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Scroll down this page for movie reviews
Through Thursday, Nov. 19
2012, PG-13, Potsdam Roxy, 8 p.m. nightly; Canton American, 7:30 p.m. nightly.
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, R, Potsdam Roxy, 7:15 & 9:15 p.m.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, R, Potsdam Roxy, 7:15 & 9:15 p.m.; Canton American, 6:50, 9:10 p.m.
MICHAEL JACKSON’S ‘THIS IS IT,’ PG, Potsdam Roxy, 7 & 9:15 p.m.; Canton American, 6:50 p.m.
DISNEY’S ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL,’ PG, in 3D, Potsdam Roxy, 7 & 9:15 p.m.; in, 2D, Canton American, 7, 9 p.m.
CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, R, Canton American, 9:10 p.m.
THE 4TH KIND, PG-13, Canton American, 7:15, 9:20 p.m.
Starting Friday, Nov. 20
THE TWILIGHT SAGA, PG-13, Potsdam Roxy, special midnight showing Thurs. night, then 6:50, 9:30 p.m. nightly & matinees Sat., Sun. 12:30, 3:15 p.m.; Canton American, special midnight showing Thurs. night, then 6:50, 9:30 p.m. nightly & matinees Sat., Sun. 12:30, 3:15 p.m.
PLANET 51, PG, Potsdam Roxy, 7:15, 9:15 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:45, 3 p.m.; Canton American, 7, 9 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:30, 3 p.m.
2012, PG-13, Potsdam Roxy, 8 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:30, 4 p.m.; Canton American, 7:30 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 2 p.m.
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, R, Potsdam Roxy, 7:15 & 9:15 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:45, 3 p.m.
DISNEY’S ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL,’ PG, in 3D, Potsdam Roxy, 7 & 9:15 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:15, 2:15, 4:15 p.m.; in 2D, Canton American, 7, 9 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:45, 3 p.m.
THE BLIND SIDE, PG-13, Canon American, 7, 9:30 p.m., & Sat., Sun. 12:30, 3:15 p.m.
OGDENSBURG CINEMAS LISTINGS were unavailable at press time. They will be posted on NorthCountryNow.com as soon as they are available.
Movie Reviews
2012
Master of Disaster Roland Emmerich lives down to his reputation with what amounts to the biggest snuff film of all time. During an end-of-days cataclysm allegedly anticipated by the Mayans, billions of people bite the dust so that CGI effects wizards can cruelly test the limits of what's plausible and palatable. As Earth's crust breaks apart, quakes and tsunamis dismantle civilization and rearrange the continents. But take heart. Doomsday brings out the best in a White House geologist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a divorced science-fiction writer (Cusack). The script's cornball clichÈs spark more laughter than the intended jokes, which constitute gallows humor of the grandest, most tasteless kind. (PG-13) BORING
THE BLIND SIDE
"Precious" for the tailgating crowd, this mainstream picture tells the true story of an African-American ward of the state adopted by a rich white family in Memphis. Sandra Bullock plays the tasteful yet tough-as-nails Lady of the house whose efforts enabled Big Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) to become an exceptional football player and passable student. Adapted from Michael Lewis' book, the movie inspires despite average filmmaking that's incapable of probing deeply enough into the racial dynamics or unique mother-son relationship. Oher's high school football coach is straight out of "Mayberry R.F.D." and the baddies in his old housing project belong in a Seventies cop show. (PG-13) FAIR
DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Technically proficient but frightening beyond belief, Robert Zemeckis' re-telling of Dickens' timeless tale adopts a surprisingly macabre tone as it provides some of the scariest mistletoe moments since Jack Skellington placed severed heads and 12-foot snakes under the tree in "The Nightmare Before Christmas." A motion-captured Jim Carrey mugs through multiple roles, from miserly Ebenezer Scrooge to the menacing spirits who visit the penny-pincher on Christmas Eve. Like Zemeckis' other literary adaptations ("Beowulf," "The Polar Express"), this is an exquisitely detailed piece of cutting-edge animation. But it lacks heart, warmth and seasonal soul. Enter seeking holiday cheer, and you'll leave muttering "Bah humbug." (PG) BORING
CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY
Make no mistake, Michael Moore hates capitalism. He's less clear about what he'd replace it with. Settling on "democracy" proves he's painting with too-wide a conceptual brush, which in turn explains why his latest documentary goes off point so often. America's financial system is an easy target right now and the urge to pile on hard to resist. Moore practically blames former Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs head Hank Paulson for Hurricane Katrina. But at least he bashes all the powers that be for the erosion of the middle class and exploitation of Main Street by Wall Street. Plus, his stunts and use of archival footage are funny as ever. (R) FAIR
THE FOURTH KIND
Artless and unconvincing, this shell game purports to chronicle a true story about alien abductions in Nome, Alaska. The fourth wall is broken at the beginning and end of the movie when star Jovovich and director Osunsanmi address the audience as themselves, trying to make us believe "archival" footage interlaced throughout shows the actual psychiatrist whom Jovovich portrays, along with some of her troubled patients. The fact-or-fiction tease is clumsy and, worse, never scary. The exercise falls woefully short of entertaining and makes a weak case for UFOs and visitors from outer space. Even people who swear they've been kidnapped by aliens wouldn't buy this hoax. (PG-13) POOR
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
Neither absurdist enough as a comedy nor trenchant enough as a war satire, this effort elicits a few chuckles but little else. While stumbling into the Iraqi desert alongside a U.S. military operative who claims to have paranormal abilities (Clooney), Ewan MacGregor's journalist recounts the history of a secret Army unit specializing in psychic warfare. Without a sturdy narrative structure on which to hoist the premise, tonal misdirection results. Since it's not hard to believe the military has dabbled in such unconventional techniques, the movie feels too droll for its own good. The tagline "No Goats. No Glory" is about as good as it gets. (R) FAIR
MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT
Speaking ill of the dead is bad form and this concert documentary affords little opportunity where the late King of Pop is concerned. Affirmative and uplifting, it won't alter the course of non-fiction filmmaking but will burnish Jackson's reputation as an iconic entertainer. Culled from footage taken between March and June of 2009 as he rehearsed for a series of London comeback performances, the movie doesn't traffic in controversy or shed any light on the private man. It reveals a consummate and supremely talented professional at work. While obviously aimed at fans, skeptics and detractors can't wonder what all the fuss has been about. (PG) GOOD
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
A haunted house story that looks to scare moviegoers with bumps in the night rather than buckets of blood, this creepy, low-budget genre exercise offers a number of genuinely frightening moments. Presented as "found footage" a la "The Blair Witch Project," the movie tells the story of a couple who purchase a video camera to record possible supernatural goings-on in their house after they go to sleep. While the daylight dramatic scenes fall flat, the late-night sequences are very well executed -- even a simple shot of a door closing ever so slightly can put viewers on edge. For maximum frights, catch a midnight showing. (R) GOOD
PLANET 51
The artist formerly known as The Rock voices a vainglorious, square-jawed astronaut who crashes on a distant sphere and discovers a bustling, peaceful society of lizard-like green creatures living in a comfy community modeled after a 1950's American suburb. Sadly, the production design isn't the only element that harkens back to the fabulous Fifties. The toilet humor in Joe Stillman's screenplay feels ancient. And, since so many of the jokes involve the body's private orifices, let's hope they fly over the heads of most kids in the audience. Stargazers believe there is intelligent life out there. You just won't find much of it on this planet. (PG) BORING
Local Reviews
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Links to Local and Regional Theaters
Potsdam Roxy
Canton American
Cinema 10
Rt. 56 Drive-In
Cornwall, Ont., movies
Brockville, Ont., movies
Regal Cinemas, Salmon Run Mall, Watertown
Bay Drive-In Theatre, Alexandria Bay
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