CHEAP SEATS
Capsule reviews of second-run films now showing at Calgary theatres
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter ★★★ ½ out of five
This entertaining and gorgeously gory piece of revisionism turns history into escapism as the first president of the Union being a vampire killer gets a sincere treatment in this adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestseller.
The Cabin in the Woods ★★★ ½
Five young people go to a cabin and run into cliche terrors. The film is both funny and clever, but neglects to be frightening.
Dark Shadows ★★ ½
Johnny Depp plays a vampire who awakens after a 200-year imprisonment to find his family has fallen on hard times. Tim Burton’s film is stylish, but drowns in characters and tedious subplots.
The Dictator ★★★
The bad boy of comedy, Sacha Baron Cohen, stars as a tyrant who wants to build a nuclear weapon. When the UN threatens sanctions, he flies to New York, where he’s kidnapped and replaced by a body double.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ★★★ ½ Danny DeVito takes on the role of Dr. Seuss’s environmentalist, the Lorax, in this adaptation of the book about greed and its devastating effects on the planet.
The Hunger Games ★★★★ A grim, persuasive version of the Suzanne Collins novel about teenagers who are forced to compete in a fight to the death in a dystopia of the future. Katy Perry: Part of Me ★★ ½ This 3-D documentary captures Katy Perry’s sold-out 2011 tour. It tries to offer a glimpse into Perry’s personal life, but reveals little more than the singer’s fatigue and the odd grumpy moment
Madagascar 3
Europe’s Most Wanted ★★★★ An animated film that’s vertigi-
nous, explosive, ridiculous, frantic, and anti-Canadian (they joke about our “work ethic.”) Inspired 3-D and non-stop silliness make this the most fun you can have at the movies so far this summer.
Men in Black 3 ★★ ½ A tired sequel to the comic sci-fi franchise about two special agents (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) who hunt aliens among us. They go back in time, allowing Josh Brolin to give a funny impersonation of a young Jones.
People Like Us ★★★ A young hustler goes on a lifealtering voyage when his father dies and asks him to take cash to a sister he never knew. Though screenwriter/director Alex Kurtzman can’t find any new beats on this old dysfunctional family violin, he scratches out a decent tune. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
★★★ ½ Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant)
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tries to win the big pirate prize only to discover he sold his soul along the way. Smart and silly, it’s enjoyable for both adults and kids.
Prometheus ★★★★ Noomi Rapace emerges as the logical emotional heir to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in this Ridley Scott prequel to Alien. Though the film suffers from a lack of character development, the core trio finds the requisite depth to create a micro-cosmos of human emotion, where our redeeming traits are tested.
Rock of Ages ★★ Adam Shankman (Hairspray) returns to the land of big screen adaptations with this Broadway musical about the heyday of arena rock. Despite a soundtrack laced with Top 40 hits from the likes of Journey, Shankman can’t get beyond the glitzy surface — and gets lost in the contrived creases of Tom Cruise’s stab at raw sexuality.
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World ★★★★
Movies about the final countdown always function, at some level, as a metaphor for a more personal mortality. Seeking a Friend ... isn’t a film you’d begrudge for stealing 100 minutes of that time, no matter how precious.
Snow White and the Huntsman
★★★
The Lord of the Rings version of the story, with Kristen Stewart as a brave heroine and Chris Hemsworth as the hunky huntsman who leads a company of companions on a quest to overthrow the wicked queen (Charlize Theron). The result is a constricted epic. What to Expect When You’re
Expecting ★★★ Cameron Diaz, Anna Kendrick and Elizabeth Banks play women struggling to conceive in this bigscreen adaptation of the bestselling book about pregnancy.