“I'll ask you one more time: Are you Governor Schwarzenegger?" Christian Bale in Terminator: Salvation (see Opening)

Weekly Film Listings - May 21-27

Due to the holiday, not all film updates were available at press time. Please call theatres to confirm titles and times.

OPENING

Terminator: Salvation - (Capitol/SilverCity) Can McG (Charlie’s Angels) and YouTube potty-mouth Christian Bale reboot the fourth in this increasingly tired series about killer cyborgs and an imminent global apocalypse? Starts Fri.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - (Odeon/Caprice/ Star)Ben Stiller reprises his role as a hapless yet brave security guard, in a wild comedy sequel co-starring Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Amy Adams and Eugene Levy. Starts Fri.

Dance Flick - (Odeon) The sometimes funny Wayans Brothers spoof—what else?—dance flicks.

CONTINUING

★★½ Angels & Demons -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice/Star) Combining apocalyptic antimatter and a vengeful secret sect known as the Illuminati, this sequel to the wildly lucrative Da Vinci Code is fast paced but repetitive as Tom Hanks once again penetrates religious secrets to unearth all-too-human (and nasty) truths. See review.

★★¾ Earth - (SilverCity/Roxy, 7:15 daily, 9:00 Fri.-Sat. only, 2:00 Sat.-Sun.) This big-screen version of the TV show Planet Earth follows several animal families on their annual migration. The visuals are great, but the kitschy narration is nearly unbearable. Basically, IMAX—with a bigger screen and smaller storyline—is the primo way to get your animal groove on.

★½ Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - (Odeon/SilverCity) The increasingly shallow Matthew McConaughey is well cast as a Lothario who is visited by Christmas Carol-style ghosts who torment him with visions of his childhood sweetheart’s marriage. This is malignant sludge, alternately vulgar and sentimental. Costarring Jennifer Garner and Michael Douglas.

★★★¼ Monsters vs. Aliens - (Capitol/SilverCity) It’s not a classic, but this 3D extravaganza—featuring some cuddly “monsters” that get hauled out of lock-up in order to do battle with a space invader—is fast and funny. With the vocal talents of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Keifer Sutherland and Stephen Colbert.

Mothers & Daughters - (Capitol) Vancouver filmmaker Carl Bessai explores the complicated lives of six modern women.

★★½ Obsessed - (Capitol) A successful, happily married businessman finds his life turned upside down after he starts getting stalked by a pretty secretary who briefly temped for him. This is a glossy, paint-by-numbers thriller of the Fatal Attraction school.

★★★ The Pool - (Odeon) An American director went to India to film this low-key tale of an illiterate 18-year-old who gets involved in the lives of a wealthy family.

17 Again - (Capitol/SilverCity) Not this again! Once more, we get to watch a guy suffering from a mid-life crisis who magically returns to high school to get a second chance at trying not to grow up as a loser.

★★★¼ The Soloist - (Capitol/Uni 4) This true story features an L.A. journalist (Robert Downey Jr., predictably witty and brilliant) who loses all his objectivity when he begins to profile a mentally ill street person (Jamie Foxx) who used to be a brilliant cellist from Juilliard. Far from the predictable “uplifting” story you’d expect from Hollywood, and directed with elegance (albeit sometimes too studied and poetical) by Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice).

★★★★ Star Trek -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) Another “origins” flick, this one showing us younger versions of James Kirk, Spock, and all the other inter-galactic icons who call the USS Enterprise home. Directed by J.J. Abrams (Lost) with humour, pace and a rollicking sense of style: it’s the Magic Flute of space operas!

★★★ State of Play - (Odeon) Based on an acclaimed BBC miniseries, this political thriller follows a pair of reporters competing with the police to discover who murdered a congressman’s mistress—and why. The great cast includes Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck.

★★★ X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) The great Hugh Jackman gets a lot of screen time in which to slash with his claws and do other anti-social stuff with a host of other mean-minded mutants.



Cosmic Voyage - (10am, 4:00, 8:00) Let IMAX take you on an inter-galactic voyage to the farthest reaches of our mysterious, beautiful universe.

★★ Extreme - (1:00, 8:00) The latest on the ultimate big screen features radical athletes who like to risk death by surfing 45-foot waves, skiing down near-vertical slopes, and climbing frozen waterfalls.

Journey to Mecca -(11am, 2:00, 5:00, 7:00) Both historical and present-day Muslim are depicted undertaking the Hajj, an annual pilgrimmage to Mecca that is the largest religious ritual of its kind in the world.

★★★½ Ocean Oasis - (noon, 3:00, 6:00) This film takes you swimming with dolphins and manta rays in Mexico’s Sea of Cortes, then goes soaring above the nearby tropical desert of the Baja. This is a lyrical immersion into a special part of the natural world.

SCREENINGS

Asian Heritage Month - Celebrate this special month at Movie Monday this weekend with special guest India-born but now award-winning Canadian filmmaker and York film prof Ali Kazimi, who does a Q&A;for all screenings. It starts with Continuous Journey, an inquiry into the largely ignored history of Canada's exclusion of the South Asians by a little known immigration policy called the Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908, 7pm SATURDAY at MM HQ, 2326 Trent. Then Kazimi will do an artist talk with clips from his films from 2-5:30 pm SUNDAY at Cinevic, 2022 Douglas. $20 members/$30 general. 250.389.1590. And after that, there's a screening of his Narmada: A Valley Rises, which follows 6,000 farmers and tribal people as they embark on an epic 200-kilometre 1990 march from the state of Madhya Pradesh to the site of a nearly completed dam in Gujarat, which will flood the valley. 7pm SUNDAY back at Movie Monday HQ. Whew!

Movie Monday - screens Shooting Indians: A Journey with Jeffrey Thomas. Movie Monday concludes its three-day salute to Asian Heritage Month with this intriguing appraisal of the legacy of famed photographer Edward S. Curtis as seen through the eyes of a contemporary aboriginal cameraman. Showtimes are 6:30 pm MONDAYS. 2326 Trent. By donation. 595-FLIC. moviemonday.ca

CINECENTA

Cinecenta at UVic screens its films in the Student Union Building. Tickets are available 40 minutes prior to showtime. Info: 721-8365. cinecenta.com

★★★¼ Che, Part 1 -(Wed.-Thurs., May 20-21: 7:00, 9:30) Based on the account written by Che Guevara, this is the first half of Steven Soderbergh’s scattershot and documentary-seeming account of the Argentine asthmatic who joined forces with Fidel Castro to start the Cuban Revolution back in the late ‘50s.

“Che”-A-Thon -(Fri., May 22: 6:45, 9:10) One night only, see either Che film at the regular price, or take in the bargain double bill.

★★★★ Casablanca -(Sat., May 23: 7:10, 9:15) It’s Bogart and Bergman in the surpassingly romantic war-time classic about lost love and a rediscovered sense of idealism. Plus, live actors perform a skit as Bogart and Bergmen in a fundraiser for Capital City Volunteers.

Before Tomorrow -(Sun.-Mon., May 24-25: 7:00 only) Set in the mid-19th century, this award-winning film portrays the bond between a grandmother and grandchild as it explores the Inuit culture on the eve of profound change.

★★★¼ Che, Part 2 - (Tues.-Thurs., May 26-28: 7:00, 9:30) Steven Soderbergh and Benicio Del Toro continue the saga of iconic revolutionary Che Guevara. After helping win the Cuban Revoltion in Part One, Che eventually runs out of luck while trying to foment rebellion in Bolivia.