Thinking Outside the Multiplex
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
The people who scheduled this year’s Indianapolis International Film Festival must have amazing psychic powers, since most of the festival is taking place during what would otherwise be a very dull week, movie-wise, in Indianapolis. Either that, or they looked at the film release schedule for 2009, noticed when the latest Harry Potter movie would be opening, and correctly guessed that this would create a void of interesting new movies in central Indiana that week. Whatever the reason, anyone seeking something a little bit offbeat on the big screen this week should head on over to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Since Food, Inc. got postponed (again) to July 31, the only new movie opening at Indy’s Landmark this week is… the latest Harry Potter. Read on below for more….
Adaptation – The multi-part installation continues for another week at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. For more information, follow the IMA’s link in the sidebar. And since this installation is free, this would be a great thing to check out before or after you see a film in the Indianapolis International Film Festival at the IMA this week, as long as the museum itself is open at the time.
Away We Go – Holds over for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis, the Showplace East 11 in Bloomington, IN, and the Fort Wayne Cinema Center. Click on the appropriate sidebar link for the show times at the venue nearest you.
The Betrayal – A documentary about Laotians who fought alongside US forces during the 70s, only to face indifference from the US government after the end of the Vietnam War. This will be showing at 6 and 8 PM on Tuesday, July 21 at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville, IN; it’s part of the Lotus Petal’s “Reel Matters” series of docs.
The Brothers Bloom – Starts Friday at the Yes Cinema in Columbus, IN. Click on the link for the Yes Cinema at the right of the page for show time information.
Cheri – Starts Friday at the Kerasotes Stadium 16 in Evansville, IN.
Do the Right Thing – Spike Lee’s 1989 film will be showing at 7:30 PM on Thursday, July 23 at the Earth House Collective as part of the Earth House Film Forum. Click on the Earth House link at the right of the page for more information.
Easy Virtue – Holds over for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis (for one show per day, at 1:15 PM), and the Fort Wayne Cinema Center, and starts Friday at the Yes Cinema in Columbus, IN. Click on the Cinema Center and Yes Cinema links in the sidebar for information on show times at those locations.
The Indianapolis International Film Festival – This will be taking place every day of the coming week at the Toby Theatre and the DeBoest Lecture Hall, both at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. There are far, far too many films (shorts and features, documentary and fiction) to mention all of them here, so just click here for the festival’s schedule to see what’s playing, when and where. (And for more about the festival itself, click here.)
Moon – The interesting-looking science-fiction movie continues for another week at the Keystone Arts; click on the link at the right of the page for more show times. (It may also be holding over at the Carmike 20 in Fort Wayne – but as of 8 PM on Thursday night, they have yet to post their schedule for next week (apart from Harry Potter), so who knows?)
Outrage – This documentary will be showing again this Friday and Saturday at the Ryder in Bloomington, IN; follow the sidebar link for show times.
The Owl and the Sparrow – The Vietnamese feature holds over for another week at the Ryder in Bloomington; follow the sidebar link for show times.
Prayanam – Apparently a Telegu language film without English subtitles, this will be shown at 9:15 on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis. I say “apparently” because there is no information about subtitles at the manoranjaninc.com site – and because they do not give the title of the film (or much information of any kind about the film) in English.
Troll 2 – An Italian-financed, US-shot film that is legendary for its strangeness and unintentional humor, this will be showing on Friday, June 17 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art as part of both the IMA’s “Summer Nights” film series and the Indianapolis International Film Festival. You can buy tickets to Troll 2 by itself, or you can make it a double-feature with Best Worst Movie, a documentary about the making of… Troll 2. Click on the link for the IIFF’s schedule above for more information.
Whatever Works – Woody Allen’s latest holds over at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis, although it will have only three shows per day this week. Click on the sidebar link for the Keystone Arts for information on show times.
OPENING ELSEWHERE – Well, Harry Potter may be the reason that no new movies are opening in Indianapolis this week, but many new releases are starting elsewhere (well, usually just NYC and/or LA, but still, not here.) I decided to list most of these titles with a short description below, but I will spend more time on the movies that sound more interesting to me (see further below).
The Age of Stupid – a futuristic documentary/fiction mix on global warming, and why we didn’t stop it in time starts in NYC and LA; the anime Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone starts in Phoenix, AZ and LA; rom-com [500] Days of Summer starts in 20+ theatres across the US; a documentary about children in inner cities, Heart of Stone, starts Friday in NYC; Mischa Barton goes all ex-girlfriend-spurned-psycho-stalkery in Homecoming, which opens on Friday in NYC, LA, and Louisville (!); the Indian film Jashnn starts somewhere or other, apparently – as do two other Indian films, Kalavaramaye Madilo and Passenger; the sports documentary More Than a Game starts Friday in LA for an Oscar-qualifying run; Off Jackson Avenue; actress Lori Petty makes her directorial debut with The Poker House; the Norse epic Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America opens in Hollywood; Watchmen: The Director’s Cut opens in four cities for a week or less; A Woman in Berlin starts in NYC; and Death in Love.
My picks for the most interesting of the openers this week (in other words, the movies that I would most like to see in a theater, if I should be so lucky):
The Maya Indie Film Series - A series of eight independent films, many from Central or South America, from Maya distribution. Click on the link for info on which movies are part of the series.
Rashevski’s Tango - A comedy/drama about a Jewish family living in Europe; check the film’s website for some very good reviews from the Boston area.
The Way We Get By - A documentary about a group of senior citizens in Maine who have greeted over one million returning US troops over the past six years.
(The last of these is also at the Indianapolis International Film Festival; check their schedule for show times.)
Also, on Wednesday, July 22, The Gold Retrievers: Legend of the Lost Treasure – featuring the dream cast of Steve Guttenberg, Billy Zane and Curtis “Booger” Armstrong – opens in LA. Book your flights and hotel rooms now, and beat the rush.
