Honolulu Weekly

Unattributed film synopses indicate movies not yet reviewed by HW staff.

Indicates films of particular interest

Opening

Celine: Through the Eyes of the World Five continents, 25 countries and 93 cities. One Canadian diva extraordinaire with a French accent and an unwavering penchant for weepy ballads. Welcome to the “Taking Chances” tour, the highest-grossing tour of the decade from a solo artist.

The Last Station A biographical account of Russian author Leo Tolstoy, meaning a lot of rhetoric about peasant-loving, non-violent resistance and Christian anarchy. His marriage to Countess Sofya (the fantastic Helen Mirren), 16 years his junior, provides the tension.

Oscar Animated Shorts See review on page 16.

Shutter Island Martin Scorsese directs this psychological thriller, his fourth collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio and the duo’s third involving brutal violence. DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo star as U.S. Marshals sent to uncover a murder-happy madwoman who’s escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.

Continuing

Avatar Yes, the proceedings are involving, rousing and occasionally heartbreaking, but so was The Princess and the Frog. But before we pan the thing, the movie gets undeniably exciting in its spear-versus-machine climax. –Ryan Senaga

Crazy Heart A tragicomedy featuring Bad Blake, a 57-year-old, alcoholic country singer played perfectly by Jeff Bridges, who finds an intimate connection with a young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) hungry for a story. –Dean Carrico

Dear John The movie is so manipulative that bright people might feel insulted, and so mechanical that it defies credibility. –Bob Green

Edge of Darkness [Mel Gibson] still has the power to electrify us with his dead-eyed, simmering stare, as well as touch us with his cinematic fetish for martyrdom. Too bad one can’t say the same for the rest of the movie. –R.S.

From Paris With Love A thriller high on machismo and low on thrill. When the aid to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) gets asked to stop a terrorist attack, he gets paired with a gun-happy detective, played by a bald and mustached John Travolta.

The Hurt Locker A gripping look into the work of the military’s most courageous and unrecognized heroes: the Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad, responsible for defusing roadside bombs in Baghdad. A critics’ darling.

Legion Toward the end, one of the characters wonders why God chose to exterminate humans. “Maybe He got tired of all the bullsh*t.” After seeing Legion, we’re tired of it too. –R.S.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief A fantasy-adventure directed by Chris Harry Potter Columbus about a teenager who discovers he’s the demigod son of Poseidon, sending him on a mystical search for Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt.

A Single Man Writer-director Tom Ford, making his helming debut, has done a credible, savvy version of the Christopher Isherwood novel, making it visually telling and guiding his actors to near-perfection. –Bob Green

Up in the Air George Clooney gives a terrific performance in Jason Reitman’s equally terrific movie. –B.G.

Valentine’s Day Could you possibly think of a better way to celebrate the saint of schmaltz than with a gaggle of beautiful celebrities–Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift, among them–canoodling in Los Angeles?

When In Rome Many of the jokes fall flat; this is the kind of film that concludes with a dance sequence over the end credits, a “cute” gimmick that’s more painful than the accident reel on a Jackie Chan flick. –R.S.

The Wolfman See review on page 17.

Doris Duke Theatre

3rd Annual Bollywood Film Festival runs through March 2 and features 10 of Mumbai’s best. See [www.honoluluacademy.org] for showtimes and movie prices.

La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet (France, 2009) An on pointe glimpse into the Palais Garnier, the opulent 19th-century building home to the world-renowned Paris Opera Ballet. A meditation on the men and women who dance for the troupe, and the beauty of the dance itself.

Fri 2/19, 7:30pm.

Movie Museum

Elvis and Annabelle (U.K., 2007) A romance fantasy starring Annabelle, who dies while competing in a beauty pageant then reawakens on the embalming table. Elvis, the funeral directors son, finds a romantic connection with the resurrected southern belle.

Thu 2/18, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

Family (Demark, 2001) After losing his brother and mother, Danish-Arab filmmaker Sami Saif embarks on a search for family, including his father, who abandoned Saif when he was young. A raw, humorous documentary that won four international film awards.

Fri 2/19, 12:15, 2, 3:45, 5:30, 7:15 & 9pm.

The Escapist (U.K./Ireland, 2008) When Frank, a convict 14 years into his life sentence, discovers that his daughter nearly died from a drug overdose, he organizes a gang of misfits to help sneak him out of prison. A cellmate makes things complicated.

Sat 2/20 & Mon 2/22 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

Departures (Japan, 2008) The film’s title refers to all kinds of departures: a failed cellist returning to his home town; a father who has abandoned his family when his son was 6 years old; a wife who leaves her husband because she is ashamed of his job; and, of course, death…beautifully made. –B.G.

Sat 2/21, 12:30, 3, 5:30 & 8pm.

University of Hawaii

Blossoms of Fire (Mexico, 2000) A documentary about the people of Juchitán, Oaxaca, a progressive group of Mexicans who honor women, accept homosexuality and produce a fiery outpouring of art.

Sun 2/21, 5pm.

The Insular Empire (2007) A documentary examining the social, political and cultural implications of a planned military presence on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. A film panel including Chamorros, Hawaiians, and Vanessa Warheit, the filmmaker, will answer questions following the screening.

Sun 2/21, 4pm, Architecture Auditorium, Free.

Balibo (Australia, 2009) Based on the true story of five Australian journalists who went missing weeks prior to Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 1975, and the efforts of an ex-journalist, a chain-smoking alcoholic, determined to uncover the truth no matter how perilous the journey.

Wed 2/17, 6:30pm, Korean Studies Auditorium, Free.