Seven nabbed in bust - Recorder

18 / Thursday, December 12, 2013 WEEKENDER The Recorder, Amsterdam, N.Y.
MOVIE SHOWTIMES
Emerald Cinemas
136 Perth Plaza, Amsterdam
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 3D
(PG-13): Noon, 3:30, 7:05, 9:30 p.m.
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 2D
(PG-13): 1, 2, 4:30, 6, 8 p.m.
• Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (PG-13):
12:05, 2:20, 4:35, 7:10, 9:25 p.m.
• Frozen 3D (PG): 12:05, 2:20, 4:35 p.m.
• Frozen 2D (PG): 7:10, 9:25 p.m.
• The Book Thief (PG-13): 1:15, 4, 7:15
p.m.
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (PG-
13): 1, 4, 7, 9:30 p.m.
• Delivery Man (PG-13): 12:05, 2:20, 4:35,
7:10, 9:35 p.m.
• Thor: The Dark World 2D (PG-13): 1:30,
4, 9:30 p.m.
• Thor: The Dark World 3D (PG-13): 7 p.m.
• Last Vegas (PG-13) 1:30, 4 p.m.
• Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (R): 7:05
p.m.
The Movieplex
236 N. Comrie Ave., Johnstown
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
(PG-13): Noon 1, 2, 3:30, 4:30, 6, 7:05, 8,
9:30 p.m.
• Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (PG-13):
12:05, 2:20, 4:35, 7:10, 9:35 p.m.
• Out of the Furnace (R): 1:30, 4, 7, 9:30
p.m.
• Frozen (PG): 12:05, 2:20, 4:35, 7:10, 9:35
p.m.
• Homefront (R): 12:05, 2:20, 4:35, 7:10,
9:35 p.m.
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (PG-
13): 1, 4, 7:15, 9:30 p.m.
• Delivery Man (PG-13): 12:05, 2:20, 4:35
p.m.
• Thor: The Dark World (PG-13): 7 p.m.
Review: ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ a spoonful of sugar
By JAKE COYLE
The Associated Press
For most scribes who have
toiled in the movie industry,
portraying Hollywood as a
healing paradise is roughly
equivalent to regaling a lobster
of the soothing properties
of a boiling pot of water.
Hollywood has always, and
probably will always, chew
up authors. From “Sunset
Boulevard” to “In a Lonely
Place” to “Barton Fink,”
we’ve often had the writer’s
perspective on the painful
life of movie scripting. Now,
in Disney’s “Saving Mr.
Banks,” we have the studio’s.
No one, needless to say,
winds up face down in a
swimming pool in the Disney
version.
“Saving Mr. Banks,” directed
by John Lee Hancock (a
sure studio hand of inspirational
tales like “The Blind
Side” and “The Rookie”), is
based on the true story of the
tug of wills between “Mary
Poppins” author P.L. Travers
(Emma Thompson) and Walt
Disney (Tom Hanks). Finally
drawn by Disney’s money
and years of entreaties to
adapt her books, the extremely
particular British writer
arrives in mythic 1961 Los
The Associated Press
This image released by Disney shows Tom Hanks as Walt
Disney, left, and Emma Thompson as author P.L. Travers in
a scene from “Saving Mr. Banks.”
Angeles like a dark cloud
indignant of sunshine.
She peers warily at “Los
Ang-uh-lees,” as she calls it,
from the back window of the
limo that’s been sent to pick
her up. Her chipper driver
(Paul Giamatti) is infuriatingly
American. She flinches
when he calls her home
“Inger-land” and, worse, says
“no problemo.”
It’s just the start of the
unpleasantness for Travers,
who recoils at the thought of
handing over her very precious
characters — “my family,”
she says — to Disney.
When she arrives in a hotel
room strewn with baskets
and stuffed animals, she
faces a giant Mickey doll in
the corner, telling him he can
stay there “until you learn the
art of subtlety.”
She doesn’t treat Disney
much better, nor her wouldbe
collaborators: writer Don
DaGradi (Bradley Whitford)
and the songwriting Sherman
brothers, Robert (B.J. Novak)
and Richard (Jason
Schwartzman). She is resolute
in keeping sentimentality,
trite showmanship or
dancing penguins from her
tale.
The Disney team are puppy
dogs, obedient but pleading
with big eyes to be let off the
leash. As the mustached
Disney, Hanks (well-suited
for the part, belying only the
slightest hint of Disney’s
strong-arm side) absorbs her
contempt for his “silly cartoon”
with a quick wince.
But he’s equally dauntless in
the certainty of his mission, a
zealot for the fantasy of storytelling.
They’re all flummoxed
by her demands, like
not having red in the film:
“I’ve simply gone off the
color,” says Travers.
“Saving Mr. Banks,” a
Disney movie about a Disney
movie (timed for the 50th
anniversary of “Mary
Poppins”), is a feature film
advertisement not just for the
Mouse House, but for the
Hollywood dream factory.
Just as Travers is eventually
won over by her Hollywood
adversaries, the strong sentimental
pull of “Saving Mr.
Banks” overwhelms, too.
“Saving Mr. Banks,” a Walt
Disney Pictures release, is
rated PG-13 by the Motion
Picture Association of
America for “thematic elements
including some unsettling
images.” Running time:
126 minutes. Three stars out
of four.
Calendar from page 16
December 27
John PIzzarelli Quartet, 8
p.m., The Egg, Lancaster
Street, Albany.
December 28
Savion Glover & Jack
DeJohnette, 8 p.m., The
Egg, Lancaster Street, Albany.
December 30
moe., 7:30 p.m., Palace
Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave.,
Albany.
December 31
moe., 8 p.m., Palace
Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave.,
Albany.
CHRISTMAS BAZAAR
St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church
24 Pulaski Street, Amsterdam, NY
Saturday, December 14th, 10:00am-4:00pm
• Varenyk y (P iero g i )
• Holubtsi (G ol u m k i )
• Kov b asa & S a u e r k ra u t
• B o r s cht ( B e e t s o u p )
• Homemade Pa st r ie s
• U k rainian Fol k A r t
This is a very
popular annual
event , come early
for the best
selection!
Delicious Ukrainian Food
BROWN TOURS
(518) 843-4700 Charters • Tours • Travel (800) 424-4700
Christmas and Nascar Gift Certificates Available
DECEMBER JANUARY
12/19, 12/26 - Mohegan Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 36/ $ 40 1/20 - Turning Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 22
JANUARY
1/25 - Museum of Nat’l. History . . . $ 95 (A) $ 89 (Sr.) $ 82 (C)
1/2, 1/9, 1/16, 1/30 - Mohegan Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 36/ $ 40 1/25 - Museum of Modern Art . . . $ 80 (A) $ 76 (Sr.) $ 69 (C)
1/4 - NYC Boat Show ........................ ........................ $ 55
1/25 - NYC Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 55
1/4 - Body Worlds Exhibit, NYC . . . . . . . . . $ 85 (A) $ 79 (C)
FEBRUARY
1/4 - Shipwreck Exhibit, NYC .............. $ 85 (A) $ 79 (C)
1/4 - NYC Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2/11 -
55
Westminster Dog Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 110
1/4 - Intrepid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $ 55 2/22 - American Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 55
1/19 - Boston/NE Aquariam/Quincy Mkt. 2/22 - FAO Schwartz ........................ ........................ .. $ 55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 73 (A) $ 70 (Sr.) $ 63 (C) $ 58 (Trans.) 2/23 - RI Flower Show . . . . . . . . . . . $ 80 (A) $ 77 (Sr.) $ 68 (C)
THEATER
7/26 - The Lion King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 160 Cinderella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... $ 145
Aladdin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... $ 145 Les Misérables ........................ ........................ ......... $ 125
NASCAR
8/10 - Watkins Glen ..................................................................................................................................................... $ 125
9/21 - Loudon, N.H. ........................ ........................ ............... ................................................................. ...................... $ 125
NHRA
6/1 - Englishtown, N.J. ........................ ........................ ............... ................................................................. ............... $ 130
10/5 - Maple Grove ........................ ........................ ............... ................................................................. ...................... $ 130
2014 MULTI-DAY TRIPS
3/23 - 3/24 - Foxwoods at Two Trees Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................. $ 146 Dbl. PP.
4/13 - 4/16 - Gettysburg/Washington, D.C. ........................ ........................ ............... .......................... $ 495 Dbl. PP.
Book online @ www.browntours.com
50 Venner Rd, Amsterdam, NY 12010
Holly & Evan, 9 p.m.,
Saratoga City Center, 522
Broadway, Saratoga
Springs.
January 4
Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam,
7:30 p.m., The Egg,
Lancaster Street, Albany.
January 9
James Van Praagh, 9
p.m., Proctor’s Theatre,
432 State St., Schenectady.
January 11
Albany Symphony
Orchestra, 7:30 p.m.,
Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton
Ave., Albany
January 12
Schenectady Symphony
Orchestra, 3 p.m.,
Proctor’s Theatre, 432
State St., Schenectady.
Trombone Shorty &
Orleans Avenue, 7:30
p.m., The Egg, Lancaster
Street, Albany.
January 15
War Horse, 7:30 p.m.,
Proctor’s Theatre, 432
State St., Schenectady.
January 16
War Horse, 1:30 and 8
p.m., Proctor’s Theatre,
432 State St., Schenectady.
January 17
Section 8, 6:30 p.m.,
Upstate Concert Hall, 1208
Route 146, Clifton Park.
War Horse, 8 p.m.,
Proctor’s Theatre, 432
State St., Schenectady.
January 18
War Horse, 2 and 8 p.m.,
Proctor’s Theatre, 432
State St., Schenectady.
Stigmata, 6:30 p.m.,
Upstate Concert Hall, 1208
Route 146, Clifton Park.
Ellen Sinopoli Dance
Company, 8 p.m., The
Egg, Lancaster Street,
Albany.
Christmas Concert
at
Jubilee Fellowship
349 Forest Avenue, Amsterdam
(former Noteworthy Christmas center)
Soloist Dan Ryczek
Guests – Amsterdam High School Chorus
Christmas Carol Singing
December 13th at 7pm
Dessert reception following service
January 19
War Horse, 1 and 6:30
p.m., Proctor’s Theatre,
432 State St., Schenectady.
Gorilla Battle of the Bands,
4 p.m., Upstate Concert
Hall, 1208 Route 146,
Clifton Park.
January 23
Dark Side of the Moon, 8
p.m., Proctor’s Theatre,
432 State St., Schenectady.
January 26
Dream Carver, 3 p.m., The
Egg, Lancaster Street,
Albany.
January 31
Sesame Street Live: Elmo
Makes Music, 10:30 a.m.
and 6:30 p.m., Palace
Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave.,
Albany.
Sonny Landreth & Cindy
Cashdollar, 8 p.m., The
Egg, Lancaster Street,
Albany.
February 1
Sesame Street Live: Elmo
Makes Music, 10:30 a.m.,
2, 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.,
Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton
Ave., Albany.
Rock of Ages, 3 and 8
p.m., Proctor’s Theatre,
432 State St., Schenectady.
Drum Battle, 7:30 p.m.,
The Egg, Lancaster Street,
Albany.
February 2
Sesame Street Live: Elmo
Makes Music, 1 and 4:30
p.m., Palace Theatre, 19
Clinton Ave., Albany.