07182014Fri
Last updateThu, 17 Jul 2014 8pm

Seven Psycopaths

Three friends incur the wrath of a violent L.A. gangster by kidnapping his prized shih tzu in this black comedy from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. Aspiring screenwriter Marty has a brilliant screenplay called Seven Psychopaths floating around in his head; unfortunately he’s usually too hungover to make any real progress on it.


Oz the Great and Powerful

In a sort of prequel to Dorathy from Kansas meets the wicked witch of the west, a mischievous magician gains the wisdom to become a powerful ruler after being swept away to a land of magic and mystery in a further exploration of the genesis of author L. Frank Baum’s enduring tales.

Flight

A seasoned airline pilot with a substance-abuse problem, miraculously crash lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly every one of the 102 passengers on board.

Zero Dark Thirty

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the CIA began interrogating suspected Al Qaeda agents across the globe in a bid to locate the elusive bin Laden.

Silver Linings Playbook

Romantic comedy-drama based on the novel by Matthew Quick. Patrizio Solitano Jr., who has bipolar disorder, is released from a mental health facility into the care of his parents after eight months of treatment. Through a friend, he forms a close bond with Tiffany Maxwell, a recent widow who also just lost her job and encourages Pat to enter a dance contest with her. This Oscar nominated movie promises humor, raw emotion, dance and baseball: a combination of themes which will surely suit a wide audience. Director:  David O. Russell. Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker.. Rated: R. Time: 2:02.

A Good Day to Die Hard

In the fifth installment of the popular Die Hard series, John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.The movie has received more positive reviews than its prequel. Director: John Moore. Cast: Bruce Willis, Sebastian Koch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rasha Bukvic, Cole Hauser. Rated: R. Time: 1:37.

Django Unchained

In a toung-in-cheek blaxploitation-style speghetti western — including music styles from both genres, — director Quentin Tarantino puts a former slave and a German bounty hunter together as unlikely allies in the battle against a tyrannical plantation owner.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters


In this spin on the fairy tale, Hansel & 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.

The movie is the latest installment in Hollywood’s newest trend of reimagining classic fairytales as mature cinematic fare. Hansel and Gretal is an attempt at a witty retelling of the old yarn, bread crumbs and candied houses tale largely fails to live up to its promising concept.

The movie establishes the familiar story within the first few minutes, with siblings Hansel and Gretel left in the woods by their father and nearly eaten by a witch living within a gingerbread house. In the original tale, the pair’s story ends with them shoving the crone into her oven. Here, the opening credits quickly establish the basic idea of this retelling: the two, with no family to call their own, spend the years after their ordeal traveling the country and honing their professional witch hunting skills in the process. The remainder of the film finds the two, now fully grown, in the town of Augsburg, where they are hired by the mayor to save the local children who have been captured by a coven of powerful sorceresses, led by Muriel.

Unlike many recent productions of a similar nature, Hansel and Gretel stands out with its “R” rating, which results in plenty of over-the-top gore, nudity and swearing.

Director: Tommy Wirkola. Cast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal. Rated: R. Time: 1:28.