Local & Repertory
The Elegant Clockwork of the Universe Local director Malik Isasis presents his indie suspense film about a man whose long-term girlfriend suddenly goes missing. His investigation takes him to unexpected places. (NR)
SIFF Film Center, 305 Harrison St. (Seattle Center), 324-9996, siff.net, $6-$11, Fri., July 5, 8 p.m.; Sat., July 6, 8 p.m.
A Girl and a Gun Cathryne Czubek’s new documentary looks at women and the firearms they sometimes love and sometimes hate. (NR)
Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org, $5-$8, Sat., July 6, 5 p.m.; Sun., July 7, 5 p.m.; Mon., July 8, 7 p.m.
The Goonies Before he was Sam in the LOTR movies (before he could shave, for that matter), Sean Astin joined fellow child actors including Corey Feldman in the 1985 fantasy-adventure flick The Goonies, hatched by the powerful cartel of Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus (though directed by Richard Donner). (PG)
Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684, central-cinema.com, $6-$8, July 5-10, 7 p.m.
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Mayoral Movies SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 17.
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Movie Mondays In this 2000 adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel, John Cusack winningly portrays a relationship-bumbling 30-year-old record store owner whose love and career travails should resonate widely among its intended viewers. His character is dumped by his live-in attorney girlfriend (Danish actress Iben Hjejle), and promptly begins brooding in direct address to the camera. Yet despite his self-absorption, when our hero decides to pursue his lost love, we share in his optimism. What could have been a thirtysomething batch of cliches for the Singles generation is finally a tasteful, bittersweet reward for anyone afraid of the big 3-0. 21 and over. Ticket price is your drink price. (R) KRISTY OJALA The Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net, $3, Mondays, 8 p.m. Through Aug. 19.
Nicolas Cage Match Screened in series will be Raising Arizona, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Vampire’s Kiss, Adaptation, Con Air, and The Wicker Man. Food and film introductions are part of the fun to this overacting marathon of teeth-gnashing, hair-waving, and eye-rolling. (R)
SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 324-9996, siff.net, $25-$35, Sat., July 6, 11 a.m.
The Silence of the Lambs Jodie Foster earned an Oscar opposite Anthony Hopkins’ braniac killer in this 1991 thriller. Jonathan Demme directs the second, and likely best, of several Hannibal Lecter pictures. (R)
Central Cinema, $6-$8, July 5-10, 9:30 p.m.
Ongoing
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A Band Called Death A forgotten Detroit punk-rock band of the early ’70s, Death was founded by African-American brothers David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney. The Detroit trio recorded and pressed one 1976 single on spec; no label would sign them; and the 45 was relegated to used-record bins for more than three decades—coveted only by obsessive collectors of vintage wax (far too many of whom are interviewed here). Then came Mike Rubin’s 2009 story in The New York Times, and Death was miraculously revived from the dead. Vermont directors Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino were astonished to find that the surviving Hackney brothers, Bobby and Dannis, had been fronting a popular Burlington reggae/jam band for years. More incredible still, the next generation of Hackney kids were themselves musicians with no idea of their elders’ rock roots. Rotoscoped old stills mix with new interviews; geeky white record collectors share their passion for Death; but it is the Hackneys who deservedly dominate the show. (NR) BRIAN MILLER SIFF Cinema Uptown
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Before Midnight
Before-ophiles already know that Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) are now a couple and the parents of adorable twin girls. On vacation in Greece, the Paris-based family is contemplating a move to the U.S., where novelist Jesse’s teen son lives. But Celine has a career back in Paris, and she naturally takes his suggestion as an affront. From the first 10-minute take in the car ride back from the airport, kids snoozing in the rear seats, Before Midnight becomes their on-again/off-again argument about who has to sacrifice what for a relationship, what sexual spark keeps it burning, and how shared romantic history becomes both a burden and a bond. Your tolerance or enthusiasm for the third chapter of Celine and Jesse’s intermittent romance will depend on your feelings about Richard Linklater’s last two talkathons featuring the same duo: 1995’s Before Sunrise and 2004’s Before Sunset. That’s really all the guidance you need: If you cherish the first two movies, as I do, the third installment feels necessary—a midlife tonic for all those foolish old romantic yearnings, a trilogy driven by fallible, relatable characters rather than franchise economics. (R) BRIAN MILLER Sundance Cinemas, Kirkland Parkplace, others
The Bling Ring Sofia Coppola has made just three features since Lost in Translation, her 2003 breakthrough. She’s in her early 40s now, and somehow ought to be past The Bling Ring. The real-life case of teenagers who robbed the houses of L.A.’s most vacuous stars must have sounded ripe for a satirical spin around the block. The crime spree grows naturally from the friendship of sociopathic Rebecca (Katie Chang) and easily led gay kid Marc (Israel Broussard). They execute the burglaries by Googling the busy schedules of fave celebs, which makes locating their empty houses easy enough. Their equally vapid friends, Nicki (Emma Watson), Sam (Taissa Farmiga, sister of Vera), and Chloe (Claire Julien), join the nocturnal prowls. More giggly pranks than criminal exercises, these break-ins qualify as “something to do” for idle, privileged teens. So the kids are not all right, and Coppola wants you to know that—even if it already seemed obvious from the news story itself. (R) ROBERT HORTON Guild 45th, others
Fill the Void Filmmaker Rama Burshtein is herself a member of Israel’s strict Orthodox community in which Fill the Void is set. In this isolated, unto-itself world, her film’s achievement is to suggest, with great delicacy, how an 18-year-old woman might carve out a tiny space for the unlikely possibility of getting what she wants. Sort of. Shira (the excellent Hadas Yaron) modestly hopes for a satisfactory arranged marriage to an awkward but likable boy her age. Disaster strikes as her older sister dies in childbirth, leaving behind a grieving husband (Yiftach Klein) and a baby. Custom demands he remarry soon, and Shira becomes a candidate—not so much because she or the new widower desire it, but because Shira’s mother (Irit Sheleg) can’t allow the family to break up. These practical maneuvers are as ritualized as an ancient religious ceremony or a Jane Austen plot, and they are fascinating and sometimes devastating to watch. If an outsider were giving us this story, it might play more as criticism, but Burshtein’s calm hand is showing us this community rather than telling us what to think about it. Shira gains layers of complexity because she isn’t trying to rebel against the arrangement. Instead, she’s truly concerned about what’s best for her family, her faith, and herself. (PG) ROBERT HORTON SIFF Cinema Uptown
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Frances Ha Co-written by and starring Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach’s latest is an unabashed tribute to the actress’ distinctive (don’t you dare say “quirky”) charms. The outline of a typical indie picture is in place, as we follow 27-year-old Frances and her New York apartment-hopping over the course of a few months. Frances dreams of being a dancer, as though nobody’d told her that if you haven’t made it as a dancer by 27, your dream should probably be in the past tense. In the early reels, we mark Frances’ closeness to her BFF Sophie (Mickey Sumner), a bond that will fray as Sophie gravitates toward her boyfriend. The appeal of Frances Ha comes from Gerwig’s pluck and the film’s sprightly sense of play. Many scenes last only a few seconds, and consist of the kind of overheard conversational snippets that capture the found poetry of random eavesdropping. These bits provide a sense of Frances’ life, and perhaps hint at its disconnectedness. Shot in cheap-looking black-and-white, the film also conjures up Baumbach’s love of the French New Wave, and his soundtrack is peppered with vintage ’60s music by Georges Delerue. Even as it veers into the precious, Frances Ha succeeds on its genuinely inventive rat-a-tat rhythm and Gerwig’s unpredictable delivery. (R) ROBERT HORTON Crest, Sundance
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The Kings of Summer This movie doesn’t exist in a real world, but in the enchanted realm of a teenage summer. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts understands this charmed mood, which is why he layers the film with dewy inserts that would not be out of place in a Terrence Malick picture. Three high-school lads build a ramshackle house of their own in a clearing in some woods outside their suburban Ohio hometown. Joe (Seattle native Nick Robinson) has had it with his ill-equipped father (Nick Offerman); both are working through hostilities connected to the death of Joe’s mother. Joe’s friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) is almost as disenchanted with his parents (Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson), so he joins his bud for the adventure. A few weeks go by; the situation with Joe’s crush Kelly (Erin Moriarty) becomes very complicated; and the parents search for their boys. With its tale of breaking away, the movie supplies its own metaphor as a quiet respite in the hustle and bustle of a blockbuster summer at the movies. For which, much thanks. (R) ROBERT HORTON Sundance
Man of Steel This Superman is dark and brooding, and the film around him barely cracks a smile. Back on planet Krypton, wise Jor-El (Russell Crowe, easily out-acting everybody else) prepares his infant son Kal-El for escape from a disintegrating world. His political rival, General Zod (Michael Shannon, malevolent but monotonous), swears an oath to find the kid. Raised on Earth by the Kents (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane), Clark (Henry Cavill) is compelled to discover the source of his unusual gifts. Unfortunately, Cavill shares no chemistry with spunky Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams). After a strong start, Zack Snyder’s film all comes down to a giant computer-generated donnybrook that looks designed to outdo The Avengers for sheer noise: bodies slammed into pavements, buildings toppled, explosions aplenty. I found Man of Steel more grueling than fun: a movie with steel in its heart and soul. (PG-13) ROBERT HORTON Alderwood 16, Sundance, Woodinville, Lincoln Square, Majestic Bay, Bainbridge, Meridian, Cinebarre, Cinerama, Thornton Place, others
Much Ado About Nothing Summer is the time for Shakespeare in the park, and Joss Whedon’s enjoyably playful comedy is staged in the yard and interiors of his Hollywood home. It’s a very nice house, paid for with all that Buffy and Avengers money, and it’s a plausible Italian castle in this modern-dress, black-and-white adaptation. Much Ado isn’t a vanity project, since Whedon’s cast members are all pros from television. Still, it has the feel of a weekend-home amateur theatrical, with everyone straining to put on a jolly good show and prove their appreciation for the Bard in his original language. Among the large ensemble cast are Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, and Reed Diamond. As quarrelsome lovers Beatrice and Benedick, Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker have a better grasp of the language, but their careful syllables don’t always match the sense of the words. Back in ’93, the Americans stood out for the same unfortunate reason among Kenneth Branagh’s mostly British Much Ado cast—poor command of the text. Absent that, there’s a lot of clowning and eye-rolling here that matches the contemporary mood. Prone to mugging and bluster, Denisof struggles with Benedick’s soliloquies, which Whedon ought to have cut to match his movie’s breezy modern tailoring. Besides the cell phones and Prada suits, more liberties should’ve been taken. (PG-13) BRIAN MILLER Sundance, Harvard Exit, others
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SOMM Documentary director Jason Wise follows four guys preparing to take the grueling master sommelier exam, basically a cram-course Ph.D. in wine. The candidates are Brian McClintic, Dustin Wilson, Ian Cauble, and DLynn Proctor. Brian, Dustin, and Ian are the California bros, who meet regularly to taste, spit, and describe. (DLynn lives elsewhere and gets less screen time.) In addition to being a geeky celebration of wine, SOMM offers a torrent of words as our heroes struggle to articulate what’s on their tongues. Ian is the overbearing alpha-taster of the obsessive, one-upping bunch, whose group dynamics suggest a Christopher Guest mockumentary. Another aspect of the exam is table service, so our guys also practice with surly fake customers in what’s essentially an improv comedy exercise. By the time we get to Dallas for the big exam, we’re so invested in these four funny, personable fellows that failure would be shattering for us too. Heading into the test, says Brian, “It’s like the death-row walk.” After the film’s done, however, you’ll want nothing less than Champagne. (NR) BRIAN MILLER SIFF Cinema Uptown
Star Trek Into Darkness This is a well-tooled and smartly made movie, but it’s so self-conscious about its place in a pre-existing mythology that I’m afraid there’s no there there. Most of the cast is back from 2009’s reboot, led by Chris Pine as Capt. James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock. J.J. Abrams returns to the director’s chair for this one, another promising sign. And the villain is not only a favorite nemesis from the TV series and movies, but he’s played by one of the most exciting young actors around these days, Benedict Cumberbatch (from TV’s Sherlock). The opening reels are a wonderfully fast-moving ride: prologue on a primitive planet, Kirk’s demotion after his misbehavior, and a massacre at Star Fleet command that prompts the possibility of war against none other than the Klingons. There’s even a little romance, but Abrams is so skilled at giving fans the beats they expect that his film turns into a kind of Trekkie-convention highlights reel, occasionally interrupted by plot and action. Fun, but somehow not quite a movie. Into Darkness is a big movie that plays as a giant reference to other things. Maybe the next one could forget the catchphrases and the hyperlinks back to Star Trek history, and just get on with creating its own five-year mission to boldly go where no one—not even previous Star Trek installments—has gone before. (PG-13) ROBERT HORTON Alderwood 16, Pacific Place, Thornton Place, Cinebarre, others
This Is the End In a film where the cast members are all playing showbiz caricatures of themselves, some more exaggerated than others, Jay Baruchel is the first to guess what’s happening when he and Seth Rogen sneak out of James Franco’s house party to get some smokes at a convenience store. There, all hell breaks loose in what appears to be a combined earthquake/firestorm/looting spree. The two terrified Canadian actors run back to Franco’s house where, in the movie’s best gag, all the revelers keep on partying like nothing’s happened outside. (The cast also includes a glad-handing Jonah Hill, an obnoxious Danny McBride, and a sweetly loyal Craig Robinson. ) This apocalypse comedy riffs back through two favorite film genres (one being the all-star disaster movie); it’s part spoof, partly serious. The laughs are rooted in contempt—if not quite self-contempt—for Hollywood phoniness and disloyalty. In that venal town, says Robinson of their dwindling little circle of friends, “Those assholes are all we’ve got.” (R) BRIAN MILLER Alderwood 16, SIFF Cinema Uptown, Varsity, Oak Tree, Woodinville, Lincoln Square, Bella Meridian, Cinebarre, others
20 Feet From Stardom Who dreams of being a backup singer? This mostly delightful music doc is tinged with an air of disappointment. Meeting the full-throated likes of Merry Clayton, Claudia Lennear, and Lisa Fischer, we understand these are masters of their craft. But the question nags: If they are masters, why aren’t they stars? The film includes some who made the leap, including Darlene Love and Sheryl Crow, but the focus is mostly on the folks who’ve made a career out of being in the background. (Also interviewed are figures like Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Sting.) Like the 2002 doc Standing in the Shadows of Motown, it’s got a built-in hook: all that great music, served with annotations from musicians. Director Morgan Neville doesn’t organize his material in a way that feels entirely intuitive. Despite the choppiness, the prime footage from George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh or Jonathan Demme’s 1984 Talking Heads concert doc Stop Making Sense is exciting. (PG-13) ROBERT HORTON Guild 45th
World War Z There’s no slow build-up to this new zombie apocalypse. Director Marc Forster, who bungled much of the action stuff in Quantum of Solace, sets up a headlong pace and really goes for it. The planet’s suddenly overrun with zekes—movie slang for the undead—and Brad Pitt’s character is called back into service to help the U.N. fight the onslaught. I’m a little vague on what his job description is, but he appears to be an expert in very bad situations. After the grandness of the first 90 minutes, the last section is appealingly small-scale. It’s a major change from the first cut of the long-gestating movie, an action-based finale that was scrapped and reshot. Pitt has no real character to play, although the film is at pains to remind us of his family-man concern. The actor lends his movie-star presence, which is all that is necessary here: He carries the picture without having a character to play, because he’s Brad Pitt. However, the PG-13 rating is an absurd box-office decision that robs the film of some of its (figurative and literal) guts. (PG-13) ROBERT HORTON Sundance, Bainbridge, Woodinville, Lincoln Square, Meridian, Thornton Place, Cinebarre, Kirkland Parkplace, others
Theaters:
Admiral, 2343 California Ave. SW, 938-3456; Ark Lodge Cinemas, 4816 Rainier Ave. S, 721-3156; Big Picture, 2505 First Ave., 256-0566; Big
Picture
Redmond, 7411 166th Ave. NE, 425-556-0566; Central
Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684; Cinebarre, 6009 SW 244th St. (Mountlake Terrace)., 425-672-7501; Cinerama, 2100 Fourth Ave., 448-6680; Crest, 16505 Fifth Ave. NE, 781-5755; Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St., 523-3935; Guild 45, 2115 N. 45th St., 781-5755; Harvard Exit, 807 E. Roy St., 781-5755; iPic Theaters, 16451 N.E. 74th St. (Redmond), 425-636-5601; Kirkland Parkplace, 404 Park Place, 425-827-9000; Lincoln Square, 700 Bellevue Way N, 425-454-7400; Majestic Bay, 2044 NW Market St., 781-2229; Meridian, 1501 Seventh Ave., 223-9600; Metro, 4500 Ninth Ave. NE, 781-5755; Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 267-5380; Oak Tree, 10006 Aurora Ave. N, 527-1748; Pacific Place, 600 Pine St., 888-262-4386; Seven Gables, 911 NE 50th St., 781-5755; SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 324-9996; SIFF Film Center, 305 Harrison St. (Seattle Center), 324-9996; Sundance Cinemas, 4500 Ninth Ave NE, 633-0059; Thornton Place, 301 NE 103rd St., 517-9953; Varsity, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755.
