Never be lulled into thinking that a stylist has nothing to say. Jonathan Glazer has made three films all heralded for their style, but he uses those visual gifts for more than just figuring out the coolest camera angles. His debut, “Sexy Beast,” began as a late middle aged take on the British crime film, the camera gliding over Ray Winstone’s baking flesh, but became a strange and sad portrait of middle-aged reckoning.
Sean Weitner saw “Dom Hemingway” at the Wisconsin Film Festival, and it’s already back in town for an engagement at Sundance Cinemas. Here’s his review:
Are we far enough past the mid-’90s scourge of having every grim, violent, often dull moviemaker being hailed as “the next Tarantino” for me to pay that compliment to Richard Shepard? The label is an oversell, but Shepard picks up the best part of Tarantino-ism: Polishing and electrifying his personal cinema history to make one from the heart that pinballs through a playfield of references.
I’m going to try something different here. Regular readers of the blog will know I usually post a “What’s Playing” column on Friday mornings, running down all the movies that will play in Madison in the next week. Extremely regular readers will also know that I haven’t done a “What’s Playing” column in the last few weeks.
One more from last week’s Wisconsin Film Festival, as Sean Weitner writes about the Italian crime thriller “Salvo”:
The most common cause of disappointment at the movies is that the filmmakers’ reach exceeds their grasp. Could have been great if they knew what to do with their cast, if their story was as clever as they wanted it to be, if they had found a novel way to build a scene or shot instead of sticking with the tried-and-true.
Not so with “Salvo,” from directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza. Their grasp is enormous, and are due the same compliment that was extended to the Coens, the Wachowskis, Lawrence Kasdan, Wes Anderson and many others: For their debut feature, they have made a low-budget crime film that demonstrates a tremendous amount of cinematic thinking.
Billy, do you like movies about gladiators? If so, you’re in luck, as Sundance Cinemas’ next round of Sundance Classics features more swords, Romans, and sun-baked flesh than you could shake a pointed stick at.
It all begins next Wednesday with “The Ten Commandments,” Cecil B. DeMille’s bigger-than-life 1956 Biblical epic with Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, and Edward G. Robinson. Screenings are at 1:15 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Then we really hit the coliseum for some bread and circuses:
April 30 — “Gladiator” — Russell Crowe oils up and practices his patented scissor cut in this 2000 Ridley Scott Oscar winner.
May 7 — “Ben-Hur” — Heston’s back as a Jewish prince framed for murder and sold into slavery, who claws his way back for revenge with the help of one mother of a chariot race.
May 14 — “Spartacus” — Kirk Douglas is the rebellious slave turned master gladiator in Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 epic, which of course has been turned into a Starz original series.
All kidding aside, these four films are epics in every sense of the word, and should be pretty awesome to watch on the big screen.
Pick of the week: “Short Term 12“ — My full review is here. Writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton drew from his own experiences working in a group home for troubled youth to make this wonderful film, shot through with humor, insight and honesty. The film doesn’t romanticize or trivialize the huge obstacles that some teens have to overcome, but shows that it can happen with a patient, constant application of love from others.
“And the Oscar Goes To . . . ” screens Wednesday at Eastgate and Sundance Cinemas. Not rated, 1:35, two and a half stars out of four.
You know those movie montages that seem to be included in every Academy Award ceremony, those scattershot “We love movies!” clip collections that never seem to have any theme or coherence to them? (The “hero” montage from last month’s Oscars, which shoehorned everyone from Iron Man to Atticus Finch, comes to mind.)
“Cheap Thrills” has a free screening in Madison at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 13 at the Union South Marquee Theatre, 1308 W. Dayton St. Director E.L. Katz and actor Pat Healy will be in attendance. R, 1:25, three and a half stars out of four. This review is based on a report I wrote from the 2013 Wisconsin Film Festival.
“Cheap Thrills” is, first and foremost, a hell of a lot of fun, a raucous pressure cooker that dishes out laughs and shrieks with equal measure. I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to movies like this, but I walked out of a screening feeling like I had just put my tongue on a 9-volt battery. In a good way.
“The Lunchbox” is now playing at Sundance Cinemas. PG, 1:45, three and a half stars out of four.
First of all, I want one of those lunchboxes. Instead of the suitcase-style boxes that Americans are used to, the Indian characters in “The Lunchbox” use an ingenious contraption made up of stacking cylinders, so you can put your vegetables in one cylinder, the rice in a second and the sauce in a third.
“Rob the Mob” is now playing at Sundance Cinemas. R, 1;44, three stars out of four.
From the outside, “Rob the Mob” looks like it’ll be a gritty slice of gangster life. But when you see it’s directed by Raymond De Fellitta, who made some ingratiating Italian-American comedy-dramas in “City Island” and “Two Family House,” you suspect that beneath the gunplay and fuhgettaboutits beats a sentimental heart. The f-bombs are hurled, but lovingly.
Madison Movie 