Hi all,
I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day! I never feel bad honoring veterans by drinking copious amounts of alcohol and eating my weight in chips and guacemole. I find President's Day challenging given the dubious histories of some of our Presidents but I struggle through so it is not a complete write-off. We are almost in June which means we are fully in the summer movie season. Sit back and enjoy the mix of new and old movies.
Upstream Color
Shane Carruth is well known in indie-film circles (such things do exist- it is the unknown 10th circle of hell) for his incredible debut film 'Primer'. Made for $7,000 (the same as Tom Cruise's barber on Oblivion), it did not over-simplify for the sake of its audience. One reviewer said that "anybody who claims he fully understands what's going on in 'Primer' after seeing it just once is either a savant or a liar. 'Upstream Color' is his long awaited second feature. And it is just as challenging, weird and brilliant as 'Primer'.
Carruth never talks down to his audience. He presents you with complex, baffling plots and dares you to keep up. The plot synopsis is relatively simple. A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. It could be under the following genres: sci-fi, thriller, adventure, drama. One thing is a guarantee- you won't see anything like 'Upstream Color' in movie theaters again for a long time. Probably not until he makes his third movie.
The Sapphires
Chris O' Dowd is kind of a flabby, overnight sensation. Since popping up in 'Bridesmaids' as a loveable Irish cop, he has put in an appearance in nearly every movie and TV show I have been watching. Despite a very dodgy American accent in 'Girls', he is always worth watching and can be frequently hilarious. Disclaimer: I am Irish and it is Irish law that we promote and celebrate the success of Irish actors even if they are in bad movies- I was touting the pros of 'Alexander' for a long time purely based on a man crush on Colin Farrell.
But this is one movie where you don't need to overlook major flaws to thoroughly enjoy. Inspired by a true story, the film follows four talented Australian Aboriginal girls from a remote mission as they learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group The Sapphires entertains the U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1968. It is tough to compare it to other movies. The Commitments probably comes close. In that there is soul music. And it's a real crowd-pleaser. And you would have to have no heart or feelings to really embrace it as one of the most enjoyable movies of the year. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes confirms these people exist (7% of people are miserable). Not to be missed.
Oblivion
Nothing says the start of the summer movie season like a Tom Cruise action flick. But 'Oblivion' is quite different to the typical sci-fi action movie. It is large scale and original, and despite its familiar story, Oblivion dreams up some great ideas. A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself. The director, Joseph Kosinski, (Tron Legacy) knows how to make a beautiful looking movie and stage some excellent set pieces.
There is a happy medium between going to a movie and shutting your brain off completely (any movie based on a Hasbro game or toy) and having your mind bended into a pretzel with focus and attention required. This movie is it. You need your brain to be switched on in order to enjoy this for what it is. Patients in long-term comas have similar reactions to Transformers that live audiences have. This requires more. In addition, Tom Cruise is not being paid a percentage of this film's profits. So if you dislike him as a person, you can enjoy the movie knowing you are not buying a gallon of gas for his G5 private jet.
Blancanieves
After every movie hit, there are usually a few movies that gratefully grab coat-tails and catch a piggy-back to success. After Gladiator we had 'Troy', 'Alexander' and '300'. Most of these movies are pale imitations of the original that inspired it. After watching the crazy success of 'The Artist' in 2011 I was just waiting for an onslaught of silent movies claiming to be the next 'Artist'. But 'Blancanieves' IS the next Artist.
Based on 'Snow White', but set in southern Spain in the 1920s, Blancanieves is a tribute to silent films.Once upon a time there was a little girl who had never known her mother. She learned the art of her father, a famous bullfighter, but was hated by her evil stepmother. One day she ran away with a troupe of dwarves, and became a legend. Clear enough? Widely adored by all critics, 'Blancanieves' is a little classic to be treasured.
- Adam
SHOWTIMES:
Oblivion (PG-13)
Fri & Sat: 7:30 PM
Sun: 6:15 PM
Mon: 9:15 PM
Tue & Wed: 6:30 PM
Upstream Color (NR)
Fri: 9:15 PM
Sat: 2:40, 5:00
Sun: 8:30 PM
Mon: 4:30, 9:45
Tue: 9:45 PM
Wed: 9:30 PM
Thu: 7:00 PM
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (NR)
Sun: 3:00 PM
Blancanieves (PG-13)
Fri: 5:00 PM
Sat: 4:00, 9:15
Sun: 9:15 PM
Mon: 7:00 PM
Tue: 9:30 PM
Wed: 9:45 PM
The Sapphires (PG-13)
Fri: 6:30 PM
Sat: 1:30, 6:30
Sun: 3:30 PM
Mon: 6:30 PM
Wed: 7:00 PM
Thu: 6:30 PM
Family Classics: Shrek (PG)
Fri: 4:00 PM
Sat: 12:30 PM
Parkway Classics: The Big Lebowski (R)
Thu: 9:30 PM
Escape From New York (R)
Fri & Sat: 10:30 PM
The African Cypher (NR)
Tue: 7:00 PM
American Drug War 2: Cannabis Destiny (NR)
Thu: 9:00 PM
Thrillville: Johnny Legend presents The Sadist (NR) Digital Presentation
Sun: 6:00 PM
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