Peter Schilling Hollywoodland, 2006. Directed by Allen Coulter, written by Paul Bernbaum. Starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Robin Tunney, Jeffrey DeMunn, Joe Spano, Molly Parker, Dash Mihok (what a name!), and Lois Smith. Now showing in select theaters around town. There is a point in the near-great Hollywoodland where Ben Affleck, playing the … Read more
Briefly: tonight marks the inauguration of Take-Up Productions and The Soap Factory’s “You Were Never Here” film series. How cool is this: grab a lawn chair, some grub and gulp, and sit outside by the Stone Arch bridge and watch movies. You can even buy popcorn and beer from the concession stand (although it’s sponsored … Read more
Dead Man’s Shoes, 2004. Directed by Shane Meadows, written by Meadows, Paddy Considine and Paul Fraser. Starring Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Jo Hartley, Seamus O’Neill, Stuart Wolfenden, Paul Sadot, Paul Hurstfield, Emily Aston, George Newton, and Neil Bell. Available pretty much everywhere on DVD. If my memory serves me correctly, it used to be … Read more
Factotum, 2005. Directed by Bent Hamer, written by Hamer and producer Jim Stark. Starring Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Fisher Stevens, Didier Flamand, James Cada, Tony Lyons, and Dan Lee Jr. as a dwarf that Dillon abuses. Now playing exclusively at the Uptown Theater. On his Swingin’ Affair album, Frank Sinatra sang “I Got … Read more
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, 2005. Written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, music by Padmashree A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Padmashree Javed Akhtar. Featuring the incredible talents of Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, and Rajesh Vivek (and a cast of literally thousands); and also starring the mediocre, scene-chewing likes of Brits Rachel Shelley & … Read more
L’Armee des Ombres, 1969 (Army of Shadows). Written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Starring Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and the magnificent Simone Signoret. Now showing at the Edina Cinema. With perhaps as much mystery as the Maquis fighters it showcases, Army of Shadows has snuck into town with little fanfare, spending its week … Read more
The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942. Directed by Orson Welles, written by Welles (and fully credited to him), with additional dialogue by fellow legerdemain Jack Moss and pal Joseph Cotten. Starring Tim Holt, Anne Baxter, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, the incredible Agnes Moorehead, Richard Bennett, and narrated by Welles. Available on DVD exclusively at Cinema Revolution. In … Read more
Jesus H. Tapdancin’ Christ on a popsicle stick I’m busy. So I’m going to be lazy and lead you to an obituary of a very interesting person. I love characters like this, and would’ve given up fifteen weeks of coffee and beer (not mixed) to have sat with this gent and just listened, over drinks, … Read more
Teeming with beautiful people who routinely burn beds or weep openly out on its streets, Pedro Almodóvar’s Madrid is a strange and magical place. Exploding in color, it is a city subjected to a constant torrent of emotion and deceit churned up by outrageous women and handsome but impotent men. The Spanish capital—where all his … Read more
The Philadelphia Story, showing tonight at the Walker’s Summer Music and Movies in Loring Park. According to an History of the Movies class I took at Michigan State University–taught by one of the screenwriters of Top Gun, for God’s sake–when The Philadelphia Story was released, Katherine Hepburn was considered “box office poison”. Kate being Kate, … Read more