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OPENING THIS WEEK
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM Review on 17
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL Review on 16
ALSO OPENING
88 MINUTES (1 hr., 48 min.; R for disturbing violent content, brief nudity and language) A college professor who moonlights as a forensic psychiatrist in on the clock after a killer he helped to put away informs him that he has only 88 minutes to live. Al Pacino plays the prof, whose beautiful mind may be the only thing that can save him. This film was not screened for critics.
EXPELLED (1 hr., 53 min.; PG for thematic material, some disturbing images and brief smoking) Men are from monkeys? Pshaw! So says former Nixon speechwriter and TV personality Ben Stein, who is here to tell you about two little words the scientific community doesn't you to hear: intelligent design. Evolution, shmevolution. This film was not screened for critics.
UNDER THE SAME MOON (1 hr., 50 min.; PG-13 for some mature thematic elements) A young lad from south of the border discovers that it's a long and winding road from Mexico to Los Angeles after he runs away to find his mother. A warmhearted film that inspires sympathy for illegal immigrants without leaning on the message button too hard. [B+]
LARGE FORMAT FILMS
Cricket Imax Theater at Jordan Commons
SHINE A LIGHT (2 hrs., 37 min.; PG-13 for brief strong language, drug references and smoking) Martin Scorsese films the Stones!
U2 3D (1 hr., 25 min.; G) The world's biggest band rocks through South America in this concert film. As seen at Sundance!
Showtimes daily. 9355 S. State St., Sandy. (801) 304-INFO.
Xango Mammoth Screen Theater at Thanksgiving Point
DINOSAURS: GIANTS OF PATAGONIA (40 min.; No MPAA rating) Learn about the discovery of super-large dino in South America.
DINOSAURS: ALIVE! 3D (40 min.; No MPAA rating) Giant dinosaur battles in 3D! Also: footage from bone excavation sites in Mongolia and Mexio.
SEA MONSTERS: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE (40 min.; No MPAA rating) Learn about the humongous beasts that used to swim in the sea.
Showtimes daily. 3003 N. Thanksgiving Way, Lehi. 768-2300.
CONTINUING
10,000 B.C. (1 hr., 49 min.; PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence) A babelicious cavegirl (Camilla Belle) is stolen from her muscular, jut-jawed, mammoth-hunting BFF, D'Leh (Steven Strait). D'Leh d'cides that the only thing to d'o is to d'liver his d'amsel from d'bad guys. It's as silly as it sounds but director Roland Emmerich does know how to do spectacle. [C-]
21 (2 hrs., 3 min.; PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity) Based on, but not truly inspired by, the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team, "21" takes a thoroughly by-the-numbers approach to its card-counting characters and their Las Vegas entanglements. Flashy and fun, but with nothing of substance and nothing that surprises. [C+]
27 DRESSES (1 hr., 47 min.; PG-13 for language, some innuendo and sexuality) "Grey's Anatomy" star Katherine Heigl makes her bid to become America's newest screen sweetheart with this paint-by-numbers romantic comedy about a woman who's always a bridesmaid, never a bride -- until now?! James Marsden and Heigl have nice romantic chemistry, but the rest of the movie is pure cliche. [C+]
BE KIND REWIND (1 hr., 41 min.; PG-13 for some sexual references) A movie for people who love movies, this airy comedy imagines that two friends must remake every film in the inventory of a tapes-only movie rental store after, well, after one guy's electro-shock-induced magnetism wipes everything out. It's goofy and silly, but in a way that's bound to make you smile. [B]
THE BUCKET LIST (1 hr., 37 min.; PG-13 for language, including a sexual reference) Psst! The screenplay for this death-defying drama, in which geezers live it up while they're goin' down (from cancer), is actually a scientific experiment to determine the maximum amount of inane, imbecilic dialogue and plot cliches that can occupy a single point in space and time. [D-]
DEFINITELY, MAYBE (1 hr., 51 min.; PG-13 for sexual content including some frank dialogue) Ryan Reynolds shows off his leading man moxie in this charming romantic comedy about a father, his 10-year-old daughter and the three women of whom one is her mother -- Dad's not saying who it is. The writing is smart and the period humor wisely restrained. Sappy at the very end, but also smart and very sweet. [B+]
DOOMSDAY (1 hr., 49 min.; R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content/nudity) Rhona Mitra, a model who made her first big splash as a live-action doppleganger for video game vixen Lara Croft (back before the Angelina Jolie "Tomb Raider" movies) does a creditable job battling deranged plague survivors in this forgettable, if well crafted, post-apocalyptic thriller. [C+]
DRILLBIT TAYLOR (1 hr., 42 min.; PG-13 for crude sexual references throughout, strong bullying, language, drug references and partial nudity) Owen Wilson plays a homeless Army deserter whose personality is strangely reminiscent of other Owen Wilson characters. It's all good, sort of, in this crude, yet sweet-natured high school comedy that has many chuckles but few big laughs. [B-]
EMMA SMITH: MY STORY (1 hr., 38 min.; PG for mild thematic elements and brief violence) The wife of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith steps into the spotlight ... sort of. The makers of this lovely, reverential film, including many of the same people who made the LDS Church-produced "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration," don't reveal very much at all about their subject. [C+]
HAPPY VALLEY (1 hr., 40 min.; PG-13 for thematic material involving drug use and addiction) First-time filmmaker Ron Williams's earnest desire to help people out, as well as the poignancy in the plight of his film's subjects, makes this film compelling. His rather muddled message and tendency to jump around without finishing his thoughts works against it. [B-]
HORTON HEARS A WHO! (1 hr., 28 min.; G) Honorable Horton, the elephantine softie who is loyal to the tiny beings only his enormous ears can detect, is as endearing as ever in this feature-length adaptation of the famous fable by latter-day Aesop Dr. Seuss. While a bit long and sometimes silly, the film is delightfully animated and frequently very funny. A fine family entertainment. [A-]
JUNO (1 hr., 32 min.; PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language) Ellen Page grabs the bull by the horns as a pregnant teenager who decides to put her child up for adoption, but Page's sparkling performance is just one reason to see this potty-mouthed, tender-hearted drama. It's got loads of comedy, great writing and excellent acting all around. [A]
JUMPER (1 hr., 28 min.; PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some language and brief sexuality) The tender story of a kid who can teleport and the freaky white-haired hardcase who'd like to kill him because of that. Tight action scenes and some cool location shooting crank up the film a few notches past the actual potential of its dumbed-down, sometimes sketchy story. [B-]
LEATHERHEADS (1 hr., 54 min.; PG-13 for brief strong language) Before there was an NFL, the players played because they loved the game! (And probably because it beat bagging groceries or pumping gas.) George Clooney is aces as a roaring 20s football player and owner, but Clooney as director plays it safe, taking this sporting romantic comedy straight up the middle. [B-]
NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS (2 hrs., 11 min.; PG for some violence and action) Despite feeling rote and repetitive even for a sequel, this fast-paced follow-up to "National Treasure" keeps things rolling and gets up to some fun shenanigans. The atmosphere is so low-key and lighthearted that it's jarring when the occasional gunshot or car chase shakes things up. [C+]
NIM'S ISLAND (1 hr., 35 min.; PG for mild adventure action and brief language) Jodie Foster plays an agoraphobic adventure novelist summoned to a mysterious island by her littlest fan (Abigail Breslin) after the poor thing's father goes missing. Adults will probably find this one a tough sit, but the lively story and characters will be fun for kids. [B-]
PENELOPE (1 hr., 25 min.; PG for thematic elements, some innuendo and language) Follow your nose to this charming modern fairy tale about a lovely lass cursed with a porcine proboscis. Can otherwise perfectly adorable Penelope (Christina Ricci) find love in spite of her sizeable schnozz? Though it doesn't have great depth of feeling, this gentle comedy does tell a sweet story. [B]
PROM NIGHT (1 hr., 28 min.; PG-13 for violence and terror, some sexual material, underage drinking, and language) It's the most romantic night of the year for the McStudents at McMovie McHigh School. Only, there's a McMurderous McSlasher on the loose at the swanky hotel where their prom is being held! Blah. No smarts. No scares. No suspense. No reason to buy a ticket. [D]
THE RUINS (1 hr., 37 min.; R for strong violence and gruesome images, language, some sexuality and nudity) American kids on vacation in Mexico make a foolish decision to visit an archaeological site, where they become entangled in a horror that slumbers beneath an ancient pyramid. Despite a lack of originality and buckets of gore, the movie has a frequently satisfying tension. [C+]
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (1 hr., 33 min.; PG for mild violence) All is not well after a dysfunctional family moves to a musty old manse in the woods. It's a family house, and after one of the boys goes poking around in a secret attic, he find's a forebear's notes about the sinister surroundings. A smart, crisp family film that parents and kids older than 7 or 8 can enjoy together. [B+]
STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (1 hr., 38 min.; PG-13 for language, some suggestive material and brief violence) The setting and characters are different, but this nominal sequel's moves are as familiar as a fox trot. There's a she, a he, lots of shakin' it, some family stuff and plenty of steamin' it up. It's not great cinema, but the dancing is tight and the plot covers the basics. [C+]
STREET KINGS (1 hr., 47 min.; R for strong violence and pervasive language) Keanue Reeves is the antihero star of this pointless police procedural. There's corruption on the force -- is there ever not corruption on the force? -- and only star anti-vice detective Tom Ludlow (Reeves) can straighten things out. The extreme violence and puffed-up macho dialogue quickly wear thin. [D]
VANTAGE POINT (1 hr., 30 min.; PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language) The gimmicky structure of this tense, exciting presidential assassination thriller flashbacks show the story's key events from multiple viewpoints -- works quite well. Strong acting from a great cast (led by Dennis Quaid) shores up weak characters. [B+] |