??? Good
?? Fair
? Poor
ATINGS
????? Outstanding
???? Very Good
Argo ????
(Caprice, SilverCity) Ben Affleck's wildly entertaining thriller takes one of Canada's proudest legends - the rescue of six American embassy workers by our diplomats during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis - and recasts it into a U.S. cavalry charge. With Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman.
- Jay Stone. PG
Cloud Atlas Not rated
(Caprice, Cineplex Odeon Victoria) Six separate but interlocking stories unfold across the globe and over centuries. Clocking in at nearly three hours, this is a rare American film that demands attention, even concentration. It's the kind of challenge that spawns rabid admirers and equally fervent detractors. With Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Hugo Weaving.
The Dark Knight Rises ????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 ???
(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 ??
(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) 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 ???
(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
Life Of Pi (Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Empire University 4, SilverCity, Star) 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
Looper ??? (Caprice, Roxy) 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
Lincoln ???1/2
(Cineplex Odeon Victoria) Daniel Day-Lewis is quietly persuasive as The Great Emancipator in Steven Spielberg's high-quality biopic about the last few months of the president's life.
There's a tone of reverence even as Lincoln is shown making underhanded deals (and extending the Civil War) in order to free the slaves, political machinations that give the film its intrigue. - Jay Stone. PG
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ????
(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
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
ParaNorman ???1/2
(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
Pitch Perfect
(Caprice, 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
Red Dawn ??
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, SilverCity) A group of teenagers looks to save Spokane, Washington, from an invasion of North Korean soldiers in this remake of a 1984 Cold War fantasy with the same name. By the end, we appreciate the wisdom of the character who says, "Dude, we're living Call of Duty.
And it sucks." Stars Chris Hemsworth. - Jay Stone. PG
Rise Of the Guardians (Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity, Star) 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
Searching For Sugar Man Rating 4
(Empire Capitol 6) 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
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) 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
Skyfall Rating 3 1/2
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity Imax) 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 Rating 3
(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. Even when the dialogue feels a little lacking, this film has so much understated machismo fuelling the central character that we can't help but be seduced by the constant car crashes and gunplay. With Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. - Kathiner Monk. PG
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Cineplex Odeon Westshore, Empire Capitol 6, Empire University 4, SilverCity) 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
Wreck-It Ralph 3D Rating 3
(Cineplex Odeon Westshore, 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: Otello Encore (Saturday, SilverCity)
The Flintstones (Saturday, Cineplex Odeon Westshore)
CFL 100th Grey Cup Live On the Big Screen (Sunday, Cineplex Odeon Westshore)
Ballet In Cinema: The Pharaoh's Daughter From the Bolshoi Ballet (Sunday, SilverCity)
True Romance (Monday, SilverCity)
Bon Jovi: Inside Out (Wednesday, Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Cineplex Odeon Westshore)
CINECENTA
Premium Rush - 14A (Fri. and Sat., 3, 7: 10 and 9 p.m.)
Frankenweenie - G (Sat. and Sun., 1 p.m.)
The Queen Of Versailles - G (Sun., 3, 7 and 9 p.m., Mon., 7 and 9 p.m.)
Vertigo - (Tue., 7 and 9: 25 p.m.)
Putin's Kiss - (Wed., 7 p.m.)
Modern Times - (1936) (Thur., 7: 10 and 9 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 Suraj Sharma, seen here in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, stars in Life of Pi, the story of the sole human survivor in the sinking of a cargo ship. The film is now playing at the Cineplex Odeon Victoria, Empire University 4, SilverCity and Star cinemas.
