Dallas Movie Screening

Dallas Movie Screenings started out as a mailing list on Yahoo Groups to facilitate finding free screening passes in the DFW area. When Yahoo Groups shut down, we are now posting screenings on our Facebook page at http://www..facebook.com/groups/dallasmoviescreenings
Earlier Reesa's Reviews can also be found at:http://www.moviegeekfeed.com

Logo art by Steve Cruz http://www.mfagallery.com

Website and Group Contact: dalscreenings@gmail.com

Friday, August 30, 2013

Blue Jasmine




Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine is that rare film achievement that radiates with intelligence and artistry. It begins typically with the Woodman’s simple credits and a jazzy score but immediately drops the familiarity of his wise cracks and comedic situations. Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of a terribly sad and lost woman becomes front and center in what is both fascinating and tragic. At the age of 77, writer/director Allen unravels a tale in brilliant fashion. He still stands tall as a great American filmmaker.

There’s some humor to be found, but it almost a nervous humor because you can see how absurd behavior is going to lead to a terrible outcome. It’s like watching a pretty, sleek car – Blanchett’s Jasmine – about to have a wreck but you can’t take your eyes off it. Blue Jasmine has a beautiful look as it glides between San Francisco in the present and New York City in flashbacks, with cinematographer’s Javier Aguirresarobe brilliant work never distracting from the story.

The tale is familiar – it’s a Bernie Madoff-like story of financial skullduggery. For theater buffs, it could be a knock-off of the classic play A Streetcar Named Desire with its situation of a mad woman seeking refuge at her sister’s home. There are two Stanley Kowalski-like characters to match Blanchet’s Blanche Dubois. But that resemblance to Tennessee Williams’ classic is just a jumping off point for Allen’s excellent original script. Streetcar was a black-and-white nightmare – this is colorful and something audiences can really relate to.

And like Streetcar, Blue Jasmine may gain legendary status for its brilliant acting. Cate Blanchett has long been a great screen presence – here, she outdoes every brilliant role she’s done before. She’s in her elegant mode but fearless in showing the character’s warts. Great acting doesn’t need an Oscar, but the Academy may be hard pressed to find anything better than this. Sally Hawkins also deserves kudos as the sister Ginger. In fact, every performance shines. Seeing Andrew Dice Clay knock off the wonderfully etched character of Augie is great. And Alec Baldwin is perfect in his non-showy, important role.

Being a die-hard Woody Allen fan, I’ve seen this film three times now and have never been bored. For those out there who are not fans of this filmmaker, they many find Blue Jasmine to be the least typical of his work, besides a brilliant portrait of our times. Jasmine is a hopeless character but the great artists involved here make us care.
(Review by David Bacon)



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One Direction: This is Us




This movie the director Morgan Spurlock, presents the history and the life about five completely different individuals that were competing against each other in the Program “The X Factor”. These five boys were discovered by Simon Cowell in the U.K.’s 2010 X Factor competition. Simon wants to take a chance to integrate these 5 young kids and create a musical group. All of them have one thing in common love music and like to perform and each has a great voice. No one of them win in the completion.

One Direction This is us, is about the lives of the English-Irish pop group and their performances around the world; how Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson as they travel the globe on their biggest tour to the date.

The movie ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US is a captivating and intimate all-access look at life on the road for the global music phenomenon. Weaved with stunning live concert footage, this inspiring feature film tells the remarkable story of Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis' meteoric rise to fame, from their humble hometown beginnings and competing on the X-Factor, to conquering the world and performing at London’s famed O2 Arena. Hear it from the boys themselves and see through their own eyes what it's really like to be One Direction
The band quickly gained a lot of fans who identify with them, because different factors, could be age, music the lyrics of the songs or they just like one of these 5 young boys. The band become very popular specially in the feminine area.

The band gained a lot of loyal fans, at the same time is following to become one of the competition's all-time most popular acts, finishing in the final three and garnering a gigantic and loyal fan base along the way.

In March 2012, One Direction's debut album, "Up All Night," made U.S. history, as it was the first time a U.K. group's debut album entered the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at No. 1. The band has sold over 13 million records worldwide. In November 2012, One Direction released their sophomore album, "Take Me Home," which includes the hit "Live While We're Young." 

The Director of this film will make very happy the fans of One Direction, because he presents in a 3D so all the fans will feel so close to the band, so fans can have a close view of the life of group during Tour, a few hours to sleep, taking a plane to one city to another one, rehearsal before a live concert so fans will have a better understanding of the musical group.
Thanks to the creator of this movie, Morgan Spurlock understanding of 1D’s female fan-base there’s definitely only One Direction the boybands film is heading and that’s straight to the top of the box-office charts.
(Review by Diana Downing)





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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Austenland



Shannon Hale's 2007 novel Austenland was one of those perfect summer books to enjoy on vacation has been adapted to the big screen by the writer of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre Jerusha Hell who also directed the film. What seems like another chic lit lite movie turns out to be a laugh out loud enjoyable romp for even the guys who will be dragged to the theaters.

Jane Hayes (Keri Russell) is a Jane Austen nerd. She is the equivalent of a Star Wars/sci-fi geek only with tea cups, frilly dollies, I heart Darcy signs and even a life size cardboard cut out of Colin Firth as Mr. Fizwilliam Darcy. It's no wonder she can't get a date. She takes her life savings and indulges in a vacation at the Austenland resort where clients are offered full immersion in the Regency Era England while living out the life of a Jane Austen heroine. There's different levels of program packages and unfortunately her basic level doesn't include the fancy dresses or the stately bedrooms. She gets the plain dowdy gowns and a room in the servant wings. She is assigned the name of Miss Erstwhile, an orphan who has come to stay at the beautifully appointed mansion in the British countryside. Other guest include Jennifer Coolidge as Miss Charming who has no clue about Jane Austen but wanted to come for the costumes and promise of romance. Georgia King is a returning client, Lady Amelia Heartwright who is married in her real life to an old guy. The affairs are run by Mrs. Wattlesbrook (Jane Seymour) who manages the actors and the scenarios so that everyone can enjoy the life in the novels.

Jane gets cozy with Martin (Bret McKenzie) the driver and stable hand who seems sympathetic and “in” on the joke of the whole concept. He's like a breathing room from the uptight attitudes and ridiculousness of the pretending not to notice that everyone is acting a part. James Callis is amusing at Colonel Andrews who centers his attention on the rich Miss Charming. Jane butts head with Mr. Henry Nobley (JJ Feild) the handsome Darcy type of character in the setup. As usual Jennifer Coolidge steals all the scenes as the rude, loud and wantonly sexual Miss Charming. And Georgia King is bouncy and delightfully daffy. The scenes are filled with oddness and some bad shtick. Soon like Jane we are also beginning to hope for some sense and sensibility. But put away your pride and prejudice and just enjoy an end of summer romance.
(Review by reesa)





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Closed Circuit



From the previews of the film it seems that the ever present CCTV cameras that capture everything and everyone at any given time in the big cities would either fill one with dread or reassure that if badness occurs then righteousness will prevail. The movie opens with a multi-viewed look at a marketplace in London. Snippets of conversations from various angles and locations are suddenly interrupted by a terrorist explosion. Director John Crowley (Boy A) and writer Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) follow two barristers (lawyers) who are assigned to defend the main suspect in a “trial of the century” that must be held in behind closed locked doors to protect national security.

Eric Bana as Martin Rose is given the case after the original lawyer committed suicide. Claudia Simmons-Howe (Rebecca Hall) is the special advocate who is also defending, but is not allowed to work along with Martin due to the secretive nature of the case. Both of them hide their previous close personal relationship which of course could taint the whole proceedings. The story follows each of them as they uncover the various truths about the suspect and his family. Everyone involved seems slightly shifty as the lawyers are highly suspicious that they are being watched and tailed. Their mentors, CiarĂ¡n Hinds and Jim Broadbent, seem to be offering conflicting advise. The tech Nazurl (Riz Ahmed) in charge of the secret testimony is tagged by Claudia as a MI-5 agent. With no one to trust they decide to only trust each other.

It doesn't take them long to figure out that the truth they are trying to uncover is putting them in danger. They are forced in the corner to either let it go and give the secret trial the suspect to hang, or they have to stick with their own basic concept of fairness and justice. There's no car chases, but there is plenty of tense moments as the chess pieces are moved around as they try and get the terrorist's son Emir (Hasancan Cifci) to the court in time.

This is mostly an underplayed movie. There are lots of interesting details of English law that differ from what Americans know of a trial court from television procedurals. The performances are very well done with tightly wound Narzurl, the smarmy Attorney General, and Julia Stiles shows up as a reporter that gives exposition on what the heck is going on, before unceremoniously leaving the story. It's a well paced film, but the ending sort of just happens then really nothing afterwards. It would have probably have worked better as a BBC series.
(Review by reesa)



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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Movies scheduled 8/25-8/31

Wow we really don’t have a lot of movies this week. Time to catch up on the ones we missed.

I know I have said this a lot and don’t want to sound like a broken record. Please respond to the person and not the group when asking for the passes that are being offered. I try to be nice and reply saying to reply to them but sometimes there are so many I just end up deleting them. You can either hit reply to sender under the text of the email or you can copy their email and put it in the to tab.

As always you can email me any questions you have damitdaina@hotmail.com.

See you at the movies


Aug. 25th
Sunday

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) 7pm Kimball Art Museum



Aug. 26th
Monday



Aug. 27th
Tuesday

The Getaway 7:30 pm Northpark
Closed Circuit 7:30 pm Angelika Dallas
Afternoon Delight 7:30 pm Magnolia



Aug. 28th
Wednesday



Aug. 29th
Thursday



Aug. 30th
Friday



Aug. 31st
Saturday


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Friday, August 23, 2013

Ain't Them Bodies Saints



Texas writer/director David Lowery premiered his film St. Nick's won the 2009 Grand Jury Prize –Texas | MPS Studios Texas Filmmaker Award at AFI Dallas. He's back presenting a bigger film with a bigger cast that won the Special Jury Prize: Cinematography at the 2013 Sundance Film festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It's a slow, atmospheric look at a doomed relationship of a Bonnie and Clyde type couple that meanders through their unhappy lives.

Casey Affleck plays Bob Muldoon, a notorious and not so smart outlaw who gets in a shoot out with the police after a job gone wrong. His accomplice wife Ruth (Rooney Mara) shoots a cop, but Bob takes the fall to protect her and their soon to be born child. After a few years in prison and writing letters everyday he begins to obsess about getting back to seeing his child he never met and reuniting with his true love. After 4 years he manges to escape and walk to Meridian, TX where Ruth is living with his baby girl. She has managed to keep her life together with the help of the town boss, Skerritt (David Carradine) who gives her a house next door to him. The local cop Patrick (Ben Foster) doesn't realize that it was Ruth who actually shot him on that fateful day and is attracted to her and the little girl.

As the object of attention from the three main male character, Rooney manages to remain complicated, strong, and straight forward. The delusional Bob hanging on to the memory of their love, and the dream of their family sets him on a course that could only come to no good. Skerritt's role is somewhat confusing as to his relationship with Ruth and Bob being a sort of parental figure to the orphans. Patrick is the quiet presence in Ruth's life, offering stability, and father figure for her daughter.

The pacing in the film often crawls as there's lots of empty space in the scenes. It's truly lovely to look at painted with it's dark earthy palette of what one would expect of a small Texas town. The tension builds with promise as Ruth must confront her husband with her new life. However, the climatic ending sort of whispers in the end instead of loud crash. The movie pays homage to the 70's movie melodramas with is sparse, terse, and minimalist dialogue. The acting is outstanding especially Rooney Mara who speaks with her eyes and body language. It's not a film for everyone and the slowness will test one's patience.
(Review by reesa)



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Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Grandmaster





Between the time Wong Kar Wei announced plans for making a biopic about Bruce Lee’s martial-arts master, Yip Man, and the time The Grandmaster actually hit theaters, at least three other films about him made it to movie screens. And even if Wong seems to be approaching Stanley Kubrick in terms of meticulousness and output — The Grandmaster’s shooting schedule alone consumed three years, the editing a full year — in this case (unlike as with Wong’s 2046), the results are worth the wait.

The Grandmaster finds Wong returning to his familiar theme of the elusiveness of happiness, only this time in the context of an epic of mid-20th-century Chinese history. It’s like a combination of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (that film’s Ennio Morricone soundtrack is sampled extensively) and Wong’s previous In the Mood for Love, only with lots of exquisitely staged martial-arts encounters. So what’s not to like?

The story concerns the unification of the Northern and Southern Chinese schools of martial arts. The modest Southern school champion, Yip (Tony Leung) defeats the respected, retiring and previously undefeated Northern grandmaster (Wang Qinchiang), in a match in which no blows are exchanged, only to lose to his daughter (Ziyi Zhang), in a contest that is as much courting ritual as combat. They plan a rematch, but then World War II happens, and plans are shattered, lives ruined, and several characters die.

The bittersweet final third of the film finds the surviving characters, who have all fled to the relative safety of Hong Kong, coming to grips with their diminished circumstances, with only Yip seeming to achieve some measure of solace by assuming the role of a living repository of Chinese martial-arts (and by extension, Chinese culture). Unlike most martial-arts movies, there’s no movie-ending cathartic defeat of the main bad guy (that occurs about a half-hour before the movie ends and doesn’t even involve Yip), but it’s not like Wong has followed traditional plot structures in his previous films, either.

But Wong retains his ability to infuse the most mundane of images — a coat button, the striking of a match, the turn of a hand in martial-arts fight — with resounding meaning. And although Wong no longer works with cinematographer Chris Doyle, he seems to have found a suitable replacement in Philippe Le Sourd, as The Grandmaster is the most beautiful-looking film since the last Wong-Doyle collaboration, In the Mood for Love, with a nighttime martial-arts duel on a snowy train platform being the high point.

At his best, Wong is pretty much without peer among active film directors, and with The Grandmaster, Wong is again at his best. More to the point, it’s a film that needs to be seen on a big screen to fully appreciate its beauty. And you don’t even have to wear 3-D specs to do so.
(Review by Scott Bowles)


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The Spectacular Now and The Way, Way Back




“Coming of Age” films have been around for a long time and it seems there’s been a glut of this genre of late. Thankfully two such summer releases – The Spectacular Now and The Way, Way Back - are worth seeing. Similar, yet uniquely different, they both deliver good messages, winning performances and are often flat out hilarious.

The Spectacular Now seems to suggest a theme of living in the now. The first half led me to believe the spectacular now was just being young. Its hero is full of swaggering charm and played winningly by Miles Teller. He has a familiarity – the guy in high school who wasn’t a good-looking jock or an A-student but possessed just enough “smarts” to convince you he was a winner. The scenes of his courtship with an unlikely girl (engagingly played by Shailene Woodley of The Descendants fame) are poignant and reflect a respect for its characters. There’s also a genuine feel for the joys of youth.

This budding romance triggers growth, opening up new doors to take them beyond youth into the hard realities of adulthood. There’s a lot of underage drinking going on, but I’m so glad the film didn’t go into some AA rant – the message is subtle. There’s a definite indication of just how our hero might wind up in the scenes with his long lost father. But the filmmakers want to concentrate on hope and possible redemption. Director James Pousoldt keeps the focus tight. The script is by James Pousoldt and Michael H. Weber, the fellows who brought us the entertaining (500) Days of Summer.

The young hero of The Way, Way Back - younger and without confidence – is surrounded by horrible examples of adulthood. Played by Liam James, Duncan is also suffering from the angst of a possible step-father. Steve Carell plays this villain without a glitch. Duncan finds an alternate father figure with a summer job – a job that allows him to grow in character, breaking the shell of slackerdom and inertia. As his new boss and mentor, Sam Rockwell is hilarious as his spins his nutty but useful wisdom. In fact, the whole cast shines, from Allison Janney’s jokey divorcee to Toni Collette’s flip side of a divorced mother.

The Way, Way Back warmly moves between its humor and the pathos of kids with divorced parents. It’s directors, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, also appear in the film in supporting roles. Their characters are funny and out for a good time, something that - despite some heavy themes - The Way, Way Back manages to provide marvelously.
(Review by David Bacon)



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In A World




In a World … spotlights the charming talents of Lake Bell. As the film’s writer, director and star, Ms. Bell succeeds with delivering a funny, upbeat movie.

Who knew the world of Hollywood voice-overs could make such a good subject for a romantic comedy? It’s presented as a cut-throat world of sexism and opportunism, played for laughs but also with insight and hopefulness. There’s romance involved, but In a World also plays out like a dysfunctional family comedy but with more genuine feelings than we’re used to these days.

Lake plays Carol, a struggling actress who’s trying to find her niche doing voice-overs for films, movie trailers and commercials. She must deal with a domineering father (played perfectly by Fred Melamed) who’s in the same field and winds up competing with him for a prized job. It’s not hard to root for Carol because her basic goodness and steely sense of humor wins one over. Lake Bell is an engaging presence on the screen. Her character also tries to patch up her sister’s troubled marriage. At first, this seemed like simple fodder, but then she uses her tool of trade – a tape recorder – to bring the romance back into their lives. This detail demonstrates what a good script Lake has written.

Carol also provides vocal coaching, enabling other women to find their voice. Eva Longoria makes a cute cameo as herself, getting coaching from Carol for a particular accent in what is a droll episode. In a World …. is full of such scenes, all well-acted by its cast. As a director pulling all the elements together so nicely, Lake Bell proves she can put her vision up on the screen for audiences to enjoy.
(Review by David Bacon)


In a World Round Table Interview with Lake Bell





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You're Next



Don't go into this movie expecting a horror movie trying to be serious because you will be disappointed but if you expect a fun, cheesy B horror movie you are in for a treat. You're Next is a movie in the same ballpark as "Scream" where it's not a spoof movie but a horror comedy on a specific type of horror film and in this case home invasion movies. At first I thought it was going to be another horror movie trying to hard but once events started to happen I knew right away it was a "Scream" like film. Director Adam Wingard does bring a fun ride and does with what he can with a script that has cheesy dialogue but it's still not my favorite. The acting is average at best and some of the acting wasn't very good. The cinematography is that of shaky cam where the camera shakes uncontrollably during an intense. I am all for shaky cam but not when it looks like your cameraman is experiencing a earthquake. The film is edited fine to keep your attention and the special effects (blood and gore) is well done and when it happens they don't hold back. Overall it was a fun, gory movie but it wasn't the best. That goes to "Evil Dead". If you want a serious horror movie you will be disappointed. If you want a fun cheesy horror this will seem like a masterpiece to you. 7/10

On a side note, I have seen a lot of comedies this year, and besides "This is the End", this movie was the second highest in laughter from an audience.
(Review by Chase Lee)





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Jobs




“Jobs,” a bio film about Apple computer founder Steve Jobs, begins with Aston Kutcher as an older Jobs addressing his Apple makers about his latest invention, some super-cool gadget that can store over a thousand of one’s favorite songs. He stands in an auditorium on a stage with the Apple logo towering behind him. Immediately, this film looks like a commercial for Apple and for the next two hours, it never seems to rise above this infomercial format. Considering the obvious talent on board and the extent of research involved (real locations were used), it’s a shame this couldn’t be a more exciting movie.

Some biography plot points are in place but Steve Jobs’ life here is as streamed-down as the Apple computer itself, just a slick monitor with everything neatly packed away. And the customers are supposed to be in awe of this genius. To me, this Steve Jobs became increasingly boring – all hardware with the pretense of a soul. But he sure looks cute as personified by Aston Kutcher.

I can imagine Kutcher is better suited for comedies. He seems to have the chops to play driven characters, but the script here is as thin as his body or the size of an Apple monitor. Typically, the film flashes back to young Jobs in college – barefoot, too-brainy for classes, an LSD user and regular ladies’ man. Like the machine, he has flaws, but don’t expect to ever understand them. Because he’s presented as such a genius-saint, no explanations are necessary. This becomes frustrating to the viewer would might know nothing about Jobs.

I can’t imagine that “Jobs” would appeal to many – unless one finds bloated, heated discussions about font size interesting. The film is sort of like one long motivational creed to creativity – without really being creative. At the end, there’s a testimonial to all the fun and trouble-making characters who helped Jobs create this corporation, but I didn’t remember seeing any of this. My mind floated back in time to seeing The Social Network which was invigorating and bothered to have original music.

This film doesn’t even bother to show how this “revolution” really affected the world after portending that it did. It’s just a glossy scan of this real person’s life. As is the case for many biographies, I prefer a decent documentary.
(Review by David Bacon)


JOBS Round Table
with Joshua Michael Stern and Josh Gad





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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Movies scheduled Aug. 18th - Aug. 24th

I want to thank y’all for being so understanding. I have been working some overtime lately and sure it may not be that bad but working 58 hours over night in a week is a lot of time. So if I missed a contest or was grumpy or something I apologize.

Not too much going on. I hope everyone is has a great week!


As always you can email me any questions you have damitdaina@hotmail.com.

See you at the movies


Aug. 18th
Sunday

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) 7pm Kimball Art Museum



Aug. 19th
Monday

The Sound of Music 7pm Highland Park Village
Don Jon 7:30 pm Angelika Dallas
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones 7:30 Cinemark 17
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones 7:30 SMG Spring Valley





Aug. 20th
Tuesday

The Grandmaster 7 pm Angelika Dallas



Aug. 21st
Wednesday

You’re Next 8pm Alamo Draft House


Aug. 22nd
Thursday

The World’s End 7:30 SMG Spring Valley



Aug. 23rd
Friday



Aug. 24th
Saturday



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Jobs






Ashton Kutcher can act. I have always said since Butterfly Effect he can pull it off and this is no exception. This a very good movie. Joshua Michael Stern directs a very fluent portrayal of Steve Jobs. As a simple movie goer, I took this movie at face value and he did a good job especially cutting between the 70's to the 80's. The acting was very good all around and Ashton finally can show people he can act because he gave a good performance and even got Steve's walk down. Josh Gad did great as Steve Wozniak. The cinematography was graceful and sometimes beautiful. I loved the vintage look to it and the props and clothing were great to look at. This is a two hour movie and it flew by as the editing is very tight and sucks you in. Is it my favorite of the year? No, but is it in my top ten? Yes, I enjoyed this film. It's a very good biography told with great direction and acting. 9/10
Review by Chase Lee)





Interview with Josh Gad and Joshua Michael Stern






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Spectacular Now




Just like the poster says, "This is like a shot in the heart." This is my favorite movie of the year so far. This is a beautifully directed movie that will tug on your heart strings. The acting is impeccable, believable and just downright amazing. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley give great performances by making us believe that they are in love and that for me is a reason why this is a fantastic movie. The cinematography is shot with feeling and gives a 90's antique look (I was born in the 90's so that hits home for me). It's edited to keep you attached to these characters and you never lose interest as you want to see this relationship blossom. It's a beautiful coming to age story that was delivered, in my opinion, perfectly with believable fantastic acting. This is the best one of the year so far for me until something else beats it. Love story perfected without the cheese. 10/10
(Review by Chase Lee)







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Lee Daniels’ The Butler






Lee Daniels’ The Butler follows a black butler’s life as he serves several presidents in the White

House. It touches on his youth in a southern plantation and also shows his son’s dedication to civil

rights during the turbulent fifties and sixties. It arrives with a lot of hype; could a film be more topical in

this age of Obama and Zimmerman?


Sad to say, it almost reduces an important period of American history to maudlin pulp. The

talent on board seems to be working with a weak or truncated script. The music swells with importance

while the characters are treated like stereotypes. Actors such as Vanessa Redgrave and Forrest

Whitaker (as the butler), manage to do their best, and David Oyelowo shines as the butler’s son whose

path towards black activism is a strong contrast to his father servitude.

The White House scenes are saved by Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s comic presence. The historic racial

conflict portions are harrowing, as they should be. Oddly, our butler-hero appears unmoved by the

national events blaring over the television sets. Only at the end, when he picks up a book to read does

his conscience stir. The audience will also have to read about the depth of these times rather than

expect it here.


I relished seeing Oprah Winfrey on the big screen again because I loved her in The Color Purple.

This time she surprises with a more subtle performance as the butler’s wife, a role I felt demanded more

emotion. The role is too sketchy with unanswered questions.


Director Lee Daniels was full of verve and vitality when he made Precious back in 2009. Here, he

seems to be weighed down by expectations and a high budget (too many cooks in the kitchen?).

Seeing cameos of famous stars playing presidents was interesting but wound up a hindrance.

The audience I saw this with simply laughed with recognition at the first sight of Robin Williams as

President Eisenhower.


Otherwise, the genuine humor throughout lifts the film to somewhat memorable

entertainment. It’s good to use humor to unify an audience. Exciting actors can make any film worth

sitting through. And a scene showing Martin Luther King in that fateful hotel in Memphis delivering

wisdom to his freedom fights stands out. If only that real and powerful sense of inspiration and

intelligence could have been sustained throughout, Lee Daniels’ The Butler might have been a great

movie.
(Review by David Bacon)







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Monday, August 12, 2013

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters



Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters; Thor Freudenthal is the director of this mystical and fantasy film, he presents us a movie where the characters in order to restore their dying safe haven, the son of Poseidon played by Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson and his friends, one of them is Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth who is embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters to find the mythical Golden Fleece while trying to stop an ancient evil from rising.

The central point of this movie is believe in your dreams and do what you need to do in order to make it come true.

Friendship plays a important part in this movie; trust in your friends, enjoy the daily journey and you can chance your destiny. In the Film Thor Freudenthal introduce some characters are the half-human, half Olympian son of Poseidon has its many perks, from high-stakes adventure to encounters with fantastical creatures to living with your demigod pals at what is basically the world's coolest summer camp.  But gods tend to be remote parental figures and being a hero comes with its own new insecurities. Percy now faces an unusual problem, unsure of himself and seriously considering the possibility that he is a one-hero wonder.
Athena's spunky daughter is played by Alexandra Daddario and a wisecracking satyr Brandon T. Jackson lend a hand on the desultory goose chase, which takes them everywhere from the depths of the ocean to Circe's magical island to Washington D.C., of all places.

Is a good movie with a great effects, makes the movie the spectator to go in this magical film end enjoy the movie.

There are plenty of artfully designed CGI monsters to make kids go yikes! (a flame-spitting mechanical bull), aww! (a cuddly sea horse), and eww! (the innards of an ocean beast), but the formulaic story won’t get more than a meh from anyone.

The movie's action sequences and cutesy comic bits (best of which is Nathan Fillion's cameo as an all-business Hermes, running a UPS-style empire) arrive at stopwatch-regular intervals, as do the unsubtle moments when Percy learns important lessons — about trusting his friends and deciding his own fate — usually by stating them aloud like a schoolkid reciting spelling words. But what really separates Percy (based on the book series by Rick Riordan) from Potter is the vein of snark running through its characters.
 
All the friends and Percy complete their quest the movie ends where they gave back life to a Thalia a rol played by Paloma Kwitkowski. Using the Magical and mythical Golden Fleece.
(Review by Diana Downing)



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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Movies scheduled for Aug. 11th- 17th

Ok here we go again. Please don’t let 15-20 people in line with you. Yes I know people have to work and such but come on. You would not want to get early in line and then to find out you are like 25th in line when you were like 4th. Now would you? I know most of us are grown ups and know how to say excuse me. If you get into someone’s personal space be polite and say excuse me, pardon me or something. Don’t just be rude and think they see you when the world doesn’t revolve around you!!

This should go without saying but here we go. Don’t try to sell your free tickets on twitter! Come on now really? Just because it is a boy band movie and most of the teenage girls want to see it doesn’t mean it is right to try to sell them. Trust me the people that give out the tickets are watching and you will be band from winning from the sites.

As always you can email me any questions you have damitdaina@hotmail.com.

See you at the movies

Aug. 11th
Sunday

Peruvian Weaving (1980) & Dancing with the Incas (1982)7pm
Kimball Art Museum



Aug. 12th
Monday

Lee Daniels' The Butler 7 pm
The Magnolia


Aug. 13th
Tuesday

Kick Ass 2 7:30 pm
Northpark
In a World 7:30 pm
Angelika Dallas
You're Next 8 pm
Angelika Dallas



Aug. 14th
Wednesday

Instructions Not Included 7:30 pm
Angelika Dallas
Jobs 7:30 pm
Angelika Dallas
Paranoia 7:30 pm
Northpark



Aug. 15th
Thursday

One Direction: This is Us 7pm
Studio Movie Grill Royal
Unplugged 7:30 pm
AMC Mesquite 30



Aug. 9th
Friday



Aug. 10th
Saturday





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Friday, August 9, 2013

Elysium





Neill Blomkamp who wrote and directed the Oscar nominated District 9 is back with another dystopia themed film where the space station Elysium is full of “haves” and the ruined earth if filled with “have nots”. Set in the year 2154, the population have been polarized with the rich living in luxury, serviced by robots while the poor and defranchised live in the dry slums of what is left of earth. As District 9 played with the idea of apartheid in South Africa, Elysium is a good companion piece of today's socio-political issues on immigration. Health care and class issues.

Matt Damon is bulked up, tattooed and bald as Max, a one time criminal who did his time and just wants to live a somewhat normal life. He works in a factory that makes the robots that service the orbiting Elysium. Max gets his arm broke by a robot cop and he has to explain to his robot parole officer. At work he gets a lethal dose of radiation and given 5 days to live. The only way to survive is to go to Elysium and use on of their medical beds that can cure anything. The trouble is that no one who does not have a Citizen brand can go to the space habitat. The Security of Defense Delacourt (Jodie Foster) shoots down the ships full of families who have paid Spider (Wagner Moura) for fake ID's to be shuttled to Elysium. This goes against President Patel (Faran Tahir) who wants Delacort to decommission her agent Kruger (Sharlto Copley) for human rights violations. Delacort decides the President is too week and entices John Carlyle (William Fichtner) to write a program that will crash the system so she can take over the government. Meanwhile Max promises he will do anything if Spider can get him on the next shuttle. Spider's plan is to access the brain data from an Elysium citizen and use that intel for his operation and dream of making everyone a citizen. They decide to hit Carlyle and what Max steals puts everyone in danger including his child hood friend Frey (Alice Braga) and her seriously ill daughter.

Blomkamp's visuals for this future world is compelling. The Mexico City dump stood in for the sprawling Los Angeles area. Elysium was fashioned after Rodeo Drive in Hollywood. Even the people that work in Delacort's control room wear clothes fit for a nice cocktail hour at a fancy hotel. Foster's Delacort is almost robot like in her unemotional single mindedness. Her accents seems to fluctuate distractedly from scene to scene also. To save her secret coup plans, Foster reactivates Kruger who goes after Max who must go to Elysium and reset the citizen mode before Foster takes control of Elysium. Matt is like Bourne with robot implants and Copley's Kruger is so evil he should have a handlebar mustache to twirl.

The action is fast paced and the final battle scene if pretty exciting with ships crashing, soldiers running around and the ultimate confrontation between the mechanically enhanced humans. While that whole thing with the poor vs the rich theme in future has been done to death. But Blomkamp gives it a fresh perspective with some higher quality actors with a bigger budget.
(Review by reesa)



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Lovelace





This portrait of the most famous porn star in the world would have one believe that she was just an innocent young woman from the suburbs victimized by a controlling husband. Writer Andy Belin's script directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman's focus of what could have been a cultural exploration of the sexual revolution ushered in and made mainstream by Deep Throat, instead becomes more of a Lifetime Channel dramatization.

Amanda Seyfried does a remarkable job as Linda Boreman who lives in Florida with her parents Dorothy (Sharon Stone) and John (Robert Patrick). They moved from the Bronx after Linda got pregnant and her mother gave up the child for adoption. Her dad had to end his career as a cop and work as a security guard. Linda a typical young woman during the early 70's likes to have fun and pick up boys with her best friend Patsy (Juno Temple). She meets Chuck (Peter Sarsgaard) who has bad news written all over him, but Linda responds to his sweet talking. Soon she is defying her parents and moving in with her Svengali lover. He teaches her some bedroom tricks and when he gets into some financial trouble at his stripper bar, he pimps out his wife for the extra cash. Linda tries to go back home, but her overly religious mom tells her that she should be supporting her husband and do whatever he tells her. From there the control creep gets Linda to audition to this mob controlled porn filmmakers (Chris Noth, Bobby Cannavale, and Hank Azaria) who are impressed with her talents.

The craziness that exploded after the success of Deep Throat swept up the players involved in a whirlwind of media frenzy. Everyone wanted a piece of Linda Lovelace the stage name given the freckled face newcomer to the XXX rated movie world including Hugh Hefner (James Franco). Chuck does his best to exploit his wife with various toys, dolls, and dildos branded to Lovelace and all the while doing copious amounts of drugs by borrowing money from the mob. Linda only made $1250 for her work. His increasing erratic behavior puts Linda in danger by his physical abuse. The movie producers want to make more movies with Linda but at that point Linda makes a stand to get out while she still could.

There really isn't any titillating scenes in this movie. Couldn't even classify any of the scenes as soft porn. The simulated scenes with Harry Reems (Adam Brody) mirroring the bad acting line readings from the real movie are funny. The film only looks at those heady days of Linda's career, but outside of the obvious trauma that she endured with her husband it doesn't look at the most interesting part of her life turning into an anti-porn activist. As a icon of the era womens sexual freedom Linda Lovelace became a household name, it's too bad the film doesn't go deeper.
(Review by reesa)




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The Spectacular Now





Just like the poster says, "This is like a shot in the heart." This is my favorite movie of the year so far. This is a beautifully directed movie that will tug on your heart strings. The acting is impeccable, believable and just downright amazing. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley give great performances by making us believe that they are in love and that for me is a reason why this is a fantastic movie. The cinematography is shot with feeling and gives a 90's antique look (I was born in the 90's so that hits home for me). It's edited to keep you attached to these characters and you never lose interest as you want to see this relationship blossom. It's a beautiful coming to age story that was delivered, in my opinion, perfectly with believable fantastic acting. This is the best one of the year so far for me until something else beats it. Love story perfected without the cheese. 10/10
(Review by Chase Lee)







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Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus





This is an interesting movie. That's all I could say when I walked out of it. This is a road trip movie, it has a drug called San Pedro and there is a hippie. Is it a bad movie? No, but it will leave you kind of empty. The directing isn't terrible as it is an interesting story very differently than most directors and for that I give him props. It did however feel like the director copped out towards the end with one character. Michael Cera is the anchor to this drug induced movie. I like all Michael Cera movies (Scott Pilgrim and Superbad as my favorites) but this performance just felt ok. The cinematography was great to look at it since most of the movie is shot in Chile and on a good looking beach. The editing could have been tighter as it felt like it was three hours long. The person I saw it with and I agree this could have been a great short film. It's not a bad movie (That goes to Spring Breakers) but certainly not a movie I can put in my top ten for the year. 5.5/10





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Turbo Review in Spanish





Si tu tienes un sueño y realmente crees en el; tu necesitas ver la pelicula Turbo.esta es una de las principals ideas de Turbo. Una animado Caracol de nombre Theo, quien vive en un “Jardin de Tomates”, rodeado de sus vecinos y amigos ; en donde cada mañana se reunen a convivir y tiene un festejo cada vez que los tomates maduros se caen de la plante de tomates.. Todos los caracoles son muy amigables y comparten los tomates.eso para ellos es un festin.

Theo, es una caracol y es Turbo, le apasiona las carreras de carros, Ă©l realmente cree en poder correr tan rapido como un carro de carreras, Turbo se compara con el Campeon de Carreras Guy Gagne, quiĂ©n es un campeon de carreras y ha ganado 5 veces Indianapolis 500. La obsession de Turbo es la velocidad; y todo lo que tenga que ver con velocidad. La excentricidad de Turbo,  tiene una rareza y la realidad es que que Turbo es lento y vive en una cautelosa comunidad de caracoles, Turbo constantemente hace sentir mal y averguenza a su hermano Chet, pero a Turbo eso no le importa; Ă©l sigue practicando y utiliza una regla para comparar la distancia en la pista de carreras, tambiĂ©n toma el tiempo que se tarda en hacer el recorrido, Turbo se mueve 17 pulgadas en 17 o 18 minutos, no estĂ¡ nada mal para un caracol.

Turbo desesperado por sus deseos de poder escapar de su lentitud y de la vida queen la que Ă©l vive, pero su posibilidad de ser veloz y de vivir; demuestra un grave desastre cuando se trata de recuperar un premio de un tomate y necesita rescatatar a su hermano, Chet.

Un dĂ­a desmoralizado Turbo deambula en una autopista para admirar el trĂ¡fico y se mete en un inesperado accidente cuando se ve atrapado en el motor de un drag racer, estaba tan contento por poder ver las carreras de carros; El cae en la parte superior de un carro drag-racer, de repente Turbo, se cayĂ³ en el motor y el ADN de Turbo se mezclo con el Ă³xido nitroso.en esa Carrera de carros. En este accicente se da cuenta que que el es muy veloz y puede correr tan rá½±pido como Ă©l siempre ha soñado,

Por desgracia Theo en su primer intento de demostrar el poder de su velocidad termina en un desastre. Y Theo hace que que Chet salga disparado desde el jardĂ­n tripulantes. Como los hermanos siempre estan peleando, Chet es arrebatado por un cuervo, pero Theo persigue al cuervo para arrebatarle y rescatar a su hermano de las garras del cuervo. Los dos van a parar en un humilde centro comercial en el que son capturados por Tito, uno de los dos hermanos dueños de un Restaurant de nombre "The Dos Bros" Tito es un conductor de un camion de comidas del Restaurant “The Dos Bros” y Theo and Chet son llevados a la pista de competencias de carreras con otros caracoles.

Theo asombra tanto a Tito, desde el punto de vista humano y Turbo se sorprende por igual con su velocidad y se gana el respeto de los otros caracoles, dirigido por el latigazo cervical, con su tripulaciĂ³n Smoove Move, Burn, Skidmark y White shadow, Quienes quedan asombrados y les llama la atencion la velocidade de Theo (Tubo) y su impresionante velociodad y su capacidad de correr, le sorprende a el mismo tambien. Todos ellos participant en carreras que se llevan acabo en la parte de atras del restaurante "The Two Bros" = (Los Dos Hermanos).

Inspirado por la extraordinario Caracol y su velocidad, Tito sueña revivir el Centro Comercial si Theo es una atracion, y eventualmente Tito es ayudado por los otros caracoles a desviar un autobus de turistas y le ponchan las llantas y van a para enfrente del restaurant “Los Dos Bross” Tito piensa verder comida y entretener a los turistas con las carreras de caracoles donde Theo (Turbo) es la estrella. Todo fue un exito, Theo convence a Tito de entrar como participantes a las carreras de carros del Indianapolis 500y Theo entrara como un competidor mas. Amientras el hermano de Tito, Angelo niega el apoyo par air a competitor a Indianapolis 500 por que no le quiere dar la cantidad de dinero para regirtrar a Theo como competidor.
Ya in Indianapolis a tito le niegan la entrada a la competencia; pero un encuentro casual con Guy Gagne el 5 veces campeon de Indianapolis 500. Finalmente le da la oportunidad de participar.Turbo se encuentra en el hipĂ³dromo de carreras como siempre lo habia soñado. Turbo realmente pone toda su energĂ­a en la carrera para demostrar lo rĂ¡pido que puede correr, esto capta la atenciĂ³n de Guy Gagne, uno de los conductores mĂ¡s rĂ¡pidos y 5 veces CampeĂ³n de IndianĂ¡polis 500. Theo ha demostrado que puede alcanzar la velocidade de los carros de carreras y consigue su boleto paraentrar a la competencia.

Esta imposible asaña pronto se convierte en una sensaciĂ³n en los medios sociales y el propietario de la raza le da a la presiĂ³n, atizada por Gagne mismo, para permitir que el caracol pueda competir. Sin embargo, la noche antes de la carrera, Turbo se desmoralizaron cuando su hĂ©roe, guy Gagne, le hace comentarios despectivos en su intento ganar la carrera de carros ; mientras Chet confiesa que no puede llevar a ver a su hermano peligro Ă©l mismo. Sin importar el dĂ­a siguiente, Turbo se presenta en la carrera, pero es peligroso racetrack y hay choferes de carros mĂ¡s experimentados que lo quieren dejar fuera de la competencia final,y queda en el Ăºltimo lugar. Es una pista de carreras, pero los coches de carreras estan junto a Ă©l en la lĂ­nea de salida, Turbo tiene temores de para poder competir con los coches de carreras, pero es tarde para decir que no puede el necesita enfocarse y recuerda las Carrera en el Jardin de los Tomates, porque se la carrera va a empezar
En el pitstop, Whiplash ay su equipo le dan aTurbo una platica motivadora, y le hacen ver que el puede competir, y lo aconseja de correr como siempre lo ha hecho que corra como un caracol mientras tanto en la Pista de Carreras, Turbo se da cuenta de lo que significan y utiliza su diminuto tamañ tan pequeño para aprovechar al mĂ¡ximo las maniobras para pasar por los lados y por debajo de los carros en la competencia y que ningĂºn otro carro podra hacer. Con el caracol estĂ¡ aumentando rĂ¡pidamente en la clasificaciĂ³n general, Gagne juega sucio, no puedo dejar que un pequeño Caracol le gane la carrera; Gagne intenta matar al caracol; mientras Turbose encuentra alarmado que su velocidad y su potencia estĂ¡ empezando a desaparecer. Por Ăºltimo, en el tramo final con Turbo se desploma, Gagne intenta una desesperada maniobra sucia para golpear a el caracol Turbo y se comete en un gran accidente que se ven envueltos todos los competidores terminan en una en una gran acumulacion de carros en todas direcciones. Del mismo modo, Turbo sale, herido con su caparazĂ³n y encuentra en una grandesesperaciĂ³n por que esta perdiendo el poder de su velocidad. Muy triste porque pierde todo su poder, el publico, se pone en su caparazĂ³n, pero de repente recuerdo su sueño de ser coronado como CampeĂ³n de Indy y el comienza moverse muy lento hasta el linea final de la carrera.

Alarmado al ver Turbo meterse en su caparazon a escasos metros de la meta, Chet pone en peligro su vida para apoyar a su hermano Turbo. Chet y sus amigos llegan montados en los cuervos para animarle a que siga, Turbo reanuda la carrera. Por desgracia, Gagne sigue arrastrando su coche, ys us instintos de destrozar y hacer trizas a el caracol y sus intentos de machacarlo , y su intent de sacarlo de la competencia. Gagne arroja a Turbo haceque Turbo gane la carrera.

Con la victoria de Turbo en la competencia de carreras, en el Centro Comercial todo es exito y atrae mas negocio para el Restaurant “ Te Dos Bros” haspa preparan una pista para que los caracoles compuitan en carrerascon la ayuda de Whiplash's y su equipo arma nuevos caparazones para odornar los caracoles, mientras que Chet is referee.

Turbo, su felicidad se ve reforzada por descubrir que su shell ha sanado, y con ello, la super potencia de velocidad ha vuelto.

Es una pelĂ­cula familiar donde cada miembro de la familia pueda disfrutar, desde MamĂ¡ y PapĂ¡ hasta que el mas qequeño del miembro familiar. Grandes efectos especiales y con un mensaje esta pelĂ­cula con una forma de entregar un mensaje de Amistad, que los sueño puede se hacen realidad. Como el sueño deTurbo se hace realidad y consigue ganar la carrera en las 500 Millas de IndianĂ¡polis.
(Review by Diana Downing)




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Smurfs 2



The movie that Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures present us this summer is an Animated and fantasy film. The director Raja Gosnell presents a family & comedy movie. The film begins with an explanation of Smurfette's origins. This movie started in The Smurf’s Town where all the smurfs are planning and organize a surprise Smurfette’s Birthday party, in this little village every house looks like a mushroom. Katy Perry plays the role as Smurfette; She is so excited to celebrate her birthday, but every single smurf make her believe is just another normal day, like nothing special is going to happen. Gargamel’s role is played by Hank Azaria, the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurfs   These creatures called the Naughties This two creates looks like smurfs;but they are a grey-skinned Naughty designed to wreak havoc amongst the Smurfs, There are one girl and one boy, but they aren’t blue; they need the magic formula to make them look blue just like the real smurfs.

Gargamel send the naughty girl to the Smurf’s town to take advantage of Smurfette's insecurity and kidnaps her in the hopes that he can make his own Smurfs, he is hoping toget one of them to revel him the secret of the smurfs; Gargamel needs and  hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence and prepare the magical formula himself; so he can turn the 2 naughties smurfs and real smurfs .The Naughty Girl Smurf gets transported in a magical hole in the river’s water that end in the smurf’s town. At the same time Smurfette is getting sad because she is gretting some of the smurf’s friend but no one tell her anything about her birthday and she really thinks and believes that everybody forget her birthday. Jonathan Winter plays the role of Papa Smurf, Papa Smurf is making a special present for her.

Smurfette is walking to the side of the river, she feels really sad and her feelings are hurting because no one tell her anything regarding her birthday. Suddenly the hole in the river drop the Naughty Girl Smurf that Gargamel created. She pretended to be friendly and need help to get the attention of Smurfette.
Smurfette try to help her but both are send them back to Gargamel house, some of the Smurfs heard when Smurfette is screaming for help, all of them run to help her but they are gone.

Papa Smurf select a few smurfs to go and find Smurfette, After all, the film's big take-away message is at least partially noble: "love is [not] conditional." Any parent that goes to see "The Smurfs 2" is essentially teaching their children that lesson by example. Adults suffer so that their know-nothing spawn can enjoy all-too-brief happiness. Papa Smurf and a few other Smurfs travel in the magic holle to go and rescue Smurfette.

The Papa Smurf and a few smurfs find out that Gargamel keeps Smurfette.
Meanwhile, while Patrick (Harris) tries to help reunite the Smurfs, he also has to deal with his own identity crisis: stepfather Victor (Gleeson) wants to be part of Patrick's family, but Patrick doesn't relish his unsolicited affection.

The fact that Smurfette is, in fact, different from the other Smurfs is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, Smurfette is only distinct in that she's so insecure and helpless that she's usually on the verge of tears. On the other, she's simply not as annoying as the other Smurfs are. Vanity, a more-than-effete, self-absorbed Smurf who is obsessed with his reflection, is constantly joking about being "gorgeous," obsessed with musicals, in love with his own "gluts." And Grouchy's negativity is so trying that he briefly tries to re-invent himself as Positive Smurf, though he inevitably gives up on that nobler aspiration. There is ultimately no joke that the film's Smurfs won't despairingly beat into the ground.

The film's human actors aren't much better. Like the film's voice actors, Harris, Gleeson, and Azaria are never given a chance to prove that they're played by people with a sense of comic timing. Azaria fares the best of this bunch, and as in "The Smurfs," he takes every chance he gets to ham it up. But with several subplots crowding his character out, Azaria just doesn't have enough space to be funny.

"The Smurfs 2" didn't need to be thoughtful, or even raucously funny. But the film's various parts could have been played by anybody. A scene where Harris handily imitates Gargamel suggests that you could easily swap all three human male leads' roles without greatly improving or diminishing the film's quality. And you can barely tell that Jayma Mays's Grace, Patrick's wife, is in the film save for a juice-less scene where she desperately apes Audrey Hepburn. There's so much dead air in "The Smurfs 2" that you may turn to your child mid-film, and ask, "How did it come to this," or, "When is your Oedipal phase kicking in, exactly?" Then again, you can wait years, even whole decades to light that particular emotional powderkeg. Love may be unconditional, but seeing "The Smurfs 2" is a bargaining chip you can cash in whenever you want.
(Review by Diana Downing)



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Monday, August 5, 2013

Dallas International Film Festival Call For Entries


2014 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES confirmed prize money totaling $40,000

DALLAS, August 5, 2013: The Dallas Film Society has announced that submissions for the 8th annual Dallas International Film Festival open today. The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) is scheduled for April 3 – 13, 2014.



In its seven year history, the festival has established itself as one of the premiere film festivals in North America. Renowned for honoring filmmakers with cash prizes and opportunities, filmmakers and industry professionals have highlighted DIFF as being ‘one to watch’. To date, the festival has received over 10,000 submissions, screened 1300 films from 50 countries, hosted over 1200 filmmakers and featured 75 world premieres and 21 U.S premieres.



“Considered the filmmakers festival by respected artists and new talent, the Dallas International Film Festival is an open, diverse and fun festival” said DIFF senior programmer, Sarah Harris. “We are dedicated to the mission of showcasing the best films in North Texas and celebrating talents from across the globe. We love film. We live film. And we want to make sure that we create an experience that exemplifies our dedication to filmmakers and their achievements.”



Each Grand Jury Prize winner will receive software, provided by MOVIE MAGIC. The Embrey Family Foundation’s $10,000 Silver Heart Award returns and is presented to the film most dedicated to fighting injustices and creating social change for the improvement of humanity. The lucky filmmakers who win the Texas Competition category will enjoy a camera rental package worth $30,000 for their next production, courtesy of PANAVISION.



Early deadline for submissions is Friday, October 18, 2013. Regular deadline is Friday, December 6, 2013. Late deadline is Friday, December 13, 2013. A link for film submissions and information on submissions is available at www.dallasfilm.org.



Other questions may be sent to submissions@dallasfilm.org.



Confirmed awards for 2014 will include: Grand Jury Prize – Narrative Feature; Grand Jury Prize – Documentary Feature; Grand Jury Prize - Animated Short Film, presented by REEL FX; Grand Jury Prize – Short Film; Grand Jury Prize – Student Short Film; Grand Jury Prize – Texas Competition, presented by PANAVISION; Silver Heart Award, presented by the Embrey Family Foundation; and Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film.




ABOUT THE DALLAS FILM SOCIETY


The Dallas Film Society celebrates films and their impact on society. A 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, the Dallas Film Society recognizes and honors filmmakers for their achievements in enhancing the creative community, provides educational programs to students to develop better understanding of the role of film in today's world, and promotes the City of Dallas and its commitment to the art of filmmaking. The annual Dallas International Film Festival, scheduled for April 3 – 13, 2014, is a presentation of the Dallas Film Society. In addition to producing one of the largest festivals in the Southwest, the Society produces numerous year round events, screening series and partnership programs with arts organizations around the city. For more information, call (214) 720-0555, or visit www.DallasFilm.org. The offices of the Dallas Film Society are located at 3625 North Hall Street, Suite 740, Dallas, TX 75219.



2013-2014 CONFIRMED SPONSORS
: ABCO, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Inc., Alamo Drafthouse DFW, Allied Integrated Marketing, Cinelease, Cinemark USA, Inc., Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, Dallas Film Commission, El Creative, Flagship Marketing, Klyde Warren Park, Marcs Clips, Movie Magic, My Sweet Charity, Panavision, Pencilneck Software, Post Asylum, Pure Evil Sound & Music Design, Reel FX




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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Movies Scheduled Aug 4th - Aug10th

I don’t know about y’all but I am ready for fall!! What a better way to keep cool than going to the movies!

Don’t forget the Alamo Draft House will be having their soft opening the 6, 7 and 8 with their grand opening on the 9th. On the soft opening tickets are only 2 dollars a movie. Sure I know that isn’t free but it sure is close! Plus they are having half off the food!

As always you can email me any questions you have damitdaina@hotmail.com.

See you at the movies


Aug. 4th
Sunday



Aug. 5th
Monday

The Spectacular Now 7 pm Angelika Dallas
We’re the Millers 7:30 pm Cinemark West Plano
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Highland Park Village



Aug. 6th
Tuesday

Planes 7pm Cinemark West Plano
Planes 7pm AmStar
One Direction: This is Us 7 pm Look Cinemas





Aug. 7th
Wednesday

Elysiium 7 pm Studio Movie Grill
Elysiium 7 pm AMC Valley View
You’re Next Coyote Drive In 9 pmFt. Worth



Aug. 8th
Thursday

Ain't Them Bodies Saints Magnolia
Battle of the Year 7:30 Cinemark 17



Aug. 9th
Friday


Aug. 10th
Saturday

One Direction: This is Us 10 am Cinemark West Plano


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