Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: When did you first fall in love with the movies?

I realize that this is a presumptuous question that supposes that the reader did fall in love with the movies in the first place. Still, I’m assuming for argument’s sake that such a condition probably has something to do with the reason you’re reading this column in the first place. The question in my mind is whether this was a cumulative thing for people or if there’s some outstanding defining moment that brought this about.

Rave on

It's too much to hope for that the film festival will score another coup like last year's closing-night feature, Slumdog Millionaire, but then again films like Slumdog just don't come along every year. What we do get this year, however, looks tasty indeed. For opening night, the festival offers Lone Scherfig's (Italian for Beginners) An […]

Michael Jackson’s This Is It

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The Story: A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Michael Jackson's This Is It show that was nearly ready to be performed at the time of Jackson's death. The Lowdown: While your taste for this will depend almost entirely on your fondness or lack thereof for Michael Jackson, the film itself is an intriguing look…

Thirst

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The Story: A Catholic priest recieves a blood transfusion that turns him into a vampire. The Lowdown: A long, unusual, thoughtful, bloody and frequently very funny horror film from Park Chan-wook that rethinks -- or at least reshuffles -- the vampire movie.

Coco Before Chanel

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The Story: The early life of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, charting her rise from poverty to the very edge of being the name in fashion. The Lowdown: A nicely drawn, beautifully produced biopic that benefits from a clear idea of what it wants and a wonderful performance from its star, Audrey Tautou.

Paris

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The Story: A multi-storied film about the lives of a number of people in Paris. The Lowdown: An often brilliant drama -- or series of dramas -- that focuses more on characters than plot, resulting in a satisfying, if not quite great, work.

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler: Nov. 4-10: Vampires, goats and three spirits

A more than usually interesting array of movies comes our way this week—including another challenge to local moviegoers to get out and support the kind of non-mainstream film I’m always being asked about. In this case, I specifically refer to Park Chan-wook’s take on the vampire film, Thirst, which opens this Friday at the Carolina Asheville.