Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Critics’ choices

Fall Film Fest features movie gems you might have missed

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By KAREN LINDELL
Express Staff Writer

The late film critic Roger Ebert, front, is the subject of “Life Itself,” a documentary screening from Friday through Sept. 18 at Magic Lantern Cinemas as part of the theater’s Fall Film Festival. Ebert’s former TV colleague Gene Siskel sits in back. Photo by Kevin Horan courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

    Magic Lantern Cinemas is fine with your film-title flubs.
    Owner Rick Kessler said patrons often forget the titles of a movie they want to see, probably because it hasn’t been marketed to the max. This summer, for example, everyone remembered “Guardians of the Galaxy.” But the indie film “Begin Again”? Some people asked for a ticket to “Start Over.”
    “It’s OK; we know what they’re talking about,” Kessler said, laughing.
    The title of the opening film in Magic Lantern’s three-week Fall Film Festival is probably not one for the memory banks, “Jeremy Jones’ Higher: The Final Chapter,” but you can shorten it to “Higher.”
    The documentary, third in the “Deeper,” “Further,” “Higher” trilogy from Teton Gravity Research, kicks off the 25th festival on Friday, Sept. 12. The film follows Jones—a 2013 National Geographic Traveler of the Year—on a snowboarding adventure.
    The other films, a mix of mostly independent comedies, dramas and documentaries, all have one thing in common: They don’t get a tremendous amount of marketing, especially in mainstream America. Most have received critical praise and might pop up around Oscar time.
    Studios are ignoring “a very sophisticated audience in our community,” Kessler said. The Magic Lantern’s biggest box-office of the summer, he said, was the indie film “Chef.”
    Each film will screen at various times each day for one week. The festival runs through Oct. 3.
    A description of each film is below, but don’t be swayed by titles or plot lines that don’t do a justice to a movie’s magic.
    In “Locke,” for example, starring Tom Hardy, viewers watch a man with a car and a hands-free cell phone the entire time. “You won’t believe how riveted you are just watching a man talk on the telephone,” Kessler said.
Sept. 12-18
    “Jeremy Jones’ Higher: The Final Chapter.”
    “Life Itself,” documentary about the late, great film critic Roger Ebert.
    “The Immigrant,” starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner, is a drama about a Polish woman who sails to Manhattan in 1921.
    “Calvary,” starring Brenda Gleeson, is about a good Irish priest who faces a death threat from an angry parishioner.
    “Obvious Child,” Jenny Slate plays a comedian who loses her job and boyfriend, then discovers she’s pregnant.
    “Locke,” starring Tom Hardy.
Sept. 19-25
    “The Trip to Italy” stars comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as semifictional versions of themselves on a culinary road trip.
    “Cold in July,” starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson, is a revenge-crime drama set in Texas.
    “The Last of Robin Hood,” starring Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon and Dakota Fanning, is about actor Errol Flynn’s affair with a 17-year-old.
    “What If” is a romantic comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan.
Sept. 26 to Oct. 2
    “The Grand Seduction,” starring Brendan Gleeson and Taylor Kitsch, is a comedy that takes places in a fishing village.
    “Le Chef” is a food-themed French farce not to be confused with “Chef.”
    But it doesn’t really matter. Even if you ask for “Le Chief,” the box office will be happy to sell you a ticket.

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Fall Film Festival
WHAT:
25th annual event features screenings of 12 films over three weeks,
with multiple showings for each movie.

Where:
Magic Lantern Cinemas, 100 E. Second St., Ketchum.

WHEN:
Various times daily from Friday, Sept. 12 through Oct. 2.

DETAILS:
726-4274 or www.mlcinemas.com.

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