27 Sep 2015

Driving Miss Dizzy: "The Intern," "The Green Inferno," and "Hotel Transylvania 2"

By Mike Schulz

Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in The InternTHE INTERN

Older audiences deserve comforting, pandering crap as much as everyone else, so I probably shouldn't be too hard on The Intern, especially because, with Nora Ephron's passing, writer/director Nancy Meyers is pretty much carrying the torch for Hollywood's all-too-rare female-centric dramedies detailing the personal costs of Having It All. But I'm going to be hard on it anyway, given that Meyers' mildly insulting sitcoms about strong, successful career women who are only truly fulfilled after Finding the Right Man are usually buoyed by ace performances (Something's Gotta Give's Diane Kaeaton and Jack Nicholson; It's Complicated's Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin), and this film just doesn't have 'em.

19 Sep 2015

Johnny B. Bad: "Black Mass" and "Grandma"

By Mike Schulz

Johnny Depp in Black MassBLACK MASS

There's a scene in the gangster thriller Black Mass that should sound bells of recognition for all fans of the genre. In it, legendary crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger (Johnny Depp) and some friends are enjoying a dinner prepared by one of Bulger's associates: FBI agent John Morris (David Harbour). Bulger compliments Morris on their steaks and asks what seasoning was used, to which the agent replies that it's a secret family recipe whose ingredients, upon further pressing, he genially reveals. That's when Bulger seems to snap.

19 Sep 2015

Social Climbers: "Everest," "Captive," and "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials"

By Mike Schulz

Jason Clarke in EverestEVEREST

At present, the only way to see director Baltasar Kormákur's adventure drama Everest - the only legal way, at any rate - is in its IMAX 3D presentation, as the film won't be released in other, less surcharge-filled formats until September 25. Yet even if, like me, you consider yourself a generally frugal (i.e., cheapskate) cineplex patron, I implore you to suck it up, shell out the extra dough, and treat yourself to the biggest, loudest Everest available. I'm not sure how well this thing will play on smaller screens, but the IMAX 3D version is a staggering, even humbling experience for the eyes and ears - a mountain that, on your TV or computer or iPhone, might more accurately suggest a molehill.

15 Sep 2015

What's Happenin': Thursday, September 17, through Wednesday, September 30

By Mike Schulz

Javier ColonMusic

Javier Colon

Galvin Fine Arts Center

Friday, September 18, 8 p.m.

 

Back in the day - by which I mean a couple decades ago - friends and I would frequent karaoke nights and challenge one another to perform randomly picked songs. On one of those nights, I wound up faced with the challenge of singing Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," which I (and the pour souls listening) mercifully survived. Consequently, I feel a true kinship with performer Javier Colon, who, in April of 2011, crooned the same Lauper hit on the debut episode of TV's The Voice.

Of course, Colon sang it better than I did ... and for a few million people as opposed to a few dozen ... and I don't recall getting $100,000 and a recording contract for my efforts ... .

13 Sep 2015

Stalking, Shocking, Screeching, Preaching: "The Perfect Guy," "The Visit," "Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos," and "90 Minutes in Heaven"

By Mike Schulz

Michael Ealy in The Perfect GuyFriday, September 11, 10:25 a.m.-ish: This millennium has already delivered 18 screen hours of J.R.R. Tolkien, our first female Oscar winner for Best Director, and, astoundingly, two Fantastic Four reboots. Why, given such miracles, can't we be treated to even one stalker thriller that doesn't suck?

07 Sep 2015

Taxing Hike: "A Walk in the Woods" and "The Transporter Refueled"

By Mike Schulz

Robert Redford and Nick Nolte in A Walk in the WoodsA WALK IN THE WOODS

Based on a widely adored nonfiction from 1998, A Walk in the Woods finds Robert Redford's Bill Bryson (the book's author) and Nick Nolte's Stephen Katz embarking on a months-long trek along the Appalachian Trail, and from his first moments here, you fear for the latter's health. By which I mean you fear for Nolte's health. Because based on the 74-year-old's initial appearance - hauling his substantial frame out of an airplane seemingly half his size, his face nearly purple from the effort - and that strained, gravelly baritone that sounds like heavy rocks in a wood chipper, Nolte doesn't appear at all capable of surviving this particular Walk. (It should go without saying that even though he's finally starting to look his age, you don't feel similar trepidation for 79-year-old Redford, given that his voice and hair - or "hair" - still suggest a man in his late 30s.)

01 Sep 2015

What's Happenin': Fall 2015

By Mike Schulz

Celtic Woman -- October 17Events

Adler Theatre

September through November

 

"Mademoiselles, messieurs: It is with deepest pride, and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up some chairs, as the Adler Theatre proudly presents - your autumn!" Okay, so that may not be the official greeting at the Davenport venue these days. But the Adler could do worse than steal from the candlestick Lumiere's "Be Our Guest" intro, considering how many fall events the theatre will be proudly presenting - among them the touring production of the Tony-winning fairytale musical Beauty & the Beast (November 3).

01 Sep 2015

What's Happenin': Thursday, September 3, through Wednesday, September 15

By Mike Schulz

Brushville @ RIBCO - September 5MUSIC

Friday, September 4 - Nashville Pussy. Atlanta-based hard-rock musicians in concert, with opening sets by Valient Thorr and Heavyweight. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $15 advance tickets. For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.

Friday, September 4 - Andrew Landers. Concert with the Americana and folk musician, with an opening set by The Dupont Brothers. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 7 p.m. $10 plus $1.50-2 fees. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Saturday, September 5 - Festival of Praise. High Praise Unlimited presents an evening of fellowship with outdoor concert sets by MercyMe and Justin Rizzo. LeClaire Park (400 Beiderbecke Drive, Davenport). 7 p.m. $17-20, ages 12 and under free. For information, call (563)359-7617 or visit NewAnthem.com.

Saturday, September 5 - Brushville. Outdoor concert with the country musicians, with an opening set by Just Chords. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $5-10. For information, call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.

30 Aug 2015

The Wails of August: "War Room," "We Are Your Friends," "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," and "No Escape"

By Mike Schulz

Karen Abercrombie and Priscilla C. Shirer in War RoomFriday, August 28, 10 a.m.-ish: The day begins with the pro-faith drama War Room, in which a harried working mom is guided - or more accurately bullied - into surrendering to God's will and forgiving her husband for his inattentive, verbally abusive, potentially adulterous ways. It's kind of exactly the movie you expect. It's also one of the most revolutionary movies of its type yet produced, because even a few years ago, it would've been unimaginable for a film skewing to America's religious right to feature an African-American family at its core.

23 Aug 2015

A Supposedly Fun Thing He'll Never Do Again: "The End of the Tour," "Tangerine," and "The Tribe"

By Mike Schulz

Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in The End of the TourTHE END OF THE TOUR

An interviewer for Rolling Stone travels to Bloomington, Illinois, to meet his subject: an author embarking on the last leg of his book tour. They make small talk at the author's house. They smoke incessantly. They gorge on junk food. They travel to Minnesota for a reading and radio segment. They visit the Mall of America. They catch a multiplex movie. They hang out with a couple of young women. They consume more junk food. They return to Bloomington. They part ways.

In broad outline, that is the entire plot of director James Ponsoldt's and screenwriter Donald Margulies' The End of the Tour. And with the possible exception of Mad Max: Fury Road, no other 2015 release, to date, has entertained, thrilled, and devastated me quite as much as this one. (The film is currently playing at Iowa City's Marcus Sycamore Cinema.) I'll concede that much of the reason for my enjoyment might be strictly personal, or at least intensely specific. But I also don't think anyone needs to have been an interviewer, or an interviewee, to be dazzled by the film's intelligence, emotional complexity, and deep empathy, or by the insight it demonstrates regarding the oddly fraught practice of the celebrity profile. You probably also don't need to be an admirer of David Foster Wallace to find yourself frequently moved to tears, but if you are one, consider yourself warned.

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