LAW ABIDING CITIZEN Gerard Butler stars in this crime thriller as a man imprisoned for taking the law into his own hands after the murder of his wife who orchestrates revenge from his jail cell against the killers—and the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) who failed him. Viola Davis and Leslie Bibb co-star for director F. Gary Gray (R) 108 minutes. Starts Friday.
MORE THAN A GAME NBA star LeBron James is the subject of Kristopher Belman’s documentary, but its focus expands into a study of the intense friendship and loyalty between James and his four high school basketball teammates in Akron, Ohio, before, during, and after James meteoric rise to fame. (PG) 105 minutes. Starts Friday.
THE STEPFATHER Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward star in this remake of the psychological thriller. Penn Badgley co-stars as the son home from military school who suspects all is not kosher with the new man in is mom’s life. Nelson McCormick directs. (PG-13) Starts Friday.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book comes to the screen in whimsical, if spooky, live-action format from director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) and co-scriptwriter Dave Eggers. Newcomer Max Records stars as Max, an intrepid little boy whisked off the the magical realm of the wild things, who discovers being king has its drawbacks. Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo co-star; Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, and Forest Whitaker provide character voices. (PG) 101 minutes. Starts Friday.
Film Events
SPECIAL EVENT THIS WEEK: THE PACIFIC RIM FILM FESTIVAL 17 flms from 11 countries presented free to the public in three venues around town, Fri-Wed. See related story this issue. See Review by Lisa Jensen >>>
SPECIAL EVENT THIS WEEK: FILM DISCUSSION WITH MORTON MARCUS Join film scholar, poet, and raconteur Morton Marcus, at the Nickelodeon this Saturday morning for an incisive discussion of a current movie. This week: THE BOYS ARE BACK Special film screening at 11:40 a.m. Discussion begins at 1:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public. Call 426-7500, or check Nickelodeon/ Del Mar/Aptos ad this issue for more information.
CONTINUING SERIES: MIDNIGHTS @ THE DEL MAR Eclectic movies for wild & crazy tastes plus great prizes and buckets of fun for only $6.50. This week: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE Malcolm McDowell in his signature role as a bowler-hatted, false eyelash-batting, sadistic young thug in a futuristic society forced to undergo extreme behavior modification. Stanley Kubrick’s cold, slick stylistic perversity drains the life out of Anthony Burgess’ dark novel of ideas; all that’s left is the ultra-violence, vividly portrayed, and McDowell’s subversive charisma. This is what passed for an X-rated film in 1971, since marked down to an R. 137 minutes. (HH1/2)—Lisa Jensen. Fri-Sat midnight only. At the Del Mar.
CONTINUING EVENT: LET’S TALK ABOUT THE MOVIES This informal movie discussion group meets at the Del Mar mezzanine in downtown Santa Cruz. Movie junkies are invited to join in on Wednesday nights to discuss current flicks with a rotating series of guest moderators. Discussion begins at 7 pm and admission is free. For more information visit www.ltatm.org.
