Thinking Outside the Multiplex

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…

Adaptation – The multi-part installation continues for another week at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  For more information, click here.

Away We Go – Continues for another week at Landmark’s Keystone Arts in Indianapolis and the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne.  Click on the respective links at the right side of the page for show times.

The Big Trees – Outdoor action drama from the fifties (with Kirk Douglas, Patrice Wymore, Eve Miller, Edgar Buchanan and Alan Hale Jr. in the cast) will be shown on the Lotus Petal Cinema’s outdoor screen at dusk on Friday night; the rain date is Saturday night.  Go to the Lotus Petal’s page (see link at right) for more information.

Bloqueo and Who’s Afraid of a Little Yellow School Bus? – According to this week’s edition of Metromix, these are the films that will be showing on Thursday, July 9, at the Earth House Collective in Indianapolis.  Both films concern the US trade ban with Cuba and people who try to send medical and humanitarian goods to Cuba in spite of the blockade.  A speaker (or speakers) from the group Pastors for Peace will apparently accompany the films.  (The schedule for next Thursday on the Earth House site itself says that the “Indiana Filmmakers Series” [with no further information provided] will be there on the ninth, but the evidence elsewhere seems to indicate otherwise.  Metromix sez that the “Indiana Filmmakers Series” of shorts will actually be at the Earth House on July 16.  They don’t give any titles, but Film Indiana – see link at right – says that the Earth House will be celebrating local female filmmakers on July 16, and lists five titles.  Just to be on the safe side, check the Earth House site – see link at the right side of the page – closer to July 9 to see what they’ll really be showing that night, or just give ‘em a call.)

The Brothers Bloom – Oddball, just-barely-enjoyable-enough-to-sort-of-recommend-it con artist comedy/romance continues for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis; it shows at 1:45 only Friday through Sunday, and at 2:15 only Monday through Thursday.

Cheri – Showing for another week (albeit with just three shows a day) at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis; click on the link at the right for more information.

Easy Virtue – Continues for another week at Landmark’s Keystone Arts in Indianapolis, and also showing this week at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne.  Click on the respective links at the right side of the page for more information.

Forever Plaid 20th Anniversary Special – The Off-Broadway musical’s twentieth anniversary is celebrated with a one-night-only event, consisting of a taped performance of the show itself, followed by a live appearance by the actors in the show, and an “interactive singalong.”  Thursday, June 9, is the day in question, and the show time is 8 PM; the Hamilton 16 in Noblesville, the Castleton 14, the Galaxy 14 and Kerasotes Showplace 16 (on Indy’s south side) are the area venues.  Go to the Fathom Events site (see link at right side of page) for more information.

The Goonies - Richard Donner’s 1985 film will be shown on Friday, July 3, as part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s “Summer Nights” series.  Doors open at 6 for picnicking; the show starts at dusk.  For more information, click on the IMA’s link at the right of this page.

Kambakkht Ishq – Bollywood goes to Hollywood in this Indian romantic comedy shot in California, India and Europe (official site).  Akshay Kumar (from Chandni Chowk to China) plays a stuntman, and Kareena Kapoor is a supermodel; Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards, Brandon Routh and Carmen Electra are in it too.  Starts on Thursday night with one showing at the Georgetown 14; there will then be three shows a day at the G14 through next Wednesday.  Click on the manoranjaninc link and the Georgetown 14 link at the right of this page for show time information.

New York – Another (much more serious) Indian film (this one shot entirely in the US), New York concerns three friends who meet in college, and how their lives are affected by the reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  It gets too preachy in spots and the story strains credulity to the breaking point on more than one occasion, but the performances are generally quite good and I thought it was worth seeing, in spite of its faults.  John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Irrfan Khan star in the film, which will be at the Georgetown 14 for two more showings (at 9:15 on both Friday and Saturday nights).

Next Level Bollywood Concert and Show – This week’s edition of Metromix says that this variety show (featuring a number of Bollywood entertainers) is scheduled for Friday night at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, and the Convention Center is listed as a venue on the event’s official site.  On the other hand, there is nothing on the Convention Center’s site about this show, and the Ticketmaster site says that it was cancelled.  I know, I know, it isn’t a movie… but it is likely to be of interest to at least some of you out there, so I included it anyway (even if it most likely won’t actually be here).  If you’d like to see what we will (apparently) be missing, click here.

Ray – Jamie Foxx won an Academy Award for his performance as Ray Charles in Taylor Hackford’s biopic, which will be shown on Friday, July 3, in the Underground 9 Studio at Bookmamas (which is just across the street from Lazy Daze Coffee House in Irvington); the show time is 7 PM.

This Way Up – A documentary about the security wall/”separation barrier” being built by Israel.  It will be shown on Tuesday, July 7, at 6 and 8 PM, as part of the Lotus Petal Cinema’s “Reel Matters” doc series.  Click on the Lotus Petal link at right or follow this link for more information. 

Tokyo! – Continues through Monday, July 6, at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville, IN.  Click on the Lotus Petal link at the right for show time information.

Whatever Works – Woody Allen apparently updated a script he wrote in the ‘seventies for this one, which has been receiving some not-so-great reviews.  Larry David stars, along with Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Michael McKean and Ed Begley Jr.  Starts Friday at the Keystone Arts; go to their site (see link at right) for times. Visit the film’s official site for more information.

NEXT WEEK IN NAPTOWN – The 2009 Indianapolis International Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday, July 15 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art with a showing of [500] Days of Summer; click here and here for more info.  Moon (starring Sam Rockwell and the voice of Kevin Spacey and directed by David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones) is scheduled to start Friday at the Keystone Arts, as is the documentary Food Inc.  Both have received many rave reviews.  Also, the hour-long documentary The Alpha and the Mega (about “megachurches” in America) is scheduled for a one-time-only showing at 10 AM on Saturday, July 11, at the Hamilton 16 and IMAX in Noblesville.  (And somewhere, off in the distance, sweet sirens play their enchanting tune, whispering once again that Spooky Tales might open in Indianapolis next week.  Sirens or not, I wouldn’t put any money on it, but I do hope it shows up eventually.)

OPENING ELSEWHERE – Captain Abu Raed starts Friday in Seattle, according to some sites; others claim that its U.S. theatrical release started late last year (although these showings may have been festival and/or other non-theatrical screenings).  Indianapolis isn’t on the theatrical schedule as of yet at the film’s official site, but a number of other cities are – and it did win the Grand Prize Award for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Heartland Film Festival.  Given that – and the fact that two other films from Captain Abu Raed‘s distributor have played at the Landmark – it wouldn’t surprise me if this one does make it to Indy some day.

The Girl from Monaco – A comedy (or comedy/drama, or erotic thriller – I’ve seen all of these terms used to describe this one) from French filmmaker Anne Fontaine.  Indianapolis isn’t on the theatrical release schedule yet at the film’s official (American) site, but it is being distributed in the US by Magnolia Pictures (a corporate sibling of the Landmark Theatres chain), so it still might make it to Indy, if audiences elsewhere (and the critics) like it.

I Hate Valentine’s Day – Nia Vardalos stars (with John Corbett, who was also her co-star in My Big Fat Greek Wedding), wrote the screenplay (based on a story she co-wrote), and makes her directorial debut as well.  If the reviews aren’t a LOT better than those for My Life in Ruins, this one won’t get a lot of bookings beyond the three theaters apparently showing it this week.  (I couldn’t find anything about future locations for the film on the site of its US distributor, IFC Films. That might be some sort of an ominous sign, or maybe it’s just laziness on the part of whoever does IFC’s site. Or maybe the schedule is on there already and I just don’t know where to look. Who knows?)

Lion’s Den – A drama from Argentina about an imprisoned woman and her son; it starts Friday in New York.  Like the other two films below, I am guessing that this one won’t make it to an Indianapolis theater.

Nollywood Babylon –  A documentary on the Nigerian film industry, supposedly the third largest in the world.  Starts Friday at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.  As much as I would like to see Tony Manero, The Girl from Monaco and Captain Abu Raed, this is the movie I most want to see from this week’s “not in Indiana yet” list; it sounds absolutely fascinating.

Tony Manero – Oops… apparently this one didn’t start on July 1, as stated here last week,  In NYC, at least, it starts Friday.  If the sampling of reviews I’ve read so far is any indication, this one is pretty much love it or hate it.