Daily Loaf

Two nationally-acclaimed exhibits are in their final days at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art: Epitaph / Roadside Memorials in America is a collection of 33 photographs taken on artist Angelo Mantas’ travels in the United States — and a stark reminder of the frailty and transience of life. One World / One People is a  collection of 50 photographs by Arnold Newman, depicting “national and international Jewish public figures who have made a significant impact in their respective careers,” including Mark Chagall, Woody Allen, Saul Bellow and many more. (Pictured: “Leonard Bernstein,” 1968 by Arnold Newman) On display through Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, 600 E. Klosterman Rd., Tarpon Springs, $5 adults, $4 seniors, free for children, members and students, spcollege.edu/central/museum. Read the rest of this entry »

Very few filmmakers are known for their casting power. Woody Allen may be one of the best. He is always great at getting Hollywood’s biggest movie stars and the latest indie up and comers into his films (and with perfect timing). He worked with Sally Hawkins and Samantha Morton right when they were about to hit it big. His latest, Whatever Works, has some of the most coveted actors around (Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David, and Patricia Clarkson). Here are my 15 favorite performances in a Woody Allen film:

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Woody Allen is one of the luckiest filmmakers when it comes to casting, and he always seems to get the best and hottest actors available. Many consider his latest European-centered films an improvement from his previous outings this decade, and while that is true for the most part, it should be noted that his recent casting choices are the reason why. Vicky Cristina Barcelona was very enjoyable, but the success of the film is due in large part to the actors. The script for VCB wasn’t nearly as good as Allen’s best, but Bardem, Cruz and Hall exploded with chemistry and created something special.

Allen has similar success (to a lesser extent) with his latest, Whatever Works. This time he has the benefit of Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, and Henry Cavil (of The Tudors fame). They all do wonders with a mediocre Allen screenplay supposedly written way back in the 1970s .

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[Ed. note: Each week I'll be breaking down the big summer blockbuster movie releases. If you're curious about what's coming out in future weeks, be sure to check out the Summer Movie Preview. For more info on this week's releases, please check out my full length review of Public Enemies or visit our movie site for all things film-related.]

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1ST
Box office gold: Public Enemies
Worth seeing? Absolutely! Enemies is the latest project from director Michael Mann, the creative force behind Miami Vice (both the TV and film versions), the original Hannibal Lecter flick Manhunter, and the Pacino/Deniro face-off opus Heat. Mann excels at stories of crooks and criminals, and Enemies — the story of bank robber John Dillinger’s populist rabble-rousing reign of terror — is right in his wheelhouse. It also doesn’t hurt to have to have Johnny Depp playing Dillinger, Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover and Christian Bale as FBI top-cop Melvin Purvis. Mann’s ambitions can sometimes weigh down his kinetic shooting style (I mean, Heat’s great, but 3 hours? Really?), but there is no doubt that all the 1930s period details, car chases and shoot-outs will be startlingly rendered. Public Enemies is the best movie of the summer (so far).
Counter-programming: A period piece about violent gangsters not appropriate for your family’s weekend outing? Never fear, everyone’s favorite prehistoric explorers are back for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Picking up where the original left off, Dawn of the Dinos follows the continued adventures of Manny, Scrat and the rest of the thawed-out critters. The famous voices behind the scenes include Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah and Ray Romano. In addition, two higher-brow flicks hit this weekend: Larry David takes a stab at “the Woody Allen role” in Allen’s latest, Whatever Works; and Michelle Pfeiffer re-teams with Dangerous Liaisons director Stephen Frears for another period piece, Cheri.

Previews for all the movies after the jump …

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Just got word from Nicole Southworth that the Tampa Theatre is going to be showing Woody Allen’s now Golden Globe-award winning film Vicky Cristina Barcelona for a limited engagement starting Jan. 16. The showtimes are as follows:

Fri., Jan. 16: 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 17: 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Sun., Jan 18 through Wed., Jan 21: 7:30 p.m.

Not sure if it’s worth your time, despite the recent showering of praise by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association? Does the fact that film features Scar Jo and P-Cruz in a threesome with Javier Bardem alter your thinking any? If you’re still on the fence (what’s wrong with you?), check out our (positive) review of the film here.

I had a dream the other night that I was on a transatlantic flight on its way to Africa. I was sitting next to a man in a brown jacket, clown pants and Jesus sandals who kept repeating, “Down we go.” That should have given me a clue to the unfortunate end to my dream, or nightmare, but it didn’t. Suddenly, the no-smoking sign started flashing a blood-red color and the pilot got on the intercom and said something along the lines of, “We are going down, hold on to your fucking hats.” I couldn’t really make out what he said, but I’ve always thought that would be the best way to break the news to the passengers. If we’re going to die, I don’t want to hear, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to bring an unfortunate situation to your attention. Blah, blah, blah.” Cut to the chase, man! Anyway, to make a long story short, we plummeted thousands of feet into an island and, magically, I was the only survivor. That is the point when I woke up. And for some batshit crazy reason, the first thing I thought of was an episode of The Office when the employees play Desert Island. This taught me something about myself: Apparently, if I were the sole survivor of a plane crash on a deserted island, the most important thing to me would be what movies I was carrying on me and how I could watch them. So, if that were to happen, and if there were a television and DVD player on this said island, these are the movies I would take… Read the rest of this entry »