RATINGS 5 Outstanding 4 Very Good 3 Good 2 Fair 1 Poor
OPENING
Compliance
(Star) Tells the chilling story of just how far one might go to obey a figure of authority. Stars Ann Dowd and Dreama Walker. 14A
Hotel Transylvania
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity, Star) In this animated film, Dracula has his hands full with a birthday for his daughter at his monster resort, and things get complicated when an ordinary human stumbles onto the scene. With the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Kevin James and Selena Gomez. G
Looper
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore, SilverCity) In the future, a low-level hired gun who disposes of mob targets sent back in time has to chase down an escaped target - a future version of himself. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. NR
The Master
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) A young drifter is taken under the wing of a charismatic intellectual whose new spiritual organization is catching on in postwar America. With Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams. 14A
Pitch Perfect
(SilverCity) An introverted college freshman is persuaded to join an all-girl a cappella group and helps enliven their old-fashioned approach to performing. With Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow. PG
Won't Back Down
(Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) Two determined mothers take on a bureaucracy and try to transform their children's failing inner-city school. With Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Holly Hunter. G
CONTINUING
The Bourne Legacy Rating 3 1/2
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore) Jeremy Renner steps into the Bourne series as Aaron Cross, a government agent who has been genetically altered to be smarter and stronger. Naturally, the government wants to kill him, and the film is a long chase - by computer, and then by motorcycle - told with wordy complexity and watchable excitement. - Jay Stone. PG
The Campaign Rating 3
(Caprice) When it's not slo-mo slugging babies, The Campaign is actually quite a sharp satire. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis indulge in their share of cheap laughs, but the line between reality and raunchy is precariously thin. Perfectly timed for the looming U.S. presidential election. (Jesse Kinos-Goodin). 14A
The Dark Knight Rises Rating 4 1/2
(Caprice, 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
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Rating 1 1/2
(Caprice) An adolescent boy tries to survive summer misadventures in such fraught situations as swimming at the public pool and going camping. The stories by Greg Heffley have appealed to millions of readers, yet the same stories don't work in a live-action setting. With Zachary Gordon and Devon Bostick. - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune. G
Dredd 3D Rating 3
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, SilverCity) The comic about pitiless police in a dystopian future has been turned into a stripped-down sci-fi action film with Karl Urban as the raspy hero and Olivia Thirlby as his psychic assistant. The action involves chasing bad guys through a monumental highrise, a plot similar to the superior film The Raid: Redemption, but Dredd himself - RoboCop with a rasp - is worth seeing. - Jay Stone. 18A
End Of Watch Rating 3
(Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity) A frightening on-the-run down the streets of South Central Los Angeles with two policeman (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena) whose teasing banter provides a funny counterpoint to the drugs, murder and child abuse outside. The drama is piled to the sky, but there's a humanity that draws us in. - Jay Stone. (NR)
The Expendables 2 Rating 2 1/2
(Star) 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
Farewell, My Queen
(French with English subtitles) (Cineplex Odeon Victoria) The film, which focuses on the relationship between Marie Antoinette and the loyal Sidonie while chaos erupts in Paris on the eve of the French Revolution, is based on the best-selling novel by Chantal Thomas. Stars Diane Kruger and Léa Seydoux. PG
Finding Nemo 3D Rating 5
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire University 4, SilverCity) There is probably no better film for conversion to 3-D than Disney/Pixar's animated oceanic kids' adventure, Finding Nemo. With its beautifully crafted story of the bond between parent and child, and the watery seagreen milieu, Nemo is a treasure trove of unexpected humour heightened by a sublime score. It's a captivating fish tale, from either either side of the tank. - Chris Knight. G
Hope Springs Rating 3
(Caprice, Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Empire University 4) 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
House At the End Of the Street Rating 2
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) A low-cal psychological thriller about single mom Elizabeth Shue and teenage daughter Jennifer Lawrence, who move into an isolated house next door to a place where a horrific murder took place. The secrets are familiar, however, rather than terrifying, and despite many thematic homages, director Mark Tonderai is no Hitchcock. - Jay Stone. PG
Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D Rating 3
(Caprice) 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
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) A sentimental but wry French buddy comedy about an uneducated black immigrant (Omar Sy) who becomes the caregiver to a rich white connoisseur (Francois Cluzet). They both learn lessons in an obvious but undeniably charming way. - Jay Stone. PG
Lawless
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore) 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
Moonrise Kingdom Rating 2 1/2
(Caprice) Wes Anderson tells the story of two outsider kids who fall in love during the summer of 1965 and attempt to realize the happyever-after ending. While the movie looks good, and the performances from an ensemble cast that includes Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis and Ed Norton are solid, the movie feels like a work in miniature where everything is drawn to scale, but carries little emotional heft. - Katherine Monk. PG
ParaNorman Rating 3 1/2
(Caprice) An expertly designed stop-motion animated film about a boy who sees the dead, particularly the witches who were hanged 300 years earlier. - Jay Stone. PG
The Queen of Versailles Rating 3 1/2
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) An enlightened, open and entirely unbiased view of obscene indulgence, The Queen of Versailles isn't just a great piece of skin-crawling entertainment, it's a thoughtful and somewhat humane postmortem of the American dream. - Katherine Monk. G
Resident Evil: Retribution 3D Rating 1
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity Imax) The videogame franchise about a woman infected with a zombie virus scrapes the bottom of the petri dish in this low-budget and altogether boring exercise in formula. Milla Jovovich tries to bring some substance to a vacuum, but it's sucked out faster than an eyeball in a zombie's rotting maw. - Katherine Monk. 14A
Robot and Frank
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) In the near future, an aging former cat burglar's two adult children buy him a humanoid robot helper, with whom he forms an unexpected partnership. With Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden and Liv Tyler. PG
Sparkle Rating 2
(Star) In Motown-era 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
Trouble With the Curve Rating 2
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity) A contrived father-and-daughter story that benefits from the lean presence of Clint Eastwood. He plays an aging baseball scout who has to prove his worth to his team and to a daughter (Amy Adams) who feels cut out of his life. Eastwood makes it worth seeing. - Jay Stone. PG
The Words ??1/2
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana play the central couple in this drama with endless ambitions, but only limited abilities. Cooper plays Rory, a novelist who has yet to publish his work. When he finds an anonymous manuscript, he submits the work as his own, only to reap every reward he ever dreamt of - except the knowledge he succeeded on his own merit. A self-conscious and frequently cheesy piece of author cliché, The Words wanted to be a proof of transcendence, but like so many failed novels and screenplays, it's really just horny shlock with a nice cover.
- Katherine Monk. PG
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Karate Kid (Saturday, Cineplex Odeon Westshore)
Bolshoi Ballet: The Sylphides, Live (Sunday, SilverCity)
Magical Mystery Tour (Monday, SilverCity)
CINECENTA
The Amazing Spider-Man - (Fri. and Sat., 3, 7 and 9: 30 p.m.)
The Room - 14A (Fri. and Sat., midnight)
Chimpanzee - (Sat. and Sun., 1 p.m.)
To Rome With Love - PG (Sun., 3, 7 and 9: 15 p.m.; Mon., 7 and 9: 15 p.m.)
Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - (Tue., 7 and 9 p.m.)
Beasts Of the Southern Wild - PG (Wed. and Thur., 7 and 9 p.m.)
IMAX FILMS
Go to imaxvictoria.com for showtimes.
The Dark Knight Rises: The Imax Experience
Air Racers
To the Arctic
Rocky Mountain Express
Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia
