The Bounty Hunter PG-13
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler take another stab at the romantic-comedy genre, but both their pairing and the movie come up short on romance and laughs. Aniston appears as Nicole, an investigative reporter whose unpaid parking tickets and failure to appear in court get her case assigned to Milo, a motivated bounty hunter (Butler) who happens to be Nicole's ex-husband. The film attempts to make sexy fun from Milo handcuffing Nicole to the bed, but these scenes only make you miss the wittier episodes of "Friends." Nicole gives Milo the slip, but she's relieved when he finds her because her murder investigation has landed her on a killer's hit list. The pair's nonstop bickering is meant to indicate the extent of their love connection, but their silly "issues" seem lifted from a "Judge Judy" court case. (Lisa Miller)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid PG
Seventh-grader Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) chronicles his wisecracking adventures in middle school (in a film based on Jeff Kinney's Web-comic from 2004). Having yet to hit his growth spurt, young Greg is subjected to wedgies, swirlies and other vile tactics from bullies. In an effort to survive his never-ending ordeal, Greg devises a series of can't-miss schemes, all of which go awry. With a PG rating, this is one movie for tweens that they can actually see. However, parents should know it's still brutal! (L.M.)
Repo Men R
This imaginative science-fiction movie envisions the sale of spare robotic body parts in the near future. Organ recipients are compelled to pay outrageous prices and finance charges, and a pair of ruthless repo men appears at their doors if they miss a payment. Jude Law and Forest Whitaker play the team of repo men, literally cutting out the company's property and leaving their victims dead or dying. This gruesome job affords the repo men a good living—until one of them needs a heart transplant and is no longer able to bring himself to do the job. Fired and unable to pay, the one-time repo man goes on the run while his former partner has to hunt him down. Talk about heartless fun. (L.M.)
(Updated Mar. 17)
Green Zone R
Bourne movie pair Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass reunite for this political thriller. Shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Army Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon), along with a team of inspectors, combs the desert for weapons reportedly stockpiled there. The unit braves a series of booby-trapped sites, but fails to find chemical weapons. Miller, however, stumbles on a cover-up that prompts him to go off the mission. Greg Kinnear appears as a manipulative Department of Defense intelligence agent, Brendan Gleeson portrays a CIA station chief, and Amy Ryan plays a Wall Street Journal reporter. Well-positioned to benefit from the Best Picture Oscar won by Iraq war movie The Hurt Locker, Green Zone should find green at the box office. (Lisa Miller)
Remember Me PG-13
Having proved it knows the kind of romances girls yearn for with its Twilight Saga series, Summit Entertainment gives it another go by casting Twilight's Robert Pattinson as a wounded soul. Unable to connect with his Park Avenue father (Pierce Brosnan), college student Tyler (Pattinson) finds himself arrested and mistreated by an embittered cop (Chirs Cooper). To get revenge, Tyler contrives to woo and then dump Ally (Emilie de Ravin), the cop's daughter. Instead, he falls in love with her. Set just prior to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the film examines the scars left on young adult psyches after tragedy befalls their families. (L.M.)
(Updated Mar. 10)
Alice in Wonderland PG
Lewis Carroll's classic adventure receives the Tim Burton treatment within the confines of a screenplay provided by Disney's Lion King scribe, Linda Woolverton. Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 19 years old, is attempting to escape a marriage proposal from a wealthy dolt when she falls down the rabbit hole that leads to a new adventure. It’s not her first trip to Wonderland, but Alice is unable to remember her previous visit when she first meets the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the petulant Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the good White Queen (Anne Hathaway). The Red Queen wants Alice to lose her head, while Wonderland's inhabitants hope the girl can help them overthrow their nasty ruler. Burton creates a visually stunning 3-D landscape, while Depp, Carter and Wasikowska make the characters their own. (Lisa Miller)
Brooklyn’s Finest R
In Brooklyn's Finest, the relatively small amount of power granted to three cops corrupts them absolutely. Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke portray Brooklyn police officers who believe that they deserve to better their own situations. The film unfolds in three parallel stories following each cop's quest to get what he wants by any means necessary. The cops' misdeeds prompt murder, betrayal and thoughts of suicide. (L.M.)
Police, Adjective Not Rated
Opening with a long, wordless hike past grim concrete blocks rising from gray streets and into the dim, bureaucratic corridors of police headquarters, Police,Adjective concerns a young detective with qualms about arresting a high-school kid for selling modest quantities of hashish. The latest film by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu captures the monotony of police work and the alienation of individual lives through frequent use of long shots and uncomfortable silences. Police, Adjective is an intriguing investigation of the definitions imposed by language and law, and the larger meaning of conscience and morality. (David Luhrssen)
7 and 9:30 p.m. March 5; 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. March 6; and 4:30 and 7 p.m. March 7 at UW-Milwaukee Union Theatre.
(Updated Mar. 2)
Cop Out R
This messy buddy-cop comedy is notable mainly as the first time—and possibly the last—that Kevin Smith directs someone else’s screenplay. When a valuable baseball card is stolen from veteran NYPD detective Jimmy Monroe (Bruce Willis), he recruits his partner, Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan), to help him track down a memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Desperate to recover the card that represents his life savings, Monroe also enlists the aid of stoner thief Dave (Seann William Scott). But Dave’s constant ramblings interfere with Hodges’ fixation on his own troubles, creating further headaches for Monroe. (Lisa Miller)
The Crazies R
After a military bio-weapon is accidentally released into Ogden Marsh, Iowa, the infected locals become violent psychopaths. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his deputy, Russell (Joe Anderson), along with Dutton’s pregnant wife (Radha Mitchell), who is a doctor, and her co-worker (Danielle Panabaker), do well to evade the growing throng of killers. However, just when it looks like the foursome will make it out of their predicament alive, the military swoops in to protect its secret while preventing the spread of the virus. This tense and action-filled remake of George Romero’s 1973 cult classic might finally earn recognition for writer-director Romero, who filmed the original for a mere $270,000. (L.M.)
Postcards from Italy Not Rated
Documentary filmmaker Steve McCurdy is the affable host of this travelogue from his monthlong holiday in Italy. More a tourist than a tour guide, McCurdy is on a journey of discovery through a land of wonderful food and sunshine, set in a landscape studded with architectural marvels from many ages. His journey is not the usual sort of tourist cruise. McCurdy visits Rome and Naples but skips Venice and Florence for less-known places like Irsina and Gubbio. Along the way he interviews artists, politicians and chefs, and ponders the traditions of an ancient land in the face of changing times. (David Luhrssen)
7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 901 15th Ave., South Milwaukee. Director Steve McCurdy will be on hand to discuss the film. For more information, go to www.southmilwaukeepac.org or call 766-5049.
(Updated Feb. 24)
The Ghost Writer PG-13
In Roman Polanski’s new film, a ghostwriter matches wits with a controversial British politician in a thriller reminiscent of Hitchcock's anxious works. Eager to pen the memoirs of former Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), a successful writer (Ewan McGregor) travels to an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard, where he is surrounded by Lang, Lang’s wife and mistress, and a contingent of loyal bodyguards. The writer soon learns that Lang is besieged by accusations of illegal acts during his tenure—not to mention the mysterious death of the prime minister’s first ghostwriter. (Lisa Miller)
In Their Making Not Rated
Tomah Mackie’s poignant documentary In Their Making follows Despite the Chaos, an unsigned rock band from Milwaukee, as the members pull together to record their first album. While the narrative is well-worn—most bands face tremendous obstacles as they strive to make money playing live shows and selling albums—the characters, such as drummer Bob Seifert, lead singer Amber Eleana and keyboardist Marty Cherwin, are so passionate and engaging in their musical quest that audiences are compelled to root for their success. Employing a tight, efficient editing style and nearly flawless audio arrangement, In Their Making is an impressive debut for a young filmmaker. (Sarah Biondich)
Feb. 20, Beloit College’s Wilson Theatre, Beloit International Film Festival
Shutter Island R
Mystic River author Dennis Lehane lucked out when his 2003 novel, Shutter Island, received the attentions of talented director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Set in the 1950s, the site of this atmospheric thriller is an asylum for the criminally insane. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), arrive at Shutter Island on a mission to catch a
