Movie Reviews

Imagine a filmmaker going into 20th Century Fox and announcing that he’d had a dream the night before, which he wanted to turn into a film. Now, imagine him walking out of the studio a few minutes later with the go-ahead on the project. Well, such was the power of Robert Altman and such was […]

The Thursday Night Horror Picture Show will screen Angel Heart Thursday, April 29, at 8 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of the Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Alice in Wonderland at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 2, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

The Story: A disgraced journalist and an enigmatic computer hacker with a history of problems investigate a 40-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl. The Lowdown: A rivetting mystery thriller with solid plotting, strong performances and characters -- and something more than entertainment beneath it all.

The Story: A fact-based story of a 1936 attempt to climb the supposedly unscalable north face of the Eiger. The Lowdown: A generally absorbing mountain-climbing saga that either benefits from the story's political background or suffers from it, depending on your outlook.

The Story: A group of soldiers left for dead in Bolivia try and get revenge against the CIA agent who double-crossed them. The Lowdown: A generic actioner that's never as stylish as it wants to be, nor as clever as it thinks it is.

The Story: An intimate look at all types of different sea life. The Lowdown: A run-of-the-mill nature doc that's really worth seeing for its beautiful photography alone.

The Story: A disaffected misanthrope tries to avoid finding himself while housesitting for his brother. The Lowdown: An unlikely film with an unlikely -- and largely unlikable -- main character, but one with some bitter humor and a sense of greater understanding than appears on the surface.

The Story: No sooner does pet-store owner Zoe get artificially inseminated than she meets Mr. Right. Complications follow. The Lowdown: It's not very romantic. It's not very funny. It's not very dramatic. By my count, that's three strikes against any romcom/drama.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Beau Brummel at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

The Thursday Night Horror Picture Show will screen Re-Animator at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in the Cinema Lounge of the Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.

Classic Cinema From Around the World will present The Night Porter at 8 p.m. Friday, April 23, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St., in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A mother decides to find the truth on her own when her son is arrested for murder. The Lowdown: An absolutely splendid -- nearly perfect -- crime thriller built around a mystery that almost always surprises and a title character unlike any you've ever seen.

The Story: A group of salespeople -- masquerading as a family unit -- move into an upper-class neighborhood in an attempt to push high-priced goods on their neighbors. The Lowdown: An occasionally high-minded, often heavy-handed look at suburban malaise and consumerism that never rises above the realm of the perfectly fine.

The Story: A mild-mannered teen -- and comic-book nerd -- decides to try his hand at becoming a superhero, only to find himself in over his head with the mob and other masked heroes. The Lowdown: A gory, often funny, slickly made attempt at reimagining the superhero genre that never hits the right tone. Ultimately,…

The Story: The funeral for a family's well-respected father goes off the tracks when his blackmail-minded gay lover shows up among the mourners. The Lowdown: This pointless remake of the 2007 Brit comedy sinks in a mire of wrongheadedness of its own making.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show She at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 18, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

Classic Cinema From Around the World will present Fat Girl at 8 p.m. Friday, April 16, at Courtyard Gallery, 9 Walnut St., in downtown Asheville. Info: 273-3332.

The Story: A prepubescent cancer sufferer inspires those around him with the letters he writes to God. The Lowdown: Generic, heartstrings-tugging Christian melodrama that's exactly like -- and as exciting as -- every other bout of melodramatic fundamentalist filmmaking.

The Story: A dull married couple pretend to be other people to get dinner reservations, causing them to be mistaken for those people -- who just happen to be in bad with the mob. The Lowdown: The cast -- especially Steve Carell and Tina Fey -- raise this otherwise ordinary thrill comedy to the level…

The Black Mountain College + Arts Center will screen How to Draw a Bunny at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 8, at the Fine Arts Theatre.