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News: Local filmmaker gets good news

August 6, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Aspiring KC auteur Paula Smith is on a roll.

This week she learned that her screenplay “Caruso and the Sword” was one of only 351  out of nearly 7,000 entries to be named a quareterfinalist of the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, a program of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Now her script will be read by at least two judges; if it makes the cut it will be one of 120 scripts that make it to the semifinal round.

More good news: The “Caruso” screenplay is a finalist in the “From the Heart Productions” grant competition. From the Heart  is a nonprofit organization that annually awards grants to films that are “unique and make a contribution to society.”

“Caruso and the Sword” is about a young teen taken with the sport of fencing and must deal with bullies, poor grades, parental objections and low self esteem if he’s to qualify for the Summer Nationals, the largest fencing tournament in the world.

| Robert W. Butler

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

“BRIDE FLIGHT” : Suds down South

August 5, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Waldemar Torenstra and Anna Drijver in "Bride Flight"

“BRIDE FLIGHT” My rating: C+ (Opening Aug. 5 at the Glenwood at Red Bridge)

130 minutes | MPAA rating: R

The Kiwi entry “Bride Flight” is less an art film than a romance with grand ambitions.

Unspooling over four decades, this effort from director Ben Sombogaart and writer Marieke van der Pol follows three women and one man from the Netherlands who in the years after World War II attempt to rebuild their lives as emigres to New Zealand.

In a prologue we meet Frank (Rutger Hauer), operator of one of New Zealand’s most successful vineyards. The old fellow dies of a heart attack and word goes out for his loved ones to gather for a sendoff.

Continue Reading »

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“THE TRIP” : Eat. Do impression. Repeat.

August 5, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon take "The Trip"

“THE TRIP” My rating: B (Opening Aug.  5 at the Tivoli and Rio)

101 minutes | No MPAA rating

“The Trip” seems a very casual, largely improvised movie — the sort of thing the British refer to as a “toss off.”

Certainly it appears a lightweight affair to bear the name of director Michael Winterbottom, whose output (“Welcome to Sarajevo,” “The Claim,” “24 Hour Party People,” “A Mighty Heart”) trends toward the heavily meaningful.

But don’t let its shaggy-dog demeanor fool you. Despite its simplistic setup, this is one extremely clever and entertaining film. Heck, it even has moments of depth. Continue Reading »

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“RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” : Damned dirty apes

August 5, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” My rating: C (Opens wide on Aug. 5)

105 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13

At about the one-hour-and-20-minute mark the simian protagonists of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” rebel against their human captors/tormentors and run amuck in San Francisco. And for a few moments this moribund movie comes to life.

Getting to that point, though, is a real slog.

This prequel, which purports to show how those chimps, gorillas and orangutans in the original “Planet of the Apes” came to rule over humans, is sort of like a rejected Dickens novel. Instead of a plucky young human protagonist we have Caesar, an animated chimp acted by Andy Serkis (Gollum of the “LOTR” franchise) and made flesh — er, pixels — through the wonders of motion capture technology. Continue Reading »

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DVD: Director Cary Fukunaga and the loneliness of “Jane Eyre”

August 1, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“JANE EYRE”  (Available Aug. 2)

It’s an old story in Hollywood: A fresh young director makes a splash with a first movie, but loses his/her way with a followup effort.

But Cary Fukunaga has avoided the sophomore slump. His “Jane Eyre” got rave reviews when it opened in March, and despite coming out on DVD this week the latest adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Gothic romance is still playing theatrically in Kansas City (it’s more or less taken up residence at the Screenland Crown Center).

Fukunaga, 34, is a native of Oakland CA and a film graduate of NYU who wowed many of us two years ago with “Sin Nombre,” a Spanish-language yarn about a Central American banger who hops a northbound freight train to elude his murderous fellow gang members and travels right up to the U.S. border, befriending a young woman hoping for a better life in America.

“Sin Nombre” suggested a major talent; “Jane Eyre” confirmed it. Continue Reading »

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DVD review: Pounding the pavement

August 1, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

A pre-Oscar Melissa Leo in "Streetwalkin'"

“STREETWALKIN’” (Available Aug. 2)

One of the downsides to winning an Oscar is that the home video industry starts digging through the movies you made early in your career, hoping to peddle some dross as gold.

That’s pretty much the story with “Streetwalkin’,” a 1985 innocent-in-the-big-city melodrama starring the then 25-year-old Melissa Leo.

This was, of course, before Leo registered with TV audiences as a member of the “Homicide: Life on the Streets” cast and, more recently, scored an Academy Award for her supporting performance in “The Fighter.” Continue Reading »

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DVD: Don’t walk on my laugh line, Comrade

July 31, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“EXPORTING RAYMOND” (Available Aug. 2 )

When “Everybody Loves Raymond” ended its run after nine years and 210 episodes, creator Phil Rosenthal began thinking about whether his TV show about a bickering but basically loving middle-class family might translate to other cultures.

After all, “The Nanny” became a hit in Europe with casts of various nationalities. Why not “Raymond”?

With that in mind Rosenthal agreed to help a Russian TV network develop its own version of “Raymond.” Rosenthal brought along a video crew to document the progress, and the result is “Exporting Raymond,” a fish-out-of-water real-life comedy in which the Hollywood mover and shaker gets a sobering lesson in how the rest of the world operates.

"Everybody Loves Kostya"...the Russian "Raymond"

OK, I don’t want to make Rosenthal seem like some sort of boorish Tinsel Town heavy hitter. Continue Reading »

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TV: Kiss of death

July 29, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

"Men of a Certain Age": R.I.P.

The TV networks spend millions each year on market testing to determine which shows are likely to survive and which to flounder.

I could save them a whole lot of money.

If the Missus and I get hooked on a series, then it’s doomed. Pretty simple.

The latest casualty of the Butler Curse is “Men of a Certain Age,” the superb series about three boyhood friends (Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher) uncomfortably working their way toward 50.

The show was everything you could want– terrifically acted, screamingly funny, unexpectedly touching and always realistic.

Of course it didn’t have a chance. Continue Reading »

Posted in Deep thoughts...maybe, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

“COWBOYS AND ALIENS”: Draw, ya ugly varmint!

July 29, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“COWBOYS AND ALIENS”  My rating: C+ (Opening wide on July 29)

118 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13

Daniel Craig carries himself like vintage Steve McQueen.

Harrison Ford, on the other hand, is starting to carry himself like Lee J. Cobb.

If you’re old enough to recognize those two names, welcome to my world.

In “Cowboys and Aliens” Craig is a resident of the Old West who wakes up in the middle of the desert with a bad case of amnesia and some sort of big honking electronic bracelet on his wrist that cannot be removed.

Ford plays a crusty old cattle baron accustomed to ruling the area like a Medieval lord.

Before you can say “alien abductions in 1870s Arizona” they’re battling high-tech invaders from outer space.

Jon Favreau’s latest is in many ways a conventional cowboy movie — though not always a particularly good one. We’ve all seen the Western in which the Indians raid settlements taking prisoners and the surviving menfolk organize a posse and take off in pursuit.

Same deal here. Just substitute Martians for Indians.

Continue Reading »

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“CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE” : Romance, bromance, breakup

July 29, 2011 by butlerscinemascene

“CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE” My rating: B- (Opens wide on July 29)

118 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13 

“Crazy, Stupid, Love” isn’t just about cheating. It IS  a cheat.

But if you can buy its improbable premise, its jarring and sudden shifts in tone and its desperate desire to be all things to all people, you may find moments of real substance here.

It helps that this romantic comedy from directors Glenn Ficarra and John  Requa (“I Love You Phillip Morris”) features an astonishingly strong cast with several breakout performances.

Suburban husband/dad Cal (Steve Carell) is blindsided when Emily (Julianne Moore), his wife of 24 years, announces she’s been having an affair with a co-worker and wants a divorce.

Sad sack Cal finds himself sitting night after night in a bar bemoaning his fate and watching other people score. An expert in that pursuit is the suave, slick, self-assured Jacob (Ryan Gosling), who goes home every night with a different woman. Continue Reading »

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