.MOVIE LISTINGS | MOVIE REVIEW ARCHIVE | THEATER INFO

 

OPENING:

Bounty Hunter, The: Just don’t. Jennifer Aniston as a bail-jumper? Gerard Butler as her bounty hunter ex who’s gotta bring her back? Do you believe in any of this? Do you believe this movie should’ve been made? PG13. 110 min. Eight percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Movies 12.

Hot Tub Time Machine: Four dudes (John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke) get wasted, get in a hot tub, pass out — and wake up in 1986 (does John Cusack get to re-do his old movie roles?). “It’s fun, it’s sad, and it’s kind of sad that it’s so much fun,” wrote A.O. Scott in The New York Times. R. 100 min. Movies 12.

Out in the Silence: Documentary about the controversy stirred in a small town when filmmaker Joe Wilson announces of his marriage to another man. Screens after a discussion about sexual and gender minority access to education. Panel discussion 6 pm, film screening 7 pm Tuesday, June 1, 175 Knight Law, UO. Free. 

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Prince of L.A.? Prince of Europe? Jake Gyllenhaal is offensively miscast as rogue prince (can you be both?) Dastan (DASTAN!) in this action flick based on the video game of the same name. Gemma Arterton (from that second rebooted James Bond movie that was so bad I can’t remember the name) co-stars as Princey-Poo’s love interest. They have this dagger thing. I’m sure it’s irrelevant. PG-13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Red Riding Trilogy: This ambitious project consists of three films, all based on David Peace’s novels about corruption in the north of England. Julian Jarrold directs 1974 (105 minutes); James Marsh (Man on Wire) takes over for 1980 (97 minutes), which probably stands on its own the best; and Anand Tucker (Shopgirl) closes things out with 1983 (104 minutes). Along the way, good men are destroyed, greed reigns and women weep. With Andrew Garfield, Sean Bean, Rebecca Hall, Paddy Considine and Sean Harris. Not rated. Bijou. See reviews this issue.

Road, The: John Hillcoat (The Proposition) directs this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Cormac McCarthy novel. Viggo Mortensen stars as a father trying to keep his young son (Kodi McPhee) alive after the planet is ravaged by disaster. R. David Minor Theater. (12/24)

Sansho the Bailiff: Kenzi Mizoguchi’s 1954 film is based on a short story by Mori Ogai, and concerns a good man separated from his family when he’s banished by a feudal lord Screens as part of the DIVA/LCC Behind the Lens seminar. 7 pm Tuesday, June 1, DIVA. $3.

Sex and the City 2: Remember when sequels had their own names instead of just a number after the series title? Yeah, I’m starting to forget too. New York magazine’s David Edelstein said, “The most depressing thing about Sex and the City 2 is that it seems to justify every nasty thing said and written about the series and first feature film.” R, duh. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Why Did I Get Married Too: Tyler Perry’s sequel to Why Did I Get Married follows four couples to their annual reunion in the Bahamas, where each pair faces challenges and setbacks that follow them home. With Perry, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott and Louis Gossett Jr. PG-13. Movies 12.

Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted.

 

 

CONTINUING: 

Alice in Wonderland: It should’ve been perfect: Burton, Depp, Alice! But the elements don’t quite mesh (and the 3D is mostly color-muting and distracting) in Burton’s semi-sequel, in which an older Alice (Mia Wasikowska) tumbles back into Wonderland, where she’s needed to slay the Jabberwock. (The Frumious Bandersnatch is much cooler; what’s original about making the Jabberwock into a dragon?) Nice turns from all, but a slight disappointment. PG. 108 min. Movies 12.

Avatar: James Cameron’s latest multi-hundred-million extravaganza — a sci-fi tale about an ex-Marine whose consciousness is put into an alien body, leading to all kinds of conflict and realizations about the worlds — is so ideologically slippery, everyone who’s seen it has a convincing argument for why their take is the right one. It’s pretty, and it’s tired. Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects. PG13. Movies 12. David Minor Theater. (12/24)

Book of Eli, The: Bring on the apocalypse, man. Between this, Legion and … some other movies about the end of the world, we’re clearly in the middle of a trendlike thing. Anyway. Denzel Washington kicks ass and carries a bible as the one man who carries a hope for the future. With Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis. R. Movies 12. 

City Island: Aspiring actor Vince (Andy Garcia) reveals his biggest secret in drama class — and secrets from the rest of his family and community follow. With Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin (doubtless playing the cantankerous gramps). PG13. 100 min. Cinemark.

Crazy Heart: Jeff Bridges stars as a worn-out, alcoholic country singer-songwriter. His former protégé (Colin Farrell) is a superstar, but he’s playing in bowling alleys. A sweet-faced, much younger journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) sparks changes in the ol’ feller; Robert Duvall has a nice turn as his best friend. Academy Awards: Jeff Bridges, Best Actor; Best Original Song. R. David Minor Theater. (2/11) 

Date Night: Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are a totally ordinary couple whose date night runs out of control when they steal a table at a fancy restaurant. With James Franco and Mila Kunis as the couple whose table it was, and Mark Wahlberg as a dude who doesn’t wear a lot of shirts. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (4/15) 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: This adaptation of the bestselling book follows a poor kid having a crap time in middle school. So, like most of us, then. “A jaunty and forthright production,” said Entertainment Weekly. PG. Movies 12. 

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The: This Swedish adaptation of the bestselling (and also Swedish) novel is relatively effective as a thriller, if you can forgive it a pile of cinematic clichés. Noomi Rapace is superb as Lisbeth, the titular girl, who teams up with a disgraced journalist to solve a lingering family mystery that works in abuse, Nazism and other nastiness to disappointingly shallow ends. Looks good, though. R. 152 min. Bijou. (4/22) 

How to Train Your Dragon: I hear from trustworthy sources that this movie is 100 percent great. It’s about a young Viking (voiced by Jay Baruchel) who thinks he’d rather befriend dragons, his people’s longtime enemies, than kill them. Good call, kid. That’s a cute dragon you got there. PG. 98 min. Cinemark. 

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The: The latest film from Terry Gilliam arrives under a dark banner; it includes Heath Ledger’s last role. The fantastical film tells the story of a traveling theater owner who made a deal with the devil a very long time ago, and another deal less long ago — one that’s about to cause some problems. PG-13. 122 min. David Minor Theater. (1/14)

Invictus: Morgan Freeman tackles a South African accent to play Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s latest based-on-a-true-story film, about Mandela’s effort to unite his nation “through the universal language of sport” — in this case, rugby. Matt Damon plays the rugby team captain. PG13. David Minor Thearter (12/17)

Iron Man 2: Let’s just get it over with: Dudes, summmer is officially here! (That’s an all-encompassing “dudes,” by the way, not limited to menfolk.) Despite the annoying replacement of Terrence Howard with (the fantastic, don’t get me wrong) Don Cheadle as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)’s buddy Rhodey — and my own low tolerance for Mickey Rourke in anything — this sequel looks thoroughly, quippily, delightfully enjoyable. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts; Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson join the fray. PG13. 122 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Joneses, The: Derrick Borte’s film sends up consumer culture through the story of the Joneses, who move into a big house in a rich suburb, work their way into the community and then have to deal with a neighboring catastrophe. Starring Demi Moore and David Duchovny. Bijou. (5/20)

Letters to Juliet: Does Amanda Seyfried sleep? She’s in everything lately, including this sweetly cheesetastic (I’m going by the preview here, OK?) film about a young American who volunteers to reply to letters left for Juliet at a wall in Verona. One recipient of such a letter (Vanessa Redgrave) is inspired to search out her long-lost love. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. 

MacGruber: You’ve seen the SNL skits; now watch the movie! Will Forte stars as the um, action hero; Ryan Phillipe and Kristen Wiig are his backup. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: High schooler Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) has his life changed right up when he finds out Poseidon is his pops. At Camp Half Blood, he meets other demigods and winds up on quite an adventure. I mean, it’s no small potatoes when your nemesis comes from the Underworld. PG. Movies 12.

Robin Hood: He is an OUTLAW! Did you know that? I bet you did. Previews look patently ridiculous for Ridley Scott’s serious-business version of the old tale — so, it’s an origin story, right? Isn’t Russell Crowe a bit old for an origin story? Whatever. At least Cate Blanchett is in it. PG-13. 148 frickin’ minutes. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

She’s Out of My League: Jay Baruchel is a TSA screener who’s, like, way not hot enough for the woman (Alice Eve) who starts to like him after he returns her phone. Wacky yet uncomfortable situations are sure to abound! R. 104 min. Movies 12. 

Shrek Forever After: Supposedly, this is really seriously truly going to be the last Shrek movie. So that’s something. Shrek’s adventures this time involve getting himself sent to an opposite-world in which his friends aren’t his friends, and — more importantly for the plot — Fiona (Cameron Diaz) wants nothing to do with him. Also in 3D. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Shutter Island: It’s a bit worrisome that Scorsese’s latest was bumped from last fall to now, but reviews are still good for his thriller (based on a Dennis Lehane novel) about two U.S. marshals sent to investigate an escape from an isolated prison for the criminally insane. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. R. Movies 12. (3/5)

Spy Next Door, The: Jackie Chan defends neighborhood kids from some bad spies. With George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus and Amber Valletta. PG. Movies 12.

 

 

MOVIE THEATERS
Use the links provided below for specific show times.

Bijou Art Cinemas
Bijou Theater 686-2458 | 492 E. 13th

David Minor Theater
David Minor Theater and Pub 762-1700 | 180 E. 5th

Regal Cinemas
VRC Stadium 15 342-6536 | Valley River Center

Cinemark Theaters
Movies 12 741-1231 | Gateway Mall
Cinemark 17 741-1231 | Gateway Mall