Thinking Outside the Multiplex

by MIKE MACCOLLUM

So what’s in store for Indiana moviegoers this week?  Two new art movies at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis, several Indian movies at the Georgetown 14, a number of interesting film festivals, and the usual assortment of documentaries and one-time-showings all across the state.  For more on these films and others – and the complete listing of limited release films opening around the country – read on below….

Away We Go – John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph star in this comedy/drama, which starts on Thursday, October 1 at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for show times.

Blood Creek – Somehow or other, this cruddy “horror” movie managed to stay at the Georgetown 14 for two shows a day this week; check on the theater’s link in the sidebar to see when this is showing, if you are under some sort of legal compulsion to see it in a theater – otherwise, stay away.  (That goes for DVD or any other media format too.)

B-Movie Celebration – The third annual B-movie festival features both older films (ranging from This Island Earth and Hitchcock’s The Birds to Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S., Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki, and several movies by the late Kentucky-based filmmaker William Girdler), the local premieres of a number of new movies, musical performances, special guests (like director Jim Wynorski and Troma topper Lloyd Kaufman), and seminars on different aspects of filmmaking.  The historic Artcraft Theatre in Franklin will be a venue for the B-Movie celebration again this year; other venues are the Skyline Drive-In, the Strand Theatre, and the Studio 10 (all in Shelbyville).  For more information, follow these links for tickets and the schedule.

The Brothers Bloom – Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz head the cast of this comedy/adventure/drama, which starts Thursday, October 1 at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for show time information.

Burma VJ – This documentary about political unrest in Burma/Myanmar will be shown again this weekend at The Ryder in Bloomington; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for show times.

CineLatino: South America on Film – This festival of films from South America will take place on Friday and Saturday at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  Two recent films – When the Waves Break, a fiction film from Colombia, and Oblivion, a documentary from Peru – will be shown at the Toby Theatre, along with Bye Bye Brasil (1979) and a short documentary from 1989.  On Saturday, student filmmakers will show their works in the Museum’s DuBoest Lecture Hall from 11 AM to 5 PM; admission is free for this part of the festival, but not for the films to be shown at the Toby.  Click on these links for more information on the event and the schedule.

Dark Carnival Film Festival – Fans of horror films need not fall into a funk when the B-Movie Celebration ends on Sunday – because the Dark Carnival event starts the very next day in Bloomington.  The fest begins on Monday, September 28, with Bloomington After Midnight.  The home page for the festival describes this as “a terrifying mash-up of cinema and live performance” in which “the audience becomes a part of the show as a sadistic killer prowls the streets.”  Bloomington After Midnight will be at the Funnybone Comedy Club in downtown Bloomington Monday through Wednesday, September 30; the main page of the festival says that it will be at 10 PM, but the “schedule” page sez 11 PM, so call ahead to see which time is correct, if you want to go.  Admission is $5.00, and you should wear clothes that you won’t mind seeing covered in red stuff, since a note on the Dark Carnival home page says “THERE WILL BE BLOOD.” Night of the Living Dead will be screened from 6 to 9 PM on Thursday, October 1 at Dunn Meadow on the IU Campus; several horror film hosts will be special guests.  Features and short films will be shown next weekend, October 2-4.

Dil Bole Hadippa! – The latest Bollywood rom-com to play the Georgetown 14 has a few more showings this week at that theater; click on the link for manoranjaninc.com in the sidebar for show time information (although you also might want to double-check by going to the G14′s home page and then clicking on the movietickets.com link to see what the theater itself says they will be showing).

Dinosaurs Alive! 3D – This 2007 film (official site) will be showing this week at the IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis.

Earth Days – A documentary on the history of the modern environmental movement, Earth Days will be shown this Friday at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for more information.

Food, Inc. – This documentary continues for another week at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for show times.

Ganesh – Ganesh is a Telegu-language film that started Thursday at the Georgetown 14, and is scheduled to have one more show Friday evening and two shows on Saturday at that theatre, according to manoranjaninc.com.  That site describes the film – which apparently does not have English-language subtitles – as “a romantic family entertainer.”  Since I could not find an official web site for the film itself, here is a site with a little more description of what to expect in the film – while this site has some photos from the film, along with more information about it.

The Hurt Locker – Plays Friday through Monday at the Fort Wayne Cinema Center at Indiana Tech; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for show times.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell – This comedy – which was based on the best-selling book of the same name – is apparently opening on around 125 screens across the US this week, including the Showplace West 12 in Bloomington, the Eastside 10 in Lafayette, the Portage 16 (in Portage, naturally) and the Showplace 16 in Schererville.  The film is supposed to open on 300 more screens next week.  Jesse Bradford, Geoff Stults and Traci Lords are in the cast; Bob Gosse (Niagra, Niagra) directed. More info at the film’s official site.

James Dean Festival – It doesn’t sound like any movies will be shown, but the home page for this annual event promises a car show, carnival rides, live entertainment, a parade, and a James Dean lookalike contest.  This event takes place Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27 in Fairmount, Indiana.

Journey to Mecca – The IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum will have a one-time-only showing of this 45 minute film (official site) on Saturday night at 7 PM.  Journey to Mecca is in part a documentary about modern-day Mecca, and in part a dramatic film recreating explorer Ibn Battuta’s first pilgrimage from Tangier to Mecca, which took place between 1325 and 1326.  Ben Kingsley narrates the film.

Lewis and Clark: The Great Journey West – This 2002 film will be showing this week at the IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis.

Lorna’s Silence – The Dardenne brothers, Luc and Jean-Paul – whose previous films include Rosetta, The Child and The Son – directed this film about a woman who wants to make a financial killing by marrying herself off to a wealthy Russian man; before she can do that, however, she must divorce her pathetic first husband (in spite of the fact that she still has some feelings for him).  Lorna’s Silence starts Friday at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis. More information at the film’s official site.

Lymelife – Rory Culkin, Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Cynthia Nixon, Timothy Hutton, Emma Roberts and Kieran Culkin are all in this well-done comedy/drama, which shows through Monday, September 28 at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville, IN.  Follow the theater’s link in the sidebar for show times.

Manhattan Short Film Festival – Twelve short films from around the world are featured in this event, which started Thursday at the Whittenberger Auditorium at IU-Bloomington and continues there through this weekend.  And this festival not only features films from around the world, it is taking place at venues all over the globe as well.  (Another site for the event in Indiana, the H. J. Ricks Centre for the Arts in Greenfield, apparently will feature the festival on Friday, September 25 only.)  If you go, you get to vote for your favorite film of the fest.

The Man Who Would Be Polka King – This documentary about a polka performer, his rise to glory, and subsequent scandal will be shown on Thursday, October 1 at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for more information.

Molecules to the Max 3D – An animated (and apparently kid-friendly) 3D film that takes a look at the molecular structure of various objects, Molecules to the Max will have a one-time-only showing this at 7 PM on Friday, September 25 on the huge screen of the downtown Indianapolis IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum.

My One and Only – Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon star in this comedy/drama, which holds over at the Keystone Arts this week, and starts this Friday at the Eastside 10 in Lafayette.  It will also be showing at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne as of this Friday. Follow the theaters’ respective links in the sidebar for show times.

New York – This drama about three friends whose lives are complicated when one is accused of involvement with a terrorist group was produced by an Indian company, but shot in the US; it will be at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville through Monday, September 28.  See the Lotus Petal web site for show time information.

Ninth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival – I don’t know what exactly will be a part of this festival; it may be a repeat of the same program from this past Tuesday, or it may not.  As of now, all I know is that it will be at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville at 6 and 8 PM on Tuesday, September 29.  The festival itself has a page that lists the films that are part of the festival; it looks like all twelve of these films will be screened at the Lotus Petal, but I can’t be sure, since the home page for the event did not say anything about the screening at the Lotus Petal the last time I checked.  The films are mostly documentaries (or semi-docs) which run anywhere from one to twelve minutes and deal with a variety of social issues.

Omer Fast: The Casting – This fourteen minute, four channel video installation continues at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through March 14. According to the IMA’s website, the piece intercuts excerpts from the artist’s conversations with a soldier about to leave for his second tour of duty in Iraq with footage of actors mimicking the dialogue. Click on the IMA’s link in the sidebar for more information.

Psycho – Alfred Hitchcock’s great, original version of Psycho will be shown at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema this weekend – but they’ll also be showing the horrible remake as well.  Go to the link for the Browning Cinema in the sidebar to see which film is showing when.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – The perennial cult fave will be shown again at 10 PM this Saturday at the Georgetown 14.

Say My Name – Interviews with and performances by Erykah Badu, Jean Grae and other female lyricists/performers are the focus of this documentary on women in the world of hip-hop and R&B.  It will be shown at 7 PM on Thursday, October 7, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Toby Theatre.  Go to the IMA’s web site (see the sidebar link) for more information.

The September Issue – This is a documentary on Vogue magazine’s editor-in-chief, the super-nice-’n'-friendly Anna Wintour, and the September, 2007 issue of Vogue, which reportedly has a record for the most-ever pages in a single issue of a periodical.  The September Issue starts Friday at the Keystone Arts. More information on the film at its official site.

Serbian Scars – Action movie veteran Brent Huff directs and costars in this movie, described on its official site as an “action thriller” about a Serbian soldier who comes to the US because he thinks his father is ill and needs a bone marrow transplant; he finds that his father is actually being used as a pawn in a terrorist’s plot to take possession of a chemical weapon.  Michael Madsen, Mark Dacascos, Claudia Christian and Joe Estevez are also in the cast of Serbian Scars, which starts Friday at the Showplace 16 in Schererville, along with thirteen other theaters in the US.  (Most of the other theaters are also in the greater Chicagoland area, but one is near Milwaukee.  The film’s official site also claims that it “soon” will be in theaters “across the country”, but I have my doubts about that.)

Song, Song, Blue – An award-winning documentary about a husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute band in Milwaukee, Song, Song Blue will be shown on Thursday, October 1 at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for more information.

Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails – Continues for another week of daily 1 PM showings at the Georgetown 14, and will also be shown at 11 AM daily at the Showplace Cinema East in Evansville.  Thomas will also have one showing this week at the Studio 10 in Shelbyville, on Sunday, September 27, at 12:30 PM.

Three Monkeys – A Turkish drama from director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Three Monkeys will be shown this Friday and Saturday at University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for more information.

Unmistaken Child – This documentary about a Tibetan monk’s search for the reincarnation of his mentor will be shown this weekend at The Ryder in Bloomingon; click on the theater’s link in the sidebar for show times.

Unnaipol Oruvan – This Indian film – which apparently does not have English subtitles, but does have an official site – is about a police commissioner facing a crisis situation: A terrorist group has threatened to set off a large number of bombs all across the city if a group of militants is not released from custody.  Unnaipol Oruvan will be shown several times this weekend at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis; click on the manoranjaninc.com link in the sidebar for show times.

What’s Your Raashee? – This Indian film is described on its official site as the first romantic comedy from Ashutosh Gowariker, who also directed Jodhaa Akbar and the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India.  It’s about a young man who wants to find a wife on very short notice in order to save his family from disaster; the tricky part is that he wants to find a woman he really loves, too.  What’s Your Raashee? – the last word of the title apparently means “sun sign” or “zodiac sign” – starts Friday at the Georgetown 14, and is currently scheduled to play at that theatre through Monday night (although that could change- check both the manoranjaninc site and the Georgetown 14’s site for further information later in the week).

OPENING ELSEWHERE – Fifteen movies (or maybe fourteen, since I’m not sure about Rage) are opening at theaters outside of Indiana this week, as far as I can tell – and three of them (The Boys Are Back, Coco Before Chanel, and the one at the top of my want-to-see list, Paranormal Activity) will reportedly be making their way to at least one theater in Indiana, sooner or later.  Of the others, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and (maybe) The Providence Effect could show up at the Keystone Arts eventually; the rest will probably have to settle for DVD/Blu-Ray, cable TV, and/or Video-On-Demand in Indiana – although I hope that Paradise and Mary and Max will be screened at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Ryder, and/or other similar venues throughout the state.

Bhanam – This Telegu-language film from India (which is apparently also known as Baanam) is about a young man determined to fight a local crime boss.  It starts Friday at several theaters in the Phoenix Adlabs chain.

Blind Date – Stanley Tucci stars (with Patricia Clarkson) and directs this remake of the 1996 film of the same title by Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.  Blind Date is a drama about a couple who attempt to cope with the death of their child by going on a series of blind dates with each other, showing up in a different persona/guise on each date.

The Blue Tooth Virgin – The relationship between two longtime friends – one who works as a magazine editor, the other a wannabe scriptwriter – is tested when the editor offers his honest opinion about his friend’s latest screenplay.  This comedy starts Friday in NYC and LA.

The Boys Are Back – Clive Owen stars in this Australian comedy/drama about a sportswriter who takes a very non-traditional approach to raising his son and step-son after his wife dies.  Scott Hicks (Shine) directed The Boys Are Back, which starts Friday in NYC and LA, and which may open at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis some time in October.

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men – John Krasinski of The Office makes his feature directorial debut with this adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s book of the same name. Julianne Nicholson (whose character was not in the book, apparently) plays a woman who interviews a number of men for her graduate thesis in anthropology. Will Arnett, Timothy Hutton, Frankie Faison, Rashida Jones, SNL‘s Will Forte, Bobby Cannavale and Krasinski himself are in the cast. Brief Interviews With Hideous Men starts Friday in NYC.

Coco Before Chanel – Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde and Alessandro Nivola star in Anne Fontaine’s film about the early years of the famed fashion designer; it starts Friday in NYC and LA.  The official site for Coco Before Chanel says that it is currently scheduled to start at the Keystone Arts on November 13.  (And since Sony Pictures Classics is the distributor, it almost certainly WILL play at the Keystone Arts – even if the actual date changes.)

Lord, Save Us from Your Followers – The official web site for this doc describes it as “a fast-paced, highly engaging documentary that explores the collision of faith and culture in America;” it features interviews with Al Franken, former Senator Rick Santorum, talk-show-host Michael Reagan, and others from all points on the battle-lines of the so-called “Culture Wars.”  Lord, Save Us from Your Followers starts Friday in Atlanta, Birmingham, Huston, Nashville, Portland, San Antonio, and Seattle.

Mary and Max – This Australian stop-motion-animated film opened the Sundance Film Festival this year, and features the voices of Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  It’s about an Australian girl who becomes the pen-pal of a reclusive man in New York when she finds his name in the phone book.  (As David Letterman says, “Kids, don’t try this at home.”)  Mary and Max starts Friday in Los Angeles.

Paradise – The latest film from director Michael Almereyda (Nadja, This So-Called Disaster, the Hamlet with Ethan Hawke in the title role) is a documentary that was shot over the past decade as the director traveled the world; Colin Farrell, Elina Lowensohn and filmmaker Terence Malick are among those who make appearances.  Paradise started Thursday, September 24 for a one-week run at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Paranormal Activity – This horror film – apparently shot verite-style on a very low budget – has been receiving excellent reviews; it starts this Friday in thirteen theaters, all of them supposedly in college towns.  A wider national release is apparently scheduled for the middle of October.  For this week, at least, the closest screen to Indiana appears to be a theater in Columbus, OH, if anyone out there just can’t wait.

The Providence Effect – This documentary about a very successful inner-city school in Chicago (for nearly thirty years, 100% of its graduates have gone on to college) and the man behind the school starts Friday in Chicago, Washington, DC, NYC and New Jersey.

Rage – Sally Potter (Orlando, Yes, The Man Who Cried) directed this film about murder at a fashion show; it will supposedly be showing at some American theaters this week – although the last time I checked, none were listed on the film’s official site – and will simultaneously be released in a number of other formats (including Video On Demand).  Judi Dench, John Leguizamo, Eddie Izzard and Jude Law are in the cast.

Rechipo – This is a Telegu-language that starts tomorrow at one theater in Atlanta – and that’s all that I know about this one, since my attempts to discover more about it in the limited time I have before my deadline went nowhere.

Thor at the Bus Stop – The Norse god Thor comes to Earth – an American suburb, to be more precise – in this comedy, which starts Friday at the Brenden Theatres in the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Sorasoi – Director Katsuhito Ishii’s comedic film about a group of college students practicing for a dance competition starts Friday at the Viz Cinema in San Francisco.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND – There isn’t much new to add for the Keystone Arts this week.  Thirst - which was originally supposed to start this Friday at this theater – may open there at some point, but it is nowhere to be found on the theater’s web page as of now.  (And there are no future play dates for the film at the Keystone Arts – or any other US theatre, for that matter – on the “Find Showtimes” page of its official site, for whatever that’s worth.)

No new upcoming films were posted on the manoranjaninc.com site this past week, but anyone interested in Indian films on the big screen in central Indiana should check their site as frequently as possible; updates to the site seem to be showing up every other day or so of late.

And in upcoming local film festival news, the 18th Annual Heartland Film Festival – scheduled for October 15 – 24 – posted its schedule of films and events on its official site earlier this week.