On local screens this week

Movie showtimes and reviews June 26 - July 3
Posted: Jun 26, 2008 by Bill White

BABY MAMA: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler share exquisite comic timing and “chemistry” in Baby Mama which also features a well-honed script and some terrific supporting players to round out the picture.  Put it all together, and you have one of the funniest movies to be released so far this year. (PG-13) Three and a half stars -– BZ

BLOODLINE: Director Bruce Burgess attempts to give an answer to the ancient and controversial question of whether Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child. (NR) -– BW

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN: A solid second film, based on the legendary C.S. Lewis books, Prince Caspian provides good action and excellent special effects, though the storytelling is a bit muddy in the opening sequences, especially for those unfamiliar with either the Lewis novels or the first Narnia film released in 2005. (PG) Three stars – BZ

GET SMART: Steve Carell makes an ideal Maxwell Smart, the bumbling but ambitious and unreasonably self-confident agent for CONTROL, a secret U.S. agency.  Anne Hathaway is his sidekick, Dwayne Johnson is their fellow agent, Terence Stamp is the Russian villain and Alan Arkin heads the agency.  It’s funny, exciting, preposterous, great to look at, and made with the same level of technical expertise we’d expect from a new Bond movie. (PG-13) Three and a half stars -– RE

THE FALL: In a Los Angeles hospital, circa 1915, a paralyzed stunt man (Lee Pace) enthralls an angelic little girl (Catinca Untaru) with an adventure story that her mind supplies extraordinary images for.  The film is a mad folly, an extravagant visual orgy, a free-fall from reality into uncharted realms, directed by Tarsem (The Cell).  A movie that you might want to see for no other reason than because it exists.  There will never be another like it. (R) Four stars – RE

FRENCH THEATER: Check out these films on Fort Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG) Fri 7. Sat-Sun 2. The Stranger (R) Fri 9:30. Sat-Sun 7.

HANCOCK: See review next week.

THE HAPPENING: One day in New York people start killing themselves.  The survivors flee the city, although the cause of this “event” may also be ahead of them.  Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel find themselves trekking with the child of a friend through Pennsylvania farmlands, while the thought develops that the planet’s vegetation may be taking its revenge on man.  Thoughtful, oddly compelling; too uneventful for some, I suppose, but it wove a spell for me.  Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense). (R) Three stars -– RE

THE INCREDIBLE HULK: Less psychology and more action than the 2003 Ang Lee version, and not to its advantage: The movie sidesteps the fictional dilemma that when Bruce Banner (Ed Norton) becomes the Hulk, he doesn’t much know who he is, and thus his actions are simply anarchic.  Lots and lots of CGI-generated action sequences, but a flimsy story.  With Liv Tyler as Banner’s love interest, William Hurt as her father the general, Tim Roth as a Hulk clone, and Tim Blake Nelson as a scientist.  Directed by Louis Leterrier. (PG-13) Two and a half stars – RE

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: Nineteen years after the previous Indy adventure, a film in the same tradition, involving man-eating ants, sword fights between two people balanced on the backs of speeding jeeps, subterranean caverns of gold, vicious femme fatales, plunges down three waterfalls in a row, and the explanation for flying saucers.  Harrison Ford holds up well as Indy, Cate Blanchett is a sublime femme fatale, Karen Allen is back as Indy’s first love, Shia LaBeouf is the boxer with the ducktail.  “Same old same old,” Indy says, but that’s why I liked it. (PG-13) Three and a half stars – RE

IRON MAN: Robert Downey Jr. is absolutely terrific as Tony Stark/Iron Man, delivering a performance that is both comedic and poignant.  This is an outstanding superhero action adventure that is well-directed and features strong supporting performances — especially from Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges. (PG-13) Four stars -– BZ

KENNY: The 2006 film Kenny brings to the surface a subject we normally cringe at: poop and pee. Its eponymous hero installs and cleans public waste receptacles for a living. Almost two hours of excrement — sounds like the perfect vehicle for Adam Sandler’s juvenile brand of comedy, right? — Kenny actually hails from Australia, and makes its North American premiere at the Grand this Friday. Already having garnered multiple awards and won fans Down Under, Kenny smartly avoids the easy raunchiness of its premise, instead painting an enjoyable and sympathetic picture of a man — and occupation — that society ignores. (PG-13) – CW

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL: Inspired by one of the American Girl dolls, and just about perfect for its target audience, with a great look, engaging performances, real substance and even a few whispers of political ideas, all surrounding the freshness and charm of Abigail Breslin.  Director Patricia Rozema’s intelligent treatment doesn’t condescend, and her first-rate cast includes Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci, Max Thieriot, Chris O’Donnell, Willow Smith, Glenne Headley, Joan Cusack and Wallace Shawn as the snarly local newspaper editor. (G) Three and a half stars – RE

KUNG FU PANDA: A fat, fuzzy panda competes to become the Dragon Master and face the archenemy of the Valley of Peace, in a cute but not compelling animated adventure.  The characters are one-dimensional, except for the wise old master voiced by Dustin Hoffman.  Entertaining for younger audiences. (PG) Three stars – RE

THE LOVE GURU: What is it with Mike Myers and penis jokes?  Having created a classic funny scene with his not-quite-visible penis sketch in the first Austin Powers movie, he now assembles, in The Love Guru, as many more penis jokes as he can think of, none of them funny except for one based on an off-screen “thump.”  He supplements this subject with countless other awful moments involving defecation and the deafening passing of gas.  Oh, and elephant sex.  Co-starring Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake and Ben Kingsley. (PG-13) One star – RE

MONGOL: See review click here.

OLYMPIA FILM SOCIETY: Yella (NR) Sun 5. Mon & Wed 9. Tue & Thurs 6:30. Son of Rambow (PG-13) Sun 7:30. Mon & Wed 6:30. Tue & Thurs 9.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW: Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Brad and Janet are dancing the “Time Warp” at the Proctor District’s cozy Blue Mouse which features a stage for the movie’s loyal following to perform.  Not for the kiddies. – BW

SEX AND THE CITY: The continuing stories of the four consumerist Gal Pals from the HBO series, who scarcely have a witty line among them and march with curious banality through awkward situations involving “turista,” broken hearts, masturbating dogs, designer labels, lust, runaway cell phones and misunderstandings.  Probably just the movie fans of the HBO series are hoping for.  With Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Chris Noth as the stolid and distant Mr. Big.  A newcomer, Jennifer Hudson as Parker’s assistant, is the warmest and most human character in the movie. (R) Two stars – RE

THE SINGING REVOLUTION: How singing won freedom for the people of Estonia from the Soviet Union.  In 1991 the power of song powered the Estonian people’s drive for freedom as chronicled in this powerful documentary. (NR) – BW

THE STRANGERS: Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as a couple with romantic difficulties who go for the night to their deserted summer cottage and are terrorized by home invaders.  Competently acted and directed, but what a despairing exercise in nihilism. (R) One and a half stars --– RE

THE VISITOR: Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is the lonely man at the center of The Visitor.  He gets caught up in the lives of a couple of foreigners, who are in the country illegally.  The film carries a harsh statement about post-9/11 immigration procedures, and while timely, relevant and compelling, it doesn’t overshadow the heart of the story, which is about human connection. (PG-13) Three and a half stars – TB

WALL-E: See review click here.

WANTED: See review click here.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS: A formulaic romantic comedy that would be nothing more than a lame laugher, except for the skill of Cameron Diaz and especially Ashton Kutcher, who milk this story for all it’s worth.  This tale of opposites attracting — and finding themselves accidentally hitched in Vegas — is a mildly amusing tale of love and loss, with a $3 million payday. (PG-13) Two and a half stars – BZ

YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN: Adam Sandler’s new comedy is shameless in its eagerness to extract laughs from every possible breach of taste or decorum, and why am I even mentioning taste and decorum in this context?  He plays a Mossad counterterrorist who sneaks out of Israel to become a New York hairdresser.  His superhuman abilities make him a super-warrior and lover, in a movie that’s a comic hymn to vulgarity.  Co-starring John Turturro, Lainie Kazan, Rob Schneider, Emmanuelle Chriqui. (PG-13) Three stars – RE