Alamo Drafthouse Coming to Richardson
This time, the rumors are true. The Alamo Drafthouse will be expanding into Dallas / Fort Worth, with the first location set for Richardson.
The renowned movie chain, based in Austin, has entered into a franchise partnership with Iced Tea With Lemon LLC, which plans to pursue other locations in the Metroplex. The one in Richardson will be located at the southwest corner of Central Expressway (I-75) and Beltline Road, which is a great location. Not only will those in Richardson benefit — no other state-of-the-art multiplex exists in Richardson — but it’s ideally positioned about midway between Plano and Dallas, so it should draw more discerning moviegoers in search of excellent sound, projection, and the possibilities of a more respectful experience.
Here’s the press release:
Austin, TX— Thursday, May 3, 2012— Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas is pleased to announce plans to open their first Dallas/Forth Worth area location with new franchise partner Iced Tea With Lemon LLC. The first location being opened by Iced Tea With Lemon LLC is Alamo Richardson in the Richardson Heights Shopping Center on the Southwest corner of Central Expressway and Beltline Rd. in Richardson, TX. The Alamo Richardson location will be a state of the art location with seven screens. Each of the auditoriums will be equipped with high-tech 100 percent digital projection as well as excellent screen size to room ratio and amazing sound. In addition to the superior AV equipment, the layout of each screening room will eliminate the traditional front row, ensuring every seat in the house allows for a great viewing experience. Alamo Richardson will also feature a lounge offering an extensive menu of draft and bottled beers, wine, cocktails and food. The lounge will offer patrons an inviting place to socialize whether they are waiting for a movie or not.
Alamo Drafthouse signed a development agreement with Iced Tea With Lemon LLC that includes all of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Iced Tea With Lemon LLC has plans to pursue additional locations to expand the presence of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema within Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
“We are very excited to be bringing Alamo Drafthouse to the metroplex and to the City of Richardson,” said Bill C. DiGaetano, COO of Iced Tea with Lemon LLC. “The City and the Richardson Heights neighborhood have been great supporters of this project and we can’t think of a better location for the first Alamo in DFW. With the great sense of community within Richardson’s neighborhoods we plan to tweak our initial renderings to reflect the mid-century modern architecture so prevalent in the surrounding areas. Being an Austinite for 14 years and a huge Alamo fan it was important that we find an area where the theater could flourish. With the amount of ex University of Texas students, fans already familiar with the theater and the proximity to University of Texas Dallas this area is a natural place for Alamo to land. The ease of access from Central Expressway will allow fans from all over the metroplex to experience Alamo Drafthouse Richardson.”
Source: Alamo Drafthouse
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Indie Weekend: ‘Headhunters,’ ‘Bernie,’ ‘Sound of My Voice,’ and More
‘Headhunters’
A handful of indies are opening locally today; truly, something for everyone:
- ‘Headhunters.‘ Slick, clever, thoroughly engaging thriller from Norway follows a corporate recruiter who moonlights as an art thief. Things get complicated fast when he attempts to recruit / steal from a target (above) who has an eye on his beautiful wife (also above). This is my pick of the weekend. (Angelika Dallas.) My thoughts at Twitch. Highly recommended.
- ‘Bernie.’ Jack Black stars as an assistant funeral director in a small town in Texas who comes under suspicion when a wealthy widow goes missing. Richard Linklater’s comedy also stars Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey. (Landmark Inwood, Angelika Plano.) Not previewed.
- ‘Sound of My Voice.’ Brit Marling (‘Another Earth’), who co-wrote, plays a cult leader in what’s been described as a quiet science-fictional drama. (Angelika Dallas, Angelika Plano.) Not previewed.
- ‘The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye.’ Documentary about the strange ways of love pursued by two musical pioneers and performance artists. (Angelika Dallas.) Not previewed.
- ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.’ A group of British retirees decide to spend their golden years at a resort in India. With Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith; directed by John Madden. (Angelika Dallas.) Not previewed.
Opening wide:
- ‘The Avengers.’ Joss Whedon puts his own jocular spin on ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in a movie that will likely please all fanboys and most audiences. My review. Recommended.
Review: ‘The Avengers’
‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ (Disney)
‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ is a very good superhero picture without being a particularly good movie. It could just as easily have been titled “Triumph of the Byte, and Humanity Be Damned.” And for that, full credit goes to writer/director Joss Whedon and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige.
Whedon gives his own jocular spin to “Earth’s Mightiest Superheroes,” carving out space so that each member of the team — Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye — may display the depths of their soul, as well as their ability to crack wise with excellent comic timing. If you’re on the same wavelength, it’s very amusing to watch Whedon blow hot air through the mouths of his characters and then suddenly deflate them, seemingly at whim.
It’s all part of a detailed plan, of course, and quite necessary when balancing the egos of an ensemble cast, several of whom have already starred in their own individual superhero movie. It’s no great surprise that Mark Ruffalo steals the show as Bruce Banner / The Incredible Hulk; not only is Ruffalo an excellent actor, but Whedon approaches the character from a different angle than what was presented in Ang Lee’s ‘Hulk’ and Louis Leterrier’s ‘The Incredible Hulk.’ That soupcon of freshness adds a healthy variety to what is otherwise a familiar stew.
While Whedon carries out an admirable balancing act, and draws from a large store of witty quips, what’s left out of the picture is any semblance of humanity, which in the previous Marvel-controlled movies allowed for a give and take between audience and the heroes we’re meant to worship. And though real-world issues of importance to anyone but the hardcore geek community have never been on abundant display in the Marvel films, such thoughtfulness has been rooted out almost entirely in Whedon’s Avengers universe.
Oh, a supposed real-world issue is utilized as a plot device, but it’s given short shrift and not discussed or resolved in a convincing manner; most audience members will be hard-pressed to remember the problem, since it’s quickly whisked off-screen in favor of extended action sequences that are nearly as incomprehensible as those that concluded Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon.’ Slicing and dicing action into tiny bite-sized portions enables CGI and body doubles to be utilized to the fullest extent possible, which is why the whirlwind editing scheme has been become a de facto standard. Yet it also creates a yawning gap between the action and the viewer, especially one who has seen the same game played over and over again with little variation.
Naturally, there’s no requirement that ‘The Avengers’ do anything more than provide disposable, diverting popcorn entertainment that has a limited shelf life. After watching ‘The Avengers,’ it’s impossible to imagine that Whedon, or anyone else involved with the project, sat down and said: “I have a burning desire to say something about life and the way the we live it, and I want to use this opportunity to express myself creatively.” Instead, the overwhelming credo seems to have been: “Let’s give the people what they want.” Alternatively, it might have been simply “Don’t screw it up.”
Within those parameters, and despite the clunkiness of all the action scenes, ‘The Avengers’ works quite well, and may provoke wild cheering, even if it leaves certain audience members wondering afterwards, “Now, what was all that about? And why should I care?”
Indie Weekend: ‘Sound of Noise,’ ‘Goon,’ ‘The Lady,’ ‘Monsieur Lazhar’
'Sound of Noise' at the Texas Theatre (Magnolia Pictures)
In my return to active duty, I’ve updated the calendar listings (in the boxes on the right), reflecting a very busy month. A quartet of indies are opening locally today:
- ‘Sound of Noise.‘ A superb, boisterous, joyous picture about musicians who make music from found objects. (Texas Theatre.) My review at Twitch. Highly recommended.
- ‘Goon.’ A hockey comedy starring Sean William Scott and Jay Baruchel, the latter of whom co-wrote the screenplay. I’ve read very positive reviews from reviewers I trust. (Texas Theatre.) Not previewed.
- ‘The Lady.’ Michelle Yeoh stars as a real-life Burmese political hero; directed by Luc Besson. Reviews have been generally favorable, though not wildly enthusiastic. (Landmark Magnolia.) Not previewed.
- ‘Monsier Lazhar.’ Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A substitute teacher helps his students deal with the suicide of their previous instructor, as well as racial prejudice. Reviews have been generally favorable. (Angelika Dallas.) Not previewed.
Opening wide:
- ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits.’ The newest stop-motion animation from Aardman will delight children, though adults may only be amused. My review at Twitch. Recommended.
- ‘The Raven.’ A serial killer stalks Baltimore in 1849, taking inspiration from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. John Cusack’s best effort cannot save the warmed-over plot. My review at Twitch. Not recommended.
- ‘The Five-Year Engagement.’ Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star in a romantic comedy. Reviews have been mixed to negative. Not previewed.
- ‘Safe.’ Jason Statham stars in an action picture. Reviews have been mixed. Not previewed.
Retro Scene: ‘Pink Panther,’ ‘Oyster Princess,’ ‘Tootsie,’ ‘Battle Royale’
Peter Sellers in Blake Edwards' 'The Pink Panther'
Here’s a spotlight on four retrospective screenings, starting tonight:
- ‘The Pink Panther’ (1964; d. Blake Edwards). Nearing the age of 40, with ‘Lolita’ behind him and ‘Dr. Strangelove’ just around the corner, Peter Sellers teamed with Blake Edwards to create his most beloved character, the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. See it to marvel how Sellers absolutely stole a routine heist picture from matinee idol David Niven (a very game straight man). [Tonight and tomorrow, Texas Theatre]
- Amusing Aside: In his book ‘The Moon is a Balloon,’ Niven notes that he suffered frostbite in his nether regions whilst taking advantage of the producer’s offer to provide ski instruction on an afternoon off from filming ‘The Pink Panther’ in the Italian Alps. (The producer did not know that Niven was an experienced skier.) Quickly surmising the danger, Niven sought help from several Italian ski guides, who helped him to a hotel bar bathroom, where the actor thawed out his member in a glass of brandy.
- ‘The Oyster Princess’ (1919; d. Ernest Lubitsch). If you can only see one retrospective screening this week, make it this one, which I was happy to catch at SXSW last month. Austin group Bee Vs. Moth debuted their awesome original score there, and will play it again; it’s a terrific accompaniment to Lubitsch’s film, a very funny, visually inventive story about a very picky heiress, her potential suitor(s), and her very bored father, a wealthy business tycoon. [Saturday night only, Texas Theatre]
- ‘Tootsie’ (1982; d. Sydney Pollack). Reportedly a troubled production in which the script went through a myriad amount of changes, the finished product emerges as some kind of jewel. The script is still problematic — for one thing, the treatment of Terri Garr’s character is abysmal — but it feels like Dustin Hoffman’s ultimate performance as a thinly-disguised version of his own flinty, vain persona. With Jessica Lange, Dabney Coleman, Geena Davis, Charles Durning, and abundantly funny, cameo-sized roles for Bill Murray and director Sydney Pollack. [Friday night only, Palace Arts Center, Grapevine]
- ‘Battle Royale’ (2000; d. Kinji Fukasaku). Beyond the superficial plot similarities, what ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Battle Royale’ most hold in common is a desire to comment on society. Fukasaku’s message was to young people in Japan, and he marshaled all of his considerable talents and experience to deliver a very potent, chilling time-bomb. But will the half-drunken midnight crowd see past the blood, cheese, and melodrama? If not, it’s their loss. [Midnight, Friday and Saturday only, Landmark Inwood]
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Review: ‘The Raid: Redemption’
Iko Uwais in Gareth Evans' 'The Raid: Redemption' (Sony Pictures Classics)
What’s most pleasantly surprising about Gareth Evans’ second film is that it’s a major step forward from his first effort.
‘Merantau’ was certainly a strong debut, taking time to establish and define its lead character, played by Iko Uwais, before moving ahead into muscular, pulvering, extended action sequences that distinguished themselves, in part, because of the underexposed Silat style of martial arts fighting, and to an even greater degree by Evans’ seemingly innate understanding of how to frame an action scene.
Uwais returns in ‘The Raid: Redemption,’ but this time we get only the barest glimpse of his character before he is plunged into chaos — we know he is Muslim, that his wife is pregnant with their first child, and that he has promised to bring someone back. And then he and his SWAT team comrades swarm into a high-rise apartment building, an upside-down Indonesian version of Dante’s Inferno, one where they must rise to the top to capture the drug lord who watches their every move through a plethora of security cameras and commands his own army of armed soldiers.
Building upon their experience in making ‘Merantau,’ Evans and Uwais (and their filmmaking comrades) expand the range of action. Even though it’s confined to a single building, the possibilities appear endless. Death may come swooping down from above, from a distance, through doors and walls and floors and ceilings, by knife or gun or bombs or fists of fury. It’s a nightmare, kill or be killed, with no margin for error.
Once again, Evans frames the action superbly, turning Uwais into Gene Kelly with a machete and a machine gun. Too often, modern action movies must rely on extreme close-ups and quick editing, not only as a stylistic crutch, but also because their lead performers are not trained martial artists and/or fighters. That’s not the case here, and Evans takes full advantage, showcasing the actors and fighters from head to toe, resulting in electrifying sequences that are fully involving before there’s a minimum of cutting; the eye follows the fists and hands and arms and legs and feet as they collide with faces and bodies, crunching and slicing and breaking as they go.
With all of the intense, extremely violent action, it would have been easy to lose sight of the characters, which is a common failing among martial arts films — great fights, weak characters. And though the characterization in ‘Merantau’ was arguably stronger, Uwais has improved as an actor and is better able to communicate emotions through his facial expressions and body movements. His character doesn’t need to say as much to let us know his desperation and determination to save his men, complete his mission, and return home safely to his family.
As it happens, that’s the only fault that I can lay against the film; as good and as intense as the fight scenes are, near the end I was more anxious to see how things might be resolved between the characters than I was to watch another battle sequence.
A second viewing solved that problem, and allowed me to better appreciate the marvelously fluid choreography and the driving momentum of the pace that pushes it past any rough spots.
If you only see one action movie this year, this is the one. It’s authentic, it’s wild, it’s different, it’s original, and it will make you want to stand up and cheer a brutal, engrossing picture.
‘The Raid: Redemption’ opens today at Angelika Dallas, AMC NorthPark, and Cinemark West Plano.
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Programming Note: SXSW Interruptus
My ability to update the site this week has been hampered by my inability to tear myself away from all the films playing at SXSW, where I have been ensconced all week. Updates coming as soon as I return home (I’m on the road home today) and/or stop watching movies. Thanks for visiting!
Review: ‘Friends With Kids’
Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt in 'Friends With Kids' (Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions)
In her directorial debut, Jennifer Westfeldt revisits familiar terrain with new characters leading the way. Though Adam Scott is terrific as her potential romantic partner, the trip is disappointing, lacking the fresh insight that Westfeldt brought to her previous efforts as writer and star.
Westfeldt broke out with ‘Kissing Jessica Stein’ (2001), which she wrote with Heather Juergensen, based on characters they created for the stage, two women who become friends and then start moving toward a sexual relationship. The comedy was sharp, the drama was effective, and significant issues were addressed in a realistic manner.
Five years later, Westfeldt went “solo,” so to speak, with ‘Ira & Abby,’ set in a “charming, alternative romantic-comedy universe,” as I described it, “a world in which a warm, friendly butterfly of a woman can disarm an angry subway robber and talk the passengers into taking up a collection for the thief.” Her character proposes marriage to an extremely neurotic man after six hours of intense conversation; the balance of the film tracks the course of their relationship, a classic tale of “opposites attract” that director Robert Cary kept moving at a brisk pace. Even so, by the third act the material felt stretched beyond its limits and the film began to sag, a structural issue shared by ‘Kissing Jessica Stein.’ In both cases, the goodwill built up through the earlier stages was sufficient to carry the stories through to their conclusion.
The goodwill and momentum is missing from ‘Friends With Kids,’ which follows a similar pattern by starting with bright, comedic patter before descending into more straightforward domestic drama. Westfeldt plays Julie, who lives in the same building as her longtime best friend Jason (Adam Scott). They’ve been friends so long that they feel entirely comfortable sitting in bed with anonymous lovers asleep at their sides, calling each other in the middle of the night to joke and make plans to get together.
They are good friends with two couples, the newly-together Ben (Jon Hamm) and Missy (Kristen Wiig), who are in the ‘incredibly horny’ phase of their relationship, and the newly-pregnant Alex (Chris O’Dowd) and Leslie (Maya Rudolph), who are resolved not to act like all other parents.
Four years pass. Jason and Julie are still single, while their friends are now, well, friends with kids. Well into their 30s, Jason and Julie question whether they’ll ever find that ‘special someone,’ and Julie is conscious that her biological clock is running out. An off-hand comment by Jason leads to their decision to have a baby, and then raise the child, together, even though both deny any physical or sexual attraction to the other.
Once they become parents and begin spending even more time together, their feelings ebb and flow, as does their relationship with their friends. Naturally, their friends are also changing as the years pass, their respective relationships becoming either stronger or weaker.
The set-up is achingly familiar, and though the opening sequences are packed with one-liners, the observations merely echo what single people have noted about their “friends with kids” for the past two or three decades. Without a new angle, the material feels stale, and the stodgy pacing lingers too long over situations that don’t merit a closer look.
Scott very nearly saves the film single-handedly, milking the humor (and the pathos, when appropriate) out of every line reading and reaction shot, deftly adjusting his performance to match the setting and the other characters. Westfeldt is not his equal as an actor, which throws the balance off a bit, but not so seriously as to be overly distracting.
The supporting performances by Hamm, Wiig, Rudolph, and O’Dowd are fine, as are turns by Megan Fox and Edward Burns, who play thinly-disguised versions of their public personas in their roles as new lovers for Jason and Julie, respectively.
Disappointing in large part due to the high standard established by Westfeldt in her previous films, ‘Friends With Kids’ could strike a chord with people of a certain age, who may find meditative food for thought. It’s not a bad movie, by any means, and Adam Scott alone makes it worth seeing out.
‘Friends With Kids’ opens in Dallas today at Landmark Magnolia.
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Review: ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’
Tilda Swinton in 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' (Oscilloscope)
The Devil is hiding in plain sight.
Or, rather, a devil, a demon-child whose true personality is known only to his guilt-ridden mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton). Everyone else sees an angelic creature named Kevin, beloved by his blinkered father Franklin (John C. Reilly) and all who come in contact with him.
Kevin hides his true nature from everyone but Eva, driving her to the brink of insanity as her guilt from bearing such an abomination becomes heavier and heavier. She lashes out and then is blamed for being overbearing and unreasonable, thus adding to her overwhelming emotional burden.
The dour, portentous tone of We Need to Talk About Kevin can be attributed to director Lynne Ramsay, years removed from the sad yet realistic and down to earth Ratcatcher and the somewhat-more-nervous and uneven Morvern Callar. Or, perhaps it can be traced back to the source material, a novel by Lionel Shriver that was published in 2003.
Shriver told the story as a series of letters from Eva to Franklin, all written in hindsight after something terrible has happened. Because events are presented as a mystery that is not solved until the end, I’ll avoid spoilers by not discussing the “something terrible.”
As the movie begins, the “something terrible” has already happened, and Eva moves through life as though she were Sisyphus, eternally rolling a boulder to the top of a mountain and then watching it roll back down. Her body is stiff and tense, anticipating physical and verbal abuse from everyone she encounters. She admits that she never really wanted children, that she resented Kevin since before he was born, that she longs to be free of his presence, that she hates having to suffer the indignity of dealing with her inferiors — meaning everybody.
Eva, in short, is not a terribly nice person, but there’s also ample indication that she’s suffering from clinical depression that goes largely untreated and ignored by her husband Franklin, who dotes on Kevin to the exclusion of nearly all else. If Eva is unsufferably negative, Franklin is a happy idiot, and Kevin is the spawn of Satan.
The child, played by three different actors, is also a master of deceit and deception. Ezra Miller, who plays Kevin as a teenager, perfectly captures all the hateful looks that no one ever wants to see, and repeats them over and over again.
All of which makes We Need to Talk About Kevin an exceedingly unpleasant experience to endure, albeit one that features an exceptional performance by Swinton and plenty of post-screening food for thought. Heavily seasoned with an oppressive flavor of fatalistic tragedy, it’s the ultimate anti-date movie, to the point that otherwise loving couples may avoid sex for weeks after watching it, just to make sure they’re not responsible for another Kevin.
We Need to Talk About Kevin opens today at Angelika Dallas and Angelika Plano.
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Review: ‘Undefeated’
'Undefeated' (The Weinstein Co.)
Considering the near-universal acclaim Undefeated has received since it debuted at SXSW last year, culminating in an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature) earlier this week, it’s reasonable to expect that it will prove to be a relatively dramatic, powerful, and/or thrilling picture.
Instead, Undefeated is merely a nice-enough portrait of one high school coach and three of his players. In view of its running time, which approaches two hours, it is very slight indeed, imparting little in the way of insight or context, and adds up to barely more than an extended pep talk.
The set-up is good, providing background on successful businessman Bill Courtney and Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tennessee. Having opened a business in the area, as well as having experience as a high school teacher and football coach in the past, Courtney volunteered to serve as head coach of the football team, which was well-known for its losing ways. He also teamed up with a friend to raise money for the underfunded program.
Courtney, with four children of his own, felt a keen desire to help the young men at school, especially those without fathers of their own. The fact that he is Caucasian and the young men are African-American never seems to have entered his mind, and the documentary only touches glancingly on the subject.
Possible racial issues are only raised when one of the young men needs tutoring, and Courtney and another coach volunteer to pay the costs involved and also provide lodging for the young man. Why does he need to be separated from his mother for several months? Well, there’s no way they could get any tutors to go to his part of town and help the kid in his run-down house, so the solution is to put him up in more acceptable surroundings with one of the coaches.
OK.
Now, you might think it’s unfair to concentrate on what amounts to only a few minutes of footage, or to harp on what is NOT covered. So let’s take a look at what IS presented, over and over again.
Coach Courtney cares. And he’s hurt, personally, when these darn kids don’t respond, and don’t respect him, and don’t appreciate that he’s giving up his precious time for them, that he’s neglecting his own kids just to help them out.
Watching the documentary, the impression is given that Coach Courtney’s coaching philosophy consists solely of pep talk after pep talk, of the ‘you gotta try harder’ / ‘you gotta give it all your heart’ / ‘you gotta wanna win’ variety. Any real-life strategy that he might have imparted, of the ‘xx’s and oo’s’ variety, has been left on the cutting-room floor. If that were true to life, then why on Earth did Coach Courtney insist that the players watch so much game footage?
It’s safe to assume that Courtney did buttress his uplifting pep talks with good game plans, because the team begins to win and then catches fire. Positive thinking only goes so far in football: you need quality players, good training, and good play-calling, but Undefeated makes it looks at though all you need are pep talks in order to win win win. And the same logic is applied to much more substantial problems.
Undefeated is a dramatic fumble. By cutting the substance and emphasizing the cheerleading, filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin make football seem like a child’s game. It’s not without value, but it’s The Artist of documentary films: slight and forgettable.
Undefeated opens today at Angelika Dallas and Cinemark West Plano.
