FILM CAPSULES CP
= CITY PAPER APPROVED
NEW DIVERGENT. Neil Burger directs this sci-fi actioner, adapted from Veronica Roth’s young-adult novel, about a world divided into factions based on virtues. Then there are the “divergents,” who don’t fit in and must escape being wiped out. Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet star. Starts Fri., March 21. IS THE MAN WHO IS TALL HAPPY? A series of interviews with well-known left-leaning writer, historian and philosopher Noam Chomsky are presented by filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Silence of Sleep), through face-toface encounters and quirky animations. Fri., March 21-Sun., March 23. Melwood
$7, $5 for 65 & over or 12 & under with valid school ID. For tickets: showclix.com/event/piccadilly
H O L LY W O O D T H E AT E R 1 4 4 9 P o t o m a c Av e n u e , D o r m o n t 412.563.0368
MUPPETS MOST WANTED. The action begins right on the heels on 2011’s The Muppets, when the re-united Muppets decide to embark on a world tour. Somebody makes a joke about sequels being inferior, but it’s unheeded by the gang. Thus, it’s no surprise when this outing, directed by James Bobin, turns out to be a disappointment. It’s missing the sweet heart of the earlier film, with its existential “Man or Muppet” query, instead relying on a tiresome comic plot device: A criminal mastermind who looks like Kermit uses the Muppets to facilitate various heists. The jokes and celebrity cameos feel more rote than clever (what doesn’t Sean Diddy show up for?), and the kids at the screening I attended were decidedly restless.
Need for Speed doomed Jesse on Breaking Bad for the lead role in some fast-car porn adapted from a videogame by Scott Waugh. The plot (as if it matters): Fresh from prison (after being framed), a street racer named Tobey Marshall drives from New York to San Francisco, where he’ll run in the Super Duper Street Race, and avenge a wrong to boot. Obstacles along the way are overcome with horsepower and derring-do. Marshall has some wise-cracking sidekicks, a love interest (Imogen Poots) and cosmic guidance from the web-enabled race promoter (Michael Keaton), who also functions as a Greek chorus for all the automotive mayhem. (I hope this role is an homage to Cleavon Little’s omniscient DJ in 1971’s speedingwest classic Vanishing Point.) It’s in fender-busting 3-D, and Waugh does make good use of spectacular Utah desert and California coastline scenery. Also, Paul twice makes like Jesse Pinkman and cries, and these 3-D tears almost make you forgive him. In 3-D, in select theaters. (AH)
REPERTORY 2 AUTUMNS, 3 WINTERS. A jog in the park kicks off the romantic adventures of a few friends in this new French comedy from Sébastien Betbeder. In French, with subtitles. 7 p.m. Wed., March 19. Oaks LABYRINTH. This cultish 1986 film from Muppetmaster Jim Henson spins a fairy-tale-ish yarn about a teenage girl (Jennifer Connelly) who must navigate a strange world in order to rescue her baby brother from a goblin king (David Bowie). Featuring one of the Thin White Duke’s worst hair-dos ever. 7:30 p.m. Wed., March 19. AMC Loews. $5
Muppets Most Wanted Who can blame them? This film seems aimed at grown-ups of a certain age who want to indulge in nostalgia for their childhoods. It’s unlikely that any of today’s tots will get extended jokes about Siberian gulags, A Chorus Line and the vagaries of the French work day. Starts Fri., March 21. (Al Hoff) NEED FOR SPEED. Cars, speed, crashes — but first, I want to talk about Catwoman. Remember when Halle Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress, then wiped out in that craptastic film? That’s pretty much how I feel about Aaron Paul, who has traded all the justly deserved accolades for his portrait of sad,
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 03.19/03.26.2014
RAID 2: BERANDAL. In this sequel to the hit 2012 martial-arts actioner The Raid: Redemption, Jakarta cop Rama (Iko Uwais) has to subdue a new batch of criminals, this time by going undercover as a gangster. Gareth Evans directs. In Indonesian, with subtitles. 7:30 p.m. Wed., March 19. Hollywood BOB QUALTERS: THE ARTIST IN ACTION. The work of Pittsburgh artist Robert Qualters is currently on exhibit in a Pittsburgh Center for the Arts retrospective. Learn more about the painter in this documentary from Joe and Elizabeth Seamans. Qualters is expected to attend the screening. 6:30 p.m. Thu., March 20. Melwood. Free TWIN PEAKS MARATHON. We take headscratching, off-kilter TV shows for granted these