Movies playing in town
21 (PG-13, 123 minutes) Inspired by the book Bringing Down the House, this fact-based (let’s not go all the way to “true”) story introduces us to hotshot young M.I.T. student Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess, Across the Universe). Our boy Ben’s a math wizard, but he’s too poor to afford tuition. Enter evil genius professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), who recruits Ben and a group of other students to become professional blackjack cheats in Las Vegas. Together, they rake in millions of dollars before the inevitable greed tears down their plans like a house of … something flimsy and paper-like in substance. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
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. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Baby Mama (PG-13, 96 minutes) Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”) goes for big screen fame, starring as a workaholic single businesswoman who decides it’s time to have it all and spawn off a kid. Sadly, her uterus isn’t in on the plan, and she’s forced to hire a surrogate mother in the form of white trash breeder Amy Poehler (also of “SNL”). Cross-cultural hijinks ensue. Opening Friday
The Counterfeiters (R, 98 minutes) The winner for “Best Foreign Film” at the Oscars, this fact-based crime drama intorduces us to a little-known scheme the Nazis dreamed up to counterfeit millions in foreign currency. Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) is a con man and a Jew, doubly doomed to the concentration camps of World War II. But he finds odd, momentary salvation when the Nazis realize they need his unique talents as a counterfeiter. Writer/director Stefan Ruzowitzky could have injected a little more moral ambiguity into this intriguing tale, but he’s rescued largely by his fine leading man. In English, German, Russian and Hebrew with English subtitles. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
Deception (R, 108 minutes) A jaded New York accountant (Ewan McGregor) is introduced to a mysterious underground sex club by his lawyer pal (Hugh Jackman). Score! Unfortunately, he soon finds himself the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist. Just the thing for those who like their thrillers laced with eros. Opening Friday
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. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R, 111 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Harold and Kumer Escape from Guantanamo Bay (R, 102 minutes) OK, you’ve got to give John Cho and Kal Penn some credit. Instead of following up their hit comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle with something obvious like Harold & Kumar Go to Europe, they went out on a political limb sending the stoner duo to federal prison in Cuba. You’ll still need to appreciate a good bong joke to find the whole thing funny, but a little topicality never hurts. 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
The Ruins (R, 97 minutes) Scott B. Smith’s icky horror novel makes it onto the big screen. In it, a group of friends embark on a leisurely Mexican holiday. While stepping off the beaten bath, the gang stumbles across an archeological dig in the remote jungle. There, they encounter an ancient and bloodthirsty evil lurking among the ruins. Young cast includes Jonathan Tucker (“The Black Donnellys”), Jena Malone (Donnie Darko) and Shawn Ashmore (X-Men: The Last Stand). Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
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
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
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
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
