Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (July 20, 2012)
by HELEN GEIB
In Indianapolis, the Indy Film Fest is in full swing and the arthouse sensation Beasts of the Southern Wild opens at the Keystone Art Cinema. Up north the DeBartolo’s ANDkids World Film Festival starts Wednesday. Full details on these and the rest of the week’s movie happenings after the break.
My Top Pick for the Week
The American movie industry’s fast-moving transition from film to digital may be the hottest topic in contemporary film studies right now. The new documentary Side by Side “explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, and many more.” It’s showing on Tuesday at 7 in the DeBoest Lecture Hall at the IMA as part of the Indy Film Fest; there’s a second showing on Thursday at 3 in the Toby.
Note: For trailers, cast and crew, and suchlike follow the title link to the movie’s official website. For showtimes and directions for the non-multiplex venues, follow the links under “Outside the Multiplex” in the sidebar.
OPENING THIS WEEK IN LIMITED RELEASE
Beasts of the Southern Wild- “In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), a six-year-old girl, exists on the brink of orphanhood.” Beasts of the Southern Wild has been receiving rave reviews for the individual vision of its first-time writer-director and the performances by the non-professional cast. It starts today on two screens at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.
THEATRICAL HOLDOVERS (AND “RE-OPENINGS”)
Bernie- In director Richard Linklater’s black comedy-docudrama, Jack Black stars as a funeral home director and pillar of his community who may also be the murderer of a very unpopular old lady (Shirley MacLaine). Bernie, which I really enjoyed and which features a really good seriocomic performance by Black, opens at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne.
Bol Bachchan- Abhishek Bachchan stars as a man who gets in under his head when a friend persuades him to create an alter ego in this Bollywood comedy. It holds over at the Republic Theaters Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis.
Cocktail- This Bollywood movie about a romantic triangle may be a comedy, a drama, or an amalgam- I can’t tell from what I’ve read online which direction the story leans. I am sure that it stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Diana Penty, and that it holds over for at least a few more shows at the Republic Theaters Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis.
Damsels in Distress- “Writer/director Whit Stillman’s (Barcelona, Metropolitan) comically deadpan and charming film Damsels in Distress follows a trio of beautiful girls who set out to revolutionize life at a grungy East Coast College. The girls become romantically entangled with a series of men…who threaten the girls’ friendship and sanity.” Damsels in Distress returns to the state this week at the Starplex Cinemas Fort Wayne Coventry 13.
The Obama Effect- The title sounds like a documentary on the 2008 election, but in fact this is a drama starring Charles Dutton (who also directed). “A serious health scare ignites John Thomas, an insurance salesman in his 50’s to take a closer look at his life. Motivated by a misguided obsession with getting Barack Obama elected, John takes an overwhelming involvement in the Presidential campaign. While John becomes obsessed with the ideal of change that Obama represents for Americans, he has in turn neglected to create positive change in his own life.” The Obama Effect holds over at reduced showtimes at the AMC Showplace Schererville 12.
Safety Not Guaranteed- A man in a small town in Washington places a classified ad for a time traveling companion: bring your own weapons, safety not guaranteed. A Seattle lifestyle magazine dispatches a writer in mid-life crisis and two interns to get a story out of it. I absolutely adored the unexpected, funny, truthful, and 100% delightful Safety Not Guaranteed, which expands to the AMC Muncie 7 and holds over, at reduced showtimes, at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis, AMC Evansville 16, and AMC Columbus 12.
Take This Waltz- Michelle Williams stars as a woman contemplating leaving her husband (Seth Rogen) for the man she’s fallen suddenly, passionately in love with. Sarah Polley’s indie romantic drama Take This Waltz holds over at the Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.
Your Sister’s Sister- This indie relationship drama, “a twisted tale of ever-complicated relationships”, stars Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, and Rosemary DeWitt. It’s left Indianapolis this week but opens at the AMC Evansville 16 and AMC Honey Creek 8 in Terre Haute.
FESTIVALS, REPERTORY SCREENINGS, AND MORE
Indianapolis and Central Indiana
Opening night of the Indy Film Fest (a/k/a Indianapolis International Film Festival) was last night; the festival runs through July 29 with screenings at the IMA and Earth House. Visit the fest’s website for tickets, logistics info, and the full schedule of films.
The Summer Nights series of movies on the terrace continues tonight with Eddie Murphy in Coming to America; full lineup and screening details.
Ghostbusters is the penultimate film in the Keystone Art Cinema’s midnight movie series; shows on Friday and Saturday nights.
Southern Indiana
The Ryder repertory series offers shows of Gerhard Richter Painting, Elles, and Oslo August 31st this weekend.
Northern Indiana
The Cinema Center hosts the Three Rivers Film Fest on Sunday at 8; schedule at Cinema Center’s website. “The 3 Rivers Film Festival is a combined effort between the Cinema Center and PBS39 to highlight and celebrate the visual arts – specifically local amateur talent working with film and video. This event is part of the 2012 Three Rivers Festival, and will combine a public showcase with a television broadcast on PBS39!”
The annual ANDkids World Film Festival starts Wednesday and runs through the 28th at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center in South Bend. The opening film is Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey; the lineup includes a mix of features, documentaries, and programs of shorts.
Taiwanese director Edward Yang’s sensitive study of a family in spiritual crisis, Yi Yi, is this week’s movie in the Cinematheque for All repertory series in West Lafayette; screenings Wednesdays at 7 on the Purdue campus.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND
Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles with the setting transplanted to contemporary India, is now on the KAC’s coming soon list for next Friday. Contemporary Galatea Ruby Sparks is promised for August 3.
Trishna is also on the IU Cinema’s calendar starting August 2.
The IMA will show a collection of Lumiere Brothers films in the Toby on Thursday, August 9; tickets are $5/$3 members.
RiffTrax fans can look forward to, as the Fathom Events page puts it, “all-new riffing” on “Manos” The Hands of Fate on Thursday, August 16. I can testify from personal experience gained at a long ago yet vividly remembered party that this “movie” is so bad that it is nearly unendurable even with professional riffing.
Films and events scheduled for next Friday:
Dr. No at the IMA
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the Artcraft
“Friday Night Frights” double feature at the Strand
Kumare: The True Story of a False Prophet, Gerhard Richter Painting, Oslo August 31st at the Ryder
The Big Lebowski at the KAC
