RATINGS
Rating 5 Outstanding
Rating 4 Very Good
Rating 3 Good
Rating 2 Fair
Rating 1 Poor
OPENING
Life Of Pi 3D (Opens Wednesday)
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Empire University 4, SilverCity) A man named Pi tells his story as the only human survivor of the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, accompanied, in a lifeboat, by a 450-pound aggressive Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Stars Suraj Sharma. G
Lincoln
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) During his tumultuous final months in office, President Abraham Lincoln strives to end the Civil War, unite the nation and abolish slavery. With Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, directed by Steven Spielberg. PG
Red Dawn
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) A group of teenagers looks to save their town from an invasion of North Korean soldiers. Stars Chris Hemsworth. PG
Rise Of the Guardians 3D
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world. With the voices of Hugh Jackman and Alec Baldwin. G
The Sessions
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest. Stars John Hawkes and Helen Hunt. 18A
Silver Linings Playbook
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore) After losing his wife, house and job and spending eight months in a mental institution, a former teacher moves in with his parents, tries to rebuild his life and bonds with an equally eccentric young woman. With Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro. 14A
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity, Star) Vampire Edward Cullen and newly transformed wife Bella fight to protect their daughter in the final film of the Twilight series. With Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. 14A
CONTINUING
Argo
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) During the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a CIA agent leads a daring mission to rescue six U.S. diplomats by disguising them as members of a Hollywood film crew. With Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman. PG
The Bourne Legacy
(Roxy) Another mysterious black-ops agent follows in the footsteps of Jason Bourne in this fourth instalment of the espionage franchise. PG
Cloud Atlas
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, SilverCity) Six separate but interlocking stories unfold across the globe and over centuries. With Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Hugo Weaving.
14A
The Dark Knight Rises
Rating 4 1/2
(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
(Caprice) An adolescent boy tries to survive summer misadventures in such fraught situations as swimming at the public pool and going camping.With Zachary Gordon and Devon Bostick. G
Flight
Rating 3
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria, SilverCity) Sharing similarities with his earlier film Cast Away, this Robert Zemeckis feature offers up a spectacular start to what amounts to a survival story.
The only difference is where Tom Hanks was seeking a way to get off a deserted island in Cast Away, Flight features Denzel Washington as a commercial pilot struggling to come clean after a tragic crash.
Washington is nothing short of tremendous as the boozy flyboy Whip Whitaker, but the script moves in circles as it tries to separate the idea of personal responsibility from perceived heroism without success.
- Katherine Monk. 14A
Here Comes the Boom
Rating 2
(Caprice) A middle-aged and middling science teacher tries to save his failing school's music program by entering a mixed-martial arts fight to raise $50,000. Experience? Well, he did some wrestling in high school, and he verbally spars with his stuck-up principal. Cue a flurry of comedic punches, only a few of which make contact. MMA fans may appreciate the efforts at cage-fighting reality, but most film-goers will find this a swing that misses with a mild love story attached. - Andre Ramshaw. PG
Hotel Transylvania
(Caprice, Roxy, SilverCity) 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
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. - Katherine Monk. G
Looper
Rating 3
(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. - Jay Stone. 14A
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Rating 4
(Caprice) 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.
- Jay Stone. G
The Man With the Iron Fists
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) In a village in feudal China, warriors, assassins and a lone blacksmith clash over a fortune in gold. With Russell Crowe, Rza, Lucy Liu. 18A
Midnight's Children
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) A pair of children, born within moments of India gaining independence from Britain, grow up in the country that is nothing like their parent's generation. Stars Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami and Rajat Kapoor. PG
Paranormal Activity 4
Rating 1
(Caprice) The surveillance cameras are on again in this story of a spooky kid (Brady Allen) who goes to live with the family across the street, bringing with him an invisible friend. We watch webcams and cellphone cameras, waiting in vain for something to happen.
- Jay Stone. 14A
ParaNorman
Rating 3 1/2
(Cinecenta, Roxy) 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 Perks of Being a Wallflower
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) A high school freshman with dark secrets befriends two misfit seniors and navigates the pitfalls of adolescence.
With Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Mille. PG
Pitch Perfect
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Roxy) An introverted college freshman is persuaded to join an all-girls a cappella group and helps enliven their old-fashioned approach to performing. With Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow. PG
Searching For Sugar Man
Rating 4
(Empire University 4) Malik Bendjelloul's movie about a little-known folk singer named Rodriguez is easily the feel-good movie of the season and promises to surprise even the most jaded cynic with its heart, humour and historical significance. I'd tell you more, but I'd spoil the sweet sense of surprise. - Katherine Monk. PG
Seven Psychopaths
(Empire Capitol 6) A frustrated screenwriter inadvertently gets mixed up with the criminal underworld when his friends kidnap a gangster's dog. With Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Woody Harrelson. 18A
Sinister
(Caprice) After discovering a box of mysterious old home movies at his family's new home, a true-crime novelist unleashes an evil supernatural presence. With Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio and James Ransone. 14A
Skyfall
Rating 3 1/2
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity Imax, Star) Daniel Craig returns as 007 in this Sam Mendes-directed thriller that also stars Javier Bardem as the baddie. When the names of embedded agents fall into the wrong hands, James Bond must find a way to retrieve the information and destroy the vendor. The only problem is, the villain may be working on the inside. Despite a script that pays homage to all the Bonds that went before, the movie feels trapped inside its own wrapping as it offers nods to everything from the Aston Martin with the ejection seat to Q's endless inventiveness. The film is highly entertaining, and Daniel Craig is consistently compelling. Yet, for all its emotional ambition, the film has one too many winks to make us weep. - Katherine Monk. PG
Taken 2
(Caprice) Having saved his daughter from a European sex-slave ring, an ex-CIA agent is targeted for revenge and must once again fight to protect his family. With Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. PG
Wreck-It Ralph 3D
Rating 3
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity) A 3-D animated film about a video game villain (voiced by John C. Reilly) who wants to be a hero. He migrates to another game - a children's candyland fantasy - and helps a little girl (Sarah Silverman) find herself. It's a familiar plot, helped by ingenious design. - Jay Stone. G
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
The Metropolitan Opera: L'Elisir D'Amour Encore (Saturday, SilverCity)
Beethoven (Saturday, Cineplex Odeon Westshore)
Lady Antebellum: Own the Night Tour (Tuesday, SilverCity)
CINECENTA
Celeste and Jesse Forever - 14A (Fri. and Sat., 3, 7: 15 and 9 p.m.)
Paranorman - G (Sat. and Sun., 1 p.m.)
The Exendables 2 - 14A (Sun., 3, 7 and 9 p.m., Mon., 7 and 9 p.m.)
Rear Window - ( Tue., 7 and 9: 15 p.m.)
Trans - (Wed., 7 p.m.)
The Genderfellator - (Thur., 7 p.m.)
IMAX FILMS
Go to imaxvictoria.com for showtimes.
The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea
The Dark Knight Rises: The Imax Experience
Air Racers
To the Arctic
Rocky Mountain Express
HUBBLE (French Screening)
