Week of November 1 to November 7 (Rhoades)

Tropic Overview

Something Old, Something New -- At the Tropic

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

You still have a chance to see “Enough Said,” the middle-age rom-com that’s lingering at the Tropic Cinema. It’s a chance to James Gandolfini in his last movie role, too. Giving a sensitive un-Soprano-like performance, he’s a divorced dad he falls for a divorced mom played by Julia Louise-Dreyfus with a funny Seinfeld-like performance. Time Out calls it “a smart comedy about dating in your 50s,” while Detroit News says it’s “a romantic comedy about hurting the people you love.”

Also staying over is “Rush,” the Formula One racing movie about the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The fast-car sequences will have your blood pumping with excitement. Slate calls it “an outsize Hollywood spectacle about two outsize personalities in conflict.” And Rip It Up describes it as a movie “with fine performances, extraordinary evocations of key races, a sweaty '70s feel.”

New this week is “The Fifth Estate,” the docu-drama about Julian Assange, founder of whistle-blowing WikiLeaks, and his conflict with partner Daniel Berg. Hero or villain, do-gooder or danger, this close-up portrait will make you think twice about his release of classified government documents. New Yorker says it’s “as nervy and as excitable as the trade that it depicts.” And Film Threat counters, “This portrait of the world's most notorious bean spiller reveals so little I couldn't say with more certainty today than a year ago whether his crusade for transparency is sincere or just a freedom of information act.”

Also new is “Out in the Dark,” a film about a Palestinian student who falls for an Israeli lawyer, a difficult relationship due to nationalities and sexual prejudices. FilmForward.com describes it as an “intense intimate look beyond tragic premise of Romeo & Romeo across Israel/Palestine wall….” And New York Observer calls it “one of the most powerful films about the Arab-Israeli conflict that has ever been attempted on the screen.”

And last but not least is “Last Vegas,” a comedy about four sixtyish pals who go to Vegas to celebrate the last of them to get married, with “Hangover” consequences. Starring Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, and Robert De Niro, you’ll enjoy the interplay between these living legends. Hollywood Reporter concludes, “A royal flush of actors delivers a winning hand for this likable seriocomedy.” And Film.com tells us, “As predictable and uncomfortable as it can be, it's an assured crowd-pleaser.”

Old and new, you’ll find something you want to see this week at the Tropic.