Author:   Ken Hanke

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Devil

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Five people are trapped in an elevator. One of them is the devil -- and he's up to no good. The Lowdown: Reasonably nonsensical horror from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan. Short on scares, and even at a bare 80 minutes, it feels padded.

Easy A

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A high-school girl whose reputation is damaged by a fabricated story finds that the new attention it brings is not without its benefits -- to herself and others. The Lowdown: The comedy surprise of the year, in which Emma Stone becomes a bona-fide star. Funny, perceptive, sweetly subversive and subversively sweet.

Life During Wartime

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Todd Solondz's self-described "quasi-sequel" to Happiness examines the lives of the original film's characters -- about 10 years later -- and their attempts to deal with the past. The Lowdown: A strange, dark, disturbing film of considerable power -- but one that's only for a pretty select audience who don't shy away from…

The Extra Man

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A young aspiring writer -- and wannabe cross-dresser -- shares an apartment with an older male escort, who becomes a very peculiar mentor. The Lowdown: By turns sad and funny, this character comedy is not going to suit everyone, but for those willing to read between the lines, it pays amazing dividends.

Bran Nue Dae

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A young Aborigine boy runs away from his training to become a priest -- in order to find his way home and back to the girl he loves. The Lowdown: A slightly peculiar, but generally likable little musical with loads of color, a lot of charm and the good sense to keep it…

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Sept. 22-28: Greed may be good, but the art-house fare is the best bet

Posted on by Ken Hanke

This week may have only three mainstream openers—Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole—but it outdoes itself when you factor in the three new art-house titles—The Extra Man (Carolina), Life During Wartime (Fine Arts) and Bran Nue Dae (Carolina). I have the advantage of having already seen the art titles, but even if I hadn’t, I still believe I’d find them more enticing.

Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: Movies about movies

Posted on by Ken Hanke

Last week the Asheville Film Society ran Ken Russell’s Valentino (1977), and not too long ago I bumped into Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man (1980) on TCM, both of which deal—to some degree—with making movies. And both put me in mind of the somewhat curious—and often downright weird—manner in which the movies deal with the making of movies. Has any movie ever gotten close to depicting how movies are made? Has any movie even managed to show a movie being made that you can possibly imagine anyone going to see?

I’m Still Here

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A purported documentary about Joaquin Phoenix and his descent into an identity crisis -- or not. The Lowdown: The film answers nothing, suggests much and is often just unpleasant. Occasionally funny, frequently boring and poorly made, still it's hard not to be grimly fascinated that this film could even exist.
Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Anne Nagel, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan

Man Made Monster/Night Monster

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen Man Made Monster and Night Monster Thursday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville. Hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Sept. 15-21: Well, you can’t say it lacks variety

Posted on by Ken Hanke

Five—count ‘em—movies hit town this Friday—and that’s assuming there’s nothing hiding in the woodwork like last week’s sudden appearance of Rob Reiner’s Flipped (and I don’t think there is). Factor in the three-day Ricochet Film Festival at The Carolina this Friday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 19, and there’s a whole lotta movies going on. Now, how good most of those are may be another matter.

Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: Violence in the movies

Posted on by Ken Hanke

This is a topic that dropped from heaven—or at least from a Facebook acquaintance of mine who sent me a private message that (I guess) was taking me to task for giving The American a good review. The review was never mentioned specifically, but The American was the example used to apprise me that violence is not entertaining, and that all violence that isn’t historical is gratuitous and only illustrates boredom or misanthropy. This rather neatly disposes of D.W. Griffith, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Sam Fuller, Stanley Kubrick and Sergio Leone, pretty much puts the kibosh on the horror genre, takes a chunk out of Mr. Shakespeare, and dispenses with the entire catalogue of Warner Bros. cartoons.