theCLog

(American Violet opens tomorrow in Charlotte. Here is Curt Holman’s review from the Atlanta Creative Loafing.)

Few cinematic comparisons can be as dismissive as likening a film to a made-for-TV movie or a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. The label serves as shorthand for obvious, unchallenging screen stories. The exceptions tend to be forgotten, such as 1980’s fine Gideon’s Trumpet, in which Henry Fonda played an elderly small-timer whose case led to the landmark Supreme Court ruling that criminal defendants have the right to an attorney. (more…)

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Local film reviewers Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing and Sean O’Connell of The Charlotte Weekly will appear on WFAE’s Charlotte Talks to discuss summer movies with host Mike Collins. The two crix will offer their opinions on the summer films that have already opened (such as Star Trek and Up) as well as preview upcoming titles like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bruno and Public Enemies.

The show will air at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 2.

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Sign the petition to stop NBC from swiftboating universal health care. From CREDO:

Americans’ lives depend on whether we pass the right kind of health care reform. So why is NBC News airing an infomercial that will spread dangerous misinformation?

President Obama is committed to health care reform*, but some Democrats in Congress are already wavering on an extremely important provision – basically, without a public option, the health insurance industry gets to keep getting richer while Americans languish without the care they need.

We need to tell the truth about health care. But NBC is preparing to put lies on the air this Sunday.

Rick Scott is the Chairman of a group called Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, and he has a history of disseminating lies and misinformation. (more…)

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(Moscow, Belgium opened this past weekend in Charlotte. Here is Curt Holman’s review from the Atlanta Creative Loafing.)

When Melissa Leo earned her Best Actress Oscar nomination for Frozen River, the Academy not only honored her powerful, subtle acting in the obscure indie film, but also implicitly saluted the body of work of an enormously talented veteran actress who’ll never be a cover girl.

Barbara Sarafian deserves Frozen River-style recognition for her affecting, deeply felt performance in Moscow, Belgium, a bittersweet romance from Belgium. With her ginger hair and hard features, Sarafian could even be a cinematic sibling to Leo. Sarafian plays Matty, a 41-year-old mother of three with an estranged husband and an unglamorous post office job. The film introduces her as she trudges behind a shopping cart at a Costco-like warehouse. Her dead-eyed, beaten down expression suggests that she’s emotionally lost in the supermarket. (more…)

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(Is Anybody There? opened this past weekend in Charlotte. Here is Curt Holman’s review from the Atlanta Creative Loafing.)

People think of film primarily as a visual medium, so movie buffs frequently focus on their favorite images or sequences. Less often do you hear people talk about their favorite sounds in film. When I think of my favorite cinematic noises, I recall the boinging opening bars of Looney Tunes theme music, Holly Hunter’s rapid-fire drawl, or the trilling theremin wails from 1950s sci-fi films. (more…)

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From MoveOn.org:

Last week Republicans on Capitol Hill held a strategy summit on how to defeat key parts of the president’s health care plan.

At one point, Republican pollster Frank Luntz declared, “You’re not going to get what you want, but you can kill what they’re trying to do.”¹

Luntz wrote a confidential memo that laid out the Republican strategy: Pretend to support reform. Mislead Americans about the heart of Obama’s plan, the public health insurance option. Scare enough people to doom real reform.

Since most people don’t know much about the public health care option, these lies could take root if we don’t fight back. Can you send this out to all your friends and neighbors?

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA’S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION (more…)

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(The Best Foreign Language Oscar nominee 12 opened this past weekend in Charlotte. Here is Curt Holman’s review from the Atlanta Creative Loafing.)

With 12, director Nikita Mikhalkov does more than simply translate the American theater chestnut 12 Angry Men into Russian. Mikhalkov practically feasts on the original, best known for the 1957 Henry Fonda jury deliberation film. 12 milks its source material’s themes of social conflict, seasons it with contemporary Russian culture, and sets a 12-course banquet at the jury table. (more…)

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By Adam Frazier

Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film The Hidden Fortress has just about everything a cinephile could ask for. The characters are compelling, the story is simple yet elegantly told, and the visuals are impeccably composed within the frame. (more…)

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(The immigration drama Crossing Over opened in Charlotte this past Friday. Following is Curt Holman’s review from the Atlanta Creative Loafing.)

An old Saturday Night Live sketch once envisioned a TV series called The Self-Righteous! in which strident professionals did nothing but get up in each other’s grills: “I’m a doctor, damn it!” “Well, I’m a lawyer, damn it!” I flashed on The Self-Righteous! within a few minutes of Crossing Over, a sprawling immigration-themed drama. Veteran Immigration & Customs Enforcement officer Max Brogan (Harrison Ford) inquires after an ailing detainee. A processing officer sneers, “Jesus Christ, Brogan, everything’s a humanitarian crisis with you!” and bang, they’re sniping at each other like angry terriers. (more…)

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Good Ol’ Girls, a new telefilm based on works by North Carolina authors Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, will air at 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, on WUNG and other UNC-TV stations. To read CL’s coverage of the show, go here.

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