San Diego Reader September 1, 2016 65


bulk of the attention, what with her affection for Morgan and dislike of boundaries, but most everyone gets a word in. Sadly, things start to get silly with the arrival of psychiatrist Alan (a shouty, snotty Paul Giamatti), and the point of things quickly shifts from engaging the audience’s interest and/ or intellect to merely keeping it stimu- lated and guessing. Great setting and sets, though. Directed by Luke Scott. — Matthew Lickona


MOVIE LISTINGS


All reviews are by Scott Marks, Matthew Lickona, and Duncan Shepherd. Priorities are indicated by one to five stars and antipathies by the black spot. Unrated movies are for now unreviewed. Thousands of past reviews are available online at SDReader.com/movies.


Anthropoid — It may seem unlikely that a Czech assassin holed up in a Prague church as he hides out from the Nazis with his fellow operatives would start perusing English playwright William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. But then again, they’ve got time on their hands, and the play is about an assassination. And more importantly, it contains the point of the film: “Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.” The complicating factor here is that their actions — the attempted assassination of the No. 3 Nazi in the Party — may wind up costing a great many more lives than just their own. And for what? Theirs not to reason why/ Theirs but to do and die... Director and co-writer Sean Ellis’s take on the real-life, hope-against-hope mission is pleasingly grounded in the logistics of something so seemingly simple as a shoot ’em up ambush, competently acted (if not always accented) by Cillian Murphy, Toby Jones, Jamie Dornan & Co., and hand- somely photographed. The final show- down gets blown up and dragged out, but the slow-burning fuse of everything that comes before helps to justify the explosive release. 2016. — M.L. ★★ (ANGELIKA FILM CENTER; ARCLIGHT LA JOLLA)


Ben-Hur — If the Chuck Heston inter- pretation is comparable to a Classics Illustrated comic book, M G M’s new digital facelift should never have left Turner Network Television. This Ben hurt! Running 90 minutes shorter than its predecessor — the Jack Hawkins subplot didn’t make the cut — the film feels twice as long. Set in 26 BT (Before Tripod), director Timur Bekmambetov overcondenses the familiar parables, his antsy coverage a case study in state -of - -the -art bobbling. Judah (Jack Huston) referring to Jesus (Rodrigo Santoro) as a “progressive” earned a snicker as did a CG horse brought to its knees during the smeary mimeograph of the chariot race. Poor Morgan Freeman, reduced to acting the part of willing participant in this theft of your time. The jarringly awkward cutaways to MF cheering Judah’s jalopy to victory — they couldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes to shoot — are worth a lifetime of laughs. 2016. — S.M. ● (IN WIDE RELEASE)


Café Society — Woody Allen gives a tour of Woody Allenland, complete with gentle and largely unnecessary narration. Unnecessary for the movie, that is. But it’s just possible that this is something else: a primer of sorts, a re-introduction


Complete Unknown: You put enough claret into anybody, they stop being a complete unknown.


of the old guy’s schtick to a genera- tion that’s only ever read about him in the tabloids. It’s all here: older men and younger women. The glamour and grime of Old Hollywood showbiz. Los Angeles vs. New York. Being Jewish, both religious and otherwise. Being intellectual (“Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. But the examined life is no bargain”). Being good (or bad). The dubious possibility of getting what you want and holding on to your soul in the process. The sadness at the heart of life. The story concerns a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) setting out to make a life, and the girl (Kristen Stewart) he finds himself living for. It’s handsome, and pleasant, and polished, and sedate. You won’t laugh or cry. You may, however, smile or sigh. 2016. — M.L. ★★ (ARCLIGHT LA JOLLA; LANDMARK HILLCREST; VINTAGE VILLAGE THEATRE)


Captain Fantastic — Say this for writer-director Matt Ross: he is not shy about making his intentions clear from


the outset. In the opening sequence, a young man ambushes and kills a deer in the primordial Oregon forest using only a knife. As his mud-caked family emerges from the surrounding undergrowth, his father (Viggo Mortensen) anoints him with the animal’s blood and calls him a man. Then everybody pitches in to carry, dress, carve, cook, and eat the beast before settling in for an evening of deep reading and music-making in a world unsullied by the cheap distractions of electronic technology and the corrupting influence of corporate culture. But amid the familial intimacy and intellectual excellence, one little scamp absconds with the gutting tool so that he can work on his private shrine to Pol Pot — rodent skulls subbing for the human versions that decorated the Killing Fields. Well, hello there, economic theory of man! This here is a family that celebrates Noam Chomsky day instead of Christmas, that avoids making fun of anyone except Christians, and that sure as heck isn’t going to let a little thing like common decency stand


in the way of (dead) Mom’s desire to be cremated and flushed down the toilet. Throughout, you wait for something to pierce the smugness, for the unfettered intellectual to learn a little something about the civilization he so blithely rejects, the lumpen mass of humanity he so gleefully excels. But after a while, you begin to suspect that the smugness is the point. (Eventually, the Captain does descend from his mountaintop, and it’s telling to note what he gives up along the way.) 2016. ★ (LA PALOMA)


Complete Unknown — Reviewed this issue. 2016 — M.L. ★ (LAND- MARK KEN)


Disorder — Reviewed this issue. 2015 — S.M. ★★ (DIGITAL GYM)


Don’t Breathe — Panic Room meets Wait Until Dark in this pitiless, uncom- monly serviceable horror thriller. A pair of necessitous, romantically involved housebreakers (Jane Levy and Daniel


FILM FESTIVALS


CHULA VISTA CIVIC CENTER LIBRARY 365 F St., Chula Vista 619-691-5069


Film Forum: Sing Street Irish director John Carney captures the magic of making music. Bullied at school and ignored at home, a scrappy Dublin teen discovers cool tunes and forms a band in the 80s, in an attempt to woo the mys- terious Raphina. 2016. 106 minutes. PG. Free mini-concert at 5:30pm featuring Kan-Kan, an 80’s-style rock band. Film screening 6pm Spon- sored by the Friends of the Chula Vista Library. Wednesday, September 14, 6:00pm


MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park 619-238-7559


for UCSD’s Artpwr, FilmOut San Diego, the San Diego Latino Film Festival, The San Diego Opera, The San Diego Asian Film Festival, The San Diego Italian Film Festival, Midnight Mad- ness screenings at The Ken Cinema, a monthly film series at the San Diego Public Library, and Film Geeks screenings at the Digital Gym Cin- ema. Day pass $25-$40; multi-day pass available. Wednesday, September 7, 6:00pm, Thursday, September 8, 6:00pm, Friday, September 9, 6:00pm, Saturday, September 10, 12:00pm, Sunday, September 11, 12:00pm


MUSIC BOX 1337 India St., Little Italy


Five-Minute Film Festival Fourth annual showcase for locally produced films. Over 100 San Diego County filmmakers submitted inde- pendent films that are not longer than five min- utes for consideration, and the staff of CityBeat has chosen their favorite films. Wednesday, September 7, 7:00pm


REMINGTON CLUB II


Horrible Imaginings Film Festival The horror genre has long been a staple of film and literature, with a number of devoted connois- seurs. This five-day exploration of macabre cin- ema offers new independent and classic films as well as exhibitions and panel discussions. Film titles include Knob Goblins, Bionic Girl, and They Will All Die in Space. Horrible Imaginings has been asked to curate or introduce programs


16916 Hierba Dr., Rancho Bernardo 858-673-6340


Film Discussion Class: Fail Safe With instructor Ralph DeLauro. Sidney Lumet tightens the psychological screws in a simmer- ing cautionary tale of sitting on the brink of eternity. Machines run away from their masters when the “fail safe” fails and a nuclear attack is accidentally launched against the Soviets. Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau star. 1964. 112 min-


utes. Info: 858-487-0464. Tuesday, September 20, 10:00am


SCHULMAN AUDITORIUM AT CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY


1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad 760-602-2049


The Intern Seventy-year-old Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro), unhappy in retirement, goes back to work as a senior intern for Jules Ostin in the fashion industry. Ben’s dated skillset gives way to insightful opinions and useful experience that make him irreplaceable in the workplace and as a friend. Films made possible in part by the Carlsbad Library and Arts Foundation’s Robert H. Gartner Cultural Endowment Fund. Wednesday, September 14, 6pm to 8pm


VARIOUS VENUES THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO COUNTY


GI Film Festival San Diego The GI Film Festival San Diego is back for a second year featuring films for, about, and by America’s armed forces. The films showcase some of the stories that have gone under the radar. Themes range from the experiences of prisoners of war to living with survivor’s guilt. Major wars covered in the films span from World War II to the present day conflicts. All major film genres will be featured, including dramas, documenta- ries, shorts, and personal narratives. Additional events include a family movie night, panel discussions, and receptions where attendees can mix and mingle with filmmakers. The Local


Film Showcase, curated by the Film Consortium San Diego, will once again be an important part of the festival, featuring the works of regional filmmakers, locations, and actors. GI Film Festi- val San Diego culminates Sunday, September 18 with an awards ceremony. The GI Film Festival is open to the public with special discount opportunities for active duty personnel and veterans. Visit gifilmfestivalsd.org to purchase tickets and to stay up-to-date on this year’s line-up of events and screenings. Wednesday, September 14, 2:00pm, Thursday, September 15, 2:00pm, Friday, September 16, 2:00pm, Saturday, September 17, 2:00pm, Sunday, September 18, 2:00pm


WESTFIELD PLAZA BONITA 3030 Plaza Bonita Rd., National City Exitos del Cine Latino Film Festival The 2016 festival features exclusive debuts and award-winning films from the U.S., Latin America, Mexico, and Spain. This opening night fiesta is on the second level of Westfield Plaza Bonita, outside of AMC Plaza Bonita cinemas, with live music, special guests, drinks, and food. This year’s selection includes Spanish-Argentine thriller Cien Años de Perdón starring Rodrigo de la Serna, Raúl Arévalo, and Luis Tosar; the dramedy Truman featuring Ricardo Darín and Javier Camara; Diego Luna’s emotional Mr. Pig starring Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph; and El Tamaño Si Importa starring Vadhir Derbez, Ximena Ayala, and Eugenio Derbez. Thursday, September 1, 10:00am


Zovatto) partner with a college freshman (Dylan Minnette) whose dad’s position with a home-security provider helps to open a lot of doors. What could be easier on the trio (and what could undermine crowd sympathy faster) than targeting a blind war veteran (a granitic Stephen Lang) sitting on 300 grand in the only kempt home on an otherwise uninhabit- able block of wartorn Detroit? The seam- less, digitally-protracted long take that introduces the characters and audience to their new surroundings pays suitable homage to the film’s producer (and Evil Dead architect) Sam Raimi. You’ll know you’re hooked when even something as unreasonable as a chase involving a Rott- weiler in an air shaft can’t derail writer- director Fede Alvarez’s (Evil Dead, 2013)


relentless train of thought. 2016. — S.M. ★★★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)


Don’t Think Twice — For a group of entertainers whose job it is to make people laugh, there sure are a lot of cutthroat assholes working the comedy circuit. The vacant seats that open Don’t Think Twice are reserved for a six-person improv troupe whose numbers dwindle like Agatha Christie’s “Indians” as the top-floaters are gradually reeled in by network scouts. What happens when one realizes one doesn’t have what it takes to make one’s dream come true? It’s a question stand-up-turned-writer- director Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me) continues to turn over in his race to be terminally left-behind. The skilled cast — four professional autoschediasts (Birbiglia, Keegan-Michael Key, Tami Sagher, and Chris Gethard) and a pair of unseasoned quick learners (Gillian Arm- strong and Kate Micucci) — plays musical chairs, much to the calculated discomfort of the audience in this nasty, poignant, and frequently laugh-out-loud hilari- ous chomp on the hand that feeds them. 2016. — S.M. ★★★ (AMC LA JOLLA; LANDMARK HILLCREST)


Finding Dory — There is one great scene in Pixar’s latest oceanic offering: when forgetful heroine Dory finds herself lost and alone — really, totally alone — in the darkening murk of an ocean that feels as vast as it is empty. Her profound distress, her response to that distress, and the eventual result of that response con-


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