Night Moves ★★★ Now playingKelly Reichardt continues her campaign for the title of “most underrated American indie director” with Night Moves. Not to be confused with the 1975 mystery starring Gene Hackman, Reichardt’s latest highlights the talent for strong, quiet characterizations that has marked her career. Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) stars as Josh, an […]
Isaac Weeks
Bio: Isaac Weeks lives in Raleigh and blogs about film.Twitter: http://twitter.com/isaacweeks
Posted inFilm & Television
A cast of talented actresses can’t redeem the ludicrous wish fulfillment of John Turturro’s film
Fading Gigolo Opening Friday John Turturro is an interesting test case for the theory that all actors really want to direct. The award-winning character actor is beloved by film geeks for his work with indie stalwarts such as the Coen brothers (Miller’s Crossing). Meanwhile, he pays the bills by appearing in more commercial fare such […]
Posted inCulture
Movie review: Oculus
Oculus ★ Now playing Every year, without fail, there’s at least one major horror release that receives a little too much love from the critics. To be one of these over-heralded films, you need a strong female lead, a masked killer and a script reminiscent of ’80s slasher flicks, but only in a self-aware way. […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Going off the gridiron in Draft Day
DRAFT DAY Opens Friday In Draft Day, Kevin Costner plays Sonny Weaver Jr., a fictional general manager of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Raised around football by his recently departed father, a legendary Browns head coach, Weaver is feeling the heat of running a perennially losing football team. (So it’s not entirely fictional.) Weaver is lambasted […]
Posted inCulture
Triangle-related films at the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem
As Durham prepares for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (starting tomorrow—check out the INDY’s preview package), Winston-Salem is getting ready for an ambitious film festival of its own. The 16th annual RiverRun International Film Festival which attracts thousands of cinema fans each year, showcases features and shorts from all genres of independent film and […]
Posted inArt
WWE pro wrestling and Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson tribute catch some air at PNC Arena
WWE LIVE – Road to WrestleMania XXX Friday, March 28, 7:30$15 – $95 PNC Arena Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour Tuesday, April 1 & Wednesday, April 2, 8 p.m. $50 – $165 PNC Arena As World Wrestling Entertainment builds toward its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania XXX, the pro wrestling […]
Posted inCulture
Film review in brief: Divergent
Divergent★★★ Opening March 21Divergent takes place in a dystopian Chicago, years after the fall of civilization. Society has broken up into five different factions. Roughly, these groups consist of charity workers, hippie farmers, intellectuals, lawyers and the military. On her sixteenth birthday, Beatrice Prior (The Descendants’ Shailene Woodley) chooses to leave her family and join […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Aaron Paul’s inauspicious action movie
Need for Speed Opens Friday With Need for Speed, Aaron Paul is the latest in a long line of actors attempting to make the jump from television to big screen stardom. The fact that the multiple-Emmy winner had to settle for this, a video game adaptation, as his best shot at crossing over says a […]
Posted inCulture
Oscar-nominated short documentaries screening at the Carolina
The Carolina Theatre in Durham is offering area film enthusiasts the opportunity to actually know what they’re talking about when the winner for Best Documentary Short is announced at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Broken into two programs, the nominated films offer stunning subjects, each inspiring in its own way. (For reviews of the the […]
Posted inCulture
Film reviews in brief: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Ride Along
★★★ JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT—Director Kenneth Branagh (Thor) breathes new life into Jack Ryan, a character created and flogged into creative bankruptcy by the late Tom Clancy. This reboot has young CIA operative Ryan (Star Trek’s Chris Pine) uncovering a Russian terrorist plot led by Branagh’s Viktor Cherevin. Groomed by a mentor (Kevin Costner) in […]
