by RICHARD WINTERS
Director John Waters’ films, sometimes referred to as ‘an exercise in bad taste,’ are indeed an acquired taste. Some label his films from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s like Mondo-Trasho, Pink Flamingoes, and Female Trouble to be tasteless, exploitative, and trashy. Yet those films also have a very fervent following. I for one found them to be perversely brilliant. However, when Waters decided to ‘sell-out’ and go more mainstream Hollywood, his stuff became too toned-down. The humor lost all of its edge. The original Hairspray (1988) was a particular disappointment. It seemed like nothing more than a stretched out sitcom with musical numbers. Cry-Baby, which came out two years later, does only slightly better. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
Precious (full title: the exceedingly unwieldy Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire) is one of the minor movie sensations of 2009. Produced on a lean $10 million budget, it has already grossed more than $45 million, making it a rare indie success story and earning profits that put many of the year’s big Hollywood productions to the blush. The subject matter has attracted praise – sometimes glowing, and criticism – sometimes virulent. It received the establishment seal of approval last week when it was announced the film had been nominated for six Academy Awards: picture, director, actress, supporting actress, editing, and adapted screenplay. All of which is to say that it is no longer possible to separate the film from its critical-commercial-cultural reception. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
The Young Victoria is a romantic drama recounting the courtship and early married life of England’s Queen Victoria and her consort, HRH Prince Albert. Those years coincided with Victoria’s accession to the throne at 18 and her reign’s politically rocky beginning, and the film is also a historical drama about the English monarchy and English politics c. 1840. Although considerably less interesting in the latter aspect than in the former, this is an enjoyable film and refreshingly true to the facts of its famous true story. (more…)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
Unless Lucy somehow snatches the metaphorical football away from Charlie Brown at the last moment yet again, the American version of John Woo’s Red Cliff finally will be on at least one big screen in Indiana this week. Additionally, the first Amitabh Bachchan film of the year to hit Indy, Rann, gets a few showings at the Georgetown 14, a new Kidtoons show starts at a few theaters around the state, Crazy Heart expands in a big way (to so many theaters, in fact, that it is now beyond the scope of this column) – and there are the usual number of holdovers and special screenings as well. For all of that – and news on a few promising-sounding upcoming releases as well – read on below…. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
First I was too busy to write this post and then I got caught up in awards-season mania and forgot about it. Fortunately Hollywood made it easy on me with a light (eight movies strong) release schedule. There are a couple of horror film must-sees in the lineup – The Wolfman and Shutter Island – and the love in my love-hate relationship with Luc Besson will carry me to From Paris With Love, but all in all it promises to be another good month to check out what’s playing at the local arthouse. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
Best of year lists are inescapable this time of year. The newspapers start printing their critics top tens in mid-December; critics societies, guilds, groups film-related and not film-related seemingly ad infinitum confer their honors beginning in January; the Academy’s nominations dominate the popular discourse on movies through February; movie blogs and non-movie blogs comment on the foregoing, publish their own picks, and poll their readers for theirs. The mania is compounded in years divisible by ten: throw a stone and you’ll hit a best of decade list. (more…)
by HELEN GEIB
Oscar season officially re-opened today with the announcement of the Academy Award nominations for films released (officially) in 2009. The nominations are the usual mix of the deserving, the less deserving, the suspect, and the that-movie-hasn’t-opened-where-I-live-yet. (To be fair, the proportion of “the suspect” might be unusually low this year.) Meanwhile, the people who pushed for the best picture category’s expansion from five nominees to 10 were rewarded with the nominations of surprise popular hits The Blind Side and District 9 plus this year’s Pixar film Up, a double best picture nominee with a second nom for animated feature. Speaking of the animated feature category, it also expanded (from three back to five), decidedly a good thing considering the overall high quality of 2009’s slate of animated films. Finally, the Academy made me personally happy by nominating Un Prophete for best foreign film, thus significantly increasing my chances of seeing it in the theater.
The nominee list for the big 10 categories (a/k/a the combination of categories most talked about and categories which the Commentary Track staff predicts the winners of) follow after the break: picture; animated feature; directing; the 4 acting categories; the 2 screenplay categories; and foreign language film. Read the full list of nominees at Oscar.com’s nominations page. The awards broadcast is March 7; check back a week or so before the awards show for our predictions and “should win” picks. Follow the title links to read our reviews of the nominated films. (more…)
by RICHARD WINTERS
In Sean Connery’s long and storied career playing in a wide variety of films, The Anderson Tapes somehow always gets lost in the shuffle, which is unfair as it is really an offbeat gem waiting to be discovered and appreciated. Fortunately in October it was finally released to DVD and the print is excellent. There is now discussion of a remake, but see the original first. I highly recommend this movie not only to fans of Connery or director Sidney Lumet, but also to those who enjoy movies with an offbeat story and approach. (more…)
by NIR SHALEV
The Hughes Brothers are not household names, and probably never will be but in the artsy section of our minds we remember the movies Menace II Society (1993), Dead Presidents (1995), and the grossly underrated From Hell (2001). Now they bring us a vision that is reminiscent of the more recent graphic novel adaptations, movies like Sin City and 300. But this film contains what the others lack and that is, a certain degree of intellectuality. There are many parallels apparent, many ironic gestures, and overall it’s a gorgeous looking film. (more…)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
Imports from Norway, Britain and India open in Indiana theaters this weekend, but aren’t likely to appeal to most art house patrons – the first two films (Hidden and The Reeds) are part of Horrorfest, and the third, Goa, apparently lacks English subtitles. A limited-release film from the US, Preacher’s Kid, also starts Friday in Indiana – and while there is no new art film at the Keystone Art Cinema this week, several of them are holding over there…. and next week brings yet another possible appearance of the American version of John Woo’s Red Cliff at the Keystone Art Cinema. Read on below for more on these films, and this week’s complete listing of films opening in limited release around the country. (more…)
