What’s On At The Tropic
by Phil Mann [reprinted from Key West the Newspaper, kwtn.com]
In America we always focus on the “big” thing, and it’s no different for movies at the Tropic. “What’s the new movie in the Carper Theater?” you want to know. But meanwhile there are gems slipping by in The George, mostly movies that play there for only a week. They don’t have name stars (like Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker and Ellen Page, from last week’s big movie Smart People) or even well-know actors (like Patricia Clarkson, Chris Cooper and Pierce Brosnan in this week’s big movie Married Life). No, these are alternative films, often foreign, and the Tropic takes great pride in selecting and bringing them to you. The big films are its bread and butter, but these are its pride and joy, to mix metaphors.
You may have seen Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Frances McDormand, but did you see Paranoid Park, a searing story about teen skateboarders with undiscovered first-time kid actors, from acclaimed director Gus Van Sant? You may have seen The Other Boleyn Girl with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, but did you bother with Live and Become, the moving story of an Ethiopian child refugee relocated to Israel? And speaking of Israel, did you see The Band’s Visit? This movie, which has just closed after a two week run, was a true One Human Family story about an Egyptian police band that gets lost in Israel and has to depend on the kindness of Jewish strangers.
I know reviewers are supposed to talk about what’s coming, not what’s gone, but my point is that part of the joy in having a theater like the Tropic in town is the richness of the offerings it presents. It always warms my heart to get emails from former Key Westers gone off to the real world, who send back messages like this week’s “no Tropic equivalents... or even close... here in Brisbane.” Damn. Brisbane has almost two million people; it’s got a gorgeous subtropical climate and great beaches... but it doesn’t have the Tropic. The New York times just had an article about some folks who are trying to start a similar theater in Tulsa. They don’t have one in that metro area of almost one million.
This week is a good one to sample the alternative fare, with two very different movies sharing the screen in The George. The Singing Revolution is a documentary about the fall of Soviet rule in Estonia. Like the “Velvet Revolution” in Czechoslovakia, this change occurred peacefully, but was propelled by huge gatherings of citizens singing patriotic songs. There was more to it than that, of course, and the film is “a wonderful exploration of that still little-understood period, from the mid-1980s through 1991, when the empire of Soviet communism rapidly collapsed...., [viewed] from the perspective of a tiny, intensely patriotic country.” (Salon.com) Conch Republic anyone? This is an American-made movie narrated by Linda Hunt.
Very different is The Year My Parents Went On Vacation, a narrative film about a twelve-year old boy who is left behind with relatives when his left-wing parents have to go underground in 1970. It swept the Brazilian Oscars this year with thirteen nominations and three wins, including Best Picture. A soulful coming-of-age comedy about a boy obsessed by, what else, girls and Pele, the movie is familiar in a way, but at the same time gives us a window on another world.
See you at the Tropic. Pmann99@gmail.com
Friday, May 9, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Week of May 2-8
What's On At the Tropic
by Phil Mann [reprinted from Key West the Newspaper, kwtn.com]
If movies were thoroughbreds the handicapping for the Tropic’s new movie Smart People would be off the charts. Starring Hollywood Walk of Fame actor Dennis Quaid (The Big Easy, Far From Heaven) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex in the City on TV, the original runs of Annie and Sylvia on the New York stage), plus Ellen Page (Juno) and Thomas Haden Parker (Sideways). Did I mention that the plot reminds me of The Squid and the Whale and Little Miss Sunshine?
Quaid plays a pompous, pedantic English professor, a character (reminiscent of the fathers in Squid and Little Miss) whose life is thrown into turmoil by his ne’er-do-well (and immensely likeable) brother (Church); his wise-cracking, Republican teen daughter (Page); and an affair with a former student (Parker). Like Juno, the script is from a first-time screenwriter with an ear for sharp dialogue. All the characters work through their issues and even change… though not in a Hollywoody absurd way.
Can’t miss, right? Well some reviewers think so. Rex Reed in The Observer says he “just loved this movie” because “it’s witty, intellectual without being pretentious, and filled with characters who are logically stressed and anxious to connect to a world outside of themselves.” A.O. Scott in the New York Times lauds it as a “frisky comedy” with an “excellent script” and great performances all around. David Denby in The New Yorker praises first-time director Noam Murro for his precision and comic touch. But overall the Tomatometer at RottenTomatoes gives it a score of 50%, the ultimate “mixed” review rating.
So we’ve got the dilemma of the smart moviegoer. Do we accept the dictates of review consensus, or do we take a chance with our few bucks and find our for ourselves? For myself, I’ve been following movies and reviews for enough years to know that I disagree with the critic-ocracy as often as I agree. Let’s make this a challenge. If you go, let me know what you think of Smart People, and I’ll publish its Conchmeter rating.
Meanwhile, if you’re a RottenTomato disciple, the Tropic is offering The Band’s Visit (“A clever slice-of-life comedy, and poignant cross-cultural exploration” Tomatometer 98%!), The Bank Job (“a thoroughly entertaining British heist thriller” Tomatometer 78%), and Shine the Light (“Martin Scorsese's document of the Rolling Stones' live show” Tomatometer 86%). You can let me know what you think about those ratings, too.
Oh, yes. There’s also La Scala’s production Il Trittico, from that guy Puccini, showing on Tuesday. Tomatometer rating unknown.
The free Saturday kids movie series is featuring Knights of the South Bronx, starring Ted Danson as an inner-city teacher who captivates his kids with chess. Danson was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in this made-for-TV film. Well worth the price of admission.
See you at the Tropic. Pmann99@gmail.com
Quaid plays a pompous, pedantic English professor, a character (reminiscent of the fathers in Squid and Little Miss) whose life is thrown into turmoil by his ne’er-do-well (and immensely likeable) brother (Church); his wise-cracking, Republican teen daughter (Page); and an affair with a former student (Parker). Like Juno, the script is from a first-time screenwriter with an ear for sharp dialogue. All the characters work through their issues and even change… though not in a Hollywoody absurd way.
Can’t miss, right? Well some reviewers think so. Rex Reed in The Observer says he “just loved this movie” because “it’s witty, intellectual without being pretentious, and filled with characters who are logically stressed and anxious to connect to a world outside of themselves.” A.O. Scott in the New York Times lauds it as a “frisky comedy” with an “excellent script” and great performances all around. David Denby in The New Yorker praises first-time director Noam Murro for his precision and comic touch. But overall the Tomatometer at RottenTomatoes gives it a score of 50%, the ultimate “mixed” review rating.
So we’ve got the dilemma of the smart moviegoer. Do we accept the dictates of review consensus, or do we take a chance with our few bucks and find our for ourselves? For myself, I’ve been following movies and reviews for enough years to know that I disagree with the critic-ocracy as often as I agree. Let’s make this a challenge. If you go, let me know what you think of Smart People, and I’ll publish its Conchmeter rating.
Meanwhile, if you’re a RottenTomato disciple, the Tropic is offering The Band’s Visit (“A clever slice-of-life comedy, and poignant cross-cultural exploration” Tomatometer 98%!), The Bank Job (“a thoroughly entertaining British heist thriller” Tomatometer 78%), and Shine the Light (“Martin Scorsese's document of the Rolling Stones' live show” Tomatometer 86%). You can let me know what you think about those ratings, too.
Oh, yes. There’s also La Scala’s production Il Trittico, from that guy Puccini, showing on Tuesday. Tomatometer rating unknown.
The free Saturday kids movie series is featuring Knights of the South Bronx, starring Ted Danson as an inner-city teacher who captivates his kids with chess. Danson was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in this made-for-TV film. Well worth the price of admission.
See you at the Tropic. Pmann99@gmail.com
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Week of April 25 - May 1
What’s On at the Tropic
By Phil Mann
Bear with me. This is going to be a little confusing, because this is a mélange of music week at the Tropic, and you’ll have to concentrate to keep the shows straight.
The big thing -- and take my word for it, it’s a Really Big Thing – is SHINE A LIGHT. What do you get when you combine Director Martin Scorsese, ten Oscar-nominated cinematographers, 18 cameras, and the Rolling Stones live-in-concert at New York’s small Beacon Theater? SHINE A LIGHT, that’s what. The cameras are all over the stage, putting you right there with the performers, creating an intimacy that has critics agog. Scorsese is no stranger to concert films, having cut his teeth in 1970 editing the Woodstock documentary, and shown his chops with The Last Waltz tribute to The Band and the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home. He’s got films about George Harrison and Bob Marley in the works. But for right now, SHINE A LIGHT is his music masterpiece. Stephen Holden in the New York Times says the movie provides “ample evidence that rock ’n’ roll may hold the secret of eternal vitality.” Come and join Mick and Keith and gang, along with guests Christina Aguilera and Buddy Guy, on stage at the Beacon and see why.
Meanwhile, down the hall in The George digital theater THE BAND’S VISIT is showing. Contrary to the title, this movie is not so much about music as it is about One Human Family. An Egyptian police band gets lost while coming to Israel to help dedicate a new Arab cultural center, and winds up in a forsaken Israel desert town with “no Arab culture, no Israeli culture, no culture at all.” But it all works out, in a way that has the film sweeping up audience favorite awards around the world.
And then on Thursday and Friday, May 1-2, the Key West Songwriters’ Festival takes over the main stage at the Tropic at 9pm each night. This is the third year of the Songwriters’ Festival at the Tropic, and we’re expecting as rockin’ a time as ever. The Festival is all over town on 25 stages, but the Tropic event is the big show. Headliners like Robert Earl Keen, Raul Malo and Jeffrey Steele; Songwriter Hall of Famers like John Oates; an amazing array of talent, all there in concert. Check kwswf.com for detailed info on the schedule. For this event only tickets are being handled by the Hog’s Breath at 296-4222 (not the Tropic Box Office).
Rounding out the film schedule are the continuing run of THE BANK JOB, the British heist movie that has become a word-of-mouth favorite around town. On the Special Events calendar, there’s an encore showing of THE RETURN OF THE KEY WEST PICTURE SHOW on Tuesday, and Amy Culver’s African Adventure, a special free show on Monday.
And don’t forget that the free Kids Movies on Saturday, April 26, will include a free drawing for a bicycle. Drawing at 12:30pm sharp. If that’s not enough of an incentive, both movies this week are looking good. Alvin and The Chipmunks for younger kids, and the new indie feature Pearl Diver for older ones.
See you at the Tropic. Always open to your comment at Pmann99@gmail.com
By Phil Mann
Bear with me. This is going to be a little confusing, because this is a mélange of music week at the Tropic, and you’ll have to concentrate to keep the shows straight.
The big thing -- and take my word for it, it’s a Really Big Thing – is SHINE A LIGHT. What do you get when you combine Director Martin Scorsese, ten Oscar-nominated cinematographers, 18 cameras, and the Rolling Stones live-in-concert at New York’s small Beacon Theater? SHINE A LIGHT, that’s what. The cameras are all over the stage, putting you right there with the performers, creating an intimacy that has critics agog. Scorsese is no stranger to concert films, having cut his teeth in 1970 editing the Woodstock documentary, and shown his chops with The Last Waltz tribute to The Band and the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home. He’s got films about George Harrison and Bob Marley in the works. But for right now, SHINE A LIGHT is his music masterpiece. Stephen Holden in the New York Times says the movie provides “ample evidence that rock ’n’ roll may hold the secret of eternal vitality.” Come and join Mick and Keith and gang, along with guests Christina Aguilera and Buddy Guy, on stage at the Beacon and see why.
Meanwhile, down the hall in The George digital theater THE BAND’S VISIT is showing. Contrary to the title, this movie is not so much about music as it is about One Human Family. An Egyptian police band gets lost while coming to Israel to help dedicate a new Arab cultural center, and winds up in a forsaken Israel desert town with “no Arab culture, no Israeli culture, no culture at all.” But it all works out, in a way that has the film sweeping up audience favorite awards around the world.
And then on Thursday and Friday, May 1-2, the Key West Songwriters’ Festival takes over the main stage at the Tropic at 9pm each night. This is the third year of the Songwriters’ Festival at the Tropic, and we’re expecting as rockin’ a time as ever. The Festival is all over town on 25 stages, but the Tropic event is the big show. Headliners like Robert Earl Keen, Raul Malo and Jeffrey Steele; Songwriter Hall of Famers like John Oates; an amazing array of talent, all there in concert. Check kwswf.com for detailed info on the schedule. For this event only tickets are being handled by the Hog’s Breath at 296-4222 (not the Tropic Box Office).
Rounding out the film schedule are the continuing run of THE BANK JOB, the British heist movie that has become a word-of-mouth favorite around town. On the Special Events calendar, there’s an encore showing of THE RETURN OF THE KEY WEST PICTURE SHOW on Tuesday, and Amy Culver’s African Adventure, a special free show on Monday.
And don’t forget that the free Kids Movies on Saturday, April 26, will include a free drawing for a bicycle. Drawing at 12:30pm sharp. If that’s not enough of an incentive, both movies this week are looking good. Alvin and The Chipmunks for younger kids, and the new indie feature Pearl Diver for older ones.
See you at the Tropic. Always open to your comment at Pmann99@gmail.com
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
The setting is the turn-of-the-century California oil boom. Daniel Plainview, played in an Oscar-nominated performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, is a wildcatter from Wisconsin who learns of a huge California prospect with oil literally bubbling up from the ground. It must be his, and neither ethics nor the power of Standard Oil can stand in his way.
Monday, January 14, 2008
THE WALKER
A contemporary drama set in Washington, DC, The Walker centers around Carter Page (Woody Harrelson), a well-heeled and popular socialite who serves as confidant, companion, and card partner to some of the capital's leading ladies. These pampered women are married to the most powerful men in America, and when their husbands are too busy running the country to attend to their wives, the wives turn to their "gay best friend," Carter, for warmth, wit, and wisdom. Carter's loyalty is tested when his dearest friend (Kristin Scott Thomas) finds herself on the brink of a scandal that could destroy her reputation and her husband's career.
ATONEMENT
In 1935, beautiful young Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and her 13-year-old sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) live a life of wealth and privilege. Robbie (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Cecilia and hopes it will only take one spark for their relationship to combust. When it does, Briony—who has a crush on Robbie—is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. With Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
A slick suspense thriller from the assured hand of master thriller director Sidney Lumet (Serpico, Prince of the City, Dog Day Afternoon). “This is a movie, I promise you, that grabs you and won't let you think of anything else,” says Roger Ebert.
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