MOVIE LISTINGS
OPENING FRIDAY
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 » » More animated food mayhem and heroism in this sequel to the popular family feature.
Don Jon » » Joseph Gordon- Levitt stars in and directed this modern take on the Don Juan legend. With Scarlett Johansson as his muse.
Enough Said » » Julia Louis- Dreyfus stars with James Gandolfini, the Soprano actor’s last film before his death.
Runner Runner » » Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake star in a film about online gambling and offshore gangsters.
Rush » » Ron Howard directs this movie about car racing and the meaning of life.
Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon
» Angelababy and Mark Chao star in this Chinese action fantasy.
FIRST RUN
2 Guns » Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg team up against a corrupt drug dealer in this buddy action comedy.
The Art of the Steal » » A lightweight caper comedy about art thieves. The expert cast includes Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon as half- brothers with a history of betrayal and Terence Stamp is among the people on their trail.
Austenland » » A Pride and Prejudice- obsessed woman ( Keri Russell) searches for her dream Mr. Darcy at a Jane Austen theme park.
Battle of the Year » » A team of elite dancers compete for the ultimate trophy.
Blue Jasmine » » Cate Blanchett stars as a middle- aged trophy bride who finds herself in trouble when her husband is caught as a fraudster in Woody Allen’s latest.
Closed Circuit » » Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall star as lawyers assigned to represent an alleged terrorist in a high- profile trial that has all of London looking for justice. Yet, when they start researching their case, they discover the strands of culpability stretch far and wide — possibly as far as the prime minister’s office. Now, with everyone watching, the sparring duo must hide the facts that could blow it all wide open. Despite an ambition to be a modern Rear Window, director John Crowley fails to make the most of his closed circuit device and hands in an entertaining, but somewhat stalled, dramatic thriller made watchable by the two charismatic leads.
The Conjuring » » A horror movie supposedly based on the true story of a family that moves into a haunted house. Lili Taylor has some good moments as the mother, and Vera Farmiga is strong as a clairvoyant who is called in to help. There are some effective scenes, but it’s like a combination of every horror movie ever made, and the shocks wear thin.
Despicable Me 2 » » A sequel that lacks the narrative punch of the first film. Super- villain Gru ( Steve Carell), who has become a devoted father, is recruited by agent Lucy ( Kristen Wiig) to capture a new criminal. It lacks the heart of the first film, but the madcap anarchy never stops.
Elysium » » Neill Blomkamp offers up another social metaphor about our pathetic little species in this science- fiction action thriller that pushes the concept of the income gap to its logical conclusion: Rich people live on a pristine space station with access to medical attention while the billions of poor people live on a toxic Earth and work for slave wages without health care. Starring Jodie Foster and Matt Damon.
The Family » » A mafia family led by
ffhoo Fred and Maggie Blake ( Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer) is forced to change its ways after moving to Normandy, France.
Flight of the Butterflies » » The film follows the year- long annual migration cycle of the butterflies.
In a World » » Lake Bell writes, directs and stars in this subtle but well- phrased comedy about a female vocal talent struggling to find her own voice in a professional world dominated by male tones. Smart, funny and unafraid to make a little noise when it matters, this movie offers a surprisingly down- to- earth view of La La Land and its blowhard inhabitants.
Insidious Chapter 2 » » The sequel to the 2010 hit about a family haunted by a malevolent presence is less successful, mostly because it has to explain too much. Living in a series of haunted houses, they stumble on a story about a mad killer who seems to have arrived full- blown from Psycho. There are a few scares, but the creep- out factor has suffered.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler » » A combination of black history lesson and melodrama with Forest Whitaker as a butler in the White House, who served presidents from Eisenhower to Reagan. His story — and the parallel tale of his son, an angry activist — provide a cross- section of the civil rights movement that seems more pedantic than personal.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters » » Coming across a bit like something an exhausted father might try to conjure on the fly as his child begs for an original bedtime story late at night, this second instalment in the Percy Jackson series about a young demigod ( Logan Lerman) trying to save the world — again — is a bit all over the map. But that, and its sly sense of humour, is part of what makes this adventure story appealing — both for children and adults.
Planes » » Cropduster Dusty ( voiced by Dane Cook) dreams of racing in the sky, but trouble is he’s afraid of heights. He faces his biggest fear in this Cars spinoff from Disney.
Riddick » » Vin Diesel returns in the role that made him famous, as a B- action star with A- list biceps. He’s a wanted convict on a distant planet populated by cool creatures, and while the flashbacks are confusing, his war with two teams of mercenaries there to catch him have one or two “holys — t” moments.
Prisoners » » Montreal director Denis Villeneuve goes Hollywood with this thriller about a desparate father whose daughter and her friend go
missing. Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo.
Salinger » » A two- hour documentary about the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye. The film reveals the five posthumous stories it says will be published, but mostly it’s a synthesis of familiar anecdotes, enlivened by rare photographs.
The Smurfs 2 » » In the Smurfs sequel,
ffhoo the scheming Gargamel ( played by the nearly unrecognizable but excellent Hank Azaria) kidnaps Smurfette ( voiced by pop star Katy Perry). It isn’t for everyone — especially if your legs reach the cinema floor — but the characters remain as lovable as ever, and will likely entertain the desired pint- sized demographic even if they leave neglected parents a little, well, blue.
The Spectacular Now » » A likable
fffho teenage romance about ( gasp!) real people. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are both fine as the high school sweethearts — he’s Mr. Popularity, and she’s a shy underachiever — and while the story turns conventional, they remain characters to believe in. Spongebob Squarepants 4D The Great Jelly
Rescue » The kids’ favourite deep- sea sponge returns in an all- new 4D adventure.
To the Arctic » » The film takes audiences on a never- before- experienced journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her twin seven- month- old cubs as they navigate the more changing Arctic wilderness they call home. Admission ticket to Science World required.
We’re the Millers » » Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis and Emma Roberts star in this goofy, vulgar, but somewhat lovable comedy about a pot dealer who hires a ragtag group of strangers and acquaintances to pose as his family in order to smuggle drugs across the border. Though clichéd and predictable, and somewhat squirmy in Aniston’s stripper scenes, the film offers enough naked charm and subtle social commentary to make it past the checkpoint.
The Wolverine » » Director James
fffho Mangold ( Cop Land, Girl, Interrupted) takes on the challenge of fusing comic book action with a metaphysical romance in this X- Men spinoff. Picking up the story of Logan/ Wolverine ( Hugh Jackman) after he’s killed his true love, Jean Grey ( Famke Janssen), this 3D action spectacle takes us to Japan, where an eccentric billionaire offers Logan the gift of mortality. The frames are moody, Jackman is muscular and Mangold’s direction makes it meaty.
The World’s End » » The new comedy
fffho from the team of director Edgar Wright and co- stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost ( Shaun of the Dead) is about a group of friends who reunite 20 years later to finish a monumental pub crawl. Things have changed — the apocalypse looms, for one thing — but the beer beckons in a very funny, if wearying, examination of the British drinking class life.