Movie Reviews

Midnight Run is the second of four comedies being presented by Bold Life movie reviewer Marcianne Miller in Lord Auditorium at Pack Memorial Library. It will screen at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

The Story: A father on the verge of a divorce magically gets transformed into his 17-year-old self and decides to head back to high school to live his life the way he wished he had in the first place. The Lowdown: A starring vehicle for Zac Efron and nothing else, the movie is likely to…

The Story: A series of intercut stories about the vapid hedonism of the 1980s. The Lowdown: Too unrelentingly grim to function as entertainment and too full of unlikeable characters to generate any sympathy, The Informers, while interesting, is just too bleak for its own good.

The Story: The presumably dead Chev Chelios proves to be very much alive, but with an artificial heart that constantly needs recharging. He races to retrieve his real one. The Lowdown: Explosive bad taste, nonstop violence, foul language and scads of cinematic high jinks conspire to make for an outrageous moviegoing experience -- assuming you…

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Lodger at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and park…

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Iron Horse at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and…

A Fish Called Wanda is the first of four comedies being presented by Bold Life movie reviewer Marcianne Miller in Lord Auditorium at Pack Memorial Library. It will screen at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 18.

The Story: A law-school dropout takes a job as road manager for a minor celebrity on the touring circuit. The Lowdown: A thoroughly enjoyable comedy/drama based on the filmmaker's own experiences. John Malkovich is terrific in the title role and the rest of the cast doesn't let him down.

The Story: Pop-star Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart is taken back home for a two-week stint to keep her from "going Hollywood." The Lowdown: Overly cheerful pap about the values of rural life wrapped around a pop-star fantasy aimed at young, impressionable girls.

The Story: A young man and his friends must find seven dragonballs before a monster bent on destroying the world does. The Lowdown: Tepid and frequently incomprehensible nonsense that manages to be inoffensive and only mildly tedious.

The Pillow Book, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: An obnoxious mall cop attempts to capture a flasher before the police department can, all the while attempting to woo a girl who works behind a cosmetic counter. The Lowdown: An unfunny, pointless comedy with nary a redeeming or likable quality, and definitely nothing to recommend.

The Story: A pair of sisters go into business for themselves cleaning up crime scenes. The Lowdown: Though marketed as a quirky black comedy, Sunshine Cleaning is actually much more: a warm, human and pretty wonderful character piece, with two brilliant actresses and a strong supporting cast.

The Story: A young dancer suffering from leukemia finds she has the power to bring people to Jesus, thereby incurring the displeasure of the Devil. The Lowdown: If there is any redeeming value to this movie -- apart from unintended laughs -- it eluded me.

The Story: A recent college grad is forced to take on a menial summer job at a cheesy amusement park in order to help afford grad school. The Lowdown: A deftly funny, surprisingly astute, often heartfelt look at the complicated lives of those coming-of-age.

The Story: Fugitive Dominic Toretto teams up with FBI agent Brian O'Conner to stop a Mexican drug-smuggling operation. The Lowdown: Cars drive fast and things blow up. That's about it.

The 400 Blows, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, April 10, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A year with the class of a teacher at an impoverished school with a rough crop of multicultural students. The Lowdown: A surprisingly entertaining variation on the well-worn "teacher with unwilling students" drama, set apart and made fresh by an almost complete lack of sentimentality and comfortable bromides.

The Story: A criminal mastermind busts out of prison and decides to exact revenge on the New Orleans cop who inadvertently caused the death of his girlfriend. The Lowdown: A far-fetched, pointless, unoriginal mess of an action movie that seemingly exists to blow stuff up.

Trainspotting, part of a series of Classic Cinema From Around the World, will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, April 3, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St. in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A cancer sufferer and his family move into a Connecticut house only to find out it is haunted. The Lowdown: A completely derivative attempt at a horror flick that’s completely undermined by unintentional hilarity and a complete inability to be even the slightest bit horrific, creepy or scary.