Short Subjectives February 27 2008

Opening Friday

BONNEVILLE (PG) See review.

CITY OF MEN 3 stars (R) Fernando Meirelles, director of the scorching Brazilian crime drama City of God, serves as producer of Paulo Morelli’s film, based on his TV series “City of Men.” Where God evoked Goodfellas, Men tamps down the violence to focus on the relationship between two mild-mannered friends (Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha) wrestling with poverty, father issues and gangland peer pressure. If not an adrenaline shot like God, City of Men still offers a compelling tale of friendship and social hardship in the slums of Rio. -- Curt Holman

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (PG-13) Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson star as the Boleyn sisters whose ambitious family drives them to compete for King Henry VIII’s affections as a pathway to the throne. The Other Boleyn Girl is based on the novel by Philippa Gregory.

PENELOPE (PG) See review.

ROMULUS, MY FATHER (R) Based on Raimond Gaita’s memoir, Richard Roxburgh’s film tells the story of a family’s struggles with mental illness and immigration.

SEMI-PRO (R) See review at right.

Duly Noted

PASSPORT TO GREEK FILM This High Museum film series highlights contemporary Greek film with movies focusing on mail-order brides, bank robbers and coming-of-age memories. Through March 29. All films are screened at 8 p.m. in the Richard H. Rich Theatre, at the Memorial Arts Building. 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-4570. www.high.org.

SPORTS AND CHANGE FILM SERIES This Emory film series features mostly 35mm films dealing with race in the context of athletics, every Thursday night through March 20. All films are shown in White Hall, room 205, Emory campus. 404-727-6761. www.filmstudies.emory.edu.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) (R) The cult classic of cult classics, the musical horror spoof follows a couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) to the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a drag queen/mad scientist from another galaxy. Midnight, Fri. at Plaza Theatre, and Sat. at Peachtree Cinema & Games, Norcross.

Continuing

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS 5 stars(Not Rated) Heralded as more evidence of the Romanian New Wave, Cristian Mungiu’s disturbing drama is set in 1987 when Nicolae Ceausescu’s social policy virtually outlawed abortion. Anamaria Marinca gives a complex performance as a polytechnic student trying to help her friend procure an illegal abortion, and caught up in the country’s nightmarish bureaucracy and corruption. -- Felicia Feaster

27 DRESSES 1 star (PG-13) From the reprehensible subgenre of chick flicks that delight in the humiliation of a stereotypically girly heroine, this dim little comedy stars Knocked Up’s Katherine Heigl as Jane, a secretary who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride, and in love with her boss (Edward Burns). She attracts the attention of a newspaper reporter (James Marsden) who wants to blow write an article about Jane. — Feaster

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATED SHORT FILMS (NR) Now you can actually see those obscure but accomplished short live-action and animated films that you see win statuettes at the Oscar show every year. Highlights include the live-action Western romance “The Tonto Woman,” based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, as well as “At Night’s” tale of friendship among three women on a Danish cancer ward. The animated shorts mostly snub humor and computer animation for more serious fare, with “Madame Tutli-Putli’s” nightmarish train ride being the most impressive of the lot. -- Holman

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS 3 stars (PG) This fluffy film chronicles the Chipmunks’ rise to hyperpitched harmonizing fame and their narrow escape from the pitfalls of child stardom. On the human side, Jason Lee as Dave Seville looks uneasy living life in a partially CGI world, whereas David Cross, playing an exploitative record exec, basks in is screen time. — Allison C. Keene

ATONEMENT 4 stars (R) An intelligent but confused adolescent girl (Saoirse Ronan) tells a lie that separates two young lovers (Keira Knightley and James McAvoy). Joe Wright crafts an insightful adaptation of Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel that begins with an intimate look at the passions and frustrations at an English country estate, and expands to include the destruction of World War II. Playing the same character at different ages, Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave offer a devastating portrayal of guilt and the inability of words to undue their power to harm. (Oscar winner for Best Original Score.) — Holman

BE KIND REWIND (PG-13) A lovable loser (Jack Black) accidentally erases all the videos at the rental store where his best friend (Mos Def) works. The duo decides to recreate any movie that the loyal customers ask for, filming their own versions of classic films. Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directs.

THE BUCKET LIST 3 stars (PG-13) A high-maintenance zillionaire (Jack Nicholson) and a dignified mechanic (Morgan Freeman) become mismatched buddies as roommates on a cancer ward, then decide to live their last months crossing items off “the bucket list” of things to do before death. Despite both actors’ penchant for self-parody, they play off each other like pros, and director Rob Reiner makes the predictable humor and platitudes palatable. — Holman

CARAMEL 3 stars (NR) A Beirut beauty shop provides a central meeting place for five diverse, vivacious women in writer/director Nadine Labaki’s agreeable chick flick. Like the films of Pedro Almodovar, Caramel’s camera gravitates to expressive female faces and warm, richly colored cinematography, and the film’s charming, loose structure compensates for its predictability. — Holman

CHARLIE BARTLETT (R) Anton Yelchin stars as a rich kid joining the ranks in public school after being kicked out of multiple private schools. Using the advice, and prescription medication, given him by his shrink, Charlie becomes the self-appointed school therapist, setting up shop in the boys’ bathroom.

CLOVERFIELD 4 stars (PG-13) A Manhattan yuppie’s going-away party gets an inconvenient interruption when a giant monster lays waste to New York City. Once the bad stuff starts going down, no one in the theater takes a breath for an hour, and Cloverfield easily lives up to months of hype and even offers a touching story of callow Manhattanites who find love and meaning in disaster. — Holman

DEFINITELY, MAYBE 2 stars (PG-13) If you like men as bland as mayonnaise, then this limp rom-com piffle starring the strapping slab of white-bread Ryan Reynolds might be supertasty. Essentially a chick flick for dicks, Reynolds is a sweetly bland about-to-be-divorced dad recounting the highs and lows of his romantic life to his adorable 11-year-old daughter (Abigail Breslin). -- Feaster

DIARY OF THE DEAD 2 stars (R) George Romero’s zombie franchise (which began in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead) attempts a commentary on video voyeurism when a film student records his friends’ efforts to survive the undead. Cloverfield’s scarier use of the camera-as-narrator device beat Diary to the punch, while Romero’s leaded speeches and cartoonish characters undermine his intentions and the film’s excitement. -- Holman

THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY 3 stars (PG-13) In painter-turned-auteur Julian Schnabel’s third feature, Mathieu Amalric portrays the lusty editor of French Elle Jean-Dominique Bauby, who at age 43 suffered a stroke that left him utterly paralyzed save for the use of his left eyelid. Bauby managed to wink out his memoir through a complicated dictation system. — Feaster

THE EYE (PG-13) In this adaptation from a Japanese supernatural thriller, Jessica Alba plays a blind violinist who undergoes a double corneal transplant to restore her sight. The surgery opens her eyes to a world of haunting images depicting Death taking his victims, and Sydney searches to discover whose eyes she has been given. David Moreau and Xavier Palud direct.

FIRST SUNDAY (PG-13) Ice Cube, Katt Williams and Tracy Morgan star in this caper story about two petty criminals who rob their local church. David E. Talber (Love on Layaway) directs.

FOOL’S GOLD 3 stars (PG-13) Whimsical, tropical farce where a divorcing couple (Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, with great chemistry) are brought back together by the promise of buried treasure. Not many twists in this tale, but you don’t need them — it’s breezy, shallow fun. -- Keene

THE GREAT DEBATERS (PG-13) Denzel Washington stars and directs in the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College in Texas. In 1935 Tolson created the school’s first debate team, leading it to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE (PG-13) Nate Cooper (Joel David Moore) can’t win the heart of his longtime crush (Paris Hilton) unless he can find a wingman for her homely best friend, June (Christine Lakin).

HOW SHE MOVE (PG-13) A girl (newcomer Rutina Wesley is forced to leave private school and return to her neighborhood following her sister’s death, where she rediscovers her love for step dancing. Sundance Film Festival hit features choreography by Hi Hat.

IN BRUGES 3 stars (R) Two Irish hitmen (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) hide in Belgium’s preserved medieval town of Bruges in this hipster thriller from brash playwright Martin McDonagh. McDonagh proves that a knack for profanely funny dialogue can transfer from stage to screen, although at times he traffics in disposable themes that don’t quite justify the savage behavior. — Holman

JUMPER (PG-13) Backed by director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), and screenwriters David S. Goyer (Batman Begins), Jim Uhls (Fight Club) and Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Jumper is a science-fiction thriller about a man (Hayden Christensen) who can teleport anywhere, anytime. Co-stars Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Samuel L. Jackson and Diane Lane.

JUNO 4 stars (PG-13) An insanely funny, Oscar-winning script by Diablo Cody and bone-dry comic timing provided by Ellen Page make Juno feel like the breakout indie of the year. Page is a knocked-up 16-year-old who decides to hand over her child to a couple (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner) she thinks are desperate for a baby. Things turn out to be more complicated, and much sweeter than this attitudinal comedy initially suggests. — Feaster

MAD MONEY (PG-13) Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah star in this comedy about three working-class women who plan to rob the Federal Reserve Bank. Callie Khouri (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) directs.

MEET THE SPARTANS (PG-13) From screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Scary Movie, Date Movie and Epic Movie) comes another mockery: today’s film industry. Meet the Spartans is a spoof of 300 but takes hits at other popular flicks and movie icons, as the invading Persian army includes Paris Hilton, Transformers and Rocky Balboa.

MICHAEL CLAYTON 4 stars (R) George Clooney stars in this Oscar-nominated re-release as Michael Clayton, a metaphorical janitor, serving as custodian of the dirty secrets of New York’s masters of the universe. Tony Gilroy directs this slick conspiracy thriller that harks back, like a recurring nightmare, to the paranoia of Three Days of the Condor and other 1970s suspense films. — Holman

NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS (PG) In the sequel to National Treasure, treasure-hunter Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) follows clues in a mystery involving John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Jon Turteltaub directs.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN 4 stars (R) The Coen brothers scored four Oscars including Best Picutre in this ousing return to form, a Texas crime drama that strips away their trademark irony for suspenseful set pieces. Josh Brolin’s Vietnam vet, Tommy Lee Jones’ aging sheriff and Javier Bardem’s ruthless hitman engage in a three-way chase on either side of the Rio Grande. ­-- Holman

ONE MISSED CALL (PG-13) The English remake of a Japanese thriller about a group of young people who start receiving voice mails from the future detailing their deaths.

OVER HER DEAD BODY (PG-13) Devastated after his fiancee’s untimely death, Henry (Paul Rudd) consults a psychic (Lake Bell) and ends up falling for her. There’s just one catch: The former fiancee (Eva Longoria) comes back to haunt the couple in an attempt to break them up. Jeff Lowell writes and directs.

PERSEPOLIS 4 stars (PG-13) Marjane Satrapi co-directs the Oscar-nominated, animated adaptation of her graphic-novel memoir about growing up in Iran and witnessing the Shah’s tyranny, the war with Iraq and life under Islamic fundamentalists. The simplicity of the primarily black-and-white animation captures her childlike perspective, although the film’s second half, chronicling her battles with depression as a young woman, loses some of its political sweep. — Holman

THE PIRATES WHO DON’T DO ANYTHING: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE (G) In the latest VeggieTales film, three lazy misfits dream of putting on a show about pirates, but their timidity, lack of confidence and laziness relegate them to waiting tables at a pirate-themed restaurant.

RAMBO 2 stars (R) Vietnam vet/killing machine John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) journeys to genocide-ravaged Burma to rescue some American missionaries — especially the blonde one (Julie Benz) — and blow a bunch of ethnic-cleansing bad guys to smithereens. At 61, Stallone directs his seventh film (and first in the Rambo franchise) like he’s trying to prove he’s got the chops for today’s violent torture-porn franchises such as Hostel. — Holman

THE SAVAGES 4 stars (R) Two self-absorbed intellectual siblings (superbly played by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman) find themselves forced to care for the ailing, demented father (Philip Bosco) who abandoned them years ago. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ razor-sharp sophomore film (after Slums of Beverly Hills) manages to be at once gentle and merciless, encouraging us to laugh at the characters’ childishness while empathizing with their unhappiness. -- Holman

THE SIGNAL 3 stars (R) A mysterious signal sends TV viewers and phone users into homicidal fits in this indie success story from Atlanta filmmakers David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush. The three filmmakers each directed a different third of the movie and the radical shifts in tone, particularly an off-kilter bid for dark satire, undermine the film’s effective, economical dread. Definitely see it to support local filmmakers and actors (including Justin Welborn and Anessa Ramsey). -- Holman

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES 3 stars (PG) The Grace kids (Sarah Bolger, and Freddie Highmore playing twins) stop worrying about their parents’ separation when one of them discovers an ancestor’s field guide to magical creatures. Too intense and violent for pretweens, The Spiderwick Chronicles’ fast-paced adventure scenes evokes 1980s family adventures such as Gremlins and The Goonies without being quite so obnoxious, and retains the books’ more serious themes of broken homes. -- Holman

STEEP Mark Obenhaus’ documentary features big mountain skiing in North America and details the skiers who risk their lives to ski mountains considered challenging even just to climb.

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (PG-13) In this sequel to Step Up, street dancer Andie (Briana Evigan) finds herself at an elite school of the arts. While trying to bridge the gap between her two lives, Andie creates a team of dancers to cmpete in an underground dance-off. Jamal Sims, Step Up’s original choreographer, returns with help from Hi-Hat (How She Move) and Dave Scott (Stomp the Yard).

STRANGE WILDERNESS (R) In an attempt to turn around poor ratings of his wildlife TV show, “Strange Wilderness,” Peter (Steve Zahn) and his sidekick Fred (Allen Covert) set out to document Bigfoot.

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET 5 stars (R) A wrongfully accused barber (Johnny Depp) returns to Victorian London to wreak bloody vengeance on an evil judge (Alan Rickman). And it’s a musical! In adapting Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway classic, director Tim Burton casts movie stars whose lack of musical experience doesn’t interfere with the show’s skin-crawling intimacy and grand passions. — Holman

THERE WILL BE BLOOD 5 stars (R) Drawing from Upton Sinclair’s 1927 oil-man opus Oil!, Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) has created a film of stunning sweep and grandeur. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis plays a dementedly ambitious petroleum titan whose quest for riches comes at the cost of his humanity. — Feaster

UNTRACEABLE (R) A serial killer with a knack for technology creates a website depicting his violent murders. Gregory Hoblit directs.

VANTAGE POINT 2 stars (PG-13) An assassination attempt on the U.S. president (William Hurt) unfolds from multiple points of view, including a veteran secret service agent (Dennis Quaid), an American tourist with a camcorder (Forest Whitaker) and a cable news producer (Sigourney Weaver). Vantage Point’s multiple-eyewitness shtick takes too long to pay off and its minidramas play as painfully hackneyed, including Whitaker protecting a young bystander and the use of improbably identical “doubles.” -- Holman

WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS (PG-13) Martin Lawrence stars as Roscoe Jenkins, a big-shot talk-show host who has all but forgotten his humble beginnings growing up in the Deep South. When he returns for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, Roscoe starts to rethink his current situation.

WITLESS PROTECTION (PG-13) Larry the Cable Guy stars as a small-town sheriff who stumbles upon what he believes to be the kidnapping of a beautiful woman (Ivana Milicevic).

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH 3 stars (R) One of the American cinema’s most celebrated auteurs, Francis Ford Coppola has not directed a feature in 10 years. Film types waited with bated breath for his latest, a time-tripping, surreal treatise on death, faith and perception that shows Coppola hasn’t lost his taste for experimentation. Tim Roth is an elderly Romanian professor who is struck by lightning and has his youth restored. Despite a dense, twisted plot (critics received a glossy “cheat sheet” addressing the film’s symbols and themes) based on the writings of Romanian novelist Mircea Eliade that often gets lost on its cerebral, at times pompous journey, it is refreshing to see a director still enjoying, at age 68, the possibilities of cinema and offering such an intriguing meditation on time’s passage. -- Feaster