Films
Capsule reviews with star ratings are written by reviewers for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Opening today:
Couples Retreat
Three couples are forced to participate in therapy sessions at a tropical resort. Running time: 1:54
Rating: PG-13 (language, sexual content) Hayden: 1:15, 3:45, 6:15, 8:45. NorthTown Mall: 1:15, 4:05, 7:30, 10:10. Post Falls: 1:15, 3:25, 5:40, 7:55. River Park Square: 10:45 a.m., 1:30, 2, 4:15, 4:45, 7, 7:30, 9:45, 10:15. Riverstone: 11:15 a.m., 2, 4:40, 7:30, 10:15. Spokane Valley Mall: noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10. Village Centre: 11:45 a.m., 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40.
Lord, Save Us from Your Followers
Running time: 1:40
Rating: PG-13 (sensuality, violence) Spokane Valley Mall: 12:30, 2:50, 7:05, 9:30.
The September Issue
Filmmaker R.J. Cutler follows Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour as she prepares for the fall issue. Running time: 1:30
Rating: PG-13 (language) River Park Square: 10:30 a.m., 12:50, 3:20, 5:40, 8, 10:15.
Continuing:
9
••1/2 This visually rich but narratively destitute animation is set in a post-apocalyptic world where burlap rag-dolls, each with a number instead of a name, battle a mechanical “Beast.” The film betrays its origins as a short padded to feature length. Running time: 1:19
Rating: PG-13 (scary images, violence) Hayden: 1:20, 3:10, 5:15, 7:05, 8:50. NorthTown Mall: 11:25 a.m., 1:55, 4:55, 7:35, 9:45. River Park Square: 11:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:30, 6:35, 9. Spokane Valley Mall: 12:20, 2:35, 4:35. Village Centre: 11:10 a.m., 1:10, 3:10.
All About Steve
•1/2 Not really about Steve, but about Mary (Sandra Bullock), an insufferably kooky crossword puzzle constructor who starts stalking the news-cameraman title character (Bradley Cooper) across the country. Strained screwball comedy ensues. Running time: 1:39
Rating: PG-13 (sexual content) Riverstone: 11:40 a.m., 2:40, 6:50, 9:25. Spokane Valley Mall: 11:45 a.m., 2:05, 4:25, 6:55, 9:15. Village Centre: 11:45 a.m., 2, 4:15, 6:30, 8:50.
Amazon
Filmmaker Kieth Merrill journeys through rain forests to follow the route of the Amazon River. Running time: 39
Rating: IMAX (Riverfront Park): 1, 3, 5.
Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore explores the economic meltdown and the bailout of private financial institutions. Running time: 1:57
Rating: R (language) NorthTown Mall: 12:30, 3:35, 7:15, 10:20. River Park Square: 11:50 a.m., 3, 6:15, 9:20. Riverstone: 11:30 a.m., 4, 6:55, 9:45.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Townspeople become overwhelmed when an overabundance of food falls from the sky. Running time: 1:30
Rating: PG (language) Hayden: 1, 3, 5:05, 7, 8:55. NorthTown Mall: 11:15 a.m., 1:25, 4:20, 7:20, 9:35. Post Falls: 1:45, 3:45, 5:45, 7:45. River Park Square: 11:55 a.m., 2:20, 4:45, 7:05, 9:10. Riverstone: 11:45 a.m., 2:35, 4:55, 7:10, 9:35. Spokane Valley Mall: 12:35, 2:55, 5:10, 7:20, 9:50.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 3D
Village Centre: 11 a.m., 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.
Creature From the Black Lagoon
•• Part of the 1954 creature-feature boom, this B-flick features what happens when a scientific expedition exploring the Amazon comes across a prehistoric man-beast who falls in love with Julie Adams. Pure camp, “Creature” for years was a staple of Friday-night horror television - which is where it belongs, as part of the late, lamented Mystery Science Theater 3000 series. Running time: 1:19
Rating: G Garland: midnight
District 9
South Africa assigns a restricted area for extraterrestrial refugees. Running time: 1:51
Rating: R (bloody violence, language) River Park Square: 10:50 a.m., 1:35, 4:10, 6:55, 9:35.
Fame
•• The talented students at the New York High School for Performing Arts are the focus of this remake. Running time: 1:47
Rating: PG (language, sexual situations, teen drinking, thematic material) NorthTown Mall: 11:10 a.m., 1:40, 4:10, 6:50, 9:40. River Park Square: 5:20, 7:50, 10:10. Riverstone: 1:40, 4:15, 7:05, 9:40. Spokane Valley Mall: 12:10, 3:05, 6:50, 9:35. Village Centre: 12:10, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:30.
Forces of Nature
Natural disasters are the focus of this IMAX film, namely volcanoes, earthquakes and tornadoes. Never has the power of a volcanic eruption seemed more in-your-face awesome. Running time: 40
Rating: (intense action violence, language, some sexual content) IMAX (Riverfront Park): noon, 2, 4.
Gamer
A death-row inmate (Gerard Butler) must battle other prisoners in a weekly online game. Running time: 1:35
Rating: R (language, nudity, sexual content, brutal violence) Riverstone: 11:10 a.m., 2:25, 4:45, 7:25, 9:55.
The Hangover
••• Four guys go to Vegas for a bachelor party, and mayhem and memory-loss ensue. A loopy farce from the warped mind that brought you “Old School,” with a scene-stealing performance from indie comedy dude Zach Galifianakis. Running time: 1:39
Rating: R (nudity, language, sexual content, drug material) Garland: 10:10. River Park Square: 11:45 a.m., 2:10, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
••• Slower and talkier than its predecessors, but not in a bad way, “HP6” is a bubbling cauldron of hormonal angst, as Harry, Hermione and Ron contend with Draco, the Death Eaters and the evil Professor Snape and with their respective amorous urges. Like a high school romance, only with wands, spells and potions. Running time: 2:33
Rating: PG (language, sensuality, scary images, violence) Garland: 2:05, 7:05. River Park Square: 10:40 a.m., 2. Spokane Valley Mall: 11:10 a.m., 2:20, 6, 9:20.
The Informant!
••• Steven Soderbergh’s truth-based film about a compulsive liar wavers uneasily between corporate thriller and screwball comedy, with Matt Damon as an agribusiness exec who blows a whistle and his own horn at the same time. Running time: 1:48
Rating: R (language) NorthTown Mall: 1:10, 3:45, 6:40, 10:15. River Park Square: 11:30 a.m., 2:05, 4:20, 7:20, 10. Riverstone: 1:35, 4:10, 6:45, 9:20. Spokane Valley Mall: 11:55 a.m., 3:05, 7:10, 9:40. Village Centre: 11:45 a.m., 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45.
Inglourious Basterds
•• Quentin Tarantino’s tonally schizoid Jewish revenge fantasy rewrites World War II history to give Brad Pitt and company a chance to do a lot of jive riffing, while the movie mashes up the combat exploits of the “Dirty Dozen,” the madcap slapstick of “Duck Soup” and “Hostel” gore. Running time: 2:32
Rating: R (sexuality, language, violence) Hayden: 1:30, 5:10, 8:10. River Park Square: 11:40 a.m., 3:15, 6:20, 9:55. Riverstone: 11:35 a.m., 2:55, 7:45. Village Centre: 12:10, 3:10, 6:15, 9:15.
The Invention of Lying
In a land where falsehood is unknown, a writer (Ricky Gervais) learns to lie for personal gain. Running time: 1:39
Rating: PG-13 (drug reference, language, sexual material) River Park Square: 10:50 a.m., 1:45, 4:15, 6:55, 9:30. Riverstone: 11:05 a.m., 2:05, 4:35, 7:20, 10:05. Spokane Valley Mall: 12:05, 2:40, 5:05, 7:35, 10:05.
It Might Get Loud
Rock guitar icons Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White discuss their music and influences. Running time: 1:37
Rating: PG (brief language) River Park Square: 11:10 a.m., 1:40, 4:10, 7:15, 9:35.
Jennifer’s Body
••1/2 As a horror movie, about a high-school maneater (Megan Fox), it doesn’t fully deliver. But as a comic allegory of what its like to be an adolescent girl who comes into sexual and social power that she doesn’t know what the heck to do with, it is a minor classic. With Amanda Seyfried. Running time: 1:41
Rating: R (bloody violence, drug use, language, sexuality) Village Centre: 5:15, 7:30, 9:50.
Julie & Julia
•••1/2 In Nora Ephron’s captivating film about Julia Child and her influence, Meryl Streep’s performance as Child is cuisine disguised as comfort food, a complex preparation yielding effects both broadly entertaining and subtly moving. With Amy Adams as Julie Powell, the cook-blogger besotted by Child, plus Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina. Running time: 2:04
Rating: PG-13 (language, sensuality) Post Falls: 1:30, 4:30, 7:15. River Park Square: 10:30 a.m., 1:20, 4:05, 6:50, 9:40. Spokane Valley Mall: 6:35, 9:25. Village Centre: 11:15 a.m., 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15.
Love Happens
•• Aaron Eckhardt as a self-help guru who belatedly swallows the advice he gives to others and Jennifer Aniston as the florist he’d like to help himself to. A melancholy character study that announces itself as a romantic comedy. Running time: 1:49
Rating: PG-13 (language, sexual references) NorthTown Mall: 11:30 a.m., 2, 4:35, 7:05, 10:05. River Park Square: 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:20, 7, 9:50. Riverstone: 1:45, 4:25, 7:15, 9:50. Village Centre: 11:15 a.m., 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15.
Pandorum
Astronauts awaken to a terrifying reality aboard a seemingly abandoned spaceship. Running time: 1:48
Rating: R (language, horror violence) NorthTown Mall: 1:45, 5:05, 7:50, 10:25. Village Centre: 12:20, 5, 9:40.
Surrogates
Murder jolts a utopian society in which people live vicariously through robots. Running time: 1:28
Rating: PG-13 (drug-related scene, disturbing images, violence, language, sexuality) Hayden: 1:10, 3:15, 5:20, 7:15, 9:10. NorthTown Mall: 12:40, 2:50, 5:10, 7:45, 10. Post Falls: 1:25, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30. River Park Square: 10:45 a.m., 1:10, 3:30, 6:15, 9:15. Riverstone: 11:10 a.m., 1:55, 4:20, 6:40, 9:15. Spokane Valley Mall: 11:50 a.m., 2, 4:10, 6:45, 9. Village Centre: noon, 2:20, 4:40, 6:50, 9.
The Time Traveler’s Wife
•• A kooky, head-spinning romantic mess, adapted from the best-selling novel, with Eric Bana as the time-traveling hunk and Rachel McAdams as the starry-eyed miss who has loved him since she was 6. Remarkably dull for such a wild, woolly idea. Running time: 1:47
Rating: PG-13 (disturbing images, nudity, sexuality) Post Falls: 1:30, 3:35, 5:40, 7:40. Village Centre: 2:40, 7:20.
Toy Story & Toy Story 2 3D Double Feature
Rating: G (scary images) River Park Square: 11:30 a.m., 3:15, 7:30.
Toy Story 2 in Disney Digital 3-D
Running time: 1:32
Rating: G Village Centre: 12:40, 4:20, 8:20.
Toy Story in Disney Digital 3-D
Running time: 1:20
Rating: G NorthTown Mall: 11 a.m., 3, 7. Riverstone: 11 a.m., 3, 7. Spokane Valley Mall: 11 a.m., 3, 7. Village Centre: 11 a.m., 2:40, 6:30.
Up
•••• This buoyant Pixar film about a childless grouch (voice of Ed Asner) and a fatherless boy (Jordan Nagai) who float off to the wilds of Venezuela in a house lashed to helium-filled balloons darts unpredictably between comedy and adventure, defying gravity and age alike. Running time: 1:29
Rating: PG (peril) Garland: noon, 5:05.
Whip It
A rebellious teenager (Ellen Page) from small-town Texas joins a roller-derby team in Austin. Running time: 1:51
Rating: PG-13 (crude dialogue, drug material, language, sexual content) NorthTown Mall: 12:55, 3:30, 6:30, 9:50. River Park Square: 11 a.m., 1:55, 4:35, 7:15, 10. Riverstone: 11:20 a.m., 2:10, 4:50, 7:35, 10:10. Village Centre: 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 4:40, 7, 9:20.
Zombieland
Survivors (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg) of a zombie apocalypse join forces against the undead. Running time: 1:27
Rating: R (language, zombie horror violence/gore) Hayden: 1:05, 3:05, 5, 6:55, 9. NorthTown Mall: 12:45, 3:10, 5:20, 8, 10:30. Post Falls: 1:20, 3:20, 5:10, 7:05. River Park Square: 10:35 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:50, 1:45, 3:10, 3:55, 5:25, 6:40, 7:40, 9, 9:55. Riverstone: 11:25 a.m., 2:15, 4:30, 7:40, 10. Spokane Valley Mall: 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:15. Village Centre: 11:30 a.m., 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30.