March 25, 2015

Page 26

FILM CAPSULES CP

of revenge. It begins with the shortest film, a funny bit of misdirection involving a woman traveling by plane for business, and ends with the best-worst wedding party ever. Two other films — one about a demolition expert who blows up his own life, another about a traffic accident — are more explicit about civic corruption and the power of money. My favorite was the two-man tale about road rage (with class overtones) and its perfectly logical but breathtaking escalation of violence (and likely, a hattip to the road-rage classic Duel). Well-acted and -produced, Szifron’s compendium might not deliver any fresh insights into the foibles of the human animal, but it is an entertaining, twisty and twisted examination. In Spanish, with subtitles. Starts Fri., March 27. Manor (AH)

= CITY PAPER APPROVED

NEW THIS WEEK

GET HARD. Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart do their part to spark conversations about race in this comedy about a white guy who hires a black guy to train him for an upcoming prison stint. Etan Cohen directs. Starts Fri., March 27. HOME. There’s something charming about Tim Johnson’s alien-invasion animated film, much of it due to the voicework of Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) as an alien. Good thing, because its themes — be courageous, don’t judge a book by its cover, friends are important — are pretty familiar. The story concerns a race of intelligent but cowardly aliens, known as the Boov, who have spent their lives running from their mortal enemies, the Gorg, and are seeking shelter on Earth. Led by Captain Smek (voiced by Steve Martin), the Boov initiate a polite takeover — sucking humans into vacuum tubes and relocating them to a new, pre-fab community in the Australian Outback, complete with tiny houses, picket fences and an amusement park. But one human, Tip (voiced by Rihanna), is left behind and must work with Oh (Parsons) to find her mother. The jokes and visual hi-jinks are typical of the genre, but Parsons playing off a capable Rihanna makes this film worth the time. In 3-D, in select theaters. Starts Fri., March 27. (Charlie Deitch) HUMAN CAPITAL. A cyclist struck by a car at Christmastime is the catalyst for Paolo Virzi’s drama, which depicts the lives of two interconnected Italian families. The story is told in three chapters, each focusing on the same six months — from summer to the holidays — but from different perspectives. There’s the slightly comic opener, in which the striving Dino begs his way into a one-percenter’s hedge fund; Dino’s daughter, Serena, is dating the rich man’s feckless son. Chapter two focuses on Carla, the rich man’s bored wife, who decides to restore a theater, while coping with her spoiled son. Finally, there’s Serena’s tale, in which the truth about the accident, and who these people really are, is revealed. Class, money, gender and even the recent economic

REPERTORY

Home INSURGENT. The end of 2014’s Divergent tantalized us with what lay beyond the horizon (literally) for Insurgent. Divergent was an occasionally turgid data-dump and warrior-training thriller about a dystopian future in which people are sorted into five rigid factions based on attributes. Surely, in Insurgent, our plucky heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley) would finally do something and advance the story. Alas, Insurgent is a clunky mess, careening from chase scenes to teen-age pity parties, from high-tech high-rise labs to grubby post-apocalyptic sewers, and revving through characters new and old. Many of the actors appear bored — every time Tris whirled around in a panic, I imagined Woodley looking for an exit — and there are still two more films to go (Allegiant, parts 1 and 2). In 3-D in select theaters (AH)

Human Capital crisis are all factors propelling the characters to behave in predictable ways. The title refers to the financial term for valuing one’s worth with a dollar amount (an often ugly process in which workingclass people are deemed to be “worth” less than executives). As this well-plotted but a trifle soapy drama posits, money may matter, but character also counts. In Italian, with subtitles. Starts Fri., March 27. Regent Square (Al Hoff)

WOMAN IN GOLD. Simon Curtis directs this reallife drama about an elderly Jewish refugee (Helen Mirren) fighting to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis. Starts Wed., April 1. Manor TALES. Six darkly comic tales comprise CP WILD this anthology film from Argentine writerdirector Damian Szifron. If there is a theme, it is that people under stress often behave very poorly and with violence; each film also depicts some element

Red Army

(2014) 3/25 @ 9:30pm, 3/26 @ 9:30pm The story of the Soviet Union’s famed Red Army hockey team through the eyes of its players.

-Grey - - - -Gardens ---------------------------------It- Follows ------------------------------------

(1975) - 3/25 @ 7:00pm, 3/26 @ 7:00pm, 3/28 @ 4:00pm, 3/29 @ 4:00pm, 3/30 @ 7:30pm - New 2K restoration of the landmark documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. (2015) 3/27 @ 7:30pm & 10:00pm, 3/28 @ 7:00pm & 9:30pm, 3/29 @ 7:00pm, 3/31 @ 7:30pm, 4/1 @ 7:30pm - DO NOT miss this new indie horror flick that critics are raving about!

-The- - -Rocky - - - - - -Horror - - - - - - Picture - - - - - - -Show ---------------Breakfast - - - - - - - - -and- - - a- -Movie ----------------------3/28 @ Midnight with live shadowcast by JCCP.

- 3/29 @ 10:30am with the film To Catch a Thief (1955) starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, buy tickets by 3/26 for catered brunch.

26

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 03.25/04.01.2015

ROW HOUSE CIN EMA. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring (Frodo embarks; 2001), March 25. The Two Towers (Gollum joins the quest; 2002), March 25-26. The Return of the King (at last, Mount Doom; 2003), March 25-26. Tim Burton Films. The Corpse Bride (2005 animated romance, featuring voices of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter), March 27-31. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Burton’s 1985 debut, featuring Pee Wee Herman on a road trip), March 27-29, March 31 and April 1. Mars Attacks! (1996 spoof of 1950s sci-fi films), March 27-April 2. Batman (the 1989 reboot, starring Michael Keaton), March 27-April 2. Wigle Whiskey Presents: Best In Show (Christopher Guest’s 2000 mockumentary about dog shows), 7:30 p.m. Thu., April 2. Call or see website for times and complete listings. 4115 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $5-9. 412-904-3225 or www.rowhousecinema.com GREY GARDEN S. Albert and David Maysles’ 1975 documentary takes viewers inside the dilapidated East Hampton mansion — and the eccentric and troubling lives — of the elderly Edith Bouvier Beale and her middle-aged daughter, “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, who are aunt and cousin, respectively, of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The film has recently been restored. 7 p.m. Wed., March 25; 7 p.m. Thu., March 26; 4 p.m. Sat.., March 28; 4 p.m. Sun., March 29; and 7:30 p.m. Mon., March 30. Hollywood THE MAFIA KILLS ON LY IN SUMMER. This 2013 black comedy from Pierfrancesco Diliberto follows a couple’s relationship from the 1970s to the 1990s against the backdrop of criminal activity in Palermo, Sicily. For young Arturo, the rise of the Mafia — which he is repeatedly told doesn’t exist — seems like a possible entry to winning the heart of a classmate; he recounts sightings of infamous figures and buys pastries. But alas, reality — the assassinations and bombings — intrude, and the broken-hearted Arturo turns instead to journalism. The film has a light touch with tragic real events, while also serving as a tribute to politicians, police and journalists who fought back against the gang violence. In Italian, with subtitles. 7 p.m. Thu., March 26. Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie. Free. www.italianfilmfests.org (AH) JUMP. Tadeusz Konwicki’s 1965 film starts with a man jumping off a moving train to visit a small town he stayed in during the war. Continues a two-month series of digitally remastered Polish masterpieces, curated by Martin Scorsese. In Polish, with subtitles. 7:30 p.m. Thu., March 26, and 5:30 p.m. Sat., March 28. Harris. $5 GHOSTS OF AMISTAD: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE REBELS. This new hour-long documentary from local filmmaker Tony Buba is based on The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom, Pitt historian Marcus Rediker’s book about the famous 1839 slave revolt. The film follows a 2013 journey to Sierra Leone, in which Rediker and colleagues sought out living descendants of


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