Arts & Entertainment
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Opening This Week: For Movies Opening Feb. 17
M OVIE
R EVIEWS
by Kam
Williams
‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (PG-13 for profanity,
intense violence and disturbing images) 3-D Marvel
Comics sequel finds stuntman-turned-demon hunter Johnny
Blaze (Nicolas Cage) emerging from his self-imposed exile
to protect a woman (Violante Placido) with a young son
(Fergus Riordan) from the devil incarnate (Johnny Whit-
worth). Cast includes Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba and
Christopher Lambert.
The Secret World of Arrietty (G) Another animated
adaptation of The Borrowers, Mary Norton’s children’s
classic about a family of 4” tall wee people who live unno-
ticed beneath the floorboards of a house. Voice cast features
Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett
and David Henrie.
This Means War (PG-13 sexuality, violence and profan-
ity) Spy vs. spy comedy about a
couple of CIA Agents (Chris
Pine and Tom Hardy) who go
from being best friends to sworn
enemies after discovering that
they’re dating the same woman
(Reese Witherspoon). With
Chelsea Handler, Angela Bassett
and Til Schweiger.
INDEPENDENT &
FOREIGN FILMS
Circus Columbia (Unrated) Midlife-crisis drama, set in
Bosnia in the early Nineties, shortly before the outbreak of
the civil war, about a successful businessman’s (Miki
Manojlovic) scandalous return home from Germany
accompanied by a flamboyant mistress (Jelena Stupljanin),
much to the chagrin of his estranged wife (Mir Furlan) and
teenage son (Boris Ler). With Milan Strljic and Almir
Mehic. (In English and Croatian with subtitles)
Jess + Moss (Unrated) Coming-of-age drama about the
sexual awakenings experienced by a couple of kissing
cousins (Sarah Hagan and Austin Vickers) over the course
of a steamy summer in the tobacco fields of Western Ken-
tucky. With Marie Coleman, Don Fleming, Haley Strode
and Haley Parker.
Michael (Unrated) Dis-
turbing drama chronicling
the 5-month ordeal of a 10
year-old boy (David
Rauchenberger) who is
kidnapped and repeatedly
raped in a soundproof
basement by a pedophile
(Michael Fuith) passing as
a pillar of the community.
With Christine Kain,
Page 8 The Portland Skanner February 15, 2012
‘Undefeated’
Ursula Strauss and Victor Tremmel. (In German with subti-
tles)
On the Ice (R for profanity, violence and drug use)
Alaskan crime thriller set in a tight-knit community where
a couple of teenagers (Josiah Patkotak and Frank Qutuq Ire-
lan) cover-up the killing of a friend (John Miller) by
claiming he died in a seal-hunting accident. Support cast
includes Adamina Kerr, Sierra Jade Sampson and Teddy
Kyle smith.
Putin’s Kiss (Unrated) Agitprop expose’ chronicling the
gradual disillusionment of Vladimir Putin protégé Masha
Drakova, a Russian teenager who finally wised up to the
fact that she was being used by the Kremlin after the vicious
attack of an opposition journalist by government goons. (In
Russian with subtitles)
Thin Ice (R for profanity, and brief violence and sexuali-
ty) Fargo-inspired crime comedy, set in Wisconsin in the
dead of winter, about an insurance agent (Greg Kinnear)
who finds himself framed by an unstable locksmith (Billy
Crudup) in the theft of a retired farmer’s (Alan Arkin) rare
violin. Supporting cast includes Bob Balaban, David Har-
bour and Michelle Arthur.
Undefeated (Unrated) Oscar-nominated documentary
recounting how Memphis’ Manassas High School football
coach Bill Courtney turned around his team’s fortunes by
employing a tenderhearted, tough-love regimen.