Friday, September 05, 2008

Movies opening this week

Baghead (Ross Partridge, Steve Zissis, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller, dir. Mark and Jay Duplass)
My review in Las Vegas Weekly
I really liked the Duplasses' first movie, The Puffy Chair, so I had high hopes for this one, and maybe was a little too generous in my assessment. I do still think that they have a strong sense of the dynamics of relationships (both romantic and friendly), and some of that is on display here. But this movie feels simultaneously too busy and too loose. It's got a lot of plot, but not enough real character insight, and while that may get the brothers some work in mainstream Hollywood (if that's what they want), it only distracts them from what they're actually best at. Opened limited June 13; in Las Vegas this week

The Little Red Truck (documentary, dir Rob Whitehair)
My review in Las Vegas Weekly
My guest on this week's podcast (which will be posted later today) really tore this movie apart, and I sympathize with his position even though I was a little kinder. This really is nothing more than a 100-minute advertisement for the Missoula Children's Theatre, and as such it's dull and earnest and self-aggrandizing. The organization is certainly admirable and worthwhile, but this movie should appeal only to educators and MCT employees and backers. Limited release

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