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Movies
With based-on-a-book Big Miracle and The Woman in Black hitting silver screen this weekend — and 
board-game blockbuster Battleship lurking ominously on the horizon — it seems clear Hollywood has run out of fresh ideas. Odds are you find that disconcerting, so here’s a comforting thought from the folks at the International House: Hollywood never had any originality to begin with. In a discussion titled “Pleasures and Pitfalls of Film Adaptation,” Penn and NYU professors will gather to explore cinema’s illustrious history of profiting off the creativity of others. At a time when adapted screenplays abound, these scholars hope to show that transferring material between media can be more of an art form than a simple copy-paste job. And if you can’t make it, rest assured; a movie version will likely be in theaters this December.
Wed., Feb. 1, 5 p.m., free, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 215-387-5125, ihousephilly.org.
With the help of City Paper film critics, Josh Middleton counts down this weekend's eight new-movie releases, from least- to most-worthy of your precious time and hard-earned dollar bills.
With the help of City Paper film critics, Josh Middleton counts down the weekend's six new movie releases, from least- to most-worthy of your precious time and hard-earned dollar bills.
Anyone who has seen Tommy Wiseau's directorial debut, The Room (screening tomorrow at Bryn Mawr Film Institute), can attest to his status in cult film culture. Sure, audiences may mock him and deride his film — along with his accent — but Wiseau is a folk hero to many admirers. On the phone from L.A., the writer/director/producer/star chatted with City Paper about The Room. His answers clarified some things, but obscured others. Wiseau’s style of speaking is not unlike his film — earnest and from the heart, but full of non-sequiturs and fascinating digressions.
City Paper: Oh, hi, Tommy!
Tommy Wiseau: We have half an hour. Ask me what you want. Doesn't mean you'll get what you want. Let's start it and have a groovy time.
CP: OK! I’ve always wondered, why is your film called The Room?
TW: Let me give you background before I respond to your question. A title has a special place in my heart. So that’s why I called it The Room. What I emphasize is: It's not A Room — it's THE Room. It's a special place you have — in your heart or your home. It could be in your basement.
This week's new releases may include big-screen heavy-hitters like Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Mark Wahlberg, but you should be leery about letting the big-name hype draw you toward the ticket booth. Today, with the help of our critics, we're charting the six new releases from least- to most-worthy of your precious time and hard-earned dollar bills.
Williamstown, N.J. native Dexter Darden has a memorable supporting turn as Queen Latifah’s son Walter in the enjoyable new film Joyful Noise. The 20-year-old musician/actor holds his own on screen against both the Oscar-nominated actress and legendary country singer Dolly Parton. Darden, who grew up singing in church and at Victory Christian School, chatted with City Paper about getting his start from Paul Newman, Dolly Parton’s fried chicken and his favorite one-hit wonder.
City Paper: How did you get started in music and acting?
DD: My mother sent me to Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camp [where] I did my Michael Jackson impersonation, and Newman saw the tape. He asked me to perform for the camp’s gala fundraiser. I got to perform with Kevin Kline, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul McCartney, Robin Williams and Jerry Seinfeld. Then, when I hit 13, Newman approached me and asked if I was interested in pursuing entertainment. I said it was something I wanted to do, but I was in school, getting good grades and playing basketball. But when I was 13, I took my first professional vocal lesson, and got an agent and manager and the rest took off from there.
Man Cave is a testosterone-laden Monday feature that highlights the weekend haps of a pop culture-loving Philly dude.
I rented Our Idiot Brother from one of those pharmacy Red Box DVD kiosks. Paul Rudd plays a Lebowski-esque family man, beloved to his sisters, mom and nephew. You can check out our review but I'd like to discuss the ensemble cast of hotties that populate the celluloid.
Zooey Dechanell: Enchanting as ever, the banged brunette plays a lesbian/sometimes bisexual who 
frequents spoken-word open mics. Perpetually rocking the hipster stewardess vibe, Zoey manages to refrain from singing in this one (which is neither here nor there, but I thought you'd like to know in case it comes up at quizzo).
Emily Banks: Blondie Magee fits in with her dark-haired family members by shelving her golden locks for a brunette wig. Normally, one of the most unilaterally smoking chicks in Hollywood, her unique character blend of phoniness and bitchiness in this flick earns her a rare (and temporary) banishment from my mental brothel.
Emily Mortimer: The intriguing beauty from Lars & The Real Girl plays the sheepish wife, unsure as to how to earn her distant hubby's affections, and desperate to be a good mom. Her befuddlement and lack of confidence fluctuates between off-putting and charming.
Got into my first — and last, since the director, actors and crew pretty much wrapped up shooting over the weekend — bit of trouble during a Friday night stroll by The Silver Linings Playbook set. As I was walking across Chestnut at Eighth across from the Ben Franklin Hotel (they were camped in the parking lot on Eighth for days), a pair of signs had been erected for a “Pairs Open Freestyle Dance Competition,” a set piece upon which Bradley Cooper would later film with Jennifer Lawrence in the wee early hours of Saturday morning.
No sooner had I raised my camera to snap the banners than a crew member shouted me down. No worries. I got a decent shot. Yet I wanted Icepack’s usual photographer, Scott Weiner, to get some snaps. He did just that last night, along with a few photos along Sansom Street’s Jewelers’ Row, where it’s Christmas every day. (Geez, could the crew not have bothered to take the banners and the lights down? Lazy bastards.)
Anyway, the cast and the crew did a wrap party at Stephen Starr’s un-used Tangerine space on Market Street, and all is right with the world.
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Man Cave is a testosterone-laden Monday feature that highlights the weekend haps of a pop culture-loving Philly dude.
When I first saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I was 18. It was the last time my parents took my 
little sister and me out to see a movie as a family. I hadn't read the books (still haven't). I wasn't into it. I considered it to be a kid's film and I — probably hungover — slept through most of the matinee. But when I heard that some of my buddies were going to be getting together to nerd out over this shiz, I knew it was time for my Hogwarts reboot.
The truth of the matter is, Harry Potter is very much a kid's film, complete with a pod race and everything. Also, I'm starting to wonder if any fantasy epic can exist without a prophesized "chosen one." Harry is simply the messianic descendant of Frodo, Neo, Luke Skywalker, dude from Dune and that young chick from Narnia. My apologies to the heads if these are out of order. Still, J.K. Rowling's version of Jedi powers are sorta badass in their own right. Harry's naive bravery and his buddies with unique skills are effectively nerdy in a way I can really appreciate.
Man On Wire was a different variety of wizardry. If you're unfamiliar with the British documentary about the French tightrope walker, check out City Paper's 2008 review. There's an encouraging dudeliness to Philippe Petit's patently illegal quests for high-altitude absurdity. Petit is the John Dillinger of high wire walking, and if you haven't seen his clutch appearance on The Colbert Report, cruise over to Colbert Nation. Then, stream the hell out of that docco on webflix.
As far as its placement in the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival is concerned, I Miss You (Te Extrano) is a strange choice. There is one subtle reference to the film’s principal family’s Jewish heritage and involvement in the Holocaust — but if this brief moment of dialogue is missed, one might spend the entire 105 minutes of the film waiting to understand how it is a commentary on the Jewish experience. Set in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the film is instead a fairly stereotypical account of a teenage boy’s struggle with self-understanding.
The protagonist, Javier (Fermin Volcoff), has been shoved into the shadows his entire life by older brother Adrian (Martin Slipak). Javier idolizes his brother’s bravery, electric personality and overall control of his own life decisions. He is frustrated with his own inability to emulate these qualities, he argues with his mother and father, is sexually intimidated around his high school crushes, and socially awkward around his older brother’s friends. If you’re still waiting to hear what separates this film from others about the tender teenage years — you and I both.
When Adrian disappears during a mission with his rebel involvement in the military coup of 1976, Javier is forced to reconsider his previous life aspirations, namely those to precisely fit his older brother’s course, and his character begins to quietly develop. Director Fabian Hofman chose to make this potentially pivotal moment in the film as gradual and passive as growing up typically occurs in real life. So, while this was an interesting structural decision on Hofman’s end, it leaves the film without momentum or climax. Hell, we don’t even get a sneak peek into the big moment during the amateur love scenes.
Ironically, given the predictable nature of the majority of the film, I Miss You ends on an unexpected note — one that may just be the jump-off point for a sequel that follows Javier in a more dynamic account of his dark, rebellious years as a young adult tormented by unresolved identity crises and daddy issues.
Nov. 13, Hiway Theater, gershmany.org/pjff.
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