Usually the summer movie season brings action-packed CGI fests, animated blockbusters and little else.
This year that is not the case. Asheville continues to book the usual big budget box office fare, but also a host of smaller titles. Since 2008 the good Professor Kaufmann and I have tried to cover as much as we can, as best we can, despite the challenges of being a monthly publication.
Often we’ll write about a film which we may have seen just before deadline, but which may be gone by the time the issue hits the streets. When we’ve known a smaller film will be long gone by the time the issue is out, we’ve often opted to include something more timely and mainstream.
With the plethora of little films that play for but a week with little notice, Chip and I want you to know about these films, even if they are gone by the time you read our reviews. You don’t need a review of the next Transformers movie to know whether you are going to see it or not. But you may not have been aware of a film called Locke, which played at The Carolina back in June (see my DVD pick on page 14), or A Most Wanted Man, which recently opened at The Fine Arts Theatre (reviewed this month). We feel films like these are worth your time, even if time is not on their side.
To that end, the good Professor Kaufmann contemplated our quandary and penned an observation about writing for a monthly publication in an age of cinematic ADD. He makes some interesting points about the film industry and offers some food for thought from a reviewer’s perspective.
Happily, not all of the smaller films have left in a hurry. At press time Chef was still playing in the area after an almost two-month run. It’s not an important film, but it’s a dandy little crowd pleaser, tailor made for the Asheville foodie scene. It’s also proof of Chip’s point that if you give a film some time to find its audience, it will.
All that said, we’ll still cover the occasional blockbuster, including Dawn of The Planet of the Apes which, at press time, was swinging from the rafters and conquering the box office. Another film some cinephiles may want to check out is Life Itself, Steve James’ documentary about the late, great film critic Roger Ebert. It’s not a reverential, posthumous biographical documentary, but rather a wonderfully alive and brutally honest and candid look at Ebert’s life and work.
In conclusion it’s only fitting to acknowledge the recent passing of two Hollywood legends, Eli Wallach and James Garner. Wallach, who passed in late June at the ripe old age of 98, will forever be remembered as Tuco in The Good The Bad And The Ugly, as well as for his roles in The Misfits and The Magnificent Seven. He was a good man and he had a remarkable career.
At press time we learned that the ever likable James Garner passed at age 86. Garner, who was known for iconic roles in film and television, was an actor who seemed to enjoy equal popularity among men and women. Maverick, The Great Escape, Marlowe, Support Your Local Sheriff, The Rockford Files, those great Polaroid commercials, Muphy’s Romance, and The Notebook – James Garner was just plain cool. Bravo, Mr. Wallach and Mr. Garner. RIP.
Until next time, thanks for spending a few minutes of your time with Reel Takes.