Movies on Maui

These are Maui Scene Editor Rick Chatenever's mini-reviews, excerpts of wire service reviews and previews provided by studios and other sources.

Opening Friday

"Avatar 3-D Special Edition" PG-13, 3:06, Maui Mall Megaplex (3-D surcharge added to ticket price.)

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Outsider Films photo
Bethany Hamilton is one of the “stars” of Dana Brown’s new surf documentary, “Highwater.”

Writer-director-producer-cameraman James Cameron has added around nine minutes to the running time of this nouveau classic for audiences who need to get back to Pandora on the big screen before the Special Edition DVD release. Setting cinematic and box-office history, Cameron's brilliant sci-fi epic rewrote the book on how to tell a story on-screen, and made other 3-D technology look amateurish in the process. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Long and Giovanni Ribisi star but you already knew that.

"Get Low" PG-13, 1:42, Maui Mall Megaplex and Kukui Mall 4.

Screen immortal Robert Duvall, boasting a shaggy beard out to here, plays rascal Felix Bush in this mystery comedy set in the 1930s. Also featuring the talents of Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek, the title refers to being buried, an idea that Felix realizes he will have to deal with after hearing about the death of a friend. How he goes about making his own funeral arrangements - Murray plays the undertaker -provides the heart, soul and laughs, under the direction of Aaron Schneider.

"Highwater" NR, 1:30, Maui Mall Megaplex.

"Step Into Liquid" surf-movie auteur Dana Brown directs a crew of 90 shooting 15 cameras to capture the sights, sounds, drama and thrills of surfing's "Triple Crown" on Oahu's North Shore. Brown, who also provides the script and narration, brings an insider's view to this 55-day mix of big waves, surfing sociology and awesome competition for endorsements as well as trophies. Talent in front of the camera will be familiar locally and includes Jon-Jon Florence, Carissa Moore, Malik Joyeux, Bethany Hamilton, Mark Healy, Poncho Sullivan, Kalani Chapman, Sunny Garcia, Kelly Slater and Tom Curren Pat O'Connell.

"The Last Exorcism" PG-13, 1:43, Maui Mall Megaplex and Front Street Theaters.

Prompted by his conscience to stop performing fake exorcisms, charismatic evangelical minister Patrick Fabian agrees to let a documentary film crew accompany his on his last one to reveal the tricks of the trade. The victim is the teenage daughter (Ashley Bell) of a remote farm family, but things don't quite go as planned in this cross between a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary and "The Blair Witch Project" directed by Daniel Stamm.

"Takers" PG-13, 2:02, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.

This latest crime-caper adventure casts Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy and Chris Brown as highly effective bank robbers who set their sights on an armored car heist. Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez are the dogged cops on their tail. Featuring a foot chase through Los Angeles amidst its other action sequences, it reportedly livens up its formulaic plot with clever plot twists and interesting performances. John Luessenhop directs.

Still playing

"Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" PG, 1:40, Maui Mall Megaplex (in 3-D and 2-D.

Bette Midler gives voice to the villainous Kitty in this family-friendly animated comedy that has her masterminding a plan to enslave the canines and put the felines in charge. The satire in the script starts with a James Bond sendup, targeting other iconic images like "Silence of the Lambs" for the grownups, while distracting the kids with the cute talking critters. Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Nolte, James Marsden, Christina Applegate and Roger Moore provide voices; Brad Peyton directs.

"Charlie St. Cloud" PG-13, 1:54, ends tonight at Maui Mall Megaplex.

Fresh from his recent tribute at the Maui Film Festival, teen heartthrob Zac Efron ventures into supernatural-drama territory, playing a young man plagued by visions of his younger brother who died in a car crash that should have taken his own life. Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew, Augustus Prew, Donal Logue, Kim Basinger and Ray Liotta co-star; Burr Steers directs.

"Dinner for Schmucks" PG-13, 2:09, ends tonight at Maui Mall Megaplex.

Steve Carell and Paul Rudd star in this adaptation of a French comedy as an odd couple of doofuses invited to a dinner by wealthy businessmen secretly betting on who can take the prize as the biggest loser. Carell reveals his comic genius, playing a dork whose only talent is creating dioramas featuring stuffed mice wearing little costumes; Rudd plays a more cunning kind of striver who latches onto him. David Walliams, Zach Galifianakis and Jemaine Clement co-star in the lovable mayhem under the direction of Jay Roach.

"Eat Pray Love" PG-13, 2:35, Maui Mall Megaplex, Kukui Mall 4 and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.

Julia Roberts steps into the role of author Elizabeth Gilbert, whose chronicle of her round-the-world search for her soul became a huge best-seller. Director Ryan Murphy brings the odyssey to the screen with sumptuous visuals, both of the luminous Roberts and settings in Italy, India and Bali. The title explains the scope of her journey, mixing pleasures of the senses with deeper spiritual realizations and self-fulfillment. Richard Jenkins, Billy Crudup, James Franco and Javier Bardem co-star.

"The Expendables" R, 1:58, Kaahumanu 6 and Front Street Theaters; ends tonight at Kukui Mall 4.

Sylvester Stallone is an older, wiser "Rambo" on both sides of the camera, directing, co-writing and starring in this guerrilla-action thriller. Playing -what else? - the leader of a group of disenfranchised mercenaries, the story bounces from one battle to the next with other mercenaries who have a hard time keeping track of which side they're on. Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Robert, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Giselle Itie, Charisma Carpenter, Gary Danields, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke co-star.

"Inception" PG-13, 2:43, Maui Mall Megaplex and Kukui Mall 4.

Writer-director Christopher Nolan's blockbuster mind trip has scored box-office gold by speaking the language and revealing the architecture of dreams. Viewers have no choice but to strap in for the ride through this stunningly gorgeous, technically flawless symphony of images and ideas. Leonardo DiCaprio is Dom Cobb, a master thief of the subconscious who enters the minds of sleeping victims to steal their secrets. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his right-hand man, Arthur, and Ken Watanabe is one of their clients named Saito. Watanabe hires Dom to sneak into the subconscious of a competitor (Cillian Murphy) and implant an idea that will ruin his empire. In return, Saito will help Dom clear his name for a crime he didn't commit that has torn him from his wife and two young children and forced him to go on the run. A heist movie with a "Memento"-like way of telling the story in reverse, the unique film's awesomeness, ambition and scope inspire viewers to return time and again. Recommended.

"Lottery Ticket" PG-13, 1:39, Maui Mall Megaplex.

The good news is that Kevin (a kid from the projects played by rapper-actor Bow Wow) just won the "Mondo Millions Lottery." The bad news is that it's the Fourth of July weekend, the lottery office is closed, and he's got to keep the ticket safe for four days. That's the recipe for this comedy-in-the-'hood co-starring Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Loretta Devine, Ice Cube, Keith David, Terry Crews and Mike Epps and directed by Erik White.

"Nanny McPhee Returns" PG, 2:04, Kaahumanu 6 and Front Street Theaters.

Try as she might to make herself look hideous, everyone knows Emma Thompson's iron-willed English nanny is truly a saint under the snaggle tooth and moles. Scripting as well as starring in this sequel to the charming original, she plays the remedy for ill-behaved children everywhere. The movie is set in the English countryside in the 1940s, with the men away fighting World War II. Colin Firth, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith and Rhys Ifans co-star with a bunch of kids and Susanna White directs, but it's the many talents and charms of Emma Thompson that will make audiences cheer this return visit.

"Piranha 3D" R, 1:44, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.

Like "Jaws," only smaller, this tongue-in-cheek horror-thriller reruns the scary fish routine, right down to having Richard Dreyfuss in the cast. It's your basic spring-break-gone-bad plot, with the college kids looking for a wild weekend in Arizona's sleepy Lake Victoria, but encountering some very determined man-eating prehistoric fish instead. Jessica Szohr, Steven R. McQueen, Elizabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Ving Rhames and Christopher Lloyd co-star in the cheesy antics under the direction of "The Hills Have Eyes'" Alexandre Aja. (See review on Page 2.)

"The Other Guys" PG-13, 2:02, Kaahumanu 6; ends tonight at Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg star in this offbeat, whimsical parody of the mismatched-cop-buddies formula. Wahlberg is the hot-headed one, like his Oscar-nominated role in "The Departed." The brilliant Ferrell is the earnest, goofy one. How they manage to outshine hotshot detectives Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson is one of the running gags, written and directed by Adam McKay. With the stars playing their roles deadpan and the film paying homage to great cop-action sequences, there are sly jokes everywhere you look. Co-stars include Michael Keaton, Rob Riggle and Eva Mendes. Recommended.

"Salt" PG-13, 1:55, Maui Mall Megaplex.

Angelina Jolie is the kind of action hero who can do stunts that would break a normal person's back without breaking a nail. Better still, she looks gorgeous when she does it. The role of Evelyn Salt, a crack CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy, is tailor-made for her in this action-thriller that cements her action-hero status, but doesn't go very deep to find the character underneath. Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Daniel Olbrychski co-star; Phillip Noyce directs.

"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" PG-13, 2:07, Kaahumanu 6; ends tonight at Front Street Theaters.

Michael Cera stars in this comic adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel as low-ambition bass player in a Toronto garage band called to action to battle the "seven evil exes" to win the heart of new love Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Borrowing heavily from comic-book culture, video games and music videos, the film is targeted at Cera's legions of fans and other 20-somethings. Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin, Mark Webber, Alison Pill and Ellen Wong co-star; "Shaun of the Dead's" Edgar Wright writes and directs.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" PG, 2:05, ends tonight at Maui Mall Megaplex.

This pleasant-enough potion of action and comedy that will send some parents and kids home happy is a variation of the King Arthur Chosen One tale. Nicholas Cage stars as 1,500-year-old sorcerer Balthazar Blake who can claim Merlin the magician as mentor. Set in modern-day Manhattan, Blake and his hapless apprentice, Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), are swept into the ancient conflict between good and evil as they vie with arch nemesis Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Along the way, the sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, working together to stop the forces of darkness and helping the apprentice get the girl. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub, creators of the "National Treasure" franchise, concoct this family fantasy.

"Step Up 3-D" PG-13, 1:47, Kaahumanu 6.

This latest addition to the street-dancing franchise brings 3-D to the equation and moves the action to New York. There NYU freshman Adam G. Sevani breaks his promise to his parents to study, getting drawn instead into hip-hop nirvana with the House of Pirates crew. Alyson Stoner plays his on-again, off-again best friend. Jon M. Chu directs with Rick Malambri and Sharni Vinson co-starring, but the real stars are the choreographers, providing great moves for the film's cast on the sidewalks of New York.

"The Switch" PG-13, 1:40, Maui Mall Megaplex and Kukui Mall 4.

Artificial insemination gives birth to laughs in this sitcom-y comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Following a now familiar Hollywood plotline, she plays a successful career woman whose biological clock tells her she doesn't have any more time to wait for Mr. Right. Instead she throws a turkey-baster party, but somehow winds up with the contribution of the wrong guy, her uptight stock-broker pal Jason Bateman. Wait - do you feel like you've seen this all before? Juliette Lewis, Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum co-star; Josh Gordon and Will Speck direct.

"Toy Story 3" G, 1:43, ends tonight at Maui Mall Megaplex (3-D, with ticket surcharge).

Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and cowgirl (Joan Cusack) return to the third installment of this franchise - the first in 3-D - that put Pixar and computer animation on the map. Once again the toys confront their own mortality as their boy grows up and heads for college, leaving them with the options of being boxed in the attic or put out for the garbage man. They get a new lease on life when they wind up in a day care center, but that turns dangerous when they get placed in the toddler room. Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris and new addition Ned Beatty add their voices to the still emotionally potent mix under Lee Unkrich's direction.

"Vampires Suck" PG-13, 1:37, Maui Mall Megaplex and Front Street Theaters.

With "Twilight's" glow still lingering, it was only a matter of time before the Team Edward and Team Jacob encountered the "Scary Movie" writing-directing team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then parody is the most insincere, as this spoof takes aim on every detail of the vampy formula -the sharp teeth, the pale skin, the big moody woods, the animal chromosomes in the family tree Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Chris Riggi, Diedrich Bader, Kelsey Ford and Anneliese van der Pol star, taking a big bite of last week's box-office receipts.