Patrick Stoner welcomes
your questions about movies and the people who make them. Send your
questions to
pstoner@whyy.org.
Patrick Stoner welcomes
your questions about movies and the people who make them. Send your
questions to
pstoner@whyy.org.
Here's the current question and answer...
Q: How does a little film survive this summer of blockbusters?
A: Precariously.
Inevitably, the big spectaculars dominate each summer. Even when a movie defies the trend, a quick look at the overall box office receipts will show the thrill rides combining to set the season's tone.Big films are particularly powerful this time -- with at least a half dozen films already over $100 million and most of the summer left to go. Why? It's not subtle: weather, vacations, kids and tradition all combine to create a climate favorable for spectaculars.
There's one more factor: People are often far away from that little theater where they see the small, quality film. There aren't too many of those theaters in any city, and none in most smaller towns.
So, where do you turn this summer if you want to buck the big bucks trend? First, ignore all of those reviews with the word "boring" in them. That's summer-critic cliche for anything that doesn't have either a firestorm or tornado in it. Without car crashes, toilet humor or full nudity, many modern critics won't find the drama, comedy and sexual tension.
There's a reasonably intriguing movie out right now that will bridge you until the better ones come out: Bertolucci's STEALING BEAUTY, with Liv Tyler, has that European sense of sensuality that you're not going to find in STRIPTEASE.
[By the way, ignore that quote from me in those ads screaming "DEMI IS DYNAMITE." The full sentence -- my response to a phone interview about how I liked STRIPTEASE -- was "Well, Demi is dynamite, but the film is lousy."]
Over the next three weeks, three powerful-but-small films will open. Keep your eyes open for:
- A TIME TO KILL -- a story of racial hatred and courtroom drama (with a possible nomination for Samuel L. Jackson as best supporting actor).
- SHE'S THE ONE -- a wonderfully gentle and yet hip comedy from Edward Burns, who won the Sundance Award for THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN.
- And, especially, EMMA -- the Jane Austen story brought to delightful life by Gwyneth Paltrow in what would be my choice for Best Picture if I were limited to what I've seen so far this year (including COURAGE UNDER FIRE, where Denzel may well be nominated).
There are other interesting movies yet to open this summer that may be good tonics for the feverish hits. I'll see Costner's TIN CUP next week and TRAINSPOTTING this weekend. If I run across anything better than EMMA, I'll let you know.