DVD of the Week – Review of Biutiful (2010)
by NIR SHALEV
Javier Bardem plays Uxbal, a low level criminal operating on the streets of Barcelona. He is the medium between the street vendors that sell illegal products, the shops that manufacture the products, and the cops that need to be bribed. He also looks after the Chinese immigrants that live in a basement and manufacture the goods. He may be a criminal but he’s not a bad person and after watching this film, I cannot think of another actor to better personify Uxbal than Bardem. Read more 
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Family Business (1989)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Any movie that casts Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, and Mathew Broderick as a father, son, and grandson team of robbers has me hooked before I have even seen the first frame. It was a great bit of inspired casting, even if Connery was was only seven years older than his “son” Hoffman. Throw in the fact that it was directed by the late, great Sidney Lumet and you should have had a sure fire winner. Read more
Movie Review – 13 Assassins (2010)
by NIR SHALEV
Filmmaker Takashi Miike is popular around the globe for being the most “out there” director. In Japan, he’s been crowned “the most adult filmmaker” because he’s directed crazy films like Audition (2000) and Ichi the Killer (2001). By now, those two films have garnered a classic status (because most film lovers are mostly desensitized to gore already). However, 13 Assassins is a welcome change in pace because it’s an old-school samurai revenge film that packs heat and is all kinds of awesome; yet it still manages to deliver a traditional samurai tale of true and tough warriors. Read more
Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (May 27, 2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Huzzah, huzzah! Cave of Forgotten Dreams opens in Indianapolis this week as well as continuing its run in Bloomington. This Werner Herzog directed documentary about the Chauvet Cave prehistoric paintings should be seen by everyone. Seriously. EVERYONE. Some other interesting-looking movies are opening in Indianapolis this week too, though pickings are slim elsewhere in the state. The complete lowdown and more of my editorializing after the break. Read more
DVD of the Week – Review of Dark City (1998)
by NIR SHALEV
With the success of the visually stunning and emotionally involving The Crow (1994), director Alex Proyas proved his talent as a terrific new filmmaker. He almost immediately began working on the screenplay for Dark City. Co-written with Lemm Dobbs, writer of Kafka (1991) and The Limey (1999), and David S. Goyer, writer of the Blade trilogy (1998-2004), Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), Dark City was a classic in the making; and they didn’t even know it. Read more
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
by RICHARD WINTERS
I get annoyed by the many contemporary Hollywood comedies that seem to be nothing more than a stretched out idea for an episode of a sitcom; however, one doesn’t have to look far to find that the comedies of yesteryear weren’t always much better. Of course there were some classics, but a lot of vapid movies in the mix as well. In fact, this film is so trite that it becomes almost agonizing to sit through. It was considered in its time to be a “sex farce,” but fails to deliver on either count. Read more
Movie Review – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Q: Would I have enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides if I hadn’t seen Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its first two sequels?
A: No, it’s a bad movie on its own terms. But it wouldn’t have left me feeling sad and a little mournful if I didn’t know what the series had come to. There’s nothing left of the old magic. Read more
Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (May 20, 2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Not much new this weekend, in or out of the multiplex. If you’ve been meaning to catch up with something that opened recently, this would be a good week to do it. Me, I’ll be making the three hour roundtrip drive to Bloomington Saturday to see Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which inexplicably has no current or scheduled Indianapolis screenings*- despite its pedigree, critical reception, innate interest, and impressive per screen average. Read more
DVD of the Week – Review of The Rite (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
There are plenty of films that deal with the subject of exorcisms, mostly because of the aspect of the eternal battle that is fought between the forces of good and evil. This film is not a mockumentary but one that claims to be inspired by true events. I grow tired of the caption because a good chunk of horror films claim that, as well. Read more
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Lipstick (1976)
by RICHARD WINTERS
During the mid-Seventies, Margaux Hemingway, granddaughter of the legendary author Ernest Hemingway, was one of the most photographed and highest paid models in the business; in fact, she was the very first model ever to be awarded a million dollar contract. After appearing on the June, 1975 cover of Time magazine she caught the eye of famous Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis who thought he could turn her into a star. The idea was to prove that she wasn’t just another pretty face by casting her in the difficult and challenging role of a rape victim, which they hoped would affirm her as a “serious” actress. The gamble failed and she appeared in only a few more B-pictures (although her kid sister Mariel, who was cast in the film by Marguax’s suggestion, saw her career take off). Alcoholism and depression followed before she eventually committed suicide in 1996 at the age of only 42. Read more
