RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 4, 2012, Featured Articles, Film
Winter 2012 preview: Art house films
It’s that time of year when movie theaters are awash with films receiving Golden Globe nods and Academy Award buzz. While there are a few already playing, like "The Artist," "The Descendants," and "Melancholia," there are plenty more quality art house films in the pipeline in the early part of the new year.
January 6 – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (R, 127 min)
Based on the 1974 novel by John le Carré, this espionage thriller stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, a veteran British agent forced into retirement but latter called upon by MI6 to hunt for a Soviet double agent. It co-stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ciarán Hinds.
January 13– Shame (NC-17, 101 min)
Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a 30-something yuppie living in New York who is unable to manage his sex life and urges. After his wayward younger sister (Carey Mulligan) moves into his apartment, Brandon’s world spirals out of control.
January 13 – The Iron Lady (PG-13, 105 min)
Told through a series of flashbacks, The Iron Lady takes a look at the life of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power. Fellow Academy Award-winner Jim Broadbent plays her husband.
January 20 – Coriolanus (R, 122 min)
An adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy set in modern times, Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes) is a banished hero of Rome who allies with a sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), to take revenge on the city.
January 20 – A Dangerous Method (R, 99 min)
Set on the eve of World War I, A Dangerous Method, directed by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), is based on the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung (Viggo Mortensen), his mentor Sigmund Freud (Michael Fassbender), and Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a troubled woman who comes between them.
January 27 – Albert Nobbs (R, 113 min)
Academy Award-winning actress Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in nineteenth century Ireland. Some thirty years after donning men’s clothing, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy), and Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) comprise a talented international cast.
February 3 – In the Land of Blood and Honey (R, 127 min)
Written and directed by Angelina Jolie, In the Land of Blood and Honey is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War. Danijel (Goran Kostić), a soldier fighting for the Bosnian Serbs, re-encounters Ajla (Zana Marjanović), a Bosnian woman he was involved with before the war, and who is now a captive in the camp he oversees
February 17 – A Separation (PG-13, 123 min)
This film focuses on an Iranian middle-class couple who separate, and the intrigues which follow when the husband hires a lower-class caretaker for his elderly father. The film received the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. The film is the official Iranian candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
Information for this preview article was gathered from tivolikc.com, fineartsgroup.com, imdb.com, Wikipedia.org, and information provided by Allied Integrated Marketing.
Top Photo: Michael Fassbender in Shame
Indie Film Editor
Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.
In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.
Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.
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Spring 2011 preview: Theatre
And as January and February temperatures dip, the stages of area theatres—many in mid-season—are warming up. What follows are some highlights to look for this winter and spring from Kansas City’s adult professional companies and presenters—but come back often to KCMetropolis for more listings, previews, and reviews of the musical, family, community, and off-beat theatre our area has to offer.
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