Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (September 7, 2012)
by HELEN GEIB
A busy, busy week to start a busy, busy month.
My Top Pick for the Week
The IU Cinema’s Werner Herzog retrospective is well underway. There are screenings tomorrow through Wednesday of Fata Morgana, Land of Silence and Darkness, Aguirre Wrath of God, and Fitzcarraldo, and the man himself will attend some of the screenings and present two lectures, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, on “The Search for Ecstatic Truth” and “The Transformative Role of Music in Film.”
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
Branded- Branded, “a dark and mind-bending journey into a surreal, dystopian society where mega-corporations have unleashed a monstrous global conspiracy to get inside our minds and keep the population deluded, depending and passive,” starts today at AMC Castleton Square 14 in Indianapolis, Regal Village Park 17 in Carmel, Goodrich Quality Theaters Hamilton 16 in Noblesville, and Rave Cinemas Jefferson Pointe 18 in Fort Wayne.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The IMAX Experience- See Indiana Jones’ first adventure on the very big screen. Playing at IMAX theaters around the state for one week only.
THEATRICAL HOLDOVERS (AND “RE-OPENINGS”)
2 Days in New York- “2 Days in New York is director/co-writer Julie Delpy’s deliciously witty follow-up to her film 2 Days in Paris. …With their unabashed openness and sexual frankness, the triumvirate is bereft of boundaries or filters… and no one is left unscathed in its wake.” It holds over at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.
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 holds over at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne.
Celeste and Jesse Forever- “Celeste and Jesse Forever transforms the conventional romantic comedy with a bracingly honest real-life vibe, exploring both the comedy and complexity of love and friendship.” It holds over in Indianapolis at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema, in the Indianapolis area at the Regal Shiloh Crossing in Avon and Regal Village Park 17 in Carmel, Rave Cinemas Metropolis 18 in Plainfield, and at these AMCs around the state: Bloomington 11, Evansville 16, Honey Creek 8 in Terre Haute, Schererville 16, and South Bend 16.
Cosmopolis- David Cronenberg’s latest psychological drama stars Robert Pattinson as a paranoid financier. Cosmopolis, based on a novel by Don DeLillo, holds over at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.
Farewell My Queen- This period drama set in the court of Marie Antoinette follows the career of a calculating lady-in-waiting on the eve of the French Revolution. Diane Kruger co-stars as the doomed queen. It holds over at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.
Killer Joe- Matthew McConaughey stars as a contract killer in this controversial and violent (reflected in its NC-17 rating) indie. “Based on the play by Pulitzer and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts, Killer Joe is a garish, provocative black comedy from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin.” It holds over at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.
Robot & Frank- And also holding over at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis is this indie drama with a sci-fi twist. Frank Langella plays a retired cat burglar who presses his new robot butler into service as his assistant in crime.
FESTIVALS, REPERTORY SCREENINGS, AND MORE
Indianapolis and Central Indiana
There’s a reason The Thin Man launched a successful movie series. See it this weekend at Franklin’s Artcraft Theatre; shows today and tomorrow at 2 and 7:30.
The first Friday of the month means a First Friday short film at the Heartland’s office/screening room in Fountain Square on Indianapolis’ near south side. This month’s title is Crescendo, screening at intervals through the evening after 6; admission is free. On Monday, the Heartland and Jewish Community Center are co-sponsoring a showing of Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, to be followed by a Skype discussion with the filmmaker; at the JCC, $5/$3 members (of either organization).
Southern Indiana
The IU Cinema’s Werner Herzog retrospective is its main event this week, with screenings tomorrow through Wednesday of Fata Morgana, Land of Silence and Darkness, Aguirre Wrath of God, and Fitzcarraldo. Herzog will give two lectures, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30, on “The Search for Ecstatic Truth” and “The Transformative Role of Music in Film.” The series continues into next week.
Also this week at the Cinema: new documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry today and tomorrow; preceding today’s showing is The Killing Floor, a docudrama about black workers in the Chicago stockyards during WWI; tomorrow’s program also includes Czech animator Jan Svankmajer’s Faust; Ghanaian drama Black Is Black: Mamma Mia on Sunday.
Take This Waltz, The Queen of Versailles, and The Imposter is the lineup this week in the Ryder film series in Bloomington.
Northern Indiana
Tonight and Sunday afternoon the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center is screening Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview. The Classic 100 series, which this fall is focusing on great silent films, continues Tuesday with the Soviet avant-garde work Man with a Movie Camera. Ralph Fiennes’ terrific Shakespeare adaptation Coriolanus finishes out the week’s programming on Thursday at 7.
This month through December, the Goodrich Quality Theaters chain is offering a documentary series on the second and fourth Mondays. The lineup (full list and descriptions) is a mix of reportage and harangue- fortunately with the balance falling into the former category. This week’s selection is We’re Not Broke, which argues that the nation’s fiscal crisis is illusory and that we’re only “broke” because giant corporations aren’t paying their “fair share” in taxes.
The Cinematheque for All repertory series in West Lafayette continues with Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy. Showings on Wednesday nights on the Purdue campus; fall season lineup.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND
Next weekend presents an embarrassment of riches for B-movie lovers in central-southern Indiana. The annual B Movie Celebration, now in its sixth year, is September 14-16 at the Yes Cinema in Columbus; visit their website for this year’s lineup of movies, none of which I’ve heard of- good news for B movie lovers, no doubt!
The same weekend and not far distant, Shelbyville’s Strand Theatre and Skyline Drive-In host “Super Monster Movie Fest” of classic horror and sci-fi movies on September 14 and 15. The program includes a Saturday $5 matinee double feature of 1950s favorites Destination Moon and The Earth vs. the Flying Saucers at the Strand.
Likewise on September 14-15 and again not far distant, you can see Gila!, a remake of the 1958 “classic” The Giant Gila Monster, at the Artcraft Theater in Franklin, where the movie is set and was filmed.
Also next weekend but north, the DeBartolo’s Hayao Miyazaki retrospective series starts with showings of Kiki’s Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke.
Later in the week, on Wednesday, the Fathom Events “TCM Event Series Presents” kicks off with The Birds (at theaters around the state). Other films in the series are E.T., Lawrence of Arabia, a double feature of James Whales’ Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, and To Kill a Mockingbird
Sleepwalk With Me has joined Journeys Neil Young on the coming soon list for the Keystone Art Cinema for next Friday. Another concert movie, Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest is scheduled to play three shows at the KAC, on September 20, 32, and 27. Following its one-time September 14 showing at the IMA (in the Toby at 7; $5/$3 IMA members), Samsara is listed as opening at the KAC on September 21.
The Artcraft’s 90th Anniversary Party, September 28-29, finishes with a fundraising event that includes a showing of Harold Lloyd’s classic silent comedy Grandma’s Boy accompanied by the Franklin Chamber Players; the show will be preceded by a performance by the retro Lil’ Darlin’s Vaudeville troupe.
The IMA is hosting a free double feature of the Mexican films Maria Candelaria, a 1940s award-winning drama starring Dolores del Rio, and 1960s sex farce Modisto de Senoras on Friday, October 12 at 7 in the Toby. The showings are presented in cooperation with the Mexican Consulate.
On October 20-21, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater hosts the annual Dark Carnival Film Festival, “a celebration of horror, featuring live entertainment, merchandise vendors, special guests and film screenings.” Stay tuned for more horror-themed programming news as October draws nearer.
Films and events scheduled for next Friday:
B Movie Celebration begins at the Yes Cinema
Super Monster Movie Fest starts at the Strand and Skyline Drive-In
Gila! at the Artcraft
Damsels in Distress at the DeBartolo
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans, Grizzly Man, Nosferatu the Vampyre at IU Cinema
The Imposter, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, The Queen of Versailles at the Ryder
Samsara at the IMA
