Arts & Entertainment
Opening This Week — Weekly Movie Previews
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Django Unchained (R for pro-
fanity, nudity, ethnic slurs and
graphic violence) Jamie Foxx stars
as the title character in Quentin
Tarantino’s revenge-tinged West-
ern about a slave-turned-bounty
hunter’s search for his wife and
slave owners with whom he wants
to settle a score. Cast includes
Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washing-
ton, Leonardo DiCaprio and
Samuel L. Jackson.
Les Miserables (PG-13 for violence,
mature themes and suggestive material)
Musical drama, set in Paris in the wake of
the French Revolution, revolving around a
ruthless policeman’s (Russell Crowe)
relentless pursuit of an ex-con (Hugh Jack-
man) wanted for a parole violation after
serving 19 years for the theft of a loaf of
bread. With Anne Hathaway, Amanda
Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bon-
ham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Parental Guidance (PG-13 for rude
humor) Generation-skipping comedy about
a couple of old-fashioned grandparents
(Billy Crystal and Bette Midler) who meet
their match babysitting three grandkids
(Bailee Madison, Joshua Rush and Kyle
Harrison) whose helicopter parents (Marisa
Tomei and Tom Everett Scott) are away on
business. With Tony Hawk, Gedde Watan-
abe and Steve Levy.
Promised Land (R for profanity) Tale of
corporate corruption
about a gas company
K AM ’ S
advance team (Matt
C APSULES Damon and Frances
McDormand) that
Movie
downplays the eco-
logical risks while
Reviews
duping small town
by Kam
property owners into
Williams
leasing their drilling
rights. Supporting
cast includes Hal
Holbrook, Rosemarie DeWitt and John
Krasinski.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN
FILMS
Allegiance (R for pervasive profanity)
Stop-loss drama about a National Guard
Lieutenant (Seth Gabel) torn between his
loyalty to the military and a member of his
unit (Bow Wow) who went to care for a son
with terminal cancer AWOL rather than
redeploy to Iraq. With Aidan Quinn, Resh-
ma Shetty and Malik Yoba.
Quartet (Unrated) Dustin Hoffman
directs this musical drama set at a home for
retired opera singers where plans for the
annual concert celebrating Verdi’s birthday
are disrupted by the arrival of a pampered
diva (Maggie Smith). Featuring Michael
Gambon, Billy Connolly and Sheridan
Smith.
Tabu (Unrated) Flashback flick about an
ailing octogenarian (Laura Soveral) in Lis-
bon who becomes desperate on her
Jamie Foxx plays the title role in the controversial Western about slavery,
Django Unchained
deathbed to contact the ex-lover (Henrique disturbing violence) Justice-delayed docu-
Espirito Santo) from Mozambique with mentary about a trio of Arkansas teenagers
whom she’d shared an illicit affair many convicted of a triple murder they didn’t
years earlier. With Teresa Madruga, Isabel commit who spent 18 years in prison before
Munoz Cardoso, Ana Moreira and Carloto finally being freed recently with the help of
DNA evidence. With commentary by Henry
Cotta. (In Portuguese with subtitles)
Rollins and Eddie Vedder.
West of Memphis (R for profanity and
Premium Rush DVD Review
Levitt and Ramirez Co-
Star in Adrenaline-Fueled
Bike Thriller
by Kam Williams
Traffic is so congested in Manhattan
nowadays, it’s hard to see that terminally-
gridlocked terrain as a viable setting for
high-octane chase scenes. Yet, that is pre-
cisely what we have in Premium Rush, an
adrenaline-fueled adventure revolving
around the derring-do of daring bike mes-
sengers who dart between cars and dodge
pedestrians to make their deliveries.
At the film’s point of departure, we’re
introduced to several staff members of a
bonded company called Security Courier.
Employee of the Year Wilee (Joseph Gor-
don-Levitt) is a Columbia Law School
graduate who prefers this liberating line
of work to being stuck sitting behind a
desk in a business suit every day.
Similarly, his gorgeous girlfriend,
Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), sees it as a
refreshing alternative to waiting tables in
a restaurant. However, one hazard of the
job for her is having to fend off the sleazy
overtures of fellow messenger, Manny
(Wole’ Parks), and of their equally-flirta-
tious dispatcher, Raj (Aasif Mandvi).
Nonetheless, this picture is more about
action than romance, and the fun starts
soon after Wilee accepts an assignment to
transport an envelope designated “Premi-
um Rush” from his alma mater to China-
town. But before he even has a chance to
leave campus, a gentleman (Michael
See RUSH on page 7
December 26, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 5