arts & entertainment
weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun:
‘‘The Divide,’ an apocalyptic thriller
By kam williams
Special To The Skanner News
Big BuDgeT fiLmS
Beauty and the Beast (G) 3-D re-release
of Disney’s animated, 1991 adventure about
a beautiful young woman (Paige O’Hara)
imprisoned in a castle by a hideous monster
(Robbie Benson) who turns out to be a
prince. Voice cast includes Angela
Lansbury, Jerry Orbach and Jo Anne
Worley.
contraband (R for violence, drug use
and pervasive profanity) Mark Wahlberg
stars in this remake of Reyjavik-Rotterdam,
the 2008 crime caper about a reformed felon
who agrees to pull one last heist, a million-
dollar job in Panama, to help his brother-in-
law (Caleb Landry Jones) pay off a debt
owed to a ruthless mobster (Giovanni
Ribisi). With Kate Beckinsale, J.K.
Simmons and Ben Foster.
Don’t go in the woods (Unrated)
Attrition-rate horror flick about a rock band
which retreats with groupies into the forest
to write some new songs only to end-up the
target of a mallet-wielding maniac.
Featuring Bo Boddie, Eric Bogosian, Kate
O’Malley and Casey Smith.
The iron Lady (PG-13 for violent images
and brief nudity) Meryl Streep impersonates
imperious Margaret Thatcher in this inti-
mate portrait recounting the private life and
political career of the former Prime Minister
of Great Britain. With Jim Broadbent,
Anthony Head and Iain Glen.
Joyful noise (PG-13 for profanity and a
sexual reference) Queen Latifah and Dolly
Parton co-star in this musical comedy, set in
small-town Georgia, about a widow and
single-mom who grudgingly join forces to
help their church choir rehearse for a
national gospel competition. With Keke
Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Kris Kristofferson
and Courtney B. Vance.
inDePenDenT & foreign
fiLmS
Albatross (Unrated) Coming-of-age
drama, set on the Isle of Man, about an
aspiring writer (Jessica Brown Findlay)
who takes a job as a maid at a seaside hotel
where she proceeds to have an affair with
her boss’ (Julia Ormond) husband
(Sebastian Koch) while befriending the
couple’s teenage daughter (Felicity Jones).
With Peter Vaughan, Angus Barnett and
Kenneth Collard.
The Divide (Unrated) Apocalyptic, sci-fi
thriller about nine tenants of a NYC high-
rise attempt to survive a nuclear attack bar-
ricaded in their building’s basement bunker.
Ensemble cast includes Rosanna Arquette,
Courtney B. Vance and Milo Ventimiglia.
Loosies (PG-13 for violence, profanity
and sexuality) Baby daddy dramedy, set in
NYC, about a career pickpocket (Peter
Facinelli) on the run from the bunko squad
who finds himself forced to rethink his line
of work after learning that a barfly (Jaimie
Alexander) with whom he had a one-night
stand is expecting his baby. With Michael
Madsen, Joe Pantoliano and William
Forsythe.
January 11, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 9