Film Clips, Aug. 12

Help the Devil’s Double reach the Final Destination in 30 Minutes or Less.

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OPENING FRIDAY
THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE (R) Dominic Cooper plays a dual role in this film about an Iraqi forced to be a decoy double for Uday Hussein, Saddam’s psycho son. Die Another Day director Lee Tamahori helms this political thriller.
FINAL DESTINATION 5 3D (R) In the fifth iteration of the franchise’s familiar plot, a group of young people survive the crash of a suspension bridge, only to discover that, having cheated death, they’re doomed to die in outlandish ways.
GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE (PG) This tribute film to the musical TV phenomenon presents some of the student characters singing pop hits in concert, along with the documentary-style stories of three “Gleeks” whose lives have been influenced by the Fox show.
THE HELP 2 stars (PG-13) In Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s, a white would-be journalist (Emma Stone) attempts to enlist African-American housekeepers (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer) to write about about Southern race relations from their point of view. In adapting the bestselling novel by Atlanta’s Kathryn Stockett, writer/director Tate Taylor retains too much of the book’s sprawling plot spends too much time trying to establish The Help as a feel-good Southern comedy-drama like Steel Magnolias. The film conveys the African-American characters’ anger and captures plenty of winning details about the South, but uses Bryce Dallas-Howard’s manipulative, racist socialite as nearly a scapegoat for Southern racism. — Holman
POINT BLANK (NR) In this French thriller, a male nurse races against the clock save his kidnapped wife from some vicious thugs. From the director of Anything for Her, which Paul Haggis remade as that breakout thriller The Next Three Days.
30 MINUTES OR LESS 3 stars (R ) An underemployed pizza delivery guy (The Social Network’s Jesse Eisenberg) gets strapped to a bomb and blackmailed to steal a fortune by two trashy ne’er-do-wells (Danny McBride and Nick Swarsdon). McBride plays a predictable version of his arrogant redneck character, but Eisenberg finds a great onscreen partner in Aziz Ansari as the pizza boy’s best friend and highly reluctant accomplice. Disappointing compared to previous slobby summer comedies like Superbad, the film at least has more laughs and energy than Horrible Bosses or The Hangover Part 2. — Holman
VINCENT WANTS TO SEA (NR) In this drama from Germany, A young man suffering from Tourette’s syndrome flees from an institution with two other patients to travel to Italy to fulfill his mother’s last wish. If you’re interested in European road movies involving mental illness, you might want to “sea” this.

DULY NOTED
COLD WEATHER (2010) (NR) The naturalistic “mumblecore” filmmaking movement takes a mysterious turn in this tale of a forensics student who investigates the disappearance of his girlfriend. Through Aug. 14. Cinefest Film Theatre, Georgia State University, 66 Courtland St., Suite 240. 404-413-1798. www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcft.
GENERAL ORDERS NO. 9 (NR) Director Robert Persons helms an acclaimed meditation on the geographic and cultural identity of the state of Georgia in this documentary linked to the work of Terrence Malik. I>Aug. 12-21. Cinefest Film Theatre, Georgia State University, 66 Courtland St., Suite 240. 404-413-1798. www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcft.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966) 5 stars (NR) Three iconic gunslingers — played by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef — double-cross each other across the Italian-looking badlands of the American Civil War in pursuit of a secret treasure. Director Sergio Leone’s epic spaghetti western, often imitated and parodied, deserves to be seen on as big a screen as possible. Sat., Aug. 13, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.
RETURN TO GORÉE (2006) This musical road movie follows Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour’s epic journey tracing the Black Atlantic voyage made by enslaved Africans and the jazz music they created. Youssou N’Dour travels across the United States and Europe in a mission to take back a jazz repertoire to Africa. Radcliffe Bailey Film Series. Sat., Aug. 13, 8 p.m. Rich Theatre, High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-5000. www.high.org.
THE SCENESTERS (2010) (NR) This black comedy depicts a group of crime scene videographers who go after a serial killer.Through Aug. 14. Cinefest Film Theatre, Georgia State University, 66 Courtland St., Suite 240. 404-413-1798. www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcft.