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

Indicates films of particular interest

Opening

Green Zone Paul Greengrass, director of United 93, and Jason Bourne take on Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s bestselling account of life inside Baghdad’s Green Zone during the early phase of the war in Iraq.

Our Family Wedding Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia play lords Montague and Capulet, respectively. Just like the original, except that nobody dies and everybody wins.

Remember Me She witnessed her mother’s murder, he’s grieving his brother’s suicide and his parents’ breakup at the same time. Madcap hilarity ensues in this lighthearted romantic comedy.

She’s Out of My League Ostensibly ugly guy lands ostensibly perfect girlfriend.

Continuing

Alice in Wonderland 3D See review on page 16.

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

Brooklyn’s Finest After last week’s Cop Out, the popo get serious in this Sundance crime film about three cops (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke) faced with three different dilemmas following one massive drug sting.

Cop Out Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan play the latest interracial cop duo, undoubtedly stumbling, rambling and wisecracking their way through a case involving a stolen vintage baseball card. For Willis, the two-time Emmy Award winner, a cop out indeed.

The Crazies By focusing on the problem and not the cure, Breck Eisner turns this film into a survival-of-the-fittest competition. The result is ultimately satisfying, but it’s as cheap and lazy as its all-too-frequent scares. –Dean Carrico

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. –D.C.

An Education This movie knows exactly what it’s doing in telling its archetypal story of a precocious 16-year-old schoolgirl (Carey Mulligan, wonderful) seduced, in every possible way, by a man in his mid-30s (Peter Sarsgaard in his best performance since The Dying Gaul). –B.G.

The Ghost Writer When not running from the Feds, Roman Polanski’s been directing this adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel The Ghost, a thriller about a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) who uncovers unsettling information after being commissioned to finish the former Prime Minister’s (Pierce Brosnan) memoir.

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.

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.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief It’s a perfectly serviceable distraction, particularly with those who haven’t grown up in the midst of Potter-mania, but for those who have, it’s a painful reminder that lightning rarely strikes twice. –D.C.

Shinjuku IncidentSee review on page 17.

Shutter Island Along the way we get swooping, claustrophobic shots of circular lighthouse staircases, conveniently flickering light bulbs, matches that flame on with exploding jolts and a Hitchcockian, Bernard Herrmann-like score with loud, blaring horns that practically punctuate strikes of lightning. And yet, the proceedings aren’t as scary, or even as urgent, as they should be. –R.S.

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?

The White Ribbon Nothing less than a somber study on the birth of evil. In German! –R.S.

Doris Duke Theatre

8th Annual Jewish Film Festival opens March 6 and runs through March 18, featuring six feature films (two with ties to Japan) and one short.

Movie Museum

The Colditz Story (U.K., 1955) A World War II thriller set inside a German concentration camp. John Mills, Lionel Jeffries and Ian Carmichael star.

Thu 3/11, 12:30 & 2:15pm.

Kamome Shokudo (Japan, 2006) An unlikely friendship develops between a Japanese cafe owner in Helsinki and a Finnish manga addict.

Fri 3/12, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (2009) An abused teenager finds herself, with the help of a few compassionate souls.

Sat 3/13, 2, 4, 6 & 8pm.

The Chicken, the Fish and the King Crab (Spain, 2008) A documentary follows preparations for the Bocuse d’Or, the Olympics of the culinary world.

Sun 3/14, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

32A (Ireland/Germany, 2007) A coming-of-age tale about a 13-year-old Dubliner. Mon 3/15, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

University of Hawaii

Hawaii: A Voice for Sovereignty (2008) Catherine Bauknight traces a history of sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands, from the 19th century to the present.

Sun 3/14, 5pm.

Food, Inc. (2008) Kokua Market teams up with UH to screen the doc widely popular among food-conscious consumers. A panel discussion featuring Ed Kenney (town and Downtown @ HiSAM) and Gary Maunakea-Forth (MAO Organic Farms) follows. Food from Kokua deli will be available.

Tue 3/16, 6–9:30pm, UH Biomed B103, free, [email: rsvp] to reserve a seat.

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