Get Out January 3 2013

Zumbathon raises money for recreation, page 7

Countdown to the Oscars Jeff Marker offers possible contenders for this year’s 10 Academy Awards.

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Thursday January 3, 2013

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get out Northeast Georgia’s entertainment guide

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on the web

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arts

www.etsy.com

Primary online marketplace for handmade or vintage items. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys.

The Mountain Music and Medicine Show kicks off 2013 with a whoop and a holler at The Holly Theater.

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family

Get in shape with the kids while helping an area teacher overcome her battle with colon cancer.

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outdoors

It’s all about the winged creatures this week.

First, University of Georgia ecology professor John Pickering will share his knowledge about the moths in Northeast Georgia. Then the Dahlonega Gold Museum will feature the birds of prey that call Amicalola Falls State Park their home.

PAGE 6 The Associated Press

on the cover

Beginning today and over the next several weeks, Jeff Marker examines this year’s top Oscar contenders.

PAGES 10-11

music

Great Bear Trio from Syracuse, N.Y., will be in Gainesville for a musicians’ workshop and performance as they stop over on their way to Chattanooga.

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Thursday, January 3, 2013

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Thursday, January 3, 2013 | gainesvilletimes.com/getout

etc events This week

Oconee Rivers Audubon Society, Athens. 7 p.m. Jan. 3, Education and Visitor Center at Sandy Creek Nature Center, 205 Old Commerce Road, Athens.

Speaker: University of Georgia ecology professor John Pickering, on “The Fabulous Diversity of Local Moths.” Free. www. oconeeriversaudubon.org Author Natalie Flake Book Signing Event, Clarkesville.

1-3 p.m. Jan. 5. Java Joe’s Coffee Shoppe, 1349 Washington St., Clarkesville. Free to attend. www.natalieflake.com.

Square Dance Class, Flowery Branch. 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 7. Mulberry Creek Community Center, 4491 JM Turk Road, Flowery Branch. Singles and couples welcome, children ages 12 and older accompanied by adult taking class.

404-808-8689, www. lakeshoresquares.com

Upcoming

Lanier Women’s Club, Gainesville. 10 a.m. Jan. 10.

First Presbyterian Church, S. Enota in Gainesville.

Meet and greet, short informative program (January topic: trip to Vietnam), $15 buffet lunch.

New members welcome.

678-960-4172.

Forgotten Skills: Keeping Traditions Alive, Class 5, Gainesville. 10 a.m. Jan. 19.

Northeast Georgia History Center, 322 Academy St. NE, Gainesville. Cooking meals outdoors using dutch oven and bamboo.

Class limited to 12. $65, $60 for members. Advance registration appreciated.

Ages 10 and older; 770297-5900, www.negahc. org or jcarson@brenau.edu Monarchs in Mexico, Gainesville. 12:30-2 p.m.

Jan. 24. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville.

Local author to sign book Cleveland woman tells of her journey with mental illness From staff reports Natalie Flake, a resident of Cleveland, will be making an appearance at Java Joe’s Coffee Shoppe, 1349 Washington St. in Clarkesville to sign copies of her book, “Tears to Joy: Finding Hope in the Presence of Bipolar Disorder and Suicide.”

After four years of marriage, Flake’s husband, Michael, had transformed into a different person overnight. Plagued with depression, he struggled to regain his normally cheerful and outgoing personality. After the depression came terrifying fits of rage and frenzied behavior that Michael couldn’t control and Natalie was helpless to understand.

The couple did their best to hide the crippling effects Michael’s bizarre behavior had on them, but their marriage was falling apart. Eventually, Michael was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Throughout the years that followed the birth of their daughter, Michael fought an internal battle for normalcy,

Land Protection Branch Environmental Outreach Coordinator Kim Bailey will discuss monarchs in Mexico. Bring lunch; $10 donation requested. 770535-1976, www.elachee. org Winter Birding in Georgia, Gainesville. 12:30 p.m.

Feb. 21. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville.

Ornithologist Georgann Schmalz will discuss winter birding in Georgia. Bring lunch; $10 donation is requested. 770-535-1976, www.elachee.org Organic Farming in

Author Natalie Flake Book Signing Event When: 1-3 p.m. Jan. 5 Where: Java Joe’s Coffee Shoppe, 1349 Washington St., Clarkesville Cost: Free to attend More info: www. natalieflake.com.

both taking and refusing medication as his mood swings dictated.

Eventually, Michael’s illness drove him to the point of desperation, devastating his friends and family when they learned of his suicide.

In “Tears to Joy,” Flake details the tribulations of dealing with mental illness in a loved one. Debunking stigma and presenting practical advice, she offers hope to readers whose loved ones have dealt with mental illness or suicide, and even to those who have struggled with it themselves.

Flake will be on hand from 1-3 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 5. Copies of her book will be available for purchase. For more information about Flake, visit www. natalieflake.com.

Georgia, Gainesville. 12:30 p.m. March 21. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. Series of three talks by guest speakers sharing knowledge in natural history and environmental policy.

Bring lunch; $10 donation requested. 770-535-1976, www.elachee.org

Ongoing

Buford Lanier Woman’s Club monthly meeting, Buford. 9:30 a.m. second Wednesdays. Buford Community Center, 2200 Buford Highway, Buford.

Meetings start with coffee and fellowship. www. bufordlanierwomansclub. com.

American Business Women’s Association, Gainesville. 6 p.m. fourth Tuesday each month.

Recess Southern Gastro Pub, 118 Bradford St., NE Gainesville. Dinner, speakers, meeting. 770654-9277, www.abwallcc. org.

Learn Conversational Spanish. Free. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Goodwill Oakwood Career Center, 3715 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood. 770-538-4209

get out Northeast Georgia’s entertainment guide

To have your event listed, we must have the following information: ■ The name, time and date of the event, and a short description ■ The location, street address ■ Admission and contact information ■ Send to getout@gainesvilletimes.com ONLY emails will be accepted. No faxes, flyers, mailers or phone calls. The deadline to have your event listed in Get Out is the FRIDAY before the next publication. Listings run at the discretion of the editor.

If you would like to purchase an ad, call Betty Thompson at 770-532-1234 or email bthompson@gainesvilletimes.com Friendship Woman’s Club, Flowery Branch.

Meets every fourth Thursday. Flowery Branch Depot, Flowery Branch. 404-394-9865 or SallyWeatherbee8@aol. com.

Toastmasters, Gainesville.

Improve your public speaking skills. 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Mondays.

Jacobs Building Room 208, Brenau University, 340 Green St., Gainesville.

Free. 678-469-2777. gainesvilletoastmasters@ yahoo.com.

Old-fashioned square dance, Hiawassee. 7 p.m.

Mondays. Senior Center, 48 River St., Hiawassee.

Free. 706-896-1060 or info@townshistory.org.

Lanier Women’s Club, Gainesville. 10 a.m. every second Thursday. First Presbyterian Church, S. Enota in Gainesville. $15 678-960-4172.

Tai Chi, Flowery Branch. 10:30-11:30

a.m. Thursdays. Mulberry Creek Community Center, Mulberry Creek Park, 4491 JM Turk Road, Flowery Branch. $1. 770-965-7140.

Card games, Flowery Branch. 8:30 a.m. to noon. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mulberry Creek Community Center, Mulberry Creek Park, 4491 JM Turk Road, Flowery Branch. $1. 770-965-7140.

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A dose of good fun

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Mountain Music Medicine show starts off 2013 From staff reports

For Get Out

Dan Triandiflou and Veronika Duerr in the comedy, “Bob.”

Laugh it up in 2013 ‘Bob’ to open at Aurora Theatre From staff reports Lawrenceville — Aurora Theatre continues its 17th season with a new play that will have you laughing in the New Year.

“Bob,” by American playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, opens Jan. 17 and continues through Feb. 10.

The play tells the story of Bob, born on Valentine’s Day in the bathroom of a White Castle in Kentucky and left to fend for himself by his birth mother, Helen. Armed with nothing but an unfailing optimism, “Bob” is the epic, fast-paced comedy of one man’s desire for greatness.

Easy to love, “Bob” is reminiscent of comic classics like “The Jerk” and “Forest Gump.”

“Bob” was awarded the 2010 Barrie and Bernice Stavis Award from the National Theatre Conference, and received its World Premiere at the Humana Festival for New American Plays in March 2011, garnering critical acclaim. Both the original Humana production and the Aurora

‘Bob’

By Peter Sinn Nachtrieb When: 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Jan. 17-Feb. 10 Where: Aurora Theatre 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville.

Tickets: $20-$30 More info: 678-226-6222, www. auroratheatre.com

Theatre production are under the direction of Sean Daniels.

“Bob” is co-produced with worldrenowned Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, N.Y., as a part of the Fielding Nextstage Series. A special preview performance of “Bob” on Jan. 15 welcomes anyone named Bob (Robert, Bobby, Bobbi, etc.) to attend free of charge. All other seats are $10 with a current library card.

Audiences attending “Bob” will have an opportunity to pay tribute to their everyday heroes. A large canvas will be placed in the lobby and audience members will be encouraged to add the names of their everyday hero to an original piece of art.

Start out 2013 will a little medicine, for the ears and the soul.

The Mountain Music and Medicine Show is scheduled to kick off a new year Jan. 5 at the Holly Theater in Dahlonega.

Six times a year, this unique blend of music and theater — created and based in Dahlonega — is performed at the Holly.

And the show stays true to its roots.

Mountain Music and Medicine Show producer and writer Mel Hawkins said the event “showcases local musical talent, as well as comedy and fun.”

“We record the show in front of a live audience, and then it is broadcast statewide as a radio show.”

Musical guests featured in this Saturday’s show will be the Pick ‘n’ Bow Kids, Fool’s Gold of Dahlonega, Beverly Smith and John Grimm and Fontana Sunset.

The all-volunteer effort is presented in a traditional medicine show-themed presentation.

The show is later broadcast on GPB Onstage, GPB’s radio channel, at 8 p.m. the first Saturday each month. An encore show is broadcast at 11 p.m. the following Tuesday.

The show can also be heard on North

theater events This week

“The Tempest,” Atlanta.

Jan. 4-27. The New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. Directed

by Laura Cole. 404874-5299, www. shakespearetavern.com The Mountain Music &

Mountain Music and Medicine Show

When: 8 p.m. Jan. 5 Where: Historic Holly Theater, 69 W. Main. St., Dahlonega Tickets: $15 More info: 706-864-3759

Georgia College & State University radio stations WNGU 85.9-FM and WPPR 88.3-FM. The setting for the show is Dahlonega from Gold Rush days of the 1830s through the 1950s, when medicine shows would have been common.

Doc Johnson’s traveling Miracle Medicine Show has come to town and set up on the square in front of Nix’s Store, the hub of local commerce and social center of the area. Doc brings musical acts of the time with him, as well as his own brand of humor, while he exhorts folks to buy his elixirs.

Hawkins likens the show to the “‘Prairie Home Companion’ and ‘The Grand Ole Opry’ rolled into one.”

“It’s really like a slice of life in rural Georgia from the time,” Hawkins said.

The show will be presented and recorded in front of a live crowd at the Holly Theater in Dahlonega at 8 p.m. with a preshow at 7:30. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling the Holly Theater at 706-864-3759 or visiting www. hollytheater.com.

Medicine Show, Dahlonega.

7:30 p.m. Jan. 5. Historic Holly Theater, 69 W. Main St., Dahlonega. An oldtime style music, humor, history and general toetapping fun. $15. 706864-3759 or 678-6171169, www.hollytheater. com “The Odd Couple, Female Version,” Auditions, Flowery Branch. 7 p.m. Jan. 7. The cast consists of 6 females ages 19-60 and two adult males. Cold readings

from the script. Fifth Row Center’s Studio, 5509 Main St., Flowery Branch. info@fifthrowcenter.com.

Upcoming

7 Shot Symphony, Gainesville. 10 a.m. Jan. 16-17, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18-19, 5 p.m. Jan. 20.

Sylvia Beard Theatre, Gainesville. Gainesville Theatre Alliance Public performances. 678717-3624, gainesville THEATREalliance.org

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Birds of prey on display Take flight to Athens Naturalist to speak about park’s raptors From staff reports Ever wanted to know a little more about the large birds you see swooping down from the trees? Was it a hawk or just a vulture?

Are there owls in Northeast Georgia? How about falcons?

Answers to all these questions can be found this Tuesday at the Dahlonega Gold Museum.

The museum, along with Georgia State Parks, will be hosting an event to help everyone learn more about the nonreleasable birds of prey that call Amicalola Falls State Park their home.

Naturalist Lauretta Dean, and a few of her wildlife ambassadors, will be on hand to educate attendees about the impressive adaptations and behaviors of these remarkable raptors, as well as the conservation issues that affect them.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at the Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site, 1 Public Square, in Dahlonega. Admission is $3.50-$6 and more information can be found by visiting www.gastateparks. org/DahlonegaGoldMuseum or calling 706-864-2257.

From staff reports

For Get Out

Naturalist Lauretta Dean: Close Encounters of the Bird Kind When: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 8 Where: Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site, 1 Public Square, Dahlonega.

Cost: $3.50-$6 More info: 706-864-2257, www.gastateparks.org/ DahlonegaGoldMuseum

outdoors events This week

Ecology expert to speak about local moth species at Audubon meeting

Elachee’s Trail Crew Work Day. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. first Saturday each month. Free. Bring water, lunch, gloves and rain gear. Tools, training, and refreshments provided. Call to preregister. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville, 770-535-1976. www. elachee.org.

First Saturday Hike, Gainesville. 1011:30 a.m. first Saturday each month.

Guided hike. $5 adults, $3 ages 2-12, younger than 2 and Elachee members free. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770535-1976. www.elachee.org.

Upcoming

Beginning Bee Keeping, Helen. 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 12. Smithgall Woods State Park, Helen. Learn about basic bee keeping and starting

ATHENS — University of Georgia ecology professor John Pickering will share his knowledge about the often-unseen populations of moths in Northeast Georgia at the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society’s next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, at Sandy Creek Nature Center.

Pickering, an associate professor in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology, will speak on the topic, “Join the Dark Side of Life – The Fabulous Diversity of Local Moths.”

Pickering, whose research interests include biodiversity and fire ecology, is the co-founder of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a program in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to count how many species live in the mountain environment, what jobs these species do and how they interact with each other.

ATBI is more than just a checklist of species names. It is a complex

a hive. Professional honey producer Berry Wright will discuss equipment and installation. Trip to the apiary, weather permitting. Register in advance. $10, plus $5 parking. 706878-3087.

Survival Skills Series Part 1, Helen.

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 19. Smithgall Woods State Park, Helen. Basic land navigation, explanation of the compass, true north, magnetic north, bearing/azimuth, terrain features and more. Register in advance. $20-$95, $5 parking. 706-878-3087.

John Pickering: The Fabulous Diversity of Local Moths When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3 Where: Sandy Creek Nature Center, 205 Old Commerce Road off U.S. 441 north of Athens More info: www.oconeeriversaudubon.org

and living database of species locations, habitats, genetic diversity, population density, symbiotic relationships and predator-prey interactions.

The meeting will be held in the Nature Center’s newly expanded Education and Visitor Center, formerly the ENSAT Center, 205 Old Commerce Road off U.S. 441 north of Athens.

To reach the center from the Loop 10 bypass, exit at U.S. 441/ Commerce Road and turn north toward Commerce.

Go approximately a mile,

turn left at the Sandy Creek Nature Center sign and go to the end of the road. Turn left at Old Commerce Road; parking for the Education and Visitor Center will be on the right.

For more information, visit www. oconeeriversaudubon. org, or contact Audubon chapter President Richard Hall at president@ oconeeriversaudubon.org.

The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is a nonprofit organization of people brought together by a love of birds and nature.

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gainesvilletimes.com/getout | Thursday, January 3, 2013

Zumbathon helps area kids

Family events

Dance raises money for Children At Play fund

This week

BY SAVANNAH KING

sking@gainesvilletimes.com If you’ve never tried the Zumba fitness craze, now is your chance.

Frances Meadows Aquatic and Community Center will be hosting its first Zumbathon from 1-3 p.m. Saturday.

Zumba is a dance fitness program that incorporates Latin American dance moves and aerobic exercises.

“You feel like you’re having a big dance party but you’re really exercising,” Zandrea Stephens, Zumba instructor at the center, said.

Throughout the year, the center has regular Zumba classes that last for 45 minutes to one hour. The Zumbathon will be two hours of nonstop dancing.

“You may be a little bit sore,” Stephens said. “But

it’s a really good way to start the new year.”

Stephens said she expects to see a lot of regular Zumba attendees at the event but beginners shouldn’t be afraid to come and bust a move.

“You don’t have to know how to dance,” Stephens said. “You just have to be able to follow the instructor.

Go at the pace that you can. You can modify as you need to.”

Stephens and April Lucas will be leading the Zumbathon and will show beginners how to perform modified dance moves.

The two-hour sweat session won’t just benefit your waistline.

The event costs $5 and all proceeds go to benefit Gainesville Parks and Recreation’s Children At Play Fund. The fund provides children of low-income families with

Zumbathon Where: Frances Meadows Aquatic Center, 1545 Community Way, Gainesville When: 1 to 3 p.m.

Saturday How much: $5 Contact: 770-533-5850

opportunities to participate in recreational programs.

The money goes to help pay for fees, equipment costs, supplies and transportation for the children of Gainesville.

The fund’s goal is to get more children involved with sports and recreation programs because it improves self-esteem and promotes healthy lifestyles.

Stephens encourages anyone who would like to participate in the event to attend.

“It’s so much fun you won’t even think you’re exercising,” Stephens said.

5K benefits cancer patient Event brings families out for healthy fun From staff reports On Saturday, Jan. 5, active.com is hosting the “Cocoa Loco 5K and Fun Run” to benefit the cancer fund of Claire Combs.

The event starts with an 8 a.m. registration and the race begins promptly at 9 a.m.

Combs, 37, is a teacher of special needs students who was just recently diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer. The former North Forsyth High School teacher is currently unemployed, but many of her friends and students are rallying for

the cause.

The race will take place at Central Park, 2300 Keith Bridge Road in Cumming and the cost is $30.

There will be awards given for overall male and overall female as well the top three male and female in each for the normal five-year age groups, 10 and younger through 65 and older.

Refreshments will be provided — water, bananas, cookies and chocolate.

To see full details of the race, visit www. active.com/running/cumming-ga/cocoaloco-5k-2013. To learn more about Combs, call 678-936-9617, email tcockerham@ gmail.com or visit the fund’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CareForClaire Combs?ref=ts&fref=ts.

Zumbathon, Gainesville.

1-3 p.m. Jan. 5. Frances Meadows Aquatic and Community Center, 1545 Community Way, Gainesville. Will benefit the Children At Play Fund. $5. 770-533-5850 or 770533-5850.

Upcoming

Growing Up Wild, Helen.

Jan. 10, 17, 24 and 31.

Unicoi State Park and Lodge, Helen. An early childhood education program for kids age 3-7 aimed at getting children

interested in nature. $5 plus $5 parking. 706-8782201 ext. 305.

“The Adventures of Mighty Bug,” Atlanta.

Tuesdays-Fridays 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Saturdays noon and 2 p.m., Sundays 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Jan. 31 to March 17. Mainstage Theater, Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. NW at 18th, Atlanta. Tickets include museum admission as well as the Create-APuppet Workshop, where kids can make their own Lightning Bug Rod & String Puppet. $9.25 members, $16.50 nonmembers. 404-873-3391, www.puppet.org

Princess Tea Party, Flowery Branch. 2-4 p.m.

Feb. 2. Spout Springs Library, 6488 Spout Springs Road, Flowery Branch. Meet your favorite princess, face painting princess style and princess crafts. $15 children, $10 adults. 770532-3311 ext. 134.

go o y famil

arts events This Week

Quinlan Visual Arts Center call for artists, Gainesville. Artworks needed for 35th annual Gala Fine Art Auction in March.

Submissions needed by Jan. 14 at 514 Green St., Gainesville 770-536-2575, www.quinlanartscenter.org

Upcoming

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Robert Johnson “Still Life” Oil Painting Workshop, Gainesville. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Jan. 21-25. Quinlan Visual Arts Center,

Ongoing

Young Architects: Designing the Future, Buford. Through Jan. 19. An exhibit designed by the Children’s Museum of Cleveland and sponsored by the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center Foundation. www. gwinnettEHC.org.

514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. $650.

Spaces limited, call for availability. 770536-2575.

“Understanding Oil Painting Materials,” Gainesville. 5:30-7 p.m. Jan. 24.

Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. An oil painting demonstration with instructor Nancy Speilman. RSVP is required. Free. 770536-2575.

2013 Youth Art Competition and Pottery Studio Exhibit, Helen. March 3-16.

Helen Arts and Heritage Center, 25 Chattahoochee St., Helen. Opening reception March 3. Free. 706-878-3933, www.helenarts.org or info@helenarts.org

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family

movies

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Open Mic Night, Dahlonega. 7 p.m. Jan. 3. Free. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com

For Get Out

The Associated Press

Zumbathon, Gainesville. 1-3 p.m. Jan. 5. Frances Meadows Aquatic and Community Center, 1545 Community Way, Gainesville. Will benefit the Children At Play Fund. $5. 770-533-5850 or 770533-5850.

Eric Jones and Zac McConnell, Dahlonega. 8 p.m. Jan. 4. $12.

The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega. 706864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon. com

review, 10

“Argo” has already been nominated by the Golden Globes, is in the top 10 of virtually every film critic organization in the country, and has been named Movie of the Year by the American Film Institute. It will be nominated and is a strong contender to win an Academy Award.

‘Argo’

Blues, Jazz and Rock Jam, Dahlonega. 7 p.m.

Jan. 6. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com

THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

weekeND plANNeR

Northeast Georgia’s entertainment guide

gainesvilletimes.com/getout

pAge 6

For Get Out

Winter Birding in Georgia, Gainesville. 12:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. Ornithologist Georgann Schmalz will discuss winter birding in Georgia. Bring lunch; $10 donation is requested. 770-535-1976, www.elachee.org

Jeni Michelson with Society Express Quartet, Gainesville. 8 p.m. Jan. 19. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. $30. 770-534-2787, www.TheArtsCouncil.net

Naturalist Lauretta Dean: Close Encounters of the Bird Kind, Dahlonega. 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 8. $3.50-$6 Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site, 1 Public Square, Dahlonega. 706-864-2257, www.gastateparks.org/DahlonegaGoldMuseum

Square Dance Class, Flowery Branch. 6:30 p.m. Jan. 7. Mulberry Creek Community Center, 4491 JM Turk Road, Flowery Branch. Singles and couples welcome, children ages 12 and older accompanied by adult taking class. 404-808-8689, www.lakeshoresquares.com

Beginning Bee Keeping, Helen. 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 12.

Smithgall Woods State Park, Helen. Learn about basic bee keeping and how to start a hive. Professional honey producer Berry Wright will discuss assembling equipment and installation of bees. A trip to the apiary will be included, weather permitting. Register in advance. $10 plus $5 parking. 706-878-3087.

jAN. 12:

lOOkING AHeAD

“The Tempest,” Atlanta. Jan. 4-27. The New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. Directed by Laura Cole. 404-874-5299, www.shakespearetavern.com

pAge 5

The Mountain Music and Medicine Show is scheduled to kick off a new year Jan. 5 at the Holly Theater in Dahlonega.

Mountain Music and Medicine Show.

Elachee’s Trail Crew Work Day. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. first Saturday each month. Bring water, lunch, gloves and rain gear.

Tools, training, and refreshments provided. Free. Under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Call to preregister. Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville, 770-535-1976. www.elachee.org.

Young Architects: Designing the Future, Buford. Through Jan. 19. A Lego exhibit designed by the Children’s Museum of Cleveland and sponsored by the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center Foundation. www.gwinnettEHC.org.

University of Georgia ecology professor John Pickering will share his knowledge about the oftenunseen populations of moths in Northeast Georgia at the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society’s next meeting.

All about moths.

jAN. 19: Feb. 21:

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Thursday, January 3, 2013 | gainesvilletimes.com/getout

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ratio e d i s n o rc

For you

The Oscar buzz starts JEFF MARKER jmarker@gsc.edu

Film Review This week we begin our annual look at the movies likely to compete for best picture at the Oscars, as well as the actors who might take home a statue. Studios use the award season as low-cost publicity, so this series also serves as a winter preview since some of these films will hopefully make it to area theaters over the next month or two.

As always, certain films are almost guaranteed a nomination. But 2012 was a strong year for American movies (been a while since we could say that, eh?), and with the best picture category expanded to 10 nominees, the field becomes rather unpredictable given the number of quality films.

We’ll kick things off with two movies that are locks for a nomination. They also have a great deal in common.

‘Argo’

Director and lead actor Ben Affleck’s political thriller seamlessly combines white-knuckle tension, heart-rending drama and comedy. The movie also wades into a potential political minefield

Inside Contenders for Best Actor, 11

yet emerges without so much as a flesh wound.

This story of a lone CIA agent spiriting six hostages out of Iran during the 1979-1981 hostage crisis by posing as a Canadian film crew is based on history but is a largely unknown tale. It has a familiar backdrop but feels fresh.

The movie also walks the line between art and mass appeal. Other directors might have taken the production in a direction that would lose much of his or her audience, but Affleck has a good sense of how far he can go into historical detail and political posturing without either boring or alienating most viewers.

The result is a movie that plays like a hardhitting drama much of the time but is ultimately a crowd pleaser. All of these

Photos by Warner Bros.

Above: Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez, center, in “Argo,” a rescue thriller about the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

Left: Bryan Cranston, left, as Jack O’Donnell, an agent for the CIA, and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez, also a CIA agent in “Argo.”

are qualities Academy voters love.

“Argo” has already been nominated by the Golden Globes, is in the

top 10 of virtually every film critic organization in the country, and has been named Movie of the Year by the American

Film Institute. It will be nominated and is a strong contender to win.

■ OSCAR, 11

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‘Zero Dark Thirty’

If there is an odds-on favorite to win the Oscar this year, though, it’s “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Director Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” garnered Best Picture and Best Director in 2010, and Bigelow brings the same authenticity, taut pacing and expert characterization to her telling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Like Argo, “Zero Dark Thirty” focuses on U.S. involvement in the Middle East, but it’s a very different kind of film. This is an intense drama with only the occasional ironic chuckle.

Jessica Chastain commands the screen as her character, based on a real (anonymous) CIA agent, relentlessly tracks couriers and anyone else who might lead to bin Laden and fights with her superiors over the slow pace of the work.

If “Zero Dark Thirty” doesn’t win the Oscar, it will be for two reasons.

The Academy rarely gives the award to highly controversial films, and this one might be too hot for them to endorse.

The film includes scenes of waterboarding and other types of ... ahem ... interrogation.

CIA superiors, Sen. John McCain and others have condemned the movie’s depiction of American agents using torture.

(Although the CIA stops short of blatantly denying it was used.) And some of the details in the movie’s account of the raid on bin Laden’s compound differ from official reports.

So though Bigelow focuses on the human drama of the story, this one comes with plenty of controversy.

The Academy also likes

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Photos by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

Jessica Chastain plays a member of the elite team of spies and military operatives stationed in a covert base overseas who secretly devoted themselves to finding Osama Bin Laden in Columbia Pictures’ gripping new thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Airing of the Oscars The 85th Academy Awards are scheduled for Feb. 24.

Best Actor contenders ■ Jack Black for “Bernie” ■ Bradley Cooper for “Silver Linings Playbook” ■ Daniel Day-Lewis for “Lincoln” ■ John Hawkes for “The Sessions” ■ Hugh Jackman for “Les Misérables” ■ Joaquin Phoenix for “The Master” ■ Denzel Washington for “Flight”

Black

Look for Jeff’s continued preview of Oscar contenders in the coming weeks. to spread the wealth, so to speak, and it may be too soon for Bigelow to win her second Oscar, though “Zero Dark Thirty” absolutely deserves it.

Watch for my full review of “Zero Dark Thirty” next week.

Jeff Marker teaches film and literature at Gainesville State College. His reviews appear weekly in Get Out and on gainesvilletimes. com/getout.

Joel Edgerton (left), and his brother Nash Edgerton, play two of the SEAL Team Six soldiers as they fly a stealth blackhawk helicopter to raid Osama Bin Laden’s compound in “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Cooper

Day-Lewis

Hawkes

Jackman

Phoenix

Washington

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Thursday, January 3, 2013 | gainesvilletimes.com/getout

Showtimes

Bargain shows denoted by parenthesis ( ).

Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium 20 678-482-5858 3333 Buford Drive, Suite 3000, Buford

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (PG) Thu.-Sun. 2:15 Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D (PG) Thu. 12:00-4:30-7:009:15 Fri.-Sat. 12:00-4:30-7:00-9:15-11:35 Sun. 12:004:30-7:00-9:15 Django Unchained (R) Thu.-Sat. 11:00-11:30-2:35-3:156:15-7:00-10:00-10:30 Sun. 11:30-2:35-3:15-6:15-7:0010:00-10:30 The Guilt Trip (PG-13) Fri.-Sat. 7:05-9:25-11:50 Sun. 7:059:25 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG-13) Thu. 1:55-9:50 Fri.-Sat. 12:00-4:00-8:00-11:30 Sun. 12:00-4:00-8:00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D (PG-13) Thu. 11:3011:00-3:00-3:30-6:10-7:00-7:30-10:50 Fri.-Sun. 12:3011:30-3:15-4:30-7:00-8:30-10:45 The Impossible (PG-13) Fri.-Sun. 10:45-1:20-3:55-7:109:45 Jack Reacher (PG-13) Thu. 11:05-1:10-4:05-4:55-7:007:50-9:55 Fri.-Sun. 11:05-2:00-4:55-7:50-10:45 Life of Pi (PG) Thu. 8:00 Lincoln (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:25-3:50-7:20-10:35 Les Misérables (PG-13) Thu. 11:30-12:00-3:15-3:45-7:007:30-10:30 Fri.-Sat. 11:30-12:00-3:15-3:45-7:00-7:3010:30-11:00 Sun. 11:30-12:00-3:15-3:45-7:00-7:30-10:30 Monsters, Inc. (G) Thu. 12:35-5:15-9:55 Monsters, Inc. 3D (G) Thu. 11:20-1:50-2:55-4:10-6:40-7:35 Fri.-Sun. 2:45-7:45 Not Fade Away (R) Fri.-Sat. 10:35-1:10-4:10-7:10-9:4512:15 Sun. 10:35-1:10-4:10-7:10-9:45 Parental Guidance (PG) Thu. 11:45-12:30-2:10-2:55-4:355:25-7:05-9:30-10:50 Fri.-Sat. 11:45-2:10-4:35-7:059:30-11:55 Sun. 11:45-2:10-4:35-7:05-9:30 Promised Land (R) Fri.-Sun. 10:50-1:30-4:30-7:15-10:00 Rise of the Guardians (PG) Thu. 12:45-3:10-8:15 Silver Linings Playbook (R) Thu. 1:50-4:40-7:25-10:15 Fri.Sun. 10:50-1:50-4:40-7:25-10:15 Skyfall (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:20-3:45-7:40-10:45 Texas Chainsaw 3D (R) Thu. 10:00 Fri.-Sat. 10:30-12:453:05-5:20-7:35-9:50-12:05 Sun. 12:45-3:05-5:20-7:359:50 This Is 40 (R) Thu.-Sun. 12:15-3:20-6:30-7:30-9:30-10:25 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (PG-13) Thu. 5:3510:35 Wreck-It Ralph (PG) Thu. 11:10-1:45-4:30 Fri.-Sun. 11:101:45-4:40

Movies 400 678-513-4400

415 Atlanta Road, Cumming

Django Unchained (R) Thu.-Sun. (1:00-4:40) 8:20 The Guilt Trip (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. (12:10-2:40-5:10) 7:4010:10 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. (12:45-4:25) 8:05 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D (PG-13) Thu. (11:303:10) 7:00 Fri.-Sun. 8:35 Jack Reacher (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. (1:00-4:05) 7:10-10:15 Lincoln (PG-13) Thu. (11:50-3:10) 6:30-9:50 Fri.-Sun. (12:00-3:20) 6:40-10:00

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ holds on to 1st place with $32 million LOS ANGELES — A tiny hobbit has a mighty hold on the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week and wrapping up a year that saw a record-breaking $10.8 billion in total annual grosses.

The top 10 movies at theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood. com are: 1. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” Warner Bros.,

$31,960,000, $221,743,000, three weeks.

2. “Django Unchained,” Weinstein Co., $30,122,888, $63,443,153, one week.

3. “Les Miserables,” Universal, $27,281,735, $66,720,160, one week.

4. “Parental Guidance,” Fox, $14,554,053, $29,342,745, one week.

5. “Jack Reacher,” Paramount, $14,010,000, $44,661,000, two weeks.

Les Misérables (PG-13) Thu. (10:50-2:30) 6:10-9:50 Fri.Sun. (1:00-5:00) 8:30 Monsters, Inc. 3D (G) Thu. (12:00-2:30-5:00) 7:30 Parental Guidance (PG) Thu.-Sun. (12:15-2:45-5:15) 7:4510:15 Promised Land (R) Fri.-Sun. (1:30-4:10) 7:20-10:00 Rise of the Guardians (PG) Thu.-Sun. (12:10-2:50-5:20) 7:50 Skyfall (PG-13) Thu. 8:00 Texas Chainsaw (R) Fri.-Sun. (12:30-5:20) 10:10 Texas Chainsaw 3D (R) Fri.-Sun. (2:55) 7:45 This Is 40 (R) Thu.-Sun. (12:45-3:50) 7:00-10:05 Wreck-It Ralph (PG) Thu.-Sun. (12:00-2:40-5:20)

Habersham Hills Cinemas 6 706-776-7469 2115 Cody Road, Mount Airy

Django Unchained (R) Thu.-Sun. 1:30-5:00-8:30 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:30-4:15-8:00 Jack Reacher (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 1:15-4:15-7:00-9:45 Lincoln (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:15-3:30-6:45-10:00 Parental Guidance (PG) Thu.-Sun. 12:00-2:30-5:00-7:3010:00 This Is 40 (R) Thu. 1:00-4:00-7:00-10:00

Dawson 400 Stadium Cinemas 706-216-1622 189 North 400 Center Lane, Dawsonville

Django Unchained (R) Thu.-Sun. 1:00-4:30-8:00 The Guilt Trip (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:05-2:20-4:35-7:0510:00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:30-4:15-8:00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D (PG-13) Thu. 12:003:45-7:30 Fri.-Sun. 7:30 Jack Reacher (PG-13) Thu. 1:30-4:05-7:10-9:55 Fri.-Sun. 1:30-4:05-7:10-9:40 Les Misérables (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 12:00-4:00-8:00 Monsters, Inc. 3D (G) Thu. 12:15-2:35-4:50-7:15-9:30 Fri.Sun. 12:15-2:35-4:50 Parental Guidance (PG) Thu.-Sun. 1:25-4:10-7:00-9:55 Rise of the Guardians (PG) Thu.-Sun. 12:00-2:20-4:40 Skyfall (PG-13) Thu.-Sun. 6:50-9:20 This Is 40 (R) Thu. 1:00-4:00-7:05-9:20 Fri.-Sun. 1:004:00-6:50-9:20

6. “This Is 40,” Universal, $12,501,060, $36,431,350, two weeks.

7. “Lincoln,” Disney, $7,337,362, $131,867,159, eight weeks.

8. “The Guilt Trip,” Paramount, $6,700,000, $21,102,000, two weeks.

9. “Monsters, Inc. 3-D,” Disney, $6,447,437, $18,573,901, two weeks.

10. “Rise of the Guardians,” Paramount, $4,900,000, $90,230,000, six weeks.

Associated Press

Hollywood Stadium Cinemas 770-539-9200 120 Green Hill Circle NW, Gainesville

Django Unchained (R) Thu. 4:30-5:30-8:15-9:15 Fri. 1:002:00-4:30-5:30-8:15-9:00 The Guilt Trip (PG-13) Thu. 4:45-7:00-9:45 Fri. 12:30-2:455:00-7:15-10:00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG-13) Thu. 3:45-4:158:00 Fri. 12:45-4:15-5:00-8:00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D (PG-13) Thu. 5:157:30 Fri. 1:30-8:30 Jack Reacher (PG-13) Thu. 4:00-5:00-7:00-8:00-9:45 Fri. 1:00-4:00-6:45-9:30 Lincoln (PG-13) Thu. 3:45-7:00-9:30 Fri. 12:30-3:45-7:009:15 The Metropolitan Opera: Les Troyens Live (Not Rated) Sat. 12:00 Les Misérables (PG-13) Thu. 4:30-8:30-9:00 Fri. 1:00-4:308:00 Monsters, Inc. 3D (G) Thu. 4:30-7:00-9:15 Fri. 12:30-2:455:00-7:15-9:30 Parental Guidance (PG) Thu. 4:00-7:00-7:15-10:00 Fri. 1:30-4:00-7:00-9:45 Rise of the Guardians (PG) Thu. 5:00-7:15 Fri. 1:45-4:156:45 Skyfall (PG-13) Thu. 9:30 Fri. 9:15 This Is 40 (R) Thu. 4:00-7:00-9:30 Fri. 12:30-3:45-6:459:30 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (PG-13) Thu. 4:1510:00 Fri. 1:00-4:00-6:45-9:45

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gainesvilletimes.com/getout | Thursday, January 3, 2013

now showing Movie reviews from Associated Press. Stars out of four.

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France. Two years after the release of his inspiring, crowd-pleasing “The King’s Speech,” winner of four Academy Awards including best picture, Hooper has vastly expanded his scope but also jettisoned all remnants of restraint. But he also does something clever in asking his actors to sing live on camera rather than having them record their vocals in a booth somewhere as is the norm, and for shooting the big numbers in single takes. The intimacy can be uncomfortable at times and that closeness highlights self-indulgent tendencies, but the meaning behind lyrics that have become so well-known shines through anew. Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe star.

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opening

‘Promised Land’

HH (R for language.) An experience that’s alternately amusing and frustrating, full of impassioned earnestness and saggy sections. Director Gus Van Sant has the challenge of taking the topic of fracking and trying to make it cinematic. Working from a script by co-stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski, based on a story by Dave Eggers, he succeeds in fits and starts. The impoverished small town that’s the tale’s setting, a place in need of the kind of economic rejuvenation fracking could provide, is full of folksy folks whose interactions with the main characters don’t always ring true. “Promised Land” has its heart on its sleeve and makes its proenvironment message quite clear, but it’s in the looser and more ambiguous places that the film actually works. Damon stars as Steve Butler, a salesman traveling the country on behalf of a bland behemoth of an energy corporation.

Having grown up on an Iowa farm himself and seeing how an economic downturn can devastate a small town, Butler seems to be a true believer in what he’s selling. But he’s also a pragmatist, as evidenced by the playfully cynical give-and-take he enjoys with his partner, Sue (a sharp Frances McDormand). Famously for his efficiency in persuading rural residents to sell their land for the drilling rights, Steve runs into a major challenge when he and Sue arrive in depressed McKinley, Pa., where an outspoken old-timer (Hal

foremost. OK, so maybe Cruise doesn’t exactly resemble the Reacher of British novelist Lee Child’s books: a 6-foot-5, 250pound, blond behemoth.

If you haven’t read them, you probably won’t care.

Even if you have read them, Christopher McQuarrie’s film — the first he’s directed and written since 2000’s “The Way of the Gun” — moves so fluidly and with such confidence, it’ll suck you in from the start. Jack Reacher is a former military investigator who’s become a bit of a mythic figure since he’s gone off the grid.

When the deadly shooting occurs at the film’s start, authorities believe they’ve quickly found their man: a sniper who’s ex-Army himself. He reveals nothing during his interrogation but manages to scribble the words “Get Jack Reacher” on a notepad before winding up in a coma. But when Reacher arrives and reluctantly agrees to help the defense attorney (Rosamund Pike) investigate, he finds the case isn’t nearly as simple as it seems.

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Matt Damon starring as Steve Butler in Gus Van Sant’s contemporary drama, “Promised Land.”

Holbrook) and a flashy, charismatic environmental crusader (Krasinski) dare to question the company’s methods.

continuing

‘Django Unchained’

HH(R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity.) For his latest blood fest, Quentin Tarantino largely replays all of his other blood fests, specifically his last flick, “Inglourious Basterds.” In that 2009 tale of wickedly savage retribution, Allied Jewish soldiers get to rewrite World War II history by going on a killing spree of Nazis. In Tarantino’s new tale of wickedly savage retribution, a black man (Jamie Foxx) gets to rewrite Deep South history by becoming a bounty hunter on a killing spree of white slave owners and overseers just before the Civil War. Granted, there’s something gleefully satisfying in watching evil people get

what they have coming.

But the film is Tarantino at his most puerile and least inventive, the premise offering little more than cold, nasty revenge and barrels of squishing, squirting blood. The usual Tarantino genre mishmash — a dab of blaxploitation here, a dollop of Spaghetti Western there — is so familiar now that it’s tiresome, more so because the filmmaker continues to linger with chortling delight over every scene, letting conversations run on interminably and gunfights carry on to grotesque excess. Bodies bursting blood like exploding water balloons? Perversely fun the first five or six times, pretty dreary the 20th or 30th. Tarantino always gets good actors who deliver, though, and it’s the performances by Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson that make the film intermittently entertaining amid moments

when the characters are either talking one another to death or just plain killing each other.

‘Jack Reacher’

HHH (PG-13 for violence, language and some drug material.) The idea of watching a movie in which a sniper methodically manufactures his own bullets, practices weekly at a gun range, then waits quietly in an empty parking garage before shooting five people dead may not sound like the most appealing form of entertainment during these tragic days. Nevertheless, it’s important to assess “Jack Reacher” on its own terms, for what it is and what it isn’t. Besides being caught in some unfortunate timing, it’s also clever, well-crafted and darkly humorous, and it features one of those effortless bad-ass performances from Tom Cruise that remind us that he is indeed a movie star, first and

‘Les Miserables’

HH½ (PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements.) Tom Hooper’s extravaganza, big-screen telling of the beloved musical is enormous and sprawling and not the slightest bit subtle. But at the same time it’s hard not to admire the ambition that drives such an approach, as well as Hooper’s efforts to combine a rousing, old-fashioned musical tale with contemporary and immediate aesthetics.

There’s a lot of hand-held camerawork here, a lot of rushing and swooping through the crowded, volatile slums of Victor Hugo’s 19th-century

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Thursday, January 3, 2013 | gainesvilletimes.com/getout

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

HH½ (PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images.)

Stuffed with Hollywood’s latest technology, Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” prelude is some eye candy that truly dazzles and some that utterly distracts, at least in its testrun of 48 frames a second, double the projection rate that has been standard since silent-film days.

It’s also overstuffed with prologues, flashbacks and long, boring councils among dwarves, wizards and elves as Jackson tries to mine enough story out of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology to build another trilogy. Remember the interminable false endings of “The Return of the King,” the Academy Awardwinning finale of Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings”? “An Unexpected Journey” has a similar bloat throughout its nearly three hours, in which Tolkien’s brisk story of intrepid little hobbit Bilbo Baggins is drawn out and diluted by dispensable trimmings better left for DVD extras. Two more parts are coming, so we won’t know how the whole story comes together until the finale arrives in summer 2014. Part one’s embellishments may pay off nicely, but right now, “An Unexpected Journey” looks like the start of an unnecessary trilogy better told in one film. Martin Freeman stars as homebody Bilbo, the reluctant recruit of wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) on a quest to retake a dwarf kingdom from a dragon.

The 48-frame version offers remarkably lifelike images, but the view is almost too real at times, the crystal pictures bleaching away the painterly quality of traditional film and

Paramount Pictures The Weinstein Company

From left, Christoph Waltz as Schultz and Jamie Foxx as Django walk in “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a slave trying to rescue his wife from a Mississippi plantation.

exposing sets and props as movie fakery.

‘This Is 40’

HHH (R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language and some drug material.) Every inch a Judd Apatow movie, from the pop culture references and potty mouths to the blunt body humor and escapist drug use. And like all of Apatow’s movies, it’s a good 20 minutes too long. But within that affectionately messy sprawl lies a maturation, an effort to convey something deeper, more personal and more substantive.

That goes beyond the casting of his real-life wife, Leslie Mann, as half of the couple in question, and the Apatow children, Maude and Iris, as the family’s daughters in this sort-of-sequel to the 2007 hit “Knocked Up.” As writer and director, Apatow

seems more interested in finding painful nuggets of truth than easy laughs.

Much of the banter between longtime Los Angeles marrieds Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Mann) can be very funny, but frequently it’s raw and painful as they have the kind of conversations about kids, finances and sex that might make many people in the audience feel an uncomfortable shiver of recognition. The film takes place during the three-week period when Pete and Debbie are both turning 40 (although Debbie likes to pretend she’s still 38). Birthday parties, fights about money, school confrontations, bratty kid flare-ups and awkward attempts at reconciling with parents are among the many events that occur during this vulnerable time of transition. The strong supporting cast includes

Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Jason Segel and a surprisingly funny Megan Fox. ‘The Impossible’

HH(PG-13 for intense, realistic disaster sequences, including disturbing injury images, and brief nudity.) Based on the true story of a family swept away by the deadly tsunami that pummeled Southeast Asia in 2004, director Juan Antonio Bayona’s drama is about as subtle as a wall of water.

The depiction of the natural disaster itself is visceral and horrifying — impeccable from a production standpoint. And Naomi Watts gives a vivid, deeply committed performance as the wife and mother of three young boys who finds the strength to persevere despite desolation and debilitating injuries. But man, is this thing heavy-

Tom Cruise stands by a car in a scene from “Jack Reacher.” Cruise plays a former military cop investigating a sniper case.

handed. Watts and Ewan McGregor play Maria and Henry, a happily married British couple spending Christmas at a luxury resort in Thailand with their three adorable sons. (The real-life family whose story inspired the film was Spanish; changing their ethnicity and casting famous people to play them seems like a rather transparent attempt to appeal to a larger audience.) During a quiet morning by the pool, the first massive wave comes ashore, scattering

the family and thousands of strangers across the devastated landscape.

“The Impossible” tracks their efforts to survive, reconnect, find medical care and get the hell out of town. The near-misses at an overcrowded hospital are just too agonizing to be true, and the uplifting score swells repeatedly in overpowering fashion to indicate how we should feel. Surely, the inherent drama of this story could have stood on its own two feet.

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gainesvilletimes.com/getout | Thursday, January 3, 2013

Big fun with 3 little bears Family trio to perform, teach in Gainesville From staff reports Great Bear Trio from Syracuse, N.Y., will be in Gainesville for a musicians’ workshop and performance.

The trio just played in Morgantown, W.Va., for the Contra Dancers Holiday, and will stop over in Hall County on their way to Chattanooga to play for the “Chattaboogie” dance weekend.

The trio is a motherand-sons combo. Among them, they play several string instruments, piano, percussion and didgeridoo.

Their style varies from

This week

Great Bear Trio Workshop and performance When: 2-5 p.m. Jan. 3 workshop; 7:30 p.m. performance Where: Horrocks residence, 776 Circle Drive,

Gainesville; Re-Cess Southern Gastro-Pub, 118 Bradford St., Gainesville

How much: Free to attend Contact: 770-654-5098, heitzso@bellsouth.net

contra line dance form — somewhat similar to square dancing — to Celtic, New England and string band.

They’re popular on the contra dance circuit because they really know how to whip the dancers into a frenzy of dancing, whooping and hollering.

The workshop will be from 2-5 p.m. Jan. 3 at the residence of Jennifer Horrocks, 776 Circle Drive in Gainesville. The concert

Concert calendar

will be later in the evening from 7:30-10 p.m. at ReCess Southern Gastro-Pub, 118 Bradford St., on the downtown square. Both the workshop and the concert are free to attend.

For more information about the performances, call 770-654-5098 or email heitzso@bellsouth.net.

To learn more about the Great Bear Trio, visit their website at www.facebook. com/greatbeartrio or listen to them on YouTube.

Open Mic Night, Dahlonega. 7 p.m. Jan. 3. Free. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Eric Jones and Zac McConnell, Dahlonega. 8 p.m. Jan. 4. $12. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Traditional Jam, Dahlonega. 1-4 p.m. Jan. 5. Free. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Adam Kadmon and Carl Jah, Dahlonega. 8-10:30 p.m. Jan. 5. $5. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Blues, Jazz and Rock

Jam, Dahlonega. 7 p.m.

Jan. 6. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com

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770-534-2787, www.

TheArtsCouncil.net Havana Son Trio, Gainesville. 8 p.m. Feb. 1. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. $30.

770-534-2787, www.

TheArtsCouncil.net Classical guitarist Jeff Bianchi, Gainesville. 7 p.m.

Feb. 23. Inman Perk Cafe, 102 Washington St. SW, Gainesville. Free.

P!nk, “The Truth About Love,” 2013 North American Tour, Atlanta. March 1.

Philips Arena.LiveNation. com, Ticketmaster.com Nuclear Cowboyz, Atlanta. March 2 and 3.

Philips Arena.

Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball World Tour, Atlanta. March 11. Philips Arena. LiveNation.com, Ticketmaster.com Evan Christopher Trio, Gainesville. 8 p.m.

March 23. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. $30.

770-534-2787, www.

TheArtsCouncil.net

go o music

Upcoming

Open Mic Night, Dahlonega. 7 p.m.

Jan. 10. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Sarah Peacock and Sol Junky, Dahlonega.

8 p.m. Jan. 11. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Rory Block Solo Acoustic, Dahlonega.

8 p.m. Jan. 12. The Crimson Moon Cafe, 24 N. Park St., Dahlonega.

706-864-3982, www. thecrimsonmoon.com Jeni Michelson with Society Express Quartet, Gainesville. 8 p.m. Jan. 19. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. $30.

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get out

• gainesvilletimes.com/getout

Thursday, January 3, 2013

On December 15, Brenau University officially begins its lease of the Georgia Mountains Center, which will continue to provide great facilities for community events, meetings and programs. And, Brenau offers other accommodations for a variety of activities on the historic campus, including Pearce Auditorium, Hosch Theatre, the Burd Center for Performing Arts and Brenau Galleries. www.brenau.edu

Call 770-531-3122 to book your event or get more information. www.georgiamountainscenter.com