MOVIES

óè RECOMMENDED

WE ARE LEGION: THE STORY OF THE HACKTIVISTS 'Ö'Ö'Ö 1/2

Cinematheque. 14A

An enlightening and thoroughly entertaining doc about how a loosely

affiliated group of computer hackers became a formidable political

force under the protective banner of "Anonymous."

óè STARTING TOMORROW

FLIGHT

Grant Park, McGillivray, McGillivray VIP, Polo Park. 18A

Denzel Washington stars as an airline pilot who has to fight for his professional career after an accident threatens to expose his secret as a prodigious substance abuser. Directed by Robert Zemeckis.

THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS

Grant Park, McGillivray, Polo Park, Towne. 18A

A hyper-violent martial arts movie from novice director The RZA starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu and presented by Quentin Tarantino.

THE PAPERBOY

Globe. 18A

This skeevy southern Gothic legal drama stars Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron as brothers investigating the legitimacy of a conviction against an accused cop killer (John Cusack) at he behest of his dubious pen pal/fiancée (Nicole Kidman).

WRECK-IT RALPH

Grant Park, Kildonan Place, McGillivray, Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne. G

A video-game villain (voiced by John C. Reilly) in a primitive arcade game goes rogue when he escapes his game to prove his mettle in other, more sophisticated games in this funny, inventive Disney adventure.

ALEX CROSS

Kildonan Place. 14A

Tyler Perry drops the Madea dress and assumes the role of the titular police psychologist once played by Morgan Freeman (Kiss the Girls) in this thriller co-starring Matthew Fox as a professional assassin who earns Cross's enmity. But Perry doesn't make the transition gracefully, and it doesn't help that the movie, hamhandedly directed by Rob Cohen, glissandos through every cliché in the genius-cop-vs.-creative-psycho songbook. 'Ö'Ö

ARGO

Grant Park, McGillivray, McGillivreay VIP, Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne. 14A

Ben Affleck doesn't let facts get in the way of a good story with this based-on-fact tale of a CIA agent sent to rescue six American embassy workers trapped in the Canadian consulate during the hostage crisis in Iran by posing as a film producer scouting for Persian locations for a science fiction movie. The film shifts the focus of heroism away from the Canadians and onto American intelligence operatives who -- ahem -- kind of caused the mess in the first place. But as long as you remember that "based on a true story" is not the same things as "a true story," Argo is a fun ride. 'Ö'Ö'Ö1/2

CHASING MAVERICKS

Grant Park, Polo Park, Towne. G

When a young would-be surfer dude (Jonny Weston) discovers one of the most challenging waves on the planet is accessible from his Santa Cruz home, he turns to his neighbour, legendary surfer Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) to train for it. While the movie tends toward the cute, the mentor-student relationship works, and the surfing footage is awesome. 'Ö'Ö1/2 (Reviewed by Roger Moore)

CLOUD ATLAS

Globe, Grant Park, McGillivray, Polo Park. 14A

A film adaptation of the challenging novel by David Mitchell in which events and characters from the past, present and future are all tied together by invisible bonds. Stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Grant each play multiple roles in multiple plot strands. If you're 20 and high, the platitudes here may seem profound. Anyone else in his or her right might should recognize it as a bloated, pseudo-intellectual self-indulgent slog. 'Ö'Ö (Reviewed by Christy Lemire)

FRANKENWEENIE

Polo Park. G

Tim Burton directs this stop-motion animated adventure in 3D black-and-white about a young boy named Victor who decides to raise his beloved dog from the dead. Frankenweenie feels less than fresh given all the films Burton has produced in this template. But as with its titular dead pup, just because it's not fresh doesn't mean it's not, in its way, decidedly lovable. 'Ö'Ö'Ö1/2

FUN SIZE

Kildonan Place, McGillivray, Towne. PG

A teen (Victoria Justice) is horrified when the younger brother she was supposed to babysit goes missing, sparking a riotous Halloween adventure. The script is sprinkled with surprises, some of them rude and some downright crude. But under the helm of director Josh Schwartz, Fun Size waddles along at half speed, never building momentum. 'Ö'Ö (Reviewed by Roger Moore)

HERE COMES THE BOOM

Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne. PG

Raising cash to save his friend's job, a tubby high school teacher (Kevin James) becomes a mixed martial-arts sensation. Yes, it is every bit as ridiculous as it looks, but the makers embrace the fact that they're essentially doing a live-action cartoon. The real flaws are the stabs at genuine moments and the humdrum romance as James slowly wins the heart of Salma Hayek. Yeah, like that's going to happen. 'Ö'Ö1/2 (Reviewed by David Germain)

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

Grant Park, Kildonan Place, McGillivray, Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne. G

This animated comedy posits a protective dad Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) whose resort for monsters has kept humans from his innocent daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), until a goofy human (voiced by Andy Samberg) blunders onto the property. This is mostly fun, and considering most of the voice cast also starred in Grown Ups, this represents a vast improvement, comedy-wise. 'Ö'Ö1/2

LOOPER

Grant Park, Kildonan Place, St. Vital. 14A

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a "looper," an assassin working with a time-travelling future Mafia who send their victims to him for disposal, a system that works out OK until he is suddenly confronted with his future self (Bruce Willis). Made up to look like a young Willis, Gordon-Levitt looks unnatural but this sci-fi noir from writer-director Rian Johnson is nevertheless a compellingly twisted tale. 'Ö'Ö'Ö1/2

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4

Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne. 14A

The fourth instalment of the perennial horror franchise follows a suburban family whose abode starts to show signs of haunting after they take in little boy from across the street. Fairly mild in tone and riffing on horror classics such as The Shining, Rosemary's Baby and Poltergeist, both the franchise's premise and its execution nevertheless remain rudimentary. 'Ö'Ö (Reviewed by Justin Lowe)

PITCH PERFECT

Grant Park, McGillivray, Polo Park, St. Vital. PG

A raucous comedy about a troubled college girl (Anna Kendrick) who joins an a cappella singing group at the insistence of her father, only to bond with a collection of musical oddballs. As an attempt to revive the magic of the comedy Bridesmaids, it's lacking, but the music and the supporting cast do pitch in to deliver a modestly fun time. 'Ö'Ö1/2

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

Globe. PG

Malik Bendjelloul's movie about a little-known folksinger named Rodriguez is easily the feel-good movie of the summer and promises to surprise even the most jaded cynic with its heart, humour and historical significance. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö (Reviewed by Katherine Monk)

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

McGillivray VIP, Polo Park. 18A

A struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) becomes entangled with the underworld when a couple of his friends (Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell) kidnap a gangster's pet Shih Tzu. With its blend of low-rent gangster cool, high-body-count hipster violence, smart-mouth dialogue, and a retro soundtrack at odds with the onscreen mayhem, this might have been a groundbreaking film -- in 1992. 'Ö'Ö'Ö (Reviewed by Cary Darling)

SILENT HILL: REVELATION

Kildonan Place, Polo Park, Towne. 18A

In this hallucinogenic horror sequel, a young woman (Adelaide Clemens) who has spent most of her life evading the malevolent forces of the hellish, haunted community of Silent Hill must finally go there when her adoptive father (Sean Bean) is kidnapped. Released for Halloween, this lacks the very thing that makes Halloween worthwhile -- it's no fun. 'Ö'Ö

SINISTER

Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne. 18A

A true-crime writer (Ethan Hawke) gets in over his head with supernatural terror when he moves his family into a murder house while researching a horrific crime. Co-writer-director Scott Derrickson skilfully builds the tension and Hawke earns his salary with an intense performance. But instead of achieving the desired climax, the story sadly devolves into tired horror-movie hokum. 'Ö'Ö1/2

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 1, 2012 C10