Movie reviews: 4-05
4/5/2012Summaries are condensed from Blade reviews and reflect the theater schedule starting Friday. Films are rated on a scale of 5 stars (best) to Bomb (worst). The reviewer's name, movie running time, and abbreviations of the theaters where the movie is playing are at the end of each summary.
21 Jump Street. Schmidt and Jenko are more than ready to leave their adolescent problems behind. Joining the police force and the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover in a local high school to investigate a violent and dangerous drug ring. But they find that high school is nothing like they left it just a few years earlier -- and neither expects that they will have to confront the terror and anxiety of being a teenager again and all the issues they thought they had left behind. R ** 109 min. (Wire review) (FP, LC, FT)
A Thousand Words. Fast-talking agent Jack's insincere patter is his chief weapon, but it irritates his assistant Aaron, threatens his marriage to Caroline, and gets him into trouble repping guru/author Dr. Sinja. Jack suffers karmic repercussions from Sinja's magical Bodhi tree, which sheds one leaf for each word Jack speaks. After one thousand words, Jack will die. PG-13 * 91 min. (Wire review) (FP)
Act of Valor follows a Navy Seal squad on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent, and in the process takes down a complex web of terrorist cells determined to strike America at all costs. The filmmakers had unprecedented Naval access resulting in high-octane combat sequences and never-before-seen military operation scenes which are composited from actual events in the lives of the men appearing in the film and their comrades. R ** 1/2 101 min. (Wire review) (FT)
Beauty and the Beast. Walt Disney Pictures' magical animated classic returns to the big screen in Disney Digital 3-D, introducing a whole new generation to the Disney classic. Shown in 2-D on select show times. G ***** 84 min. (Wire review) (MIT)
The Hunger Games. Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match. If she's ever to return home, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. PG-13 **** 142 min. (FP, LC, FT, SDI)
The Iron Lady. A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power. PG-13 *** 105 min. (Baird) (MIT )
John Carter. War-weary, former military captain John Carter is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet. In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of the people rests in his hands. In 3-D at select theaters. PG-13 ** 139 min. (Wire review) (FP)
Jeff, Who Lives at Home. On his way to the store to buy wood glue, Jeff looks for signs from the universe to determine his path. However, a series of unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances. Jeff just may find the meaning of his life ... and if he's lucky, pick up the wood glue as well. R *** 1/2 83 min. (Wire review) (LC)
Journey 2: Mysterious Island. The new journey begins when young adventurer Sean receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist -- a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean's new stepfather joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter, they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever. In 3-D at select locations. PG ** 1/2 94 min. (Wire review) (SDI)
The Lorax. This is an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. In 3-D at select locations. PG *** 95 min. (Wire review) (FP, LC, FT)
Mirror Mirror. A fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend, Mirror Mirror features breakout star Lily Collins as Snow White, a princess in exile, and Julia Roberts as the evil Queen who ruthlessly rules her captured kingdom. Seven courageous rebel dwarfs join forces with Snow White as she fights to reclaim her birthright and win her Prince in this magical comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal. PG ** 1/2 106 min. (Wire review) (FP, LC, FT)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible. PG-13 *** 1/2 107 min. (Wire review) (LC)
Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace. Darth Vader is a hopeful 9-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a brash young Jedi Knight. The first chapter of the Star Wars saga follows Anakin's journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his deepest fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil. In 3-D at select locations. PG 131 min. (MIT)
Titanic 3-D. An epic, action-packed romance set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic, the pride and joy of the White Star Line and, at the time, the largest moving object ever built. She was the most luxurious liner of her era -- the ship of dreams -- which ultimately carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912. In 3-D at select locations. PG-13 *** 194 min. (Wire review) (FP, LC, FT)
The Vow. Based on the true story of a newlywed couple recovering from an accident that puts the wife in a coma. She wakes up with severe memory loss and can't remember any of her life with her new husband -- so he has to fight to win her heart all over again. PG-13 *** 104 min. (Wire review) (MIT)
The Woman in Black. A widowed lawyer whose grief has put his career in jeopardy is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased eccentric. But upon his arrival, it becomes clear that everyone in the town is keeping a deadly secret. He soon discovers that the house belonging to his client is haunted by the ghost of a woman who is determined to find someone and something she lost -- and no one, not even the children, are safe from her vengeance. PG-13 ** 1/2 95 min. (Wire review) (SDI)
Wrath of the Titans. Perseus braves the treacherous underworld to rescue his father, Zeus, captured by his son, Ares, and brother Hades who unleash the ancient Titans upon the world. In 3-D at select locations. PG-13 ** 1/2 120 min. (Wire review) (FP, LC, FT, SDI)