Please call the info line for updated showtimes.
Julie & Julia (PG-13)
1:00, 4:00, 7:00
Inglourious Basterds (R)
10:00
Couples Retreat (PG-13)
1:20, 4:35, 7:05, 9:30
The Fourth Kind (PG-13)
1:00, 3:20, 5:30, 7:45, 9:55
My Little Pony (G)
Sat-Sun only 1:00
The Men Who Stare at Goats (R)
1:15, 3:25, 5:35, 7:45, 9:55
Michael Jackson: This Is It (PG)
1:45, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40
Pirate Radio (R)
1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45
Planet 51 (PG)
1:45, 4:35, 7:05, 9:30
Saw VI (R)
1:00 (no 1:00 show Sat-Sun), 3:15, 5:30,7:45,10:00
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (PG-13)
1:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:50, Late show Fri-Sat only 10:45
Where the Wild Things Are (PG)
1:45, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40
2012 (PG-13)
11:55, 12:20, 3:25, 4:00, 7:00, 7:30, 10:25, 10:45
Amelia (PG)
11:40, 2:05, 4:35, 7:15, 9:55 (Sofa Cinema showing)
The Blind Side (PG-13)
12:15, 3:20, 7:25, 10:20
A Christmas Carol 3-D (PG)
11:35, 2:00, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40
A Christmas Carol 2-D (PG)
12:00, 2:35, 5:00, 7:40, 10:15 (Sofa Cinema showing)
Law Abiding Citizen (R)
12:25, 3:30, 7:20, 9:55
The Men Who Stare at Goats (R)
11:30, 1:50, 4:05, 7:35, 9:50
Michael Jackson: This Is It (PG)
11:50, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:40 (Sofa Cinema showing)
Paranormal Activity (R)
12:10, 2:25, 4:40, 7:50, 10:05 (Sofa Cinema showing)
Pirate Radio (R)
11:30, 2:15, 4:55, 7:45, 10:35
Planet 51 (PG)
12:05, 2:20, 4:45, 7:05, 9:20
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (PG-13)
11:45, 12:30, 2:30, 3:15, 5:10, 7:10, 7:55, 10:00, 10:30
2012 (PG-13)
12:00, 3:35, 7:15, 10:35
The Blind Side (PG-13)
10:35 (Fri-Sun), 1:35, 4:30, 7:35, 10:25
A Christmas Carol (PG)
11:35 (Fri-Sun), 2:10, 4:35, 7:20, 9:55
The Men Who Stare at Goats (R)
11:20 (Fri-Sun), 1:45, 4:25, 7:30, 10:00
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (PG-13)
10:30 (Fri-Sun), 1:25, 4:20, 7:20, 10:30
The Blind Side (PG-13)
1:00, 4:00, 7:00
2012 (PG-13)
1:45, 2:30, 5:00, 6:00, 8:15, 9:40
Amelia (PG)
2:05, 4:30, 7:05, 9:40
The Blind Side (PG-13)
1:30, 4:15, 7:20 10:10
A Christmas Carol 3-D (PG)
2:05, 4:25, 7:00, 9:25
Couples Retreat (PG-13)
2:15, 4:50, 7:10
The Fourth Kind (PG-13)
2:45, 5:15, 7:35, 10:10
The Men Who Stare at Goats (R)
2:50, 5:10, 7:25, 9:40
Paranormal Activity (R)
2:25, 4:40, 8:30, 10:40
Planet 51 (PG)
1:35, 3:45, 6:00, 8:10
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (PG-13)
1:40, 2:20, 4:20, 5:00, 7:05, 7:35, 9:45, 10:15
An Education (PG-13)
1:20, 4:20, 7:20, Late show Fri-Sat only 9:40
A Serious Man (R)
1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late show Fri-Sat 9:30
Amelia (PG)
1:00 (Sat-Sun), 4:00, 7:00
2012 (PG-13)
12:10, 12:40, 3:35, 4:05, 7:00, 7:30, 10:25
The Blind Side (PG-13)
12:30, 3:50, 7:20, 10:15
The Box (PG-13)
2:20, 7:50
A Christmas Carol 3-D (PG)
11:45, 12:15, 2:05, 2:35, 4:25, 4:55, 6:45, 7:15, 9:10, 9:40
A Christmas Carol 2-D (PG)
12:45, 3:05, 5:25, 7:45, 10:10
Paranormal Activity (R)
12:00, 5:00, 10:30
Movie articles
Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: Twilight of my discontent
Since I started reviewing movies for the Xpress a few years ago, it’s been my policy (and a notion I picked up from Ken) to watch as many theatrical releases as possible, especially the great big blockbusters that clog up multiplexes every week. Part of this is necessary for building the movie fan’s greatest asset, a frame of reference, but also to understand what is happening within the world of film at large.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Nov. 18-23: Beefy boys-a-poppin’ and a serious man
From a pop-culture standpoint, this is the week when, like a plague of locusts, The Twilight Saga: New Moon arrives on way too many screens. What is there to say? The two most vapid “stars” of our age—Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson—are back. Expect lots of beefy werewolf boys—sans shirts—and the requisite amount of “soulful” close-ups of the leads.
Pick of the Week:
Pirate Radio (R)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 10 Comment(s)
Genre: Comedy With Music
Directed by: Richard Curtis (Love Actually)
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Sturridge, Nick Frost
The Story: The story of renegade broadcasters operating from a ship off the coast of Great Britain in 1966.
The Lowdown: An altogether splendid period piece about camaraderie and rock music with great performers, a killer sound track and a screenplay that’s as warm as it is witty.
Reviews:
An Education (PG-13)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 2 Comment(s)
Genre: Coming-of-Age Comedy/Drama
Directed by: Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners)
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike
The Story: A 16-year-old schoolgirl embarks on a romance with a somewhat mysterious 30-plus-year-old man.
The Lowdown: A star-making performance from Carey Mulligan, a human and witty screenplay, and beautifully modulated direction make this an unusually accomplished coming-of-age story.
More Than a Game (PG)
Justin Souther | 11/18/2009 | 1 Comment(s)
Genre: Sports Documentary
Directed by: Kristopher Belman
Starring: LeBron James, Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee
The Story: A documentary focusing on the high-school exploits of NBA star LeBron James and his high-school basketball teammates.
The Lowdown: A perfectly agreeable documentary, but it lacks flash and will only really be of interest to sports fans.
2012 (PG-13)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 1 Comment(s)
Genre: Mega-Budget Disaster-thon
Directed by: Roland Emmerich (10,000 B.C.)
Starring: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt
The Story: Roland Emmerich’s take on what happens when the Mayan calendar runs out.
The Lowdown: Grotesquely overlong and overproduced, but if you want to see the world end without actually being there, it’ll probably fill the bill.
Special Showings
Black Rain (NR)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | Comment here
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Shohei Imamura
Starring: Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shoichi Ozawa, Norihei Miki
Classic Cinema From Around the World will present Black Rain at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St., in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.
The Raven (NR)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 5 Comment(s)
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Directed by: Roger Corman
Starring: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, Jack Nicholson
The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Raven at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.
Still Showing:
Amelia (PG)
Ken Hanke | 10/28/2009 | 1 Comment(s)
The Box (PG-13)
Justin Souther | 11/11/2009 | 4 Comment(s)
A Christmas Carol (PG)
Ken Hanke | 11/11/2009 | 14 Comment(s)
Couples Retreat (PG-13)
Justin Souther | 10/14/2009 | 3 Comment(s)
An Education (PG-13)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 2 Comment(s)
The Fourth Kind (PG-13)
Ken Hanke | 11/11/2009 | 7 Comment(s)
Justin Souther | 10/21/2009 | Comment here
The Men Who Stare at Goats (R)
Ken Hanke | 11/11/2009 | 10 Comment(s)
Michael Jackson’s This Is It (PG)
Ken Hanke | 11/04/2009 | 2 Comment(s)
More Than a Game (PG)
Justin Souther | 11/18/2009 | 1 Comment(s)
Ken Hanke | 10/28/2009 | 13 Comment(s)
Paris (R)
Ken Hanke | 11/04/2009 | 3 Comment(s)
Pirate Radio (R)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 10 Comment(s)
Saw VI (R)
Ken Hanke | 10/28/2009 | 4 Comment(s)
2012 (PG-13)
Ken Hanke | 11/18/2009 | 1 Comment(s)
Where the Wild Things Are (PG)
Ken Hanke | 10/21/2009 | 13 Comment(s)
Upcomers
Starts Friday
The Blind Side
The fact that anyone anywhere ever let John Lee Hancock make another movie after The Alamo is astonishing. A mere five years of being off the screen seems insufficient, but for whatever reason he’s back with this fact-based story of football player Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron, Be Kind Rewind), who was taken in as part of the family by the Tuohy family (headed by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw). The trailers look a bit on the gooey and manipulative side, but in a way that might be leavened with a certain amount of comedy. Strangely, the TV trailers keep claiming that “the critics” are calling the film a “classic” and the other expected raves. What they do not make clear is who these critics are, since the film doesn’t appear to have been screened for any. (PG-13)
An Education
See review in “Cranky Hanke.”
Planet 51
Sony shelled out for some voice talent - Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott, John Cleese - for this animated film about an astronaut (voiced by Johnson), who lands on a planet where the inhabitants are horrified by him and what they presume are his intentions. The trailer is colorful and rather frantic and noisy. It also looks pretty much like a one-joke premise - aliens being frightened by humans over and over - and there haven’t been any screenings for critics. (PG)
A Serious Man
Here comes the new film from the Coen Brothers - and it looks like one of their best and most personal works to judge by the trailer and the bulk of reviews it’s already gotten. At the same time, it shows the Coens off on a slightly different path in that the film boasts none of their star-powered Hollywood friends. No, instead, this time they’ve settled on a cast of largely unknown - or little-known - actors. (You get to do things like that when you win an Oscar.) The story is about a Jewish professor (Michael Stuhlbarg, Cold Souls) whose life is unraveling and turning into a modern (well, 1967) black-comedy variation on the trials of Job. (R)
Early review samples:
• “After the seriously great No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers have made the not greatly serious A Serious Man, which bears every mark of a labor of love.” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
• “Not only hauntingly original, it’s the final piece of the puzzle that is the Coens. Combine suburban alienation, philosophical inquiry, moral seriousness, a mixture of respect for and utter indifference to Torah, and, finally, a ton of dope, and you get one of the most remarkable oeuvres in modern film.” (David Edelstein, New York Magazine)
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Like it or not, here comes part two of the Twilight series with New Moon. For certain people the teencentric romantic adventures of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) are an event of note. For others, it’s the kind of notable event best ridden out in a bomb shelter. This time you can expect romantic complications with beefy werewolf boy Jacob (Taylor Lautner)—not to mention a bevy of bare-chested lycanthrope boys along for the ride. The fact that this one was directed by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass) means that it will probably be more stylish than the first film - for what that’s worth. No, they’re not screening it for critics. They know they don’t need to. It’s already set records for pre-sold tickets for its midnight premiere on Thursday. (PG-13)
