crankyhanke
theaterlistings FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 - THURSDAY, AUGUST 11
Due to possible last-minute scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.
ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. (254-1281) O
Please call the info line for updated showtimes. Bridesmaids (R) 10:00 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (PG-13) 7:00 Kung Fu Panda 2 (PG) 1:00, 400
CARMIKE CINEMA 10 (298-4452) O
Candyland (G) 12:00 (Sat-Sun) Cars 2 2D (G) 12:05, 2:40 Cowboys & Aliens (PG-13) 12:25, 1:10, 3:20, 4:05, 6:15, 7:00, 9:05, 9:50, Late show 10:30 Fri only Friends with Benefits (R) 1:55, 4:40, 7:20, 10:00 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 3D (PG-13) 11:50, 2:45, 5:45, 8:45 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2D (PG-13) 12:45, 2:05, 3:40, 5:05, 6:35, 8:10, 9:30 (no 3:40 or 6:35 8/9) Horrible Bosses (R) 12:35, 2:55, 5:20, 7:40, 10:15 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D (PG-13) 2:20, 5:30, 9:25 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 2D (PG-13) 5:10, 8:35 Zookeeper (PG) 1:40, 4:20, 6:45, 9:15 O CAROLINA ASHEVILLE CINEMA 14 (274-9500)
Buck (PG) 11:50, 4:50, 9:30 (Sofa Cinema) Captain America: The First Avenger 3D (PG-13) 11:30, 10:30 Captain America: The First Avenger 2D (PG-13) 2:15, 5:00, 7:45 The Change-up (R) 12:10, 2:35, 5:05, 7:55, 10:25 Cowboys & Aliens (PG-13) 11:15, 2:00, 4:45, 7:30, 10:15 Crazy, Stupid, Love (PG-13)
movie reviews & listings by ken hanke
11:20, 2:10, 4:50, 7:35, 10:20 Friends with Benefits (R) 11:55, 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 9:55 (Sofa Cinema) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2D (PG-13) 12:20, 4:00, 7:20, 10:15 Horrible Bosses (R) 11:25, 1:50, 4:20, 8:00, 10:20 (Sofa Cinema) Midnight in Paris (PG-13) 11:45, 1:55, 4:15, 7:40, 10:25 Page One: Inside the New York Times (R) 2:20, 7:10 (Sofa Cinema) Project Nim (PG-13) 12:15, 2:40, 5:10, 7:55, 10:10 Rise of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13) 11:40, 2:05, 4:30, 7:15, 9:45 The Smurfs (PG) 11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:00, 9:25 The Tree of Life (PG-13) 12:05, 3:25, 7:05, 10:05 The Trip (NR) 11:20, 1:55, 4:25, 7:50, 10:20
CINEBARRE (665-7776) O
CO-ED CINEMA BREVARD (883-2200) O
Cowboys & Aliens (PG-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late show Fri-Sat 9:30
EPIC OF HENDERSONVILLE (693-1146) O
FINE ARTS THEATRE (232-1536) O
Beginners (R) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late show Fri-Sat 9:20 Midnight in Paris (PG-13) 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, Late show Fri-Sat 9:30
FLATROCK CINEMA (697-2463) O
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (PG-13) 12:30 (Sat-Sun), 7:00 Midnight in Paris (PG-13) 4:00 O REGAL BILTMORE GRANDE STADIUM 15 (684-1298)
UNITED ARTISTS BEAUCATCHER (298-1234) O
For some theaters movie listings were not available at press time. Please contact the theater or check mountainx.com for updated information.
+++++ max rating
additional reviews by justin souther contact xpressmovies@aol.com
pickoftheweek PROJECT NIM +++++
DIRECTOR: JAMES MARSH (MAN ON WIRE) PLAYERS: NIM CHIMPSKY, HERBERT TERRACE, STEPHANIE LAFARGE, LAURA-ANN PETITTO DOCUMENTARY
RATED PG-13
The Story: Documentary about the chimp who was part of a 1970s experiment to teach an animal to communicate through sign language. The Lowdown: Entertaining, compelling, maddening and finally heartbreaking documentary. Highly recommended. James Marsh’s new film Project Nim may not be as giddy an entertainment as his Man on Wire (2008), but it’s a work made with a similar vision. (And a similar tendency to resort to recreated footage to make his points on occasion.) What at first appears to be a slyly amusing film about an experiment that sounds mostly just goofy turns into a reasonably serious indictment — not only of those conducting the experiment, but humanity’s arrogance — and this probably plays a role in why Nim is less fun than its predecessor, The Nim of Project Nim is a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky (a nod to ground-breaking linguist Noam Chomsky). Why? Well, the supposed idea behind the project — initiated by Columbia University professor Herbert Terrace — was to disprove Chomsky’s belief that language and the ability to communicate through it is distinctly and uniquely human. The concept was that if a chimp could be taught to communicate through sign language, Chomsky’s belief would be disproven. So Terrace got himself a chimpanzee from a compound in Oklahoma — the baby wrenched away from his tranqulized mother — and plopped him down in the fancy home of Stephanie LaFarge on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The reasons for choosing LaFarge seem to consist of nothing greater than the fact that Terrace had once had an affair with the woman. Whatever the case, it was a stunningly bad idea — and certainly the antithesis of scientific. LaFarge and her family — described in the film as “rich hippies” — represented the worst of 1970s counterculture permissiveness. (And, frankly, the woman comes off no less ditsy in modern interview footage.) Basically — apart from the very dubious business of her breastfeeding the chimp — they dressed him up like a human, diapered him and let him do whatever he wanted. If there were any actual lessons in sign language from her, I never saw them. A somewhat more structured existence with actual lessons took place in Nim’s next
68 AUGUST 3 - AUGUST 9, 2011 • mountainx.com
Nim Chimpsky with his teacher Laura-Ann Petitto in James Marsh’s excellent new documentary Project Nim. home, but the overall problem with the whole idea of raising a chimpanzee like a human child remains. Worse, there’s the fact that the basic viability of the experiment — and safety of his caretakers — lessens as Nim ages. It doesn’t help matters that Terrace was remarkably hands-off — except perhaps when it came to a photo op. It isn’t long before Terrace kills the project, returning Nim to the animal compound in Oklahoma. From there, it’s a long slide into ever-worsening circumstances for the animal. There are some bright spots for Nim, mostly courtesy of Bob Ingersoll, who truly befriends the chimp and helps redress some of the damage done. The tale has been called Dickensian by a few critics, and that’s not far off the mark. Nim’s travails would certainly be at home in a Dickens novel. Marsh, however, never works at creating a Dickensian villain — though, interestingly, Terrace inadvertently paints himself as one. It becomes obvious in interviews with the man that none of Nim’s tribulations meant much to him. His memory of specific events is so sketchy and so distracted (he often says what he “thinks” he did, not what he did) that you wonder whether the experiment was ever remotely more than a passing idea that he lost interest in as soon as it started. Ultimately, it’s impossible to have much, if any, sympathy for the man. Nim, on the other hand, earns our full sympathy. Rated PG-13 for some strong language, drug content, thematic elements and disturbing images. reviewed by Ken Hanke Starts Friday at Carolina Asheville Cinema 14
ASSASSINATION GAMES ++
DIRECTOR: EDDIE BARBARASH PLAYERS: JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME, SCOTT ADKINS, KEVIN CHAPMAN, IVAN KAYE ACTION
RATED R
The Story: Two assassins team up — for wholly different reasons — to kill a crime boss. The Lowdown: A low budget, competent actioner that’s negligible and forgettable. Assassination Games probably won’t be in theaters much past the time this review is printed. Even at that, it’s in nary a theater — locally or nationwide — to begin with. It’s a film that’s obviously built for DVD sales, not the climactic competition of summer movies. Judged within those simple confines, the film is perfectly acceptable action entertainment. People get shot, maimed and punched. That’s the gist of what happens in the film, actually, and that’s pretty much all you need to know when deciding if it’s for you or not. The only other thing you really need to know is that this film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, who is currently in the midst of a modest, latecareer renaissance. What we get in this film is a hard-boiled Van Damme, one who is at least attempting to act. (He even lets an unconvincing tear roll down his cheek at one point, like he’s in an anti-littering PSA.) He’ll still never be mistaken for a great actor, but he’s much more palatable here than he was in his mulleted, mini-Schwarzenegger, “Muscles from Brussels” days. He’s also trying to prove he’s capable of