crankyhanke
theaterlistings Friday, AUGUST 19 - Thursday, AUGUST 25
Due to possible last-minute scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.
Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co. (254-1281) n
Please call the info line for updated showtimes. Bridesmaids (R) 10:00 Green Lantern (PG-13) 7:00 (no 7:00 show Thu. Aug 25) Monsoon Wedding (R) 7:00 p.m. Thu. Aug. 25 Mr. Popper’s Penguins (PG) 1:00, 400
Carmike Cinema 10 (298-4452) n
Candyland (G) 1:00 (Sat-Sun) Cowboys & Aliens (PG-13) 12:55, 3:30, 6:40, 9:45 Final Destination 5 3D (R) 2:40, 4:55, 7:15, 9:35 Final Destination 5 2D (R) 1:45, 4:10, 6:25, 8:45 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (PG) 1:35, 3:50, 5:55, 8:00 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 3D (PG-13) 2:00, 5:20, 8:20 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 3 2D (PG-13) 3:00, 6:05, 9:05 The Help (PG-13) 12:50, 4:00, 6:55, 9:55 Horrible Bosses (R) 1:10. 5:25, 7:30, 10:05 Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World 3D (PG) 3:45, 8:30 Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World 2D (PG) 1:05, 6:15 Zookeeper (PG) 2:30, 4:45, 7:10, 9:20
Carolina Asheville Cinema 14 (274-9500) n
30 Minutes or Less (R) 12:15, 2:20, 4:30, 7:55, 10:00 The Change-up (R) , 2:35, 8:00 Conan the Barbarian (R) 11:45, 2:25, 5:00, 7:40, 10:10 Cowboys & Aliens (PG-13) 11:15, 2:00, 4:45, 7:30, 10:15 (Sofa Cinema) Crazy, Stupid, Love (PG-13) 11:25, 2:10, 4:50, 7:35, 10:10 (Sofa Cinema) Final Destination 5
3D (R) 12:10, 9:50 Final Destination 5 2D (R) 2:30, 4:45, 7:35 Fright Night 3D (R) 4:05, 7:50, 10:20 Fright Night 2D (R) 12:05, 5:05, 10:25 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (PG) 11:50, 1:55 The Help (PG-13) 12:25, 3:30, 7:00, 10:05 If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (PG) 12:00, 2:15, 4:10, 7:10, 9:30 Midnight in Paris (PG-13) 11:45, 1:55, 4:15, 7:40, 10:25 (Sofa Cinema) One Day (PG-13) 11:20, 1:50, 4:25, 7:50, 10:20 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, 7:05, 9:25 (Sofa Cinema) Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (PG) 11:55, 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 9:55 n Cinebarre (665-7776) n Co-ed Cinema Brevard (883-2200)
The Help (PG-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00
Epic of Hendersonville (693-1146) n
n Fine Arts Theatre (232-1536)
The Future (NR) 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 n Flatrock Cinema (697-2463)
The Day Carl Sandburg Died (NR) 4:00, 7:00 Midnight in Paris (PG-13) Sat-Sun only 1:00 n Regal Biltmore Grande Stadium 15 (684-1298)
United Artists Beaucatcher (298-1234) n
For some theaters movie listings were not available at press time. Please contact the theater or check mountainx.com for updated information.
movie reviews & listings by ken hanke
JJJJJ max rating
additional reviews by justin souther contact xpressmovies@aol.com
pickoftheweek The Future
JJJJ
Director: Miranda July Players: Hamish Linklater, Miranda July, David Warshofsky, Isabella Acres, Joe Putterlik Drama/Fantasy Rated R
The Story: Two 30-somethings try to find fulfillment in the 30 days they have before they accept the responsibility of caring for a cat. The Lowdown: Nicely crafted with some pleasing quirks and flights of fantasy, but with two unlikable characters at its center which keeps the film itself from being likable. As someone who liked Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), I was genuinely looking forward to her new film, The Future. I had also liked the trailer a good bit. And then there was the film itself, which turns this review into one of the oddest and most difficult things I’ve ever written. You see, here’s the thing: I think the film is generally clever and creative. I cannot fault it much on that score. I also think it is well made. I have no choice in my own mind, but to recommend the film (with a couple of reservations). At the same time, I have to admit that I personally disliked the film intensely. But beyond that, I also have to confess that I have been completely unable to get the film out of my mind. This makes me think July did something right. The film is about a pair of incredibly shallow characters — Sophie (July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) — both heading to the 40-side of their mid-30s. As presented, they have no actual interests, talents or ambition, but they do have a sense of entitlement — that they thought they’d (apparently by magic) be more than they are. This disatisfaction comes to a head when they agree that it’s time to take on some responsibility. Their idea of responsibility is to commit to adopting a stray cat from an animal shelter. They’ve chosen this cat — named Paw-Paw — because it’s only expected to live six months. They can scarcely conceal their horror when they’re told that if that cat bonds with them, it might live for five years. Panic sets in with the impending loss of their freedom, and they opt to use the 30 days they must wait to take possession of Paw-Paw to quit their jobs and realize their extremely tenuous dreams. In Sophie’s case, this is to create 30 dances for YouTube videos in 30 days. Despite the fact that she taught dance — to very young children — she seems to have no particular aptitude for this. Jason, on the other hand, is less focused, and decides to join an ecology group as a doorto-door tree salesman. It’s not that he’s into this cause or is any good at the presumably nonpay-
66 AUGUST 17 - AUGUST 23, 2011 • mountainx.com
Miranda July and Hamish Linklater in July’s new film The Future. ing position, he just does this on a whim. Things do not go as planned, which anyone could have predicted from the onset. All of this is narrated by Paw-Paw (mostly seen as hand-puppet feet and voiced by July) from the cage at the animal shelter, talking about how Jason and Sophie said they were coming to fetch him/her (the gender isn’t clear), about how he couldn’t help himself from making “that sound” when they touched him, fantasizing about how life is about to begin, and wondering how long 30 days is. And here is the central problem I have with the film — Paw-Paw is the most likable (maybe the only likable) character in the film. The rest of the film — and a lot of it works — concerns Jason and Sophie and their increasingly half-hearted attempts at fulfilling themselves. Their basic combination of self-absorption and defeatist mentality thwart them at every turn. Sophie, in fact, drifts into an affair with an older man (David Warshofsky, Unstoppable) whose number she finds on the back of a drawing they got at the shelter. Ultimately, she moves in with him and his odd daughter (Isabella Acres, TV’s Better Off Ted), who has an inexplicable desire to be buried up to her neck in the yard. (Don’t ask, because it’s never really addressed.) This may or may not be part of the “magical realism” the film drifts into. Much more successful in this realm is Jason’s discovery that he has the ability to stop time — something he does to keep Sophie from telling him she’s having an affair. But there’s a catch to this, which I’ll leave to the movie. Yes, it’s creative and well done, but it finally left a bitter taste and I found it utterly depressing. Let me put it this way, if July wanted me to end up wanting to grab the two main characters by their shirt fronts and pimp-slap them till their
moppet-like curly hair went straight, then she succeeded beautifully. I honestly cannot recall a film that caused such a violent, visceral response in me — nor one I have been so unable to shake. So I’m recommending the film with a warning that it’s just not a pleasant experience. At least it wasn’t for me. Rated R for some sexual content. reviewed by Ken Hanke Starts Friday at Fine Arts Theatre
30 Minutes or Less JJJ
Director: Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) Players: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Dilshad Vadsaria Crude Crime Comedy Rated R
The Story: A slacker pizza deliveryman has a bomb strapped to him by a couple of ne’er-do-wells, who tell him he has nine hours to rob a bank for them before the bomb ignites. The Lowdown: An uneven, occasionally amusing comedy that rises and falls depending on how you feel about the cast. Ruben Fleischer’s 30 Minutes or Less is a film that’s wholly dependent on how you react to the people it puts on screen. If you experience violent annoyance at Jesse Eisenberg once again playing his usual Jesse Eisenberg self, then this isn’t a film for you. If you think Danny McBride and Adam Sandler hanger-on Nick Swardson are the festering armpit of comedy, sickening everything they’re in with an adept lack of tact or subtlety, then please, see something other than 30 Minutes or Less. But if you’re the type that doesn’t mind