Film Clips: This weekends movie openings and more April 23 2010
Sorry J Lo, your new movie is not even a back-up plan.
OPENING THURSDAY
OCEANS (G ) In celebration of Earth Day, Disneynature releases a film exploring the intricacies and mysteries of the ocean.
OPENING FRIDAY
THE BACK-UP PLAN (PG-13) JenniferLopez emerges from marital bliss with her first movie in four years. This time she plays a woman sick of waiting to find Mr. Right and decides to artificially inseminate. But when she does, the perfect man finds his way into her life.
THE ECLIPSE 3 stars (R ) At small Irish literary festival, a widower (Ciarin Hinds of HBO’s “Rome”) crosses paths with a pair of famous novelists as well as ghostly apparitions. Playwright Conor McPherson directs this soft-spoken character study that includes horrific, out-of-nowhere jolts that don’t always fit the tender portrayal of middle-aged friendship. Aidan Quinn plays a wonderfully hateful literary luminary who manages to be both a pompous ass and a spoiled brat. — ''Curt Holman
FORMOSA BETRAYED (R ) James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) stars in this mystery/thriller based on actual events. When a professor is murdered, an FBI agent’s investigation leads to a discovery of international secrets that have been kept hidden within the American universities for decades. The detective soon finds there’s no one to trust and no one he won’t have to come up against.
THE LOSERS (PG-13) It's the classic revenge plot meets lots of guns and kabooms when members of a U.S. Special Forces unit are betrayed by one of their own and left for dead. Now they're out to get all responsible parties who have us on the brink of a high-tech war. — Edward Adams
NORTH FACE (NR ) A dramatic thriller based on the 1936 attempt of two men to be the first to climb the Swiss Alpine peak, Eiger, aka "Death Wall".
THE SECRET OF KELLS 3 stars (NR) Last year’s surprise nominee for Best Animated Feature, this sweet, low-key Irish/French/Belgium co-production depicts a young acolyte at a 9th century Irish monastery at a time of Viking invasion. The boy becomes enchanted by a girlish spirit of the woods, as well as a famed, unfinished illuminated manuscript that represents the height of civilization. The intricate, deliberately flat hand-drawn animation style emulates both the style of pre-Medieval art and symbolizes the monastic dedication of the animators, particularly at a time when 3-D animation is one the rise. — Holman
DULY NOTED
ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL – Hurry! Tonight's the last night. April 15-23. Prices and locations vary. Atlanta Film Festival. http://atlantafilmfestival.com. — Holman
THE DAWN OF THE WORLD (NR) Iraqi-French director Abbas Fahdel presents a love story that takes place against the backdrop of the Gulf War. April 24, 8 p.m. Free-$7. Rich Theatre, High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-5000. www.high.org.
NO IMPACT MAN (NR ) The documentary that followed a 5th Avenue Manhattan family for one year as they tried to make no impacts on the environment. April 25th, 7 p.m. Paideia School, main theater, 1509 Ponce De Leon Ave. 404-377-3491. www.paideiaschool.org.
REEFER MADNESS (1936) (NR) Filmed under the title Tell Your Children and remade as a campy musical in 1998, this lurid expose reveals the powers of “Maryjane” to turn its victims into gibbering, psychotic dope fiends. 10 p.m. April 20, midnight April 23. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave., $8-$12. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.
THE TINGLER (1959) (NR) Vincent Price plays an unconventional pathologist who discovers the existence of a lethal parasite that feeds on fear and can only be killed by screams. Movie impresario William Castle originally released the film in “Percepto,” a gimmick that featured movie seats rigged with joy buzzers. (Take that, Avatar!)The Silver Scream Spook Show. April 24, 1 and 10 p.m. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave., $8-$12. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.
TUCKER: A MAN AND HIS DREAM (NR) The High Museum’s “Races and Chases” film series, coinciding with “The Allure of the Automobile” exhibit, begins with Francis Ford Coppola’s flashy biopic of Preston Tucker (Oscar winner Jeff Bridges), whose revolutionary automobile, the Tucker Torpedo, was suppressed by the auto industry. Races & Chases. April 23, 8 p.m. Free-$7. Rich Theatre, High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-5000. www.high.org.
FORCES OF NATURE Earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, oh my! Three incredibly furious natural disasters are at your disposal. The good news: there is a screen separating the two of you. Through May 27. $8-$13. Show times vary. Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road. 404-929-6400. www.fernbankmuseum.org.
ARABIA For those of you whose only knowledge of Arabia comes from Aladdin or various news outlets, this movie is for you. Unfortunately, there’s not a magic carpet ride, but it’s a journey from the ancient Arabian world to modern day. Highlights include viewing shipwrecks at the bottom of the see and seeing the Islamic yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. Through July 29. $8-$13. Show times vary. Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road. 404-929-6400. www.fernbankmuseum.org.
RIDE AROUND THE WORLD Many people think that the cowboy was born in America. Truthfully, the connection between man and horse has been around for over 1,500 years. This movie follows this rich culture from gauchos to vaqueros. Through June 25. $8-$13. Martinis & IMAX exclusively. Fri., 8 p.m., 10 p.m. Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road. 404-929-6400. www.fernbankmuseum.org.
RECENTLY REVIEWED
DEATH AT A FUNERAL 3 stars (R ) An African-American family experiences one disaster after another during the funeral of their paterfamilias. This remake of the hilarious 2007 English comedy stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan and Peter Dinklage, reprising his role from the original. — Edward Adams
THE JONESES 2 stars (R ) When Steve (David Duchovny), Kate (Demi Moore), Jenn (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) Jones move into a posh suburban neighborhood they immediately turn heads. This do-no-wrong family pimps the latest gadgets, the hottest clothes and the nicest rides. Now everybody wants to be like the Joneses, no matter the cost. What the community doesn’t know is the Joneses are a fabricated family made up of stealth marketers whose only goal is to peddle products to their unsuspecting neighbors. — Adams
KICK-ASS 3 stars (R ) A geeky teen (Aaron Johnson) with no special powers or training becomes a superhero called Kick-Ass, and teams with other eccentric crime-fighters to battle a crimelord. Like a caped crusader with a dual identity, Kick-Ass suffers from a bipolar disorder, and the sort-of realistic comedy with Kick-Ass doesn’t mesh with the outrageously violent revenge subplot involved an obsessed ex-cop (a highly amusing Nicolas Cage) and his tweenage killing-machine daughter, Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz). Hit-Girl’s incongruous presence and bracing, slapstick bloodbaths make up for Kick-Ass’sweaknesses. — ''Curt Holman
(Photo Magnolia Pictures)
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