The only surprising thing about George Lucas embracing the 3D-ification re-release schtick is that it took him so long to get around to it. That he chose the most criticized and least liked of the entire set of Star Wars movies isn’t all that surprising, since Lucas’ lack of real concern over what his fans want has done nothing but become more evident every year. The real question is whether or not the Lucasian faithful will flock to see it anyway. But of course, The Phanton Menace isn’t the only thing arriving in town this week.
Tag: movies
Showing 43-63 of 169 results
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Jan. 31-Feb 7: Big Shame Miracle Woman in Black
What can I say? It’s another week of some pretty sketchy-looking unknown quantity movies from the mainstream, and only one art title to help balance things out. Well, you have to expect that sometimes. If you’re wanting to fill in your Oscar-nom viewing, this might be a good time. However, don’t rule out that art title — and one of those others might have possibilities.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Jan. 25-31: Feast and Famine in One
There are five movies coming to town this week, which I guess puts us on equal footing with last week in terms of quantity. There are two art titles. Those represent the feast, you see. Then there are three titles that—from all appearances—are about as far from art as one can imagine. That, then, is the famine.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Jan. 18-24: The Artist Is Here—and some other stuff
At long last — meaning people can stop asking me — The Artist is coming to Asheville in all its black-and-white (mostly) silent glory. Yes, you can finally go see for yourself what all the fuss is about. At this point, I know it’s opening at The Carolina and the Fine Arts. (It is likely opening at some other venues as well, since the big-box theaters tend to latch on to the surefire art titles they otherwise ignore. Am I suggesting that you should support the independent theaters that bring us art titles all year long? Well, yes, I am.) I know I also promised you another art title this week, but like Bogart in Casablanca, I was misinformed. There are, however, some other things coming out this week in the mainstream realm—Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Haywire, Red Tails and Underworld: Awakening.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Jan. 11-17: Carnage! Contraband! Iron Ladies! Joyful Noises!
We have what you might call a pretty full slate this week—especially, if you consider the 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast. Otherwise we’re faced with two mainstream releases—Contraband and Joyful Noise—one borderline art title—The Iron Lady—and one bonafide art title—Carnage. This is that point in the year where the backlog of art titles is going to start flowing and keep hitting us in rapid succession. (There are two more art titles coming our way next week.) This year it’s even more intense since the studios pretty much stiffed us on the art titles at Christmas—even the more popular ones. Last year on Christmas Day you had your pick of The King’s Speech, Black Swan, True Grit, and even I Love You, Phillip Morris. This year it was down to My Week with Marilyn and The Descendants—and the latter had been out for a few weeks.
Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: The Best, the Worst — and the In-Between
Here at last is the anxiously awaited (you were waiting anxiously, weren’t you?) honest-to-Lubitsch complete, in-depth, in detail, in all its debatable glory full list of the best and worse the movies of 2011 offered. At least, it’s such a list as things looked to Justin Souther and me. You may have seen our lists in the print edition a little while back. This expands on (and in one case at least alters) those earlier ones. Sit back and let’s see who we can please and who we can annoy this year.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Jan. 4-10: Tinker Tailor Soldier—Devil?
Well, here we are with the first “Reeler” of the year. As I promised you, we get something tasty this week, and something that looks more than a little suspiciously like rankest Velveeta. The tasty is Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Solidier Spy. It’s a film that straddles the realm of art and mainstream, though it leans more toward the former than the latter (I say that having seen it twice now). However, it’s done well enough elsewhere that my guess is that it won’t just open at The Carolina and the Fine Arts, but may well be at the Regal Biltmore Grande, though that’s not confirmed. Also unconfirmed (if anybody really cares) is just who is getting the … well, we’ll call it mainstream release, The Devil Inside. Theoretically, some theater will be the lucky recipient.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Dec. 28-Jan 3: No news is no news
We are officially in the doldrums this week. That is to say that absolutely nothing is slated to open this week. With the possible exception of some theaters doing some tweaking of times (and how corporate offices do dearly love to do that to help justify their existence), everything that is playing on Christmas Day is very likely to be playing through Jan. 5. This week you may breathe easily or play catch-up with those movies you have yet to make it to. Next week at least I can pretty much promise you one treat and almost definitely promise you a cheesy-looking horror picture (of the low-budget R rated variety). But for the moment, I can say no more since things do change when you least expect it.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Dec 21.-27: Welcome to the Week of Mass Confusion
There’s really no way to describe the layout of this week’s movies other than calling it a total mess. We have movies. Oh, my, do we have movies. And in itself, that’s not the problem. No, the problem is that some of them arrive on Wednesday, some of them arrive on Friday and some of them arrive on Sunday. If you want to make it just that much worse, some (maybe most) theaters are opening two of them on Tuesday night. My only suggestion is that you pay attention and keep those theater movie-line numbers close at hand and hope that the theaters can keep up with updating those lines. (Having spent more than my share of time recording the “Hello and thank you for calling” phone message at a theater, I know all the possible flaws in the updating process — including everybody thinking someone else did it.)
The Return of ActionFest with ActionFest 3: “This Time It’s Personal”
Word has finally come that, yes, we’ll be seeing another ActionFest in Asheville in 2012. So those of you who’ve been asking me — and that includes the intrepid soul who last year sat through 13 feature films — can finally stop asking, and now start planning how to spend those three days of high-octane movies in mid-April.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Dec. 13-19: Shelter Young Adult Sherlock Holmes from Chipmunks
It’s two and two this week. We’re looking at two mainstream titles — Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-wrecked — and two art titles — Take Shelter and Young Adult. Take Shelter is finally opening at the Fine Arts, and Young Adult is coming to The Carolina.
Elitist Bastards: The end of the Bastards
In this final episode of Elitist Bastards Go to the Movies, Xpress film reviewers Ken Hanke and Justin Souther talk about the death of iconic filmmaker Ken Russell, heap praise on Hugo and reflect on the end of their podcast series.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Dec. 7-13: Anonymous Descendants of the Sitter Into New Year’s Abyss
Even though we get two mainstream releases—New Year’s Eve and The Sitter—and two art titles—The Descendants and Into the Abyss—plus one impossible-to-classify offering—Anonymous—this week feels like the calm before the storm that is Christmas. And while I can’t say I’m quivering in anticipation for the mainstream titles, I’m pretty happy with the other ones.
Elitist Bastards: The Twiharder they come …
Xpress film reviewers Ken Hanke and Justin Souther review: Like Crazy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Happy Feet Two and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Nov. 23-29: Hugo Arthur Marcy May Muppets like crazy
This is an interesting week. Everything—even the art titles—open on Wednesday, which is unusual, Thanksgiving or not. The three mainstream openers—Arthur Christmas, Hugo, The Muppets—are all of the family-friendly persuasion, which isn’t surprising at this time of year. What is surprising is that they’ve all been seen by some critics of note, and have all fared very nicely in the process. It will undoubtedly be noted that the bulk of the Arthur Christmas reviews are from the UK—its country or origin—and are therefore suspect. The problem with that bit of “conspiracy” theory is that the Brit reviewers love nothing better than trashing their own though some weird sense of cultural inferiority. Neither of the art titles—Like Crazy at The Carolina and Martha Marcy May Marlene at the Fine Arts—could even slightly be construed as family-friendly, especially the latter.
Elitist Bastards: The next time you handcuff a man …
In this edition of the Elitist Bastards Go To The Movies podcast, MountainX.com film critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther discuss current releases Jack and Jill, J. Edgar, Immortals and The Skin I Live In.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Nov. 16-22: Twilight of the Penguin Skin I Live In
OK, I’m not gonna sugarcoat this. If it wasn’t for The Skin I Live In opening at the Fine Arts this week, I’d basically suggest learning mah-jong, searching for a nice shuffleboard tournament, or just plain old hiding under the bed till this week blows over. This, of course, doesn’t apply if you’re what is known as a Twi-Hard who’s been awaiting the wedding of the century. In that case, you’re probably already immersed in the anticipatory showings of the previous Twilight that have been happening, are happening and/or will be happening leading up to the event. Being neither entranced by the soapy antics of Bella and Edward in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, nor hugely interested in Happy Feet Two (one was enough), this is not a week for me. Well, apart from the new Almodovar movie, that is.
Elitist Bastards: Not in this world, they won’t
In this week’s Elitist Bastards Go To The Movies podcast, Mountain Xpress film critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther discuss Margin Call, The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, In Time, Puss in Boots and The Rum Diary.
Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Nov. 2-8: Black Power Margin Call on Harold and Kumar Heist
It’s actually a pretty slow week at the movies. In the area of mainstream releases, all that we’re getting it seems are Tower Heist and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. Don’t those prospects simply make you absolutely giddy with anticipation? I know I can scarcely contain myself. The art scene is a little more interesting. We get Margin Call at both The Carolina and the Fine Arts, and we get the documentary The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 at The Carolina. So far it appears that Anonymous is still M.I.A. where Asheville is concerned. Let the copious weeping begin.
Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: How I’m spending my Halloween
As it happens Halloween falls on a Monday this year and while that’s a pretty crummy day for Halloween to permit itself the luxury of occuring for most people, it actually works out rather nicely for me. You see, to the degree that I have a day off—and let’s face it, this is generally a seven-day-a-week gig—Monday is that day. At least, I’m not writing reviews and I don’t have to go anywhere, so I can spend this Halloween in the company of my favorite horror movies. Sometimes I’ve been known to take the coward’s way out and just turn on TCM on Halloween, but I’m not that keen on their line-up this year, so I’ve come up with with nine choices of my own (that seems the largest number I might realistically get watched). And being that horror is one of my favorite genres, all this meant was a trip over to the shelves.
Elitist Bastards: Will return attack with compound battery
In this week’s Elitist Bastards Go To The Movies podcast, Mountain Xpress film critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther discuss Johnny English Reborn, Paranormal Activity 3, The Three Musketeers, The Mighty Macs, Love Crime, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) and Blackthorn.