Trailers for Movies I Like: Topsy-Turvy (1999)
by HELEN GEIB
An occasional series. Title self-explanatory.
DVD of the Week – Review of Beginners (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
Beginners is a relatively low-budget film that echoes Woody Allen-style romantic comedies. However, this film is mostly dramatic and even though the romance is there, and is a really good romance, it’s not the center of the story. Read more 
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – Charley Varrick (1973)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Charley Varrick (Walter Matthau) is a crop duster and former stunt pilot who in order to make ends meet robs small banks in and around the state of New Mexico. He does this with the help of his girlfriend Nadine (Jacqueline Scott) and a young, quick tempered man named Harman Sullivan (Andrew Robinson). Unfortunately the latest bank that they robbed was a front for the mob and the money they took was already stolen cash. The mob is soon hot on their trail as are the police. Worse is the fact that Charley and Harman don’t seem to see eye to eye on anything, which leads to a lot of intense confrontations and intrigue at every turn. Read more
Movie Review – Immortals (2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Ancient Greece. The ruthless despot Hyperion leads a seemingly invincible army of invasion to destroy Hellenic civilization. He also seeks to destroy the Gods he reviles by freeing their ancient enemies the Titans, imprisoned since time immemorial under Mount Tartarus. The Gods on Mount Olympus watch the slaughter with revulsion and Hyperion’s approach to Tartarus with foreboding, but have been enjoined by Zeus not to interfere in the affairs of mankind. An oracle has seen Hyperion victorious in a vision, but she has also seen a young man who may stand against him, a peasant on the geographic and social fringes of the Greek world who is yet favored by the Gods because he has the makings of a true hero. Read more
Movie Review – Anonymous (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
There are technical and theoretical ways to explain what differentiates good films from bad films. The general filmmaking process begins with a script; then the project moves onto funding, casting, location scouting, set building, costumes, actors’ rehearsals, cinematography, etc. The final step is editing the film and then you have a complete film. Whether it’s good or bad depends on the rules that the filmmakers had followed. By simply following Filmmaking 101 rules, director Roland Emmerich’s films can be noted to be mostly failures because their screenplays are terrible, actors’ performances lack depth and focus, and their main area of focus is special effects which, let’s face it, simply look like special effects. But every filmmaker that’s made a career of mostly forgettable films has a few anomalies and in this case, Emmerich has two. Read more
Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (November 11, 2011)
by HELEN GEIB
Two low-budget horror movies open on one screen each- one in Indy and one in Lafayette. Also the much praised indie drama Take Shelter at the KAC and the latest big Bollywood release Rockstar at the G14 and the Fort Wayne Rave. All the news after the break. Read more
A Few Good Blog Posts (November, 2011)
by HELEN GEIB
A monthly round-up of recent blog posts I enjoyed reading.
At Observations on film art and FILM ART, typically insightful and lavishly illustrated essays by David Bordwell on scenic density- “an approach to staging, shooting, and cutting in which selected details or areas change their status in the course of the action”- and “multiple-draft replays, in which the second version significantly alters the first” Read more
DVD of the Week – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)
by HELEN GEIB
I have an admission and a question. Help me out by leaving a comment with your answer. If you’re here looking for information on the DVD/Blu-ray of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, scheduled to hit store shelves this Friday, skip down a couple of paragraphs. Read more
Rewind: Films of the 60s, 70s, 80s – The Eiger Sanction (1975)
by RICHARD WINTERS
Roger Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is a retired assassin and mountain climber now working as a college professor of art and history. However, due to his penchant for collecting rare paintings he is sucked into doing hits from time to time by an obscure government bureau in order to help pay for his hobby. His assignment this time is to track down the Russian assassin who killed an old army buddy of his who had saved his life in the war. The identity of this killer is not known, the only thing that is known is that the man walks with a limp and is a part of a team of mountain climbers set to scale the foreboding Eiger Mountain in the Swiss Alps. Read more
Capsule Movie Review – Johnny English Reborn (2011)
by HELEN GEIB
I haven’t seen Johnny English (2003) but if it’s as much fun as its sequel, it deserved to be a box office smash in Europe. Read more
