May 7, 2009

Summer Movies 2009
To boldy go where no movies have gone before
By Hippo Staff letters@hippopress.com

It does not get better than summer at the movies.

Sure, summer has a big shiny crazy reputation when it comes to movies (a blockbuster a week, lots of stuff blowing up), but that doesn’t mean you can’t find some quality flicks. Last year’s summer movies were better than last year’s Oscar movies — I will put Iron Man, The Dark Knight and WALL-E, not to mention a few of the French mysteries that floated into theaters last summer, up against the likes of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button any day. This summer has some promising event movies as well as some comedies and even a decent-looking horror movie.

And there’s plenty going on in the local movie scene too — from many different groups making movies to the many places outside the multiplexes to see movies that aren’t just the blockbuster of the week.

Save up your money for some popcorn and throw away your suntan lotion — it’s time to head indoors for the summer.

How you should spend your summer
The summer 2009 movie schedule
By Amy Diaz adiaz@hippopress.com

Here are the movies — bigger, smaller and potentially cheesetastic — to keep an eye on this summer.

Big awesome summer movies
It’s all popcorn, explosions and big box offices (maybe) for these wannabe blockbusters. Good, bad or simply loud, these will be the movies sucking up the attention for the next four months.

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1) Hugh Jackman tries his darnedest to make Wolverine stand on his own.

• Star Trek (May 8) J.J. Abrams reboots the franchise with this new take on classic Trek.

• Angels & Demons (May 15) Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) suits up for another mystery involving the Catholic church and wacky religious symbols in this adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel that came out before The Da Vinci Code. For all those who think they’re too cool for sci-fi and comic books, this movie could be the first general public blockbuster of the season.

• Terminator Salvation (May 21) John Connor (Christian Bale) is finally dealing with his robot nemeses in real time in this movie set in 2018,  post Judgment Day. Bryce Howard takes over from Claire Danes as Mrs. John Connor. McG takes over from James Cameron (and from Jonathan Mostow, who directed the forgettable third movie in the series) as the director.

• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (May 22) Ben Stiller does what funny guys do when they grow up (well, the other thing they do aside from drop out of sight, Jim Carrey) and turns to family comedy. The first Night at the Museum was successful for its “the whole family can watch this and nobody suffers” quality. That movie came out around the holidays; this one goes for the big money that is Memorial Day weekend. Amy Adams (as a plucky Amelia Earhart) and Hank Azaria (as a pharaoh) join the cast of historical figures who have been transported to the Smithsonian.

• Up (May 29) Hmm, a Pixar movie, I wonder if it will be any good or make any money … Ed Asner is the voice of the old guy who ties a zillion balloons to his house and floats off to adventure (with, unbeknownst to him, a pudgy scout on his porch). Even the fact that the movie will screen in 3-D doesn’t keep me from believing in the power of Pixar to keep topping itself.

• Land of the Lost (June 5) Will Ferrell is a “scientist” whose belief in time travel and alternate realities lands him in one of those alternate realities, complete with giant insects and dinosaurs. Danny McBride and Anna Friel (it’s nice to know she’s getting work now that Pushing Daisies is six feet under) costar. 

• Year One (June 19) Jack Black and Michael Cera (plus Oliver Platt, David Cross and Hank Azaria) take a little jaunt through early human history and the Old Testament of the bible. Harold Ramis is directing and Judd Apatow has a producer credit. It has, if nothing else, the pedigree for big funny.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24) Four words: directed by Michael Bay. As he explained so wonderfully in those Fios commercials, he demands that things “be awesome” so look for awesome explosions and even awesomer transformer-vs.-transformer fights than in the first movie. Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky, geek turned cool guy who is friends with the Autobots. 

• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July 1) In the very first movie, the Ray Romano-voiced woolly mammoth is distraught over the death of his family at the hands of hunters. Human hunters. Human. Perhaps you can see why the “dinosaurs” part of Dawn of the Dinosaurs will give some grown-ups pause. However, this movie isn’t for us, it’s for them, those tiny people who will demand to see this movie and then demand the promotional toys that go along with it. Opening a few days before the July Fourth holiday, the kids will probably get what they want and that’s not totally a bad thing. The Ice Age movies have, for the most part, done a decent job of mixing old-fashioned Looney Tune fun with not-too-sweet modern cartoon stories about family and sticking together.

• Public Enemies (July 1) And for grown-ups, the July Fourth weekend will bring this Michael Mann-directed story of John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and the FBI agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), who was charged with catching him. Trailers for this movie (which also features Marion Cotillard of La Vie En Rose) suggest a mix of Depression-era action-suspense and a hint of outlaw fun.

• Bruno (July 10) The answer to the question “in what new way will Borat’s Sacha Baron Cohen terrorize unsuspecting middle Americans?” Yet another mockumentary takes yet another character from Cohen’s Da Ali G Show and sets him loose. Early controversy is over its rating, which will probably eventually be an R but, according to several media reports, started out as an NC-17 after the MPAA’s first viewing of the film.

• Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince (July 17) After being held for a few months by Warner Brothers in hopes of getting a big summer (rather than November 2008) blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Movie Before the Last Movie will hit theaters this summer (actually, it appears that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series, will be released in movie form in two parts; hey, studio executives gotta eat). All the usual cast members are back and David Yates is in the director’s chair — he also directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the BBC’s State of Play (on which the recent Russell Crowe movie was based) and The Girl in the Café, which aired in the U.S. on HBO.

Cool little summer movies
If superheroes and big action are the hallmarks of the summer movie, these movies play a bit against type. Some are comedies that would seem better suited to a quieter part of the year, some are quirky little capers, some have that look of a B movie (in the best possible way). You probably won’t see fast food promotions with these movies but these might still be worth checking out.

• The Brothers Bloom (May 15) This movie about con artist brothers (Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) has been on the schedule a couple of times, starting at least last fall. Not a good sign but Ruffalo, Brody and Rachel Weisz have me intrigued in spite of myself. Rian Johnson, who also wrote and directed the indie film Brick, is the brain here as well.

• Easy Virtue (May 22) “Yay, a Jessica Biel movie!” is not a common thought among film-lovers, but one Mr. Noel Coward is the rock on which this movie is built. Charming Brits Kristen Scott Thomas and Colin Firth can make you feel better about this comedy of British manners.

• Drag Me to Hell (May 29) While horror might play a significant role in the popcorn movie offerings during other parts of the year, you don’t often see it on summer calendars, particularly horror this early in the summer and with the always fun Sam Raimi (who has a director and a writer credit here — sharing the latter with his brother Ivan) behind it. Actual good actress Alison Lohman (Matchstick Men, White Oleander) plays a girl who is suffering from an old-school curse.

• Away We Go (June 5) In the midst of robots and CGI, it’s a relationship dramady starring The Office’s John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph (formerly of Saturday Night Live). Adding to the pedigree here are director Sam Mendes, writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida and supporting actors Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney and Catherine O’Hara.

• The Hangover (June 5) I can’t help it — the trailers for this dumb-looking comedy about a group of men who blackout a night of bachelor-party debauchery and wake up with a tiger, a baby and assorted other characters in their midst (strippers, Mike Tyson) make me laugh. Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Jeffrey Tambor and Heather Graham bring the funny here.

• Funny People (July 31) OK, Judd Apatow is hardly “little” but this movie (which is really only the third one to have him as writer and director) looks less like a big wacky comedy and more like a smart comedy that will have several stomach-crampingly funny moments. (That is, after all, what both Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin really were at their heart.) Manchester’s own Adam Sandler (who appears in the trailer to be well suited to this kind of comedy) stars here along with Apatow regulars Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann and Jonah Hill and the very promising likes of Eric Bana and Jason Schwartzman. The rough outline: Sandler is a Sandler-like comedian who finds out he’s dying and takes Rogen under his wing.

• Julie & Julia (Aug. 7) The foodie memoir by Julie Powell is melded with some of Julia Child’s own memoir as Amy Adams and Meryl Streep play Julie and Julia, both women who find themselves through food.

• Inglorious Basterds (Aug. 21) Quentin Tarantino (who writes and directs) appears to be giving World War II the B-movie grindhouse treatment. Brad Pitt plays an American officer leading a strike force of American soldiers sent into Europe to terrorize the Nazi occupiers.

The ants at our picnic
They have stars and relatively big budgets and yet these summer releases inspire no faith. And yes, pretty much all the romantic comedies scheduled for this summer are on the list. Here’s hoping these movies surprise me with how much better they are than they appear to be.

• Dance Flick (May 22) Apparently the Wayans forgot to spoof the Step Ups and Save the Last Dances of the world. Thusly, here we are.

• Imagine That (June 12) “Eddie Murphy family comedy” — that also described last year’s Meet Dave.

• The Proposal (June 19) Romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds — I’ll bet you’ve circled the date on your calendar! (So you know to stay away.)

• The Ugly Truth (July 24) Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler — I can see why someone might think it would work, but everything (including recent trailers) suggests that it might not.

• GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Aug. 7) Three words: “starring Dennis Quaid.”

• World’s Greatest Dad (Aug. 21) This could really go two ways because on the one hand Robin Williams stars but on the other hand Bob Goldthwait writes and directs.

• Final Destination: Death Trip 3D (Aug. 29) Death comes for a grouping of young stars for the fourth time but now in 3-D!

Quick, make a movie
48-Hour Film Project comes to New Hampshire
By Jeff Mucciarone jmucciarone@hippopress.com

Write it. Shoot it. Edit it. All in 48 hours. That’s what 24 area filmmaking teams will be charged with in June.

For the first time, the 48-Hour Film Project is coming to New Hampshire. The competition, which is in its ninth year, has been a global success. Last year, some 30,000 filmmakers made films in 70 cities. In Manchester, there will be slots for 24 teams. The competition will kick off Friday, June 12, at Double Midnight Comics, 245 Maple St. That night, teams will be given a character name, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre. From that, they will have until Sunday to drop off a completed film.

 “It really gets you thinking outside the box and sparks that creativity,” said Chris Proulx, who participated in a 48-hour film competition last year in Portland, Maine, and is producing the Manchester event this year. He said there were already 10 to 12 teams lined up to register last week, but he expects to fill all 24 slots.

Proulx said most teams start entirely from scratch as film genres are so varied that it’s tough to have some kind of framework already in hand.

 “We’re just really excited to bring this to New Hampshire,” Proulx said. “We’re excited with the initial interest. I think we’re going to fill the slots that we have. Hopefully, we’ll be able to grow it each year going forward. It really gets the creative juices flowing.”

The public can enjoy the finished products Wednesday, June 24, at the O’Neil Cinema 12 at Apple Tree Mall in Londonderry. Films will be shown in two blocks of 12. A panel of judges will take in each film and the top film will move on to the international competition, Proulx said, adding that organizers are looking to do additional screenings across the state.

 “We definitely want to get these films seen by people,” Proulx said. “They’re all homegrown filmmakers.”

Teams can sign up by going to www.48hourfilm.com/newhampshire. Participants are responsible for putting together their cast and crew and any equipment they’ll need. Registration costs $125 per team, which goes to the national organization. Teams will be admitted on a first come, first served basis.

Moral of the story
Nashua South students continue “safe prom” movie tradition
By Heidi Masek hmasek@hippopress.com

For the third time in about four years, students in Nashua High School South’s TV production program are creating a feature film promoting having a “safe prom.”

These movies pretty much all have the same theme of not drinking and driving, but students add their own twists and subplots each year, senior Ben Levine said.

In this version, a friend of Cam, the main character, goes to an after-prom party and Cam ends up driving the friend to the hospital. On the way back, Cam is hit by a drunk driver who is a fellow student, Levine said.

Levine’s script (he started it last summer) has different storylines for the characters — personal dilemmas such as whether to spend time with the girlfriend after prom or go to a party, or what to do about the kid who can’t get a prom date.

“We’re really trying to [use] the ordinary prom situations ... I wanted it to be as realistic as possible,” Levine said.

Levine co-directs with Alex Rinaldi, Steve Urquhart and Brett Cailler. They’ve worked on small projects together. “We’ve never done anything this large,” Levine said.

“We’ve been editing as we go” using Avid, plus Adobe After Effects and Photoshop for some special effects, he said. One co-director has used his independent study for the film editing.

Their school wants to show Wasted before junior prom, near the end of May. “We’ll absolutely make it,” Levine said.

“We almost had to start shooting later than anticipated,” because of the long winter, he said. Levine said April 29 they are on track. “Tomorrow morning we’re going to St. Joseph’s [Hospital] to do a short scene that takes place in an emergency room.”

They still had their big car crash scene left.

Filming locations included their school and police and fire departments — the prom scene was at Courtyard Marriott in Nashua. Police, fire, ambulance, hospital and school staff appear in Wasted.

It was accommodating everyone’s busy schedules that was the challenge, Levine said.

“I really feel like myself and the other kids helping me out ... have become much better leaders,” Levine said. Initially Rinaldi and Levine planned to act, but they decided to hand those jobs off.

Some Nashua High North students helped, and they hope to also show Wasted there. Screening at festivals, however, would require permission for any music used. Levine said they are trying to use original music from a few bands at the high school. 

So far, they haven’t had many expenses or funding issues. Their “real concern is trying to find a trashed car,” but a few salvage yards may be willing to donate, Levine said.

“We’re all interested in some sort of communications,” Levine said. He’ll study broadcast journalism at Boston University. Rinaldi will study television production.

Kids stay in the picture
New Hampshire students show off their films
By Jeff Mucciarone jmucciarone@hippopress.com

New Hampshire’s film and television office is trying to provide a climate where students can grow in to the film industry right here in the Granite State.

 “There really isn’t a showcase for student filmmaking on any level,” said Matthew Newton, director of the state’s film and television office. That’s changing, though, as Newton’s office is organizing the second annual High School Short Film Festival, which will take place Saturday, May 16, beginning at noon, at the New Hampshire Technical Institute’s Sweeney Hall Auditorium in Concord.

The festival, which will feature 30 short films ranging from documentaries to dramas to comedies to experimental pieces, not only provides a film venue for high schoolers to display their work to a public audience, but it also provides a framework for promoting and building on media arts programs at New Hampshire high schools, Newton said. Five of the films will be named winners and will air at this year’s New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth and the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival in Concord.

The festival sees a full spectrum of entries — films from students who are very serious about the craft, and films from filmmakers who are in the beginning stages of using movies to tell stories. Either way, Newton said, the festival provides an opportunity to forge relationships between students.

 “Our hope is that these filmmakers ultimately get to know each other professionally and choose to stay here in state,” Newton said. “We’re here to kind of build the film industry in the state. Our goal here is to get folks interested.”

Newton, who said organizers were a little unsure of what to expect last year in terms of interest, have been amazed to find how many students are turning to film.

 “It seems to be a growing curriculum,” Newton said. “We’re finding more programs every day. It’s amazing what’s coming out of schools. I really think we’ve hit on something.”

For the audience, Newton said the event provides a fresh look at movies from the state’s young minds.

 “I think folks are always interested in going to the movies,” Newton said. “This is just another outlet of independent filmmaking that you don’t get at the local cineplex.”

Organizers have already started planning the 2010 festival and Newton said to check www.nhstudentfilm.com, as information for next year’s event will be posted soon.

The festival is free and open to the public.

Some restrictions apply
Harry Potter was supposed to dominate the fall of 2008; The Brothers Bloom was scheduled for, like, a year ago. In the world of movies, studios are always changing schedules and trying to find a better position (“you mean we’re up against Up? Abort! Abort!”). Dates mentioned here could change; movies could seemingly vanish. As they say, that’s show biz.

At the movies
In addition to our many local megaplexes, there are plenty of great out-of-the-way places to see the movies this summer — from the blockbusters to the art films and fun stuff in between. Look for more upcoming films in our film listing each week.

• The Colonial Theatre (95 Main St., Keene, 352-2033, www.thecolonial.org) Look for smaller films, like The Great Buck Howard (screening Sunday, May 10, through Thursday, May 14) most nights of the week this summer as well as special screenings of family movies such as the 1976 The Bad News Bears Saturday, July 4, through Monday, July 6, at 2 p.m.; The Muppet Movie from Saturday, July 11, through Monday, July 13, at 2 p.m., and Ghostbusters Saturday, July 18, through Monday, July 20, at 2 p.m.

• Franco-American Centre (52 Concord St., Manchester, 669-4045, www.francoamerican­centrenh.com) Look for monthly French-language films.  The next one is Inch’Allah Dimache (NR, 2001, French with subtitles) on Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m.

• Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., Manchester, 624-6550, www.thecolonial.org) Looking for someplace to get out of the hot summer sun? Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. there’s a free movie at the city’s main library. Upcoming screenings include Mamma Mia! (June 10), 50 First Dates (July 22) and Fiddler on the Roof (Aug. 19).

• Milford Drive-In (101A in Milford, 673-4090, www.milforddrivein.com) Currently, the drive-in is open Fridays and Saturdays (movies begin at dusk). But once summer really kicks into gear, look for two different double features each night of the week. Admission costs $20 per car (up to six occupants).

• The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, www.themusichall.org) Look for a mix of classic, indie, documentary and other films all summer long at the Music Hall. Upcoming special events include the Main International Film Festival on Friday, July 17, through Sunday, July 19. The festival will feature eight films, seminars and more. Weekend passes will go on sale to the public May 9; individual tickets will go on sale June 27. A festival pass (which includes priority seating for films and special events) costs $120; weekend pass costs $28; individual film tickets will cost $11. See www.miff.org for more on the festival.

• Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua, 589-4600, www.nashualibrary.org. Call 589-4646 for the library’s film line) The library’s regular film series will stop for the season at the end of May, but look for an outdoor film series in Greeley Park the last four Friday evenings in July.

• NHTI (Sweeney Auditorium, 31 College Drive, Concord, 271-7185, www.nhti.edu). Looking for something truly outside the mainstream. The NHTI Friday night films feature indie and foreign films as well as some local films you won’t see anywhere else. Their next movie is  Silent Light on Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m.

• Pembroke Library (313 Pembroke St. in Route 3, Pembroke, behind town hall, 485-7851) See French films hosted by Gens Unis du Richelieu on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m.

• Peterborough Community Theatre (6 School St., Peterborough, 924-2255, www.thepct.com. Schedule subject to change, call ahead.) The theater offers first-run movies in a decidedly not-multiplex setting as well as theme nights on Tuesdays: it’s a different theme each Tuesday — first Tuesday of the month, classic movie; second Tuesday, comedy/classic; third Tuesday, action/sci-fi; fourth Tuesday, chick flick. Movies start at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations accepted.

• Pollard Memorial Library (401 Merrimack St., Lowell, Mass., 978-970-4120, www.pollardml.org) The library screens an independent, unrated film on the second Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Films are announced a week in advance.

• Red River Theaters (11 S. Main St., Concord, 224-4600, www.redrivertheatres.org) In addition to finding indie, foreign, local and documentary films here, look for special presentations with post-film discussions and other events.

• Revolving Museum (22 Shattuck St.., Lowell, Mass., 978-937-2787, www.revolvingmuseum.org) The museum regularly hosts special film events including the upcoming screening Going Green: Every Home and Eco-Home (third in a series of movies about green building; see lowellfilmcollaborative.org) on Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m.

• Showcase Cinemas Lowell (32 Reiss Ave., Lowell, Mass., 978-551-0055, www.nationalamusements.com) It’s a multiplex but Lowell’s Showcase Cinemas is also a frequent venue for Fanthom film events, like the recent live broadcast of This American Life.

• Wilton Town Hall Theatre (Main Street in Wilton, wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call 654-FILM) In addition to nightly screenings of a mix of limited-release and mainstream movies (with matinees on Sunday), Wilton features classic films on Saturday afternoons and it will host monthly silent films (with live music by Hippo’s associate publisher Jeff Rapsis) throughout the summer: Show People (1928) starring Marion Davies on Sunday, May 21, at 4:30 p.m.; College (1927) and comedy shorts on Sunday, June 28, at 4:30 p.m.; A Sailor-Made Man (1921) and comedy shorts on Sunday July 19, at 4:30 p.m., and Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926) with Harry Langdon and comedy shorts on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 4:30 p.m.