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

"Due Date" R, 1:50, Maui Mall Megaplex, Kukui Mall 4 and Front Street Theaters.

Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis are the odd couple stuck together for the road trip from hell in this screwball comedy from "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips. Downey plays the high-strung, uptight one trying to get home from Atlanta to L.A. in time for the birth of his first child. Galifianakis is the loose cannon who thinks he's going to be a star once he gets to Hollywood. There's also a dog, and a can with Zach's father's ashes in the back seat, all adding to the mayhem. Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride, RZA and Matt Walsh co-star.

"For Colored Girls" R, 2:14, Maui Mall Megaplex.

Janet Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine, Thandie Newton and Whoopi Goldberg head the all-star cast in Tyler Perry's screen adaptation of Ntozake Shange's classic stage work, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf." Built around a string of interconnected poems, the action is set in six blocks of Harlem, as the women's life/poems touch on themes that will be universally recognizable for people of all colors. Besides directing and adapting the script, Tyler co-stars along with Michael Ealy, Hill Harper, Khalil Kain, Omari Hardwick and Richard Lawson.

"Megamind" PG, 1:51, Kaahumanu 6 (in 3-D), Kukui Mall 4 and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas (in 3-D).

After the megasuccess of "Despicable Me," here comes another animated comedy starring the villain. Will Ferrell gives voice to the brainy bad guy who finds life is boring since he offed his nemesis Metro Man (Brad Pitt). Concocting new adversary, Tighten (Jonah Hill), he experiences a fresh challenge when his creation turns out to be worse than he is, forcing him to become the hero after all. Tina Fey, David Cross, Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller and his kids are among those providing voices, along with the film's director, Tom McGrath.

"Never Let Me Go" R, 1:43, Kukui Mall 4.

Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightley head the dream cast for this bleak sci-fi romance about English boarding school students facing an unenviable fate. They negotiate all the usual coming-of-age obstacles, but have some bigger challenges ahead. Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins are among the more grown-up members of the cast, directed with elegance and poignancy by Mark Romanek.

Maui Film Festival

"Who Is J.O.B" NR, 52 min. at 7:30 p.m. and "Playgravity" NR, 52 min. at 6 and 9 p.m. Wednesday only. $10 for one film only; $12 for both films.

Reclaiming its old Wednesday spot on the calendar, for this week at least, the Maui Film Festival returns with a double bill of adrenaline-fueled action on the big screen. Proceeds will benefit Surf- Aid International's efforts to help survivors and families affected by the recent tsunami in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia. "Who Is J.O.B" tells of Jamie O'Brien, whose semi-deafness may have been an assett in his rise to become one of the most daring and controversial big-wave riders around. "Playgravity" serves up action-packed HD footage of snowboarding, paragliding, base jumps and free rides off mountain faces in those jumpsuits with wings. Jamie O'Brien and "Playgravity" filmmaker Ueli Kastenholz will introduce their films and field Q&A sessions afterward.

Still playing

"Buried" R, 1:35, Maui Mall Megaplex.

An American contractor (Ryan Reynolds) driving trucks in Iraq wakes up in the dark to open this thriller. It turns out, he's been buried in a coffin in the middle of the desert. Luckily for him, there's a cell phone and a cigarette lighter in the coffin. Unluckily for him, he's only got 90 minutes' worth of air. Rodrigo Corts directs, reportedly finding ingenious visual ways to deal with his claustrophobic setting. Jos Luis Garcia, Robert Paterson, Stephen Tobolowsky and Samantha Mathis co-star, with their voices, at least.

"Case 39" R, 1:49, ends tonight at Kaahumanu 6.

Renee Zellweger stars in this suspense thriller as a committed social worker who gets more than she bargained for when she temporarily takes in an abused 10-year-old (Jodelle Ferland). Turns out the child has some baggage of the creep-out, possessed variety, making for lots of scary moments. Renee should have had a clue when she saw the girl's name - Lillith. Bradley Cooper, Ian McShane, Kerry O'Malley, Callum Keith Rennie and Crystal Lowe co-star; Christian Alvart directs.

"Catfish" PG-13, 1:26, ends tonight at Kaahumanu 6.

This documentary set in the age of Facebook follows the online relationship that develops among documentary filmmakers Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost and a family in faraway Ilshpeming, Mich. It's reportedly a cautionary tale as the filmmakers are drawn into the lives of the Michigan family enough to want to pay them a visit. What happens then is one of those big surprises that advance viewers of the movie aren't revealing other than to say the ramifications say a lot about psychology, sociology and illusions in our cyber times.

"Hereafter" PG-13, 2:24, Maui Mall Megaplex, Kukui Mall 4 and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.

Following a harrowing tsunami sequence filmed (with help from the special effects department) on Lahaina's Front Street last January, this Clint Eastwood-directed drama takes a more meditative tone. It intertwines the lives of a French TV journalist (Cecile de France), a San Francisco man trying to hide from his psychic powers (Matt Damon) and a young London schoolboy (Frankie McLaren), deeply scarred by a brush with death. Peter Morgan's screenplay is less concerned with supernatural answers than with death's effect on the living, and Eastwood's elegant direction adds just the right tone. The performances are brilliant, with the cinematography and music (composed by Eastwood) adding nuance and subtlety. While the subject matter is painful and frightening and the film's pacing deliberate, it pays off with a grace note at the end both hopeful and liberating. Recommended.

"Jackass 3D" R, 1:49, (in 3-D with a ticket surcharge), Maui Mall Megaplex; ends tonight at Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.

Johnny Knoxville and company once again push the limits of taste, safety and sanity in a decidedly obnoxious direction in this latest round of arrested-development stunts. Like an OSHA training film played for laughs, it's a politically incorrect primer of things not to do with power tools, large animals and high-voltage wires. Blood and vomit are the gauge of success in this realm, now enhanced by 3-D. Morons Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Jason Acuna, Ryan Dunn, Preston Lacy, Dave England, Ehren McGhehey and John Taylor, all listed in the credits as "Himself," get into the spirit of seeing who can make the other cry, soil their underwear and/or throw up first. Jeff Tremaine directs. Don't try this at home is fair warning, not just for the stunts, but for the behavior in general.

"Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole" (3-D) PG, 1:55, Kaahumanu 6.

With the cutest faces to hit the big screen since the recent penguin invasion, this animated adventure plays out the age-old battle between good and evil among owls! Jim Sturgess is owl Soren, at odds with a jealous brother. Boasting gorgeous flying sequences and dreamlike landscapes, the owls have an impressive roster of actors providing their voices including Abbie Cornish, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Joel Edgerton, David Wenham and Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush and Helen Mirren. Zack Snyder directs.

"Life as We Know It" PG-13, 1:52, Kaahumanu 6; ends tonight at Front Street Theaters.

Katherine Heigl adds another chapter to her franchise built on finding the most roundabout roads to romance with this comedy that teams her with Josh Duhamel. They're not a couple, they don't even like each other very much, which complicates their lives when they wind up as the designated caregivers for the daughter of their respective best friends after a tragic car accident. Josh Lucas and Alexis Clagett co-star under the direction of Greg Berlandi, who goes heavy on diaper-changing and poop-in-the-bathtub humor. Hmmm, wonder how the story's going to turn out

"Mao's Last Dancer" PG, 1:57, Kaahumanu 6.

Based on a true story, this biography blends "The Company" with "White Knights," telling of the son of a Chinese peasant picked by authorities to attend the Beijing Dance Academy. His dedication to his art is set against U.S.-Sino relations leading him to well, you'll have to see the movie to find out. Directed by Oscar nominee Bruce Beresford, this elegant award-winning meeting of dance and politics stars Chi Cao with "Center Stage's" Amanda Schull, Bruce Greenwood and Kyle MacLachlin co-starring.

"Paranormal Activity 2" R, 1:46, Maui Mall Megaplex and Front Street Theaters

After the original film made $100 million on a miniscule budget, could a sequel be far behind? A prequel, actually. Katie Featherston returns as a member of the family at the center of the strange happenings in this creepy mystery set in the months before the first film. This time, the problem seems to be break-ins, prompting them to install a series of security cameras around the house. As in the first one, those things that go bump in the night turn out to be a lot more worrisome than you might expect. Tod Williams directs, with writers Oren Pell contributing the characters and Michael R. Perry providing the screenplay. With a minimum of special effects and the trappings of suburban life to work with, the movie ingeniously taps into modern fears in an unexpectedly entertaining way. Recommended.

"Red" PG-13, 2:06, Maui Mall Megaplex and Front Street Theaters; ends tonight at Kukui Mall 4

Actors more used to snagging prestigious film awards like Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Richard Dreyfuss join Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" territory for this action-comedy that casts them as former CIA agents now on the agency's hit list. With Mirren and Freeman adding class and Malkovich pushing things in a wiggy direction, Willis dispenses his trademark cool-under-fire wisecracks as the bullets fly. Amidst all that star power, Mary-Louise Parker turns out to be the movie's secret weapon, with Karl Urban and 93-year-old Ernest Borgnine co-starring under the direction of Robert Schwentke.

"Saw 3D" R, 1:30, Maui Mall Megaplex (in 3-D with a ticket surcharge).

Tobin Bell returns as Jigsaw/ John, in spirit at least, still casting his spell over his survivors, who turn to a self-help guru and fellow survivor (Sean Patrick Flanery) to help them make it through the nights. With its grotesque effects seemingly made for 3-D, the movie's trailer featured giant spinning blades flying right out of the screen and into the audience. Hopefully that won't actually happen. Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Dean Armstrong, Chad Donella, Gina Holden and Chester Bennington co-star; Kevin Greutert directs.

"Secretariat" PG, 2:18, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas; ends tonight at Kukui Mall 4.

Historical facts are the spoilers in the unlikely but true story of the horse that gained the nation's attention as a Triple Crown contender in 1973. This Disney production pulls out all the stops when it comes to excitement and sentimentality. Five horses take turns playing the title character, but Diane Lane and John Malkovich add the human dimensions that give the film character. She plays a Denver housewife who becomes a Virginia stable owner after her father is taken ill. Malkovich plays the flashy dressing and eccentric but effective trainer she hires to make a contender out of the horse they call "Big Red" in order to save the stable. James Cromwell, Margo Martindale, Nelson Ellis and Otto Thorwarth co-star; Randall Wallace directs.

"The Social Network" PG-13, 2:15, Maui Mall Megaplex and Front Street Theaters; ends tonight at Kukui Mall 4.

Competing with the latest headlines, this tense tale tells us how Facebook -that essential fact of modern life that millions of people are addicted to but no one understands or quite trusts - was born. Jesse Eisenberg shines in the troubling role of 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, a not very big man on the Harvard campus who came up with the social-networking concept more or less by accident. "The West Wing's" Aaron Sorkin contributes the brilliant script, not only about Facebook's birth, but about all the litigation that followed. Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Josh Pence, Rooney Mara and Justin Timberlake co-star under the skilled direction of David Fincher, who makes computer hacking and filing legal depositions the stuff of high drama, troubling ramifications and box-office rewards. Recommended.

"The Town" R, 2:20, Maui Mall Megaplex.

Ben Affleck gets high marks as director and co-writer while registering the best performance in his acting career in this gritty heist thriller set in the streets of Boston's blue-collar Charleston neighborhood. He plays the leader of an ingenious gang of bank robbers, whose ranks include the hot-headed Jeremy Renner. The best-laid plans of the gang get put to the test after Ben starts a relationship with a bank manager (Rebecca Hall) taken hostage on the last job, just to find out what she knows. Jon Hamm and Chris Cooper make strong contributions in the supporting ranks. Combining a flair for working with actors with an assured sense of his setting, Affleck produces a tasty blend of action, drama and suspense. Recommended.

"You Again" PG, 2:00, ends tonight at Kaahumanu 6.

High school rivalries never die in this comedy that traces at least two generations' worth of them. Kristin Bell stars as the sister of soon-to-be-groom James Wolk, who realizes that his bride (Odette Yustman) was her arch tormentor in high school. When aunt Sigourney Weaver flies in for the wedding, it turns out she has the same issues with old classmate Jamie Lee Curtis. Throw in Betty White, and you've got the recipe for one awkward and funny wedding day. Andy Fickman directs.