Film News
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted by Matt Brunson on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 9:41 AM
- Sony
- The Vow
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine
Pariah - Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans
Pina - Documentary
Safe House - Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds
Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 3D - Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor
The Vow - Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum
Friday, February 3, 2012
Film / Film News / Film Reviews Backtrack before next Back Alley offering
Posted by Matt Brunson on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- IFC Films
- A scene from the first Elite Squad
By Matt Brunson
Anyone interested in catching the Back Alley Film Series' screening of Elite Squad: The Enemy Within would be well-advised to spend the remaining time before then hunting down and watching its predecessor, 2007's Elite Squad. While it's not imperative to see the first film in order to enjoy the second, it is recommended, as it focuses on several characters who return for the follow-up. Beyond that, it's simply an excellent film — even better than its sequel — and it's a shame it didn't receive any sort of a proper release here in the States (surprisingly so, since writer-director José Padilha previously helmed the riveting documentary Bus 174 while co-writer Braulio Mantovani penned the Oscar-nominated script for City of God).
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 at Crownpoint Cinemas, 9630 Monroe Road. Admission is $8. Go here for more info.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted by Matt Brunson on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 10:00 AM
- CBS Films
- The Woman in Black
Big Miracle - Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski
Chronicle - Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell
The Woman in Black - Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Film / Film News / Film Reviews Fact: Pulp Fiction to be screened next Monday
Posted by Matt Brunson on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- Miramax
- John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson
One of the crowning achievements of 90s cinema was also one of its most influential, spawning a decade's worth of shameless rip-offs, resuscitating John Travolta's dormant career, heralding the arrival of Samuel L. Jackson as a consummate actor, handing Bruce Willis one of his best parts ever, and providing enough subtext to choke Internet chat rooms and message boards for years to come (most prevalent question: What exactly is in that glowing briefcase?). Writer-director Quentin Tarantino's 1994 cause célèbre immediately became a direct challenge to creative complacency: Intoxicated on the heady fumes of its own art form, it employs a nontraditional, nonlinear form of filmmaking to interweave several vignettes all involving various members of a seedy underworld.
Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival before enjoying a successful stateside run that culminated with seven Academy Award nominations (including nods for Best Picture, Travolta, Jackson and Uma Thurman); in the year of Forrest Gump, however, it managed to only win a solitary statue for Best Original Screenplay. ****
Pulp Fiction will be screened as part of The Light Factory's Cult Movie Monday series at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) Jan. 30 at Actor’s Theatre, 650 E. Stonewall St. Admission and popcorn are free; a cash bar is available. More details here.
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted by Matt Brunson on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 10:00 AM
- Sony Pictures Classics
- A Dangerous Method
Albert Nobbs - Glenn Close, Janet McTeer
A Dangerous Method - Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley
The Grey - Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney
Man on a Ledge - Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks
One for the Money - Katherine Heigl, Debbie Reynolds
The Wicker Tree - Brittania Nicol, Honeysuckle Weeks
Monday, January 23, 2012
Film / Film News / Film Reviews Universal celebration gets off the ground with To Kill a Mockingbird
Posted by Matt Brunson on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 4:22 PM
- Universal
- Gregory Peck and Brock Peters in To Kill a Mockingbird
By Matt Brunson
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
****
DIRECTED BY Robert Mulligan
STARS Gregory Peck, Mary Badham
Forget James Bond and Indiana Jones: When the American Film Institute offered its picks of the top movie heroes in its 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains special in 2003, it was Atticus Finch, the soft-spoken protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird, who emerged at the top of the list. It was a fitting tribute not only to the memorable character created by Harper Lee in her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel but also to the actor who played him: Gregory Peck, who passed away nine days after the AFI's picks were revealed.
Peck's performance is the bedrock of this classic film, one of those rare instances when a movie perfectly captured the essence of its source material without compromising it in any way. One of the best films ever made about children and the unique way in which they view the world around them, this also benefits from the perceptive work by Mary Badham as Scout, Atticus' young daughter who learns about justice and integrity by watching her lawyer dad defend a black man (Brock Peters) against fraudulent rape charges in a small Southern town.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted by Matt Brunson on Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 11:00 AM
- Relativity Media
- Haywire
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock
Haywire - Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender
Red Tails - Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Shame - Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan
Underworld Awakening 3D - Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Film / Film News Watch Memphis at home
Posted by Matt Brunson on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 7:00 AM
- Photo credit: Joan Marcus
If you missed the award-winning musical smash Memphis when it recently came to Charlotte, don't sweat it. You now have the opportunity to catch the Broadway production in the comfort of your own home.
On the heels of the Ovens Auditorium touring show that ran Jan. 3-8, there's now Shout! Factory's release of the original Broadway production that won four Tony Awards: Best Musical, Book of a Musical, Score and Orchestrations. Filmed live at the Shubert Theatre, this tale of the forbidden love between a white DJ and a black singer in the 1950s is now available for home audiences on both Blu-ray and DVD.
The Blu-ray and DVD both include the featurette Behind the Scenes: How Memphis Was Captured. The Blu-ray costs $24.98 and the DVD runs $17.98; release date is Jan. 24. To order, go to the Shout! Factory site here or Amazon here.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Film / Film News Light Factory fills in the Blank
Posted by Matt Brunson on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 5:41 PM
Blank City, a documentary about New York's DIY filmmaking scene during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, will be screened later this week at The Light Factory. Featuring interviews with many individuals who were there — including Blondie's Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi and Jim Jarmusch — the film looks at the "No Wave" movement when filmmakers, musicians and artists were often teaming up to create experimental, cutting-edge works.
Blank City will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, through Saturday, Jan. 21, at The Light Factory, 345 N. College St. Admission is $7 ($5 members). Go here for more information.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted by Matt Brunson on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Sony Pictures Classics
- Kate Winslet in Carnage
Beauty and the Beast 3D - Animated
Carnage - Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet
Contraband - Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale
The Iron Lady - Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent
Joyful Noise - Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton
