Star Trek: Into Darkness

Review by Pete Roche

Captain’s Log, Stardate 2259:

Damn it, Jim, it’s a dicey thing discussing STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS without revealing major spoilers, referencing past films, or alluding to episodes of the original 1966-69 CBS television series (TOS in Trekkie vernacular), like “Space Seed” and “The Trouble With Tribbles.”    

Hell, it’s still hard for some of us old dudes to concede that Gen-Y doppelgangers of the Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock played so memorably (and for so long) by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy even exist. 

In the House (Opens in Cleveland on May 17th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre)

[IN THE HOUSE opens in Cleveland on Friday May 17th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

In his 2003 film SWIMMING POOL, filmmaker Francois Ozon explored the ways in which real life influences the creative process. IN THE HOUSE deals with similar territory, but this time Ozon factors in the role critics and an audience can play as their reactions affect the creator of a work in various ways. Beyond that, however, it's also a highly entertaining satire of middle class values and attitudes about art.

IN THE HOUSE (adapted from a play by Juan Mayorga) contains its themes within the story of a promising young student and the teacher who (sort of) takes him under his wing. Germain (Fabrice Luchini) works at a French school that has just become part of a pilot program whose boldest idea seems to be putting the students in uniforms. Germain's general attitude towards his pupils after the first day of class is summed up in a remark made to his wife, art gallery curator Jean (Kristin Scott Thomas), as he grades their papers: “Reactionary philosophers predict a barbarian invasion. They're already among us in our classrooms.”

Congratulations to our winner in the Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film giveaway contest

And the winner is... Mike Tetreault of Fairview Park. Thanks to everyone who entered, and we hope to keep doing more of these fun giveaways in the future.

Are you as tough as Steven Seagal?

[Press release/contest from DEADLY CROSSING.]

In conjunction with the Steven Seagal movie DEADLY CROSSING, which hit Redbox on May 14th, we’ve created the “Are You As Tough As Seagal?” To enter, submit a picture of yourself in your deadliest action pose at http://on.fb.me/15s0owt. Prizes include: A martial arts Aikidogi, Wooden Bokken, MMA Fight Gloves, DVD/Movie Poster Package, Hats, and T-shirts, all signed by the Aikido master himself!

DEADLY CROSSING is an adrenalin-fueled crime drama that follows Elijah Kane (Seagal), leader of a Special Investigation Unit, and his skilled four-member team as they track a network of drug dealers and killers led by Russian mastermind, Nikoli Putin (Gil Bellows), in the dangerous outskirts of Seattle.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (May 17th at the Cleveland Museum of Art)

[HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA screens Friday May 17th at 7:00 pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art.]

Review by Charles Cassady, Jr.

This movie is called HAPPY PEOPLE, huh? Must be about members of the Cleveland media and Seymour Avenue neighbors convinced that since they got on camera a few seconds with international news-crew coverage last week, they're famous and valued to the rest of the world now - so they can punch their ticket out of this town.

No, actually HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA is a documentary about a place where, not too long ago in Cold-War culture, the slanderous reputation was that it was a less desirable place to be sentenced than Cleveland: Siberia.

11 Flowers (May 18th and 19th at the Cleveland Cinematheque)

[11 FLOWERS screens Saturday May 18th at 9:20 pm and Sunday May 19th at 6:30 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Kids are pretty much the same the world over, remaining largely unaware of the adult world of politics and living by their own set of rules involving pinky swears and double dares. Eventually, though, they reach an age where they start to become more aware of the society and political system they live in. 11 FLOWERS is about Wang Han (Liu Wenqing) reaching that age, which for him is eleven. 

The start of Wang's awakening is symbolized by the white shirt he is given by his mother (Yan Ni) to go along with the responsibility of being named gym leader in his class. It's a shirt which he subsequently loses, or more accurately has taken from him, and the ramifications of that loss drive most of the narrative of the film.

The original Chinese title of 11 FLOWERS translates directly as “Me at 11”, making its semi-autobiographical nature more evident. The film is set in China during 1975, the last year of the Cultural Revolution when Wang Han and his friends are still mostly occupied with childish games. After seeing the body of a murder victim, however, their world becomes a little more serious.

Dream About Angels (May 18th at the Horror Hotel Weekend at the Hudson Clarion Hotel)

[Dream About Angels screens Saturday May 18th at 3:00 pm at the Horror Hotel Weekend at the Hudson Clarion Hotel.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Father Michael (Terry Jernigan), a priest who has lost his passion for the faith in the dark fantasy short Dream About Angels. What he does have a passion for is his pretty assistant Miss Smith (Diane Sokolowich). He doesn't act on that passion in the physical world, but in his dreams it's a different story. What's the harm, right? Well, the fact that this won “Best Horror Short” at the upcoming Horror Hotel convention in Hudson should be your tip-off that there's plenty of potential harm in store for the wavering preacher.

The acting and productions values are pretty good for a low budget indie of this sort. Only a scene in which Father Michael half-heartedly counsels a couple having marital problems comes off as gratingly amateurish, with the humor being played far too broadly. The real meat of the film is contained in Jernigan's performance as Father Michael, though, and he turns in a solid understated performance that benefits the film greatly. All in all a decent if not spectacular effort that feels a bit like the unlikely intersection of The Twilight Zone and a Jack Chick tract if Chick weren't so virulently anti-Catholic. 2 out of 4 stars.

For more info on the Horror Hotel convention, click here.

Docurama Premieres the Mouthwatering Documentary “The Fruit Hunters” at Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland on Thurs. May 16

[Press release from Docurama Films.]

 

Yung Chang directs and narrates this stunning exploration of nature’s sweetest bounty, which features acclaimed actor and community activist Bill Pullman (Independence Day, 1600 Penn)

Every screening begins with a 3-minute short film from GE FOCUS FORWARD and is followed by a pre-taped Q&A with Mr. Chang

CLEVELAND – A cinematic odyssey through nature and commerce, THE FRUIT HUNTERS will change not only the way we look at what we eat but how we view our relationship to the natural world.

In this film, “fruit detectives” from around the world search out exotic varietals and develop new ways to cultivate sustainable harvests, while movie star Bill Pullman’s fruit obsession leads him on a crusade to create a community orchard in the Hollywood Hills.

Horror Hotel Weekend rises in Hudson, May 17-19

[Event preview by Charles Cassady, Jr.]

Not long ago I wrote up a regional moviemaking project for one of the few print outlets I have left. Genteel folks indeed they were at this publisher. They had sent a separate news photographer to the rural horse-farm set to cover the digital shoot, and he reported back to the editors, aghast, saying that the whole movie was just "blood and boobs." The bewildered editors relayed that information back to me.

"Well of course it was," I more or less responded. "What else do you think local filmmaking in Ohio amounts to? It's almost always blood...and boobs...and Bigfoot!"

That's a great phrase, "Blood, Boobs and Bigfoot." I really should copyright it before someone else steals it for their own disquisition on Buckeye State cinema-arts culture.

Cinematheque to present two parallel comedy film series

 [Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Two comedy film series—one featuring the newly rediscovered work of French comic and clown Pierre Étaix, the other focusing on the two-reel silent shorts that Buster Keaton made before he turned to features—will unspool between May 31 and June 28 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, 11141 East Boulevard. “Pierre Étaix: The Lost Laugh,” consisting of eight films in five different programs, will run from May 31 through June 27, while “Buster Keaton’s Two-Reel Comedies,” featuring 19 shorts in five different programs, will run from May 31 through June 28.

Pierre Étaix (b. 1928) got his start in music halls and eventually landed a job as illustrator and gag writer for Jacques Tati. He was Assistant Director on Tati’s Oscar-winning 1958 comedy Mon Oncle, and a few years later won his own Oscar for a 1962 comedy short entitled Happy Anniversary that he starred in, co-wrote, and co-directed. The success of this movie and other shorts allowed him to move on to directing (and acting in) comedy features throughout the 1960s. Like the great Tati, Étaix made films that were mostly wordless (he loved silent cinema and the circus), though they often boasted memorable sound effects. His inventive pantomime, sophisticated slapstick, surreal gags, and gentle, put-upon persona prompted some to liken him to Buster Keaton.