COLLEGE STUDENTS: Reviewers: Craig Blamer, Bob Grimm and Juan-Carlos Selznick.
Opening this week Non-Stop
Liam Neeson is in action-flick mode, starring as a U.S. air marshal trying to flush out a terrorist on a transatlantic flight who is promising to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million in ransom is coughed up. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated PG-13.
Son of God
A biopic on the life of Jesus featuring scenes (as well as previously unreleased footage) from the History channel miniseries The Bible edited together to create a standalone film. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.
Re-opening this week Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Still classy a decade later, Ron Burgundy (Will Farrell) and the rest of the news team (Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner) rise from the ashes of their failed careers and join the ranks of a new 24-hour news network. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.
Now playing
2
3 Days to Kill
See review this issue. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.
About Last Night
The Brat Pack-era flick (based on a David Mamet play) gets an update, with the cast of Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Regina Hall and Joy Bryant taking over the roles of young lovers struggling with the transition from onenight stands to committed relationships. Cinemark 14. Rated R.
Frozen
The new Disney computer-animated feature is an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, The Snow Queen. In the film, a young princess embarks on an epic journey to find her sister—the Snow Queen— whose magical powers have buried the kingdom in a never-ending winter. Cinemark 14. Rated PG.
The LEGO Movie
A computer-animated adaptation of the iconic kids’ toy pits a team of LEGOs led by an ordinary construction-worker minifigure (voiced by Chris Pratt) against an evil tyrant (Will Farrell) who wants to glue everything in the universe together. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.
Lone Survivor
Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) directs this true story about a failed Navy SEALS mission to capture a Taliban leader in Afghanistan in 2005. Starring Mark Wahlberg. Cinemark 14. Rated R.
3
The Monuments Men
The good news: The Monuments Men is based on a fascinating episode in the history of World War II; it’s agreeably entertaining; and it has a big, attractive cast. The bad news: The film’s version of history feels too much like movie-friendly fiction, and the cast members mostly play versions of themselves, with only the bare minimum of links to the historical figures on whom they are based. Based on the actual exploits of U.S. Army specialists charged with recovering stolen treasures of European art in the late stages of World War II, the film follows a handful of characters through a mildly sus-
penseful adventure that is part secret mission, part cultural commando raid, and part rambunctious caper. There are nods to serious, painful history here, but the script (by George Clooney, who also stars and directs, and Grant Heslov) often seems little more than a spinoff of the Ocean’s Eleven cycle, with Clooney’s version of the Rat Pack (Bill Murray, John Goodman, Matt Damon, etc.) working variations on caper-movie riffs made suitable to the particular circumstances of this tale. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.
Philomena
Stephen Frears (The Queen, High Fidelity) directs this based-on-real-events story about a British journalist (Steve Coogan) who helps a woman (Judi Dench) find out what happened to the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier. Four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Actress. Cinemark 14 and Pageant Theatre. Rated PG.
Pompeii
A disaster flick set in the year A.D. 79, with a slave-turned-gladiator trying to save his true love from the clutches of a politician’s son as Mount Vesuvius begins to erupt around them. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil). Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.
Ride Along
An action-comedy directed by Tim Story (Barbershop) about a small-time security guard (Kevin Hart) who goes on a ride-along with his fiancée’s brother, an Atlanta cop (Ice Cube), in an effort to prove himself worthy to marry his sister (Tika Sumpter). Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.
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3
RoboCop
Normally I’d cry foul at a remake that waters down the hard-R original to a softer PG-13 (because I loved my RoboCop bloody) but the strong cast and a visually sound presentation make for a movie that is, at the least, worth watching even if it pales in comparison to Paul Verhoeven’s insane 1987 incarnation. In the original, after blown-up regular cop Alex Murphy is brought back to life as RoboCop, he starts his crusade against crime not really knowing who he is, with his memories suppressed. The new film drastically diverts from the original, having its Murphy freak out upon waking up as a robot, fully cognizant of who he is. It’s only when his emotional stability comes into question that he’s shot full of dopamine and turned into a robot zombie. It turns out the idea of a man knowing full well that he has been turned into a cyborg is a relatively scintillating cinematic topic, and it’s handled well. In the end, the remake amounts to a decent enough curio, but it won’t be a classic. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated PG-13 —B.G.
3
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago
Lydia Smith’s good-natured documentary follows a half-dozen folk taking the traditional pilgrimage, on foot, to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Smith’s approach may seem a little reminiscent of reality TV (the trials and tribulations of six lively, spirited people on a 500-mile hike), but with lots of soulfulness and none of the lowbrow sensationalism. The net result is a charmingly lyrical travelogue, with bucolic landscapes, beguiling character sketches, and a quietly poetic sense of the spirituality of long-distance walking. Note: Director Smith will be on hand during screenings on Sunday, Feb. 16, to discusss her film. Pageant Theatre. Not rated —J.C.S.
Winter’s Tale
Colin Farrell stars in this supernatural drama as an early 20th-century thief who falls for a young sick woman (Jessica Brown Findlay), and travels across time to try and save her and to save himself from an evil crime boss (Russell Crowe). Based on Mark Helprin’s fantasy novel of the same name. Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.
February 27, 2014
CN&R 33