THE GAZETTE
Page A-12
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 z
AT THE MOVIES
‘3 Days to Kill’: An American spy in Paris Kevin Costner gets the Liam Neeson-in-‘Taken’ treatment
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BY ROGER MOORE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Kevin Costner and director McG are plunged into the madcap mayhem of Monsieur Luc Besson in “3 Days to Kill,” a seriocomic thriller about mortality, murder for hire and fatherhood. This being a Besson script and production, it’s also about car chases and epic shootouts, torture played for sadistic laughs, Paris locations and Peugeot product placement. Besson, who morphed into a producer after “The Professional” and before “The Transporter,” gives Costner the full Liam Neeson-in-“Taken” treatment, cashing in on a career
of cool in a movie that moves almost fast enough to keep us from noticing how scruffy, discomfiting and absurdly overthe-top the whole thing is. Costner plays Ethan, a veteran CIA agent diagnosed with cancer. But his new control agent, a vamp named Vivi, played to the stiletto-heeled hilt by Amber Heard, wants him to finish one last massacre, taking out a nuclear arms dealer and his associates in the City of Light. The carrot? She has an experimental drug that might give Ethan more time. And that could mean more time with his estranged wife (Connie Nielsen) and the daughter he barely knows, played by “True Grit” teen Hailee Steinfeld. They live in Paris. The girl doesn’t know what dad does for a living or that he’s dying. She’s a teen. She probably wouldn’t care: “You might want to take something
3 DAYS TO KILL n 2 1/2 stars n PG-13; 113 minutes n Cast: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld n Directed by McG
for that cough. It’s really annoying.” McG (“Charlie’s Angels,” “We Are Marshall”) stamps his signature on Besson’s Euroaction vision with running gags: Dad keeps trying to get his rebellious teen to ride this cool purple bike he brought her. Her ring tone on his phone is “I Love It,” which goes off just as he’s about to rip a guy’s armpit hair out with duct tape. Everybody’s always trying to high-five Ethan, and the French, Germans and others he runs into keep calling him “Cowboy.”
Ethan’s always stopping the torture to ask one underworld guy (Marc Andreoni, funny) how to cope, what to do, how “to balance work and family.” Heard — all lipstick and lingerie, long eyelashes and leather wear — has little to do here, something of a waste. Steinfeld’s Zoey is a bit of a drama queen but not a caricature of one. She commits one transgression after another, which Ethan seems loath to punish and unable to rein in. Besson co-wrote the script, and he works in shots at absentee parents, lazy French cops and a legal system that allows cute African squatters more rights to Ethan’s apartment than he has. But that turns out to be a warm and fuzzy cul-de-sac, one of many in this movie, which veers from shocking shootouts to rank sentiment. Ethan’s illness is forgotten for long stretches, but Costner,
Kevin Costner stars in Relativity Media’s “3 Days to Kill.”
PHOTO BY JULIAN TORRES
a hacking, weathered study in wrinkles and violence, never lets on that the whole affair is more of a lark than “Taken” ever was. A canny touch is the old-fashioned split-screen opening credits, scored to the old R&B tune “Ole Man Trouble.” It fits. A tone-deaf touch? Having father teach daughter to dance to “Make It With You.” Seriously?
Daft and sloppy as it is, “3 Days” rarely fails to entertain. From the bike-riding lessons on Montmartre to dopey interrogation of the Italian “accountant,” interrupted for a marinara sauce recipe, it’s all part and parcel of the madness of Besson’s “From Paris with Love,” filtered through McG and slapping a new stamp of “cool” on aging Oscar-winner Costner.
8:15 p.m. Feb. 28; Sweet Honey in the Rock 40th Anniversary Celebration: Forty and Fierce! 8 p.m. March 1; Michael Bolton, 7 p.m. March 2; Intro to Jazz Singing 7:30 p.m. March 3; Mardi Gras Specialty Tea, 1 p.m. March 4; WPAS: Murray Perahia, piano, 8 p.m. March 4; Berlin ~ Las Vegas with Theo Bleckmann, voice & Rob Schwimmer, piano, 7:30 p.m. March 6; BSO: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg Plays Shostakovich, 8 p.m. March 6; Celtic Nights: The Emigrants Bridge, 8 p.m. March 7; Rye Rye, 9 p.m. March 7; National Philharmonic: Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1, 8 p.m. March 8, call for venue, Locations: Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda; Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, 301581-5100, www.strathmore.org.
Show, 8 p.m. Feb. 28; KAT 2nd Stage presents “Disney’s Winnie the Pooh for Kids,” March 8-23. 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, 301-258-6394, www.gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn. Imagination Stage, “Rumpelstiltskin,” to March 16, call for prices, times, Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, www. imaginationstage.org Olney Theatre Center, “How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying,” to March 2; “I And You,” Feb. 26 to March 23, call for prices, times, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, 301-924-3400, www. olneytheatre.org. The Puppet Co., “Sleeping Beauty,” to March 23; Tiny Tots @ 10, select Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, call for shows and show times, Puppet Co. Playhouse, Glen Echo Park’s North Arcade Building, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., $5, 301-6345380, www.thepuppetco.org. Round House Theatre, Bethesda, “Seminar,” to March 4, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. 240-644-1100, www. roundhousetheatre.org. Round House Theatre, Silver Spring, “Pluto,” presented by Forum Theatre, to March 15, call for show times, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, $15 for general admission, $10 for subscribers, patrons 30 and younger and seniors, 244-6441100, www.roundhousetheatre.org. Silver Spring Stage, “Superior Donuts,” to March 15, Woodmoor Shopping Center, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, see website for show times, www.ssstage.org. The Writer’s Center, Carolyn Forche and Duncan Wu, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28; Virginia Pye and Raoul Wientzen, 2 p.m. March 2, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, 301-6548664, www.writer.org.
IN THE ARTS DANCES Carpe Diem Contra Dance, March. 13, Steve Hickman, John Devine and the Major Minors, DeLaura Padovan, caller, 7-7:30 p.m. contradance workshops, 7:30-10 p.m. Contras & Squares, second Thursdays, Great Hall, Silver Spring Civics Center, One Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, $10 for general admission, $8 for members, $5 for students and those without income, www.carpediemarts.com. Hollywood Ballroom, Feb. 26, free Rumba lesson at 7:30 p.m., Social Ballroom Dance at 8:15 p.m. ($16); Feb. 27, March 6, Tea Dance from 12:30-3:30 p.m. ($6); Feb. 28, dropin lessons from 7:30-9 p.m., West Coast Swing Dancing at 9 p.m. ($15);
March 1, Ballroom dance night, lessons from 6:30-9 p.m., dance from 9 p.m. to midnight ($15); March 2, free Cha Cha lessons at 7 p.m., Social Ballroom Dance at 8 p.m. ($16); March 5, free Step of the Evening lesson at 7:30 p.m., Social Ballroom Dance at 8:15 p.m. ($16), 2126 Industrial Highway, Silver Spring, 301-326-1181, www.hollywoodballroomdc.com
Glen Echo Park is at 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Blues, Capital Blues: Thurs-
days, 8:15 p.m. beginner lesson, 9-11:30 p.m. dancing to DJs, Glen Echo Park’s Spanish Ballroom Annex, $8, www.capitalblues.org. Contra, Feb. 28, Ted Hodapp and Contratopia, 7:30 p.m. lesson, 8:30 p.m. dance, Glen Echo Park
Spanish Ballroom, $10, www.fridaynightdance.org. Contra & Square, March 2, Ted Hodapp and Contratopia, 7:30 p.m., Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom, $12 for general, $9 for members, $5 for students, www.fsgw.org. English Country, Feb. 26, Caller: Dan Gillespie, 8 p.m., Glen Echo Town Hall (upstairs), www.fsgw.org. Waltz, March 2, Contratopia, 2:45-3:30 p.m. lesson, 3:30-6 p.m., dance, $10, www.waltztimedances. org.
MUSIC & DANCE Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Gotta Swing Dance with Josh
& The Good Old Stuff, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26; Veronneau, 8 p.m. Feb. 27; The Texas Chainsaw Horns & Hot Mess Burlesque, 8 p.m. Feb. 28; Mojo & The Bayou Gypsies, 8 p.m. March 1, call for prices, 7719
Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. 240330-4500, www.bethesdabluesjazz.com.
BlackRock Center for the Arts, Ballet Hispanico Latin Dance Party, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28; Cashore Marionettes, 1 p.m. March 1, Dervish, 8 p.m. March 8; Seamus Kennedy, 7:30 p.m. March 13, call for tickets, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown. 301-5282260, www.blackrockcenter.org.
Institute of Musical Traditions — Rockville, Carrie Newcomer,
7:30 p.m. March 8, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, call for prices, www.imtfolk.org. Strathmore, Afternoon Tea, 1 p.m. Feb. 26, March 1, 5; AIR: Nistha Raj, Hindustani violin, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26; Pilobolus, 8 p.m. Feb. 26; AIR Alumni: Daisy Castro, Gypsy jazz violin, 11 a.m. Feb. 28; BSO: Off the Cuff — CSI: Mozart,
ON STAGE Adventure Theatre, “Miss Nelson is Missing,” to March 9, call for prices, times, Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, 301-634-2270, www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org. Arts Barn, Comedy and Magic
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Scott Fitzgerald Theater
603 Edmonston Dr. Rockville, MD 20851
240-314-8690
www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre
1912243
Victorian Lyric Opera Company Presents
1905595
1905596
February 28 at 8pm March 1 at 8pm March 2 at 2pm
1910620
1912242
Yeoman of the Guard
VISUAL ART Capital Arts Network, “Critical Contacts: Significant Encounters and Their Impact,” Studio Art Faculty of Montgomery College, March 3-28, opening reception from 6-9 p.m. March 7, normal gallery hours from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Capitol Arts Network Urban by Nature Gallery, Rockville, capitolartsnetwork.com.