by HELEN GEIB
Public Enemies is foremost a biopic of John Dillinger, public enemy no. 1 at the height of his short, notorious career as a professional bank robber. As biopic the film is an impressionistic survey of the last year of Dillinger’s life. The last year was the big one, the year that made him a Depression-era folk hero, made him the subject of a nationwide manhunt, and ultimately got him killed – gunned down by federal agents on the sidewalk outside Chicago’s Biograph movie theater. (more…)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
So you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both – and there you have another week at the movies in Indiana. Yes, one area movie theater will be closing this week, and several films (Food,Inc. and Rudo y Cursi) were postponed at the Landmark, while two other films (Lemon Tree and Little Ashes) might not be coming to the Landmark at all (for more on that, see “next week and beyond,” below). Then again, Moon (which sounds like a real must-see) starts Friday at the Landmark, and the 2009 Indianapolis International Film Festival kicks off Wednesday night at the Indianapolis Museum of Art – and as if that weren’t enough, a number of other interesting movies will be shown hither and yon in the coming week as well. For all that and more, read on… (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
The sci-fi thriller Push is a mix of good parts and clunky parts. The good parts include Paul McGuigan’s high-energy direction, top-notch special effects, and some of the acting, especially Chris Evans’ charismatic lead performance and vivid character turns in too-small roles by Cliff Curtis, Ming-Na, and Neil Jackson. The clunky parts are the title, some weak story construction and flat performances – unfortunately in major roles – by Camilla Belle as the hero’s romantic interest and Djimon Hounsou as the villain. (more…)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
The fact that this Saturday is the Fourth of July probably has a lot to do with why this is such a slow week with regards to arthouse films and other movies covered in this column. Whatever the reason(s), we get Woody Allen’s latest, Whatever Works, at the Landmark, while Kambakkht Ishq started Thursday night (July 2) at the Georgetown 14. For more on these and other titles, read on… (more…)
by NIR SHALEV
The Crow opens with narration: “People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, when something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can’t rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong thing right.” (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
At least Public Enemies comes out this month. Fans of Harry Potter, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Judd Apatow also have reason to be excited.
July 1 (Wednesday)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary return in the voice cast for the third Ice Age film. The first trailer I saw is a funny short cartoon of the squirrel-like animal being outwitted by a female flying-squirrel-like animal in a contest for an acorn. The second trailer, the one that brings in the rest of the characters and gives away most of the plot, did not make me smile. (more…)
by TOM NIXON
16 years after his classic anti-western Unforgiven, Clint finally grants himself some semblance of forgiveness with its more light-hearted vigilante analogue. Wisely avoiding a retread of Unforgiven’s thunder and grace, Eastwood maintains a different kind of contrast in Gran Torino, pitting his signature sentimental touch and some hilarious, oft-tacky camp against a self-represented grizzled hardass. When it works, it works in the same way all the unrelatable rubbish in The Searchers works; it gleans pathos from the man’s self-imposed alienation and repressed guilt, leading the way to a surprising grasp at redemption. (more…)
by RISHI AGRAWAL
June marks a slight lull in the summer movie season. Although there are a lot of big films, there were few blockbusters other than some silly movie about giant robots fighting, which, I should point out, everyone on the Commentary Track writing staff refused to see. So don’t blame us for its over-the-top ridiculous numbers. Anyway, on to the top grossing films in June. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
This past Wednesday the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the Academy Awards Best Picture category will double in size next year from five to ten nominated films. The prevailing interpretation of the thinking behind this change is that it’s a desperate attempt to improve Oscar’s ratings by packing the top category with audience favorites. Adding Best Picture nominees won’t make the awards show any shorter – excessive length being one of the most frequently cited complaints by people who have and people who haven’t been watching the broadcast the last few years – so it’s tempting to read the subsequently announced sideways move by the honorary career-achievement award to a separate event as a temporal offset. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
The Proposal is not original, but it is judicious in its selection and arrangement of familiar elements. The plot blends two classic romantic comedy situations, while the denouement borrows liberally from one of the genre’s best, While You Were Sleeping. Mix in another great performance by Sandra Bullock and an equally good one by Ryan Reynolds and you have a rare contemporary Hollywood romantic comedy that is actually romantic and funny. (more…)
