Movies playing in town
88 Minutes (R, 108 minutes) Al Pacino plays a college professor who is given 88 minutes to solve his own murder. That’s pretty much the same plot as the 1988 remake of D.O.A. with a tighter timeframe, but we’ll let it slide. This time. Apparently, our man Al’s testimony helped send a serial killer to death row. Now, it looks like the killer is getting his revenge, framing the professor for murder, ruining his reputation, killing him, stuff like that…or will there be some sort of crazy twist ending? Yeah, there’ll be some sort of crazy twist ending. Opening Friday
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Not rated, 113 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (G, 88 minutes) Wacky Jim Carrey proably isn’t the best choice to play Dr. Seuss’ timid, persecuted environmentalist Horton, but at least the CGI animation does its utmost to replicate the author/illustrator’s wild worlds. Scattered around this tale of a selfless elephant who tries to convince his jungle cohorts that a microscopic world needs his protection are vocal ringers like Steve Carrell, Will Arnett, Carol Burnett, Dane Cook, Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Amy Poehler, Jamie Pressly and Seth Rogan. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
The Forbidden Kingdom (PG-13, 113 minutes) It’s exciting to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li teamed up on screen for the very first time in this umpteenth retelling of the Monkey King legend (a.k.a. Journey to the West). But it’s a little disconcerting to see American director Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little, Disney’s Haunted Mansion) behind the camera and virtual unknown Michael Angarano (“Will & Grace”) front and center as a kung fu-obsessed teen who gets sucked back into ancient China after buying bootleg DVDs in Chinatown. That’s almost the exact same plot as the crummy TV mini-series “The Lost Empire” starring that dude from “Dharma & Greg.” Opening Friday
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R, 111 minutes) Up-and-comer Jason Segel (Knocked Up, “How I Met Your Mother”) pens and stars in this latest anti-romantic comedy addition to the increasingly large Judd Apatow canon. Segel plays a sad sack musician whose TV star girlfriend (TV star Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. In an attempt to get over it, he jets off to a resort in Hawaii, only to run smack dab into the ex and her new clueless rock star boyfriend. There’s a fair amount of raunch here, but a decent amount of sentiment as well, placing it well above Drillbit Taylor, but slightly below Superbad. Opening Friday
Leatherheads (PG-13, 114 minutes) George Clooney directs and stars in this period screwball comedy about the birth of professional football back in the ’30s. Clooney is Dodge Connelly, the powerhouse captain behind a struggling football team. Hoping to boost attendance, our gridiron great convinces a straight-laced college sensation (John Krasinski from “The Office”) to join the team. Unfortunately, the new kid falls for Dodge’s gal, a spunky cub reporter played by Renée Zellweger. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (PG-13, 92 minutes) Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Frances McDormand (Fargo) star in this ’30s-set comedy/drama about a middle-aged London governess (McDormand) who finds herself unfairly dismissed and tries to land a job as a “social secretary” for a glamorous American actress (Adams). It’s all a whirl of cocktails parties and witty banter as our mousy heroine gets a rapid-fire makeover while Cole Porter tunes and air raid sirens fill up the soundtrack. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Nim’s Island (PG, 95 minutes) A young girl (Abigail Breslin) living on a tropical island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler) turns to Alex Rover, the star of her favorite Indiana Jones-ish book series, for help when dad suddenly goes missing. As it turns out, though, the books are actually authored by Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster), a reclusive, agoraphobic New York writer. Together, these two unlikely heroines join forces to search for dad. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Prom Night (PG-13, 88 minutes) For anyone too young to actually remember the original slasher flick Prom Night (all the way back in 1980) comes this handy remake in kid-friendly PG-13 format. Borrowing the title setting and…nothing else, this limp teen thriller follows a high schooler (Brittany Snow, Hairspray) who’s being stalked by an obsessive ex-teacher. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Run, Fat Boy, Run (PG-13, 100 minutes) Comedians Simon Pegg and Michael Ian Black write the screenplay (sweet). David Schwimmer directs (shrug). Pegg (still hot off Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) stars as Dennis, a slightly overweight loser who ditched his pregnant fiancée (Thandie Newton) at the altar five years ago. He tries everything he can to win her back, but fails. When he finds out she’s about to marry a successful American (Hank Azaria), Dennis vows to get his life in order, starting by competing in the London Marathon. This is your basic, mainstream rom-com, but Pegg is deft at handling the slapstick stuff. Regal Downtown Mall 6
Semi-Pro (R, 90 minutes) The star player/owner/coach of a third-rate ’70s basketball team (Will Ferrell) finds out his Michigan Topics have an outside shot at being folded into the NBA—if they can dramatically increase their attendance. With the help of his teammates (Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin), he stops at nothing to attract attention. Typical but likable retro silliness from Mr. Ferrell. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Shine a Light (PG-13) Martin Scorsese heads back to his musical documentary roots, first glimpsed in 1978’s The Last Waltz. This career-spanning look at the Rolling Stones features some historical clips, but mostly highlights concert footage from their recent “A Bigger Bang” tour. Jack White, Buddy Guy, Christina Aguilera and Bill Clinton drop by for cameos. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Smart People (R, 93 minutes) In the dysfunctional family tradition of Dan in Real Life, Little Miss Sunshine, Pieces of April, The Squid and the Whale, etc., newbie filmmakers Mark Poirier (he wrote it) and Noam Murro (he directed it) assemble a talented cast and give them plenty of witty lines to chew over. Dennis Quaid is a widowed college professor who’s given up on life. At home, his daughter (Ellen Page from Juno) is an overachieving Young Republican, and his son is trying to avoid his crazy clan altogether. Into this mass of unresolved issues comes ne’er-do-well brother Thomas Hayden Church and possible love interest Sarah Jessica Parker. Predictable, but never wholly contrived, Smart People is a clever, gray-toned dramedy aimed at the same sort of grad-school audiences who chuckled and winced their way through Sideways. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Stop-Loss (R) MTV Films thinks it’s found a way around the thorny issue of selling grim Iraq War movies to a disinterested public–simply fill the cast with hunky young actors. Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions), Channing Tatum (Step Up 2: The Streets), Rob Brown (Take the Lead) and Joseph Gordon-Levett (“3rd Rock From the Sun”) are among the teen-friendly stars trying to make this melodrama about Texas army men called back on yet another tour of duty look like an episode of “Friday Night Lights.” Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Street Kings (R, 107 minutes) David Ayer, screenwriter of The Fast and The Furious and Training Day, tries his hand at directing, turning the writing duties over to neo-noir novelist James Ellroy (The Black Dahlia, L.A. Confidential). Keanu Reeves stars as a veteran LAPD officer implicated in the death of a fellow officer. Pitted against the tight-knit cop culture he’s known all his life, he suddenly starts to question the loyalties of those around him. Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans and rapper Common round out the cast. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Superhero Movie (PG-13, 85 minutes) For those who have diligently watched Scary Movie, Date Movie and Epic Movie patiently waiting for he day filmmakers would get around to making Superhero Movie, your long wait has finally been rewarded. Here we have an extremely timely spoof of 2002’s Spider-Man in which a kid named Rick Riker (TV’s Drake Bell) is bitten by a radioactive dragonfly and becomes Dragonfly! Are you laughing yet? How about if I throw in a cameo by Pamela Anderson? She was hot in 1995. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (PG-13, 100 minutes) It’s called a vacation, Tyler. You should look into it. Honestly, we can go six months without seeing another filmic translation of one of you slapstick church plays in which you dress up in drag and impart some quaint moral about family. In this one, Angela Bassett plays a single mom who goes to Georgia for the funeral of the father she never knew. There, she’s introduced to the crass, fun-loving Brown family. … If daily doses of “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” over on TBS ain’t doin’ it for you, this should tide you over until Perry’s next feature comes out six months from now. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Vantage Point (PG-13, 90 minutes) Taking its inpiration, as so many other films have, from Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, this political thriller presents a crime as seen from five different viewpoints. Seems that some terrorists (or are they?) have tried to assassinate the President of the United States (or have they?). A host of witnesses (or are they?), each present their own perspective on the crime, allowing us to see the damn thing again and again and again (and again and again). Starry cast includes Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt and Matthew Fox. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
