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
"Rio" G, 1:36, Kaahumanu 6, Kukui Mall 4 and Front Street Theaters.
Article Photos
Courteney Cox breaks the first rule of horror films by not covering her back in “Scream 4.”
The Weinstein Company photo
See review.
"Scream 4" R, 1:58, Maui Mall Megaplex, Kukui Mall 4 and Front Street Theaters.
Original cast members Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Mary McDonnell in a cameo reunite with director Wes Craven for this fourth installment of horror-comedy. "Howl" is more like the target response in this mix of slasher blood and laughs, many of them self-referential based on the lore and legacy the horror franchise has spawned. Campbell plays the celebrity victim who has turned her initial run-in with Ghostface into a lucrative career, Cox is the still obnoxious journalist chasing the story and Arquette is the doofus cop on the case. Emma Robert, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell provide fresh meat for the cleaver.
Still playing
"The Adjustment Bureau" PG-13, 2:01, ends tonight at Kaahumanu 6.
Matt Damon stars in this romantic political thriller adapted from a Philip K. Dick story. He plays a charismatic senatorial candidate who encounters the ballerina of his dreams (Emily Blunt), before finding himself pursued by a political team trying to keep them apart. George Nolfi directs and co-writes, pitting political forces against fate and love in a chase across modern Manhattan. Lisa Thoreson co-stars with Jon Stewart and Chuck Scarborough playing themselves.
"Arthur" PG-13, 2:05, Kaahumanu 6 and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.
It's all Russell Brand all the time at the movies as the British party boy follows his vocal star turn in "Hop" with this remake of the Dudley Moore classic. Brand plays a maturity-impaired billionaire who's arranged-marriage plans to dragon lady Jennifer Garner are rearranged when he falls in love with the lovely but poor Greta Gerwig. Helen Mirren changes the gender of the original John Gielgud role to play his tough-love nana. TV's "Modern Family's" Jason Winer makes his big-screen directoral debut, guiding Brand to a one-two punch atop the box office charts, but falling well short of the heart or humor of the original. (See review on Page 2.)
"Battle: Los Angeles" PG-13, 2:11, ends tonight at Maui Mall Megaplex.
Allegedly inspired by unexplained events over Los Angeles some time ago, this sci-fi adventure pits of platoon of Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton against -ta da! -aliens from outer space. Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan lead the cast; Jonathan Liebesman directs.
"Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son" PG-13, 2:02, ends tonight at Kaahumanu 6.
Martin Lawrence once again puts that red dress on -that very large red dress -reprising the role of FBI agent Malcolm Turner. This time he's got his stepson, Trent (Brandon T. Jackson), with him as they go into drag and into hiding in an all-girls performing arts school after Trent witnesses a murder. Jessica Lucas, Michelle Ang and Portia Doubleday co-star; John Whitesell directs.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid:?Rodrick Rules" PG, 1:36, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Wimpy is the new cool in this sequel to 2010's surprise hit based on the best-selling follow-up "Wimpy Kid" novel by Jeff Kinney. Starting 7th grade, Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) has to deal with school, his geeky - yet endearing - friends and his parents's efforts to make him bond with older brother and chief tormentor, Rodrick (Devon Bostick). David Bowers directs the family-oriented fun, that's pretty wimpy itself en route to a laugh or two.
"Hanna" PG-13, 1:54, Maui Mall Megaplex and Kukui Mall 4.
Part fairy tale heroine, part 16-year-old killing machine, young Saoirse Ronan does a star turn in the title role. She plays the daughter of former CIA operative Eric Bana, who brings her up in isolation in the frozen north where she learns to hunt, fight and speak many languages. It helps her when she comes back to civilization in territory familiar to watchers of the "Bourne" series. Joe Wright, who guided her to an Oscar nomination in "Atonement," directs a cast co-starring Cate Blanchett, Olivia Williams and Jessica Barden. Recommended. (See revuew on Page 2.)
"Hop" PG, 1:34, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas; ends tonight at Kukui Mall 4.
Russell Brand tones down the outrageousness to star as an Easter Bunny on the run in this cute blend of live action and animation targeted at family audiences. He doesn't want to follow his dad into the Easter Bunny business, it seems, and enlists reluctant human James Marsden as his ally in the rainbow-hued tale full of warm, fuzzy co-stars. Tim Hill directs, holding down the top spot at the box office for the second week.
"Insidious" PG-13, 1:42, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne play a couple who move into a charming old craftsman with their three young children only to discover way too late that they've got company. "Saw" director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell play all the haunted-house cards in the deck skillfully, using creaking floors, ticking clocks, doors flying open and just plain silence to make the audience very uncomfortable before the relief of the final frame.
"Limitless" PG-13, 2:00, Maui Mall Megaplex; ends tonight at Front Street Theaters.
Bradley Cooper plays a dead-end aspiring writer who turns his life around after happening onto a magic pill. Before he knows it, he's smart, rich, famous and hooked. It turns out the path to the top has a slippery slope heading down the other side. A guilty pleasure, the film interweaves two cautionary tales -about drug dependency and striking bargains with the devil - but is fun anyway. Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro head the supporting cast, directed by "The Illusionist's" Neil Burger.
"The Lincoln Lawyer" R, 2:14, Maui Mall Megaplex; ends tonight at Front Street Theaters.
Matthew McConaughey brings his Southern drawl and natural swagger to the role of a confident L.A. defense attorney in this action drama. The title refers to his car -a Lincoln Continental -that doubles as his office. The star's charisma is in high gear in the script full of moral dilemmas in and out of the courtroom. Ryan Phillipe, John Leguizamo, Frances Fisher, Michael Pena, Marisa Tomei and William H. Macy co-star. Brad Furman directs.
"Mars Needs Moms" PG, 1:43, ends tonight at Kaahumanu 6.
Like a younger companion piece to "Battle: Los Angeles," this animated comedy revolves around a young boy named Milo (Seth Green), forced into action after aliens from Mars arrive on Earth to kidnap mothers and bring them home to their planet. Dan Fogler, Joan Cusack, Elizabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, Kevin Cahoon and Tom Everett Scott provide voices; Simon Wells directs and co-writes.
''Rango'' PG, 1:47, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Johnny Depp reteams with "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinsky for this wiggy, offbeat Western comedy that has more in common with"High Noon," "Chinatown," Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns and Depp's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" than with your usual cartoon. Unrelentlessly clever in dialogue and visual effects, it features a would-be actor who happens to be a lizard, who somehow becomes the sheriff of the Old West town of Dirt. Not only does he have to solve the mystery of who's stealing the town's water, but he also has to prove himself an archetypical hero in a script that will go right over the kids' heads, but will provide nonstop diversions for film fans. Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina, Ray Winstone, Stephen Root, Claudia Black, Abigail Breslin and Ned Beatty provide voices for the ragtag co-stars. Recommended.
"Soul Surfer" PG, 2:00, Kaahumanu 6, Kukui Mall 4 and Front Street Theaters.
Bethany Hamilton's inspiring true story, well-known in Hawaii where it continues to take place, comes to the screen with AnnaSophia Robb playing the surfing heroine. A 2003 attack by a
14-foot tiger shark may have taken her arm, but not her spirit, as she was back in the water a month later competing in a professional surfing contest. Now 21, she still is. Carrie Underwood plays Bethany's youth group leader in this story that also touches on the deep faith of the Hamilton family. Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt co-star as dad and mom; Sean McNamara directs and co-writes.
"Source Code" PG-13, 1:33, Maui Mall Megaplex and Front Street Theaters; ends tonight at Kukui Mall 4 .
Jake Gyllenhaal is the latest action hero to find himself dazed and confused - not having a clue what's going on, actually - in this sci-fi action thriller directed by Duncan Jones. He plays an Army captain decorated for his service in Afghanistan who wakes up on a commuter train traveling with beautiful Michelle Monaghan, who acts like she knows him better than he knows her. And that's only the beginning of the brain-tickling puzzle as the brings the audience along on his time-warping mission to figure out who he is and what's going on. Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright co-star. Recommended.
"Sucker Punch" PG:13, 1:09, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Pretty girls weilding samurai swords in virtual warfare could be every teenage boy's dream. "Sucker Punch" makes the dream come true onscreen, by following Babydoll (Emily Browning) and four other young girls (Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung) in a battle against their captors, which blurs the lines between a perilous dream world and an even darker reality. Punches, kicks, gunfights, mascara and midriffs abound in the tale of freedom found within the depths of imagination - a message that finds approval with possibly more than just the Comic-Con crowd. Zack Snyder directs.
"Your Highness" R, 1:57, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinemas.
James Franco and Danny McBride ride the Pineapple Express back to the Middle Ages to play slackers in shining armor in this stoner comedy. Their mission is to rescue the ravishing but abducted Zooey Deschanel from the clutches of bad sorcerer Justin Theroux, with some help from ye olde archer babe Natalie Portman. Gordon Green directs, throwing in raunchy anachronisms and drug jokes wherever possible.
n Times in the movie ads are subject to change on the weekend. For up-to-date movie time changes visit www.mauigateway.com/~ rw/movie/online.
