theCLog

By Matt Brunson

FEELING BLUE: Diane Lane in Nights in Rodanthe.

NIGHTS IN RODANTHE
**
DIRECTED BY George C. Wolfe
STARS Richard Gere, Diane Lane

Diane Lane and the Tuscan countryside prove to be a more dynamic duo than Diane Lane and the Outer Banks, an assertion that immediately becomes clear when placing Under the Tuscan Sun and Nights in Rodanthe side by side. Neither film, of course, could be accused of basking in originality, but the former at least made the most of its setting and its star, resulting in a winning romantic comedy whose love-struck spirit rubbed off on audience members eager to lap up its sense of joie de vivre. The coastal-Carolina-shot Rodanthe, on the other hand, starts off well as Tuscan Sun’s more serious-minded cousin, but it eventually sinks under the weight of the shameless plot devices thrust upon it by author Nicholas Sparks and adapters Ann Peacock and John Romano.

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Spread the news about endearing indie romance

By Matt Brunson

IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS
***1/2
DIRECTED BY Alex Holdridge
STARS Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds

It’s a great feeling, isn’t it, falling in love with a movie about falling in love? That’s the case with In Search of a Midnight Kiss, an irresistible indie effort about two lonely souls hoping to find some modicum of contentment on the streets of Los Angeles. It’s this year’s version of 2 Days In Paris, a smart, perceptive, slightly cynical film which upends the traditional romantic comedy by marinating it in the realities of the modern world. (more…)

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WHAT’S UP: Frank (Greg Kinnear) soon discovers that heaven can wait in Ghost Town.

By Matt Brunson

GHOST TOWN
***
DIRECTED BY David Koepp
STARS Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni

Given the dearth of quality romantic comedies produced by the major studios — these days, it’s up to the independent outfits to provide them (tag In Search of a Midnight Kiss as Exhibit A) — it’s a pleasant surprise to discover that Ghost Town manages to buck the odds. (more…)

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A PLACE IN THE SUN: Mary (Meg Ryan, center), her daughter (India Ennenga) and her mother (Candice Bergen) get far away from the big-city scandals in The Women.
Claudette Barius / Picturehouse

Remake lacks vitality of classic original

By Matt Brunson

THE WOMEN
**
DIRECTED BY Diane English
STARS Meg Ryan, Annette Bening

The witty and wise 1939 screen version of The Women, based on Clare Booth Luce’s play and helmed by “woman’s director” George Cukor, has been unfortunately refashioned as a Sex and the City wanna-be, in the process losing all the smoldering conflicts and zesty support system of its classic predecessor. (more…)

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From Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films: “No one can make a documentary with as much political savvy, humor, and creativity as Michael Moore. And no one is as willing to tackle our elected officials with the same tenacity. After unleashing Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and SiCKO in recent years, Moore has set his sights on the Bush administration and our nation’s voter turnout in his latest film, Slacker Uprising, which chronicles his 62-city swing state tour of college campuses just prior to the 2004 election.

Here’s the best part. To maximize the reach of his message and as a thank you gift to his fans, Moore is adopting a novel approach to distributing this film. He’s teaming up with Brave New Films to distribute the movie online, completely free of charge. Sign up now on http://slackeruprising.com and you will be notified when the film is available for free download on September 23. (more…)

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SETTING THE SEASON ON FIRE: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, the summer’s best film.
Warner Bros. & DC Comics

A checklist of the season’s hits and misses

By Matt Brunson

Best Cameo: Tobey Maguire in Tropic Thunder. Runners-up: Robert Downey Jr. in The Incredible Hulk; the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (more…)

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OK, movie previews will suck from now on. Check out this story:

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The omnipresent baritone and gravely bass undertones of Don LaFontaine’s distinctive voice had the unique ability to seamlessly embellish big-screen kisses, slice through over-the-top explosions, perfectly pair with robust musical scores, glide alongside car chases and effortlessly co-star with any A-list talent in Hollywood.

“He was the originator of the modern voiceover for movie trailers,” said voiceover artist Jim Tasker. “He is the standard for which all other voiceovers for movie trailers are measured. For the past 30 years, his voice has been the gauge for all of us in the industry.”

Pretty sad. Read the full article here.

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Terrorist drama tries to find middle ground

By Matt Brunson

TRAITOR
**1/2
DIRECTED BY Jeffrey Nachmanoff
STARS Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce

Tackling terrorism on screen is a dicey proposition, often resulting in a push-pull dynamic of trying to make an entertaining crowd-pleaser that nevertheless can’t forget its civic duty to present its ugly subject matter in an honest and illuminating light. Traitor tries for that line drive right down the middle and, consequently, ends up as a middle-of-the-road movie. (more…)

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Support these (and other) alternative flicks

By Matt Brunson

@2008 Jean-Louis Blondeau / Polaris Images

MAN ON WIRE
***
DIRECTED BY James Marsh
STARS Phillipe Petit, Jean-Louis Blondeau

TELL NO ONE
***
DIRECTED BY Guillaume Canet
STARS Francois Cluzet, Marie-Josee Croze

It’s been a few weeks since Regal Entertainment Group elected to turn Park Terrace into an art-house theater, and so far, it’s led to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to alternative offerings and foreign-language flicks. Coupled with Regal’s Manor venue, this increases the chain’s number of indie-friendly screens from two to eight; add to that the five screens at Ballantyne Village Theatre in south Charlotte, and local movie fans can expect to see limited-release pictures sooner rather than later - and, in some cases, movies that otherwise would have bypassed Charlotte altogether. Of course, patrons need to actually turn out to watch these movies for the implementation to succeed, and Man on Wire (at Park Terrace) and Tell No One (Manor) are both worthy of the admission price. (more…)

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Rowdy remake requires a tune-up

By Matt Brunson

DEATH RACE
*1/2
DIRECTED BY Paul W.S. Anderson
STARS Jason Statham, Joan Allen

Paul Thomas Anderson currently stands as one of the most acclaimed writer-directors in America, having created such films as Boogie Nights, Magnolia and last year’s Oscar-winning There Will Be Blood. Therefore, it’s unbelievable that he’s behind Death Race, a stultifying remake of - wait, hold on a sec. Oh, right, this is Paul W.S. Anderson, the man behind such titles as Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil and AVP: Alien vs. Predator. Ah, now it makes sense. (more…)

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