Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-345-7855, amblertheater.org. Elevator to the Gallows (1958, U.S., 88 min.): An improvised score by Miles Davis marks Louis Malle's debut about lovers who scheme to off one of their spouses. Wed., Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75.

1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE, thetroc.com. Brno (2009, U.S., 81 min.): Sacha Baron Cohen dons spanky pants in the name of performance art. Mon., Nov. 23, 8 p.m., $3 goes toward a drink or snack.

824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-527-9898, brynmawrfilm.org. Between the Folds (2008, U.S., 56 min.): Examines a community of artists and scientists who have devoted their lives to origami. Part of the Community Cinema screening series. Call 215-351-0511 or visit whyy.org/memberexperience to RSVP. Sat., Nov. 21, 11 a.m., free. The Wizard of Oz Sing-along (1939, U.S., 101 min.): Belt it out with Dorothy and Co. Tue., Nov. 24, 7:30 p.m., $5-$9.50.

1218 Arch St., 215-569-3186, philadelphiacfa.org. Metropolis (1927, U.S., 123 min.) Fritz Lang's masterpiece about a working-class prophetess who is replaced to squash talk of blue-collar rebellion. Thu., Nov. 19, 8-10:30 p.m., free.

8711 Germantown Ave., 215-248-0977, armcinema25.com. Picture of Dorian Gray (1942, U.S.,...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/19/akira-kurosawa-rashomon http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/19/akira-kurosawa-rashomon

[ CITY PAPER GRADE: A- ]

Akira Kurosawa's four-way account of a man's murder, re-released on a new print, has become so associated with its central device — not to mention its myriad offshoots — that it requires an effort to see it only for itself. Whatever the meaning of the "Rashômon effect," Kurosawa's 1950 film is less an example of postmodernism avant la lettre than a mournful examination of human deceit, both of others and of oneself. Truth is not elusive because it does not exist, but because humans are too flawed to face it. The one incontestable fact is the victim's body, and even he comes back from beyond the grave to offer his own unreliable account.

Not even the dead are immune from self-delusion. Apart from its conceptual framework, what holds the movie together are the robust performances of Kurosawa regulars, particularly Toshirô Mifune's feral turn as a bandit who may be the culprit, although even those who agree he struck the fatal blow diverge on his motives. Famously instructed to mimic the predatory slink of a hungry lion, he tacitly embodies the movie's contention that humans are never far from regressing to their bestial origins.

Overlooked, too, in the focus on the film's structure is how Kurosawa and cameraman Kazuo Miyagawa integrate its layers of meaning into the visual plan. The trial court where witnesses are called to testify is squarely framed, shot at tatami level in bright sunlight, but the subjective flashbacks are handheld, reflecting the f...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/12/repertory-film http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/12/repertory-film Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, 610-649-5220, geographicalsociety.org. Geographical Society: South Africa : Canadian filmmaker John Wilson explores the titular country. Wed., Nov. 18, 2 and 7:30 p.m., $7.50-$15. Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival : Green-themed films to inspire positive change. Sun., Nov. 15, 3:30-7:30 p.m., $15-$35.

108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-345-7855, amblertheater.org. Black Orpheus (1959, U.S., 103 min.): The Orpheus and Eurydice myth set against Carnival in Rio. Thu., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75. Bird (1988, U.S., 161 min.): Clint Eastwood (who directs and also wrote the score) and Forest Whitaker take on the life of jazzman Charlie Parker. Wed., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75.

ANDREW'S VIDEO VAULT

4014 Walnut St., armcinema25.com. Larmar och gšr sig till (In the Presence of a Clown) (1997, Sweden, 119 min.): Borje Ahlstedt continues the story of his Fanny and Alexander character. Gigot (1962, U.S., 104 min.): Gene Kelly directs Jackie Gleason as a kindhearted, silent clown. Thu., Nov. 12, 8 p.m., free.

1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE, thetroc.com. (500) Days of Summer (2009, U.S., 95 min.): Boy meets cute in this anti-romantic comedy. Mon., Nov. 16, 8 p.m., $3 goes toward a drink or snack.

824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-527-9898, brynmawrfilm.org. $9.99 (2008, Australia/Israel, 78 min.): Claymation explores the meaning of life, based on stories by Etgar Keret. Part of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival. Thu., Nov. 12, 7 p.m., $8-$10. MASH (1970, U.S., 116 min.): Chr...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/12/pirate-radio http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/12/pirate-radio

[ City Paper Grade: C- ]

Do you like montages, but grow bored of the tedious plot bits in between? Then Pirate Radio is the movie for you.

Set in 1966, during what an opening title helpfully labels "the greatest era for British rock 'n' roll," the movie takes place almost entirely on a massive, red-hulled ship that has been converted into a radio station for the purpose of promulgating the devil's music to Britain's unsuspecting populace, who would otherwise be limited to the rock-free BBC. Kenneth Branagh, copping Basil Fawlty's mannerisms so blatantly he should be paying John Cleese royalties, plays the government minister obsessed with shutting the pirates down; Bill Nighy, the station's owner, a droll toff fond of scarves and wasp-waisted suits.

Curtis stocks the boat with a crew of fine comic actors, mostly playing the DJs of radio rock: Rhys Darby, Nick Frost and Philip Seymour Hoffman, essentially doing a more animated take on Almost Famous' Lester Bangs. But while they successfully convey a sense of shipboard camaraderie, enhanced by the boat's no-girls-allowed rule, Curtis seems to have no idea how to take advantage of their talents. Darby plays an awkward semi-square a la Flight of the Conchords, and Chris O'Dowd essentially Xeroxes his character from The I.T. Crowd.

The driving force behind a wave of blandly successful British comedies that include Love, Actually and the Bridget Joneses, Curtis evidently has the pull to purchase a dream cast, but not the ingenuity to take advantage of it. It's bad enough that Curtis has made one more vanilla boomer comedy mi...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/12/lee-daniels-precious http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/12/lee-daniels-precious

[City Paper Grade: B+ ] 

There’s a certain petulant bitterness to that awkward subtitle that fits Lee Daniel’s heart-very-messily-on-sleeve melodrama just perfectly. It’s a grudging admission that yes, we’ve been forced to change our title because of an instantly forgettable Chris Evans-Dakota Fanning sci-fi/action mess unworthy of your attention, but we can’t be forced to like it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with calling the film Precious, but somehow what should have been a credit has become brazenly enshrined as a title just as surely as if it were called Precious: Executive Producers Tyler Perry & Oprah Winfrey.

But then Lee Daniels has never been one to show his emotions subtly. The Philly-born producer/director goes in for volcanic eruptions of wretched excess, from the exhausting histrionics that somehow won Halle Berry the Oscar for Monster’s Ball to the sheer jaw-dropping audacity of his own directorial debut, the execrable Shadowboxer.

Daniels’ sophomore effort behind the camera is a vast improvement, even though it doesn’t correct any of his worst tendencies. Instead, in "the novel Push by Sapphire," Daniels has found a piece of source material whose own penchant for extremes gives his own a purpose. The harrowing story of abused, overweight Claireece “Precious” Jones is structured as a series of "Think that's bad? Well, get this … " propositions that dredge the depths of inner-city suffering.

Precious is an obese, illiterate 16-year-old living in squalid poverty with her abusive mother in 1987 Harlem. As the film opens, she is expelled from school for being pregnant with her second child, fathered, as was the first, by her own father, who began molesting Precious at the age of 3. The older child, who suf...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/05/repertory-film http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/05/repertory-film Repertory film

Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-345-7855, amblertheater.org. Wild Strawberries (1957, Sweden, 91 min.): In this Ingmar Bergman classic, an aging professor finds that his life choices have left him cold and empty. Thu., Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75. Anatomy of a Murder (1959, U.S., 160 min.): Small-town lawyer Jimmy Stewart takes on an impossible case. Wed., Nov. 11, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75. Black Orpheus (1959, U.S., 103 min.): The Orpheus and Eurydice myth set against Carnival in Rio. Wed., Nov. 11, 5:30 p.m.; Thu., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75.

4014 Walnut St., armcinema25.com. Larmar och gšr sig till (In the Presence of a Clown) (1997, Sweden, 119 min.): Borje Ahlstedt continues the story of his Fanny and Alexander character. Gigot (1962, U.S., 104 min.): Gene Kelly directs Jackie Gleason as a kind-hearted, silent clown. Thu., Nov. 12, 8 p.m., free.

1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE, thetroc.com. Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009, U.S., 90 min.): Lorenzo Lamas tries to the save the California coast from the titular beasts. Mon., Nov. 9, 8 p.m., $3 goes toward a drink or snack.

824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-527-9898, brynmawrfilm.org. Baran (2001, Iran, 94 min.): A Kurdish construction worker falls for an Afghan worker who must hide her gender to survive. Tue., Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., $5-$9.50.

3...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/05/the-men-who-stare-at-goats http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/11/05/the-men-who-stare-at-goats

 

[ CITY PAPER Grade: C+ ]

Directed by Good Night, and Good Luck. writer Grant Heslov, the adaptation of Jon Ronson's implausibly nonfictional book finds intrepid reporter Ewan McGregor on the trail of a covert U.S. program to train psychic spies, harnessing the paranormal for God and country. George Clooney plays a self-described "Jedi warrior" adrift from the shuttered project who schools McGregor's journo in the attempt to make the U.S. "the first superpower to develop superpowers."

Clooney's story takes the film back to the Reagan era, when ponytailed Vietnam vet Jeff Bridges was put in charge of creating a "New Earth Army" capable of spying on the country's enemies via "remote viewing," essentially a form of astral espionage. The juxtaposition of Bridges' tripped-out troops and Iran-Contra-era skullduggery makes for a few easy laughs, but the movie's satire never grows teeth; its depiction of the military as obsessive goofballs makes their excesses seem more trivial than dangerous. Given the outrageousness of Goats' premise, the only smart thing to do would be to play it cool, but instead Heslov goes for clumsy gags and overstated performances, especially Kevin Spacey's as the sneering snake in the psychic garden.

Clooney nearly saves the picture single-handedly by delving into the farcical repertoire he's fruitfully developed with the Coen brothers. As he and McGregor traverse the Iraqi desert, smashing up their car and getting kidnapped by terrorists, he's able to pass off each minor stroke of luck as verification of his paranormal prowess. If...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/10/29/repertory-film http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/10/29/repertory-film Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

941 THEATER

941 N. Front St., 215-235-1385, 941theater.com. Gogol Bordello Non-Stop (2008, U.S., 90 min.): Margarita Jimeno goes behind the scenes with gypsy punks Gogol Bordello and mustached frontman Eugene Hütz. Sun., Nov. 1, 9:30 p.m., $7.

AMBLER THEATER

108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 215-345-7855, amblertheater.org. Wild Strawberries (1957, Sweden, 91 min.): An aging professor finds that his life choices have left him cold and empty in Bergman's classic. Wed., Nov. 4, 5:30 p.m.; Thu., Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., $4.75-$8.75.

THE BALCONY

1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE, thetroc.com. Super Troopers (2001, U.S., 100 min.): Vermont state cops try to one-up the local fuzz and save their gigs. Mon., Nov. 2, 8 p.m., $3 goes toward a drink or snack.

BRYN MAWR FILM INSTITUTE

824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-527-9898, brynmawrfilm.org. Secret Ballot (2001, Italy/Canada/Switzerland/Iran, 123 min.): An Iranian female voting agent goes about her duties on the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf. Wed., Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m., $5-$9.50. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, France/U.S., 112 min.): The story of French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, save his left eye. Wed., Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m., $5-$9.50.

CINEMA 16:9

35 N. Lansdowne Ave., Lansdowne, 484-461-7676, cinema169.com. Schlocktoberfest : Fifteen days of classic horror film goodness. Through Sat., Oct. 31, call for showtimes, $5-$7.50. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, U.S., 100 min.): Bra...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/10/29/lars-von-trier-antichrist http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/10/29/lars-von-trier-antichrist [CITY PAPER GRADE: B+ ]

CHARLOTTE'S WEB: Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance is startlingly intense in Lars von Trier's Antichrist. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Born out of Lars von Trier's bout with clinical depression (which, to judge from recent interviews, he's not quite over), this harrowing two-hander is an ordeal by design.

After therapist Willem Dafoe and academic Charlotte Gainsbourg lose their son in a coitus-related accident, they face their grief by retreating to a secluded cabin they call "Eden," at which point the movie explodes into a cross between Don't Look Now and The Evil Dead. Dafoe's unnamed character attacks his wife's crippling anguish with logic and jargon, settling on a complete immersion in her fears as the best chance for a cure. But Gainsbourg's illness is more profound, and more primal, than he imagines.

Unbeknownst to him — whether due to lack of interest on his part or secrecy on hers is left unclear — his wife's abandoned thesis centers on the theme of gynocide, the systematic persecution of women in the form of witch hunts and the like. Gainsbourg's guilt, and its connection with her own sexual gratification, blossoms into a savage psychosis directed at the source of that pleasure. To say more would spoil the movie's shocks, which are a legitimate part of its effectiveness. In a sense, Antichrist is yet another movie in which Trier beats up on a female protagonist, but to dismiss him as a gynophobe neglects the movie's psychodramatic draw. It's an embodiment of fears, not an endorsement of them.

Gainsbourg's startlingly intense and unreserved performance has too much raw-nerve energy to be condensed to a castrating archetype; what's fr...]]> http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/10/29/tom-quinn-the-new-year-parade http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/10/29/tom-quinn-the-new-year-parade

Neal Santos

PUTTING ON THE RITZ: Filmmaker Tom Quinn used the Mummers Parade as the backdrop for his domestic drama in The New Year Parade.

When Tom Quinn approached the Mummers for feedback on the script for his feature-length debut, The New Year Parade, they reacted with "friendly ball-busting."

"They just wanted to tear it apart," Quinn says, who grew up in Bucks County and attended La Salle and Temple but is otherwise far removed from the string and fancy bands that set The New Year Parade scene. "They know this world so much better than I ever will." Quinn saw value in letting the Mummers retain their own voice, so he encouraged ad-libbing with the mostly first-time actors.

The story of The New Year Parade is loosely based on oral histories Quinn conducted with friends who have divorced parents and reflects one year in the life of the McMonogul family, whose patriarch — a string band captain played by Andrew Conway — leaves his adulterous wife, causing their two children emotional distress. The McMonogul family and the Mummers' tales examine how tradition functions in times of struggle.

A film that could have easily never made it out of Philadelphia ultimately launched the 33-year-old writer/director/producer/editor/cinematographer from film festival to film festival, starting with the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival where Quinn took home Best Narrative Feature. The latest checkpoint is a homecoming of sorts: a Philly-only one-week theatrical run beginning tomorrow. Following the Ritz run, Parade will be released on DVD.

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