Array ( [0] => Array ( [Movie] => Array ( [id] => 13037 [src_id] => 109828 [name] => The Secret World of Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti) [runtime] => 1:34 [mpaa_rating_id] => 1 [advisory] => [url] => [release_date] => 2012-02-17 [stars] => [synopsis] => [synopsis_trib] => The makers of "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle" deliver another colorful and beautifully animated story. A girl from a family of miniature people befriends a boy in this enchanting story of curiosity and coming of age. [rating_id] => 0 [advisory_trib] => [caption_caption] => [pg_comment_trib] => For ages 7 or older, for some scary scenes. [rating_sex_trib] => 1 [rating_violence_trib] => 2 [rating_language_trib] => 1 [url_trib] => [review] => The makers of "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle" deliver another colorful and beautifully animated story. A girl from a family of miniature people befriends a boy in this enchanting story of curiosity and coming of age. (VH) [review_trib] => It seems foreign animators are the only ones who aren’t getting sucked into the Hollywood vortex of 3-D computer animation. That certainly is the case for Japanese animation studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki, who has produced classic hand-animated 2-D films such as “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle.” Now Miyazaki and Ghibli have released the sumptuous and enchanting “The Secret World of Arrietty,” a splendid journey of curiosity and coming of age by writer Miyazaki and first-time director Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Based on Mary Norton’s award-winning 1952 children’s novel The Borrowers, “The Secret World of Arrietty” follows a tiny family of “Borrowers,” bug-size people who live under a country house in Japan and borrow only what they need from the human beings. Arrietty (voiced by Bridgit Mendler of the Disney Channel’s “Good Luck Charlie”) is the 14-year-old daughter of the Borrowers family, and she’s warned by her parents never to be seen by the humans, whom they refer to as “beans.” But one day, she’s noticed by a sickly boy named Shawn (voiced by “Wizards of Waverly Place’s” David Henrie) who has moved into the home to wait for a heart operation. Against the wishes of her parents (voiced by real-life couple Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), Arrietty meets Shawn and learns that he’s lonely and may not survive the operation. What evolves is a warm and caring love story between the normal-size Shawn and tiny Arrietty as he helps her discover a whole new world beyond the small wooden box she and her family live in under the house. The sense of awe in “Arrietty” is in seeing our normal world in another scale — a small sewing pin becomes Arrietty’s sword; one sugar cube can feed the small family for a year. One of the best scenes takes place in Shawn’s room when Arrietty and her father try to steal a tissue in the middle of the night, and the tension builds with just the sound of the deep, sonorous ticking of Shawn’s clock. Drawn with lush, striking colors and the hand-painted artistry that’s nearly extinct in today’s CG-obsessed Hollywood, “The Secret World of Arrietty” (originally released in Japan in 2010) proves you don’t need 3-D glasses and computer wizardry to truly dazzle our senses and ignite our imaginations. And the movie’s sound design punctuates this wondrous world by introducing us to normal everyday sounds from a whole new perspective. Disney has done a good job of dubbing the voices with its own stable of actors for this U.S. release. While the youngest of children may not be used to its slower, more deliberate pacing, “The Secret World of Arrietty” is a magical and heartwarming story for older kids and adults. It’s a secret world you will fall in love with. -- Vince Horiuchi [slug] => the_borrowers_karigurashi_no_arietti [active] => 1 [kim_url] => [modified] => 2012-02-21 14:35:01 [kim_sex] => [kim_violence] => [kim_language] => [kim_fail] => 0 [rating_parents_guide] => [get_updates] => 0 [created] => 2011-07-08 00:00:27 [kids_rating] => 4 [sort_order_trib] => 0 [rating] => 4.5000 [rating_trib] => 3.5000 [now_playing] => 1 [picks] => 1 [featured] => 12 [festival] => 0 ) [0] => Array ( [MovieGenres] => animation,animation| [Uploads] => movies//87322217259_movies_arrietty.jpg| ) [MpaaRating] => Array ( [name] => G ) ) [1] => Array ( [Movie] => Array ( [id] => 12463 [src_id] => 115012 [name] => This Means War [runtime] => 2:00 [mpaa_rating_id] => 3 [advisory] => for sexual content including references, some violence and action, and for language [url] => http://www.thismeanswarmovie.com/ [release_date] => 2012-02-14 [stars] => [synopsis] => [synopsis_trib] => [rating_id] => 0 [advisory_trib] => [caption_caption] => [pg_comment_trib] => Violent gunplay, crude sexual humor and implied sex; for 13 and up. [rating_sex_trib] => 0 [rating_violence_trib] => 0 [rating_language_trib] => 0 [url_trib] => [review] => No fresh weapons, but strong buddy chemistry drives the action to refuel tired romantic-comedy conventions as Chris Pine and Tom Hardy compete for Reese Witherspoon's affection. (EFW) [review_trib] => “This Means War” is a date-night movie that’s really just an excuse to play around with gender crossover demographics. The romantic comedy of the story is hijacked by the buddy movie at its core. Sparks fly thanks to the on-screen chemistry of the bromantic leads, undercover spies and best friends FDR (Chris Pine, “Star Trek”) and Tuck (Tom Hardy, “Inception”), who turn to high-tech surveillance to track each other’s moves after both fall in love with Lauren (Reese Witherspoon). Pine struts as a generic cocky playboy (who lives in a bachelor pad with a swimming pool on the roof), while Hardy’s Tuck is a sensitive soul with an alluring British accent, a young son and a beautiful ex-wife. Both actors effectively mine the humor of their boys-will-be-boys competitiveness. Director McG’s stereotypical shoot-’em-up action scenes, underscored by high-energy heavy-metal guitar riffs, offer fast-paced visual thrills but tell a muddled story. Witherspoon delivers the same dark-rooted charm of her “Legally Blonde” franchise, yet her character is anchored by her own secret weapon, best friend Trish (Chelsea Handler), whose coarse humor provides surprising ballast for all the rom-com clichés. Although the story and the acting in “This Means War” don’t make you care very much about who actually gets the girl, going along is a fun ride. -- Ellen Fagg Weist [slug] => this_means_war [active] => 1 [kim_url] => [modified] => 2012-02-21 14:35:02 [kim_sex] => [kim_violence] => [kim_language] => [kim_fail] => 0 [rating_parents_guide] => [get_updates] => 0 [created] => 2011-06-26 02:48:44 [kids_rating] => 0 [sort_order_trib] => 0 [rating] => [rating_trib] => 2.5000 [now_playing] => 1 [picks] => 0 [featured] => 11 [festival] => 0 ) [0] => Array ( [MovieGenres] => comedy,comedy| [Uploads] => movies//18649501700_movies_meanswar.jpg| ) [MpaaRating] => Array ( [name] => PG-13 ) ) [2] => Array ( [Movie] => Array ( [id] => 10546 [src_id] => 110325 [name] => Oscar Nominated Shorts 2012: Documentary [runtime] => [mpaa_rating_id] => 5 [advisory] => [url] => [release_date] => 1999-01-01 [stars] => 3.5 [synopsis] => [synopsis_trib] => A dour but enlightening look at five important topics make up the five Academy Award nominees for best short documentary. From last year's Japanese tsunami to a horrifying examination of Pakistani women whose faces are burned by abusive husbands, these are shocking studies of world events. [rating_id] => 0 [advisory_trib] => [caption_caption] => [pg_comment_trib] => For ages 16 and older for graphic scenes of war violence, profanity and scenes with burn victims from domestic violence. [rating_sex_trib] => 2 [rating_violence_trib] => 4 [rating_language_trib] => 4 [url_trib] => [review] => A dour but enlightening look at five important topics make up the five Academy Award nominees for best short documentary. From last year's Japanese tsunami to a horrifying examination of Pakistani women whose faces are burned by abusive husbands, these are shocking studies of world events. [review_trib] => The five nominees for this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Short will give audiences a shocking look at world events as well as important issues at home. They’re packaged together for the price of one ticket. “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” • Beginning with eye-opening home footage of enormous waves crushing through a small Japanese town on March 11, 2011, the short then moves through heartbreaking testimonies of survival and loss. But filmmakers then focus on the cherry blossoms that began to emerge in the affected areas after the natural disaster, a symbol of hope and renewal. It’s a simultaneously sad and hopeful look at the destructive power of nature and the surviving human spirit. “Saving Face” • Most people probably don’t know this, but there’s a tragic epidemic of violence occurring in Pakistan: Angry men punish their disobedient wives by throwing battery acid in their faces. This 40-minute documentary — which has been picked up by HBO — chronicles this unthinkable act by examining the lives of two women who have been badly burned, as well as the Pakistani plastic surgeon who works to help them. “Saving Face” is hard to watch but difficult to ignore as it unveils a puzzling and vicious act that victimizes about 100 women every year in the country. “Incident in New Baghdad” • Ethan McCord, a former soldier in Iraq, tells the story of his involvement in a July 2007 incident in which U.S. Apache helicopters opened fire on suspected insurgents, also injuring two children in a van. McCord wasn’t part of the shooting but was working on the cleanup afterward and details the horrifying massacre. He also talks about the impact the war and that incident had on his life after he came home and how he became a spokesman against U.S. involvement in the conflict. By focusing on just one event, “Incident in New Baghdad” in 20 minutes effectively reminds us why war always was, and continues to be, hell. “Barber of Birmingham” • Eighty-five-year-old James Armstrong was a barber and “foot soldier” in the civil-rights movement who witnessed the evolution of African Americans’ struggle to vote, and all the events that led up to the 2009 swearing-in of America’s first black president. It’s an uplifting story as witnessed through the eyes of one of many who fought for liberty, not from a pulpit or stage, but from the streets. “God Is the Bigger Elvis.” • Not pre-screened for critics, this short follows Dolores Hart, a former actress who starred in the 1960 film “Where the Boys Are” as well as opposite Elvis Presley in 1958’s “King Creole,” before turning her back on her Hollywood life to become a Benedictine nun. -- Vince Horiuchi [slug] => oscar_nominated_shorts_2011_documentary [active] => 1 [kim_url] => [modified] => 2012-02-21 14:35:01 [kim_sex] => [kim_violence] => [kim_language] => [kim_fail] => 0 [rating_parents_guide] => [get_updates] => 0 [created] => 2011-06-26 02:37:32 [kids_rating] => 10 [sort_order_trib] => 0 [rating] => [rating_trib] => 3.5000 [now_playing] => 1 [picks] => 1 [featured] => 10 [festival] => 0 ) [0] => Array ( [MovieGenres] => [Uploads] => movies//65989007442_movies_oscardocs.jpg|,movies//110325_thumbMed.jpg|,movies//110325_medium.jpg| ) [MpaaRating] => Array ( [name] => NR ) ) [3] => Array ( [Movie] => Array ( [id] => 13622 [src_id] => 112941 [name] => Pina [runtime] => 1:46 [mpaa_rating_id] => 2 [advisory] => for some sensuality/partial nudity and smoking [url] => http://www.pina-film.de/ [release_date] => 2011-12-23 [stars] => [synopsis] => [synopsis_trib] => [rating_id] => 99 [advisory_trib] => [caption_caption] => [pg_comment_trib] => Sensuality, partial nudity, smoking. [rating_sex_trib] => 0 [rating_violence_trib] => 0 [rating_language_trib] => 0 [url_trib] => [review] => This Oscar nominated documentary is a beautiful but frustrating tribute to the groundbreaking German choreographer -- screening locally without the innovative 3-D technology. (EFW) [review_trib] => The strength of Wim Wenders’ documentary “Pina” is its no-narration portrait of the work of groundbreaking German choreographer Pina Bausch, created through viewing dancers in her company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, perform four of her most noted works. That’s the difficulty of this documentary as well, which is thought to be the first 3-D art-house film. Local viewers won’t be able to fully appreciate the technical innovation of “Pina,” nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film is noted for its groundbreaking use of 3-D technology — in essence, solving the problem of how flat a full-bodied art like dance appears on film — yet is only being screened in 2-D locally. Bausch, 69, died abruptly of cancer in 2009, while Wenders (“Wings of Desire,” “The Buena Vista Social Club”) was beginning rehearsals after years of talking with the choreographer about making a film. After her death, company members persuaded the filmmaker to finish this documentary tribute. In subtitled voiceovers, dancers describe Bausch’s unusual working style, spliced with brief clips of the choreographer in rehearsal, in interviews and in performance. Known to everyone in the company as Pina, she was an artist of few words, who questioned dancers and used their emotions to create seemingly abstract, naturalistic dances. Viewing this documentary, you’d think Pina was a saint. “When I was new to Wuppertal and confused about a few things, she simply said: ‘Dance for love,’?” one young male dancer says. Another dancer says: “It was as if Pina was whole in every one of us, or the other way around — as if we were a part of her.” The filmmaker was inspired the first time he watched Pina’s company perform. “People performing who moved differently than I knew and who moved me as I had never been moved before” is how Wenders described the effect on the film’s website, defining Tanztheater’s work by stating what it wasn’t. “Not theater, nor pantomime, nor ballet and not at all opera. Pina is, as you know, the creator of a new art. Dance theater.” To most Americans, “dance theater” might suggest another reality TV competition. But Bausch’s minimalistic work is like another language, so carefully choreographed, so carefully performed, that the dancers’ movements seem organic rather than rehearsed. At the documentary’s best, it’s as if the audience is spying on a secret world of movement, laden with meaning. The camera juxtaposes staged performances with startlingly beautiful scenes of dancers performing in and around an elevated tram, on a German streetscape, in nature and on the lip of an open-pit mine. Outside a concert hall, the dancers move in ways that seem as free and as unusual as the backdrops. The women wear slip dresses or jewel-colored evening dresses, the men in casual pants or in dark suits, their clothing, too, transcending the artifice of stage performance. The camera loves the variety of the dancers’ bodies, ages, sizes, hair styles and expressions, portraying them as physical storytellers rather than dancers. All of this is complicated to watch, if you’re looking for meaning or narrative. “Pina” is too proud of marrying technology with its avant-garde approach to offer any challenge or context about the choreographer’s life or her dances, which makes this tribute to her seem slow and pretentious. Frustrating, too: What does it mean? I wanted this documentary’s painterly images to add up to something as emotionally big and freeing as the idea of movement itself. That it doesn’t makes me miss what I could have seen leap off the screen through 3-D glasses. -- Ellen Fagg Weist [slug] => pina [active] => 1 [kim_url] => [modified] => 2012-02-21 14:35:01 [kim_sex] => [kim_violence] => [kim_language] => [kim_fail] => 0 [rating_parents_guide] => [get_updates] => 0 [created] => 2011-12-03 00:00:37 [kids_rating] => 0 [sort_order_trib] => 0 [rating] => [rating_trib] => 3.5000 [now_playing] => 1 [picks] => 1 [featured] => 9 [festival] => 0 ) [0] => Array ( [MovieGenres] => musical,musical| [Uploads] => movies//54258088246_movies_pina.jpg| ) [MpaaRating] => Array ( [name] => PG ) ) [4] => Array ( [Movie] => Array ( [id] => 10970 [src_id] => 105936 [name] => Safe House [runtime] => 1:57 [mpaa_rating_id] => 4 [advisory] => [url] => http://www.nooneissafe.com/ [release_date] => 2012-02-10 [stars] => [synopsis] => [synopsis_trib] => Oscar winner Denzel Washington and Flavor of the Month, Ryan Reynolds, lend their star power in this fast-paced and jittery thriller about a CIA agent (Reynolds) charged with taking a rogue former agent (Washington) to a safehouse without getting killed. The two stars add needed charisma to an otherwise predictable script. [rating_id] => 0 [advisory_trib] => [caption_caption] => [pg_comment_trib] => [rating_sex_trib] => 2 [rating_violence_trib] => 4 [rating_language_trib] => 3 [url_trib] => [review] => Oscar winner Denzel Washington and Flavor of the Month, Ryan Reynolds, lend their star power in this fast-paced and jittery thriller about a CIA agent (Reynolds) charged with taking a rogue former agent (Washington) to a safehouse without getting killed. The two stars add needed charisma to an otherwise predictable script. (VH) [review_trib] => [slug] => safe_house [active] => 1 [kim_url] => [modified] => 2012-02-21 14:35:01 [kim_sex] => [kim_violence] => [kim_language] => [kim_fail] => 0 [rating_parents_guide] => [get_updates] => 0 [created] => 2011-06-26 02:39:57 [kids_rating] => 9 [sort_order_trib] => 0 [rating] => [rating_trib] => 3.0000 [now_playing] => 1 [picks] => 1 [featured] => 8 [festival] => 0 ) [0] => Array ( [MovieGenres] => [Uploads] => movies//93316225215_movies_safehouse.jpg|,movies//57304742474_movies_safehouse2.jpg| ) [MpaaRating] => Array ( [name] => R ) ) )