Nia Vardolis visits her big fat Greek roots in My Life in Ruins (See Opening)

Weekly Film Listings June 4-10

OPENING

Land of the Lost - (Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) Will Ferrell plays a wacky scientist who gets sucked into a “time vortex” and ends up in a prehistoric era being pursued by dinosaurs and other protein seekers. Ten-year-old boys will be thrilled. Starts Fri.

The Hangover -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4) Las Vegas provides the setting for this wild comedy about three friends on a bachelor blast with a best buddy who’s about to get married—unfortunately, when they wake up the next morning there is lots of chaos but no best buddy. Ooops! The yuks start Fri.

My Life in Ruins -(Odeon) Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) actually heads to Greece for this comedy about a female travel agent who discovers the bittersweet wonder of romance while on tour. Starts Fri.

★★★ State of Play -(Roxy, 9:00) 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.

CONTINUING

17 Again -(7:15) 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.

Africa: the Serengeti - (10am, 1:00, 4:00, 7:00) Out of the vault comes this classic IMAX film celebrating the largest animal migration on earth, 1.5 million critters thundering across 500 miles of the Serengeti in an annual search for water and the promise of new life.

★★½ Angels & Demons -(Capitol/SilverCity) Combining apocalyptic antimatter and a vengeful secret sect, this sequel to the wildly lucrative Da Vinci Code is fast paced but repetitive.

★ Dance Flick -(Capitol) Those wackily vulgar spoofmeisters the Wayans Brothers are back, this time doing a truly lousy job of trashing teen dance movies like Step Up.

★★★½ Drag Me to Hell -(Odeon/SilverCity) Before Spider-Man, writer-director Sam Raimi was an auteur of horror flicks and he returns to his roots with this ghastly—and hilarious—riff on the old “gypsy curse” trope. This is a marvelously well-made B-movie that loves wallowing in its own icky love of schlocky splatter. See review.

★½ Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - (Odeon) 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.

★★ Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian -(Odeon/SilverCity/Caprice) Ben Stiller reprises his role as a hapless yet brave security guard, in a noisy and less-than-charming comedy sequel co-starring Owen Wilson, Robin Williams and Amy Adams.

★★★¼ The Soloist - (Capitol) 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 by Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice).

★★★★ Star Trek -(Odeon/SilverCity/Uni 4) 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:

★★½ Terminator: Salvation - (Capitol/SilverCity) It might be time terminate this reboot of the increasingly tired series about killer cyborgs and an imminent global apocalypse.

★★★½ Up -(Capitol/SilverCity/Uni 4/Caprice) The latest Pixar triumph is this animated feature about a crusty old geezer who, when faced with the prospect of being forced into a care home, literally floats off into a series of wacky adventures in South America. Not Pixar’s best, but still an admirably original combination of hilarity and heart.

CINECENTA

★★★ X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (Odeon/SilverCity) 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.

★★★★ Hunger -(Wed.-Thurs., June 3-4: 7:00, 9:10) The fatal hunger strike of IRA martyr Bobby Sands is the subject of this harrowing, intense, philosophical and even-handed look at the state of the Irish “troubles” in the early 1980s.

★★½ Two Lovers -(Fri.-Sat., June 5-6: 7:00, 9:10) This is a resolutely old-fashioned romantic melodrama set in present-day Brooklyn that stars Gwynneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix as two troubled souls who are two-thirds of a romantic triangle with lots of issues.

★★★ Act of God -(Sun.-Sat., June 7-13: 7:10, 9:00) The latest from Victoria-raised documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) is an examination into how survivors of seemingly random lightning strikes have changed their views of the world. See review and article.

IMAX

Journey to Mecca -(11am, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00) Both historical and present-day Muslims 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

Homeless Nation Night-Homelessnation.org and MediaNet present three short videos by locals: Josef Krancevic’s Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Richard Boyce’s Homeless Nation, Alive in Victoria and Monique Cartesan’s Renoviction, with filmmakers in attendance. 7pm THURSDAY at the Wood Room side entrance of the Conservatory of Music, 907 Johnson at Quadra. By donation. homelessnation.org

Movie Monday - screens That’s My Time. This documentary looks at Canadian comedy writer and standup comic Irwin Barker, whose imminent death from cancer has become the inspiration for a surprisingly humorous look at his unfortunate situation. Showtimes are 6:30 pm MONDAYS. 2326 Trent. By donation. 595-FLIC. moviemonday.ca

Antimatter-June 5 is the final deadline for this 12th annual showcase of experimental filmmaking. No length limit, no categories, any genre or style: Also accepting proposals for expanded cinema and media-based performance. Films must have been completed after Jan. 1, 2007. $25 entry fee. antimatter.ws.