The Scenester: Whiteout pales, feminists should skip Sorority Row but they may learn something from The September Issue and more

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The Scenester: Whiteout pales, feminists should skip Sorority Row but they may learn something from The September Issue and more

POSTED: Friday, September 11, 2009, 8:45 PM

Filed Under: Movies | Scenester trailer!

Admit it, you know you want more from this week's Movies section.

Drew Lazor braved two movies that didn't screen in time for print so you don't have to.

Whiteout ' C-

Visually stunning but lacking punch, Dominic Sena's adaptation of Greg Rucka's graphic novel is more of a screen saver than a movie. Haunted by a double-cross in her professional past, U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) takes the worst job for folks of her ilk ' the only law enforcement official in Antarctica. Right as she's about to wrap up her self-prescribed exile and head back to society, though, she finds a dead man in the ice, miles from what's considered "humanity" on the continent. It's up to Stetko to dig up the conspiracy behind Antarctica's first murder, with the help of pilot Delfy (Columbus Short) and U.N. inspector Robert Pryce (Gabriel Macht). Rucka's 11-year-old comic series, which debuted in 1998, has earned praise for its adventurous approach to setting ' letting a body-count-heavy murder mystery play out on the brightest, cleanest stage on earth means the fresh blood looks that much more red. But while Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds, Swordfish) does tremendous work maximizing the impact of an unforgiving environment, he's unable to draw the same level of stimulation out of his dullard cast. 'Drew Lazor

Sorority Row ' B-

What should one expect from a movie whose top-billed actress (in order of appearance) is "Bra-Clad Sister"? Awesome things, dammit. And Sorority Row, a remake of the 1983 cult classic The House on Sorority Row, mostly delivers. Goofy as hell, gender-marginalizing (really into Le Tigre? Don't see this!) and thoroughly enjoyable as a slasher flick, the movie kicks off after an elaborate prank involving roofies (seriously, girls?) results in the slaughter of Theta Pi sorority sister Megan (The Hills' Audrina Patridge, somehow more natural here than in her reality show). While Cassidy (Brian Evigan) and Ellie (Rumer Willis) are reluctant about covering up the murder, the rest of the soon-to-matriculate senior girls have no trouble dumping homegirl's carcass down a mine shift. This, of course, kicks off an innovative killin' spree that begins as soon as the guilty parties turn their tassels. There are plenty of guffaws to be had, many of them thanks to "Chugs" (Margo Harshman), a drunken floozy who screws her therapist to get anti-depressants. The best lines, however, are reserved for ice queen Jessica (newcomer Leah Pipes), who rattles off quip after alpha-bitch quip even in the worst of circumstances (after finding a rotting body hanging in the shower: "She looks terrible!"). 'Drew Lazor

The September Issue ' B+

I had the opportunity to talk to September Issue director R.J. Cutler about his time with Anna Wintour, aka, the devil in Prada herself. His reaction to Wintour was certainly different than her myth has made her out to be:

CP: I kept thinking that if Anna were a man working in a masculine industry, instead of a traditionally feminine industry, do you think she would have this reputation?

RJC: No. I think it's more complicated because she is a woman. You can't really go there. But I do think that a guy who had her leadership approach and her management approach? No way! Do you think Morley Safer would interview a guy on 60 Minutes with a guy who dominated a $300 billion global industry and would ask him if he was a bitch? Morley Safer would be like, [affecting a funny voice] "Hey buddy, you're the greatest, let's go play golf. Look everybody, tough guy loves me!" But because he's with a woman, he's like, "You're a bitch." It's cowardly to me. And it's sexist. Absolutely, there's no way with a guy with Anna's approach to running her business would be the subject of that kind of inquiry. No way. Tell me an instance where anybody gives a shit that fill-in-the-blank is an asshole to the people who work for him. It doesn't happen. Not that I'm saying Anna's an asshole to the people who work for her, don't get me in trouble. I'm not saying it at all. But she's tough. We know she's tough, I made a movie about her. She is tough! She is demanding. No tough, demanding guy gets asked by Morley Safer, "Are you a bitch?" Or even "Are you too tough?" What a silly question. You a run a publication that makes tens of millions of dollars. She should have said, "Fuck you, you asshole. You pussy. That's the question you're going to ask me?" She should have said that.

Read the rest of the interview here and read my review of the film here.

More trailers and reviews after the jump'

9 - C

Produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Wanted), 9 is based on Shane Acker's Oscar-nominated short film about a post-apocalypse inhabited by nefarious machines (think Terminator, minus John Connor) and little burlap bags with extremities trying to survive amidst the wasteland left behind after human extinction. Read the rest of the review'

Beeswax - A

Near the beginning of Andrew Bujalski's film, Lauren (Maggie Hatcher) breaks up with Scott (David Zellner). He's startled that she's taken him up on his un-serious challenge to do so, while she seems pleased that he's given her the opportunity ("OK, we should. We should try to break up"). Read the rest of Cindy Fuchs' review.

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) - A-

Uli Edel's dispassionate dramatization of the short, violent history of the Red Army Faction (RAF) depicts the German domestic terrorist group as a historical inevitability, if not a necessity. Neither condemning nor celebrating, Edel frames the group's activities with news reports of the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of RFK and MLK, Che Guevara's death and student uprisings from Paris to Kent State. Read the rest of Shaun Brady's review.

Five Minutes of Heaven - B

Alistair Little is a real person. As a teenager and member of the Ulster Volunteer Force, he killed James Griffin, a young Catholic man who allegedly threatened Protestants. Little spent more than a decade in prison for his crime and continues to be weighed by the guilt. Now, he runs workshops to heal the wounds of countries torn apart by political strife. But that's where the truth ends in Oliver Hirschbiegel's (Downfall) film. Read the rest of my review.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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