by Shane Hnetka
I haven’t had the pleasure of checking out the new UltraAVX theatre at Galaxy Cinemas yet but a friend did. While he enjoyed the larger, clearer picture, surround sound and assigned seating, he didn’t care for the reclining seats. He felt there wasn’t enough room between the rows. The people in front of him kept pushing back on their seats and smacking him in the shins, and the people behind him kept kicking the back of his chair. Maybe other people’s experiences have been different, but for the dough he forked over for a ticket he felt he shouldn’t have to put up with that shit.
Also Fast & Furious 6 features the world’s longest runway. Longer than the runway in Die Hard 2: Die Harder. Just saying.
LIKE FATHER NOT LIKE SON
Will Smith’s latest attempt to turn his son Jaden into a Hollywood star has failed. Smith produced and plotted After Earth, the latest from M. Night Shyamalan. The film was trashed by critics (which was expected), but audiences didn’t seem to care for it either. It failed to meet studio expectations, finishing third at the box office in its opening weekend. It’s not the first time a Hollywood star has tried to make their offspring a star. Clint Eastwood did the same with Honkytonk Man in 1982, which co-starred his son Kyle. That film fared better with critics, but it really bombed at the box office — barely cracking the top 100 for that year. Kyle went on to audition for the lead in Karate Kid but he wasn’t cast in the movie and he eventually gave up acting to become a musician. Jaden Smith did get cast in the Karate Kid remake thanks to Daddy Will who produced the flick. Time will tell if Will succeeds at forcing his son down movie-goers’ throats.
STUDIO 7
Regina has a new theatre for independent films. Much like the Roxy in Saskatoon, Rainbow Cinema has converted one of its screens to show first-run small and independent movies. Tickets are more than the standard Rainbow price because these are first-run films. Opening June 14 is The Company You Keep. Robert Redford directs and stars as a political activist from the ’70s who’s wanted by the FBI and is hiding under a new identity. His secret is discovered by a reporter (Shia LaBeouf) after a fellow former member of the radical organization (played by Susan Sarandon) is arrested. Julie Christie, Brendan Gleeson, Terrence Howard, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci and Chris Cooper also star, and the film’s gotten decent reviews. So for the time being, Regina is getting something different than the standard Hollywood fare.
