Thinking Outside the Multiplex – “Opening Elsewhere” Supplement
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
So many movies (25!) opened nationally in limited release this weekend that it took an extra day – and a separate post – to do them justice.
OPENING ELSEWHERE – Of the twenty-plus movies below, only one (Fantastic Mr. Fox) is likely to open in many Indiana theaters – and only one other (The Messenger) sounds like it has a shot at an art house run in Indiana. Read more 
Thinking Outside the Multiplex
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
Who knew that November was such a big time of the year for film festivals of various sorts in Indiana? I certainly didn’t – but a surprising number of festivals take place this week and next around the state. The Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival is this weekend, and Muncie’s Harvest Moon Film Festival continues on Friday and Saturday, while The Other Side of Paradise Short Film Festival may hit Indy on November 17 (see the “Theatrical Holdovers…” section below) – and one other film festival and an anime convention/celebration are set for next weekend (see “Next Week and Beyond” section). For all of the news on the (smallish this week) number of limited-release films hitting Indiana theaters this weekend, and the theatrical holdovers and special screenings throughout the state, read on below…. Read more
Movie Review – Payback (1999) / Payback: Straight Up (2006)
by NIR SHALEV
After writing the screenplays to L.A. Confidential and Conspiracy Theory (both 1997), Brian Helgeland wrote a screenplay for a movie called Payback. Payback is based on the novel “The Hunter” by famed mystery author Donald E. Westlake. The novel had been earlier transformed into a film called Point Blank (1967); that version was directed by John Boorman (Deliverance) and starred Lee Marvin. The second version starred Mel Gibson and was directed as well as written by Helgeland. Read more
DVD of the Week – Review of Up (2009)
by RISHI AGRAWAL
I’m not a huge fan of animation, but the Pixar films consistently deliver, and Up is no exception. If you happened to miss the film in the theaters (for shame– it looked pretty damned amazing in 3-D), then this is your opportunity to watch a very good film. You can argue about whether the Pixar films are great (sometimes the films are more entertaining than good) or whether this is one of the better films in the franchise (the final act of Up is fairly predictable), but I feel sorry for anyone who says that Pixar films are not worth watching, because that would mean their inner child has died. Read more
Movie Review – A Christmas Carol (2009)
by HELEN GEIB
A Christmas Carol is the responsibility of Robert Zemeckis, who wrote the screenplay, directed, and chose to make the film using his pet technology of performance-capture animation. He has accomplished the incredible feat of sapping the warmth and spirit from Dickens’ justly beloved story. The visual technique is not the only thing lifeless and cartoonish about this Carol. Read more
Movie Review – A Serious Man (2009)
by NIR SHALEV
A Serious Man is directors Joel and Ethan Coen’s contemporary, black comedy re-telling of The Book of Job. Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is their Job. He lives in a 1967 Minneapolis suburb. A physics professor, his blackboard is filled with ridiculously long and confusing equations and calculations. His work life is fine, but his home life is a mess. The Gropniks are the quintessential Jewish suburban family in an almost entirely Jewish neighborhood. His wife drifts apart from him and is suddenly having an affair with his next door neighbor, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed); his son always gets into trouble in school and is growing fond of Jefferson Airplane; his daughter is secretly stealing money from him, little by little to support her future rhinoplasty operation; and his brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on his living-room couch everyday and doesn’t bother trying to find a place of his own. In short, Larry’s family and personal life are falling apart right before his eyes. Read more
Thinking Outside the Multiplex
strong>by MIKE MACCOLLUM
Magical ponies, Andy Griffith as a widower-turned-lothario, Coco Chanel and a couple meeting cute, Bollywood style, all feature in movies opening theatrically in central Indiana this week. No, they aren’t all in the same film (we should be so lucky); to see which elements feature in which films, read on below for more. Read more
Hollywood Releases Preview – November, 2009
by HELEN GEIB
A Christmas Carol in November? I know the Christmas season isn’t where it used to be, but this is getting ridiculous. Also coming in November: two very different post-apocalypse stories, the second film in the Twilight series (excuse me, “saga”), several comedies, a heartwarming true story, two supernatural thrillers duking it out over the same opening weekend, and a ninja movie. Read more
DVD of the Week – In Observance of Daylight Savings Time
by HELEN GEIB
The nation fell back last weekend, an event marked by the associated rituals of forgetting all about it, trying to remember how to change all the clocks, and forcing the internal clock to adjust to the new time without the compensations of travel. In observance of daylight savings time coming to an end for another year, the DVD spotlight this week shines on three movies featuring temporal dislocation. Read more
