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
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Mixed Company (1974)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Kathy Morrison (Barbara Harris) works at an adoption agency that specializes in placing minority children into stable homes of white families. Although she already has three children of her own, she comes under pressure to “practice what she preaches” and adopt a child of her own. Her husband Pete (Joseph Bologna) is the head coach of the Phoenix Suns basketball team who are in the midst of a very long losing streak. He is cool to the idea because he feels he will soon be fired and also harbors certain latent racist feelings. However, when it is found that they can longer conceive a child of their own due to him suffering from the mumps, they decide to go ahead with the idea. At first they adopt a young African-American boy and eventually add a Vietnamese girl and an Indian boy. 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:
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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
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Vapid, schlocky nonsense about high school students rebelling against an oppressive new principal named Miss Togar (Mary Woronov) with the help of the punk rock band The Ramones. The film was produced by Roger Corman, who was known to be quite stingy with his budget, and it shows. As a joke the crew put in birds in the background to chirp “cheap, cheap” over the credits. Read more
