These are Maui Scene's mini-reviews, excerpts of wire service reviews and previews provided by studios and other sources.
Opens tonight
"Identity Thief" R, 1:51, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Article Photos
Christopher Walken as Doc, Alan Arkin as Hirsch,and Al Pacino as Val (from left) in a scene from “Stand Up Guys.”
AP photo
Mild-mannered businessman Sandy Patterson travels from Denver to Miami to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman who has been living it up after stealing Sandy's identity. Starrring in the comedy crime film are Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy and John Cho. Directed by Seth Gordon.
Opens Friday
"Side Effects" R, 2:00, Kaahumanu 6.
In this crime-drama thriller -Emily and Martin are a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist - intended to treat anxiety- has unexpected side effects. Starring Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum and Jude Law. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
"Stand Up Guys" R, 1:35, Kaahumanu 6.
A pair of aging con men try to get the old gang back together for one last hurrah before one of the guys takes his last assignment - to kill his comrade. Al Pacino, Alan Arkin and Christopher Walken star in this comedy crime film. Directed by Fisher Stevens.
Still Playing
"A Haunted House" R, 1:26, Maui Mall Megaplex (closes tonight).
Young couple Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Keisha (Essence Atkins) move into their dream home, only to learn a demon also resides there. But it's not the house that's haunted, it's Malcolm's girlfriend who is possessed by a demon. Malcolm hires everyone from a priest to modern day ghostbusters to rid her of this unwelcome intruder, determined not to let the evil spirit ruin his relationship . . . or, more importantly, his sex life.
"Broken City" R, 1:49, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Zones star in this crime-drama thriller. Director Allen Hughes takes the audience into a city rife with injustice as ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.
"Bullet To the Head" R, 1:31, Maui Mall Megaplex. and Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
Sylvester Stallone, Christian Slater and Oahu's Jason Momoa star in this action-crime thriller. After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hitman and a Washington D.C. detective form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy. Walter Hill directs.
"Django Unchained" R, 2:02, Kaahumanu 6.
A former slave and a German bounty hunter become unlikely allies in the battle against a tyrannical plantation owner in this Western from director Quentin Tarantino. The all-star Hollywood cast features Jaime Foxx, Chris Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson.
"Gangster Squad" R, 1:53, Maui Mall Megaplex (closes tonight).
Set in 1949 Los Angeles, ruthless Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and - if he has his way - every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop . . . except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart.
"Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" R, 1:28, Maui Mall Megaplex and Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
Tommy Wirkola directs this new spin on the famous fairy tale, in which Hansel and Gretel are now bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star.
"Les Miserables" R, 2:02, Kaahumanu 6.
Bille August directs this Rafael Yglesias adaptation of the 1862 classic by Victor Hugo. In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.
"Life of Pi," PG, 2:07, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Academy Award winner Ang Lee directed this adventure-drama starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Akil Hussain. A young man survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor . . . a fearsome Bengal tiger. Some call it the "next Avatar," for its breakthrough of 3D technology.
"Mama" PG-13, 1:40, Kaahumanu 6.
In this horror flick, "Mama" Director Andres Muschietti leads Jessica Chastain and Nikolai Coster Waldau as Annabel and Lucas, who are now faced with the challenge of having to raise his young nieces who were left alone in the forest for five years. But how alone were they?
"Movie 43" R, 1:30, Kaahumanu 6 (closes tonight).
A series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches hilarious and insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Directors include Elizabeth Banks and Steven Brill. The star-studded cast features Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman, Dennis Quaid, Seth MacFarland, Richard Gere and Uma Thurman.
"Parental Guidance" PG, 1:40, Kaahumanu 6 (closes tonight).
Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behaviors collide with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.
"Parker" R, 1:58, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Jennifer Lopez and Jason Statham star in this crime-laced thriller about a thief with a unique code of professional ethics. He is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.
"Silver Linings Playbook" R, 2:02, Maui Mall Megaplex.
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems.
"Sisterakas" R, 1:40, Kaahumanu 6.
The childhoods of Bernice (Vice Ganda) and Detty (Ai-Ai Delas Alas) were world's apart, but they did have one thing in common: their father. Bernice's birth was caused by an infidelity. Detty grew up with a wealthy family, Bernice and his mother were left to fend for themselves. Then they meet and the story plays out.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" PG-13, 2:49, Kaahumanu 6.
Director Peter Jackson takes viewers on an edge-of-your-seat journey in this adventure fantasy that lasts for almost three hours. A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. Jackson's choice to shoot his epic three-part J.R.R. Tolkien prequel in the format that boosts the number of 48 frames per second to the 24 frames per second standard has some unusual effects.
"The Impossible" PG-13, 1:54, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit in this true-life tale of surviving the tsunami in Thailand. Stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.
"The Last Stand" R, 1:47, Maui Mall Megaplex.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker and Johnny Knoxville star in this action thriller about the leader of a drug cartel who busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff. The movie was directed by Jee-woon Kim.
"Warm Bodies" PG-13, 1:37, Maui Mall Megaplex; Lahaina Wharf Cinema.
John Malkovich stars with Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult. Director Jonathan Levine takes you on a comedic romp laced with horror and romance in this film about R (a highly unusual zombie), who saves Julie from an attack. The two form a relationship that sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.
"Zero Dark Thirty" R, 2:37, Maui Mall Megaplex.
For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. "Zero Dark Thirty" reunites the Oscar-winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal ("The Hurt Locker") for the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man.
* Movie listings are subject to last-minute changes. For updates, visit www.mauigateway.com/~rw/ movie/.
