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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2013)
News Opening This Week — For Movies Opening Feb. 15 BIG BUDGET FILMS Beautiful Creatures (PG-13 for violence, sexu- ality and scary images) Supernatural fantasy, set in a sleepy South Carolina town, revolving around the budding romance between a high school sophomore (Alden Ehrenreich) and a mysterious new classmate (Lena Duchannes) who’s identical to the girl of his dreams. Stellar supporting cast includes Oscar-winners Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson and nominee Viola Davis, along with Emmy Rossum. Escape from Planet Earth (PG for action and mild crude humor) Animat- Escape from Planet Earth K AM ’ S C APSULES Movie Reviews by Kam Williams ed sci-fi adventure, set on a planet populated by blue aliens, where a lowly nerd (Rob Corddry) has to rise to the occasion after his super- hero sibling (Brendan Fras- er) becomes ensnared in the trap of a diabolical villain (William Shatner) bent on world domination. Voice cast includes Ricky Gervais, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch and George Lopez. A Good Day to Die Hard (R for profanity and vio- lence) Fifth installment in the high-octane action fran- chise finds former, NYPD detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) venturing to Russia where he teams up with his CIA Agent son (Jai Courtney) to crack a terror- ist plot threatening the sta- bility of the Free World. With Sebastian Koch, Mary Page 6 The Portland Skanner February 13, 2013 Elizabeth Winstead and Cole Hauser. Safe Haven (PG-13 for violence, sexuality, threat- ening behavior and mature themes) Lasse Hallstrom directs this adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks romance novel of the same name about a mysterious new- comer (Julianne Hough) to a tiny North Carolina town who reluctantly comes to trust a widower (Josh Duhamel) with the dark secret that’s been haunting her for years. Featuring Cobie Smulders, Irene Ziegler and Red West. INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS The Berlin File (Unrated) Intricate espionage thriller about a double-crossed, North Korean spy (Jung- woo Ha) who ends up on the run with his wife (Gianna Jun) as the focus of an inter- national manhunt after an illegal arms trade gone bad. With Seung-beom Ryu, Numan Acar and Werner Daehn. (In Korean and Eng- lish with subtitles) The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (Unrated) Docu-dra- matic biopic revisiting the events surrounding the arrest of Jeffrey Dahmer (Andrew Swant) in the sum- mer of 1991, ending the cannibalistic necrophiliac/ rapist/serial killer’s reign of terror in Milwaukee which claimed the lives of 17 boys and young men. Like Someone in Love (Unrated) Romance drama, set in Tokyo, about a prosti- tute with a heart of gold (Rin Takanashi) who devel- ops a love connection with a widower (Tadashi Okuno) over the course of a couple of days. With Ryo Kase and Denden. (In Japanese with subtitles) A Good Day to Die Hard Buddy biopic chronicling Abraham Lincoln’s (Tom Amandes) close relation- ship with Ward Hill Lamon (Lea Coco), the longtime bodyguard who was con- spicuously absent from the No (Unrated) Historical drama, nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category, recounting the recall refer- endum effort spearheaded in Chile in 1988 by an adver- tising executive (Gael Gar- cia Bernal) which led to the fall of President Pinochet from power. Co-stars Alfre- do Castro, Antonia Zegers and Luis Gnecco. (In Span- ish with subtitles) Saving Lincoln (Unrated) Saving Lincoln President’s box the night Honest Abe was assassinat- ed by John Wilkes Booth (Jonathan Roumie) at Ford’s theater. With Pene- lope Ann Miller as Mary Todd Lincoln, Peter O’Meara as General Ulysses S. Grant and Eamon Hunt as Stephen Douglas. Shanghai Calling (PG-13 for profanity and sexual ref- erences) Romantic dramedy about an ambitious Ameri- can attorney (Daniel Hen- ney) who falls in love with a relocation specialist (Eliza Coupe) after she finds him a luxury apartment upon his transfer to China. With Zhu Zhu, Geng Le, Alan Ruck & Bill Paxton. (In English and Mandarin with subtitles)