Hollywood Releases Preview – July, 2011
by HELEN GEIB
Writing this feature is getting me down. Because I have nothing to say about Monte Carlo or Winnie the Pooh or Crazy, Stupid, Love. and because I don’t want to say anything about Transformers 3 or Friends with Benefits or The Smurfs and because saying anything about the final Harry Potter movie would be entirely superfluous, I’m just going to say a few words about the three multiplex movies I plan on seeing in July. Read more 
Two Lists, Ten Favorites: Films of Akira Kurosawa
by HELEN GEIB and NIR SHALEV
An occasional feature where Helen and Nir compare their five favorite films by some of the greats of world cinema. Today’s inaugural “Two Lists, Ten Favorites” is dedicated to the films of Akira Kurosawa.
Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
DVD of the Week – The Warrior’s Way (2010)
by HELEN GEIB
pastiche- noun 1) A literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources; 2) an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge.
(definition by Dictionary.com)
pastiche- noun 1) A source of delight and amusement to those in the know, and a thing both peculiar and mystifying to those who aren’t; 2) a niche market product.
(definition by me) Read more
My Life As an Indy Moviegoer – June, 2011 Recap
by HELEN GEIB
A monthly series in which I relate my reflections on life as an independent-minded moviegoer in Indianapolis, Indiana.
A few months ago I asked readers why they read movie reviews. Prioritizing was a common theme in the responses and like many of the commenters, I’ll read a review or two when I’m on the fence. Since I found abundant reasons in the reviews to not go to either of this weekend’s new movies my multiplex movie count stands at three for June. Read more
Movie Review – Near Dark (1987)
by NIR SHALEV
Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is a farmhand who works with his dad on their ranch. One night, while traveling to the city for a drink he meets a beautiful girl named Mae (Jenny Wright) and they hit it off. As he drives her to her home he finds out that she’s a bit stranger than most girls but he’s actually too distracted by her beauty to notice what’s really the case. At one point he stops the car and refuses to drive her home until she gives him a kiss. She claims that she needs to be home before the sun rises but succumbs to his game and kisses him. Then she bites him on the neck and runs away. Read more
Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (June 24, 2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Four new releases this week, a very positive change from last week’s zero: a documentary about an unconventional New York photographer, two familial relationship comedy-dramas starring British actors, and a Bollywood comedy. Plus I really must get to The Tree of Life sooner rather than later. Read more
Trailers for Movies I Like: Sanjuro (1962)
by HELEN GEIB
An occasional series. Title self-explanatory.
The trailer for May was Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961), starring Toshiro Mifune in one of his great and indelible performances. Whenever I watch Yojimbo, which is every year or so, I have to watch Sanjuro (1962) soon after.
And because Sanjuro leads to Incident at Blood Pass (1970), here’s a bonus trailer:
**********
Yojimbo Times Four, an overview of Yojimbo and its sequels
DVD of the Week – Review of The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
Matt Damon plays David Noris, a man running for senate in New York. On the eve of the election he meets Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a mysterious, attractive woman, but loses contact with her and inadvertently, he also loses the election. The film then jumps forward a few years and David is running for the same position, this time with a greater possibility of winning. He accidentally runs into Elise again but is determined to remain with her even if it means losing the election again. That’s when he meets a group of strangers, all wearing fedoras and whom have the ability to travel anywhere they want using a special key to open any and every door in the city. Read more
Movie Review – Green Lantern (2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Does it always have to be an origins story? On the basis of Green Lantern, the filmmakers would have done better to have skipped the explanations and started with the sequel. Read more
Movie Review – Layer Cake (2004)
by NIR SHALEV
Daniel Craig plays XXXX, a nameless cocaine dealer and middleman who’s implemented a certain set of rules into his job and lifestyle and plans on retiring soon. One day, a bigwig named Jimmie Price (Kenneth Cranham) invites XXXX to his prestigious country club and provides him with two jobs to perform: find the missing, drug addicted daughter of a good colleague of his, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), and two, meet up with a gangster named The Duke (Jaime Foreman), take one million pills of ecstasy off his hands and sell them. Neither job is easy to perform, and this is only the first twenty minutes of the film. Read more
