These are Maui Scene's mini-reviews, excerpts of wire service reviews and previews provided by studios and other sources.
Opens Friday
"Bullet To the Head" R, 1:31, Maui Mall Megaplex. and Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
Article Photos
Sylvester Stallone, left, and Jason Momoa in a scene from “Bullet to the Head,” directed by Walter Hill.
AP photo / Warner Bros. Pictures
Sylvester Stallone, Christian Slater and Oahu's Jason Momoa star in this action-crime thriller. After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington D.C. detective form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy. Walter Hill directs.
"Sisterakas" R, 1:40, Kaahumanu 6.
The childhoods of Bernice (Vice Ganda) and Detty (Ai-Ai Delas Alas) were world's apart, but they did have one thing in common: their father. Bernice's birth was caused by an infidelity. Detty grew up with a wealthy family, Bernice and his mother were left to fend for themselves. Then they meet and the story plays out.
"Warm Bodies" PG-13, 1:37, Maui Mall Megaplex; Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
John Malkovich stars with Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult. Director Jonathan Levine takes you on a comedic romp laced with horror and romance in this film about R (a highly unusual zombie), who saves Julie from an attack. The two form a relationship that sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.
*****
Still Playing
"Movie 43" R, 1:30, Kaahumanu 6.
A series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches hilarious and insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Directors include Elizabeth Banks and Steven Brill. The star-studded cast features Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman, Dennis Quaid, Seth MacFarland, Richard Gere and Uma Thurman.
"Hansel &?Gretel: Witch Hunters" R, 1:28, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Tommy Wirkola directs this new spin on the famous fairy tale, in which Hansel and Gretel are now bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star.
"Parker" R, 1:58, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Jennifer Lopez and Jason Statham star in this crime-laced thriller about a thief with a unique code of professional ethics. He is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.
"Broken City" R, 1:49, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Zones star in this crime-drama thriller. Director Allen Hughes takes the audience into a city rife with injustice as ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.
"The Last Stand" R, 1:47, Maui Mall Megaplex; Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker and Johnny Knoxville star in this action thriller about the leader of a drug cartel who busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff. The movie was directed by Jee-woon Kim.
"Mama" PG-13, 1:40, Lahaina Wharf Cinema (closes tonight) and Kaahumanu 6.
In this horror flick, "Mama" Director Andres Muschietti leads Jessica Chastain and Nikolai Coster Waldau as Annabel and Lucas, who are now faced with the challenge of having to raise his young nieces who were left alone in the forest for five years. But how alone were they?
"Wreck-It Ralph" PG, 1:48, Kaahumanu 6 (closes tonight).
This animated adventure stars John C. Reilley and laughs ensue. A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the arcade where he lives.
"Argo," R, 2:00, Kaahumanu 6 (closes tonight).
The Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-81 was a dire turning point in modern history. Based on a "declassified true story," director Ben Affleck handles this political thriller with intelligence, great period detail and a surprising amount of humor. The story begins as the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point and a mob takes 52 American embassy workers hostage. A CIA "exfiltration" specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans. Affleck stars, alongside Bryan Cranston and John Goodman.
"Gangster Squad" R, 1:53, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
Set in 1949 Los Angeles, ruthless Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and - if he has his way - every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop . . . except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart.
"A Haunted House" R, 1:26, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Young couple Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Keisha (Essence Atkins) move into their dream home, only to learn a demon also resides there. But it's not the house that's haunted, it's Malcolm's girlfriend who is possessed by a demon. Malcolm hires everyone from a priest to modern day ghostbusters to rid her of this unwelcome intruder, determined not to let the evil spirit ruin his relationship . . . or, more importantly, his sex life.
"Zero Dark Thirty" R, 2:37, Maui Mall Megaplex.
For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. "Zero Dark Thirty" reunites the Oscar-winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal ("The Hurt Locker") for the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man.
"The Impossible" PG-13, 1:54, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit in this true-life tale of surviving the tsunami in Thailand. Stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.
"Parental Guidance" PG, 1:40, Kaahumanu 6.
Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behaviors collide with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.
"Django Unchained" R, 2:02, Kaahumanu 6.
A former slave and a German bounty hunter become unlikely allies in the battle against a tyrannical plantation owner in this Western from director Quentin Tarantino. The all-star Hollywood cast features Jaime Foxx, Chris Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson.
"Les Miserables" R, 2:02, Kaahumanu 6.
Bille August directs this Rafael Yglesias adaptation of the 1862 classic by Victor Hugo. In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.
"This is 40" R, 2:14, Maui Mall Megaplex. (closes tonight)
Five years after writer/director Judd Apatow introduced us to Pete and Debbie in "Knocked Up," Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprise their roles as a husband and wife both approaching a milestone meltdown in this unfiltered, comedic look inside the life of an American family.
"Jack Reacher" PG-13, 2:10, Maui Mall Megaplex (closes this evening).
Director Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") brings Lee Child's Jack Reacher character to the big screen with this film starring Tom Cruise as the lone-wolf investigator on the hunt for a murderous sniper who shot five random victims. Also stars Robert Duvall.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" PG-13, 2:49, Kaahumanu 6.
Director Peter Jackson takes viewers on an edge-of-your-seat journey in this adventure fantasy that lasts for almost three hours. A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. Jackson's choice to shoot his epic three-part J.R.R. Tolkien prequel in the format that boosts the number of 48 frames per second to the 24 frames per second standard has some unusual effects.
"The Guilt Trip" PG-13, 1:35, Kaahumanu 6.
Seth Rogen plays inventor Andy Brewster, who is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime. A quick stop at his mom's (played by Barbra Streisand) house turns into an unexpected cross-country voyage with her along for the ride.
"Life of Pi," PG, 2:07, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Academy Award winner Ang Lee directed this adventure-drama starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Akil Hussain. A young man survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor . . . a fearsome Bengal tiger. Some call it the "next Avatar," for its breakthrough of 3D technology.
"Silver Linings Playbook" R, 2:02, Maui Mall Megaplex.
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems.
* Movie listings are subject to last-minute changes. For updates, visit www.mauigateway.com/~rw/movie/.
