OPENING THIS WEEK: 8/23/2013

It's a light week at the multiplex and an even lighter week at the art house (as Woody and The Butler continue to dominate). Blue Jasmine moves over to more screens and neighborhoods across the metroplex in Allen's largest screen count of his career (it's already made $10 million in limited release). Still, a few new contenders are on our radar - including our old pal Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost - along with two teen romances (Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is already screening) and  an indie horror flick. Not a bad way to end summer.....

@ the Art House

The Spectacular Now - Sadly Dipson Theaters is opening this one away from the kids that might be interested (in town, near colleges) over at Eastern Hills. Director James Ponsoldt's chilling (and very relevant - especially in this town) Smashed came and went within a week at the North Park last fall - this one looks like its got better prospects. Miles Teller plays a frat kind of guy stuck in neutral who calls for Shailene Woodley in a teen romance adapted by the writers of (500) Days of Summer. It was a hit at Sundance.

Screening: Dipson Eastern Hills

@ the Multiplex

The World's End - it's been a few years since Hot Fuzz but it's great to see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reunited with Edgar Wright for the conclusion of his "Cornetto Trillogy" (named for the ice cream that comes in three flavors). Four pals reunited for a pub crawl from hell. Unfortunately AMC and Regal didn't feel Buffalo was cool enough to screen the whole the trilogy, as they are in other markets (Rochester and Syracuse are?!?) ... I guess Regal needed room for Sinbad: Make Me Wanna Holla tonight instead.

Screening: Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood.

You're Next - an indie horror flick that premiered two years ago at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Adam Wingard with a cast that features indie filmmakers Joe Swanberg and T.I. West along with Sharni Vinson, AJ Bowen and Nicolas Tucci. Reviews conclude its better than average so we've got two cult-ish flicks to see this weekend!

Screening: Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood, Transit Drive-In

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - NOW PLAYING......this looks too much like Twilight for our comforts. Staring Lilly Collins and Lena Hadley. Our contributors told us they were going to sit this one out*....

Screening: Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood, Transit Drive in, Dipson Market Arcade

*if someone out there wants to shoot us a review - we'll post it! Send it over to buffalomovieblog@gmail.com! We're always looking for more voices :)

Reparatory Screenings

Niagara - A classic 1954 noir returns, digitally remastered to The Screening Room. Staring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, and Jean Peters.

in the Cheap Seats

I'm So Excited (7/10)

Red 2 (7/10)

Monsters University (7/10)

The Heat (4/10)

White House Down (7/10)

Continuing

Lee Daniel's The Butler (8/10)

Blue Jasmine (8/10)

Despicable Me 2 (7/10)

The Conjuring (7/10)

Elysium (7/10)

Fruitvale Station (7/10)

Paranoia (6/10)

We're The Millers (6/10)

Kick-Ass 2 (4/10)

[Review: IN THEATERS] Lee Daniels' The Butler (8/10)

Save for a few liberties with history (its never quite as linear in our memories), Lee Daniels' The Butler is an important, glossy, Hollywood take on various civil rights issues. The history may be a little distorted for narrative purposes – it certainly evokes a range of emotions on Regan that have sparked a recent political debate – but what it does in showing this history is remarkable. Comparisons to Forrest Gump are warranted.

Forrest Whitaker is excellent as Cecil Gains (inspired by real life white house butler Eugene Allen) – a hardworking domestic who witnesses the public murder of his father on a cotton field. Taken in by the estate’s caregiver, played by Vanessa Redgrave, he’s trained to serve in the home. Through a series of tragedies he escapes the plantation and expands his skill as a server – working his way into the middle class. He’s becomes a server at a posh hotel, impressing a member of the Eisenhower administration; he’s called to the White House to join the domestic team.

Despite a team of color, the racism Gains faces are institutional (the African Americans are stuck at entry level, and are paid less). The demands of his career especially during the Kennedy administration almost tare his family apart – Oprah Winfrey plays his wife. Gains has two songs – Louis (David Oyelowo) who enrolls at Fisk University in Tennessee (instead of Howard) and Charlie who is loyal and obedient – interested in serving his country.

The film follows the events of history from the top to the bottom – Louis becomes a freedom rider after becoming formally trained in subversive peaceful protest. The scenes in the south represent a difficult reflection: if anything a film like Lee Daneils’ The Butler is an important reminder of what must not be forgotten. American is a great country but the sins of the past still haunt. Cecil has the privilege to front row and behind the scenes access as change happens slowly over multiple administrations – it speeds past Jimmy Carter, for example.

The performances by the actors playing presidents are secondary to Whitaker who gives an Oscar-worthy performance in a film that’s superb but not without flaws (kind of like the country it celebrates). They include Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, James Marsden as JFK, Live Schreiber as LBJ, John Cuasak as Nixon, and Alan Rickman as Reagan. Perhaps only Rickman fully embodies and disappears into Reagan – the others are fine but seem more suited for a stage play.

Also excellent is Oprah Winfey as Gloria Gains – she flawlessly plays this women from her 30’s to her death from old age (and hard living). A more complex performance than I expected in a film that isn’t as cut and dry as the trailers make it out to be. Tugging at our heartstrings throughout, Lee Daniels’ hand as competent without his touches (including unrestrained, raw moments that a less confident director might have cut). Daniels, who has previously worked on smaller scale films like Precious and The Paperboy, proves he can make an epic period film. It’s a credit to his skill that we aren’t disoriented throughout the film – employing devices and storytelling craft to keep us engaged and in the moment (even with Cecil isn’t).

The film has been criticized as it celebrates the victory of Barack Obama including a framing device where Cecil meets with the (unseen) 44^th President of the United States. It’s an easy way out, for sure – and those that attack it say that a meeting between Obama and Allen may have never taken place. So what. This is excellent storytelling, with first-rate acting – in a film that might be glossy but is also very explicit in its representation of the civil rights struggle. I applaud Lee Daniels for making a multi-dimensional, multi-generational, and highly engaging picture.

 Screening: Dipson Flix, Dipson Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood 12

[Review: IN THEATRES] Paranoia (6/10)

TV is often more entertaining than going to the movies – we love movies, but TV is designed to be consumable, often not on a big 28 foot screen. Paranoia is essentially a TV-movie, it’s a slick professional looking product telling an efficient story –it’s engaging in the moment even if early on our lead looks like an idiot (“how did you find me” the young mobile tech genus asks while holding his GPS-enabled smart phone).

Directed by Robert Luketic, Paranoia is essentially as like a pre-paid cell phone: chap, disposable, likely not full of personal impressions – yet it does the job. It’s not a bad or incompitent film: it’s just not an ambitious one. Liam Hemsworth stars as Adam Cassidy, working for five years at a tech company run by Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman) he’s still a step above intern. His presentation to Wyatt early on is a bust and they’re unceremoniously fired (security doesn’t even escort them out of the door). Luckily for Cassidy’s team their company purchasing card still works and Adam treats his pals to a night out, Kayne West style.

After bedding the lovely Emma Jennings (Amber Heard), who is just down for an NSA relationship in both senses (No Strings Attached sex AND she will tap your phone – Edward Snowden style), he’s called into Wyatt’s office and blackmailed into going undercover for his rival Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford). Hooked up with a PhD in psychology and a tailor, he’s hired at Goddard’s mobile tech firm in a section the film just seems to skip over (if it wasn’t digital I would have thought the projectionist missed a reel).

Emma Jennings just happens to be the head of marketing for the new firm which is full of pretty innovative ideas that Apple is probably about to crack – Hemsworth is certainly not a young Steve Jobs and Jennings is way hotter than Phil Schiller. The film is interestingly saying something – not quite an anthem for Occupy Wall Street, it lacks the firepower to go where it ought to. I will not spoil the ending but a few things become painfully obvious (many of which are in the trailer) and it could make for an interesting commentary about how the deck is stacked against smart kids who do the right thing and work hard. Either that or the film is commenting on how we’re not all rock stars and we should know our place – ambition and hardwork aren’t enough, you also need talent, smarts and innovation. Scary to think in the context of President Obama’s upcoming visit to UB about the importance of making college affordable (or not).

Back to Paranoia: the film is a little uneven – much has been made of Hemsworth who is okay but certainly barely holding his own against a stellar cast of heavy weights including Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss – but then again maybe that’s the point. Young Adam Cassidy works hard but hasn’t had the luck or the break he needs until he breaks several rules. Sometime, as Homer Simpson reminds us, that the poster to How Stella Got Her Groove Back suggestions that sometimes “you have to break the rules to free your heart”.

Note: We had seen this at the recently redone AMC Maple Ridge – and what a comfortable experience! More on that here...

Screening: AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Dipson Market Arcade, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood 12.

[Review: IN THEATRES] Blue Jasmine (8/10)

To say Woody Allen’s output has been a little uneven lately is an understatement: coming off of his biggest hit in years (Midnight in Paris), our old pal wrote and directed the messy To Rome with Love. Returning back to both is native New York (although he spends more time on Long Island than in Manhattan) and San Francisco – a city I’m not sure he’s explored before – Blue Jasmine is his most insightful film in years.

Cate Blanchett gives a brilliant performance as Jasmine, a college drop out who falls for Hal (the typically charming snake Alec Baldwin is born to play) – he’s a smooth-talking developer who ends up in jail. Opening in the “present day” and employing flashbacks as Jasmine arrives to her sister Ginger’s apartment in SF (she’s played by Sally Hawkins). Ginger and Jasmine have a broken relationship – Hal conned her ex-husband (brilliantly played by Andrew Dice Clay) into a real estate deal that went bust. The choice to include Clay is wonderful: he frees himself from the text turning out a lively performance.

Blanchett is absolutely brilliant as women who has been knocked down – and then some: Jasmine is sympathetic and complex living a medicated life, unable to connect and rebuild her life. Her sister lacked Jasmine’s ambitions; she’s a bagger at a local supermarket that settled for cute blue-collar guys (Bobby Cannavale plays her current fiancé Chili). Here the men are slightly the problem: Chili grows cold and a little psychotic which is a little too much (he’s a raging, day drinking alcoholic) and Jasmine’s boss, a dentist, if an over the top pervert.

 

At a party she meets a nice guy – Danny Westlake (Peter Sarsgaard) an aspiring politician and the chemistry seems to be right (although things move too quickly). Perhaps that’s the point, everyone is manic here, no more so than our leading lady. Blanchett is dazzling and complex crafts a masterful, Oscar-worthy performance. Too often Allen’s film lack subtly, Blanchett finds it as the film grows darker in its third act.

Blue Jasmine is not without moments of humor – it’s a complex film that touches upon a range of emotions. Over the top at moments, it strikes a cord as Allen’s most complex accomplishment in several years.

Screening: Dipson Eastern Hills, Dipson Amherst, Regal Quaker Crossing

[Review: IN THEATRES] Kick-Ass 2 (4/10)

There is just something wrong with the whole idea of Kick-Ass: what kid hasn’t dreamed of becoming a superhero? For Mindy, aka Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) it’s a disturbing reality – far too violent for a nice young girl. Agent Cody Banks, this is certainly not!

Written and directed by Jeff Wadlow, the talented young filmmaker behind Cry_Wolf and Never Back Down (the later a study of heterosexual violence in a high school fight club), Kick-Ass 2 is less skillful and more disturbing than fun. Perhaps kids will enjoy it, at that age who knows better – but for anyone over the age of 18 this is strange stuff.

The basic plot is interesting: like the first one (and another odd movie Super) it’s about common people who become super heros. Strangely the film is set in New York City but filmed in Toronto, it’s so lazy that in the suburbs it accidently captures one of those signs telling you that the speed limit is 40 Kilometers. Dave Lizewski aka Kick Ass (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) decides to come out of retirement while Hit Girl remains on the fence. She’s been adopted by police sergeant Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut) who tries to give her a normal childhood – at least someone realizes the first movie was a form of child abuse.

Kick Ass joins a group of underground heros including his buddy Marty (Clark Duke) and his future girlfriend Night Bitch (Wadlow alum Lindy Booth). The group is lead by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carey) and his dog who bites off the balls of predators. In general I like the idea of ordinary people doing neighborhood watches – as long as they don’t invite George Zimmerman to tag along. A good hero movie can be made grounded in reality (and perhaps one that actually takes place in Toronto).

Things grow sinister when rich kids a new super villain arrives – a rich kid seeking revenge he dons his mom’s bondage gear and brands himself “The Mother Fucker” (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). He’s able to outsource his villainy, hiring the world’s top badasses which include some very elaborate sequences (one is outright dazzling).

As a whole Kick-Ass 2 is a little too out there to be fun: it wants to have it both ways. Spiderman, it is not. 

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, Dipson Flix, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood 12, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Elmwood, AMC Maple Ridge, Transit Drive In.

[Review: HOT VOD] Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (7/10)

Slightly overstaying it’s welcome – Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a melancholy reflection on Big Star, a band that never was. A comprehensive study of the Memphis rock group founded by Chris Bell and Alex Chilton – influential to modern post-alternative, post-grunge rockers like Pete Yorn (who recorded Bell’s I Am The Cosmos with Scarlett Johnson a few years ago) and Kings of Leon (also Memphis folks whom I hear in Big Star and vice versa).

The group in essence found success later on, ironically enough breaking out in the post-grunge era of the mid-late 90s including an appearance on Jay Leno; several sold out shows, and of course “In The Street” – the theme song to That ‘70s Show. Like another solid rock doc, Anvil: The Story of Anvil – Big Star is the story of a band that never made it for one reason or another (bad luck, industry shifts, etc). Drew DeNicola’s comprehensive study traces the band’s early roots, recording their first record for the rock subsidiary of the already stretched thin Stax Records. Stax ultimately went bankrupt and the a classic industry tale, Big Star failed to find traction and was lost in the process – not getting the radio play they sorely needed to launch their career.

So why make a Big Star movie? The film is comprehensive, rich and full of excellent music, tracing the alt rock and grunge movement back to its roots (sadness and loneliness). Yet, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a triumphant documentary (like Anvil) – as old men the ground finds their voice again and while it may not translate to cross over success – they at least went out with a bang. Still the road was tragic including the devastating loss of Chris Bell at the age of 27 – since only Jody Stephens remains as the surviving founding member (Chilton and Andy Hummel died of natural causes prior to the release of this documentary, which screened at South By Southwest 2012). Their three records each explore rather dark themes including drug abuse, and the tension within the band (which continued to brew for years). The material is brought to life through a variety of media including archival footage, recordings and newly shot talking-heads interviews. They remain less mysterious than Rodriguez – the subject of one of the best music documentaries in years: Searching for the Sugarman.

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is currently on VOD – and kicks off a new monthly series of first run films that are a little too small for Dipson’s business model – screening at Squeaky Wheel. More info at squeaky.org

OPENING THIS WEEK: 8/16/2013

After too many openings last week (we're still behind) a whole new crop of flicks hit queen city screens this week - there's something for everybody - including on-screen heros ranging from Steve Jobs, Cecil Gaines and Kick-ass - along with a behind-the-camera hero, Woody Allen's latest. Also there's a bunch of great outdoor screenings (Squeaky Wheel at the Harbor and at the Transit Drive In) - - Lot's to see here people - move along (to the multiplex).

@ The Art House

Blue Jasmine - the latest from Woody Allen has been getting solid reviews (and scoring solid box office - in fact its opening on two screens at two of the three theaters in town showing it this weekend). Cate Blanchett stars as women who used to live high on the hog, now down in the dumps. Co-stars include Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard and Andrew Dice Clay (#OHHHH).

Screening: Regal Quaker Crossing, Dipson Eastern Hills, Dipson Amherst

at the Multiplex

Jobs - looking a little low rent, this indie biopic stars Ashton Kutcher as the late great Steve Jobs, with Josh Gad (as Woz), Dermot Mulroney, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, and Matthew Modine. The flick got some minor buzz (and mix reviews) earlier this year at Sundance.

Screening: AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Amherst, Regal Transit, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Dipson Flix

Lee Daniels' The Butler - Least anyone confuse this film with the 1926 silent classic (which no one has seen in years) - Lee Daniel's The Butler (directed by Lee Daniels of the formerly known as Push, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Saphire....poor guy - at least Nintendo didn't block his last title, the messy The Paperboy) is a historical drama chronicling the life and service of white house butler Cecil Gians (played by Forrest Whitaker) with an all-star ensemble staring Oprah Winfrey, Vanessa Redgrave, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, and many more. This looks like a mini-series condensed into a little over 2 hours....

Screening: AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Market Arcade, Regal Transit, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Dipson Flix, Regal Walden Galleria

Kick-ass 2 - Jim Carey has been stirring up controversy, refusing to promote his film citing the youth violence (wait - did he also return his pay check?) Not sure what the need for a second film is - although I've enjoyed the films of writer-director Jeff Wadlow (Cry_Wolf, Never Back Down) - he knows what he's doing. Back for a second round are Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (-McLovin).

Screening: AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Market Arcade, Regal Transit, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Dipson Flix, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In

Paranoia - Not quite an Edward Snowden bio-pic (no one is stranded at any airport in Russia from what we can tell from the trailer), Liam Hemsworth plays a young guy send undercover to a rival tech company. I'm thinking this one and Jobs might make for an interesting double feature....

Screening: AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Market Arcade, Regal Transit, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Dipson Flix, Regal Walden Galleria

Reparatory Screenings

The Horror of Party Beach - showing Fri and Thursday at The Screening Room along with classic grindhouse trailers (awesome!) 

Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome (double feature with) Escape from New York - Transit Drive In (Tuesday August 20th) 

Special Screenings

Outdoor Animation Festival at Canalside -- Squeaky Wheel presents an encore presentation of its Outdoor Animation Festival on Wednesday. Info at: https://www.facebook.com/events/154553228071827/

at the Cheap Seats

Red 2 (7/10)

Continuing in Theaters

Fruitvale Station (7/10)

The Conjuring (7/10)

The Way Way Back (8/10)

We're The Millers (6/10)

Elysium (7/10)