Gwinnett Daily Post Weekend Section

Gwinnett Daily Post

Friday,March 4,

2011

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what to do, hear, see, watch, read, listen to, visit and eat in Gwinnett and Atlanta

week end

The Dish ....................................................................Pg. 4

Movies .....................................................Pgs. 7-15, 17,18

Showtimes ............................................................Pg. 12

By Venue ................................................................Pg. 16

Gwinnett Calendar ............................................Pg. 19

Metro Calendar ....................................................Pg. 20The “Weekend” arts and entertainment guide includes select events inthe coming week.To be considered for a listing, send a fact sheet to:Weekend, Features Department, Gwinnett Daily Post, 725 Old Nor-cross Road, Lawrenceville, GA 30045; or call 770-963-9205, e-mail [email protected] or fax 770-339-8081.

Art Beat: Gwinnett Ballet Theatre presents‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ ......................Pg. 5

Weekend Design: Brian Giandelone

INSIDE

Maggie Ellingtonand Paul Applemanare pictured as Tita-

nia and Oberon inGwinnett Ballet

Theatre’s “A Mid-summer Night’s

Dream,” presentedSaturday at the

Gwinnett Perform-ing Arts Center.

Pencil us in.Find out what to do,

where to go and who to see.

Every Friday in Weekend.

Special Photo

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • PAGE 3

LOCAL EVENT

BY HEATHER DARENBERGSTAFF WRITER

[email protected]

LAWRENCEVILLE —Aurora Theatre Funny Fri-days continues club comedyperformances on the squarein downtown Lawrencevillewith two huge shows thismonth.

First, on March 11, head-liner Big Kenney will takethe Funny Fridays Stage.Then on March 18, national-ly renowned comic SherriSutton will be stopping bythe Aurora with her “TakingOut the White Trash Tour.”

Big Kenney is a primaryplayer of Atlanta’s ownBlackTop Circus ImprovComedy Troupe, the nation’sonly improvisational comedytroupe comprised of profes-sional black comedians.

Since his career began in1998, Big Kenney has ignit-ed the stage while openingfor some of the nation’sbiggest comedy stars. Nowheadlining around the coun-

try, Big Kenney’s unique andzesty brand of reality-basedhumor and storytelling is uni-versal in appeal and hasproven to be a real crowd-pleaser.

His opening act, DebraCole, is known in Atlanta’scomedy world for her sophis-ticated and smart humorthat’s delivered with a seem-ingly sweet and yet surpris-ingly sarcastic SouthernGeorgia twang. She taughtpublic school for nine yearsbefore springing forwardfull-time into comedy.

Sutton is a U.S. comicwho hails from Georgia, iscurrently based in Canadaand tours internationally. Inthe tough crowds and meanstreets of New York City, she

honed her craft and became astaple of great comedy clubssuch as Caroline’s, Comix,The Improv, New York Com-edy Club and the BostonComedy Club to name a few.

Her one-woman show,“Don’t Make Fun of Jesus,”has played to sold-outcrowds in New York,Atlanta,Edmonton, Winnipeg,Penang and Wales, as well asnumerous private events.

Sutton has opened forRoseanne Barr and KevinHart and just shot a TV pilot,“Funhouse,” with creatorsChris Lowell of “PrivatePractice” and Brian McEl-haney of the sketch groupBritanick. Currently, she isworking on a sitcom basedon her experience workingwith adults with develop-mental disabilities.

Funny Friday tickets cost$15. As always, Aurora The-atre Funny Fridays offers twoshows nightly at 7:15 and9:15 PM.

For more information, call678-226-6222 or visitwww.auroratheatre.com.

• What: Funny Fridays atAurora Theatre• When: 7:15 and 9:15p.m. March 11 and 18• Where: Aurora Theatre,128 Pike St.,Lawrenceville• Cost: $15

IFYOUGO

Big name acts scheduledfor Aurora’s Funny Fridays

www.gwinnettdailypost.com


THE DISH

770-469-11995394 Five Forks Trickum Road, Lilburn

BY BRANDON BRIGMANSTAFF WRITER

[email protected]

• Open since: Jan. 3 innew location

• Location: 5394 FiveForks Trickum Road in Lil-burn, near the intersection ofFive Forks and RockbridgeRoad

• Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.Mondays through Thursdays;11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridaysand Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 8p.m. Sundays.

• Owner: Karen Parker

• Atmosphere: MamaMia’s was originally locatedin downtown Stone Mountainfrom 1978 until its move inJanuary. The same family ori-ented atmosphere at the oldlocation remains, just in abigger setting. The old restau-rant could hold 50 customersand the new one holds 110.

The new location has aninteresting twist as its in anold bank. The vault stillremains, which is availablefor private seating, while thedrive through comes in handyfor pick-up orders. There’salso two party rooms avail-able for large groups. Withthe expanded seating, MamaMia’s has been able to addentertainment for its cus-tomers. The restaurant holdstrivia on Tuesdays and willhave live music on March 11.

• Menu: Not much haschanged in 33 years. The

same menu that customershave grown to love at the oldlocation still exists. Only twoitems have been added —sausage with peppers andonions over linguine noodles,and baked spaghetti pie. Thethree-meat lasagna, spinach,mushroom and artichokepasta, stuffed shells andpizza, with the dough madefrom scratch every day, stillremain customer favorites.All entrees include a housesalad and bread. MamaMia’s features a bar thatserves beer and wine. Thereare six different draft beersavailable and more than 11different wines from house to

higher end.

• Things you might notknow: The murals on thewall were painted by theParkview High School artdepartment. Parker hasworked at Mama Mia’s forthe last 16 years. She boughtthe restaurant from its origi-nal owner in 2006 with herhusband. The restaurant isoperated by much of herfamily, including her son anddaughter, brother and mother.

Staff Photos: Jason BravermanMama Mia’s in Lilburn serves its stuffed shells dish, front left, meat lovers pizza with garlic andsausage with peppers and onions served over linguini.

www.mamamiasofstonemountain.comMama Mia’s

• Three-meat lasagna:Made with Italiansausage, ground beefand pepperoni, toppedwith tomato sauce andmozzarella cheese andbaked, $11.95• Spinach, Mushroomand Artichoke: Toppedwith tomato sauce andmozzarella cheese andbaked, $11.95• Sausage with peppersand onions: Sauteedsausage, peppers andonions served with mari-nara over linguine,$13.95• Pizza: Cooked freshper order, dough is madedaily and each pie ishand tossed with Mama’sdelicious homemadepizza sauce and realmozzarella cheese. 10-inch pizza $6.50 witheach topping .95, 14-inchpizza $11.50 with eachtopping $1.50

ONTHEMENU

Mama Mia’s movedfrom its former loca-tion in Stone Moun-tain to a larger spacein Lilburn. The spaceused to be a bankand still has the vault(far right) which peo-ple can eat in.

While many Gwinnettstudents are readingShakespeare’s “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream”as a part of their studiesthis spring, young dancersat Gwinnett Ballet The-atre are having a com-pletely different experi-ence with this famouscomic play. They arebringing the story and thecharacters off of the pageand turning Midsummerinto a ballet.

“A Midsummer Night’sDream” will be presentedalong with works fromthe GBT repertory fortwo performances on Sat-urday at the GwinnettPerforming Arts Center.Shows are at 2:30 and

7:30 p.m. Tickets are $17for adults, $15 for stu-dents and seniors, and$12 for groups of 10 ormore. Tickets are avail-able through any Ticket-master location, by call-ing 404-249-6400 or byvisiting the GwinnettCenter Box Office.

Set by choreographerThom Clower to thebeautiful score by FelixMendelssohn, “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream”takes place in a moonlitforest, where the fairykingdom is bristling withexcitement. The bickeringKing and Queen of theFairies, Oberon and Tita-nia, are quarreling overthe possession of achangeling boy. In a fit ofvengefulness, Oberonsends his sprite, Puck,through the night to fetcha magic flower that willmake Titania fall in lovewith the first person shesees.


ART BEAT

ART BEATHOLLEY CALMES

Gwinnett Ballet presents‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Special Photo

Maggie Ellingtonand Paul Applemanare pictured as Tita-

nia and Oberon inGwinnett Ballet The-

atre’s “A Midsum-mer Night’s Dream,”presented Saturdayat the Gwinnett Per-forming Arts Center.

• See Art Beat, Page 6

Pencil us in.Find out what to do,

where to go and who to see.



For more information, contact Valerie Greenat 770.963.9205 ext. 1201 or email [email protected]

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Meanwhile, a happypair of lovers, Lysanderand Hermia, and theirtwo unhappy friends,Helena and Demetrius,stray into the woods.Helena loves Demetrius,but he, alas, is in lovewith Hermia. Oberonobserves these mortals,and when Puck returnswith the magic flower,orders him to sprinklesome of its drops intoDemetrius’ eyes so thathe will fall in love withHelena.

Oberon himself anointsthe eyes of Titania withthe drops from the specialflower. She is awakenedby a peddler called Bot-tom, whom Puck hastransformed into a don-key. It is love at first sightfor the Queen, and Puckcomplicates the affairs ofthe mortal lovers bycharming the wrong man,Lysander, into love withHelena. Chaos reignsuntil Oberon orders Puckrestore harmony to thesituation. The mortals are

properly paired, Bottomis restored to humanform, and Titania is rec-onciled to her King. Thefinal wedding celebrationis a testament to undyinglove.

Also on the programare selections from theGBT Repertory. Six orig-inal contemporary pieceswill get the audience’scollective heart pumping.One new piece — “Vim”— has been choreo-graphed by GBT alumnusRobert Dekkers, a nativeof Gwinnett County.Dekkers was named oneof 25 Dancers to Watchin 2011 by Dance Maga-zine, a very prestigioushonor. “Vim” is per-formed to the music ofYann Tiersen.

The other new worksinclude “Adeimus” chore-ographed by Thom Clow-er to music by Karl Jenk-ins and “Futility” choreo-graphed by NorbertNirewicz to music byPeter Gabriel. GBTinstructor Paul Applemancreated “Tannins” tomusic by Vivaldi, and two

senior GBT Companymembers also createdpieces. Tori Thomas, astudent at Faith Academycreated “1,4,3” to musicby Pricilla Ann. LaurenClark, a student atGreater Atlanta ChristianSchool choreographed“Break of Reality” tomusic by The Farewell.Lauren’s work presentedlast year, “Optio,” waschosen by the Southeast-ern Regional Ballet Asso-ciation to be presented attheir annual festival asone of their works createdby emerging choreogra-phers. The beautiful Ada-gio from “The SleepingBeauty” pas de deux willalso be performed.

For more informationabout “A MidsummerNight’s Dream” or aboutGwinnett Ballet Theatre,visit the website atwww.gwinnettballet.orgor call 770-978-0188.

Holley Calmes is a free-lance writer and publicrelations consultant spe-cializing in the arts. E-mailher at [email protected].

• From Page 5

Art Beat

Commentsfrom the audience welcome.

Love movies? Want to tell everyonewhat you think? Become a Film Fan.

The Post will pay for the movie and a light snack.

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MOVIES

BY MICHAEL CLARKMovie Critic

After getting his startas a correspondent on“The Daily Show” andregularly stealing scenesin “The Office” and “TheHangover,” Atlanta nativeEd Helms is finally givenhis first leading role in“Cedar Rapids,” and hemakes the most of it.

Proudly low budget andregularly pushing theboundaries of good taste,

“Cedar Rapids” probablywon’t propel Helms intoA-list territory, but it willcertainly raise his profileand grab the attention ofsome important industryfolks who previouslycouldn’t pick him out of alineup.

Instead of his characterin “The Office” who isabrasive and sells paperproducts, Helms’ charac-ter here (Tim Lippe) ped-dles insurance and isastonishingly naïve andeager to please. The 40ishTim has never been on anairplane or even stayed ata hotel and views hisimpending business tripto Cedar Rapids with the

same bubbly enthusiasmmost people view vaca-tions to the Caribbean,Europe or the Far East.

Although a lifelongbachelor, Tim would liketo marry the much olderMarcy (SigourneyWeaver), a woman whoonce was his elementaryschool teacher. As shock-ing and tawdry as that bitof information mightsound, it’s presented onscreen merely as a lonelyman and a recent divorceeenjoying each other’scompany and is typical ofthe handling of the rest ofthe movie.

Helms grabs spotlight with ‘Cedar Rapids’ leadCedar Rapids

(R)★★★★★

• See Cedar, Page 8

Special Photo: Fox SearchlightFrom left, Isiah Whitlock Jr., John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Ed Helms starin “Cedar Rapids.”


The ho-hum and theoutrageous are treatedwith the same even-keelattitude; there’s no wink-ing at the camera andnone of the actors try toohard, although all of theircharacters make someseriously wrong decisions.Screenwriter Phil Johnstonand director Miguel Artetaplay it all very dry.

Asked to represent hissmall town Wisconsininsurance company at atrade convention only afterthe original choice dies ina most embarrassing andlascivious manner, Timcan’t wait to get to CedarRapids and prove he’s gotwhat it takes. Tim’s bosshas instructed him who toavoid and who to payclose attention to and he’snot the kind of guy who

would even considergoing off the reservation.But like many a well-intended greenhorn before

him, the vices of the “bigcity” and mixing with thewrong element veer Timoff course and into life-

altering hot water. To get into the specifics

of the plot would providea great disservice to any-

one interested in seeingthe film as it unfolds muchlike a well-crafted mysteryrather than an absurd com-edy of errors. While someof what happens to Timalong the way can be seencoming a mile away, mostof it can’t and it is hisreaction to each situationthat provides all of theheart-and-soul humor.

If this was a story ofsomeone like Helms’ char-acter from “The Office,” itwouldn’t work and wouldcome off as unfunny andmean-spirited. Having ithappen to someone soeternally optimistic andoutwardly clueless andwatching how he adaptskeeps our undivided atten-tion throughout. We’realso never able to guesshow it will end.

The movie has alreadyreceived some minor flack

from conservative groupsand religious organizationswho say the film portraysthem in a bad light andmakes them look foolish.These same gripes couldbe levied by bikers, hook-ers, drug dealers, loudback-slapping salesmenand unfaithful spouses.

Every character in themovie does somethingillegal or immoral at somepoint, including somestraight-arrow, holy-rollertypes. Projecting whole-someness while practicingdeceit behind the scenestakes place in the realworld every day. If point-ing out that blatanthypocrisy in a fictionalfilm with frank humor andsarcasm offends somepeople they need to get offtheir soapboxes and devel-op thicker skins. (FoxSearchlight)

• From Page 7

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Cedar

Special Photo: Fox SearchlightAnne Heche and Ed Helms star in “Cedar Rapids.”

By John MercurioConceived and Developed by Andrew Kato

(Suggested by Faust by Wolfgang von Goethe)

2011-2012 Seasonto be announced at Academy


For the second time inless than a month, Alex Pet-tyfer shows up as the lead ina movie with “Twilight”connections and for the sec-ond time he and the film godown in flames.

“I Am Number Four”was based on a made-to-order novel specificallydesigned to mirror “Twi-light” and snare its mam-moth fan base. It failed tocatch on at the box officebut can at least take solacethat it was no worse thanany of the three “Twilight”yawners.

The producers of “Beast-ly” wanted a lead that waskinda, sorta like “Twilight”vamp Robert Pattinson, anddespite his blond hair andmore buff physique, Pettyferfits the bill. Like Pattinson,Pettyfer is handsome butvacant and generic and isdestined to a career of fluffmovie typecasting.

Adapted from the novelof the same name by AlexFlinn, “Beastly” is yetanother reworking of theclassic “Beauty and theBeast.” Straying far fromthe novel, writer/directorDaniel Barnz sticks realclose to distributor CBS

films’ directive calling for asafe, teen-friendly love storywith a minimum of edgeand lots of music videotrappings.

“Beastly” opens with Pet-tyfer’s character Kyle on astage whipping his school-mates into a fanatical frenzy.He’s running for class presi-dent on the platform thathe’s attractive and wealthyand has provided the crowdwith signs that feature justhis face mounted on a stick.The classmates — a mix-ture of lemmings and sheep— buy his spiel whole hog,save for the cute and wistfulLindy (Vanessa Hudgens)and the Goth outcastKendra (Mary-Kate Olsen).

After Kendra defaces hiscampaign posters, Kyle setsher up for public embarrass-

ment which works some-what but mostly fuels heralready deep contempt forhim and she casts a nastyspell that turns him ugly.

Being that the studio istrying to sell “Beastly” toteen girls, “ugly” is a rela-tive term. Kyle looses hiscurly locks, develops lacera-tions across his face, cultishtattoos everywhere and a sil-ver lightning bolt thingy onhis nose. Granted it is some-what disconcerting but nomore shocking than what ismistaken for fashion bypunk or heavy metal musi-cians. Kyle himself com-pares the look to the lead ina slasher film.

Anyway, Kendra tellsKyle that if he can findsomeone to say they lovehim of their own free will

within a year, the curse willbe lifted. If not, he’ll staythat way forever. Kyle’s firstmistake is thinking he’ll getany sympathy from hisrecord executive father Rob(Peter Krause) who is actu-ally shallower and phonierthan he is. Rob rids himselfof his son by housing himin a posh but remote apart-ment, provides him with ahousekeeper and Will theblind tutor (Neil PatrickHarris).

From the get-go there’slittle doubt how the storywill end and Barnz — real-izing his audience’s painful-ly short attention span —wraps everything up inabout 90 minutes. He getspoints for working moderntechnology in a way that fitswell with the century’s old

original story but has con-siderable trouble coming upwith dialogue that isn’tunintentionally funny.

Trying to be funny andalmost always succeeding isHarris, who delivers themovie’s light touch andcomic relief it so desperate-ly needs. Olsen — as hard itmight be to fathom — is aminor revelation. As she didin the gritty and grimy“Factory Girl,” Olsen seemsdetermined to break freefrom the childhood, All-American shackles and tobe taken seriously as anactress. She’s the high pointof the film.

On the other hand, Hud-gens — bless her — doesnothing to try to shake herlovable, goody two-shoes,“High School Musical” per-sona and plays it all ultra-safe. She’s not horrible, justblasé.

As unfair as it may seem,“Beastly” could make orbreak Pettyfer. Having twobox office duds, both withhim as the lead in “teen-friendly” projects, withinweeks of each other couldbe fatal. He could go on tobecome the next Brad Pittor the next Corey Feldman.(CBS Films)


MOVIES

Beastly (PG-13)★★★★★★

No fairy-tale endingTeen-targeted ‘Beastly’ could be disastrous to Pettyfer’s acting career

Special Photo: CBS FilmsAlex Pettyfer, left, and Vanessa Hudgens star in “Beastly.”

PAGE 10 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011 FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • PAGE 11

After spending 35 years pro-viding special effects toother people’s movies,

George Lucas’ Industrial Light &Magic has created their first ani-mated feature and it is an instantand unlikely classic. With“Rango” ILM in one fell swoophas established itself as a majorplayer in the cutthroat animationgenre and for the first time everhas given big kid on the blockPixar many reasons to watch itsback.

Everything contained in“Rango” achieves perfection. Thedetail of the CGI artwork is extra-ordinary. The plot is at once highlyderivative and completely original.The voice performances across theboard are spectacular. As superblyrealized as it is, “Rango” fails todo the one thing most other ani-mated features and every Pixarproduction sees to without fail:making it accessible for children.Most of them won’t get it and thuswon’t like it.

In a manner similar to “Fantas-tic Mr. Fox” and “WALL-E,”“Rango” is brimming with eso-teric pop culture riffs, loads of $10words and just the slightest sug-gestion of being above it all. Thereare references to trippy CarlosCastaneda novels, Sergio LeoneSpaghetti Westerns, “ApocalypseNow,” “Chinatown” and “Fear andLoathing in Las Vegas” — not thetitles you’ll usually find in familylibraries. This doesn’t mean it’snot funny, highly entertaining orartistically impressive — it is all ofthose things and more. It’s just notovertly family friendly.

It makes all kinds of sense thatJohnny Depp would gravitatetoward this type of project. Voic-

ing the title character (achameleon), Depp mixes pastcharacters from “Ed Wood,” “Fearand Loathing” and “The Pirates ofthe Caribbean” franchise into afalsely overconfident house petthat gets tossed from a car andlands in the middle of a desert.After some cryptic advice from anarmadillo named Roadkill (AlfredMolina), Rango trudges across asweltering wasteland until arrivingin a town called Dirt.

Dirt appears to be stuck in a late19th century time warp and oper-ates by rules of the old AmericanWest. All of the inhabitants areanimals and most of them aregnarled, aging, unfriendly and trig-ger happy. The two quasi-excep-tions are field mouse Pricilla (Abi-gail Breslin) and the iguana Beans(Isla Fisher) one of whom couldbecome Rango’s love interest.

After shoveling a fictionalcockamamie story of faux braveryto a barroom of rapt onlookers,Rango is introduced to Dirt’s turtleMayor (Ned Beatty). ChannelingJohn Huston, the mayor hiresRango as the town sheriff, a posi-tion he relishes and immediatelyexploits. Only later does Rangolearn that previous Dirt sheriffs

had a shelf life shorter than milkand he didn’t get the job becausehe was the best suited.

Having worked with Depp onthe “Pirates” flicks, Gore Verbinskiwas still an odd choice to direct“Rango” and he seized the oppor-tunity to stamp all of hisEuro/artsy flourishes on to the pro-duction. The Depp/Verbinskiteaming has already resulted inmore than $2.5 billion worldwidebox office and this alone givesthem wide artistic free rein onwhat is essentially a high-end art-house project. Even if it complete-ly tanks (which is not likely)“Rango” will deliver Paramountstudios a much needed prestigeproduction and an almost certainOscar nomination next year in amost coveted category that will benew to them.

If you’re familiar with or haveeven heard of all of the above ref-erenced previous works, you’llfully appreciate “Rango” if notoutright love it. If you want tothrow caution to the wind andtake your kids to see it, prepareyourself for befuddled expres-sions, seat squirming and repeat-ed pleas to make an early exit.(Paramount)

VIEWPOINTS

MICHAEL CLARK

Rango (PG)

Special Photos: Paramount

PAGE 10 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011 FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • PAGE 11

After spending 35 years pro-viding special effects toother people’s movies,

George Lucas’ Industrial Light &Magic has created their first ani-mated feature and it is an instantand unlikely classic. With“Rango” ILM in one fell swoophas established itself as a majorplayer in the cutthroat animationgenre and for the first time everhas given big kid on the blockPixar many reasons to watch itsback.

Everything contained in“Rango” achieves perfection. Thedetail of the CGI artwork is extra-ordinary. The plot is at once highlyderivative and completely original.The voice performances across theboard are spectacular. As superblyrealized as it is, “Rango” fails todo the one thing most other ani-mated features and every Pixarproduction sees to without fail:making it accessible for children.Most of them won’t get it and thuswon’t like it.

In a manner similar to “Fantas-tic Mr. Fox” and “WALL-E,”“Rango” is brimming with eso-teric pop culture riffs, loads of $10words and just the slightest sug-gestion of being above it all. Thereare references to trippy CarlosCastaneda novels, Sergio LeoneSpaghetti Westerns, “ApocalypseNow,” “Chinatown” and “Fear andLoathing in Las Vegas” — not thetitles you’ll usually find in familylibraries. This doesn’t mean it’snot funny, highly entertaining orartistically impressive — it is all ofthose things and more. It’s just notovertly family friendly.

It makes all kinds of sense thatJohnny Depp would gravitatetoward this type of project. Voic-

ing the title character (achameleon), Depp mixes pastcharacters from “Ed Wood,” “Fearand Loathing” and “The Pirates ofthe Caribbean” franchise into afalsely overconfident house petthat gets tossed from a car andlands in the middle of a desert.After some cryptic advice from anarmadillo named Roadkill (AlfredMolina), Rango trudges across asweltering wasteland until arrivingin a town called Dirt.

Dirt appears to be stuck in a late19th century time warp and oper-ates by rules of the old AmericanWest. All of the inhabitants areanimals and most of them aregnarled, aging, unfriendly and trig-ger happy. The two quasi-excep-tions are field mouse Pricilla (Abi-gail Breslin) and the iguana Beans(Isla Fisher) one of whom couldbecome Rango’s love interest.

After shoveling a fictionalcockamamie story of faux braveryto a barroom of rapt onlookers,Rango is introduced to Dirt’s turtleMayor (Ned Beatty). ChannelingJohn Huston, the mayor hiresRango as the town sheriff, a posi-tion he relishes and immediatelyexploits. Only later does Rangolearn that previous Dirt sheriffs

had a shelf life shorter than milkand he didn’t get the job becausehe was the best suited.

Having worked with Depp onthe “Pirates” flicks, Gore Verbinskiwas still an odd choice to direct“Rango” and he seized the oppor-tunity to stamp all of hisEuro/artsy flourishes on to the pro-duction. The Depp/Verbinskiteaming has already resulted inmore than $2.5 billion worldwidebox office and this alone givesthem wide artistic free rein onwhat is essentially a high-end art-house project. Even if it complete-ly tanks (which is not likely)“Rango” will deliver Paramountstudios a much needed prestigeproduction and an almost certainOscar nomination next year in amost coveted category that will benew to them.

If you’re familiar with or haveeven heard of all of the above ref-erenced previous works, you’llfully appreciate “Rango” if notoutright love it. If you want tothrow caution to the wind andtake your kids to see it, prepareyourself for befuddled expres-sions, seat squirming and repeat-ed pleas to make an early exit.(Paramount)

VIEWPOINTS

MICHAEL CLARK

Rango (PG)

Special Photos: Paramount


SHOWTIMESSHOWTIMESMOVIE TIMES FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 4

BUFORDREGAL CINEMAS,MALL OF GEORGIA 203333 Buford Drive678-482-9263www.regalcinemas.com

The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13)12:10, 2:40, 5:15, 7:50, 10:20Beastly (PG-13)1:00, 3:05, 5:20, 7:30, 9:45, 11:55Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son(PG-13)2:50, 5:25, 8:00, 10:35Drive Angry (R)9:30, 12:15Drive Angry 3-D (R)12:00, 2:25, 4:55, 7:50, 10:20Gnomeo and Juliet (G)12:50, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 9:50, 12:05Gnomeo and Juliet 3-D (G)11:50, 2:10, 4:20, 7:15Hall Pass (R)12:15, 1:10, 2:50, 4:10, 5:25, 6:40, 7:55, 9:15, 10:30, 11:45I Am Number Four The IMAX Experience (PG-13)1:30, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40, 12:10I Am Number Four (PG-13)12:15, 2:50, 5:25, 8:00, 10:35Just Go With It (PG-13)1:10, 4:05, 7:10, 10:00Justin Bieber:Never Say Never 3-D (G)4:30, 9:40Justin Bieber: Never Say Never:Director’s Fan Cut 3-D (G)1:15, 7:00The King’s Speech (R)1:15, 4:10, 7:10, 10:00No Strings Attached (R)1:00, 3:55, 7:30, 10:10Rango (PG)12:00, 12:50, 1:35, 2:35, 3:25, 4:20, 5:10, 6:20,7:00, 7:45, 9:00, 9:35, 10:15, 11:35, 12:10The Roommate (PG-13)11:55, 2:15, 4:50, 7:35, 9:50, 12:10Take Me Home Tonight (R)12:05, 2:30, 5:00, 7:25, 9:55Unknown (PG-13)1:20, 4:15, 7:05, 9:40, 12:15

DACULAGREAT ESCAPETHEATERS: HAMILTON MILL142160 Hamilton Creek ParkwayDacula, GA 30019678-482-0624www.greatescapetheaters.com

The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13)11:40, 2:10, 4:30, 7:10, 9:30Beastly (PG-13)11:00, 1:05, 3:10, 5:30, 7:40, 9:40Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son(PG-13)6:45, 9:15Drive Angry 3-D (R)

12:25, 2:55, 5:20, 7:50, 10:15Gnomeo and Juliet 3-D (G)12:15, 2:25, 4:30Gnomeo and Juliet (G)12:40, 2:50, 4:55, 7:00, 9:10Hall Pass (R)12:20, 2:40, 5:15, 7:55, 10:15I Am Number Four (PG-13)11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:35Just Go With It (PG-13)11:10, 2:00, 4:40, 7:30, 10:10Justin Bieber:Never Say Never 3-D (G)11:05Justin Bieber: Never Say Never:Director’s Fan Cut 3-D (G)1:40, 4:15, 6:55, 9:35The King’s Speech (R)11:15, 1:55, 4:35, 7:15, 9:55Rango (PG)11:20, 11:50, 1:50, 2:20, 4:20, 4:50, 6:50, 7:20,9:20, 9:50Take Me Home Tonight (R)12:30, 3:00, 5:20, 7:50, 10:20Unknown (PG-13)11:55, 2:30, 5:05, 7:45, 10:20

DULUTHREGAL CINEMAS,MEDLOCK CROSSING 189700 Medlock Bridge Road, Suite 170770-814-8437www.regalcinemas.com

The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13)11:40, 12:00, 2:15, 4:50, 5:10, 7:30, 8:00, 10:10, 10:40Beastly (PG-13)12:15, 2:35, 5:00, 7:50, 10:50Big Momma’s: Like Father, LikeSon (PG-13)11:30, 2:05, 4:45, 7:25, 10:05Black Swan (R)11:45, 2:30, 5:05, 8:05, 10:45Drive Angry 3-D (R)12:00, 2:40, 5:30, 8:15, 10:55The Fighter (R)10:35Gnomeo and Juliet (G)12:10, 2:25, 4:35, 7:45Gnomeo and Juliet 3-D (G)11:30, 2:05, 4:30, 7:10, 9:50Hall Pass (R)12:05, 2:40, 5:25, 8:00, 10:55I Am Number Four (PG-13)12:40, 4:45, 7:40, 10:35Just Go With It (PG-13)

11:35, 2:20, 7:05, 9:55Justin Bieber:Never Say Never 3-D (G)4:20, 10:15Justin Bieber: Never Say Never:Director’s Fan Cut 3-D (G)12:45, 7:00The King’s Speech (R)12:35, 3:45, 7:20, 10:20Rango (PG)11:50, 12:10, 2:45, 4:40, 5:20, 7:15, 7:55, 10:00, 10:30Take Me Home Tonight (R)12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 8:10, 11:00True Grit (PG-13)11:35, 2:10, 4:55, 7:35, 10:25Unknown (PG-13)11:55, 2:30, 5:15, 8:10, 10:45

LAWRENCEVILLECOLONIAL 18 THEATRES825 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road770-237-0744www.amctheatres.com

The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13)11:20, 1:50, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40 Beastly (PG-13)10:20, 12:55, 3:10, 5:40, 8:00, 10:20 Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son(PG-13)10:40, 1:20, 4:10, 6:45, 9:25Black Swan (R)3:50, 6:35, 9:30,Drive Angry 3-D (R)11:25, 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:05The Eagle (PG-13)11:45, 7:45Gnomeo and Juliet 3-D (G)11:00, 1:25, 3:45, 6:15, 8:30 Hall Pass (R)11:30, 2:15, 4:55, 7:35, 10:15 I Am Number Four (PG-13)10:00,10:50, 12:35, 1:30, 3:20, 4:05, 6:00, 6:50, 8:40, 9:45Just Go With It (PG-13)10:30, 1:30, 4:15, 7:05, 9:55 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (G)10:45, 1:15 Justin Bieber Never Say Never 3-D(G)1:00, 9:00Justin Bieber: Never Say Never:Director’s Fan Cut 3-D (G)10:00, 3:35, 6:20 The King’s Speech (R)9:55am 12:50, 3:40, 6:30, 9:20 The Mechanic (R)

2:35, 5:05, 10:25 Rango (PG)10:05, 11:05, 12:45, 1:45, 3:30, 4:30, 6:10, 7:10, 8:50, 9:50Take Me Home Tonight (R)11:55am 2:30, 5:00, 7:40, 10:10,True Grit (PG-13)10:25, 1:10, 4:40, 7:20, 10:00 Unknown (PG-13)10:15, 1:05, 3:55, 6:40, 9:35

AMC DISCOVER MILLS 18THEATRES5900 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 415678-847-9265www.amctheatres.com

The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13)10:40, 1:30, 4:05, 6:50, 9:30, 12:00Beastly (PG-13)11:00, 1:20, 3:40, 6:00, 8:20, 10:40Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son(PG-13)10:45, 12:30, 1:35, 3:20, 4:20, 6:20, 7:00, 9:05, 10:00, 11:50Drive Angry 3-D (R)10:30, 1:15, 4:10, 6:45, 9:25, 11:55Gnomeo and Juliet (G)10:25, 12:40, 3:05, 5:25, 8:15Gnomeo and Juliet 3-D (G)11:25, 2:05, 4:35, 6:55, 9:20Hall Pass (R)11:15, 12:45, 2:10, 3:35, 4:45, 6:15, 7:30, 9:00, 10:15, 11:40I Am Number Four (PG-13)11:10 ,1:45, 4:30, 7:20, 10:10Just Go With It (PG-13)10:50, 1:50, 4:50, 7:45, 10:50Justin Bieber:Never Say Never 3-D (G)1:25, 7:05Justin Bieber: Never Say NeverDirector’s Fan Cut 3-D (G)10:35, 4:15, 9:50The King’s Speech (R)11:05, 1:55, 4:55, 7:40, 10:30Rango (PG)10:55, 11:35 ,12:50, 1:40, 2:20, 3:45, 4:25, 5:10,6:30, 7:10, 8:00, 9:10, 9:55, 10:45 Take Me Home Tonight (R)10:30, 1:00, 3:30, 6:10, 8:45, 11:20Unknown (PG-13)11:20, 2:00, 4:40, 7:25, 10:20

GEORGIA THEATRE CO.,TOWNCENTER VALUE700 Gwinnett Drive, No. 216678-985-2222www.georgiatheatrecompany.comThe Chronicles of Narnia:The

Voyage of the Dawn Treader (PG)5:15, 8:15The Dilemma (PG-13)7:15, 9:50Gulliver’s Travels (PG)5:10Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsPart 1 (PG-13)4:40, 7:50Little Fockers (PG-13)4:05, 7:05, 9:35Megamind (PG)4:15Sanctum (R)4:20, 7:25, 9:55Season of the Witch (PG-13)7:20, 9:40Tangled (G)5:20, 7:45, 10:00The Tourist (PG-13)4:10, 7:10, 9:45Tron: Legacy (PG)5:00, 8:00Unstoppable (PG-13)4:00, 7:00, 9:30

VENTURE CINEMA 123750 Venture Drive678-957-9545www.venturecinema12.com

The Chronicles of Narnia:The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (PG)4:20, 7:05, 9:35Gulliver’s Travels (PG)3:15, 5:20, 7:40, 9:40Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsPart 1 (PG-13)4:30, 7:45Little Fockers (PG-13)5:15, 7:30, 9:45Megamind (PG)4:00, 7:15, 9:40Season of the Witch (PG-13)4:05, 7:10, 9:30Sanctum (R)4:10, 7:15, 9:35Tangled (G)4:15, 5:15, 6:45, 7:30, 9:00, 9:45The Tourist (PG-13)4:00, 7:00, 9:25Tron: Legacy (PG)4:05, 6:55, 9:30Unstoppable (PG-13)4:10, 7:00, 9:25

SNELLVILLECARMIKE 12 SNELLVILLE1905 Scenic HighwayPresidential Market Center770-979-1519www.carmike.com

Beastly (PG-13)1:10, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 9:50Black Swan (R)1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 9:45The Company Men (R)1:35, 4:20, 7:15The Eagle (Pg-13)7:10, 9:50Green Hornet (PG-13)1:55, 4:50, 7:25, 10:00Hall Pass (R)2:00, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40The King’s Speech (R)1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45No Strings Attached (R)1:35, 4:15, 7:15, 9:55Rango (PG)1:05, 2:05, 4:05, 5:05, 7:05, 8:05, 9:35The Rite (PG-13)9:45The Roommate (PG-13)1:45, 4:35, 7:20, 9:50Tangled (PG)1:00, 4:00True Grit (PG-13)1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:30

REGAL SNELLVILLE OAKS 142125 E. Main St., Snellville770-972-7469www.regalcinemas.com

The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13)2:10, 4:45, 7:45, 10:15Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son(PG-13)2:25, 5:20, 8:05, 10:45Drive Angry (R)2:50, 5:10, 7:30, 9:55Drive Angry 3-D (R)2:00, 4:15, 6:30, 8:45, 11:00The Fighter (R)2:15, 5:00, 8:20, 10:55Gnomeo and Juliet (G)2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00Gnomeo and Juliet 3-D (G)2:55, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00, 11:00The Grace Card (PG-13)2:20, 4:50, 7:10, 9:25I Am Number Four (PG-13)2:40, 5:30, 8:10, 11:00Just Go With It (PG-13)2:30, 5:05, 7:50, 10:30Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (G)2:05, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30Justin Bieber:Never Say Never 3-D (G)5:15, 10:15Justin Bieber: Never Say Never:Director’s Fan Cut 3-D (G)2:45, 7:45Take Me Home Tonight (R)2:00, 4:15, 6:30, 8:45, 11:00Unknown (PG-13)2:45, 5:25, 8:15, 10:50

For movie showtimes for Saturday and

Sunday, visit thetheater websites.


A UNIVERSAL RELEASE© 2010 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND MEDIA RIGHTS CAPITAL PRESENTIN ASSOCIATION WITH ELECTRIC SHEPHERD PRODUCTIONS A FILM BY GEORGE NOLFI

MICHAEL HACKETTPRODUCEDBY GEORGE NOLFI BILL CARRARO CHRIS MOORE

A GAMBIT PICTURES PRODUCTION

MUSICBY THOMAS NEWMAN JONATHAN GORDONISA DICK HACKETTEXECUTIVE

PRODUCERS

“THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU”MATT DAMONMICHAEL KELLY AND TERENCE STAMPANTHONY MACKIE JOHN SLATTERY

EMILY BLUNT

PHILIP K. DICKBASED UPON THE SHORT STORY“ADJUSTMENT TEAM” BY

SCREENPLAYBY GEORGE NOLFI GEORGE NOLFIDIRECTED

BY

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMESSTARTS TODAY

MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes - Text ADJUSTMENT with your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549)!

LANGUAGE INCLUDING CRUDE COMMENTS,BRIEF VIOLENCE AND SOME THEMATIC MATERIAL

STARTS TODAY AT A THEATER NEAR YOUCHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR SHOWTIMES

MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes – Text BEASTLY with your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549)

“Bambi” wasn’t the first animated Dis-ney movie nor is it one of the studio’s topgrossing, but it was the first toaddress, with amazing forth-rightness and clarity, a touchysubject that even current animat-ed movies steadfastly avoid.Perhaps more so than any otherfamily film watching it shouldinclude a pre- and post-conver-sation with children, especiallythose susceptible to traumaticevents. Needless to say this newDiamond Edition is everythingyou’d expect from Disney: thor-ough, pristine, enlightening and rapturous.

Technical specs: aspect ratio: Full

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Digital DEHT) subtitles:English SDH and ESL,French and Spanish.

Special features include:• Disney’s Second Screen • Introduction by Diane

Disney Miller• Deleted scenes and song• Interactive galleries• Inside Walt’s story

meetings• Big Book of Knowledge

Game• Restored theatrical soundtrack

(Disney, $39.99)

DISC SPOTLIGHT

MICHAEL CLARK

Bambi Two-disc Blu-ray + DVD (G)

Disc:Movie: ★★★★ ★★★★

MOVIES


EDITOR’S NOTE: FilmFans features local resi-dents reviewing the film ofthe week: “Hall Pass.”Want to be a film fan? E-mail [email protected].

Admittedly the premise of“Hall Pass” sounded kind offunny and it sort of had thesame appeal as “The Hang-over.” In reality, not only didit fall short, but it was an all-around disappointment.Weak story, weak acting anda weak comedy.

The Owen Wilson andJason Sudeikis charactersnever really developed andwere both boring enoughthat you didn’t really carewhat happened to them. Thesupporting cast of guyfriends had some potentialbut they disappeared half-way through the movie. Iguess they knew when tobail on a lost cause.

Sorry, “Hall Pass.”Youfailed.

— Kenny Grams,Lawrenceville

I enjoyed “There’s Some-thing About Mary,” so Ithought “Hall Pass” wouldbe funny since it was createdby the same people.

“Hall Pass” stars OwenWilson as Rick and JasonSudekis as Fred. Jenna Fis-cher plays Rick’s wife andChristina Applegate playsFred’s wife. I like the actors,but if this was my first expe-rience with them I wouldnever watch any of theirother work. I found it impos-sible to care about any of thecharacters. Keeping up withthe characters’names wasdifficult because the storywas so poorly developed.

Don’t waste your money

on this movie. It is not thatthe movie was not funny inplaces. It’s just that it is sogross that it’s not funny inmost of the places that it ismeant to be. If you are plan-ning to take a date to see it,you will probably regret it. Itcould be awkward to talkabout the movie later. It cer-tainly would not promoteromance for most people.

The storyline had poten-tial, but it was not developedbecause the desire to go forthe quick, disgusting laughoverrides the story itself. Thevisual excrement jokes go sofar over the line that I do notsee how they made it into themovie. It could have been amuch better movie if thegrossness was toned downand the feelings that the cou-ples have for each other weredeveloped more.

— Deborah Hurd,Bethlehem

The Farrelly Brothers begto ask in their unique brandof crude humor the questionin “Hall Pass” — “Are yousatisfied?”

This movie explores gapsnot only in brain matter, butthat precarious gap betweenreality and perceived reality.

Jenna Fischer plays OwenWilson’s stymied wife, whileChristina Applegate shinesopposite of Jason Sudeikis,best friend to Wilson’s char-acter. Wilson and Sudeikisexemplify suburbia men in a“rut” with their marriages.Hoping to rekindle their mat-rimonial spark, their wiveseach give their discontentedhusbands a week long “hallpass,” which allows them aweek of bachelorhood withno commitment to marriage,family or accountability.

The frustration they expe-rience in not being able to

have what they want becausethey’re married pales incomparison to the frustrationof trying to get what theywant when permitted.

The week unfolds withtongue-in-cheek humor ofAmerica’s longest runningdrama “Law and Order,“comically yet painfully

depicting each day, one afteranother.

“Hall Pass” has a solidbeginning but concludeswith a cacophony of may-

hem (yet remains entertain-ing). One tip: Stay throughthe credits.

— Cathryn Veal,Lawrenceville


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MOVIESFilm Fans enter ‘Hall Pass’ with big expectations, leave disappointed

★★★★★★★

★★★★★★★★

★★★★★★


MOVIES


Scheduled for releasetwice in 2010, “TheAdjustment Bureau” hassomething practicallyevery discerning adult canappreciate. It is a fantasticstew of romance, sci-fi,adventure, politics, thrillerand mystery with just apinch of fantasy and com-edy flavoring. Throwingthis many elementstogether generally resultsin an incoherent mish-mash which could explainwhy Universal was so

unsure of what to do withit.

Clever and streamlinedbut never overtly cerebralor rushed, it again showswhy short stories aremuch better sources formovies than novels. It’salways easier to add some-thing than to take away.Loosely based on the 1954Philip K. Dick short story“Adjustment Team,” it notonly spins a good yarn butalso offers questions aboutlife, career, love and spiri-tually without gettingpreachy, gooey, excessive-ly analytical or offeringconcrete answers.

New Yorker David Nor-ris (Matt Damon) is a per-fect reflection of ourtimes. With his blue-collarupbringing and genuineaffability, he’s a guy’s guy

whose local popularity asa U.S. congressman willshortly propel him into thenational spotlight if hewins a Senate seat. Wedon’t know if he’s red orblue which of coursemakes him all the moreinteresting.

On the eve of the elec-tion a skeleton escapesfrom David’s’ closet andtorpedoes his campaign.Exuding wise savvy,David’s concessionspeech is graceful, humor-ous and optimistic. Itdoesn’t hurt that just priorto the speech he metBritish dancer Elise(Emily Blunt) in a hotelbathroom. This is a pivotalpoint early in the film thatcould have been forced

No ‘Adjustment’ neededDamon, Blunt shine in practically perfect ‘Bureau’The Adjustment

Bureau (PG-13)★★★★

Special Photo: UniversalMatt Damon stars in “The Adjustment Bureau” as a man who glimpses intothe future planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, hemust pursue the only woman he’s ever loved — Emily Blunt — and defy theagents of Fate, a mysterious group of men exerting control over their lives.

• See Bureau, Page 17


MUSIC

37 Main 37 E. Main St., Buford

678-288-2030www.37main.com

• Today: Aeromyth• Saturday: XVI• Thursday: The Brat Pak• March 11: Fly By Radio• March 12: Moby Dick• March 18: 12 Oz. Prophets• March 19: Slippery When Wet• March 24: Nice Boys• March 25: Appetite for Destruction

40 WATT CLUB285 W. Washington St., Athens

706-549-7871www.40watt.com

• Today: Modern Skirts• Saturday: Don Chambers and Goat,Lera Lynn• March 11: Toro y Moi• March 12: The Baseball Project• March 22: Godspeed You! Black Emporer• March 23: Drew Holcomb and theNeighbors

AARON’S AMPHITHEATRE AT LAKEWOOD

2002 Lakewood Ave., Atlanta404-443-5000

www.livenation.com/venue/aarons-amphitheatre-at-lakewood-tickets

No shows listed as of press time.

ARENA AT GWINNETT CENTER

6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth770-813-7500

www.gwinnettcenter.com

• Today: Kid Rock• Monday: Hillsong United• April 18: Lady Gaga

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ATGWINNETT CENTER

6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth 770-813-7500

www.gwinnettcenter.com

• Saturday: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”• March 18-20: “Cinderella”• May 20 and 22: “The Little Mermaid”

ATLANTA CIVIC CENTER395 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta

404-523-6275www.atlantaciviccenter.com

No shows listed as of press time.

BUFORD VARIETY THEATER 170 W. Main St., Buford

770-271-7878www.bufordvarietytheater.com

• Today and Saturday: Jim Gossett• March 11 and 12: Mo Alexander• March 18 and 19: Cal Verduchi

CENTER STAGE1374 W. Peachtree St.

404-885-1365www.centerstage-atlanta.com

• Saturday: Ice Cube• March 11: Celtic Crossroads• March 12: Marc Broussard• March 19: Mike Gordon

CHASTAIN PARK AMPHITHEATER

4469 Stella Drive N.W., Atlanta

404-233-2227www.livenation.com

• June 21: Dispatch

COBB ENERGY PERFORMING ARTS

CENTRE2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta

www.cobbenergycentre.com770-916-2800

• Today, Sunday: The AtlantaOpera’s Porgy and Bess• March 8-10: Shen Yun PerformingArts

• March 11: Bethany Frankel• March 17-20: A Chorus Line

EDDIE’S ATTIC515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur

404-377-4976 www.eddiesattic.com

• Today: Peter Bradley Adams andEmily Greene• Saturday: Brian Webb, Mike Willisand Jason White• Sunday: Pierre Bensusan• Tuesday: Bruce Molsky• Wednesday: Dayna Kurtz andCallaghan• Thursday: Shannon Whitworth andSean Ashby• March 11: CC Booker III featuringWill Scruggs with The Funderhorns

FERST CENTER FOR THE ARTS

349 Ferst Drive, Georgia Tech campus

404-894-9600www.ferstcenter.gatech.edu

• Saturday: Doug Varone andDancers• March 11: The Vagina Monologues• March 12: Melinda Doolitle

FOX THEATRE660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta

404-881-2100www.foxtheatre.org

• Today-Sunday: STOMP• Thursday and March 11: KEM withMusiq Soulchild and Ledisi• March 12: Jerry Seinfeld• March 22-27: Burn the Floor

THE LOFT1374 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta

404-885-1365http://www.centerstage-

atlanta.com/shows/the-loft/

• March 4: Miguel• March 11: A-Town Legends feat.Kilo Ali, Raheem The Dream, andShy-D• March 14: O.M.D.

PHILIPS ARENA1 Philips Drive N.W., Atlanta

404-878-3000www.philipsarena.com

• March 12: Harlem Globetrotters• March 19: Steve Harvey and KirkFranklin

RED LIGHT CAFE553 Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta

404-874-7828www.redlightcafe.com

• Today: Recess Jazz Trio Loves the 90s• Saturday: Ariel Wolpe, Ben Belcher,Moonlight Riders and Terry Flynn Band• Thursday: Sons of Ralph• March 12: Commons Thread, MaryJennings Band and Bellweather Station• March 17: Pony Express

RIALTO CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

80 Forsyth St. N.W., Atlanta404-651-4727

www.rialtocenter.org

• Saturday: Vibe 2011• March 12: Ladysmih Black Mambazo• March 19: Paul Taylor Dance Company

SMITH’S OLDE BAR1578 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta

404-875-1522www.smithsoldebar.com

• Today: Hamell on Trial• Saturday: Modern Skirts• Sunday: The Coronas• Monday: Trashcan Sinatras• Wednesday: Down Since One, 28North and the Silver Comet Band• Thursday: Danielle Howle andAngelo Gianni• March 11: Angue Aparo

THE TABERNACLE152 Luckie St., Atlanta

404-659-9022www.livenation.com/venue/

getVenue/venueId/1294/

• Today: Bright Eyes• March 19: Demetri Martin• April 2: All Time Low

VARIETY PLAYHOUSE 1099 Euclid Ave., Little Five Points

404-521-1786www.variety-playhouse.com

• Sunday: Steep Canyon Rangers• March 11: Colin Hay• March 12: Leo Kottke

Verizon WirelessAmphitheater

at Encore Park2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta

www.ticketmaster.com/venue/115485

• April 2: Band of Horses with Jayhawks

WILD BILL’S2075 Market St., Duluth

678-473-1000www.wildbillsatlanta.com

• Saturday: Soulja Boy with A-Mitchand Yellow Boyz• March 12: Rick SpringfieldMost tickets available through Ticket-master at 404-249-6400 or www.tick-etmaster.com.

BY VENUE

Special PhotoKid Rock will perform today at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth.

and “meet cute” but insteadis invigorating, transcendentand sexy as all get out. It is aperfect springboard for thetone of the rest of the film.

With defeat in therearview mirror and her dig-its securely in hand, Davis isready to begin a nonpoliticallife and courting Elise inearnest, but some shadyguys in porkpie hats lurkingin the shadows have otherplans. After one of these fel-lows botches a menial butessential task, his co-work-ers are thrown into a tizzyand have no choice but toreveal who they are andwhat they do to David. Evenwith their clear and conciseexplanation neither Davidnor we know exactly who orwhat they really are but onlywe as the audience are betterserved.

There are fragments of“Heaven Can Wait,”“Defending Your Life,” “TheMatrix,” “Ghost” and“Blade Runner” strewnthroughout, but “The Adjust-ment Bureau” most resem-bles “Minority Report”minus most of the hocus-pocus, sci-fi trappings and

naval-gazing flummery. By explaining little but

showing us everything, first-time director George Nolfihas crafted one of the finestrookie efforts of the last 20years. A writer and/or con-sultant on two previousDamon projects (“TheBourne Ultimatum” and

“Ocean’s Twelve”), Nolfimixes a Spielberg sense ofwonder with Hitchcock’sominous uncertainty andcrafts a most original, engag-ing and unpredictable fable.

While there are a fairshare of chase scenes andaction sequences, there is nogunfire and the few specialeffects are undetectable —save for some futuristiccomposition notebooks.Nolfi has bucked the tire-some trend of covering upholes in the plot with flashand uses it here only as aminor accent and story pro-pellant. It’s brave, quietlyassured filmmaking and inthis age of synthetic overkilland hack writing that comesas enormously refreshing.

At this point you may ask,if this movie is so great whyonly 31⁄2 stars and not 4?Sadly, late in the third act,Nolfi breaks the only sci-fi

rule: contradicting one of hisown key previously estab-lished parameters. In sci-fi,you can alter the behavior ofpeople, the chemical make-up of matter or the cosmicforces of the universe how-ever you wish, but once youdo so you can’t alter themfor story’s sake. During thisportion of the film pay closeattention to the powers of thehat.

“The Adjustment Bureau”probably won’t set the box

office ablaze but come Mon-day, it will almost certainlybe major water cooler fod-der. It won’t be men talkingabout the action or how coolDamon was or how hotBlunt looked (although allwould be applicable). It willbe women; thousands,maybe millions of womenimploring their friends andco-workers to go see one ofthe most moving love storiesthey’ve ever experienced.(Universal)


• From Page 15

Bureau

Special Photo: UniversalMatt Damon and Emily Blunt stars in “The Adjust-ment Bureau.”


So, you think you’regood at movie trivia?Every week, we give read-ers the opportunity to flextheir movie muscles byanswering five trivia ques-tions from our movie crit-ic, Michael Clark.

Congratulations to lastweek’s winner, Mark Dod-son of Roswell.

Here are last week’squestions again and theanswers:

1. What famous actressis mentioned by name insongs by Bob Dylan,Elton John, Billy Joel andThe Pretenders, amongothers?

A: Brigitte Bardot2. Name the last person

to win an acting Oscarwhose character in thefilm was an active mem-ber of the U.S. Military.

A: Denzel Washingtonin “Glory”

3. Name the person tobe nominated for the mostacting Oscars without awin.

A: Richard Burton4. What Coen Brothers

movie is set almost entire-ly in Washington, D.C.?

A: “Burn After Read-ing”

5. Name someone towin more than one actingOscar in films directed bythe same person.

A: Answers includedJack Nicholson andDianne Wiest

Now, for this week’squestions:

1. Name an actress towin a Razzie Award on oneday and an Oscar the next.

2. What late-night TVshow host was the Oscartelecast emcee four yearsin a row?

3. What Robert Altmanfilm included four Gram-my Award winners in thecast?

4. Who owns the “Rose-bud” sled that was used in“Citizen Kane”?

5. What is the highest-grossing NC-17 ratedmovie ever?

The first person torespond with all the correctanswers receives a prizepackage of movie-relatedgoodies, which couldinclude promotional T-shirts, hats, posters, DVDs,video games and more. Thewinner also gets their

name published in the nextWeekend section. Please e-mail your answers, alongwith your name to [email protected] “Gwinnett DailyPost Trivia Contest” in thesubject line. In the eventno one answers all of the

questions correctly, theperson with the most cor-rect answers submitted by6 p.m. the Monday afterthe contest is posted willbe the winner. Only onewinner per household iseligible each 30-day peri-od.

questionsquestions

Lights, Lights, camera,camera,

Test your film knowledge with

Michael Clark

MOVIES


Special PhotoThe Coen Brothers’ “Burn After Reading” is setalmost entirely in Washington, D.C.


GWINNETT CALENDARMarch 11

Southern Ballet Theatrewill present “Aladdin andhis Magical Lamp” at 2:30p.m. March 11 and at 2:30and 7:30 p.m. March 12and 13 at the PerformingArts Center at the GwinnettCenter, 6400 SugarloafParkway in Duluth. Formore information, visitwww.southernballetthe-atre.com.

March 12Gwinnett County Pub-

lic Library will hostauthor Lisa Gardner aspart of its “Meet the AuthorSeries” at 7 p.m. March 12at The Norcross CulturalArts and Community Cen-ter, 10 College St. in Nor-cross. It is a free event andopen to the public. Formore information, visitwww.gwinnettpl.org or call770-978-5154.

March 26Gwinnett County Public

Library will host authorSuzanne Brockman aspart of its “Meet the AuthorSeries” at 7 p.m. March 26at Parc at Duluth, 3315Peachtree Industrial Blvd.in Duluth. It is a free eventand open to the public. Formore information, visitwww.gwinnettpl.org or call770-978-5154.

April 1Gwinnett County Public

Library will host authorKristin Hannah as part ofits “Meet the Author Series”at 7:15 p.m. April 1 at theAtlanta Marriott Norcross,475 Technology Parkway inNorcross. It is a free eventand open to the public. Formore information, visitwww.gwinnettpl.org or call770-978-5154.

April 9The Right to Hike will

host a banquet in memoryof Meredith Emerson onApril 9 at the Gwinnett Cen-ter Tommy Hughes GrandBallroom, featuring a guestappearance by the Indigo

Girls. Tickets are $75. Formore information, [email protected].

Ongoing EventsThe Kudzu Art Zone is

holding an exhibit called“Floura and Fauna” fromtoday through April 30 at116 Carlyle St. in Norcross.For more information, visitwww.kudzuartzone.org.

The Gwinnett Environ-mental and Heritage Cen-ter will host the exhibit“Your House, My House”through April 16. The exhib-

it displays the homes ofpeople around the world.The exhibit is included withadmission to the GEHCand free for GEHC mem-bers. For more information,call 770-904-3500 or visitgwinnettEHC.org.

The Gwinnett HistoricCourthouse will host theart show “Walk Like aGwinnettian” from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. Mondays throughFridays and from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. Saturdays throughApril 25. For more informa-tion, call 770-822-5450.

Special PhotoGwinnett County Public Library will host authorSuzanne Brockman as part of its “Meet the AuthorSeries” at 7 p.m. March 26 at Parc at Duluth, 3315Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Duluth.

Who’son

stage?Read Out in the Crowd.



METRO CALENDARMarch 12

The Smithgall Arts Cen-ter will present SashaMasakowski and MusicalPlayground as part of itsevenings of intimate Jazzconcerts at 8 p.m. March 12at The Arts Council Inc.,331 Spring St. inGainesville. For more infor-mation, visitwww.theartscouncil.net.

March 15The Atlanta Symphony

Orchestra will performNeil Berg’s 100 Years ofBroadway at 7:30 p.m.March 15 at the PearceAuditorium at Brenau Uni-versity. Tickets range from$28 to $35. For more infor-mation, call 770-534-2787or visitwww.theartscouncil.net.

March 17The Smithgall Arts Cen-

ter will present the inde-pendent film “Jump at theSun” at 7:30 p.m. March 17at The Arts Council Inc.,331 Spring St. inGainesville. For more infor-mation, visitwww.theartscouncil.net.

ART Station will hold its15th annual St. Patrick’sDay Celebration from 6p.m. to 9:30 p.m. March 17at ART Station on 5384Manor Drive in historicStone Mountain. Tickets are$20 in advance and $25 atthe door. For more informa-tion, call 770-469-1105 orvisit www.artstation.org.

March 21ART Station will host

gospel singer MildredBrown as part of the“Lunchtime Series at ARTStation” from noon to 1 p.m.March 21 at 5384 ManorDrive in Stone Mountain. Formore information, call 770-

469-1105 or visit www.art-station.org.

April 14The Smithgall Arts Cen-

ter will present the inde-pendent film “The ElectricFairy” at 7:30 p.m. April 14at The Arts Council Inc.,331 Spring St. inGainesville. For more infor-mation, visitwww.theartscouncil.net.

April 16The Smithgall Arts Cen-

ter will present MorganGuerin Quartet as part ofits evenings of intimate Jazzconcerts at 8 p.m. April 16at The Arts Council Inc.,331 Spring St. inGainesville. For more infor-mation, visitwww.theartscouncil.net.

May 13The Smithgall Arts Cen-

ter will present Steve Cun-ningham Trio at 8 p.m. May13 at The Arts Council Inc.,331 Spring St. inGainesville. For more infor-mation, visitwww.theartscouncil.net.

Ongoing events The High Museum of

Art will present “Toulouse-Lautrec and Friends:TheIrene and Howard SteinCollection” through May 1at 1280 Peachtree St. N.E.,Atlanta. For more informa-tion, call 404-733-4437.

The High Museum ofArt will present “FiftyWorks for Fifty States:TheDorothy and Herb VogelCollection” through June 5at 1280 Peachtree St. N.E.,Atlanta. For more informa-tion, call 404-733-4437.

The High Museum ofArt will be holding “TheMuseum of Modern Art,New York” until Aug. 14. For

more information, visitwww.High.org.

Theatrical Outfit willpresent “Caroline, orChange” from March 16through April 10 at TheBalzer Theater, 84 LuckieSt. N.W. in Atlanta. For moreinformation, call 678-528-1500 or visit www.the-atricaloutfit.org.

ART Station presents“The Outrageous Adven-tures of Sheldon and Mrs.Levine, A Son’s IllusiveSearch for his Mother’sHappiness” through Sun-day at the ART Station The-atre at 5384 Manor Drive inStone Mountain. Perfor-mances are Thursdays-Sat-urdays at 8 p.m. and onSundays at 3 p.m. Ticketsrange from $23 to $27 andcan be purchased by calling770-469-1105 or by visitingwww.artstation.org.

The Center for PuppetryArts presents “The Body

Detective” through March13 at Puppetry Arts Main-stage Theater. Thursday andFriday times are 10 a.m.and 11:30 a.m., Saturdayshows are at 11 a.m., 1 p.m.and 3 p.m. and Sundayshows are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Fifth Row Center pre-sents “Charlotte’s Web”March 11-14 and March 18and 19 at the HistoricDowntown Flowery BranchTrain Depot. Friday and Sat-urday shows are at 7 p.m.and Saturday and Sundayshows at 3 p.m. Tickets are$5 for kids and $10 foradults. For more information,call 678-357-7359, visitFifthRowCenter.com or [email protected].

The Theatrical Outfit ishaving a production of Trav-elin’ Black from March 16through April 10. For moreinformation, visit www.the-atricaloutfit.org.

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