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The Week in Film: Shutterbug Nanny edition
Finding Vivian Maier(IFC Films) In Theaters Believe it or not, the best new film this week is a documentary. Finding Vivian Maier is an excellent telling of the titular nanny who, thanks to the...
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The Week in Film: Hometown Contamination edition
In Theaters It’s tempting to play local favorite this week, but My Toxic Backyard, Asheville filmmaker Katie Damien’s documentary about the CTS Superfund site on the south side of town, is...
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The Week in Film: Jarmuschian Vampire edition
Only Lovers Left Alive(Sony Pictures Classics) In Theaters If you see one movie this weekend, make it Only Lovers Left Alive. In what could be Jim Jarmusch’s best work, Tilda Swinton and Tom...
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The Week in Film: Moody Mutant Blues edition
In Theaters First off, I want to thank those of you who saw Only Lovers Left Alive over the weekend. Given the death sentence of opening in a sofa cinema at the Carolina, it managed to earn enough to...
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The Week in Film: Mullet Justice edition
Cold in July(IFC Films) In Theaters We’ve got several exceptional indies heading our way this week, starting with Cold in July from We Are What We Are and Stake Land director Jim Mickle. The taut...
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The Week in Film: Sci-Fi Do-Over edition
Edge of Tomorrow(Warner Bros.) In Theaters Source Code meets…well, every alien invasion move ever in Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise as a soldier who keeps dying in battle only to be transported...
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The Week in Film: Sequelpalooza edition
22 Jump Street(Sony Pictures) In Theaters On the heels of an unpleasant week for indie and mainstream titles comes one with a good deal more potential. Art-wise, I can safely recommend Words and...
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The Week in Film: Swedish Punk edition
We Are the Best!(Magnolia Pictures) In Theaters Well, you only have two new options this week, one indie and one mainstream. The former is We Are the Best!, about three teen Swedish girls in 1982...
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The Week in Film: Sci-Fi CouldaWoulda edition
Jodorowsky’s Dune(Sony Pictures Classics) In Theaters Back in the early ’70s, Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky set out to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune with an extraordinary collection of dramatic,...
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The Week in Film: Snocomotive edition
Snowpiercer(RADiUS-TWC) In Theaters Even if Melissa McCarthy and Kevin Hart had a Transformers movie coming out this weekend, it would still be a jolly holiday. That’s because starting Friday we get...
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The Week in Film: Thumbs Up edition
Life Itself(Magnolia Pictures) In Theaters When a film stars AARP actors and features an amusing, touching story, thereby appealing to a specific age range, it’s referred to as “geezer catnip.” When a...
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The Week in Film: Braff’s Back edition
Wish I Was Here(Focus Features) In Theaters Though it only has a cast of two and takes place in a single room, Roman Polanski’s Venus in Fur is not lacking in the entertainment department. That’s...
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The Week in Film: Modern Love edition
In Theaters Frances Ha(IFC Films) Writer/director Noah Baumbach and his Greenberg star Greta Gerwig reunite in Frances Ha. Shot in beautiful black and white, the film follows Gerwig’s titular late-20s...
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The Week in Film: Aboriginal Soul edition
In Theaters (The Weinstein Company) Based on a true story, The Sapphires tells of four young Aboriginal Australian women who head to Vietnam in 1968 to entertain the U.S. troops. At home, the ladies...
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The Week in Film: Walk and Talk edition (Part 3)
With five films all unexpectedly worth seeing, last weekend was the most impressive so far this year. Will this weekend match it? In Theaters Before Midnight(Sony Pictures Classics) Back in 1995’s...
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The Week in Film: Monster Alma Mater edition
In Theaters Monsters University(Walt Disney Studios) Looking to rebound from their first so-so feature, Pixar goes from Brave to their first prequel, Monsters University. In what for many (me...
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The Week in Film: Operation Presidential Rescue edition (Part 2)
In Theaters White House Down(Columbia Pictures) 2013 was supposed to be the year of the Presidential home invasion, but after Olympus Has Fallen lived up to its title and fell hard on its face, the...
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The Week in Film: Hi, Ho, Silver edition
In Theaters The Lone Ranger(Walt Disney Studios) After nearly a year of its trailers playing before seemingly everything at The Carolina, The Lone Ranger at last rides into town. Reuniting the...
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The Week in Film: Mr. Roboto edition
In Theaters Pacific Rim(Warner Bros.) Big budget Droid commercial? Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots: The Movie? A feature-length expansion of the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic” video? Some combination of all...
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The Week in Film: Wanna Fight? edition
8 new films? I…am going to be busy this week. In Theaters Only God Forgives(RADiUS-TWC) Drive was one of my favorite films from 2011, so the reunion of its star Ryan Gosling and director Nicolas...
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The Week in Film: A Day in the Life edition
Three new movies instead of eight? And one I’ve already seen? Yes, I can handle that. In Theaters Fruitvale Station(The Weinstein Company) Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station got my attention back at...
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The Week in Film: Ramona Quimby, Age 34 edition
In Theaters Stories We Tell(Roadside Attractions) For many children of the ’80s, Sarah Polley will forever be thought of as Ramona Quimby, the 8-year-old protagonist of the Canadian TV series Ramona,...
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The Week in Film: Sci-Fi Allegory edition
In Theaters Elysium(Sony Pictures) Other than The Great Gatsby, my most anticipated film of the summer has been Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. Such status is almost solely based on the writer/director’s...
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The Week in Film: Non-mutant Superhero edition (Part 2)
In Theaters Kick-Ass 2(Universal Pictures) Of the summer’s many sequels, the one I’m happiest to see is Kick-Ass 2. Matthew Vaughan’s original was one of 2010’s most enjoyable films, offering witty...
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The Week in Film: 21st century ‘Say Anything’ edition
In Theaters The Spectacular Now(A24) 24 years after Lloyd Dobler held up a boom box in Diane Court’s front yard, another unlikely pair connect in The Spectacular Now. Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole) stars...
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The Week in Film: Shamu’s Revenge edition
That’s right, just two new films this week. The Carolina is also bringing back This Is The End for an encore booking, so if you haven’t seen the year’s best comedy, grab some friends and treat...
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The Week in Film: It’s Not The House That’s Haunted edition (Part 2)
***UPDATE: Austenland has been moved to next Friday, 9/20*** In Theaters Insidious: Chapter 2(FilmDistrict) Friday the 13th is almost here with a film that seems worthy of that eerie release date –...
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The Week in Film: Above the Law edition
In Theaters Prisoners(Warner Bros.) Jump-starting the fall’s assortment of all-star cast offerings is Prisoners, the English-language debut from Québécois director Denis Villeneauve (Incendies). The...
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The Week in Film: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines edition
In Theaters Rush(Universal Pictures) The Frost/Nixon team of director Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan reunite for Rush, based on the real-life ’70s rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt...
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The Week in Film: Freeze-dried Ice Cream edition
In Theaters Gravity(Warner Bros.) Gravity marks Alfonso Cuarón’s first film since 2006’s magnificent Children of Men, a work that’s only grown in my estimation over the years. (Seriously, it’s...
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The Week in Film: Oscar winners vs. pirates edition
In Theaters Captain Phillips(Sony Pictures) Prisoners was kind of a bust and Gravity was nearly everything but an acting showcase, so the awards hype shifts to Captain Phillips. Based on a true story,...
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The Week in Film: Cumberbatch-Reich ’16 edition
In Theaters The Fifth Estate(Touchstone Pictures) Hot off the two-part final installment of the Twilight saga, director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters; Dreamgirls) shoots a good deal higher with The...
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The Week in Film: Cormac goes Hollywood edition
In Theaters The Counselor(Twentieth Century Fox) Cormac McCarthy (Blood Meridian; The Road), probably my favorite living author, makes his feature film screenwriting debut in The Counselor and gets...
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The Week in Film: McQueen is King edition
In Theaters 12 Years a Slave(Fox Searchlight Pictures) I am pleased to announce that 2013 has a new #1 film. The honor goes to 12 Years a Slave from director Steve McQueen (Hunger; Shame), an...
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The Week in Film: Dickens of a Time edition
Just two new ones this week, which means you can catch up with last week’s goodies. In Theaters Great Expectations(Main Street Films) Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations gets a fresh look in this...
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The Week in Film: He’s My Bruddah edition
In Theaters I broke protocol last week and reviewed Philomena, The Book Thief, Homefront, and Frozen before previewing them, but at least you got the critiques quicker, right? Right??? Either way,...
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The Week in Film: Tricksy Hobbitses edition (Part 2)
In Theaters The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug(Warner Bros.) The year of waiting is over and now my fellow Middle Earth disciples and I may at last experience The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The...
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The Week in Film: Payne & Gain edition
Everything opens on Friday, except for a certain questionable sequel, which starts today. In Theaters Nebraska(Paramount Vantage) After 2011’s narrative-weak The Descendants, I worried that Alexander...
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The Week in Film: iRomance edition
In Theaters Her(Warner Bros.) Set in a not-too-distant L.A. where everyone walks around communicating with his or her pocket computer (sound familiar?), Her centers on Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a...
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The Week in Film: Fancy Clancy edition
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit(Paramount Pictures) The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears are solid action films, so why shouldn’t the latest Tom Clancy...
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The Week in Film: A Dickens of a Time edition (Part 2)
In Theaters The Invisible Woman(Sony Pictures Classics) Ralph Fiennes can’t leave Charles Dickens alone. Following his superb turn as Magwitch in last fall’s Great Expectations, the actor goes in...
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The Week in Film: Viva Italia edition
The Great Beauty(Janus Films) From Italy comes The Great Beauty, about a one-hit wonder novelist prompted to take stock of his life at 65. Paolo Sorrentino’s film is a beautiful one with its share of...
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The Week in Film: Gimme the (Fine Art) Loot edition
In Theaters Monuments Men(Columbia Pictures) Another delayed December release (because, simply enough, it wasn’t finished), Monuments Men tells the fact-based story of a team of museum directors,...
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The Week in Film: The Blame Game edition
In Theaters The Past(Sony Pictures Classics) Iranian writer/director Asghar Farhadi rightfully won the 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar for his powerful A Separation. His follow-up film is even...
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The Week in Film: Grumpy Vesuvius edition
In Theaters Pompeii(Sony Pictures) Do gladiators and forbidden love stand a chance against a volcano ready to blow its top? Find out in Pompeii, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, he of multiple...
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The Week in Film: Slo-mo Persian edition (Part 2)
In Theaters 300: Rise of an Empire(Warner Bros.) Something was in the water in spring 2006 that, to the tune of $210 million, convinced viewers that six-packs in slow motion was a landmark cinematic...
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The Week in Film: Checking In edition
First off, apologies for no preview edition last week. I had more assignments than usual, including an unexpected deluge of independent films to see and review. I especially liked Sam Rockwell’s dark...
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The Week in Film: What’s a Cubit? edition
In Theaters Noah(Paramount Pictures) “I want you to build an Ark.” “Right!……Whats an Ark?” Despite being a no-brainer, it remains to be seen whether the immortal lines of Bill Cosby will be uttered in...
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The Week in Film: Unrated edition
In Theaters It’s a good week for movies if you don’t mind a few penises. The two best new releases offer their share of male genitalia (and then some), and would have been the three best if the Fine...
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The Week in Film: Mistaken Curry Identity edition
In Theaters The Lunchbox(Sony Pictures Classics) From India comes The Lunchbox, a lovely, leisurely story about an office worker (Irffan Khan, The Darjeeling Limited) who receives the wrong midday meal...
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