We have a limited number of admit-two passes for the screening Saturday, January  28 at 10:30am at AMC Studio 30. Winners will be chosen on Friday, January 27. The winners will receive an email with instructions on how to print out their pass. Make sure to bring the pass with you to the screening. Be sure to get there early. These screenings are overbooked to fill every seat. Only ONE entry per email address. Only eligible for Kansas/Missouri metro area residents. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Synopsis: Based on the inspiring incredible true story that united the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and an animal-loving volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Local newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) can’t wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she’s also his ex-girlfriend.

With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War.

This is shocking to both friends as Dex is the man who is set to marry Rachel’s best friend Darcy. The one night stand leads to many old feelings resurfacing. It turns out Rachel has always had feelings for Dex, but stepped aside when her friend Darcy threw herself at him. Rachel being the meek of the two in the friendship always allowed Darcy to shine and steal the spotlight. As the wedding begins to come closer Rachel and Dex open up about their true feelings and find that maybe Dex marrying Darcy is a mistake. However, Dex seems divided and unsure of what to do.

Rachel feeling heartbroken turns to close friend Ethan (John Krasinski) and admits to her indiscretion with the groom to be. Ethan gets Rachel to open her eyes and knows where her heart truly belongs and makes her realize that she has always put Darcy first, even all those years back when she allowed her to walk all over her and ‘borrow’ Dex. Deciding to put herself first and follow her heart this time she will have to hurt the person she loves the most to move forward and be happy.

 “Something Borrowed” is a gloomy love tale about the haves and have not’s. It is a stereotypical movie about the blondes vs. the brunettes. Rachel (brunette) is the lawyer with all the brains who stays at home without a love life and Darcy (blonde) is the wild fun girl who is not afraid to speak her mind and go after what she wants. It was insulting to see how they portrayed both girls and made them equally out to be very naïve and desperate.

John Krasinski who is a comical gift was unused in this minor humorous film. He was there one minute and gone the next. “Something Borrowed” would not be a great or even a good date movie. Who wants to see how a girl walks away from a guy so easily to only have him get engaged to her best friend, and then a one night stand leads him into wanting to call of the wedding. It has been done in many different ways, but this one was a little ridiculous and depressing. There is not a whole lot to love about this supposed romantic comedy and thus it is not worth the ticket price, wait for the DVD!

It’s Complicated: Two-time Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin star in this hilarious look at marriage, divorce and everything in between. With a thriving Santa Barbara bakeshop, a new romance heating-up, and her divorce finally behind her, Jane Adler has her life all figured out – until she finds herself trapped between the perfect new beau and her philandering ex-husband who’s determined to win her back. When opposites attract all over again, will love be sweeter the second time around? It’s… complicated!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: Dr. Parnassus has the extraordinary gift of inspiring the imaginations of others. Helped by his traveling theatre troupe, including his sarcastic and cynical sidekick Percy and versatile young player Anton, Parnassus offers audience members the chance to transcend mundane reality by passing through a magical mirror into a fantastic universe of limitless imagination.

However, Parnassus’ magic comes at a price. For centuries he’s been gambling with the devil, Mr. Nick who is coming to collect his prize – Parnassus’ precious daughter, Valentina on her upcoming 16th birthday. Oblivious to her rapidly approaching fate, Valentina falls for Tony, a charming outsider with motives of his own.

In order to save his daughter and redeem himself, Parnassus makes one final bet with Mr. Nick, which sends Tony and Valentina and the entire theatre troupe on a ride of twists and turns, in and out of London and the Imaginarium’s spectacular landscape.

We have 50 admit-two passes for the screening on Tuesday, December 15 at 7:30 PM at the AMC Studio. Winners will be chosen on December 11. An email notification will be sent to the winners. Your name will be added to a list and a screening rep will check you in as  you enter the theatre; no passes needed. Be sure to get there early. These screenings are overbooked to fill every seat. Only ONE entry per email address. Only eligible for Kansas/Missouri metro area residents. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Release Date: Friday, December 25, 2009

Monsters vs. Aliens: When Susan Murphy is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is instantly labeled a “Monster” named Ginormica. The military jumps into action, and she is captured and held in a secret government compound filled with other “monsters” like herself.

This ragtag group consists of the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, P.H.D.; the macho half-Ape-half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement time is cut short however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to save the world from imminent destruction.

Away We Go: Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover “home” on their own terms for the first time. The movie features the music of Alexi Murdoch.

The Brother’s Bloom: Welcome to the world of The Brothers Bloom, where deception is an art and nothing is as it seems. The brothers have perfected the art of swindling fortunes through years of fraternal teamwork. Now they’ve decided to take on one last spectacular job—luring a beautiful and eccentric heiress into an elaborate plot that takes them around the world.

For as long as they can remember, the Brothers Bloom have had only each other to depend on. From their childhood in a long series of gloomy foster homes to their highflying lives as international con artists, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) have shared everything. Stephen brilliantly concocts intricate stories that the brothers live out, but he’s still searching for the perfect con, the one where “everyone gets what they want.” Meanwhile, Bloom yearns for “an unwritten life”—a real adventure, one not dreamed up by his old brother.

Eager to retire, Bloom agrees to take part in one last grand scam. He insinuates himself into the life of Penelope (Rachel Wiesz), a bored, single New Jersey heiress. When a genuine romance begins to blossom between them, he is reluctant to exploit her naiveté, but Penelope has already taken the bait: She impulsively joins Bloom, Stephen and their “associate,” a sexy Japanese explosives expert named Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), on an ocean liner to Greece. Penelope is convinced she’s happened upon the adventure of a lifetime and offers to bankroll a million dollar deal. As the quartet makes their way from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg, Penelope quickly becomes addicted to the illicit thrills. But as Stephen’s elaborate web of deceit pulls tighter, Bloom begins to wonder if his brother has devised the most dangerous con of his life.

Management: MANAGEMENT is a romantic comedy that chronicles a chance meeting between Mike Cranshaw (Steve Zahn) and Sue Claussen (Jennifer Aniston). When Sue checks into the roadside motel owned by Mike’s parents in Arizona, what starts with a bottle of wine “compliments of MANAGEMENT” soon evolves into a multi-layered, cross-country journey of two people looking for a sense of purpose. Mike, an aimless dreamer, bets it all on a trip to Sue’s workplace in Maryland – only to find that she has no place for him in her carefully ordered life. Buttoned down and obsessed with making a difference in the world, Sue goes back to her yogurt mogul ex-boyfriend Jango (Woody Harrelson), who promises her a chance to head his charity operations. But, having found something worth fighting for, Mike pits his hopes against Sue’s practicality, and the two embark on a twisted, bumpy, freeing journey to discover that their place in the world just might be together.

Shrink: What happens when the people we count on to hold us together… are barely holding it together themselves? Jonas Pate’s Shrink is a striking, fast-paced exposé of the “other” Hollywood, featuring folks living outside their comfort zone and the people who put them there. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a psychiatrist with an A-list clientele, including a once-famous actress (Saffron Burrows), an insecure young writer (Mark Webber), and a comically obsessive-compulsive superagent (Dallas Roberts).

Henry is not in a good place, however. He has been asked to take his first pro bono case, a troubled teenage girl from a neighborhood far from the Hollywood hills. Considering his present state of mind, is he ready for the real-life troubles of a young woman who loves the world of movies he has become so jaded by?

At its core, Shrink is a study of control and our endless need for it, even when it grows increasingly impossible to obtain. Writer Thomas Moffett uses classic archetypes in this modern Hollywood tale, but never pushes them over the edge of credibility. Performed by a well-matched cast at the top of their form, the result is both satisfying and exhilarating. Watching Shrink makes us feel like voyeurs looking through a window into the lives of people who look great, feel worse, and end up behaving badly.

First stop on the journey is Phoenix. Albeit warmer climate than the chilly Colorado they have just fled, they find the reunion with Verona’s former boss/“friend”, Lily (Allison Janney) is enough to have them running out of town. After a quick visit with Verona’s sister they head to Madison, where Burt reunites with his “cousin” LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal) which turns out to be an eye opening experience on parenting. LN has a new age style of parenting, one that promotes a family bed, even finding strollers obtrusive. After a heated ending to the reunion Burt and Verona are affirmative that Madison can keep the lunatics and they will keep on searching.

On their last stop they visit college friends, rooming with them and their adoptive children. Out of all the destinations they find this to be the favorite. Even with the comforts of Canada, they still have not found the true comforts of home. Promising to love each other and be the bets parents they can be, Verona and Burt exchange vows. As the destinations come to an end they finally realize their past has leaded them to where their true home lies.

Sam Mendes brings us a light hearted comedy that will appeal to all audiences. Offering us likeable characters and assuring they were cast properly. An insightful film that is honest about the concerns many first time parents have. The pace at time seemed to stumble, but not long after the audience was drawn back in. Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski proved their ability to take on a lead role and had incredible chemistry. “Away We Go” is a poignant tale of true love. The long journey Verona and Burt take is thought provoking, leaving viewers pleased that they tagged along for the ride.