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
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – The Gypsy Moths (1969)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Three skydivers who make a living going around the country doing airshows for the public, stop off at a small Kansas town on a Fourth of July weekend that changes all their lives. Mike Rettig (Burt Lancaster) is the eldest and the leader of the group. He seems unhappy and suffering from some inner turmoil that he is reluctant to elaborate on. He ends up having an affair with an attractive middle-aged woman in town named Elizabeth Brandon (Deborah Kerr). Joe Browdy (Gene Hackman) is restless and impatient and has a fling with the town stripper (Sheree North). Malcolm Webson (Scott Wilson) is the introspective member of the trio. He grew up in the town that they are in and uses the visit to try and reconcile with his demons from the past. 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
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Hannie Caulder (1972)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Three outlaw brothers (Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam, Strother Martin) on the run from a botched robbery come upon an isolated house in the desert. There they kill the husband and gang rape the wife whose name is Hannie Caulder (Raquel Welch). They set the house on fire and ride away laughing. She manages to escape the blaze and vows to get her revenge. She has never used a gun before in her life, but with the help of a kindly bounty hunter named Thomas Price (Robert Culp) she learns the art of being a gunfighter. 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
