Film clips: this weekend’s movie openings and more June 04 2010

__OPENING FRIDAY
GET HIM TO THE GREEK 3 stars (R ) A Junior music industry executive (Jonah Hill) has three days to deliver uncontrollable, substance-abusing rockstar Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from London to a comeback gig in Los Angeles, without overdosing on the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle along the way. Spinning off characters from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To the Greek builds an amusing comedy team around a lanky, pampered celebrity and his shlubby, harried minder. Despite usually being a sidekick who makes Seth Rogen look sexy by comparison, Hill comfortably carries the film, which marks a funny and welcome comeback not just for Aldous Snow, but for Judd Apatow’s productions after last year’s Funny People. — Holman

KILLERS (PG-13) Katherine Heigl plays a young woman who discovers that her new husband (Ashton Kutcher) might actually be a hit man. The screwball trailer makes it look like a B-list version of the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz vehicle Knight and Day, due later this month. — Holman

MARMADUKE (PG) After doing it in newspapers, the comic strip Great Dane takes the big screen in this live-action film in which the oversized canine talks (with the voice of Owen Wilson) and tries to fit in with the dogs of Los Angeles. Sounds kind of like Beverly Hills Chihuahua only, you know, really big. — Holman

MOTHER AND CHILD (R )A child is a blessing. Well, unless you’re fourteen and logically decide to give the fruit of your womb to someone else since you’re too immature to handle a kid. As you spend years regretting your past and the child goes through identity issues more screwed up than the average hormonal teen, there’s still comfort in knowing you helped create a special bond. Mother and Child explores the intricacies of many aspects of the mother-daughter bond depicted by the lives of three very different women (Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Annette Bening).

NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS (NR) Iranian music censorship meets its match as two musicians recently released from prison forgo safety and monetary security to search for band mates in contemporary Tehran’s underground music scene and embark on their quest for visas, a London gig, and musical nirvana.

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SPLICE 3 stars (R ) A pair of brilliant biochemists (Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody) tamper in God’s domain by creating a new life form that combines human and animal DNA, grows rapidly to adulthood and prove more intelligent and dangerous than they can imagine. Following in the footsteps of David Cronenberg’s The Fly, Splice features strong performances, provocative ideas, flashes of humor and disturbing make-up effects. The filmmaker carries the film’s reproductive themes to some unfortunate places, but Splice still offers the rare, character-driven horror movie that leaves you with things to discuss after the scares have passed. — Holman

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DULY NOTED__

BUGS! A RAINFOREST ADVENTURE Get up-close and personal with over 40 bugs living in a world where the rainforest architects itself into a city-scape of buildings and roads, where the life-span is hours-not years, where leaves weigh more than grass, and where predators eat two tons of their population nightly. $6-$15. Show times vary. 767 Clifton Road, N.E. 404-929-6300. www.fernbankmuseum.org

COP OUT 3 stars (R ) Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) moves from the non-stimulating flick to another seemingly less than enthralling comedy centered on chasing down gangsters more obsessed with memorabilia than money and jewels. Jimmy (Bruce Willis) alongside his whiny and self-depleting partner-albeit due to learning about his wife’s infidelity- are NYPD cops looking for Jimmy’s valuable baseball card that is needed to fund his daughter’s wedding. __Free - $5 Show times vary. Courtland Avenue. 404-656-2000 www.gsu.edu/cinefest


HARRY BROWN (2009) (R ) It’s official, teenagers are crime-inflicting hoodlums- or at least in this movie taking place in modern day Britain. Brown (Michael Caine) is a law-abiding citizen until the death of his best friend and only companion causes him to break down and take the law into his own hands. Prices and show times vary. 931 Monroe Drive North Easthttp://maps.google.com/maps?q=931 Monroe Drive North East,Atlanta,GA,30308&hl=en. 678-495-1424. www.landmarktheaters.com.

HELLRAISER (1987) (R ) Splatter Cinema presents Clive Barker’s first film in the kinky horror series about a mysterious box that opens a portal to a demonic dimension peopled by the likes of “Pinhead.” June 8, 9:30 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com. — Holman

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