wrong side of the law as they finds themselves trapped between a vicious drug lord and an implacable federal agent. Starring Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. This is fine, trashy fun.

★★★½ hanna -(Capitol/SilverCity) A 16-year-old girl, trained as an assassin by her CIA rogue agent of a father, is on the run across North Africa and Europe as ruthless intelligence agents try to track her down. Starring Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana and a very persuasive Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones). The plot cheats a bit, but this thriller couched in terms of a fairy tale is engaging and very well directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice).

hoodwinked too! hood vs. evil -(Capitol/SilverCity) This kid-friendly animation is a wacky take-off of classic fairy tales, as Red Riding Hood and the Wolf are called on to investigate the disappearance of Hansel and Gretel.

★★½ jane eyre -(Odeon) The classic Charlotte Brontë romance about a young governess and a house with terrible secrets gets a handsome-looking but rather dull remake that stars the wonderful Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and the rather wooden Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds).

★½ scream 4 -(Capitol) Wes Craven reboots his own deconstructive slasher series, but the plotting is preposterous and all that “meta” movie babble stopped being clever years ago. Starring Scream survivors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette.

★★★½ the lincoln lawyer -(Capitol) 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.

★★★¼ rio -(Capitol/SilverCity/Caprice) This very colourful animated romp stars a domesticated macaw that heads off on a wild jaunt to Rio de Janeiro to find avian amour. Featuring the vocal talents of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. Note: moves from the Odeon to the Capitol on Friday.

something borrowed -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4) Kate Hudson stars in a romantic comedy about a perpetually single gal who unexpectedly falls for a guy — too bad he’s the fiancé of her best friend.  This turkey has been plucked by virtually every critic in North America.

soul surfer -(Capitol) A teenage surfer loses her arm to a shark attack and somehow summons the courage to ride the waves again. Based on the true-life tale from a few years back.

★★★ source code -(Odeon) Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a sci-fi-ish thriller about a soldier who is teleported into the body of a stranger in order to find the terrorist due to blow up a train in eight minutes. The Matrix-meets-Groundhog-Day premise is more clever than the movie itself, which is solid but unremarkable.

★★½ thor -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) Directed, rather improbably, by Kenneth Branagh, this is a 3D account of the hammer-swinging Norse god after he gets the boot out of Asgard and ends up on earth — which he then has to save from annihilation. Two of the stars not playing Thor are Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman. Silly and awkward, but often entertaining. See review.

★★¾ water for elephants -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4) Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon star in a crowd-pleasing adaptation of the bestselling novel about an illicit love affair set in the exotic world of a travelling circus during the Depression. Glamorous but sentimental and clichéd and reeking with phoniness, this romantic melodrama benefits hugely from a stirring performance by Rosie the elephant.

 

 

leaving thurs.

★½ arthur -(Odeon)

prom -(Odeon/SilverCity)

★★½ limitless -(Caprice)

 

Imax

 

★★★½ ARABIA -(1:00  5:00) The past and the present merge in this exploration of the rich history and present-day exoticism and complexity of Saudi Arabia.

★★★★ born to be wild -(10am, noon, 2:00, 4:00, 7:00) Take a remarkable safari as this documentary takes you up close and personal with the people who nurture orphaned baby elephants and orangutans en route to re-releasing them into the wild. Narrated by Morgan Freeman. This is a great film! Note: no 10am show on May 16.

journey into amazing caves -(11am, 3:00, 6:00, 8:00)

★★★ van gogh: brush with genius -(10am, May 16 only)

★★★ wired to win: surviving the tour de france -(11am, 2:00, 6:00) Gorgeous race footage combines with intriguing medical details of what happens inside the body when racers go the limit in the ultimate endurance contest.

Screenings

 

Movie Monday – Screening  Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls. These New Zealand twins, both yodelling lesbians, are delightfully provocative performers who tackle everything from nuclear proliferation to aboriginal rights in their droll and musical shows.  6:30pm MONDAY in the 1900-block Fort. By donation. 595-FLIC. moviemonday.ca

awareness film night -For their season finale, AFN is screening The Economics of Happiness, a family-friendly documentary on the importance of local communities in shaping happy, healthy futures. Wed., May 11, 7 pm, Edward Milne Community School theatre, 6218 Sooke Rd..

The perfect Vagina -Labiaplasty has become the most common form of cosmetic surgery in the U.K. with a 300 per cent increase over the last five years. Find out why in this film by Lisa Rogers. Camas Bookstore (2590 Quadra), Sunday, May 15 at 7:30 pm, by donation.Funds raised will support the 6th annual Victoria Anarchists Bookfair.

Killing us softly 3-Advertising’s image of women. Jean Kilbourne decodes an array of print and television advertisements to reveal a pattern of disturbing and destructive gender stereotypes. Her analysis challenges us to consider the relationship between advertising and broader issues of culture, identity, sexism, and gender violence. Camas Bookstore (2590 Quadra), Sunday, May 15 at 8:30 pm, by donation. Funds raised will support the 6th annual Victoria Anarchists Bookfair.

 

Cinecenta

 

Cinecenta at UVic screens its films in the Student Union Building. Tickets are available 40 minutes prior to showtime. Info: 721-8365. cinecenta.com.

into eternity -(Wed.-Thurs., May 11-12: 7:30, 9:00) People fond of great albeit harrowing documentaries should check out this account of the efforts to dig a repository for nuclear waste — hey, the project will only take a century, and only has to provide a safe haven for all that radioactive slag for a mere 100,000 years.

casino jack -(Fri.-Sat., May 13-14: 7:10, 9:15) By all accounts Kevin Spacey is predictably excellent in this flamboyant portrayal of the high-rolling life and dramatic fall from grace of notorious Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

★★★½ trigger -(Sun.-Mon., May 15-16: 7:15, 9:00) One of the highlights of the recent Victoria Film Festival, this new drama from Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo) stars Molly Parker and Tracy Wright (who was dying during the filming) as a pair of punk rock gals who get together for a very edgy reunion many years after their glory days.

★★★½ the illusionist -(Tues., May 17: 7:15, 9:00) The latest piece of quirky animation from the director of The Triplets of Belleville is a charming, bittersweet portrait of the unusual relationship between an over-the-hill magician and a naive young woman who finds it useful to believe in magic. Adapted from an unfilmed script by France’s comic genius Jacques Tati.

the sun behind the clouds: tibet’s struggle for freedom -(Wed.-Thurs., May 18-19: 7:15, 9:00) According to reviews this is an impressively even-handed look at the deadly friction between Tibet and China, especially the struggle within Tibet as to whether co-existence or independence is the better strategy.

 

The Roxy

 

★★½ limitless -(7:00) Bradley Cooper plays an unmotivated writer who discovers a new drug that 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 arthur -(8:50) Here’s a disappointingly over-stated and ill-conceived remake of the delightful 1981 comedy about a boozy, immature playboy.

★★★¼ rango -(12:30, Sat.-Sun.) 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!

hop -(2:15, Sat.-Sun.) 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.

Your Highness -(3:50, Sat.-Sun.) This tongue-in-cheek medieval action flick has been reviled even by the pushover critics. Starring James Franco, Natalie Portman, Toby Jones, and Zooey Deschanel.