Film Clips: Musketeers, Margin and Macs

It’s a Margin Call whether the Paranormal Activity will keep the Three Musketeers from Gun Hill Road.

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  • Courtesy of Summit Entertainment Films
  • Milla Jovovich takes aim at Matthew MacFadyen in The Three Musketeers

OPENING FRIDAY
BLACKTHORN (R) This film suggests that outlaw folk hero Butch Cassidy (Sam Shepard), who allegedly died in a shoot-out alongside the Sundance Kid, instead retired under an assumed name until he sets out for a meeting with his son, with a vengeful railroad employee (Stephen Rea) on his trail.

DIRTY GIRL (R ) This road comedy set in 1987 depicts a misbehaving teen (Juno Temple) and her closeted friend (Jeremy Dozier) who drive from Oklahoma to California to find her father.

GUN HILL ROAD (R) Esai Morales stars as a petty criminal from the Bronx who discovers, upon his release from prison, that his wife has become estranged and his son is considering a gender transition. Directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green.

JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN (PG) In this sequel to the spy spoof, Johnny English, Rowan Atkinson, the actor/comedian well-loved for his role as Mr. Bean, returns to protect the Chinese premier from assassination. Can M1-7’s agent leave this job unbotched?

MARGIN CALL 4 stars (R ) A young analyst (Zachary Quinto) at a high- powered investment bank goes increasingly high up the corporate chain of command with the news that the company’s toxic assets are about to collapse the economy. Writer-director J.C. Chador delivers the best fiction film to date about the current financial slump by focusing on financiers torn — ever so slightly — between covering their asses and doing the right thing. This mostly quiet and moody film features Kevin Spacey as a conscientious executive and Jeremy Irons as a corporate titan. — Curt Holman

THE MIGHTY MACS (G) An all-girls school headed by nuns may not seem a likely place to find a championship basketball team, but led by Coach Cathy Rush, The Mighty Macs of Immaculata University take their rightful place in the history of women’s sports. Inviting comparisons to Hoosiers, this feel-good basketball film tells the true tale of excellent sportsmanship from a struggling team, at a time where female athletes were already underdogs.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (R ) The multiplex has apparently come down with prequel-itis as this latest — or is it technically the first? — chapter in the Paranormal Activity trilogy arrives a week after The Thing. This one takes place 18 years before the events of the previous films. Hey, at least we’re spared another Saw movie this year.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (PG-13) JUNIOR SWASHBUCKLER D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) joins forces with three Musketeers (Matthew MacFadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson) in this 3D adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic adventure story. Featuring Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz and Milla Jovovich.

DULY NOTED
THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946) (NR) Raymond Chandler, possibly the 20th century’s greatest American detective novelist, penned this Oscar-nominated screenplay about a naval officer (Alan Ladd) who returns to the States to find his unfaithful wife murdered. Dark Streets and Dangerous Dames: Film Noir. Wed., Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m. Emory Cinematheque. 205 White Hall, 301 Dowman Drive, Emory University. Free. filmstudies.emory.edu/home/events/film-series/emory-cinematheque.html

HELL’S HINGES (1916) (NR) This 95 year-old silent Western, presented with live accompaniment by Philip Carli, depicts a minister and a gunslinger (William S. Hart( who clash in a lawless town. Oct. 22, 2 and 8 p.m. Rich Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. /www.high.org/Programs/Programs.aspx

THE ROOM (2003) 1 star (R ) This hilariously incompetent, sub-Skinemax-level romantic triangle has become a wildly entertaining monthly viewing party, a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Writer-director-star Tommy Wiseau strikes a freaky presence as a long-haired, heavy-lidded, thick-accented bank employee cuckolded by his vicious fiancée (Juliette Danielle). The film’s bizarre touches, like framed photographs of spoons, inspire audiences to throw plastic spoons at the screen, and more. Not to be missed. Tue., Oct. 25, 9:30 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com. — Holman

THE SILENT HOUSE (R ) A woman and her father attempt to settle into a remote cottage when spooky phenomena occur in this Uruguayan horror film that takes place in real time in a single take. Sounds pretty cool.Oct. 21, 24. Cinefest Film Theatre, Georgia State University, 66 Courtland St., Suite 240. 404-413-1798. www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcft.

ZOMBIE (1979) (R) Director Lucio Fulci became a horror icon with the success of this famously disgusting film about an attack from the living dead. Reportedly the scene with zombie fighting a shark underwater is worth the price of a ticket. Splatter Cinema. Fri., Oct. 21, 9:30 p.m. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.