TICKET
PURCHASES: Online ticketing and
phone reservations are not available.
Tickets are purchased at the
door.
Redmond:
The
Redmond Big Picture box
office opens 45 minutes prior to the
first show of the day, and tickets may
be purchased at that time for any
same
day shows.
Seattle:
Tickets may be purchased at the
Seattle Big Picture box office for
any Seattle dates and showtimes
posted on the website, unless noted
otherwise. The box office is
open Mon. - Sun. from 4:45pm - 9pm. Advance purchase tickets are non-
refundable and lost or stolen tickets
will not be replaced.
TICKET PRICES:
Ticket prices: Shows starting at/before
4:30pm are $7. Shows on Monday and
Tuesday are $7. All other shows are $11
unless otherwise noted. Senior citizens
62 and older $8 (with ID).
We strongly
recommend you arrive 20- 30 minutes prior to
the movie showtime to secure good seats and enjoy
the experience. See you at the movies!
Per
Washington State Law,
Big Picture is a 21 and older facility.
REVIEWS
"WANTED"
Review by ReelViews
Wanted
provides the jolt of
adrenaline one
expects from solid
summer
entertainment. It
exists solely to
keep the heart
pounding as it
shifts from one gear
to the next,
decelerating only
when exposition
demands a reduction
in pace. The movie
marries the
superhero origin
film with the
revenge thriller,
blending them with
hints of the
frenzied intensity
embodied by
300 and
the visual
orchestrations of
The Matrix.
The storyline, while
not Pulitzer
material, is strong
enough to keep the
average viewer
involved. But this
is one of those
experiences where
the brain is not the
primary organ
engaged by what
flashes on the
screen in the
darkness.
The backstory of
Wanted
postulates that
there's a
thousand-year old
secret society of
assassins called the
Fraternity whose
elite membership
have an unsurpassed
aptitude when it
comes to killing.
Wesley Gibson (James
McAvoy), a
mild-mannered
accounts manager, is
about to come
face-to-face with
the truth about his
absentee father.
Dear old Dad, it
seems, was a member
of the Fraternity
and he passed his
genes to his son.
Now, following Dad's
betrayal and murder
at the hands of the
renegade Cross
(Thomas Kretschmann),
the Fraternity wants
Wesley to join their
number. He is
recruited by the
head honcho, Sloan
(Morgan Freeman),
and the
hard-to-resist and
appropriately named
Fox (Angelina Jolie).
She has everything
but her own news
network. Wesley's
training is hard-ass
but, after a long
montage that might
as well be set to "Gonna
Fly Now" or "Eye of
the Tiger," he's
ready to take his
place alongside Fox
and do some train
surfing and lip
locking.
One could argue that
the most important
passages in
Wanted are among
the calmest and most
understated: the
opening scenes of
Wesley toiling away
at the office,
crammed into a
cubicle under the
thumb of an
intolerant bully of
a boss while his
"best friend" sneaks
away to screw
Wesley's girlfriend.
This is the part of
the movie that
humanizes him - that
makes us feel like
we know him. It's
hard to identify
with a guy who can
slow time and fire a
bullet that curves
around a corner, but
it's difficult not
to empathize with
someone who's
working a dead-end
job in a life that's
going nowhere.
There's a lot of
razzle-dazzle and
flash in Wanted;
the only reason it
means something is
because we're
rooting for Wesley.
Director Timur
Bekmambetov showed
in
Night Watch
that he knows how to
do some arresting
stuff with his
cameras. The flaw
with that film is
its cold, clinical
attitude toward the
characters. Here,
the approach is
warmer and more
inviting. Wesley
represents our point
of entry into this
world where the laws
of physics (and
sometimes logic)
have been suspended.
He's the everyman
who discovers he's
more than he thought
he was. He's
Peter
Parker
with an attitude.
And, face it, who
wants Mary Jane
Watson when you can
have Fox?
Angelina Jolie has
always oozed sex
appeal, but she's
never been able to
match badass with
dominatrix quite
like this. Jolie
doesn't have any
qualms about showing
off her body, nor
should she,
considering how well
sculpted it is.
James McAvoy's
American accent is a
little flawed, but
his transformation
from dweeb to
assassin is
believable. Morgan
Freeman adds a touch
of class to things
(much as he does
with nearly every
movie he's in).
There's something
perversely
delicious, however,
about getting to
hear Easy Reader say
two of George
Carlin's seven words
that can't be spoken
on television.
The action sequences
are choreographed
like
dances
of bullets, metal,
blood, and sweat.
Cars fly upside down
at impossible
angles. People treat
the tops of speeding
trains like race
tracks. And there's
blood and viscera
everywhere.
Wanted earns its
R-rating with the
tracking of every
bullet as it rips
through flesh,
muscle, and bone.
The film's debt to
the The Matrix,
with its slow-motion
violence and general
setup, is
undeniable. 300 is
also a forerunner.
While there's no
specific linkage to
the story of the
indomitable
Spartans, there's a
strong sense that
those who
appreciated the
early 2007 hit will
approve of Wanted.
The stories may be
vastly different but
the vibe is
similar.
The film's sense of
style is going to
capture the praise
of some who might
normally not applaud
a summer movie
fueled by adrenaline
and testosterone.
But Wanted
manages to deliver
what action fans
crave while still
maintaining a veneer
of artfulness. There
are times when the
film is flat-out
silly (such as the
spinning car
assassination), but
that's part of the
movie's charm. At
its worst, Wanted
is never boring. At
its best, it can be
damn close to
intoxicating. One
word, written
without apology,
describes it best:
fun.