Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (April 29, 2011)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
A film from an Iranian director working in Europe, a US adaptation of an Italian comic book, and an “Irishman” in Cleveland- that’s what we have in the way of limited release movies opening in Indiana this week. And not only that, one of the above films will be playing at a new theater opening on the site of a former one- the Movie Buff Theatre in Indianapolis (where the Loews/AMC College Park once was). For more on these titles- and some interesting movies that will be hitting the state in the future- read on below. Read more 
DVD of the Week – Review of The Way Back (2010)
by HELEN GEIB
The Way Back is loosely based on the book The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz, a loosely-based-on-fact tale of prisoners who escaped from the Siberian Gulag during WWII and trekked many hundreds of miles to reach British territory in the Indian Himalayas. Jim Sturgess as Polish POW Janusz leads the escape attempt; Ed Harris plays Mr. Smith, an American engineer who had been working in Russia before the war; and Colin Farrell is a Russian career criminal who joins in to escape prison debts he can’t pay. The several other political prisoners in the group are played by lesser known, but also talented, actors. A luminous Saoirse Ronan completes the principal cast as a forced labor camp runaway who joins them along the way. Read more
Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (April 22, 2011)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
A French comedy set in the Seventies and a dark comedy about a would-be superhero start in Indianapolis this week, along with a “suspense thriller” from India- while a Broadway show makes its way to some theater screens in Indiana later in the week. For more on these titles- plus the limited-release films holding over in the state this week and much more- keep reading below. Read more
DVD of the Week – Review of The King’s Speech (2010)
by NIR SHALEV
The King’s Speech is a rarity of a film because under close inspection, it’s really nothing more that fluff; well acted, well shot, well written fluff. It was nicknamed Oscar Fluff and it was expected to fail but it succeeded due to its terrific performances, cinematography, direction, and very large heart. Read more
Movie Review – Hanna (2011)
by NIR SHALEV and HELEN GEIB
NIR’S TAKE
Hanna is a first-rate thriller from director Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement). It’s the best action/thriller of its kind since The Bourne Identity (2002), mainly because the two Bourne sequels suffer from the “shaky camera syndrome” and are almost impossible to watch. Hanna is a film that’s very easy to watch because it takes its visual cues from expertly made music videos; that’s a compliment. Each shot welds perfectly with the preceding and succeeding ones and the whole film flows like a calm and powerful river. Read more
Blogging Groups We Belong To
by HELEN GEIB
Alert sidebar readers will have noticed the Large Association of Movie Blogs button in the blogroll. If you’re looking for a few more good movie blogs to suck up even more of your time (and who among us isn’t?), then LAMB is the place to go.
My fellow Indianapolisians (Indianapolisites? Hm…) will also want to check out Indianapolis Bloggers, a blogging community for- you guessed it- Indianapolis bloggers.
Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (April 15, 2011)
by MIKE MACCOLLUM
Two films that seem designed to provoke political/philosophical discussion and controversy open in limited release in Indiana this week- and there’s news of a now-closed movie theater soon to re-open in Indy, with independent films likely to be on at least some of its screens. For all this and more, read on below…. Read more
DVD of the Week – Review of Farewell (2009)
by HELEN GEIB
Farewell is a French espionage thriller set in Moscow in the early 1980s. The story is a dramatization of a consequential case of secrets-passing by a disaffected, high-ranking KGB officer. “Farewell” (the English word) was the code-name used by his French intelligence agency handlers. The film was directed by Christian Carion (Joyeux Noel) and based on a non-fiction book by Serguei Kostine. Read more
Movie Review – Total Recall (1990)
by NIR SHALEV
Philip K. Dick was definitely an oddball writer. His works became some of the most influential science fiction tales of the second half of the twentieth century and a nice chunk of them were adapted to the big screen. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” was adapted into Blade Runner, “Minority Report” kept the title but contains a different story entirely, “A Scanner Darkly” remains the one adaptation of his that’s true to its source in almost every way, and recently there’s also “The Adjustment Team” that was adapted into The Adjustment Bureau. Read more
Movie Review – Source Code (2011)
by HELEN GEIB
The story in Source Code concerns investigating the past to alter the future. In that spirit, I will reveal that I write a mental outline of my reviews before I put fingers to keyboard, and that my thinking about Source Code tells me this will be a difficult review to write. First, I’m going to have to break my personal rule against including spoilers and second, it will be tough to be dispassionate. The former because the ending ruins what had been quite an enjoyable movie. The latter because I dislike being taken for a fool. Read more
