Opening 2/1/13

For Wichita show times select a theatre at the end of each synopsis. For most other cities, select any theatre below a synopsis or review and enter other town/state below "Change Location", press enter. Next times, just press change. Friday times appear Wednesdays.

Bullet To The Head [R] 1 hr. 37 min.Action Watch Preview Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Sarah Shahi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christian Slater, Jon Seda, Weronika Rosati, Jason Momoa. Plot: a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a DC cop (Kang) form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.  Showing at: Derby Plaza?, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

Quartet [PG-13] 1 hr. 39 min. Comedy Watch Preview Cast: Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Michael Gambon, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay, Sheridan Smith. Plot: a home for retired opera singers stages a concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday and to raise funds for the home. The ex-wife of one of the residents arrives at the home and creates tension by refusing to sing in the concert. Showing at: Warren East.

Stand Up Guys [R] 1 hr. 34 min.Action comedy Watch Preview Cast: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Vanessa Ferlito, Mark Margolis. Plot: a tough but touching action comedy as three retired gangsters (Pacino, Walken, Arkin) reunite for one epic last night. Showing at: Warren East.

Warm Bodies [PG-13] 1 hr. 37 min. Horror/Romance Watch Preview Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, John Malkovich, Analeigh Tipton, Dave Franco, Cory Hardrict. Plot: after a zombie epidemic, a highly unusual zombie encounters a human survivor, and rescues her from a zombie attack. Showing at: Derby Plaza, Movie Machine, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

Leaving 1/31/13

Derby Plaza - Broken City, The Last Stand, Gangster Squad
Movie Machine - This Is 40
Palace West - The Man With The Iron Fists, Taken 2
Starlite Drive-In - Closed for season
Warren East 13th - Hyde Park On Hudson, The Last Stand
Warren Old Town - The Last Stand, Gangster Squad, This Is 40
Warren West 21st - The Last Stand

Parker **½

Taylor Hackford directed this Crime/Thriller. Watch Preview. Cast: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, Nick Nolte. Rated R for strong violence, language throughout and brief sexual content/nudity. Running time is one hour and fifty-eight minutes.

After a professional thief's (Staham) latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead. Determined to make sure they regret it, he takes on an unlikely partner, (Lopez) to help him take everyone down and get away clean.

This is pretty much what you expect a Statham movie to be. All of his characters are cut from the same cloth, a man of his word but more than capable of retribution if someone else doesn't keep theirs. This time around the supporting cast is better than usual with Lopez doing a very good job and Chiklis being appropriately menacing. This film is a little bloodier than usual which may turn some off but the action level is as high as usual so fans of that genre will find this film more than acceptable.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. A large screen isn't absolutely necessary but will provide more impact on some of the outdoor scenes. Theatres/Times.

Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters **½

Tommy Wirkola directed this Action/Horror film. Watch Preview Cast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Derek Mears, Thomas Mann. Rated R for strong fantasy horror violence and gore, brief sexuality/nudity and language. Running time is one hour and twenty-eight minutes.

Fifteen years after the siblings' incident at the gingerbread house, the two are now specialized bounty hunters looking to put down the cackling black-hat set.

I must admit I would never have thought of Hansel & Gretel as bounty witch hunters, but their childhood story makes an interesting intro for this film. Production values are good and so is the cast. Filmed in Germany it has a definite European look. If this film does well there could be a sequel considering the film's ending. I saw this in the IMAX 3D version and the 3D effect was very good and not in the least tiring. If you're in the mood for some 3D action, this should fit the bill nicely.

 There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. A large screen will give the action scenes more impact. 2D Theatres/Times, 3D Theatres/Times, IMAX 3D Times.

Movie 43 ½

Twelve directors are responsible for this gross-out Comedy. Watch Preview. Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Bobby Cannavale, Common, Kieran Culkin, Josh Duhamel, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, John Hodgman, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Stephen Merchant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Dennis Quaid, Liev Schreiber, Seann William Scott, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet. Rated R for strong pervasive crude and sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, language, some violence and drug use. Running time is one hour and thirty minutes.

A deranged, unemployed screenwriter (Quaid) forces a studio executive (Kinnear)  to listen to his plot for a movie.

Every once in awhile a film comes along so abysmally bad you just shake your head in disbelief. And when it features a plethora of top Hollywood talent in roles so beneath them, you have to assume perhaps they were blackmailed into participating. Really, it's that bad. This is a collection of gross-out short films that only a junior high boy or someone with a junior high boy sense of humor would think funny, and they're too young to see it. Hopefully, that means this will suffer the quick boxoffice death it deserves. If you want to see the high points of this film just Google for the Red Band trailer and you'll see what I mean. Not recommended for anyone!

There is another short film shown after the final credits begin. Screen size is totally irrelevant. Theatres/Times.

Worthwhile (or not)

MetaCritic indicates Parker (46) is the best picture this week, with neither Hansel & Gretel (NR) nor Movie 43 (NR) being rated due to a lack of reviews. I've seen two of these and thought one terrible and the other entertaining. Check out the MetaCritic website for additional comments on each film.

Check out Monday's Opening section below to see the previews and synopses.

Opening 1/25/13

For Wichita show times select a theatre at the end of each synopsis. For most other cities, select any theatre below a synopsis or review and enter other town/state below "Change Location", press enter. Next times, just press change. Friday times appear Wednesdays.

Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters 2D/3D/IMAX 3D [PG-13] 1 hr. 28 min. Action/Horror Watch Preview Cast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Derek Mears, Thomas Mann. Plot: 15 years after the siblings' incident at the gingerbread house, the two are now specialized bounty hunters looking to put down the cackling black-hat set. Showing at: Derby Plaza, Movie Machine, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

Movie 43 [R] 1 hr. 37 min. Comedy Watch Preview Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Bobby Cannavale, Common, Kieran Culkin, Josh Duhamel, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, John Hodgman, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Stephen Merchant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Dennis Quaid, Liev Schreiber, Seann William Scott, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet. Plot: an ensemble comedy follows three kids as they search the depths of the Internet to find the most banned movie in the world. Showing at: Warren East, Warren West.

Parker [R] 1 hr. 58 min. Crime/Thriller Watch Preview Cast: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, Nick Nolte. Plot: after a professional thief's (Staham) latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead. Determined to make sure they regret it, he takes on an unlikely partner, (Lopez) and together, they devise a plan to take everyone down and get away clean. Showing at: Warren East, Warren West.

What's Leaving 1/24/13

Derby Plaza - Jack Reacher
Movie Machine - Gangster Squad
Palace West - The Collection
Starlite Drive-In - Closed for season
Warren East 13th - Wreck-It-Ralph, Promiseland, Texas Chainsaw, This Is 40, Rust And Bone, Life Of Pi
Warren Old Town -
Warren West 21st - Jack Reacher, Texas Chainsaw, Monster, Inc., Argo

The Last Stand **

Jee-woon Kim directed this Action film. Watch Preview Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, Genesis Rodriguez, Daniel Henney, John Patrick Amedori. Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, and language. Running time is one hour and forty-seven minutes.

The sheriff (Schwarzenegger) of a sleepy California border town tries to stop a wanted drug kingpin (Noriega) from escaping to the Mexican border.

This is exactly what you expect it to be, perhaps just a bit better. Strictly for action fans, with a plot that's immediately obvious. Schwarzenegger is fine and the supporting cast is very adequate. Production values are quite acceptable. This is obviously aimed at a male audience, who will enjoy while watching and then forget soon after.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. A larger screen will give the action scenes more impact. Theatres/Times.

Broken City *½

Allen Hughes directed this Thriller/Drama. Watch Preview. Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler, Alona Tal.  Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence. Running time is one hour and forty-nine minutes.

A former NYC cop (Wahlberg), now a private investigator, is hired by the mayor (Crowe) to spy on his wife (Zeta-Jones).

Broken City's problem is a broken plot, one that is murky and convoluted to the point the viewer is wondering what is going on. It all resolves by the end but this would have been a much better film if properly edited and shortened. As it is, it's pretty much a waste of some top talent. Wahlberg and Crowe are fine, as you'd expect, but Zeta-Jones is very underused and has a lesser role than Tal, which really makes no sense.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. Screen size is unimportant. Theatres/Times.

Worthwhile (or not)

MetaCritic indicates Rust And Bone (74) is the best picture this week, followed by Mama (57), The Last Stand (51), and in last place, Broken City (48). I've seen two of these and thought one unimpressive and the other entertaining but forgettable. Check out the MetaCritic website for additional comments on each film.

Check out Monday's Opening section below to see the previews and synopses.

Opening 1/18/13

For Wichita show times select a theatre at the end of each synopsis. For most other cities, select any theatre below a synopsis or review and enter other town/state below "Change Location", press enter. Next times, just press change. Friday times appear Wednesdays.

 
Broken City [R] 1 hr. 39 min. Thriller/Drama Watch Preview Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler. Plot: a former NYC cop (Wahlberg), now a private investigator, is hired by the mayor (Crowe) to spy on his wife (Zeta-Jones). Showing at: Derby Plaza, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

The Last Stand [R] 1 hr. 47 min. Action Watch Preview Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, Genesis Rodriguez, Daniel Henney, John Patrick Amedori. Plot: the sheriff (Schwarzenegger) of a sleepy border town tries to stop a wanted drug kingpin (Noriega) from escaping to the Mexican border. Showing at: Derby Plaza, Movie Machine, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

Mama [PG-13] 1 hr. 40 min. Supernatural Thriller Watch Preview Cast: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nellsse. Plot: two little girls disappear into the woods the day their parents are killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, someone or something still wants to tuck them in at night. Showing at: Warren East, Warren West.

Rust And Bone [R] 2 hrs. Drama Watch Preview Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenarts, Bouli Lanners, Celine Sallette. Plot: a man with a small son forms a bond with a killer whale trainer, after she suffers a horrible accident. In French with English subtitles. Showing at: Warren East.

What's Leaving 1 17/13

Derby Plaza - Les Miserables, Texas Chainsaw 3D, This Is 40
Movie Machine - Les Miserables, Hobbit: Unexpected Journey.
Palace West - Perks Of Being A Wallflower, End Of Watch, Hitchcock
Starlite Drive-In - Closed for season
Warren East 13th - Cirque du Soleil 3D, Guilt Trip
Warren Old Town - Les Miserables, Texas Chainsaw 3D
Warren West 21st - Promiseland, Break Dawn 2

Gangster Squad **½

Ruben Fleischer directed this Crime Drama. Watch Preview. Cast: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Mireille Enos. Rated R for strong violence and language. Running time is one hour and fifty-three minutes.

A small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), come together to try to tear Mafia mobster Mickey Cohen's world apart.

This is a good cast in a film with good production values but none of the character's relationships are ever developed sufficiently, so you never really care about any of them. At least there is something of a relationship between Brolin/Enos but poor Emma Stone's relationship with Gosling never makes any sense even though in the end she's a pivotol character in the story. Action fans will like the gun violence, car chases and explosions but that's about all this has going for it and frankly, Jimmy Cagney did it better decades ago.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits start but some of the credits are shown on nostalgic postcard style graphics that are interesting. A large screen will enhance the action scenes. Theatres/Times.

Zero Dark Thirty ****

Kathryn Bigelow directed this Action Drama. Watch Preview. Cast: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Edgar Ramirez. Rated R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images, and for language. Running time is two hours and thirty-seven minutes.

For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: finding and eliminating Osama bin Laden.

This has been nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actress (Chastain), but it's a travesty Kathryn Bigelow wasn't nominated as Best Director. You should expect no less any time a director can take a story whose ending is already known and turn it into a riveting film. The last picture I saw in this league was Affleck's Argo and both easily rank at the top of last year's offerings. Chastain is excellent as the driven CIA operative and she is ably supported by the rest of the cast. Production values and pacing are top notch so you won't find yourself checking your watch even with this extended running time. The violence and language preclude this as a first date film but in all other respects this is a "must see".

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. The size of the screen is relatively unimportant Theatre/Times.

Worthwhile (or not)

MetaCritic indicates Zero Dark Thirty (95) is the best picture this week, followed by Gangster Squad (43), and in last place, A Haunted House (NR) which wasn't screened for the critics (surprise, surprise). I've seen two of these and agree with the national critics' rating. Check out the MetaCritic website for additional comments on each film.

Check out Monday's Opening section below to see the previews and synopses.

Opening 1/11/13

For Wichita show times select a theatre at the end of each synopsis. For most other cities, select any theatre below a synopsis or review and enter other town/state below "Change Location", press enter. Next times, just press change. Friday times appear Wednesdays.

Gangster Squad [R] 1 hr. 53 min. Drama Watch Preview Cast: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Emma Stone, Sean Penn. Plot: a small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), come together to try to tear Mafia mobster Mickey Cohen's world apart. Showing at: Derby Plaza, Movie Machine, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

A Haunted House [R] 1 hr. 26 min. Comedy/Horror Watch Preview Cast: Marlon Wayans, Nick Swardson, David Koechner, Essence Atkins, Cedric the Entertainer, Bobbie Lee, Dave Sheridan. Plot: when newlyweds Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Kisha (Essence Atkins) move into their dream house, they quickly find they’re not alone. But it’s not the house that’s haunted, but his wife – or as Malcolm calls it – “relationship baggage.” Showing at: Warren East, Warren West.

Zero Dark Thirty [R] 2 hrs. 37 min. Drama Watch Preview Cast: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Edgar Ramirez. Plot:  for a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: finding and eliminating Osama bin Laden. Showing at: Derby Plaza, Warren East, Warren Old Town, Warren West.

Leaving 1/10/13

Derby Plaza - Monsters, Inc., The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Movie Machine - Rise Of The Guardians, Monsters, Inc.
Palace West - Cloud Atlas
Starlite Drive-In - Closed for season
Warren East 13th - Rise Of The Guardians, Monsters, Inc., Life Of Pi, Breaking Dawn 2
Warren Old Town - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Jack Reacher
Warren West 21st - Life Of Pi, Wreck-It-Ralph, Rise Of The Guardians, Monsters, Inc. 3D, Skyfall

Promised Land **½

Gus Van Sant directed this Drama.  Watch Preview. Cast: Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Scoot McNairy, Titus Welliver, Hal Holbrook. Rated R for language. Running time is one hour and 50 minutes.

An ace corporate salesman for a natural gas company (Matt Damon) is sent along with his partner (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company's expansion plans.

This is a high-powered cast in a pleasant but unexceptional film. All the leads are good, especially DeWitt who has an attractive smile that makes her instantly likeable (and she's been in a lot of films lately). The story is good and the pacing is fine but the film never really goes in depth into the problems some feel fracking is causing. Without much of a message on that topic we're left with an enjoyable but instantly forgettable drama. This is a good dating movie and I"m a little surprised this is rated R, as PG-13 would have seemed more appropriate.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. A large screen won't add to the film's impact. Theatres/Times.

Worthwhile (or not)

MetaCritic indicates The Impossible (73) is the best picture this week, followed by Hyde Park On The Hudson (56), Promised Land (53) and in last place, Texas Chainsaw 3D (NR) which wasn't screened for the critics (surprise, surprise). I've seen one of these and found it enjoyable. Check out the MetaCritic website for additional comments on each film.

Check out Monday's Opening section below to see the previews and synopses.