Little Benito

Plus: Prequel? Sequel? Remake? Who cares — Ridley’s Robin Hood just plumb stinks

(May 20, 2010) Previews

Opening this weekend: Shrek Forever After, the fourth and perhaps final episode in DreamWorks’ lovable ogre franchise. The usual crew is back: Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers), Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), sidekicks Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). The story finds an older but not wiser Shrek mired in domestic life, then taking an It’s a Wonderful Life-style trip to an imagined Bizarro World without Shrek, which it turns out is not a nice place. Oh yeah, like all new animated features, it’s in 3-D. Rated PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language. Starts Friday at the Broadway, Fortuna (in 3D) and at Mill Creek (2D).

Add MacGruber to the long line of movies based on Saturday Night Live sketches. For those who haven’t seen SNL of late, the short bits have Will Forte as an inept MacGruber, parodying the ’80s TV series MacGyver by repeatedly failing to diffuse a life-and-death situation, typically a ticking bomb, thus killing all involved. How does this stretch into a full-length movie? It might not. The plot has MacGruber going after a missing nuclear warhead stolen by a bad guy (Val Kilmer) who was responsible for the death of MacGruber’s fiancée (Maya Rudolph). Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity. At the Broadway and Mill Creek.

Argentine writer-director Juan Jose Campanella took home the “Best Foreign Film” Oscar for The Secret in Their Eyes, a mix of murder mystery and romance. The story follows retired investigator Benjamin (Ricardo Darin), who decides to write a book about a brutal murder case he’d worked on 25 years in the past. His research puts him in touch with Irene (Soledad Villamil), a friend also involved in the case who has since become a judge. Political corruption, missed relationships, obsession and the nature of justice come into play as the complex storyline unwinds. In Spanish with subtitles. Rated R for a rape scene, violent images, some graphic nudity and language. At the Minor.

Closing out the May film series at the Humboldt County Library celebrating Older Americans Month: Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. Joan Plowright stars as Mrs. Palfrey, an aging widow who relocates to a senior residence hotel to be closer to her son. He’s mostly absent, but she meets a young writer (Rupert Friend) and a slightly Harold and Maude-esque friendship develops. Showtime 6 p.m. at the Eureka branch.

The Arcata Theatre Lounge has a Sunday screening of Steven Spielberg’s 1977 UFO tale Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with Richard Dreyfuss as a true believer and François Truffaut as a scientist who has figured out how to talk to the aliens with music.

Then on Wednesday, May 26, it’s a special edition of Sci-Fi Pint and Pizza night with a double-feature pairing Gorgo, a British variation of the Japanese monster movie, and Ganjasaurus Rex, a 1987 parody of Japanese monster movies made in Southern Humboldt. The plot line has a Godzilla-esque monster stirred by some sort of giant pot plant menacing Garberville. Run! Sure, soon as I take another hit on this bong. Dope growers, CAMP and some familiar faces (Paul Bassis, Howard Phun, Andy Barnett) show up along the way. Director Ursi Reynolds and others from the cast and crew will attend the screening to tell stories and give away Ganjasaurus Rex schwag.

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