Movie Reviews

Starring: Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Eugenio Derbez, Nick Swardson

Jack and Jill

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The Story: A man must deal with his obnoxious twin sister over the holidays. The Lowdown: If you find Adam Sandler in drag accompanied by a bevy of fart jokes and celebrity cameos to be comedy gold, then here’s a movie for you.
Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, Frieda Pinto, John Hurt

Immortals

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The Story: A peasant living in a fantastic version of ancient Greece must stop an evil king from destroying the world and the gods who rule over it. The Lowdown: A hyper-stylized take on Greek mythology that’s simply too overbearing, and -- too often -- simply unfun.
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Flemyng, Grera Scacchi, Colm Feore, Jean-Luc Bideau

The Red Violin

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The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Red Violin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.
Starring: Chester Morris, Una Merkel, Grayce Hampton, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Maude Eburne

The Bat Whispers

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The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen The Bat Whispers on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Starring: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Hillary Brooke, Douglass Dumbrille, Robert Benchley

Road to Utopia

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The Asheville Film Society will screen Road to Utopia on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther. Hanke is the artistic director of the A.F.S.
Starring: Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, John Halliday, William Frawley, Ernest Cossart, Alan Mowbray

Desire

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The Asheville Film Society will screen Desire Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville and be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Starring: Ivan Mikolajchuk, Larisa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva, Spartak Bagashvili

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

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Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District, upstairs in the Railroad Library). Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com
Starring: Eric Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta, Doug Jones, Anna Mouglalis

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

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The Story Biographical film on Serge Gainsborough. The Lowdown: Strikingly different musical biography with a strong lead performance. It doesn't all work, but when it does, it's pretty incredible.
Starring: Marsha Hunt, William Prince, Frank McHugh, Martha O'Driscoll

Carnegie Hall

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The Hendersonville Film Society will show Carnegie Hall at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.
Starring: Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Scott Bloom, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino

The Stuff

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The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen The Stuff on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville and be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda

Tower Heist

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The Story: After being swindled out of their pensions by a shifty broker, a group of regular Joes decide to rob him of his nest-egg. The Lowdown: Perfectly entertaining while having little regard for believable, or consistent, plotting — what we end up with is the definition of middling.
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Danny Trejo, Tom Lennon, Paula Garces

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

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The Story Harold and Kumar find themselves spending Christmas Eve enmeshed in outrageous adventures in their quest for a perfect Christmas tree. The Lowdown: Determined to have something to offend everyone, this is really a good-natured comedy. It just happens to insult just about every ethnic group and religion in the bargain.
Starring: David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rip Torn, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey

The Man Who Fell to Earth

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The Story A visitor from another planet becomes a global tycoon and, in the process, addicted to Earth's lifestyle. The Lowdown: A classic from the very end of the era of the superstar filmmaker — and the most daring and unusual. This is a film that is even better now than it was 35 years…
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde

In Time

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The Story: In a future, when aging has been conquered and life expectancy is replaced with allotments of time that separate the rich from the poor, a young man from the ghetto tries to correct the system. The Lowdown: An attempt at heady science-fiction that almost works, but clunky storytelling and a too-obvious message hurts…
Starring: (Voices) Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris

Puss in Boots

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The Story: Fugitive Puss in Boots is lured into a new scheme by old friend Humpty Dumpty, who got him in trouble in the first place. The Lowdown: A solid enough spin-off from the Shrek movies for Antonio Banderas' Puss in Boots character. Not Earth-shattering, but pleasant enough.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi

The Rum Diary

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The Story: A film version of Hunter S. Thompson's early novel about what he imagined his life as a reporter in San Juan, Puerto Rico, would have been like. The Lowdown: An odd and not entirely successful film, but when it works it's capable of flights of brilliance.
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore

Margin Call

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The Story: The fictionalized (barely) story of how Wall Street was brought down by speculation in the mortgage market. The Lowdown: Material which should be anything but compelling turns out to be captivating -- if disturbing -- entertainment that does right by every member of its high-powered cast.
Starring: Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, Abiodun Oyewole

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

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The Story: Documentary made from news footage shot in America by Swedish TV crews. The Lowdown: A little overlong and wandering toward the end, but a fascinating look at the Black Power movement and the people who shaped it.
Starring: Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox / Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Larry Parks

The Man They Could Not Hang / The Boogie Man Will Get You

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The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen the double feature of The Man They Could Not Hang and The Boogie Man Will Get You on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville, and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Starring: Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Fay Bainter, Porter Hall

Make Way for Tomorrow

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The Asheville Film Society will screen Make Way for Tomorrow Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Starring: Martyn Greene, Kenny Baker, Sydney Granville, Jean Colin, Constance Willis

The Mikado

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The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Mikado at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.