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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Film / Film News A new flood of RiverRun films
Posted By Matt Brunson on Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 11:43 AM
Not every film festival is eclectic enough to include both Ingmar Bergman and Zac Efron in its lineup, but then again, not every film festival is as innovative as the RiverRun International Film Festival. Winston-Salem's acclaimed fest is celebrating its 15th year with a total of 143 films that will be screened April 12-21 at various venues. Between 66 features and 77 shorts, that's an awful lot of cinema.
- Sony Pictures Classics
- At Any Price
The festival opens with two evening screenings on Friday, April 12. The first is a Snow White variation - no, not Mirror Mirror or Snow White and the Huntsman, but Blancanieves, in which our heroine is reconfigured as a bullfighter finding her own way in 1920s Spain. The other opener is the documentary Casting By, in which over three dozen filmmakers (including Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen and Robert Redford) sing the praises of the unsung casting director. The closing night film, At Any Price, comes courtesy of Winston-Salem writer-director Ramin Bahrani, whose 2009 effort Goodbye Solo earned reams of rave reviews (including one here in Creative Loafing); starring Efron, Dennis Quaid and Heather Graham, it centers on the strained relationship between a father and son.
Among this year's special programs are "Spotlight on Ingmar Bergman" (screenings of four of the director's works, including the masterpiece The Seventh Seal), "From the Archives" (showings of the classic films Touch of Evil, The Birds and Crumb), and "Late Night" (offerings for the night owls, including Evil Dead II).
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Film / Film Reviews Weekend Film Reviews: Stoker; The Call; and more
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Film / Arts CFS screens We Have a Pope
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 9:00 AM
So, heard any good Pope jokes lately? Charlotteans can partake in their own papal drama when they check out We Have a Pope, the latest offering from the Charlotte Film Society. Co-written and directed by Nanni Moretti (whose Cannes winner The Son's Room was brought to town by the CFS back in 2002), this Italian import stars Michel Piccoli as Cardinal Melville, who's stunned when he's chosen to become the new Pope. After his refusal to accept the post panics the Vatican inner circle, they opt to hire a psychiatrist (played by Moretti himself) to examine him.
$5 for Charlotte Film Society members, $8 for non-members. March 16, 3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road. For more information, visit www.charlottefilmsociety.com.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted By Matt Brunson on Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 4:40 PM
- Fox Searchlight
- Stoker
The Call - Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - Steve Carell, Jim Carrey
Mindless Behavior: All Around the World - Documentary
Stoker - Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman
Film / Arts UNCC Film festival screens foreign flicks
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 3:08 PM
UNC Charlotte's International Film Series and Tournées French Film Festival is showcasing a series of contemporary foreign films on select days through March 25. The festivities include screenings of Une vie de chat (A Cat in Paris), an animated film about a girl whose cat takes her on a nighttime adventure involving rooftop runs with thieves; Poetry, an emotionally gripping Korean film about a woman's newfound interest in poetry as a coping mechanism for the challenges of raising her grandson and being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; and La Aldea Maldita (The Cursed Village), a 1930s silent film from Spain that will be accompanied by a live piano performance by Ethan Uslan.
Free admission. Dates, times, costs and locations vary. For a full list of all the films being screened, visit http://filmfest.uncc.edu.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Film / Film Reviews Weekend Film Reviews: Oz the Great and Powerful; Jack the Giant Slayer; and more
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 2:59 PM
Click on the title to be taken directly to the review.
Still playing:
Film / Arts Double feature for Chuck Norris birthday bash
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 10:00 AM
While Academy members were busy congratulating the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Ang Lee, the folks behind the Back Alley Film Series were preparing to honor the cinematic legacy of that master thespian Chuck Norris. The martial arts legend turns 73 this month, and BAFS is offering an action-packed double feature in his honor. First up is 1983's Lone Wolf McQuade, an enjoyably goofy yarn in which a Texas Ranger (no, not Walker; J.J. McQuade) squares off against a sneering gun-runner (David Carradine).
The other film is 1985's Invasion U.S.A., which finds a former CIA agent saving the entire nation against a terrorist attack. This one's pretty bad, but, like most Norris works, it includes the type of dialogue that can be viewed as a precursor to those popular Chuck Norris Internet memes. Sample Chucky quip: "If you come back in here, I'm gonna hit you with so man y rights, you're gonna beg for a left." $10 admission for both movies. March 9, 9:30 p.m. Crownpoint Stadium 12, 9630 Monroe Road. For more information, visit www.backalleyfilmseries.com.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Film / Film Reviews Weekend Film Reviews: 21 & Over; plus, Oscar winners
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 2:57 PM
Click on the title to be taken directly to the review.
Oscar winners still in theaters:
Film / Arts Charlotte Jewish Film Festival kicks off
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 8:00 AM
The 9th annual Charlotte Jewish Film Festival will showcase a hefty number of titles during its run, starting today and playing through March 17. The opening night reception will feature Hava Nagila (The Movie), a documentary that examines the history of the popular song and includes appearances by Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis and Leonard Nimoy. Director Roberta Grossman will be in attendance at the event, which will also include a dessert reception and musical entertainment.
Other movies that will be screened during the course of the festival include Paris-Manhattan, a romantic comedy about a young woman's obsession with Woody Allen, and A.K.A. Doc Pomus, a documentary about the songwriter who penned such hits as "Viva Las Vegas" and "This Magic Moment."
Costs and locations vary (All-Festival Pass: $85; Opening night reception: $25). March 2-17. For more details, visit www.charlottejewishfilm.com.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted By Matt Brunson on Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 5:44 PM
- Relativity Media
- 21 & Over
The Frankenstein Theory - Timothy V. Murphy, Roger Morissey
Jack the Giant Slayer - Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Hoult
The Last Exorcism Part II - Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum
Phantom - Ed Harris, David Duchovny
21 & Over - Miles Teller, Skylar Astin
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Question the Queen City: The haunting of Love’s Pass
The railroad pass has claimed at least 14 lives
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Listen Up: VS Guitar Duo Shreds on 'Local Vibes'
Episode 35
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Eight (possible) things overheard in Patrick Cannon's prison visitation room
Who goes to see him on weekends? What do they talk about? We have no idea, but we're creative.
