‘Terminator’ Opens Thursday At Fairmount

METAL GOD: Those fire-in-the-eyes robots return to erase mankind from the face of the earth in Terminator: Salvation, which opens today (Thursday, May 21) at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.

Sebring, May 21, 2009 – The big Memorial Day weekend begins Thursday with the wide release of Terminator Salvation.

Locally, the fourth installment of the series shows at the Fairmount Cinema 6 in Sebring. It has a full schedule with matinees at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. and in the evening at 7:00 and 9:30.

When Friday rolls around, Terminator will duke it out with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. The Ben Stiller sequel will air at 500 more theaters and will boot Star Trek off most of the IMAX screens, but even then some predict Terminator: Salvation will sell more tickets.

It’s a tough call. Normally, I would say Night would win; however, this second film seems to lack story and compensate with too many characters and eye-popping effects. That could spell disappointment.

Night will open at the Regal Eagle Ridge and the Carmike.

Mitigating the appeal of Terminator: Salvation is its director, McG. He’s heavy on action, almost to the absurd, and weak on story and characters, so he has something to prove, especially with such a gem of a series.

The Wayans family will also audition for viewers’ time this long weekend with Dance Flick, which also opens at the Fairmount. This comedy will be a nice counterpoint to the superfluity of sci-fi fantasy flicks that are out there.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend with time at the movies!

Regal Eagle Ridge Snags ‘Angels and Demons’

SEBRING, May 12, 2009 – As of this evening, we know that the Regal Eagle Ridge 12 in Lake Wales is getting the Da Vinci Code sequel, Angels and Demons.

Angels and Demons is set to open at the Regal Eagle Ridge on Friday, May 15. There will be four showtimes: a 1:00 p.m. (the only matinee), 4:05 p.m., 7:20 p.m., and 10:25 p.m.

Angels and Demons stars Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, and Stellan Skarsgard, is rated PG-13 for its scenes of violence and thematic material, and last 2 hours and 20 minutes (not counting ads and previews).

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Star Trek’ Is Stellar!

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN: Kirk and Spock size up another planetary threat in the new Star Trek movie at the Fairmount Cinema 6 in Sebring.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Star Trek Pros: Snappy, sexy, action-packed movie.

Star Trek Cons: Derivative, story holes.

Worth your time and money?: Yes

SEBRING, May 8, 2009 – The Enterprise guys are back… with more bangs and booms than you can handle.

Star Trek opened early at the Fairmount Cinema 6 in Sebring Thursday evening. Expectations were mixed. Some critics hailed it; others, like ourselves, were cautious. We felt Director J. J. Abrams (of TV’s Lost, and the big screen’s Cloverfield) danced with danger when he went for new actors to take over roles that belonged to William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForrest Kelley, James Doohan, and Nichelle Nichols.

Could he keep Trekkies while he added new fans to a younger, sexier cast?

Not only that, but Abrams wanted to break free of the show’s story moorings so that he could create his own Trek Universe.

So did he succeed?

The new Star Trek is good. If we were grading it, we would give it a solid “B-.” There is plenty of action, plenty of Kirk and Spock, enough of the other crewmembers, by and large, lots of thrilling battle action with the requisite special effects.

Abrams’s ambitions to lay the groundwork for a new series of movies, however, riddle the Robert Orci-Alex Kurtzman story with holes and hobble it with a dose of derivations from previous Trek movies and episodes: messing with the fabric of space and time, sending off a brand new, multi-gazillion credit starship with a raw crew weighted with a superfluity of cadets, Spock’s demon of being a half-breed, another super-weapon, etc.

The biggest holes are how a pedestrian Romulan miner gets hold of a mega-starship with enough firepower to take out half the galaxy, and how quickly Mr. Kirk advances up the ranks.

And the deliveries of some of the new actors, most notably Zachary Quinto as Spock and Karl Urban as Bones, are deficient: Quinito’s voice is soft and feathery as opposed to Nimoy’s strong, clipped tones, while Urban lacks the punch of Kelley’s acidic Southern eloquence.

Clearly, a dialog coach was needed.

Still, the movie has much going for it, including many surprises, and we think old and new fans of Star Trek will be pleased with this one and eager for another.

Star Trek is rated PG-13 for lots of action violence and battle scenes, and a brief sex-related scene. Mostly, it is kid-friendly. It plays exclusively in Highlands County at the Fairmount Cinema 6 in Sebring. For showtimes, see the links in the right hand column.

Our Sebring Cinema and Sports rating (0 to 5 reels, 5 being a classic).

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Wolverine’ Triumphs

BROTHERS BEWARE!: Wolverine and Victor do battle in Wolverine: Origins of the X-Men, playing exclusively at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

PHOTO COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX.

Wolverine Pros: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, strong story with romance and twists, strong villain.

Wolverine Cons: None, really.

Worth your time and money?: Definitely.

SEBRING, May 4, 2009 – Brotherhood, love, betrayal, redemption, forgetfulness. Wolverine blends these elements together to turn out a an action-packed story with Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber that never lets up, even when it ends.

And when it ends, you want more.

Wolverine is an outstanding film, in part because it’s about our human idiosyncrasies; in part because it’s also about the emotions and longings common to people, sentiments both noble and ignoble and the thread of treachery that weaves between them.

In that sense, Wolverine plumbs deeper than films like the Fantastic Four and Superman. It is much more like the Dark Knight – not as good, mind you – but like enough and done well enough that it soars above the most of the other films spawned by the comic book genre.

We don’t want to reveal the story. We’ll just say Wolverine is worthy of your box office dollars.

Wolverine is rated PG-13 for action/violence and plays at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Our Rating:

Our rating:

NEW MOVIES: It’s Jumpin’ At The Fairmount!!!

SEBRING, April 10, 2009 – The Fairmount continues to break new ground, grabbing a fistful of cinema’s top films when they are released.

With the No. 1 film in North America – Fast & Furious – already there, Hannah Montana: The Movie, the R-rated comedy Observe and Report, and Dragonball: Evolution all debut at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Nothing new opens at the Carmike, but the theater does offer Watchmen, The Haunting in Connecticut, and other films, even as pedestrian traffic seems to be diminishing at the once-busy mall.

Hannah Montana and Dragonball give the Fairmount a powerful kids lineup, adding to the young adult, middle-aged, and senior viewers they have been luring to qulity films such as Taken, Doubt, and Fast & Furious.

Wherever you go and whatever you see, have a great time at the movies this weekend, and a blessed Christian Passover!

Play It Fast & Furious At Fairmount

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker shift into gear again in Fast & Furiious, which plays exclusively at the Fairmount Cinema 6 in Sebring. And, oh, yeah, they brought their toys and their babes.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES

SEBRING, April 3, 2009 – Tough Vin Diesel, surfer boy Paul Walker, hottie Michelle Rodriguez, and sinewy Jordana Brewster are back behind the steering wheels of those tiny, manueverable, fuel-injected hot rods, and they’re racing for it all in the latest Fast and Furious, which opens exclusively at the Fairmount Cinema 6 in Sebring.

You won’t find any 2s here, no drifiting, just high octane jet fuel with the rocking, rolling personalities we came to love in the original.

It’s the cult of speed, man, and Fast & Furious will twist your guts and pop your eyeballs with the G-force action that only Vin, Paul, Michelle, and Jordana can deliver.

Of course, you could pay $10 to go see a cartoon in 3D or a loopy comic book movie that’s bombed at the box office or a sissy “haunting” film (yeah, you’ll be haunted, haunted by the fact that you paid more money to see a scary movie that doesn’t scare you instead of seein’ Vin and Michelle do their thang).

Nah!

Buckle up, Bubba! Put your foot on the clutch, one hand on the wheel, and the other on the shifter. We goin’ for a ride at the Fairmount!

Fast & Furious showtimes are: (2:15), (4:15), 7:15, 9:15.
Parentheses indicate a matinee.

Two Films Debut At Fairmount!

SEBRING, March 13, 2009 – With the Carmike banking on the graphic sex and violence of Watchmen, the Fairmount Cinema 6 added two new movies to its lineup.

Already that lineup is strong. The Fairmount hosts the Oscar-winning best film Slumdog Millionaire, the  No. 1 box office hit for two weeks, Madea Goes to Jail, the hugely popular Taken and Gran Torino (some folks have seen the latter 2 and 3 times, it’s that good).

Add to the mix The Last House on the Left, a horror remake that is not for the squeamish, and the Chinese-style fight movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.

In short, there’s something for just about every taste at the Fairmount.

And the Fairmount gets our nod for the best popcorn and the best concession prices.

Wherever you go, whatever you see, have a great time at the movies!!!

R-rated ‘Watchmen’ Opens

SEBRING, March 6, 2009 – Movies have been booming since the start of the new year, a sign, perhaps, of the economic times and the need for escapism. For in truth, the movies that have opened since the new year have been mostly modest, with a few exceptions.

The weekend will be a bit slower in Highlands. Only one major movie opens, and it comes with several potential drawbacks. It is Watchmen.

Watchmen has been heavily promoted, but it has several obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is its $120 million price production price tag.

Though it’s called “the most celebrated graphic novel of all time” – whatever that means, the makers of the movie know their battle is uphill to attract mainstream audiences to the adaptation of a comic book that had a limited, albeit diehard, following.

On top of which, the movie is nearly 3 hours long, an inundation of detail and narrative that will most likely appeal to the diehards only.

The story may stretch the amount of thought and imagination most moviegoers want to invest in a film. It’s an alternate reality story where superheroes and psychologizing are common.

The film is apocalyptic and wieighted with conspiracy theory against the characters that most don’t even know, unlike Batman, Superman, and Spider-man.

Watchmen sports a personal revenge angle, too.

And it has an R-rating because it displays graphic nudity, sexuality, violence, and language. In that vein, Watchmen is much closer to the dark Frank Miller-based films, like Sin City, than to the standard comic book film. This is no film for kids.

Watchmen is available at the Carmike and at the Regal Eagle Ridge.

Oscar’s Best Picture Comes To Fairmount

SEBRING, Feb. 27, 2009 – Slumdog Millionaire, the blockbuster comedy that won best picture at the 2008 Academy Awards last Sunday, opens at the Fairmount Cinema 6 today.

The arrival of Slumbdog Millionaire helps to strengthen the iron grip the Fairmount already holds on the best pictures in Highlands County. The No. 1 film at the box office, Madea Goes To Jail, plays there, as do the blockbuster hits Taken, with Liam Neeson as a CIA dad looking for his kidnaped daughter, and Clint Eastwood’s gritty Gran Torino.

The Fairmount also boasts the comedy He’s Just Not That Into You and the action thriller The International.

The Carmike tries to counter with films like Frost/Nixon and Hotel For Dogs – two good films – but the rest of the lineup is littered with commerical busts: Friday the 13th – a horrible film, The Pink Panther 2, which has devolved into a film for toddlers, Push, which desperately needs an economic shove in the wake of its failure even among its targeted youth market.

The Carmike does offer one or two 3D films, but in these difficult economic times, customers have to pay more for that “experience.” They are already paying wallet-grabbing ticket and concession prices at the Carmike, and getting all too little in customer service in return.

That leaves the Regal Eagle Ridge. The Regal also charges higher ticket and concession prices but offers good customer service and much better seating than the Carmike. It’s a legitimate alternative to watching a movie at the Carmike, especially for residents at the north end of Highlands County. But because of the Fairmount’s excellent prices, customer service, and excellent treatment of seniors, the Regal is not a worthwhile alternative to the movies that play there.

WHEREVER YOU CHOOSE TO GO, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AT THE MOVIES!

OPENING: ‘Madea’ At The Fairmount!

WHAT’S THIS!?: Madea seems to be having a hard time accepting the sparse food at the local jail in another funny movie from Tyler Perry, Madea Goes to Jail.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIONSGATE

SEBRING, Feb. 21, 2009 – One of the most loved movie comedy series opened Friday at the Fairmount Cinema 6.

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail played to sold out crowds at the Fairmount. It only has three showings – 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m., so govern yourself accordingly.

Madea has won the hearts of millions with her raucous, crazy, yet delightfully sincere expostulations and adventures. She has become an icon of contemporary American humor, mucl like the Three Stooges, and Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and Abbot and Costello in years gone by.

Yahoo! Users gave Madea Goes to Jail an “A-” rating.

Madea is in town for exclusive engagements at the Fairmount Cinema 6, and she’ll have you laughing even after you’ve left the theater.