56 San Diego Reader February 23, 2017


MOVIES


their adopted son Andy (Kyle Allen). Skip ahead 18 years to find prodigious wunderkind ripping the fingernails off the class valedictorian — and the boy is so admired by his teachers the violent act of bullying will go unpunished. Much to mom’s disgust, Andy gets


around to expressing interest in getting to know his birth father. Cora fumes! Where was Satan when Andy had the chicken pox or needed help moving from school to school? Two out of four is not a bad average,


particularly when the half in question aren’t pestiferous enough to warrant a ruckus. Fans of this sort of thing won’t go hungry. In closing, here are 10 Omnibus


Films worth hopping: (1) Walt Disney’s supreme animated achievement Fanta- sia; (2) Lumière and Company, in which 40 directors make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière brothers; (3) Scan through John Landis and Spielberg (at his worst) to get to Joe Dante and George Miller, the meat of Twilight Zone: The Movie; (4) A dying philanthropist bequeaths a million bucks each to eight random names out of the phone book in If I Had a Million; (5) Elvis is the glue that binds Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train; (6) Woody Allen circumcises Dr. David Rubin’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex; (7) the Marty and Woody segments of New York Stories; (8) the Geraldine Paige and Donnie


Melvin chapter titled A Christmas Memory in Truman Capote’s Trilogy; (9) Wong Kar-Wai’s pointedly melancholic short The Hand from Eros; (10) Alejan- dro Iñárritu’s deeply conflicted Babel. — Scott Marks


AMMA ASANTE JUST SAYS YES TO A UNITED KINGDOM


Filmmaker Amma Asante (Belle) thought she’d heard all of the fascinating stories involving the various countries in Africa and their journeys toward independence. That changed the night David Oyelowo, her friend of 18 years and eventual leading man in A United Kingdom, hipped her to the romance between President of Botswana Ser- etse Khama and his British bride Ruth Williams. The film opens Friday, so do your homework. Visit The Big Screen for more of the director’s insight into her lush and richly romantic drama. Scott Marks: Your first acting job in America was in Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign. You were barely in your teens when the campaign kicked off, but in retrospect, do you think it was a good idea? Amma Asante: I came because I was an actress. I was appearing on televi- sion in a high school drama in the U.K. that went on for some 25 years. What I discovered when I was doing that series was that I was not a very good actress (laughing). But I became aware of the powerful performances around me and I began to admire the power of story- telling. It was the key thing that made


me want to become a writer. When we came to visit the White House, it was because of a powerful storyline we became involved with through the series. It dealt with one of our charac- ters becoming a heroin addict. It was a character that children in the U.K. had watched grow up. I’m glad that we came at that time.


I’m glad that I got to experience Amer- ica for the first time. The trip to the White House widened my parameters and world landscape. Knowing and understanding how the power of the story was able to reach America made me want to become a storyteller. SM: Before seeing your movie, I had never heard of Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams. You must get this question a lot. When did you first become familiar with their story? AA: I’m with you. Until David Oyelowo called me one evening and said, “I just finished reading Susan Williams’s Co- lour Bar. It’s the story of...” and he pro- ceeded to unfold the story to me. I was a little bit ashamed, if I’m honest with you. I’m the child of African parents who were raised in a colony. It was very political. At least my father was. I had heard most of the stories, but I didn’t know this one. I didn’t know about Botswana’s history, about Botswana’s place in the world today. It really wasn’t until David called me and sent me a photo essay of the couple that I became familiar with the story.


— Scott Marks


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.


Antarctica: Ice and Sky — 82-year- old Claude Lorius was the first scientist to alert the world to the perils of global warming. His one regret in life is that his- tory has proved him right. A biographical, cinematic corollary of Al Gore’s canned Learning Annex lecture, Luc Jacquet’s Antarctica condenses 22 polar missions — all told, they consumed ten years of Lorius’s life — into one visually breathtak- ing documentary. (It helps that Lorius and his crews were wise enough to pack a couple of 16mm cameras to record the various expeditions.) The narration — inspired selections from Lorius’s diary spoken by Michel Papineschi — comple- ments the epical force of the images. For a time, it looked as if Jacquet (March of the Penguins) had every intention of letting the pictures do the talking. Sadly, the last ten minutes are squandered on spoon- feeding doom. And if ever a film cried out for a domed IMAX 3D presentation it’s this. 2015. — S.M. ★★★ (DIGITAL GYM CINEMA)


The Comedian — Robert De Niro again, this time charging through the role of Jackie Burke, a once-mighty sitcom star who decades later has difficulty making the rent as a put-down comic. Any script with Roastmaster General Jeff Ross’s name attached can’t help but yield a few mean- spirited howls. (Included is a reenactment of that legendary night in Friar’s Club his- tory when Harry “Parkyakarkus” Einstein, aka Albert Brooks’s father, dropped dead in mid-roast.) There’s a conceivable romantic subplot involving a woman (an exceptional


FILM FESTIVALS


BELLA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB AND CAFFE 2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Dr., La Jolla 858-534-9624


Oscars Viewing Party Join The Academy, a group of art enthusiasts whose mission is to support young artists on their respective journeys to stardom. This inaugural benefit will raise scholarship funds for talented youth with economic needs to attend local performing arts programs. This year’s programs, in honor of the nominated film La La Land, include City Heights Music School, International Academy of Jazz, Junior Company, Lamb’s Players The- ater, Jazz Camp UCSD, and Junior Company SDJCC. Tickets include signature dishes, open bar, and live entertainment. Sunday, February 26, 4:00pm


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


Friends of the Chula Vista Library. Documen- tary. 2016. 106 minutes. PG-13. Wednesday, March 8, 5:30pm


FLEET SCIENCE CENTER 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park 619-238-1233 Senior Monday On the first Monday of every month, seniors 65 and better can enjoy dis- counted admission, a show in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater, and a lecture about scientific topics. 10:30am lecture, theater show at noon. Monday, March 6, 10:30am


JACOBS MUSIC CENTER 750 B St., Downtown San Diego 619-235-0804


San Diego Symphony: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone The film’s score will be performed live as it screens. Saturday, March 11, 8:00pm, Sunday, March 12, 2:00pm


LA JOLLA LIBRARY 7555 Draper Ave., La Jolla 858-552-1657


Film Forum: The Beatles: Eight Days a Week You know the band. You don’t know the story. Director Ron Howard combines rare and unseen archival footage with lively interviews for a lively, uptempo valentine to fans. The film captures the frenzy and anarchic whirlwind at the height of Beatlemania. Free mini concert featuring young music students from the Avant Garde Music Company in Chula Vista at 5:30pm; screening at 6. Sponsored by the


Jews Step Forward In this documentary, 24 diverse American Jewish voices across the demographic divide, from Boston to San Diego, share their thoughts on cultural identity, the proud Jewish contribution to social justice, their evolving views of Israel, and the importance of Jewish values and conscience. A film by Mar- jorie Wright and Elika Rezaee. The filmmaker and one or more of the subjects will be present for discussion after the screening. Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, San Diego Chapter. Sunday, March 12, 1:30pm


LIBERTY HALL THEATER AT PARADISE VILLAGE


2700 E. 4th St., National City Film Discussion Class: Shadow of a


Film Discussion Class: The Meddler A brassy and breezy valentine to mothers every- where. Susan Sarandon stars as a recent widow and bundle of enthusiasm who uproots herself from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be close to her daughter and channel her optimism and generosity toward a new purpose. With Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons. With instructor Ralph DeLauro on the third floor of Macy’s Mission Valley. “Film on the Fringe.” Information: 619- 881-6262. Comedy/drama, 2015, 100 minutes. Monday, February 27, 1:00pm


Film Discussion Class: Coming Through the Rye Emmy-winning writer-director James Sadwith’s debut displays verve and charm in his memory piece about a prep school student


Doubt Alfred Hitchcock brings a bumper crop of shivers to this folksy thriller about the dark shadows within the heart of small-town America. A world wise adventurer (Joseph Cot- ten) insinuates himself into his sister’s family and the local community. All is well, until some- one mentions the “Merry Widow Murders.” Co-starring Theresa Wright. 1943. 108 minutes. With instructor Ralph DeLauro, in Liberty Hall, on the second floor of Paradise Village Senior Living. Wednesday, March 15, 7:00pm


OASIS SAN DIEGO


1702 Camino Del Rio North, Mission Valley 619-574-0674


(Alex Wolff), obsessed with Holden Caulfield, who writes a stage adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye. He and his quirky (girl) friend Dee Dee (Stefania La Vie Owen) hit the road on a roller- coaster odyssey to get reclusive author J.D. Salinger’s (Chris Cooper) blessing. Presented by San Diego OASIS, with instructor Ralph DeLauro on the third floor of Macy’s Mission Valley. Information: 619-881-6262. “Film on the Fringe.” Monday, March 13, 1:00pm


REMINGTON CLUB II


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


Film Discussion Class: Rear Window Alfred Hitchcock’s tightly wound perfection that charms and chills. When a professional photographer (James Stewart), confined to a wheelchair by a broken leg, becomes obsessed with watching the private dramas of his courtyard neighbors, he begins to suspect one of murdering his wife. With Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr. 1954. 112 minutes. Continuing Education Center at Rancho Ber- nardo. Info: 858-487-0464. Wednesday, March 1, 7:00pm


SCHULMAN AUDITORIUM AT CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY


1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad 760-602-2049


Carlsbad Film Series: The Reader Post- WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war- crime trial. Films made possible in part by the Carlsbad Library and Arts Foundation’s Robert H. Gartner Cultural Endowment Fund. Movie special features begin at 5:30pm Wednesday, March 15, 6:00pm


Leslie Mann) Jackie met while perform- ing community service for punching out a heckler. De Niro gets back to acting, swearing off the focking patented funny faces and building a character who’s more than just a bad-humored comic. Scanning the various audiences for familiar faces is time well spent. But other than watching Jackie wriggle through one uncomfortable gig after another, Taylor Hackford’s The Comedian ultimately has nowhere to go. With Edie Falco, Harvey Keitel, Charles Grodin, and Lois Smith 2016. — S.M. ★★ (ANGELIKA FILM CENTER)


A Cure for Wellness — Director Gore Verbinski takes the campy dread of Ham- mer horror films (Horror of Dracula, et alia) and builds it into a a gorgeous, epic assault on anti-immigration sentiments in Europe and elsewhere. Yes, it’s long and indulgent, littered with loose ends, unexplained details, and a few outright absurdities. But despite all that, it’s solidly built, masterful with mood, and just plain wonderful to look upon. Dane DeHaan (looking enough like Leo DiCaprio to recall 2010’s Shutter Island) plays an ambi- tious Young Turk sent to retrieve his boss from a wellness spa in the Swiss Alps. The big guy’s needed back at the office to make a merger go through, but his last letter home was an extended diatribe echoing the spa director’s thoughts on soul-sick modernity and its endless striving for money and power. (He’s not entirely wrong, of course, but then, the devil has been known to speak truth when it serves his purpose.) Once there, DeHaan finds it increasingly difficult to leave: there’s an accident, and there’s a girl, and something weird is going on, something involving eels... I’d say this big-budget B movie puts the “grand” back into “Grand Guignol,” if it weren’t for the earnest moral condemna- tion at its heart: that the real crime against nature is the use of the world’s wretched refuse to prop up a madman’s dream of civilization. 2017. — M.L. ★★★ (IN WIDE RELEASE)


Fist Fight — Charlie Day is a nice-guy


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