« October 2005 | Main | December 2005 »

SAVE THE IOKA

Anybody got $1.3 million to spare ?
The IOKA Theater in downtown Exeter, NH is up for sale.
I hate to say it, but I never went there often enough. It was too far away from my home, and was often not showing movies I was interested in. But oh, the memories!

I saw TITANIC at the IOKA a few weeks after it opened. It was my second time seeing the movie.
I went with my friends, and joking gave the ending away to some people in line -
"THE BOAT SINKS!"

It was a sell out showing in the middle of January, as most showings of the movie were.
During intermission, I left my seat upstairs, and traded it with something downstairs.
The theater atmosphere is something only comparable to that of The Music Hall in Portsmouth.

Folks, I'm gonna be quick and blunt about this :
if the IOKA theater is not sold to someone who will save it from absolute closure, then the Seacoast will lose a screen legend. If I had the money, I'd buy the place, hire a bunch of ethusiastic film fans, and make it the greatest movie house in New Hampshire. I'd play the old classics - the new hits - and the forgotten gems. Although the IOKA is apart of Exeter and the history, I hope that it doesn't stay that way - it's a place that should be apart of every person in the seacoast area.

Please, don't let it fade away.

Posted by madamczyk at 12:01 AM | Comments (3)

Trailer Trash

When you or I go to the movies, we usually see this image -
okay, so not exactly like that, but you get the idea.
However, there is a science to the movie preview.
The movie preview is supposed to grab you. Make you want to see the movie.
Entice your sense. But does it always work ? Let's do some critique, shall we ?

Trailer : King Kong (trailer 7, as its called)
Director : Peter Jackson
In Release : December 14th
Starring : Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell
Link : Apple.com Trailer

Boom. First shot just gives you what you want. Kong. And the rest shows us this:
Jack Black being serious, Dinosaurs, Giant Bugs, and Kong in New York.

Will I See It ? : Yes. The first frame is convincing enough. Andy Serkis' work as Kong will be fascinating, as will the fact that this trailer isn't even three minutes long, and the film itself is three hours. Should be a blast.

Trailer : Rumor Has It
Director : Rob Reiner
In Release : December 25th
Starring : Jennifer Aniston, Shirley Maclaine, Kevin Costner, Mark Ruffalo
Link : Apple.com Trailer

The trailer starts out with Aniston's character propositioning sex in the airplane bathroom.. for what reason? It doesn't say. That goes nowhere. And then the rest of the trailer leads to the fact that her family is the basis for The Graduate. Hmm ? Why?

Will I See It? : No. The story seems pathetic and only serving the purpose to prey upon Aniston's character being 'weak'. Has Hollywood REALLY run out of ideas ? Even remakes ? Doesn't interest me one bit.

Trailer : Zathura
Director : Jon Favreau
In Release : November 11th
Starring : Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Tim Robbins, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart
Link : Apple.com Trailer

Dad is going away for the day, and big sis has to take care of them.
So the kids are bored with themselves, and decide to play a game called ZATHURA,
which turns out to be more than just a board game. From the mind of Chris Van Allsburg, the author of the book with the same name and Jumanji, Zathura is aimed for kids who can think beyond the realm of video games and tv.

Will I See It? : Well, I won't see it because I'm not the target audience. I'd probably rent it, but really, this does seem like a great family film for parents and kids - especially young boys with an open mind for fantasy, space, and imagination. Should serve the target audience well before Harry Potter comes out.

Trailer : Bee Season
Director : David Siegel
In Release : November 11th
Starring : Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Flora Cross
Link : Apple.com Trailer

A young prodigal speller. An overbearing father figure. Yep, it's a drama written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, who adapted the book by Myla Goldberg. And Bee Season hasn't got much bad or good buzz around it so far..

Will I See It? I don't know. If I had nothing to do and it was the only movie showing that I hadn't seen, probably. But those titles coming right at you, and the pretentious 'love connects us' stuff, AND the song played.. yeesh. It's a bit overdone. I think I'll wait a bit before I consider.

Posted by madamczyk at 03:10 PM | Comments (3)

Must See Dvd

I've seen a few fantastic movies that are now on DVD. So folks, you gotta see 'em!
These four films are tough, thought-provoking, excellent films - you shouldn't pass them up when you see them on the shelf at the video rental store. Be warned, these are all mature films. No kid stuff here.

MY SUMMER OF LOVE
Rated : R (for for sexuality, language and some drug use)
Studio : Focus Features
Country : UK
Tagline : "The most dangerous thing to want is more."
Cool Fact : Winner - BAFTA Best British Film - 2004

Holy seduction Batman! My Summer of Love is the story of Mona (Nathalie Press) and Tamsin (Emily Blunt). One hot summer, Mona meets the horse-riding Tamsin, and her entire season changes. Mona's brother Phil, played by Paddy Considine, has emerged from prison as a born-again, and as Mona's only family, she instantly bonds with Tamsin for her own sake. But what Mona doesn't know can't hurt her until she finds out the truth about Tam, Phil, and what the consequences are from her discoveries. Director Pawel Pawlikowski doesn't let it drag - this is a short, sweet, and dramatic tale of youthful desire.

-

OLDBOY
Rated : R (for strong violence including scenes of torture, sexuality and pervasive language)
Studio : Tartan Films
Country : South Korea
Tagline : "15 years forced in a cell, only 5 days given to seek revenge."
Cool Fact : Winner - Grand Jury Prize - Cannes Film Festival 2004

I'm not a big fan of revenge films - kill those who hurt, blah, blah, but OLDBOY takes the formula to an extreme. A korean businessman is unexplicably imprisoned in a cell for 15 years. Why ? He hasn't the slightest idea. And when he gets out, he naturally wants to get back at those who kept him. But the real kicker in Oldboy is the cause. The ending and execution is totally unique. Although the film has loads of seemingly shocking violence, I found the actual storyline to be more disturbing. If you want a smart, stylish, dark film, with lots of backstory and meaning, Oldboy is what you need to see ASAP.

-

MYSTERIOUS SKIN
Rated : Unrated (I'd say on par with a light NC-17)
Studio : Tartan Films
Country : USA
Quote : "The summer I was eight years old, five hours disappeared from my life. Five hours, lost, gone without a trace..."
Cool Fact : According to Rottentomatoes.com, the film is 82% fresh with critics (90% users), and has an imdb.com score of 8.2/10 as well.

I'm gonna say this : Gregg Araki is a horrible filmmaker. But thankfully, Mysterious Skin is a wonderful, troubling, and sad film that should be seen. The film stars Joseph-Gordon Leavitt as Neil, a teenage hustler still yearning for the love he had as a child, and Brady Corbet as Brian, the straight-laced boy with big glasses who believes he was abducted by aliens when he was younger. Fate works its way into the story, soon which makes Brian and Neil find that they are connected in ways both emotionally complex, and disturbingly real. Adapted from the book by Scott Heim, Mysterious Skin is a film that dares to be honest with the material, helping the characters to understand themselves by searching and facing the truth of their lives.

-

KONTROLL
Rated : R (for language, some violence and brief sexuality)
Studio : ThinkFilm
Country : Hungary
Tagline : "There's No Such Thing As A Free Ride."
Cool Fact : Shown in 2004, Kontroll is the first hungarian film on the Cannes Film Festival in the past 20 years.

Shot in the Budapest Metro, Kontroll is a fast-paced adventure of the underbelly of the underground. There's a killer lurking the system, and a group of the system's ticket inspectors need to find out who's doing so before more victims are found. Part thriller, comedy, action, and with a slight mystical love story, Kontroll can be summed up as a 'techno-thrill ride'...with some underlying parts of philosophy. But this won't go over your head, old or young - Kontroll is a definite good time.

Posted by madamczyk at 08:23 PM | Comments (1)

Shopgirl

Now Playing at the Regal Cinemas 12 in Newington!

When I write reviews for movies, it's generally easy to as WHY I like a film -
but with the screen adaptation of the Steve Martin Novella Shopgirl, I'm absolutely not sure how to explain it to you. This isn't a big review of all the quirks and faults of this movie - I can't really say it had any that I can recall.

Okay, so I liked the movie. Loved it even. But why ? Let's examine the facts.

First, the acting. Claire Danes is shy, graceful and honest as Mirabelle Buttersfield, the lovely girl at the Saks' glove counter. It's pretty much her best role to date. Jason Schwartzman is fantastic as well, as the 'Nice Guy' Jeremy, while Steve Martin plays another 'Nice Guy' named Ray - the difference? Martin's 'Nice Guy' has money.

Second, the story. Very simplistic, easy viewing ... but there's a subtle depth to every scene. I find that the contained moments lingered. The cinematography lets you look at things ... although this movie isn't based upon visuals, it could easily be interpreted that way.

Third, the score. A movie about a woman chosing between men having a big, lush score ? Really. It works wonders against the visuals and the adorable characters. Barrington Pheloung isn't a composer I've heard of before, but I will look for his work again.

So I guess looking at these steps, it's now easy to see why I liked this movie, even though I didn't think of it as being much before, and during it. But it sets in. You realize everything afterwards, and the thoughts of what you have seen and experienced is magical. The film is about Mirabelle. This is her movie and it's her life. The fact that these two men have come into her life is a blessing, even though she cannot have both. Shopgirl is a beautiful, bittersweet love note to relationships, friendships, emotions, and self.

images = rottentomatoes.com -- SHOPGIRL is rated R and should be hitting the seacoast soon ...

Posted by madamczyk at 07:10 PM | Comments (3)