NOW PLAYING
Capsule reviews of first-run films now showing at Calgary theatres
21 Jump Street ★★ out of five
Despite some good acting work from stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, this send-up of the ’80s-era TV show about cops going undercover in high school feels so self-aware, it feels desperate. It finds its only redeeming moments through the two leads.
The Adventures of Tintin
★★★ ½
The popular kids’ comic about an adventurous journalist named Tintin comes to the big screen under the careful direction of Steven Spielberg. Spectacular visuals highlight a very fun ride.
Alvin and the Chipmunks:
Chip-wrecked ★★ ½
The mischievous creatures are grounded for causing a ruckus while aboard a cruise ship. Alvin suggests they “turn punishment into funishment,” but very little funishment transpires.
American Reunion ★★ ½
Thirteen years after American Pie, the characters return for a high school reunion. The result is vulgar and clunky, although Seann William Scott is a scene-stealer as Stifler, and Eugene Levy has some nice squirmy moments. For fans of the original only.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ★★★ ½
Danny Devito takes on the role of Dr. Seuss’s seminal environmentalist, the Lorax, in this big-screen 3-D adaptation of the book about greed and its devastating effects on the planet.
Friends with Kids ★★★
This film about two friends (Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt) who decide to beat the matrimonial system by having a baby together may ultimately be pat, but writer/director/producer/star Westfeldt pushes so many buttons, you’ll be discussing it for weeks.
Happy Feet Two ★★★ ½
This film about dancing penguins is somewhat convoluted — something about global warming — but it’s animated and it’s spring break.
The Hunger Games ★★★★
A grim, persuasive version of the Suzanne Collins novel about teenagers who are forced to compete in an annual fight to the death in a dystopia of the future. Jennifer Lawrence is a steely heroine, and director Gary Ross makes the spectacle a grimly believable extension of reality TV.
In Darkness ★★★★
Polish director Agnieszka Holland brings us the true story of a group of Second World War Jews who avoided detection by the Nazis by hiding out in the sewers under the Polish City of Lvov, now part of Ukraine. The strength in In Darkness lies in how slowly and yet inexorably the sewer worker’s convictions turn.
Jeff Who Lives at Home ★★★ ½
Mark and Jay Duplass direct a heartfelt Jason Segel in this surprisingly sweet, and frequently very funny, story of a pothead who lives in his mother’s basement and wants to meet his destiny.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi ★★★★
In this lovely epicurean movie, documentary filmmaker David Gelb makes a convincing case that Jiro Ono, owner and master of the tiny Sukiyabashi Jiro eatery in Tokyo’s Ginza district, is the best sushi chef in the world — and perhaps the greatest of all time.
John Carter ★★ ½
A likable enough hodgepodge of science fantasy based on a Edgar Rice Burroughs story. Canadian Taylor Kitsch plays a Confederate soldier who is transported to Mars, where he must rescue a princess from a marriage of convenience. The result is a disjointed adventure jammed with special effects.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
★★★
Dwayne Johnson replaces Brendan Fraser in this family-friendly sequel that is short on sense and high on campy entertainment. Johnson and returning cast member Josh Hutcherson journey to a magical island. Michael Caine and Vanessa Hudgens are along for the ride —and when the island starts to sink, the group must struggle to devise an escape plan.
Mirror Mirror ★★★
A highly stylized and bizarrely comic version of the Snow White story. Julia Roberts is the evil stepmother with a winning smile, and Lily Collins is a feisty princess with memorable eyebrows. Mostly what you remember are the elaborate sets and surreal costumes. It’s slightly mad.
Project X ★★
A raunchy teen comedy about a monumentally destructive party held while the birthday boy’s parents are out of town. The humour comes in the scope of the anarchy, which is like a cross between a rave and a Stanley Cup riot.
The Raid: Redemption ★★★ ½
Indonesian action star Iko Uwais stars as a cop in this second action extravaganza from director Gareth Evans about a SWAT team that finds itself surrounded in the apartment building of a crime boss. Though little more than an extended cat and mouse game, the acrobatic skills are so impressive, the movie may well leave you breathless as it reinvigorates a tired, and blood-soaked, genre.
Safe House ★★ ½
A quasi-bourne movie with Ryan Reynolds as a rookie CIA agent who runs a safe house in South Africa and Denzel Washington as a rogue agent brought there for questioning. They escape together, pursued by the agency itself. There’s little mystery here, but many dizzying car chases.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
★★★ ½
Ewan Mcgregor and Emily Blunt play star-crossed lovers in this creative and frequently funny adaptation of Paul Torday’s bestselling novel that tells the story of a fisheries scientist forced into bringing salmon to the Arabian Peninsula. With Mcgregor playing the uptight academic and Blunt playing sexy facilitator, the movie hits some rom-com snags, but always finds an elegant escape.
A Separation ★★★★
Asghar Farhadi’s modest drama about a couple seeking a divorce in Tehran is a surprising take on contemporary Iranian society that addresses issues of class and faith without forcing any party line. Smart, beautifully written and flawlessly performed by an ensemble of first-rate actors, A Separation won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
Titanic 3-D ★★★★
The 1997 blockbuster has been expertly converted to 3-D, but the extra richness seems redundant: Titanic was always lush. What you notice, 15 years later, is the craft and care of the filmmaking.
Wanderlust ★★
Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston sleepwalk through a limp script about an urban couple who end up joining a cult. While the nutty characters and nudist-dependent sight gags are supposed to keep us laughing, this movie is really just a sad investigation of the endangered American middle class.
We Need To Talk About Kevin
★★★★★
The reason this movie is so terrifying is because it isn’t a horror film: unlike those demon spawn in The Exorcist, Kevin is actually believable. On the surface, as his father points out, he’s just a “sweet little boy,” but his mother (Tilda Swinton) suspects otherwise.
Wrath of the Titans ★★ ½
A sequel to the mythological epic in which Perseus (Sam Worthington) must rescue his father, Zeus (Liam Neeson), from the clutches of Hades (Ralph Fiennes). It’s occasionally enjoyably cheesy, and the effects are good, but mostly it’s just loud and silly.