‘Prisoners’ engrossing “Prisoners” is a mystery told with such skill that just when you think you’ve figured it out, it finds new blind alleys for us to visit. Well-cast and wonderfully acted, it’s a child kidnapping thriller with sorrow, intrigue, psychology and just enough urgency to suck us in. Then it almost outsmarts itself with a draggy, “let’s explain it all” third act that undercuts the big theme it wants us to ponder. The grey skies of a Pennsylvania winter set the tone. The Dovers and the Birches are friends and neighbors. Remodeling contractor Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is man’s man, something of a survivalist, teaching his son Ralph to hunt and “be ready” in case things get hairy and society starts to break down. With his wife, Grace (Maria Bello), he’s raising a teen (Dylan Minnette) and a tyke, Anna (Erin Gerasimovich), in their middle-class subdivison. The Birches (Viola Davis, Terrence Howard) have the Dovers over for Thanksgiving, so that tiny Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) can play with her best pal, Anna. The teens, Ralph and Eliza Birch (Zoe Borde), are in charge of the little girls, who are young and trusting and prone to not see the risks in playing on that strange, ratty old RV parked down the street. The girls disappear, and as their mothers stumble into shock and the men, especially Keller, hurl themselves into a frantic search, a loner police detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes charge of the case. They nab a suspect, and it’s easy to mark Alex Jones (Paul Dano) as the perpetrator. Creepy, uncommunicative, a veritable thick-glasses cliche of a pervert. Keller, a paragon of moral certitude,
MOVIE REVIEWS is sure of it. And when the cops can’t make a case, he takes matters into his own hands. That’s when “Prisoners” turns truly disturbing, grisly and morally ambiguous. Here is “enhanced interrogation” laid bare, showing both its cost to the victims of it and those who carry it out. Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (“Incendies”) and screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski (“Contraband”) give each major character moments of pain, grief and rage. Grace cracks up. Nancy (Davis), a veterinarian, shuts down. Franklin (Howard) feels helpless and Keller just lashes out. Despite the occasional chase or chilling moment during surveillance, “Prisoners” loses urgency as it drags on. The dread and weight of “The Lovely Bones” and “The Vanishing” hang over it, augmented by chilly scenes of winter. But Villeneuve loses himself in that and his “they’re all prisoners” thread in a third act that goes on far too long and explains far too much. “Prisoners” is never less than engrossing. It’ll keep you guessing. It’s just too bad that the last 30 minutes make us feel like the prisoners here. “Prisoners,” a A Warner Brothers release, is rated R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout. Running time: 150 minutes. ★★★
“Battle of the Year” Dance battle movies — “Step Up” and its ilk — have become the musicals of their generation. They may be formulaic in the extreme, generic in their romances and be peopled by character “types.”
But they’re athletic extravaganzas celebrating great skill and the art of B-Boys and BGirls. They may wear the veneer of “street” and “edgy,” but parents appreciate how harmless they are. “Battle of the Year” touches on that, how the rest of the world has embraced B-Boy culture, but how they’re no longer perceived as cutting edge or “cool” in the United States. That worries the Sean Combs-like impresario, Dante (Laz Alonso). “How long before hip-hop isn’t cool?” He’s got to protect his music, dance and fashion
empire by putting American B-Boys back on top. He hires an old dance buddy, W.B. (for “Wonder Bread”), now a grieving, alcoholic ex-basketball coach (Josh Holloway of “Lost”). W.B. has to get himself up to speed on the current state of dance, then recruit and coach a “dream team” of the best of America’s best to take on the rest of the world, which has passed America by and long dominated the annual B-Boy Olympics known as “BOTY,” the Battle of the Year. That team consists of assorted arrogant, chip-ontheir-shoulder show-offs, because that’s what it takes to succeed at this. Actual star
dancers such as Do Knock and Flipz are mixed in with others, including singer Chris Brown. The director of the definitive documentary on the worldwide phenomenon, “Planet B-Boy,” co-wrote and directed this, and immodestly has characters watch that film and sing its praises. Very B-Boy of him. Holloway cannot even hint at a real dance past, so the movie fakes that by having his coach run his guys through drills (in split-screen sequences). Peck, once of TV’s “Drake & Josh,” onetime star of “The Wackness,” has a small supporting role but is given
top billing. In this case, that means his every scene includes overly made-up and coiffed close-ups, all teen magazine posters in the making. It’s laughable. But tabloid darling Brown more than holds his own with this crew, apparently not even needing a dance double. The dance scenes —especially those involving teams from Germany, France and Korea — take the B-Boy moves to the next level, blending gymnastics and dance in some pretty spectacular ways. “Battle of the Year,” a Screen Gems release, is rated PG-13 for language and some rude behavior. Running time 101 minutes. ★★
West Coast Video Featuring
Elmer’s Hobby Shop
Playing 9/13 - 9/19
BUTLER 21+ PG13 6:30p INSIDIOUS 2 21+ PG13 1:30p 4:00p
Your Entertainment Complex Featuring Happy Hour Special Daily
Great Food
PRISONERS 21+ R 9:30p
1D 2D PG 6:15p 9:00p
PRISONERS R 12:30p 3:30p 6:30p
BLUE JASMINE PG13 1:30p 4:15p 7:00p 9:15p
THE BUTLER PG13 9:30p
THE FAMILY 21+ R 7:00p 10:00p WE’RE MILLERS 21+ R 1:00p 3:30p
DESPICABLE ME 2D PXC PG 12:45p 3:15p
Congratulations Crimson Tide and Coach McGeoy on your victory last week! Reading Movies 11 & IMAX FRI-WED 9/20-25
DON’T JUST SEE A MOVIE, EXPERIENCE IT AT
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX 30 N. 2nd Street 610-374-2828 • www.rctheatres.com FREE GARAGE PARKING Digital Projection & Sound • Stadium Seating TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE FOR: KIRK CAMERON: UNSTOPPABLE – TUE 9/24 METALLICA: THROUGH THE NEVER IMAX3D – THU 9/26 MET OPERA – BEGINS OCT 5 SHOWTIMES FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 THROUGH WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
BARGAIN TUESDAYS ALL SHOWS ALL DAY $5.25 (Excluding IMAX, Additional fee for 3D)
NOW SHOWING IMAX: THE WIZARD OF OZ IMAX3D (G) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:30 FEATURING IN REALD DIGITAL 3D:
BATTLE OF THE YEAR IN DIGITAL 3D (PG13) (1:50, 4:20), 7:05, 9:45
BUTLER PG13 12:45p 3:45p
THE FAMILY R 1:15p 4:15p
INSIDIOUS 2 PG13 6:45p 9:30p
WE’RE MILLERS R 7:15p 9:45p
RIDDICK PXC R 1:00p 4:00p 7:00p 9:30p
(1:30, 2:00, 4:15, 4:45), 7:00, 7:30, 9:45, 10:15
THE FAMILY (R) (1:45, 4:25), 7:05, 9:40 INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED (PG13) (2:05, 4:40), 7:15, 9:55
RIDDICK (R) (2:00, 4:40), 7:20, 10:00 LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER (PG13) (1:30, 4:10), 7:00, 9:50 WE’RE THE MILLERS (R) (1:40, 4:15), 7:30, 10:15
For Showtimes: 570-874-2505 • www.schuylkillmalltheatres.com • www.facebook.com/schuylkillmalltheatres
POTTSVILLE (PA.) REPUBLICAN HERALD
PRISONERS (R) (1:35, 4:00, 4:25), 7:05, 9:45, 10:00 BATTLE OF THE YEAR (PG13) (1:35), 7:15 INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 (PG13)
CHILDREN UNDER 3 NOT ADMITTEDTO PG13 or R RATED MOVIES AFTER 6PM SHOWTIMES SUBJECTTO CHANGEWITHOUT NOTICE
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
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