There are a lot of great movie options for you this week! Russ Collins is away this week, so there is no audio version of "Cinema Chat," but we still have the movie news for you. Russ will return next week and, in the meantime, read through for your guide to the movies in our area.
OPENING DOWNTOWN
At the State Theatre: This film opens from the writer/director team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman (Juno, Young Adult), and starring Charlize Theron. Theron plays Marlo, a mother of three who is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Though hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully. Also starring Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, and Ron Livingston.
At the Michigan Theater: This is a documentary that looks at the life, work and religious heritage of violinist Itzhak Perlman. From Schubert to Strauss, Bach to Brahms, Mozart to...Billy Joel, Perlman's violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life. As charming and entrancing as the famous violinist himself, "Itzhak" is a portrait of musical virtuosity seamlessly enclosed in warmth, humor, and above all, love.
This film follows three siblings that reunite at their home in picturesque Burgundy to save the family vineyard in this tender tale of a new generation finding its own unique blend, from acclaimed director Cédric Klapisch ("L’Auberge Espagnole").
And opening early on Thursday, May 10, this is a new documentary and intimate portrait of an unlikely rock star: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers explore how her early legal battles changed the world for women.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
Playing tomorrow, Friday, May 4 at 6:30 PM, this is an animated family-comedy about a teenage outsider who sets out on an epic and daring quest to uncover the mystery behind his long-lost dad, only to find out that he is none other than the legendary Bigfoot!
And next Tuesday, May 8 at 7:00 PM, this film was filmed in October 2008 on the eve of Obama’s historic election and follows WFMU radio reporter Clay Pigeon as he takes to the streets to talk to fellow New Yorkers about their lives, their dreams, and their relationship with a transforming city. As part of what he calls a “radio experiment,” this transplanted Iowan roams the streets bearing a handheld recorder and a kindly probing nature: “Has he popped the question?” “When is the last time you’ve had a regular roof over your head?” “Do you love America?” These revealing interviews are woven between vivid scenes of New York’s eccentric byways, which together reveal a city-and a nation-at a crossroads.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
At the State Theatre, this film from Writer/Director Lynne Ramsay ("We Need to Talk about Kevin") stars Joaquin Phoenix as a traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, who tracks down missing girls for a living. But when a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.
From Wes Anderson, this film follows a group of canine pets who have been exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island. When a 12-year-old boy sets off alone in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots, the group of dogs travel the island with him in the search,featuring the voices Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeff Goldblum.
The latest comedic satire from Armando Iannucci continues for another week, which depicts the chaos that fell on the Soviet regime after the death of their powerful leader.
At the Michigan Theater: From Writer/Director Stanley Tucci, this film stars Armie Hammer and Geoffrey Rush. The story of the touching and offbeat friendship between American writer and art-lover James Lord (Hammer) and Alberto Giacometti (Rush), as seen through Lord's eyes and revealing unique insight into the beauty, frustration, profundity and sometimes the chaos of the artistic process.
From Director Andrew Haigh ("Weekend," "45 Years"), this film stars Charlie Plummer as a teen living with his single father, who finds work caring for an aging racehorse named Lean On Pete. When he learns Pete is bound for slaughter, the two embark on an odyssey across the new American frontier in search of a place to call home. Also starring Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny, and Steve Zahn.
From Executive Producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, this film tars Josh Hartnett and Shinobu Terajima as a single 55-year-old woman in Tokyo who is given a blonde wig and a new identity by her young, unconventional English teacher. The experiment awakens hidden desires, but when her instructor suddenly quits and disappears, she enlists the help of her sister and the pair fly halfway across the world to the outskirts of Southern California to find him.
OPENING AT THE MULTIPLEX
Starring Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez, this is a gender swapped remake of the 1987 film of the same name. In the film, a spoiled playboy from a wealthy Mexican family (Derbez) winds up with amnesia after falling off his yacht, and a single, working-class mom (Ferris) convinces him that they are married.
Starring David Tennant and Robert Sheehan, this film follows a poor restaurant valet (Sheehan), who uses the cars entrusted to him by the restaurant clientele to break into their homes. But one night, he finds more than he bargained when he breaks into one house, only to discover a woman named Katie imprisoned there. Frightened of going to jail, he abandons her and calls the police, only to find himself in a game of cat-and-mouse with the psychotic homeowner (Tennant).
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— David Fair is the WEMU News Director and host of Morning Edition on WEMU. You can contact David at 734.487.3363, on twitter @DavidFairWEMU, or email him at dfair@emich.edu
