SPOTLIGHT Saturday-Sunday, April 21-22, 2012 | Editor: Eli Pace | 270-887-3235 | [email protected] AT THE MOVIES n Efron is all grown up in ‘The Lucky One’ BY CHRISTY LEMIRE and the piano. He studied philos- AP MOVIE CRITIC ophy. He can haul heavy bags of dog food and fix a tractor. He’s “The Lucky One” is yet an- unfailingly polite to everyone he other adaptation of a Nicholas meets. Oh, and he happens to Sparks novel, so you know ex- look like Zac Efron. actly what you’re getting walk- Schilling is just as attractive ing into this thing. It’s with her slightly tomboyish, predictable and schmaltzy and wholesome femininity, and she sappy and smothered with looks eerily like Danner, who voiceover that explains the film’s adds both zest and dignity as already none-too-subtle themes Beth’s spitfire of a grandmother. of destiny and fate and second And so they are a lovely couple, chances. which is what you want when And yet ... and yet. you want the escape. They have In the hands of “Shine” direc- some glimmers of chemistry and tor Scott Hicks, it does what it not much more. needs to do to please its target au- But! There is an obstacle keep- dience with a certain tasteful art- ing them apart. Besides the fulness and the comforting pesky duplicitousness of familiarity of a 1950s melo- Logan’s’ real purpose at the ken- drama. It’s utterly forgettable nel, there’s Beth’s cartoonishly and offers zero surprises but it’s hostile ex-husband, Keith (Jay R. also harmless date-night fare Ferguson), a politically con- made more appealing by the cast nected sheriff ’s deputy who of Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling keeps threatening to take their and especially Blythe Danner. ASSOCIATED PRESS son away from her. To put it on the spectrum of In this film image released by Warner Bros, Zac Efron (left) and Taylor Schilling are shown in a scene from “The Lucky One.” Crazy things can happen in the films that have sprung from the bayou, though. And we know Sparks canon of weepy romance turned from his third tour in Louisiana swamps. Naturally, ter, who takes a job helping out at that’s where we are because Beth novels, it’s not as good as “The Iraq with an item he credits with Logan doesn’t tell her why he’s the kennel just to be near Beth makes jambalaya in one scene. Notebook” but not as bad as saving his life: a photograph he there for a long time, which (nat- and her family, which includes That’s sort of a metaphor for the “Nights in Rodanthe.” And it picked up off the ground of a urally) will serve as the obliga- her bright, shy young son Ben whole film, though: You’ll never does represent the first truly beautiful blonde sitting in front tory misunderstanding after (Riley Thomas Stewart, who get anything authentically satis- grown-up performance yet from of a lighthouse. Shaken from his they’ve (naturally) fallen for each manages to avoid kid-actor pre- fying but every once in a while Efron, who continues to establish service, he doesn’t know whose it other. Their love scenes, like cociousness). Efron has bulked you’ll get a whiff of something his post-”High School Musical” was or who she is but he insists every other element of Hicks’ up here to add a more masculine vaguely pleasing. career with eclectic if not neces- on finding her to thank her. film, are lighted in a way that facet to his blue-eyed, pretty “The Lucky One,” a Warner sarily commercially successful Turns out she’s Beth (Taylor gives everything an impossibly looks, and he’s actually rather be- Bros. release, is rated PG_13 for choices. Schilling), a single mom who warm, romantic glow. You can lievable as the traditional strong, some sexuality and violence. Here he plays U.S. Marine Sgt. runs a sprawling dog kennel in roll your eyes, or you can give in. silent type. Logan is good with Running time: 101 minutes. Two Logan Thibault, who’s just re- an idyllic small town in the Same goes for Efron’s charac- kids and animals. He plays chess and a half stars out of four. Cast makes ‘Think Like a Man’ appealing BY CHRISTY LEMIRE day like a Bible — so every move they make is calculated AP MOVIE CRITIC and executed strategically to get what they want. Con- versely, the men grow suspicious, find out that the book What is essentially a shameless and overlong infomer- exists and turn its words back on the women as their own cial for Steve Harvey’s dating advice book becomes more weapon to get what they want. tolerable and even enjoyable at times with the help of an Story has a way with a comic ensemble cast, having di- attractive, likable cast. Harvey’s best-seller “Act Like a rected “Barbershop”; he keeps things moving at a Lady, Think Like a Man” serves as the launching pad for (mostly) lively clip and gives LA a glossy sheen. Ealy and four intertwined stories in which various types couple up and try to make a go of it. Henson are insanely sexy together, and stand-up come- There’s The Dreamer (Michael Ealy) and The Woman dian Kevin Hart is, unsurprisingly, a scene-stealer as the Who Is Her Own Man (Taraji P. Henson), The Player (Ro- fast-talking, newly divorced guy of the bunch. But the many Malco) and The 90-Day-Rule Girl (Meagan Good), script from Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, who and so on. But the ladies involved are armed with the also wrote “Friends With Benefits,” is crammed with plot ASSOCIATED PRESS knowledge of male romantic peculiarities that they’ve and gets bogged down with contrivances. PG-13 for sex- In this film image released by Sony Pictures - Screen Gems (from left), Jer- gleaned from the book — Tim Story’s film makes it seem ual content, some crude humor and brief drug use. 122 ry Ferrara, Gary Owen, Terrence J, Michael Ealy and Romany Malco are as if every woman in Los Angeles carries it around all minutes. Two and a half stars out of four. shown in a scene from “Think Like a Man.” SATURDAY DAYTIME APRIL 21, 2012 N - NEW WAVE M - MEDIACOM S1 - DISH NETWORK S2 - DIRECTV N M 6 AM 6:30 7 AM 7:30 8 AM 8:30 9 AM 9:30 10 AM 10:30 11 AM 11:30 12 PM 12:30 1 PM 1:30 2 PM 2:30 3 PM 3:30 S1 S2 (2) (2) WKRN [2] News 2 Weekend Good Morning News 2 Weekend Wild Ocean Born to Sea Paid Paid Paid Paid Paid Paid Ball Boys Ball Boys ESPN Sports Saturday ABC America Saturday Countd. Myst. 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