Young Adult

"Young Adult": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody add their distinct light touch to dark comedy 'Young Adult,' with Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt terrific as troubled beauty and sarcastic beast.

When it's done right, as it is in "Young Adult," there is something absolutely mesmerizing about watching a train wreck unfold on screen. When the wreck in question is a narcissistic beauty played to scheming, sour, downward-spiraling perfection by Charlize Theron, cringing is definitely called for, but so is laughter.

Betsy Sharkey's review of "Young Adult" at the LA Times

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,' starring Gary Oldman and directed by Tomas Alfredson, based on John le Carré's novel, is perhaps the great spy tale of our time. The question at the heart of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is simplicity itself: Is there a Soviet secret agent at the very highest echelons of British intelligence? Getting to the answer, however, couldn't be more deliciously, thrillingly, brilliantly complex.

Kenneth Turan's review of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" at the LA Times

Melancholia

"Melancholia": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

How does the world end? When it is in the hands of the cinematic master of human misery, dark Danish auteur Lars von Trier, as it is in "Melancholia," it ends in extraordinary, horrific, searing, aching and unthinkable ways. It is his most hopeful film yet.

Still firmly rooted in the filmmaker's esoteric, frustrating, provoking, demanding narrative style, the movie is also amazingly romantic — lush, ripe, rich, delicious. Its apocalyptic vision is encouraging in its hopelessness; its star, Kirsten Dunst, luminous in her anguish and devastation. Excessive in every way, and yet restrained. Everything and nothing that you'd expect a film called "Melancholia" to be.

Betsy Sharkey's review of "Melancholia" at the LA Times

J. Edgar

"J. Edgar": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Leonardo DiCaprio's darkly fascinating performance as J. Edgar Hoover is matched by director Clint Eastwood's deft work behind the camera.

"J. Edgar" is a somber, enigmatic, darkly fascinating tale, and how could it be otherwise?

Turan's review of "J. Edgar" at the LA Times

The Descendants

"The Descendants": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

In director Alexander Payne's intimate drama, George Clooney is powerfully effective as a man forced to reassess his life and legacy after a family crisis.

Betsy Sharkey's review of "The Descendants"at the LA Times

The Artist

"The Artist": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius' film is a delightful throwback to Hollywood's early days, when actors used their faces, not dialogue to convey the story. It manages to be both witty and convey the spirit of bygone days. "The Artist" is the wonder of the age, as much a miracle as "Avatar," though it comes at things from the totally opposite direction.

Kenneth Turan's review of "The Artist"

Puss in Boots

"Puss in Boots": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

The stylish and fun 3-D animated movie mixes hard-boiled adventure, nursery-rhyme characters and a charismatic cat voiced by Antonio Banderas that you don't want to cross.

Dashing hat with debonair feather? Check. Footwear made for walking? Check. Alluring Spanish accent? Double check. The cat is back. After supporting roles in three "Shrek" movies, the feisty feline Puss in Boots finally has a film of his own, and those who have cried out for animated justice will be saying "It's about time."

A treat to experience visually (especially in lively 3-D) and verbally, "Puss in Boots" is a family film where the adventure and invention never flag and the tongue-in-cheek humor doesn't linger far behind.

Read Turan's full review of "Puss in Boots" at the LA Times

Puss in Boots 
Opened October 28, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 30 min.

Long before he met Shrek, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), having just been named a hero for saving a woman from a charging bull, is run out of town on suspicion of bank robbery, even though the true villain is Puss' friend, Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis). Though there is still animosity between them, Puss and Humpty reunite to steal a goose that lays golden eggs. Joining them for the adventure of nine lifetimes is notorious cat burglar, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek).

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris
Director: Chris Miller
Genres: Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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Martha Marcy May Marlene

"Martha Marcy May Marlene": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Identity and the destructive power of cults on kids are played to perfection in Sean Durkin's existential thriller.

Elizabeth Olsen gives an edgy, raw turn. "Martha Marcy May Marlene," with a frightfully fearless Elizabeth Olsen playing all of those Ms, is a difficult title that perfectly suits this wonderfully difficult film. It'd be easy enough to say this is a drama about the destructive power of cults on youth, which it is, but really what writer-director Sean Durkin has given us is an existential thriller about identity and just how tenuous a grasp we have on who we really are.

Read Sharkey's full review of  "Martha Marcy May Marlene" at the LA Times

Martha Marcy May Marlene
Opened October 21, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 41 min.

After escaping from a cult, a young woman (Elizabeth Olsen) is haunted by her experiences there and fears that its vicious leader (John Hawkes) may be trying to find her.
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, Maria Dizzia
Director: T. Sean Durkin
Genres: Psychological Drama, Thriller

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

Margin Call

"Margin Call": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

The Wall Street drama with a top-notch cast revisits the 2008 financial meltdown from the inside.

Starring a top cast including Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci and Paul Bettany, "Margin Call" returns us to where previous films, including the Oscar-winning documentary "Inside Job" and the HBO drama "Too Big to Fail," have gone before: the opening days of 2008's global financial crisis. But this time, it's different.

It's different because this confident, crisply made piece of work does an expert job of bringing us inside the inner sanctum of a top Wall Street investment bank in extremis, giving us a convincing and coolly dramatic portrait of what it must have been like when titans trembled.

Read Turan's full review of "Margin Call" at the LA Times

Margin Call 
Opened October 21, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 46 min.
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker
Director: J.C. Chandor
Genres: Art House/Foreign, Suspense/Thriller

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Margin Call"

Like Crazy

"Like Crazy": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Director Drake Doremus' intensely wrought and immensely satisfying love story features star-making performances by Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin. "Love hurts," the classic song lyric insists, "love scars, love wounds and mars."

If you are experienced enough to understand love's fragility but still romantic enough to embrace its power, "Like Crazy" will put you away.

Deserved winner of the grand jury prize at Sundance, this story is as simple as two people mad about each other and as complex as intense relationships inevitably get.

Read Turan's full review of "Like Crazy" at the LA Times

Like Crazy
Opened October 28, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 29 min.

While attending college in Los Angeles, Jacob (Anton Yelchin), an American, and Anna (Felicity Jones), who hails from London, fall madly in love. However, the young lovers are forced apart when Anna violates the terms of her visa and must return to England. Jacob and Anna discover the difficulties of maintaining a long-distance relationship in the face of their changing lives. Yet, no matter how often circumstances pull them apart, they always find themselves back together again.

Cast: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead
Director: Drake Doremus
Genres: Romantic Drama, Drama

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Like Crazy"

Le Havre

"Le Havre": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Finnish writer-director Aki Kaurismäki polishes his style of deadpan absurdism to a hilarious gloss in this tale of underdogs united. Buster Keaton isn't dead, he's alive and well in Finland, where under a new identity he pursues his own particular brand of deadpan absurdism to wonderful effect. If the name Aki Kaurismäki doesn't mean anything to you, it should, and "Le Havre" may be the film to make it happen.
Read Turan's full review of "Le Havre" at the LA Times

Le Havre
Opened October 21, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 43 min.
Kaurismäki's 16th feature concerns a young African refugee (newcomer Blondin Miguel) who is thrown by fate into the path of Marcel Marx (André Wilms), a well-read bohemian who works as a shoe-shiner. With innate optimism and the unwavering solidarity of his community, Marcel stands up to officials doggedly pursuing the boy for deportation.

In French with English subtitles.

Cast: André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Blondin Miguel, Elina Salo
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Genres: Art House/Foreign, Comedy, Drama

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Le Havre"

Kawasaki's Rose

"Kawasaki's Rose": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

"Kawasaki's Rose" is about secrets and lies, about truths that have been hidden, then revealed, then hidden again. This intricate, powerful, unsettling film brings us into a world of profound moral complexities where facile judgments must be suspended because even the best people can become complicit in evil.

Directed by the veteran Czech team of director Jan Hrebejk and writer Petr Jarchovsky (responsible for the superb Oscar-nominated "Divided We Fall"), "Kawasaki's Rose" peels away layers to reveal even deeper ones. It's a film rich in psychological and political currents, sunken pools and treacherous eddies that can trap the unwary.
Read Turan's full review of "Kawasaki's Rose" at the LA Times

Cast
Lenka Vlasakova - Lucie Daniela Kolarova - Jana Martin Huba - Pavel, Lucie's Father Milan Mikulcik - Ludek, Lucie's Husband Antonin Kratochvil - Borek, an artist Petra Hrebickova - Radka, a TV reporter Ladislav Chudik - Kafka, an ex-secret police investigator Anna Simonova - Bara, Lucie's daughter Martin Schulz - Kristian, a television news editor Isao Onoda - Mr. Kawasaki Crew Jan Hrebejk -

Director Rudolf Biermann

We Were Here

"We Were Here": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

'We Were Here' is a moving documentary of how the AIDS epidemic devastated and transformed San Francisco's gay community. An extraordinarily moving examination of how the AIDS epidemic both devastated and transformed San Francisco's gay community, this clear-eyed and soulful documentary brings us inside the contagion in a way that is so intimate, so personal, you feel like you're hearing about these catastrophic events for the first time. Read Turan's full review of "We Were Here" at the LA Times

We Were Here
During the 1970s, San Francisco became a safe haven for the gay and lesbian community, providing a place where one could live openly, away from discrimination. But, after almost a decade of celebration, the city was hit by a wave of shock and grief when it became ground zero of the AIDS epidemic, with hundreds of gay men falling victim to the disease. Director David Weissman explores the incredible story of love and loss through the eyes of five men and women who experienced it firsthand.

Opened September 9, 2011
Runtime:1 hr. 30 min. Cast: Ed Wolf, Paul Boneberg, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark, Eileen Glutzer
Director: David Weissman
Genres: Documentary, AIDS,GLBT, San Francisco gay community

Movie times and tickets for "We Were Here" from Fandango

Senna

"Senna": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

This documentary about Brazil's Ayrton Senna is a moving tribute to one of the best Formula One drivers who ever lived and who died tragically when he crashed on a race track. "Senna" is a documentary with the pace of a thriller, a story of motors and machines that is beyond compelling because of the intensely human story it tells. Brazil's Ayrton Senna was the boy genius of Formula One racing, winner of three world championships before dying in a crash in 1994 at age 34, a driver current and former Formula One racers recently voted the greatest who ever lived. Read Turan's full review of "Senna" at the LA Times

Senna
The most exciting driver to ever race Formula One, the handsome, charismatic Ayrton Senna became a Brazilian national hero and an icon to racing fans worldwide. But you don't need to know the first thing about racing to be thrilled and moved by Asif Kapadia's high-octane documentary, composed entirely from archival footage. It's an edge-of your-seat documentary that explores the backroom politics, bitter rivalries and the glamour of a sport that leaves no room for error. At the same time, it's a character study of a near-mythic genius who was a man of uncompromising humanity and grace.

Opened August 12, 2011
Runtime:1 hr. 44 min.
Cast: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Frank Williams
Director: Asif Kapadia
Genres: Biography, Sports & Recreation, Documentary, Formula One Racing

Movie times and tickets for "Senna" from Fandango

My Afternoons with Margueritte

"My Afternoons with Margueritte": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

It takes a special skill to make a film feel as soft and light as a summer breeze, and yet that is what French director Jean Becker accomplishes with "My Afternoons With Margueritte," a glimpse into the everyday of two ordinary lives. This little gem is all about the nature of chance encounters and how they can change us in unexpected ways. Read Sharkey's full review of "My Afternoons with Margueritte"at the LA Times

My Afternoons with Margueritte
Adapted from Marie Sabin-Rogers’ novel La Tête en Friche, this charming comedy looks at the unlikely bond between the illiterate Germain (Gérard Depardieu) and the 95-year-old woman Margueritte (Gisèle Casadesus), whom he meets on a park bench in a small French town. Germain’s rocky relationship with his aging mother and his lack of education are formidible hurdles, but he has a hunger for knowledge that the cultured and articulate Margueritte is eager to feed.


Opened September 16, 2011
Runtime:1 hr. 22 min
Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Gisele Casadesus, François-Xavier Demaison, Maurane, Patrick Bouchitey
Director: Jean Becker
Genres: Comedy Drama
In French with English subtitles.

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The Help

"The Help": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

"The Help" is a delicious peppery stew of home-cooked, 1960s Southern-style racism that serves up a soulful dish of what ails us and what heals us. Laughter, which is ladled on thick as gravy, proves to be the secret ingredient — turning what should be a feel-bad movie about those troubled times into a heart-warming surprise. Read Sharkey's full review of "The Help"at the LA Times

The Help
"The Help" stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Academy Award–nominated Viola Davis as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Opened August 10, 2011
Runtime: 2 hr. 17 min.
Cast: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia L. Spencer, Jessica Chastain
Director: Tate Taylor
Genres: Period Film, Drama

Movie times and tickets for "The Help" from Fandango

The Debt

"The Debt": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Bristling with dangers both corporeal and cerebral, "The Debt" is a superbly crafted espionage thriller packed with Israeli-Nazi score settling. A steely Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain stalk its sinister interior, upping the ante and the adrenaline with every twist and turn. Thanks to director John Madden's tightly coiled action sequences, this is as booody as it is brainy. Read Sharkey's full review of "The Debt" at the LA Times

The Debt
The espionage thriller begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team’s mission was accomplished – or was it? The suspense builds in and across two different time periods, with startling action and surprising revelations.
Opened August 31, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 44 min.
Cast: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas
Director: John Madden
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Unglamorized Spy Film, Thriller

Movie times and tickets for "The Debt" from Fandango

Best Movies of 2010

I have always done a post at the end of each year listing the "Best of the Year" picks from the L.A. Times movie reviewers, but because of my dad's death at the end of last year I was unable to do so at the time the Best Movies of 2010 lists were published.

Well it's Labor Day in the U.S. today and I'm going to take the chance to finally do so before the 2011 lists come out! Here are the picks for Best Movies of 2010 from Kenneth Turan and Betsy Sharkey, with links to the post for the movies here at OMWW when they exist.

Kenneth Turan's Best Movies of 2010 
Ever the eclectic "Best Of" reviewer, Turan never restricts himself to 10, and for 2010 split the top spot between 3 movies. Of the three best movies for 2010, Turan commented "I'm encouraged beyond measure when studio films not only please both critics and audiences but also so dominate their moment in time that you have to see them or be left out of the national conversation."

Turan's top 3 movies for 2010 were:
Inception, The Social Network, and Toy Story 3.

The rest of Turan's 2010 picks were:
Animal Kingdom
Inside Job
The Tillman story
Israel Rising Ajami
Eyes Wide Open
Lebanon
The King's Speech
Night Catches Us
Nora's Will
A Prophet
Mademoiselle Chambon
White Material
Trio of Twos
Kisses
Prince of Broadway
A Town Called Panic
The Secret of Kells
Unstoppable
The Town
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Betsy Sharkey's Best Movies of 2010

Betsy Sharkey plays by the rules, and picked the following list of 10 movies as her assessment of the best movies for 2010:

The Social Network
Winter's Bone
Carlos
The Kids are All Right
127 Hours
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Black Swan
Restrepo
The King's Speech

Point Blank

"Point Blank": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

"Point Blank" will leave you breathless. Unfolding at a blistering clip from its slam-bang opening through its bravura close, it grips you at frame one and doesn't let go.

A tiptop French thriller that's reminiscent of everything from Alfred Hitchcock to 2006's "Tell No One," "Point Blank" is genre all the way. Its story of an ordinary man facing extraordinary peril doesn't go anywhere we haven't gone before, but seeing familiar material presented with such crisp élan brings intense pleasure.

Read Turans's full review of "Point Blank" at the LA Times

Point Blank 
Samuel (Lellouche) is a happily married nurse working in a Paris hospital. When his very pregnant wife (Anaya) is kidnapped before his helpless eyes, everything falls apart. After being knocked unconscious, he comes to and his cell phone rings: he has three hours to get Sartet (Zem), a man under police surveillance, out of the hospital. Shot on location in wide lens, POINT BLANK is an exhilarating non-stop ride through Paris' streets, subways, hospitals, warehouses, and police stations, as Samuel quickly finds himself pitted against rival gangsters and trigger-happy police in a deadly race to save the lives of his wife and unborn child.

Opened July 22, 2011 | Run time:1 hr. 24 min. 
Note: This film is released in French with English subtitles.
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gérard Lanvin, Elena Anaya, Mireille Perrier
Director: Fred Cavayé
Genres: Action Thriller, Thriller

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Point Blank"

The Guard

"The Guard": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

In the fun 'The Guard,' Brendan Gleeson is at his clever best as the rowdy police sergeant giving Don Cheadle's uptight FBI agent a dose of his own brand of Irish welcome amid a murder investigation. As befits a film set in the spacious west of Ireland, "The Guard" is not a breath but a great gust of very funny fresh air. An impish and impudent black comedy that knows where it's going and how to get there, it gives veteran actor Brendan Gleeson one of the tastiest roles of his career and introduces a gifted writer-director with a familiar family name.

Read Turan's full review of "The Guard" at the LA Times

The Guard
A vulgar Irish cop (Brendan Gleeson) and a straight-laced American FBI agent (Don Cheadle) uncover police corruption among the former's superiors while probing a drug-trafficking ring.

Opened July 29, 2011
Run time:1 hr. 36 min.
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Rory Keenan, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Genres: Black Comedy, Detective Film, Comedy

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "The Guard"

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

The smart script, impressive cast and crackerjack direction make this origin story fantastic summer fare. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" does it right. Smart, fun and thoroughly enjoyable, it's a model summer diversion that entertains without insulting your intelligence. Adroitly blending the most modern technology with age-old story elements, it's also an origin story that answers the question that's been hanging in the air since 1968: How did it happen that apes rule?

Read Turan's full review of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at the LA Times

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Will Rodman (James Franco), a scientist in San Francisco, is experimenting with a drug that he hopes will cure his father's (John Lithgow) Alzheimer's disease. After his work is deemed a failure, Will becomes the guardian of Caesar, an infant chimp who was exposed in-utero to Will's drug. Caesar displays unusual intelligence, and Will decides to continue his experiments secretly. But as Caesar's intellect and abilities grow, he comes to represent a threat to man's dominion over Earth.

Opened August 5, 2011 | Run time:1 hr. 50 min.
Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Richard Ridings, Chris Gordon, Devyn Dalton, Jay Caputo
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Genres: Sci-Fi Action, Science Fiction

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

Crazy, Stupid, Love

"Crazy, Stupid, Love": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

The romantic comedy and its stellar cast play out each of the title's three words to brilliant, but it's love in all its permutations that comes away with the starring role. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is one from the heart and one for the heart. This grand romantic gesture about grand romantic gestures conjures up the bittersweet magic of first loves, lasting loves, lost loves and all the loves in between. It may well restore your faith in the very possibility of love, to say nothing of romantic comedies.
Read reviewer's full review of "Crazy, Stupid, Love" at the LA Times

Crazy, Stupid, Love
At 40-something, straight-laced Cal Weaver is living the dream-good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily, has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his "perfect" life quickly unravels. Cal is taken on as wingman and protégé to handsome, thirty-something player Jacob Palmer. Jacob opens Cal's eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can't be found at Supercuts or The Gap. Cal's son is crazy about his 17-year-old babysitter, who harbors a crush on Cal. And despite Cal's makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can't be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading him back to where he began.

Opened July 29, 2011 | Run time:1 hr. 47 min.
Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton Director: John Requa Genres: Comedy of Manners, Romantic Drama, Comedy

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Crazy, Stupid, Love"

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2' is the last, and one of the best, in the film series with the veteran cast and creative team back with a thrilling and satisfying finish.

In a classic storybook finish, however, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2" turns out to be more than the last of its kind. Almost magically, it ends up being one of the best of the series as well.

Read Turan's review of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' at the LA Times

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The end begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione go back to Hogwarts to find and destroy Voldemort's final horcruxes, but when Voldemort finds out about their mission, the biggest battle begins and life as they know it will never be the same again.
Opened July 15, 2011 | Run-time: 2 hr. 5 min.

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane
Director: David Yates
Genres: Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure, Fantasy, Children's/Family


Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"

Another Earth

"Another Earth": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Director Mike Cahill has woven sci-fi imaginings and quantum physics theories of parallel universes into a provocative meditation on the prospect of rewriting your life history. It is no simple task to spin such abstract notions into smart (versus cheesy) entertainment, but there is such a strong creative voice stirring in Cahill's first feature that it's easy to forgive the shortcomings.Read Sharkey's full review of "Another Earth" at the LA Times

Another Earth
Following her release from jail, a morose young woman (Brit Marling) seeks out the man (William Mapother) whose life she shattered in a car accident several years earlier.
Opened July 22, 2011 (Limited 7/22) | Run-time:1 hr. 32 min.
Cast: Brit Marling, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, D.J. Flava, William Mapother, Meggan Lennon
Director: Mike Cahill
Genres: Psychological Drama, Drama

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Another Earth"

Submarine

"Submarine": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

In his smart and funny feature debut, Richard Ayoade captures the uncapturable: the awkwardness, angst and anxiety of adolescence.

Writer-director Richard Ayoade has the knack. A fresh and inventive cinematic voice, he's taken a subject that's been beaten half to death and brought it miraculously to life in his smart and funny debut feature, "Submarine."

Read Turan's full review of "Submarine" at the LA Times

Submarine
A 15-year-old has two objectives: Lose his virginity before his next birthday, and stop his mom from leaving his father for a dance instructor.

Opened June 3, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 37 min.
Cast: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor
Director: Richard Ayoade
Genres: Comedy Drama, Coming-of-Age

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Submarine"

Rejoice and Shout

"Rejoice and Shout": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

If you don't know gospel music, really know it, you are missing out on a lot, but don't lose faith. "Rejoice and Shout," a vibrant and comprehensive new documentary will take you there in style.

Read Turan's full review of "Rejoice and Shout" at the LA Times

Rejoice and Shout
Packed with evocative photos, rare audio, recordings, stirring film appearances and TV performances, REJOICE AND SHOUT is a jubilant journey through the 200 year musical history of African-American Christianity. Culled from hundreds of hours of music, REJOICE AND SHOUT features interviews and performances from the most celebrated voices in gospel music, including: Smokey Robinson, Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Andrae Crouch, The Blind Boys of Alabama, the Selvey Family, Darrel Petties and many more. The film traces the evolution of Gospel through its many musical styles – the spirituals and early hymns, the four-part harmony-based quartets, the integration of blues and swing into Gospel, the emergence of Soul, and the blending of Rap and Hip Hop elements.

Opened June 3, 2011 (Limited 6/3) | Run time:1 hr. 45 min.
Cast: The Dinwiddie Colored Quartet, The Utica Quartet, The Golden Gate Quartet, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Mahalia Jackson, The Swan Silvertones, The Clara Ward Singers, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Staple Singers, Edwin Hawkins Singers, Five Blind Boys, Rev. James Cleveland, Andraé Crouch, The Selvy Family, Darrel Petties, Smokey Robinson, Mavis Staples, Marie Knight, Ira Tucker, Sr., Ira Tucker, Jr., Willa Ward, Anthony Heilbut, Bill Carpenter, Jacquie Gayles Webb
Director: Don McGlynn
Genres: Concerts, Biography, Music, Vocal Music

Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "Rejoice and Shout"

Cars 2

"Cars 2": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Pixar's inventive sequel brings back its familiar characters and throws in a spy thriller plot with secret weapons, sinister villains and clandestine agents. It also teaches kid-friendly lessons about friendship and being yourself.

Read Turan's full review of "Cars 2" at the LA Times

Cars 2
Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2” when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile and the stunning spy-in-training Holley Shiftwell. The fast-paced fun includes a colorful new all-car cast, complete with menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Opened June 24, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 53 min.
Cast: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, John Turturro, Eddie Izzard, Michael Caine
Director: John Lasseter
Genres: Family-Oriented Adventure, Children's/Family, Family-Oriented Comedy

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Buck

"Buck": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

"Buck," the story of the real horse whisperer Buck Brannaman, comes at you with the understated eloquence of the man himself — a soft-spoken cowboy philosopher changing lives as he gentles horses, an aw-shucks hero who never claims to be more than an ordinary man. What a relief in times saturated with news of the worst of humanity to see something of the best.

Read Sharkey's full review of "Buck" at the LA Times

Opened June 17, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 28 min.
Promoting praise and cooperation rather than fear and punishment, Buck Brannaman becomes one of the most well-respected horse trainers in the industry.
Cast: Buck Brannaman
Director: Cindy Meehl
Genres: Animals, horses, Culture & Society

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Beginners

"Beginners": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

A man's father announces that he has cancer and a gay lover in Mike Mills' amusing and loving film. "Beginners," starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer, is a buoyant and disarming drama about sons and fathers, death and dying, living and loving and all the ways we find ourselves starting over, hoping to finally get it right.
Read Sharkey's full review of "Beginners" at the LA Times

Beginners
Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Mélanie Laurent) only months after his father Hal (Christopher Plummer) has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father who – following 44 years of marriage – came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.

Opened June 3, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 45 min.
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic
Director: Mike Mills
Genres: Comedy Drama, Psychological Drama, Slice of Life

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Kung Fu Panda II

"Kung Fu Panda II": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

The story, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, is pretty standard childhood fare... It's the 3-D animation, under the spell of director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, that's such a surprise. Not that a woman is flying solo on a major animated project...rather that this is the first movie in a long time that you won't mind paying for the glasses because what's on the screen is multidimensional magic.

Read reviewer's full review of "Kung Fu Panda II" at the LA Times

Kung Fu Panda 2
Now known as the Dragon Warrior, Po (Jack Black) protects the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five. However, a dangerous villain threatens Po's awesome new life with plans to use a secret weapon to wipe out the martial art and conquer China. In order to defeat the new enemy, Po finds he must recall his past and unlock secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he find the strength to vanquish his foe.

Opened May 26, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 35 min.
Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Genres: Martial Arts, Children's/Family, Family-Oriented Comedy

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Midnight in Paris

"Midnight in Paris": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Woody Allen's film is his warmest, mellowest and funniest venture in years.
Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write again: Woody Allen has made a wonderful new picture, "Midnight in Paris," and it's his best, most enjoyable work in years.

If you're surprised to be reading that, think how I feel writing it. I've been a tough sell on the past dozen or so Allen films, very much including the well-acted but finally wearying "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." It seemed that everything he touched in recent years was tainted by misanthropy and sourness. Until now.

Read Turan's full review of "Midnight in Paris" at the LA Times

Midnight in Paris
A young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

Opened May 20, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 34 min.
Cast: Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody
Director: Woody Allen
Genres: Romantic ComedyComedy

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Everything Must Go

"Everything Must Go": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Will Ferrell is a revelation playing against type as a muddled man whose life has collapsed around him, leaving him to choose whether to be buried by the wreckage or to dig his way out.

With a bruised and nearly broken Will Ferrell in a Barcalounger presiding over a yard sale of all his worldly possessions, "Everything Must Go" is like the Raymond Carver short story it is loosely based on — a precision cut at an already small slice of life.

Read Sharkey's full review of "Everything Must Go" at the LA Times

Everything Must Go
Everything Must Go tells the story of NICK HALSEY (WILL FERRELL) a career salesman whose days of being on top are long gone. The same day Nick gets fired, for falling off the wagon one last time, he returns home to discover his wife has left him , changed the locks on their suburban home and dumped all his possessions out on the front yard. Faced with his life imploding, Nick puts it all on the line – or more properly, on the lawn – reluctantly holding a yard sale that becomes a unique strategy for survival.

Opened May 13, 2011 (Limited 5/13) | Runtime:1 hr. 36 min.
Cast: Will Ferrell, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Rebecca Hall, Michael Peña, Rosalie Michaels, Stephen Root, Laura Dern, Glenn Howerton
Director: Dan Rush
Genres: Drama, Addiction Drama, Slice of Life


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Cave of Forgotten Dreams

"Cave of Forgotten Dreams": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Werner Herzog's 3-D documentary gives us the privilege and pleasure of stepping inside the Chauvet cave to gaze at ancient paintings that speak to our humanity across the ages. Evocatively titled by writer-director and narrator Werner Herzog, a filmmaker who seems almost born for this project, "Cave" not only takes us inside the Chauvet cave, home to hundreds of wall paintings and named after the man who led the discovery team on Dec. 18, 1994, it takes us there in 3-D.

Read Turan's full review of "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" at the LA Times

Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Opened April 29, 2011 (Limited 4/29) | Runtime:1 hr. 29 min.
Cast: Werner Herzog, Dominique Baffier, Jean Clottes, Jean-Michel Geneste, Carole Fritz, Gilles Tosello, Michel Philippe, Julien Monney, Wulf Hein, Nicholas Conard, Maria Malina, Maurice Maurin
Director: Werner Herzog
Genres: Culture & Society, Natural Environments, Anthropology, Documentary


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Bridesmaids

"Bridesmaids": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

This clever romp to the altar is made to order for maid of honor Kristen Wiig and her raunchy gal pals.

From the first overheated moments of "Bridesmaids," with its Kama Sutra-plus-six-positions sex — so satisfying for him, so exhausting for her — it's clear we're in for that rarest of treats: an R-rated romantic comedy from the Venus point of view.
Read Sharkey's full review of "Bridesmaids" at the LA Times

Bridesmaids
A woman's life unravels as she helps the bride, her lifelong friend, prepare for the wedding.

Opened May 13, 2011 | Runtime:2 hr. 5 min.
R Some strong sexuality, and language throughout
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper
Director: Paul Feig
Genres: Romantic Comedy, Farce, Comedy


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Poetry

"Poetry": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

"Poetry" is daring in the ways only quiet, unhurried but finally haunting films have the courage to be. A character study of remarkable subtlety joined to a carefully worked-out plot that fearlessly explores big issues like beauty, truth and mortality, it marks the further emergence of Korean writer-director Lee Chang-dong.
Read Turan's full review of "Poetry" at the LA Times

Poetry
Mija is a grandmother who lives with her middle-school grandson in a small suburban city located along the Han River, in South Korea. A happy-go-lucky woman who likes to dress in flower-decorated hats and fashionable outfits, Mija is also an unpredictable character with an inquisitive mind. All of the sudden, she decides to take a poetry class at a neighborhood cultural center, and throws herself into the challenging task of writing a poem for the first time in her life. Following her instructor's guidance, Mija begins her quest for poetic inspiration by opening herself to life's small pleasures and observing everyday life. But when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and discovers that her grandson is involved in a horrific crime, she quickly realizes that life is not as beautiful as she had thought it was.

Opened February 11, 2011 | Runtime:2 hr. 19 min.
Note: Film is presented in Korean with English subtitles.
Cast: Yun Junghee, Lee David, Kim Hara, An Naesang
Director: Lee Chang-dong
Genres: Drama, Family Drama, Slice of Life

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Incendies

"Incendies": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

In this foreign-language Oscar-nominated film, family secrets originate in world conflict.

Writer-director Denis Villeneuve begins "Incendies," his film adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad's critically acclaimed play, with beauty and rage, motifs that will drive this modern tragedy of ancient conflicts from its roots in the Middle East to the seemingly safe haven of Canada.

Read Turan's full review of "Incendies" at the LA Times

Incendies
When notary Lebel (Rémy Girard) sits down with Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) to read them their mother Nawal’s will (Lubna Azabal), the twins are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes – one for the father they thought was dead and another for a brother they didn’t know existed. In this enigmatic inheritance, Jeanne sees the key to Nawal’s retreat into unexplained silence during the final weeks of her life. She immediately decides to go to the Middle East to dig into a family history of which she knows next to nothing. Simon is unmoved by their mother's posthumous mind games. However, the love he has for his sister is strong, and he soon joins her in combing their ancestral homeland in search of a Nawal who is very different from the mother they knew. With Lebel’s help, the twins piece together the story of the woman who brought them into the world, discovering a tragic fate as well as the courage of an exceptional woman.
Opened April 22, 2011 | Run time: 2 hr. 10 min.
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Genres: Drama, Fantasy Drama


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The Double Hour

"The Double Hour": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Nothing is ever completely the way it appears to be in this Italian thriller. A love story wrapped in a way-twisty thriller, this Italian film was made to mess with our heads. It's a wild tale that's so full of surprises, reversals and double-jointed plot twists that you wouldn't think there'd be room for anything else. But there is.

Read Turan's full review of "The Double Hour" at the LA Times

The Double Hour
Guido (Filippo Timi), a former cop, is a luckless veteran of the speed-dating scene in Turin. But, much to his surprise, he meets Slovenian immigrant Sonia (Ksenia Rappoport), a chambermaid at a high-end hotel. The two hit it off, and a passionate romance develops. After they leave the city for a romantic getaway in the country, things suddenly take a dark turn. As Sonia’s murky past resurfaces, her reality starts to crumble. Everything in her life begins to change - - questions arise and answers only arrive through a continuous twist and turn of events keeping viewers on edge until the film’s final moments.

Opened April 15, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 35 min.
Cast: Kseniya Rappoport, Filippo Timi, Antonia Truppo, Gaetano Bruno, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michele Di Mauro
Director: Giuseppe Capotondi
Genres: Romantic Mystery, Drama, Mystery, Psychological Thriller


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In a Better World

"In a Better World": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Danish director Susanne Bier deftly presents complex moral questions in 'In a Better World,' which won an Academy Award for foreign language film.

How do we react to the presence of evil and injustice when, as an adult or a child, it intrudes on our world? It's easy enough to say "you fight it," but the reality is never that simple. When do we act, how far do we go, what price are we willing to pay? When, if ever, is retaliation legitimate? How do we deal, finally, with the pain and suffering of the world?

Read Turan's full review of "In a Better World" at the LA Times

In a Better World
Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, ten-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian’s mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death. Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy.

Opened April 1, 2011 (Limited 4/1) | Runtime:1 hr. 58 min.

R - Violent and disturbing content some involving preteens, and for language

Cast: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Jøhnk Nielsen
Director: Susanne Bier
Genres: Drama, Childhood Drama, Juvenile Delinquency


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Queen to Play

"Queen to Play": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

French actress Sandrine Bonnaire mesmerizes in the story of a working wife and mother whose soul is stirred by the game of chess.

You may go into "Queen to Play" looking forward to seeing Kevin Kline acting in French, but when you come out you will have Sandrine Bonnaire on your mind.

A two-time César winner and a major star in France ("Vagabond," "La Cérémonie," "Monsieur Hire"), Bonnaire is an actress of formidable skills who holds the screen without noticeable effort. She is someone we naturally care about; her yearnings become our own, even when, as here, she beautifully plays a character who initially doesn't think she has any yearnings at all.

Read Turans's full review of "Queen to Play" at the LA Times

Queen to Play
Alluring, repressed and quietly intelligent, French Riviera chambermaid Hélène (Bonnaire) discovers she has an uncanny talent for chess. This obsession — much to the resentment of her husband and teenaged daughter — draws her to seek the clandestine tutelage of a gruff and reclusive American doctor, played by Kline in a meticulously observed performance and in his first entirely French-speaking role. The unlikely liaison radically transforms both of their colorless lives.

Opened April 1, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 36 min.

In French with English subtitles.

Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Francis Renaud, Jennifer Beals, Valerie Lagrange
Director: Caroline Bottaro
Genres: Comedy Drama


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Sucker Punch

"Sucker Punch": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

"Sucker Punch," Zack Snyder's violent mash-up of Dickensian dark morality with Moulin Rouge couture is stun-gun gorgeous, psychosexually unnerving, fantasy action-riffic and most definitely not for the faint of heart. Starring the pretty pout of Emily Browning's Babydoll — sporting machine guns, Mary Janes, black stockings and little else — the film is, existentially speaking, a Freudian nightmare gunning for debate as much as entertainment.
Read Sharkey's full review of "Sucker Punch" at the LA Times

Sucker Punch
Locked away, a young woman named Babydoll (Emily Browning) retreats to a fantasy world where she is free to go wherever her mind takes her. Determined to fight for real freedom, she finds four women -- Rocket, Blondie, Amber and Sweet Pea -- to join together and try to escape the terrible fate that awaits them. With a virtual arsenal at their disposal, the allies battle everything from samurais to serpents, while trying to decide what price they will pay for survival.

Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Oscar Isaac, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn
Director: Zack Snyder
Genres: Psychological Drama, Fantasy Adventure, Adventure
Opened March 25, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 49 min.

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Paul

"Paul": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

The whimsical and gentle buddy comedy comes as a relief. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star as fanboys who go on the run to protect a weed-toking alien (voiced by Seth Rogen). After the sharp bite and harsh light of most American-style guy-based funny films today, "Paul" comes as such sweet relief. If not for a lot of F-bombs and other naughty words, this would be a family film, a sort of fractured "E.T.," with Seth Rogen never more likeable than as the bald-headed extraterrestrial who just wants to phone home (he should consider this kind of disappearing act, a la Mike Myers and Shrek, more often).

Read Betsy Sharkey's full review of "Paul" at the LA Times

Paul
Opened March 18, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 44 min.

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, John Carroll Lynch, Sigourney Weaver
Director: Greg Mottola
Genres: Road Movie, Sci-Fi Comedy, Comedy


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Win Win

"Win Win": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

"Win Win" is hard to pin to the mat but pure pleasure to experience. Written and directed by Tom McCarthy with an impeccable feel for off-center human comedy at its funniest and most heartfelt, its low-key qualities are so relaxed and unforced every moment feels like a gift.
Read Turan's full review of "Win Win" at the LA Times

Win Win
Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is a struggling, though not overly ambitious, lawyer. As the court-appointed attorney of Leo Poplar (Burt Young), an old man afflicted with dementia, Mike sees an opportunity to take things easy for awhile by volunteering to become Leo's legal guardian and thereby gain control of the man's monthly stipend. The unexpected arrival of Leo's grandson complicates Mike's plans, until he learns that the youth is a champion wrestler who can help the team Mike coaches.

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Alex Shaffer
Director: Tom McCarthy
Genres: Comedy Drama, Family Drama, Domestic Comedy

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Of Gods and Men

"Of Gods and Men": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Monks who coexist peacefully with a Muslim community face a life-or-death crisis when Islamic fundamentalists encroach. "Of Gods and Men" is a thrilling adventure of the spirit. Austere yet provocative, this is not only a film about faith, it also has faith that the power generated by complex moral decisions can be as unstoppable as any runaway locomotive.

Read Turan's full review of "Of Gods and Men" at the LA Times

Of Gods and Men
French monks trust in their faith to carry them through during the Algerian Civil War.

Opened February 25, 2011 Runtime:2 hr. 0 min.
Cast: Jean-Marie Frin, Jacques Herlin, Philippe Laudenbach, Michael Lonsdale, Xavier Maly
Director: Xavier Beauvois
Genres: Drama, Religious Drama


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Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

"Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

This excellent documentary details the singer-songwriter's triumphs and then long descent to suicide. The short and tragic life of Phil Ochs is as involving as the music he wrote and played, and that is saying a great deal.

If you remember the 1960s, you more than likely remember the singer-songwriter who composed hundreds of songs, many of them, as can be heard on the strong and forceful documentary "Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune," beautiful and melodic as well as pointedly political.

Read Turan's full review of "Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune" at the LA Times

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
1960s folk singer comments on the ills of the society -- both of the right and of the left.

Opened January 5, 2011 

Cast: Phil Ochs
Director: Kenneth Bowser
Genres: BiographyMusicMusic History


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Rango

"Rango": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

A marvelous mash-up of Old West and newfangled, "Rango" rewrites the animation playbook with its eye-popping critters and varmints, and its hero's tale (tail?) of a chameleon desperate for a SAG card and a town desperate for a sheriff. What fun.

In a world choked with animated films — the good, the bad and the ugly — it's hard to be either original or great. Yet director Gore Verbinski has done both — and without 3-D — breaking the rules and new ground in the town of Dirt. In this time-bending, mind-bending, just-go-with-it fable, the story shifts from overcrowded freeways, Hawaiian shirts and modern problems to covered wagons, chaps and long-running issues of water rights, land grabs and greed. And in a genuinely funny way, it all makes sense.

Read Sharkey's full review of "Rango" at the LA Times

Rango
A chameleon that aspires to be a swashbuckling hero finds himself in a Western town plagued by bandits and is forced to literally play the role in order to protect it.

Opened March 4, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 47 min. 

Cast: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant 

Director: Gore Verbinski
Genres: Hybrid Western, Family-Oriented Adventure, Children's/Family

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Unknown

"Unknown": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

"Unknown" is a nifty international thriller of the "what if?" variety. What if you came out of a coma after a car accident to find that no one knew you? Or, even worse, that someone had pilfered your identity, and everyone you thought you knew, especially your wife, insisted that that other person was you. In this strong follow-up to 'Taken,' Liam Neeson takes on the world again to regain his identity. 

Read Turan's full review of "Unknown" at the LA Times

Unknown
A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.

Opened February 18, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 49 min.

PG-13 Some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content
Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Thriller

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Gnomeo and Juliet

"Gnomeo and Juliet": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

What's in a name, after all? Would "Gnomeo & Juliet" — that's right, "Gnomeo & Juliet" — be the surprise of the season if it had a title that wasn't quite so silly? Or is the wackiness of the concept the reason this gently amusing, genuinely sweet animated film makes you smile from start to finish?

Read Turan's full review of "Gnomeo and Juliet" at the LA Times

Gnomeo and Juliet
The greatest love story ever told, starring...garden gnomes? Shakespeare's revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall makeover. Directed by Kelly Asbury and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, the film features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt as Gnomeo and Juliet, who have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and thrilling lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?

Opened February 11, 2011 | Runtime:1 hr. 24 min.

Cast: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Ashley Jensen, Michael Caine, Jim Cummings, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham
Director: Kelly Asbury
Genres: Adventure Comedy, Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Comedy, Children/Family

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2011 Academy Award Winners

2011 Oscar winners

Best Picture: The King's Speech

Director:  Tom Hooper, The King's Speech

Actor:  Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Supporting Actor:  Christian Bale, The Fighter

Supporting Actress:  Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Adapted Screenplay:  The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

Original Screenplay, The King's Speech, David Seidler

Animated Feature:  Toy Story 3

Art Direction:  Alice in Wonderland, production design by Robert Stromberg, set decoration by Karen O'Hara

Cinematography:  Inception, Wally Pfister

Costume Design:  Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood

Documentary Feature: Inside Job

Documentary Short:  Strangers No More

Film Editing: The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Foreign Language Film:  In a Better World, Denmark

Makeup: Wolfman

Original Musical Score: The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Song:  We Belong Together from Toy Story 3, music and lyrics by Randy Newman

Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhermann

Live Action Short Film, God of Love, Luke Matheny

Sound Editing:  Inception, Richard King

Sound Mixing:  Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

Visual Effects:  Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb

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Barney's Version

"Barney's Version": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Novelist Mordecai Richler, a caustically brilliant observer of the human condition — especially when it was Jewish, Canadian or politically incorrect — was never one to spare himself or his loved ones. So I have to believe that somewhere in the great beyond, he is chuckling over a single malt and a Montecristo at the sublime, dark distraction of "Barney's Version," the screen adaptation of his final and most autobiographical work, starring Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman.
Read Sharkey's full review of "Barney's Version" at the LA Times

Barney's Version
Opened January 14, 2011 (Limited 1/14/11) | Runtime:2 hr. 12 min.
R Language and some sexual content

Based on Mordecai Richler's award winning novel -- his last and, arguably, best -- "Barney's Version" is the warm, wise and witty story of the politically incorrect life of Barney Panofsky. The film spans three decades and two continents. There is his first wife, Clara, a flame-haired, flagrantly unfaithful free spirit. The "Second Mrs. P." is a wealthy Jewish Princess who shops and talks incessantly. It is at their lavish wedding that Barney meets, and starts pursuing, Miriam, his third wife, the mother of his two children, and his true love. Not only does Barney turn out to be a true romantic, he is also capable of all kinds of sneaky acts of gallantry, generosity, and goodness. His is a gloriously full life, played out on a grand scale.

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre, Scott Speedman
Director: Richard J. Lewis
Genres: Comedy Drama, Slice of Life

Movie times and tickets for "Barney's Version" from Fandango

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Carancho

"Carancho": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Intensely dramatic as well as socially conscious, "Carancho" is powerful stuff. This bleak and gritty Argentine film plays hard but fair as it investigates the personal and societal implications of a story of corruption that is ripped with a vengeance from that country's headlines.
Read Turan's full review of "Carancho" at the LA Times

Carancho
Opened February 11, 2011 (Limited 2/11) | Runtime:1 hr. 47 min.

Sosa and Lujan fall in love while trying to achieve their personal goals.

Cast: Ricardo Darín, Martina Gusman, Carlos Weber, Jose Luis Arias, Fabio Ronzano
Director: Pablo Trapero
Genres: Post-Noir (Modern Noir),Thriller


Movie times and tickets for "Carancho" from Fandango

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Blue Valentine

"Blue Valentine": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Derek Cianfrance's "Blue Valentine," starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, is a  beginning and an ending, an intensely intimate rendering of love that limits itself to that first falling in and that last falling out.

Without a middle, the writers — Cianfrance, Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne — have still put in everything we need to know about a relationship that is fraying faster than either Cindy (Williams) or Dean (Gosling) grasps. It is painful and moving to watch as they lose hold of the few threads still connecting them, including 5-year-old daughter Frankie (a soulful young Faith Wladyka). 

Read Sharkey's full review of "Blue Valentine" at the LA Times

Blue Valentine
Opened December 29, 2010 | Runtime:1 hr. 54 min.
R Strong graphic sexual content, language and a beating

BLUE VALENTINE is a story of love found and love lost told in past and present moments in time. Flooded with romantic memories of their courtship, Dean and Cindy use one night to try and save their failing marriage. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this honest portrait of a relationship on the rocks.

While Cindy has blossomed into a woman with opportunities and options, David is still the same person he was when they met, and is unable to accept either Cindy’s growth or his lack of it. Innovatively structured, the narrative unfolds in two distinct time frames, juxtaposing scenes of first love and youthful sexuality, with those of disenchantment and discord.

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Genres: Marriage Drama, Drama

Movie times and tickets for "Blue Valentine" from Fandango

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True Grit

"True Grit": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Clearly recognizing a kindred spirit in novelist Charles Portis, sharing his love for eccentric characters and odd language, the Coen brothers worked hard, and successfully, at serving the buoyant novel as well as being true to their own black comic brio. Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and vibrant newcomer Hailee Steinfeld.

Read Turan's full review of "True Grit" at the LA Times

True Grit
Opened December 22, 2010 | Runtime:2 hr. 8 min.
PG-13 Some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images

A 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) joins an aging U.S. marshal (Jeff Bridges) and another lawman (Matt Damon) in tracking her father's killer into hostile Indian territory in Joel and Ethan Coen's adaptation of Charles Portis' original novel. Sticking more closely to the source material than the 1969 feature adaptation starring Western icon John Wayne, the Coens' True Grit tells the story from the young girl's perspective, and re-teams the celebrated filmmaking duo with their No Country for Old Men screenwriting partner Scott Rudin. Josh Brolin co-stars.

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper
Director: Ethan Coen
Genres: Western,Traditional Western

Movie times and tickets for True Grit from Fandango

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2010 Movies Worth Watching

Now that we have well and truly rolled over into 2011, being February and all, here's a link that will give you all our posts for 2010 movies worth watching. Enjoy!

Movie times and tickets from Fandango

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Biutiful

"Biutiful": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Betsy Sharkey:

Javier Bardem is an actor who seems to walk with sorrow, an unspoken pain ever pooling in those eyes. Yet never has that vein of sadness been mined so deeply or so richly as in Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Biutiful," an ethereal yet visceral meditation on living and dying.

Read Sharkey's full review of "Biutiful" at the LA Times

Biutiful

A man tries to reconcile his desire to be good with his lawless ways in this dark drama from Mexican auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu. Uxbal (Javier Bardem) is a man with a bright side and a dark side. Uxbal is a caring father but Uxbal is also a criminal who oversees a small underground empire alongside fellow crime boss Hai (Taisheng Cheng) and Uxbal's impulsive brother, Tito (Eduard Fernández). Uxbal's dealings range from drugs to construction, but unlike his partners in crime, he tries to treat those around him with dignity even as he trades in human misery. Uxbal's precarious world begins to collapse when he's diagnosed with a serious illness and told he has only a few weeks left to live; he tries to put his affairs in order in the time he has left, but realizes that few around him have any sense of responsibility.

 

Opened January 28, 2011 | Runtime:2 hr. 27 min.

R For disturbing images, language, some sexual content, nudity and drug use

Cast: Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Eduard Fernández, Diarytou Daff, Cheng Taishen

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Genres: Psychological Drama, Drama, Family Drama

Movie times and tickets for "Biutiful" from Fandango

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Another Year

"Another Year": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

Further proof - if proof is necessary after six Oscar nominations for writing and directing, a Palm d'Or and a best director award from Cannes, and a Golden lion from Venice - that Mike Leigh's explorations of human psychology are on a level of their own.

Read Turan's full review of  "Another Year" at the LA Times

Another Year
An aging receptionist (Lesley Manville) desperately tries to ease the pain of her loneliness by flirting with her employer's much-younger son.

Opened December 29, 2010 | Runtime:2 hr. 9 min.

Cast: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman

Director: Mike Leigh
Genres: Marriage Drama, Ensemble Film, Drama


Movie times and tickets for "Another Year" from Fandango

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Night Catches Us

"Night Catches Us": LA Times Critics' Choice Award from Kenneth Turan:

A small independent film starring Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington that believes you can mix the personal and the political to potent effect, believes the recent past contains intense and involving stories, believes most of all in the power still present in  traditional, character-driven drama.  Read Turan's full review of "Night Catches Us" at the LA Times

Night Catches Us 

A former Black Panther (Anthony Mackie) faces enmity from family and neighbors after he returns to his hometown to bury his father. 

Opened December 3, 2010 (Limited 12/3) | Runtime:1 hr. 30 min. 

Cast: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Jamie Hector, Wendell Pierce, Jamara Griffin 

Director: Tanya Hamilton 

Genres: Period Film, Drama 

Movie times and tickets from Fandango

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