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“The Princess Bride” — Director Rob Reiner breathes vividly colored cinematic life into William Goldman’s “The Princess Bride,” effectively evoking the wondrous, wide-eyed spirit of the witty 1973 novel. When a sick boy (Fred Savage) receives a visit from his doting grandfather (Peter Falk) who intends to read to him from his favorite book, he’s not exactly pleased to be extracted from his world of video games. However, his mood quickly changes as he, along with the viewer, is transported to a place out of time — to Florin, a kingdom in the ultimate imaginary land, complete with dashing heroes, cowardly princes, rhyming giants, shrieking eels, rodents of unusual size, fancy swordfights, and yes ... even some kissing. Part of the Munch & Movies series, the film will screen at 5:30 p.m. tonight at Compass Park in Bend. This is a free event. (PG)
What’s New
“Adam” — A tentative romance blossoms between a young man with Asperger’s (Hugh Dancy) and a young woman (Rose Byrne) touched by him. He lacks social skills and instincts, she coaches him, he begins to experience unfamiliar emotions. They make a pleasant couple, but the story is a little too tidy. With Amy Irving and Peter Gallagher as her parents. Rating: Two and a half stars. (PG-13)
“The Final Destination” — Nick O’Bannon (Bobby Campo) has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his friends to leave ... escaping seconds before Nick’s frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one — in increasingly gruesome ways — Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. This film was not screened in advance for critics. (R)
“Halloween II” — Evil comes home to roost as unstoppable killer Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) pursues injured Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) through Haddonfield’s hospital. This film was not screened in advance for critics. (R)
“Taking Woodstock” — Ang Lee’s entertaining film about the kid who made it all possible — in Woodstock, anyway — Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin), who leaves a New York City job to return to upstate New York and help his parents bail out their failing and shabby motel. After he arranges a permit for a rock festival to be held, history is made, and the film sees it through his eyes. With a winning supporting role for Liev Schreiber as the transvestite ex-Marine who volunteers as the motel’s chief of security. Rating: Three stars. (R)
Still Showing
“(500) Days of Summer” — Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) had Summer (Zooey Deschanel) in his life for 500 days and can’t accept that they were numbered. She had absolutely no interest in getting married. A delightful comedy of bittersweet romance, stylishly inventive, charmingly acted, that tries everything from a musical number to a black-and-white sequence to deal with a story that refuses to be a well-behaved romcom. Directed by Marc Webb. Rating: Four stars. (PG-13)
“Brüno” — The title character is a flamboyantly gay, deliberately provocative gay man who ambushes innocent bystanders in his desperate bid for celebrity. Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat”) shows nerve in placing himself in real situations in front of a rabid wrestling crowd and an outraged TV studio audience. Among those not in on the gag are congressman Ron Paul, who angrily flees an apparent seduction attempt. The needle on my internal Laugh Meter went haywire, bouncing between hilarity, appreciation, shock, admiration, disgust, disbelief and appalled incredulity. Rating: Three and a half stars. (R)
“District 9” — An alien spaceship hovers over Johannesburg, its occupants stranded and starving. They’re placed in a fenced-in district, where the locals fear and resent them. Looking like a cross between lobsters and grasshoppers, they’re sort of loathsome, but one human and one alien work together, in a mockumentary with apartheid parallels. Rating: Three stars. (R)
“G-Force” — A pleasant, inoffensive 3-D animated farce about a team of superspy guinea pigs who do battle with a mad billionaire who wants to conquer the Earth by programming all the home appliances made by his corporation to follow his instructions. Rating: Two and a half stars. (PG)
“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” — The film is an 118-minute animated film with sequences involving the faces and other body parts of human beings. It is sure to be enjoyed by those whose movie appreciation is defined by the ability to discern that moving pictures and sound are being employed to depict violence. Nevertheless, it is better than “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Rating: One and a half stars. (PG-13)
“The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” — A cheerfully, energetically vulgar comedy. Contains a lot of laughs and has studied Political Correctness only enough to make a list of groups to offend. It involves a failing car dealer (James Brolin) who calls in a hired gun (Jeremy Piven) and his team to move goods off the lot over the Fourth of July. With David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ving Rhames, Ed Helms and Charles Napier. Rating: Three stars. (R)
“The Hangover” — A very funny, very raunchy comedy about a disastrous bachelor party in Las Vegas. When the bridegroom (Justin Bartha) disappears, his buddies (Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms) search for him, starting with such questions as: How in the hell do you wake up in a $4,200-a-night suite with a tiger, a chicken, a crying baby, a missing tooth and a belly button pierced for a diamond dangle? Directed by Todd Phillips. Rating: Three and a half stars. (R)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” — Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) team up to learn a secret from Voldemort’s school days, after coaxing the reclusive Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) out of retirement. The sixth film in the Potter saga is darker and more ominous than before, as the evil Voldemort creeps closer. Adolescence is also making itself evident, although at a PG-rated temperature. Rating: Three stars. (PG)
“The Hurt Locker” — A great film. Jeremy Renner stars as a bomb-defusing specialist who dismantles bombs under fire in Iraq. Not a phony action movie, no false alarms, but almost unbearable suspense in a story that asks: Why does he do it? Why MUST he do it? With Anthony Mackie as the head of his support team, who is driven crazy by what he considers Renner’s reckless approach to the job. Director Kathryn Bigelow, a master of intelligent action (“Strange Days,” “K-19: The Widowmaker”), superbly creates suspense out of the traditional tools of performance, story, timing and editing. In a movie about bombs, this one doesn’t depend for its effect on blowing things up. Rating: Four stars. (R)
“Inglourious Basterds” — A big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others, and demonstrate once again that Quentin Tarantino is the real thing, a director of quixotic delights. Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz star as a hero, a girl and a Nazi in a virtuoso combination of action, droll satire, movie references, rewritten history and delight in filmmaking itself. Leave it to Tarantino to provide World War II with a much-needed alternative ending. For once the bastards get what’s coming to them. Rating: Four stars. (R)
“Julie & Julia” — A frustrated Queens wife vows to write a blog about cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” 524 recipes in 365 days. The film shows the effect of culinary dedication on both women’s lives and marriages. Amy Adams and Meryl Streep are engaging, and Streep’s impersonation of Child is uncanny, but really, is the price of total obsession worth paying for the cost of a perfect boeuf bourguignon? Rating: Two and a half stars. (PG-13)
“Ponyo” — The word is “magical.” This poetic, breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched. A goldfish becomes human and makes friends with a little boy, upsetting the balance between land and sea. With the voices of Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey and Frankie Jonas. Directed by the great Hayao Miyazaki. Rating: Four stars. (G)
“Post Grad” — A screwball comedy and also, I have to say, a feel-good movie that made me smile a lot. It’s about the Malby family, who are just plain nice, and stick together, and have goofy things happens to them. Alexis Bledel glows in the lead, as a recent grad who’s job-hunting. Her family is played by Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch and grandma Carol Burnett, and her best friend (but not boyfriend) is Zach Gilford. Evokes the movies of a more innocent time. Rating: Three stars. (PG-13)
“The Proposal” — Sandra Bullock is back in form as a tyrannical boss from Canada who is threatened with deportation and commands her long-suffering assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her. He has motives of his own, and takes her home to Sitka, Alaska, where his family takes the “engagement” seriously. Rating: Three stars. (PG-13)
“Shorts” — Robert Rodriguez channels his inner 11-year-old with “Shorts,” a childish but fun wish fulfillment-fantasy for kids that’s equal parts boogers, big messages and product placement.It’s a connected collection of “shorts” — short films about kids (and adults) who encounter a magical wishing rock deep in the heart of Texas. It mocks America’s Crackberry (and iPhone, etc.) epidemic in a kid-friendly farce about being careful what you wish. Rating: Three stars (out of five). (PG)
“Star Trek” — Using the device of time travel, the new movie reboots the original franchise with younger characters and actors, as we meet Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhuru and Bones in their younger days. Lacks the twists and challenges of classic “Star Trek” and is essentially a space opera, with young Kirk (Chris Pine) battling a Romulan super ship from the future. Rating: Two and a half stars. (PG-13)
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” — Clare (Rachel McAdams) is in love with a man who frequently disappears into thin air, leaving behind his clothing in a pile on the floor. Henry (Eric Bana) is a time traveler whose trips are beyond his control. Another problem is that whenever he arrives at another time, he’s naked and has to steal clothes. You’d think he’d be demoralized, but somehow the warmth of the actors makes it a bittersweet love story. Rating: Two and a half stars. (PG-13)
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” — A horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a dog-like robot humping the leg of the heroine. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination. Rating: One star. (PG-13)
“The Ugly Truth” — Katherine Heigl plays the producer of a failing early morning newscast, and Gerard Butler is the macho local cable star brought in to boost her ratings. He ends up coaching her in her efforts to win the heart of a handsome doctor, in a movie where the actors are likable but the comedy bogs down in relentless predictability and the puzzling overuse of naughty words. Rating: Two stars. (R)
“Up” — Two cranky old men and a plucky kid, a house tied to balloons and a giant airship, a goofy bird and another animated masterpiece from Pixar’s Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”). With the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer and Jordan Nagai. Rating: Four stars. (PG)
— From wire and online sources