Thriller Rod Lott
Promises the cover of 1968’s “The Venetian Affair” from Warner Archive,
“Murder! Spies! Women!” They left off “Disappointment!” Released in
conjunction with a multi-disc set of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” feature
films, the film stars Napoleon Solo himself, Robert Vaughn, but as
ex-spy Bill Fenner, and with the espionage exploits as straight and
bleak as “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.”
Comedy Rod Lott
Two new movies tackle the coming-of-age dramedy in entirely different
ways, yet neither succeeds in being particularly moving or reaching its
goals, despite some strong moments. Meet "Hesher," which earned a
theatrical release, and "Just Peck," which didn't.
Action Rod Lott
I can't think of the last time a straight-up martial arts film got a
wide theatrical release. Ten, 15 years ago, it used to happen all the
time after Jackie Chan burst through with "Rumble in the Bronx." Not
every Hong Kong actioner is worth importing these days, of course, but
"True Legend" s widespread love that one hopes it will find on Blu-ray
and DVD.
Sci-Fi Rod Lott
As a huge Vincent Price fan, I’ve literally been waiting more than a
decade for 1961’s “Master of the World” to hit DVD. At one time, it was
slated to be released under MGM’s “Midnite Movies” line — I remember
reading in a magazine that screenwriter Richard Matheson either
completed interviews or commentary for it — before the studio abandoned
that umbrella.
Documentary on late Oklahoma NBA star due around Thanksgiving.
Wayman Tisdale, the Tulsan who conquered the Olympics, the NBA and the jazz charts, is the subject of a new documentary, naturally named “The Wayman Tisdale Story.” After a battle with bone cancer, Tisdale died in 2009 at the age of 44.
While ESPN is slated to air the doc sometime this fall, a DVD street date of Nov. 22 has been announced. Packaged with the film will be a 13-track CD featuring music from Tisdale’s nine contemporary jazz albums. One song, “Slam Dunk,” is previously unreleased, while another, “Cryin’ for Me (Wayman’s Song),” is performed by fellow Oklahoman Toby Keith.
The documentary already has won awards at the Park City Film and Music Festival, the International Christian Film Festival, the Los Angeles Sports Film Festival and the Pan African Film Festival. —Rod Lott
Oklahoma City University has announced the lineup for the 30th-anniversary installment of its Film Series. It kicks off Sunday, Sept. 25 with the 1957 Oscar-winning musical romance “Black Orpheus,” (poster pictured) colorfully directed by Marcel Camus.
The rest of the scheduled films are: • Lee Chang-dong’s “Poetry,” Oct. 9 • George Sluizer’s “The Vanishing,” Oct. 23 • Ken Loach’s “Kes,” Nov. 6 • Jean Renoir’s “The River,” Jan. 22, 2012 • Majid Majidi’s “Children of Heaven,” Feb. 5, 2012 • Claudia Llosa’s “The Milk of Sorrow,” Feb. 19, 2012 • Kenji Mizoguchi's “Sansho the Bailiff,” March 4, 2012
“Poetry” recently showed at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and I can vouch for the South Korean drama’s excellence. “The Vanishing” is sly programming for the pre-Halloween slot, as the Danish thriller from 1988 bears one chiller of an ending (skip its 1993 subpar American remake, however).
All films are free, and shown in the Kerr-McGee Auditorium in the college’s Meinders School of Business, N.W. 27th Street and McKinley Avenue. —Rod Lott
‘Women Behind Bars’ documentary probes state’s high incarceration rate of females.
Bar none, the Sooner state is first in the nation at putting women behind bars. According to the Oklahoma Department of Correction, we incarcerate 132 women per 100,000 population — almost double the national average.
More than 85 percent of those females are mothers, and the majority of female inmates are nonviolent offenders. But we even have one on death row: Brenda Andrew, convicted in 2004 for the 2001 murder of her husband, Rob Andrew. On Tuesday, Sept. 20, you can get a peek into this judicial phenomenon with a free screening of the documentary “Women Behind Bars: The Voices of Oklahoma’s Incarcerated Women and Their Children.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. showing at the Thurman J. White Forum Auditorium, 1704 Asp in Norman; a panel discussion follows, hosted by the University of Oklahoma College of Liberal Studies.
Having premiered at this summer’s deadCENTER Film Festival, the doc is directed, produced and edited by OU alum Amina Benalioulhaj. —Rod Lott
Comedy Rod Lott
“Son of Morning” is so poorly executed, it did not deserve to see the
light of day. Its opening scenes of quirkiness are endearing until its
story dawns.
