July 3, 2009 - The Austin Chronicle

FILM | L I S TINGS JENNIFER ANISTON STEVE ZAHNwDRAG ME TO HELL D: Sam Raimi;with Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver,Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza, ChelcieRoss, Reggie Lee. (PG-13, 99 min.)Fanboys have waited patiently for Raimito return to the “splatstick” horror genrehe more or less invented with the Evil Deadtrilogy. Drag Me to Hell never quite hits thepsychotronic heights of Evil Dead II – Raimi’sworking with a PG-13 rating this time – but,in the interim, the director’s ability to createnerve-racking suspense and jarring shocks hasbeen honed to a razor’s edge. This film moveswith the herky-jerky gait of a spook-house trolleycar, rocketing along for whole sequencesand then punctuating them with shock cutsand tinnitus-inducing Foley cues that’ll haveaudiences wishing they had borrowed a pairof grandma’s Depends. Raimi co-wrote thescript with his brother Ivan in the downtimebetween Spider-Man films, and the story isas basic a terror tale as they come. Raimi’spairing of Three Stooges-style physical comedywith moments of pure gross-out schtick createsone of the most satisfying horror films indecades. (05/29/2009)★★★★ Metropolitanw– Marc SavlovFOOD, INC. D: Robert Kenner. (PG, 94 min.)Food, Inc. largely forgoes bombast, but youdon’t need graphic depictions of a kill floorto get the drift here, which is, more or less,that the American food industry is pretty muchfucked. One imagines that this eye-opening,stomach-queasing doc could have been artlesslydone and still been effective – the informationwithin is that vital – but Kenner hasproduced an engaging, cohesive narrative thatinforms but never scolds. It even heartbreaks,with explorations of one poverty- and diabetesravagedfamily’s struggle to eat healthfully andanother mother’s congressional battle, sparkedby her son’s death from tainted meat. Food,Inc. maintains a nothing-but-the-facts (you supplythe indignation) stance until the end, in anunnecessary call-to-arms that nudges the filminto agitprop territory. Frankly, the filmmakersaren’t giving the audience enough credit: Weget it. We are what we eat. And what we’vebeen eating has been engineered, assemblylined,and/or brutalized. How’s that for anappetite suppressant? (06/26/2009)– Kimberley Jones★★★★■Alamo Drafthouse South, ArborA GEM. STARTS FRIDAY, JULY 3 RD !REGAL ARBOR CINEMA@ GREAT HILLSJollyville Rd. N of Great Hills (800) FANDANGO 684#“A ROMANTICCOMEDY FOR OUR TIME. “Karen Durbin, ELLE“H!JENNIFER ANISTONGIVES THE BESTPERFORMANCE OF HER CAREER. “ Dan Jewel, LIFE & STYLEATOUCHING COMEDYMANAGEMENTFILM.COM To watch the trailer for Management on your mobile phone, text “mgmt” to 47201. All text messages and data streaming are subject to standard rates as determined by your contract with your mobile operator. We do not charge additional fees for this service. Trailer is powered by mobilepreviews @ http://mpviews.comTHE CHRONICLE’S BLOGTASTIC MASHUPaustinchronicle.com/chronicALAM_160416.PDFALAMO DRAFT-HOUSE CINEMA1/4VALAML_155764.PDFALAMO LAKE-CREEK1/6VGHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDSPAST D: Mark Waters; with MatthewGhosts indeed: This romantic comedy byMcConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas,Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Robert Forster, AnneArcher, Emma Stone. (PG-13, 100 min.)name alone attempts to make funny – notto mention culturally relevant – the kind ofswinging-dick misogyny that went out of fashionyears ago. Celebrity photographer Connor Mead(McConaughey) is a quantity-over-quality kindof guy. Love, he argues, is nothing more than“magical comfort food for the weak and uneducated,”a sentiment he lifted from his mentor,Uncle Wayne (Douglas), who is the Marley surrogatein this A Christmas Carol reimagining.Wayne ushers Connor through an evening ofreflection and reckoning, with the aim of nudgingConnor back into the arms of his first love,Jenny (Garner, with negligible screen time).Wayne is a quaint relic – not nearly as amusingas the filmmakers seem to think he is – butharmless enough. Not so with McConaughey’swolfish Connor. (Also, make-up and wardrobehave done him no favors, with his Easy-Baketan, attack of the Crest Whitestrips, and tooliteralinterpretation of Connor’s oiliness.)(05/01/2009) – Kimberley Jones★★■Movies 8HORTON FOOTE TRIBUTE –– JULY 2-3To Kill aMockingbird (1962)Adaptation of Harper Lee’s novelTHU AT 9; FRI AT 7:15TenderMercies (1983)Screenplay by Horton FooteTHU AT 7; FRI AT 9:50EPIC OF ISRAEL –– JULY 5Exodus (1960)Directed by Otto PremingerSUN AT 2 & 7NEWMAN—BOTH SIDES OF THE LAW –– JULY 7-8Cool Hand Luke (1967)TUE: Pre-show hard-boiled eggeating contest. Prizes awarded!TUE AT 7; WED AT 9:25Harper (1966)Paul Newman as private eye “Harper”TUE AT 9:30; WED AT 7ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS 3D(PG)Fri. & Sat.10:00 10:30 12:10 12:40 2:20 2:50 4:30 5:00 6:50 7:10 9:00 9:20 11:45 11:55Sun. - Thu. 10:00 10:30 12:10 12:40 2:20 2:50 4:30 5:00 6:50 7:10 9:00 9:20PUBLIC ENEMIES (R) Fri. & Sat. 10:10 1:10 4:05 7:00 9:55 11:35Sun. - Thu. 10:10 1:10 4:05 7:00 9:55 TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN(PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 10:3011:00 12:30 2:10 2:45 3:45 5:20 7:00 7:15 8:35 10:15 10:25 11:50Sun. - Thu. 10:30 11:00 12:30 2:10 2:45 3:45 5:20 7:00 7:15 8:35 10:15 10:25MY SISTER'S KEEPER (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 10:00 12:15 2:35 4:55 7:20 9:45THE PROPOSAL (PG–13)Fri. & Sat. 11:35 2:00 4:25 7:00 9:25 11:45Sun. - Thu. 11:35 2:00 4:25 7:00 9:25UP (PG) Fri. & Sat. 11:30 2:05 4:30 7:25 9:50 11:50Sun. - Thu. 11:30 2:05 4:30 7:25 9:50THE HANGOVER(R) Fri. & Sat. 10:05 12:15 2:30 4:45 7:10 9:25 11:50Sun. - Thu. 10:05 12:15 2:30 4:45 7:10 9:25a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m JULY 3, 2009 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 71