RATINGS
5 Outstanding
4 Very Good
3 Good
2 Fair
1 Poor
OPENING
The Apparition
(Empire Capitol 6) When a young couple is haunted by a presence conjured during a university parapsychology experiment, they enlist an expert in the supernatural to try to save themselves. With Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan. 14A
Hit and Run
(Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) A former getaway driver ditches a witness protection program to drive his girlfriend to Los Angeles so she can land her dream job, but federal agents and criminals are on their trail. With Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell and Bradley Cooper.14A
Lawless
(Opens Wednesday) (Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Empire University 4) Set in the Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by authorities who want a cut of their profits. Stars Shia LaBeouf, Jessica Chastain and Tom Hardy. 14A
The Oogieloves In the Big Balloon Adventure
(Empire Capitol 6) An interactive children's film featuring the Oogieloves planning a birthday party until everything goes awry and the search is on for magical balloons. With the voices of Cloris Leachman, Toni Braxton and Christopher Lloyd. G
Premium Rush
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) For an intrepid New York City bike messenger, a routine delivery turns into a life-or-death chase. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon. 14A
CONTINUING
The Amazing Spider-Man 3D
Rating 3 1/2 (out of five)
(Caprice) A reboot of the superhero franchise with Andrew Garfield as a leaner, more intense Spider-Man and Emma Stone as his love interest. It's a more intimate telling of a familiar story, including the part about a giant lizard that threatens New York. - Jay Stone.
Beasts Of the Southern Wild
Rating 4 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) Winner of the Grand Jury prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Behn Zeitlin's feature-directing debut tells the story of a six-year-old named Hushpuppy who lives on the bayou with her daddy. When a great storm approaches, and her father gets sick, Hushpuppy is forced to use her wits to survive in an increasingly hostile landscape. A bleak fairy tale with elements of Southern Gothic and black martyrdom, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a memorable, if contrived, window into the 21st-century American soul.
- Katherine Monk. PG
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Rating 3 (out of five)
(Caprice, Empire University 4, Star) An all-star cast of veterans led by Judi Dench and Maggie Smith stars in this new film from John Madden that takes us to an old-folks home in India. Hoping to revitalize his dilapidated hotel with English guests, Sonny (Dev Patel) takes on a group of crusty personalities who eventually transform the hotel, as well as each other. Contrived and laden with cliché, the movie still pulls off some gentle comedy because the acting is so solid. - Katherine Monk. G
The Bourne Legacy
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire University 4, SilverCity) Another mysterious blackops agent follows in the footsteps of Jason Bourne in this fourth instalment of the espionage franchise. PG
Brave
Rating 3 1/2 (out of five)
(Caprice) This new Pixar movie is a spectacularly rendered fable about a young Scottish princess (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) who rejects her mother's plans for her to get married. There are exciting scenes of archery, a witch's magic spell and fearsome bear attacks, but the movie never becomes the defining legend it is trying to be.
- Jay Stone. G
The Campaign
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore, SilverCity) In order to gain influence over their North Carolina district, two CEOs seize an opportunity to oust long-term congressman Cam Brady by putting up a rival candidate. Their man: naive Marty Huggins, director of the local tourism centre. Starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. 14A
The Dark Knight Rises
Rating 4 1/2 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity Imax) Christopher Nolan delivers everything his third Bat-movie required as he pits Bruce Wayne against his own alter ego, and the world against a raving madman in a mask. While it follows genre formula to a T, this epic reel also picks up on the bloody threads of the French Revolution as Nolan gives form to the Occupy movement, and the public desire to hang corporate bankers from the highest tree. Smart, cinematic and skilfully executed at every level, The Dark Knight Rises proves you can make a socially provocative and politically subversive statement and sell it as top-notch escapism. Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman star.
- Katherine Monk. PG
The Expendables 2
Rating 2 1/2 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore, SilverCity) After a seemingly routine mission goes awry, a band of mercenaries seeks revenge against an adversary and stumbles onto a global threat. The result is a showcase of muscles, an impressive load of firepower and not much else. With Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li. 14A
Hope Springs
Rating 3 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Empire University 4, SilverCity, Star) After 30 years of marriage, a middle-age couple attends an intense, week-long counselling session to work on their relationship. The therapy scenes are exquisitely acted and paced. Without a single special effect, it's a summer movie with punch. Starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. - Christy Lemire, Associated Press. PG
Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D
Rating 3 (out of five)
(SilverCity) A group of Paleolithic animal pals tries to survive a continental cataclysm in the fourth instalment of the Ice Age series. The script has a cheap habit of copying other cartoon material, but the results are both entertaining and life affirming. With the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Queen Latifah. G
The Intouchables
Rating 3 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Star) A sentimental but wry French buddy comedy about an uneducated black immigrant (Omar Sy) who becomes the caregiver to a rich white connoisseur (Françis Cluzet). They both learn lessons in an obvious but undeniably charming way. In French with English subtitles. - Jay Stone. PG
Katy Perry: Part of Me
Rating 2 1/2 (out of five)
(Roxy) This documentary captures Katy Perry's sold-out 2011 tour for Teenage Dream. It also tries to offer a glimpse into Perry's personal life, but the singer caked in makeup reveals little more than fatigue and the odd grumpy moment in this underwhelming portrait of a pop diva.
- Katherine Monk. G
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Rating 4 (out of five)
(Caprice, Roxy) An animated film that's vertiginous, 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. - Jay Stone. G
Magic Mike
Rating 3 1/2 (out of five)
(Caprice) Channing Tatum shows off his many talents as a male stripper in this entertaining, if somewhat predictable, romantic drama based on his own life. Mike thought he had it all until he introduced a struggling buddy (Alex Pettyfer) to the world of buff dancing and watched it change him for the worse. Director Steven Soderbergh maps every cliché, and elegantly avoids most, as he offers an entertaining piece of escapism that gently pokes at gender-based hypocrisy. - Katherine Monk. 14A
Odd Life of Timothy Green
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, SilverCity) A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears. G
Paranorman 3D
Rating 3 1/2 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity) An expertly designed stopmotion animated film about a boy who sees the dead, particularly the witches who were hanged 300 years earlier. - Jay Stone. PG
Ruby Sparks
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) A young novelist who was successful early in his career finds himself struggling until he invents an inspiring new character - who shocks him by appearing in the flesh shortly thereafter. With Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Antonio Banderas and Annette Bening.
Sparkle
Rating 2 (out of five)
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) In Motownera Detroit, a talented young singer tries to balance a new romance with her manager, her family life and her ambition to become a star. With Jordin Sparks, the late Whitney Houston and Derek Luke. With a name like Sparks and a title like Sparkle, you'd expect Jordin to deliver. She doesn't.
- Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service. PG
Ted
Rating 3 (out of five)
(Caprice, Roxy) A crude comedy with Mark Wahlberg as a 35-year-old slacker who is being held back by his best friend and roommate, a talking teddy bear (voiced by director Seth MacFarlane). The vulgar jokes push envelopes you didn't know existed, but there's a sweetness to the film, and it's often very funny. - Jay Stone. 14A
To Rome With Love
Rating 2 1/2 (out of five)
(Star) When Woody hits your eye like a big pizza pie, it's amoré - and probably a little cheese. An entirely formulaic exercise set on the sundappled streets of Rome, this new reel feels like leftovers from Midnight in Paris warmed under a bare light bulb. Despite strong turns from Alec Baldwin, Greta Gerwig, Jesse Eisenberg and Penelope Cruz, Allen's romantic shtick feels stale.
- Katherine Monk. PG
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Night At the Museum (Saturday, Cineplex Odeon Westshore)
Singin' In the Rain (Sunday, SilverCity)
Carmen in 3D Encore (Wednesday, SilverCity)
CINECENTA
Al WeiWei: Never Sorry - (Fri. and Sat., 7 and 9 p.m.)
The Seven Samurai - (Sun. and Mon., 7 p.m.)
My Perestroika - (Tue., 7: 10 and 9 p.m.)
Patang/The Kite - PG (Wed. and Thur., 7 and 9 p.m.)
IMAX FILMS
Go to imaxvictoria.com for showtimes.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The IMAX Experience
To the Arctic
Rocky Mountain Express
Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia
Born To Be Wild
