Death Proof

Date: September 26
Location: Clifton Living Room

Released in theaters as part of a double-feautre titled Grindhouse, this Quentin Tarantino film has been expanded by 30 minutes and given the solo treatment on DVD. The extra footage is unnecessary, and basically amounts to more scenes of people talking... and talking... and talking. Yes, Tarantino is a great writer of dialogue, but he's not at his best here. More so than any QT film, this thing is absent a single recognizable human emotion. It's all about the style. And stylish it certainly is — but Tarantino needs to grow up and stop reimagining B-movie schlock if he wants to regain his status as one of America's finest filmmakers.

Away From Her

Date: September 21
Location: Clifton Living Room

Writer-director Sarah Polley makes a striking debut with this haunting tale of a long-married couple dealing with Alzheimer's. Polley clearly learned some tricks under the tutelage of her Sweet Hereafter director Atom Egoyan (who is a producer here) — the snowy setting, fractured timeline and emotional restraint are all reminiscent of that great film. Julie Christie is a marvel as the afflicted, but I was moved even more by Gordon Pinsent in the difficult role of the left-behind husband.

Once

Date: September 16
Location: Regal Tara (Atlanta, GA)

I crept away to see this in the dead of night at a beautiful art theater outside of downtown Atlanta. This place was great. In the mold of the old 167th Street theater — four huge auditoriums — but strictly foreign and indie fare. It's a wonderful movie, with three or four scenes that will definitely make my highlight list for the year. It's sort of a long, emotional music video... I don't know that I've seen anything quite like it before. Given that, I suppose it can only be as good as the music, and there is some truly great music here. I'll definitely be buying the soundtrack, though I doubt "If You Want Me" will be as special without the exquisite image of Marketa Irglova walking down the street after buying batteries.

The Kingdom

Date: September 15
Location: AMC Sunset Place

We saw a sneak preview of this Peter Berg political thriller a couple weeks before its official release, and I'm predicting this thing will be huge. It's smart, funny, exciting and thought-provoking. With this film and Friday Night Lights, Berg has established a style I'm liking a lot — gritty realism rooted in a strong sense of place combined with a sure-handed Hollywood sheen. He delivers that "this is why I go to the movies" feeling even if you leave the theater in tears. This film is very well cast — the mix of procedural, culture clash and action movie doesn't leave a lot of time for character development, but these actors are instantly likable. The strongest impression is left by Jamie Foxx's Saudi counterpart, and the treatment of the Saudis in general is impressive. Look for a powerful cameo by a barely recognizable Tim McGraw, who definitely appears to have a future in film.

Smokin' Aces

Date: September 14
Location: Clifton Living Room

A wildly stylish and often hilarious crime romp that would be much better if it was the 5th post-Tarantino exercise and not the 95th. It has some memorable action and dialogue, and a dozen or so excellent performances from a very impressive cast, but the "serious" moments fall flat and the plot turns ridiculous at the climax. Jason Bateman, though, practically steals the whole movie in a scene that can't last more than 5 minutes. He should be in everything.

Disturbia

Date: September 7
Location: Clifton Living Room

This was a highly enjoyable, if far-fetched, modern (and younger) take on Rear Window. It turns into a somewhat typical thriller in its final moments, but before that it very effectively establishes its characters. I did find myself wondering why these kids didn't just call the police, especially later in the film, but suspension of disbelief makes things a lot more fun. Shia Lebouf is an excellent actor who can play funny, smart, dorky or cool — sometimes all at once — and he packs a real dramatic punch when he needs to. I have no doubt that he'll be a major star for years to come.

Stardust

Date: September 1
Location: AMC Sunset Place

We had a free ticket thanks to Moviewatcher points and nothing new was worth seeing (King of Kong is playing only at Las Olas), so we gave this comic fairy tale a try. It's a very sweet film — I get the Princess Bride comparisons, though of course it's not in the same ballpark (or, to quote Pulp Fiction's Jules, not even the same bleepin' sport). Some big laughs, a sweet love story, good villains... all in all, a fun night at the movies. One big misstep, though: Robert DeNiro's pirate as a cross-dressing fop? I liked the sensitive soul masking as a tough guy, but they took it to cartoonish (and frankly, offensive) places.