Footcandle Film Society is pleased to announce our September screening of Nicole Holofcener's indie film "Please Give".  We'll start the meeting at 7pm and will hold a discussion immediately following the screening.  Hope you can join us!

About the film:

Manhattan couple Alex (Oliver Platt) and Kate (Catherine Keener) develop a relationship with the granddaughters of the cantankerous elderly woman who owns the apartment next to theirs -- and who must die so they can expand their home. The all-star cast includes Amanda Peet, Rebecca Hall and Lois Smith in this indie feature from writer-director Nicole Holofcener.

Growing weary of the summer blockbusters at the multiplex?  Never fear "Micmacs" is here!  Yes it's the latest film from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Amelie", "A Very Long Engagement", "Alien Resurrection") and we've heard it is a visual feast for the eyes.  Come out and join us August 12th at 7pm in the upstairs auditorium of the Carolina Theater in downtown Hickory, NC.  Stick around afterwards if you like for a great discussion.

About the film:

French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet takes a satirical look at the global arms trade with this foreign-language comedy starring Dany Boon as Bazil, who rallies his friends to take down weapons manufacturers responsible for his father's death.

In the trailer for Christopher Nolan's lastest opus "Inception" a question is asked - "What's the most resilient parasite?"  An answer is also given - "An idea".  Various scenes flash before your eyes and you are left pretty much befuddled with the notion that the film will touch on dreams.  I was excited to see what the director of "The Dark Knight" was going to do for a follow up.  I avoided all reviews and any notion of spoilers.  I was rewarded for my effort.  I will do my best to keep this review spoiler free so that you too may enjoy this piece of cinema as I did.

The premise of the film is centered on dreams and ideas and their importance to people and what they reveal about individuals.  Mr. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a lead idea stealer who is charged with a task to plant an idea as opposed to stealing one.  He assembles a team and down the rabbit hole we go into a mind bending masterpiece.

There are so many things I love about this film - the cinematography, casting, acting (I was actually not annoyed by Ellen Page which really surprised me), score, effects - I could go on and on.  If I had to assign one negative aspect I would say the third act dragged just a tad - I'd pinpoint where but I don't want to ruin anything.

I hope Nolan who wrote, directed and produced this parasite, I mean film, doesn't run out of ideas anytime soon.

We are pleased to announce our screening of the independent documentary "Racing Dreams" by Marshall Curry (director of the Academy Award nominated 2005 documentary "Street Fight").  Due to the July 4th holiday week, we are delaying our next screening until the 15th of July.  It will still be at the Carolina Theater in downtown Hickory and will start at 7p.m.  Come out and join us!

A few words about the film:

This film follows three young racers as they compete in the World Karting Association's National Pavement Series.  Clocking speeds of up to 70 mph, these young drivers chase the National Championship title and take one step closer toward their dream of someday racing in the big show...NASCAR.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me that I finally caught up with Terry Gilliam's latest effort - "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus".  Gilliam's last film, "Tideland", was flawed and didn't give me much hope that Gilliam would still be able to produce a film that elicited the feelings of awe that his previous works had ("The Fisher King", "Brazil", "12 Monkeys", etc.)

Despite the untimely death of one of his lead actors (Heath Ledger) Gilliam was able to proceed and still produce a marvelous movie.  The disc I rented didn't have a commentary by Gilliam on the film and I would have liked much more detail on how the film was made once this tragedy occurred.  But I guess I'll have to wait for the Criterion release.

The film tells the story of Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who is a traveling vaudevillian performer that has made a deal with the devil (Tom Waits) that unfortunately involves the soul of his daughter being given to him once she turns 16.   The film opens on the eve of his daughter's birthday and Parnassus is despondent.  Mr. Nick, aka the devil, decides to give Parnassus a last chance to try and save his daughter and they make a bet on who can win over five souls first.  What follows is a tale that never falters from lack of imagination.

Some of the second and third act of the film seem pieced together from what they were able to do complete after Ledger's death (for example the character of Ledger is at times played by Colin Ferrell, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law).  This likely explains its' lack of cohesion as it tends to get tedious.  Still the film is infinitely watchable and I hope more folks check it out.

Added bonus - Verne Troyer of Mini-Me fame has a supporting role and is actually quite good.  Never did I think I'd see a former cast member of The Surreal Life do something worthwhile again.

I recently went to a screening of Matthew Vaughn's (Layer Cake, Stardust) latest film "Kickass". (Okay...it was in May..and I'm lazy and just now getting around to writing the review.   Sorry.)  I was somewhat surprised that the film was only showing in a small theater close to my house instead of the customary multiplex nestled close to the local mall.  I knew going in that the film was based on a comic book, but I hadn't read it.  I was also privy to a basic plot line of average nerd boy decides to become a masked superhero to fight the very bullies that have harassed him.  Intrigued by this very idea, I was interested to see the film.

Now having seen the film I can guess why it didn't play to general audiences.  It is very violent and has a young girl spouting obscenities that would make frat boys gasp.  The main problem I have with this film is that it seemed to rely too heavily on the the gritty violence and cursing for entertainment value and not enough storytelling.  Turning the superhero genre on its' ear by presenting an average guy who wants to do good deeds but when confronting criminals actually gets beaten within an inch of his life is an interesting premise but isn't explored enough.  I am left to wonder what would have happened if someone like Tarantino (a director known for genre bending) had been able to work his magic on this merely average film.

We are pleased to announce our screening of the award winning foreign film "The White Ribbon", June 10th at 7pm in the upstairs auditorium of the Carolina Theater.  Hope to see you there.  Be advised this film is rated R and contains adult content and scenes of violence.

Brief Synopsis:

At a rural school in northern Germany in 1913, a form of ritual punishment has major consequences for students and faculty. But the practice may have bigger repercussions on the German school system -- and maybe even on the growth of fascism. Celebrated Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke helms this Oscar nominated and Golden Globe-winning, sumptuously photographed black-and-white drama that stars Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Tukur and Theo Trebs.

Footcandle film society will be screening the Oscar nominated "The Last Station", May 13th at 7pm in the upstairs auditorium of the Carolina Theater.  Hope to see you there.

A little about the film:

Set during the last years of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy’s life, this Oscar nominated film explores the relationship between Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his wife (Helen Mirren), as he embraces a life of asceticism.

A friend of Footcandle has decided to do some Spring Cleaning, and as a result, sell his collection of movie posters.  For the reasonable price of $2 you can be the proud owner of a theaterical poster of over a hundred different titles.  "American Gangster", "Doubt", "The Kite Runner", "Aviator", "The Inside Man", "Cape Fear", and "A League of Their Own" are just a few that are available.  For a more detailed list contact csepulveda@sciconsulting.net

"Brothers" is a film from 2009 that came and went from multiplexes without much fanfare to my knowledge.  While in the theater during the Christmas holiday, I believe to see "Up In The Air", I saw a preview for the film.  It looked horrible.  From what I could tell the plot seemed to be a traumatized war veteran returns home to find his wife romancing his brother.

I finally had a chance to catch up with the film this weekend and  was pleasantly surprised.  First off the performances from the leads (Maguire, Gyllenhaal, and Portman) where top notch.  I think it is actually some of the best acting I have seen the three of them do.  Director Jim Sheridan takes what could have been a train wreck of a film and made a thought provoking film that examines war's affect on families.  Without giving too much away I will say that I definitely recommend the film.  It was a pleasant surprise to see a film that dealt with the subject matter that wasn't so heavy handed.  All too often it seems that when war is depicted it is done so in a ham-fisted or moralizing manner.  I admire the way Sheridan and these actors just put the story on the screen and let the audience draw their on conclusions.  While 2009's "The Hurt Locker" got all the acclaim and awards I can't help but wonder how well "Brothers" might have done if not for that ridiculous preview.  - cf