Arts & Entertainment
Movies Opening This Week: April 27
By Kam Williams
Special to
The Skanner News
BIGBUDGET FILMS
Bernie (PG-13 for violent
images and brief profanity)
Jack Black plays the title
character in this crime com-
edy about a small-town,
Texas mortician who goes
to great lengths to keep up
the illusion that the wealthy
widow (Shirley MacLaine)
he’s killed is still alive. With
Matthew McConaughey,
Rick Dial and Veronica
Orosco.
The Five-Year Engage-
ment (R for pervasive
profanity and sexuality)
Battles-of-the-sexes come-
dy
chronicling
the
increasingly strained rela-
tionship of a very busy bride
and groom-to-be (Emily
Blunt and Jason Segel) who
keep having to put off their
wedding plans. Support cast
includes Kevin Hart, Rhys
Ifans, David Paymer and
Mindy Kaling.
The Pirates! Band of
Misfits (PG for action, mild
epithets and crude humor)
Animated kiddie adventure
about a competition among
96 Minutes
three buccaneer swashbuck-
lers (Hugh Grant, Jeremy
Piven and Salma Hayek) to
capture the coveted Pirate of
the Year Award by wreaking
the most havoc on the high
seas. Voice cast includes
Brendan Gleeson, Martin
Freeman
and
Brian
Blessed.
The Raven (R for graphic
violence and grisly images)
19th Century murder mys-
tery which finds poet Edgar
Allen Poe (John Cusack)
joining forces with a young
detective (Luke Evans) to
apprehend the serial killer
on the loose in his beloved
Baltimore. Featuring Alice
Eve, M. Emmet Walsh and
Brendan Gleeson.
Page 8 The Portland Skanner April 25, 2012
Safe (R for profanity and
graphic violence) Action
thriller about a retired
Mixed Martial Arts fighter
(Jason Statham) who comes
to the rescue of a 12 year-
old Chinese girl (Catherine
Chan) who’s been abducted
by the same mobsters who
murdered his wife and chil-
dren. With Chris Sarandon,
James Hong and Anson
Mount.
Sound of My Voice
(Unrated) Mind control
drama about an investiga-
tive journalist (Christopher
Denham) who, with the help
of his girlfriend (Nicole
Vicius), infiltrates a reli-
gious cult only to fall under
the spell of the charismatic
leader (Brit Marling) he had
hoped to expose as a charla-
tan.
Supporting
cast
includes Avery Kristen
Pohl, Davenia McFadden
and Kandice Stroh.
INDEPENDENT &
FOREIGN FILMS
96 Minutes (R for vio-
lence
and
pervasive
profanity) Fact-based crime
thriller about a couple of
college coeds (Brittany
Snow and Christian Ser-
The Giant Mechanical
Man
ratos) who find themselves
carjacked and kidnapped by
a wannabe gangster (J.
Michael Trautmann) with a
reluctant accomplice (Evan
Ross).
With
David
Oyelowo, Sylvia Jeffries
and Hosea Chanchez.
The Broken Tower
(Unrated) James Franco
stars in this bittersweet
biopic recounting the abbre-
viated life and career of
Hart Crane (1899-1932), a
celebrated gay poet who
took his own life by jump-
ing off an ocean liner right
after being assaulted for
making a pass at a crew
member. Support cast
includes Michael Shannon,
Stacey Miller and Vince
Jolivette.
Citizen Gangster (Unrat-
ed) Diminished dreams
saga, set in the wake of
World War II, revisiting the
real-life exploits of Eddie
Boyd (Scott Speedman), a
decorated Army veteran
who began robbing banks
to support his family when
his fledgling acting career
failed to pan out. Featuring
Kelly Riley, Kevin Durand
and Brian Cox.
Dolphin Boy (Unrated)
Overcoming-the-odds doc-
umentary, set in Israel,
about an Arab teenager left
mute by a brutal beatdown
who makes a miraculous
recovery after his therapist
prescribes a rehab regimen
that involves swimming
with dolphins in the Red
Sea for four weeks. (In
Hebrew and Arabic with
subtitles)
Elles (NC-17 for explicit
sexuality) Juliette Binoche
stars in this midlife crisis
drama about a Parisian jour-
nalist inspired to reevaluate
her own sexuality while
researching an article about
college coeds who enjoy
supporting themselves by
moonlighting as prostitutes.
With Anais Demoustier,
Joanna Kulig and Louis-Do
de
Lencquesaing.
(In
French and Polish with sub-
titles)
The Giant Mechanical
Man (PG-13 for sexuality
and brief profanity) Quirky
romantic comedy about a
soft-spoken
zookeeper
(Jenna Fischer) who falls
for a struggling street per-
former (Chris Messina) in
spite of pressure from her
domineering sister (Malin
Restless City
Akerman) to date a
pompous, self-help guru
(Topher Grace). With Lucy
Punch, Bob Odenkirk and
Rich Sommer.
Restless City (R for drug
use and brief sexuality)
New York City tale of sur-
vival about an African
immigrant (Sy Alassane)
who sells bootlegged CDs
on the street of Manhattan
while trying to make it as a
musician and encouraging
his hooker girlfriend (Sky
Grey) to find a respectable
line of work. With Herve
Diese, Ger Duany and
Danai Gurira. (In English,
French, Wolof and Yoruba
with subtitles)
Headhunters (R for nudi-
ty, graphic sexuality and
gruesome violence) Multi-
layered mystery, set in
Norway, about a corporate
headhunter (Aksel Hennie)
who risks his career to steal
a priceless painting by
Rubens from a well-heeled
client (Nikolaj Coster-Wal-
dau).