FilmWeek: KPCC film critics Wade Major of boxoffice.com and Andy Klein of Brand X review the week’s new film releases including Takers, Centurion, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, The Last Exorcism, The People I’ve Slept With and The Kid: Chamaco, TGI-FilmWeek!
Then, David and FilmWeek critic Peter Rainer Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor discuss the new exhibit running from September 16th – December 12th, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, “Ingmar Bergman: Truth And Lies.” There will also be an accompanying film series at LACMA, “Cries and Whispers: The Psychological Cinema of Ingmar Bergman” and film screenings at The Goethe Institut.
“Directors Cut,” “Special Edition,” “Expanded Edition,”…no matter what you call them, are repacked releases a gimmick? In light of Avatar’s theatrical re-release as a special edition with additional footage, David Lazarus takes your calls about Special Edition releases to theaters and home video….are they worth it? Which have you liked, or not?
Guests:
Wade Major, film critic, KPCC and boxoffice.com
Andy Klein, film critic for KPCC and Brand X
Peter Rainer, film critic, KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Films Reviewed:
Takers
A gang of high-stakes thieves plans an armored car heist, while being pursued by a relentless cop.
Starring: Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Tip ‘TI’ Harris, Jay Hernandez, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Zoë Saldaña
Written: by Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenhop & Avery Duff
Directed: by John Luessenhop
Rated: PG-13
Screen Gems
The Last Exorcism
An evangelical minister discovers a truly horrific scene when called to perform his last exorcism.
Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Hertham
Written: by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland
Directed: by Daniel Stamm
Rated: PG-13
Lionsgate
Centurion
A Roman soldier leads the soldiers of the Ninth Legion on a raid to free a comrade.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko
Written & Directed: by Neil Marshall
Rated: R
Magnet Releasing
Mesrine: Killer Instinct
Chronicles the criminal career of France’s most infamous gangster from the 1960s and 1970s, Jacques Mesrine.
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Gerard Depardieu & Ludivine Sagnier
Written: by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Jean-Francois Richet
Directed: by Jean-Francois Richet
Rated: R
Music Box Films
The People I’ve Slept With
A woman with many sexual partners finds she is pregnant and sets out to discover who the father is.
Starring: Karin Anna Cheung, Wilson Cruz, Randall Park, Archie Kao, Chris Zylka
Written: by Koji Steven Sakai
Directed: by Quentin Lee
Rated: Not rated
Margin Films
The Kid: Chamaco
An aspiring young boxer from the streets of Mexico city fights to make his way out with the help of an American doctor and his son.
Starring: Martin Sheen, Michael Madsen, Alex Perea, Danny Perea
Written: by Carl Bessai & Kirk Harris
Directed: by Miguel Necoechea
In Spanish and English with subtitles
Rated: Not rated
Maya Entertainment
Avatar: Special Edition 9 extra minutes, 3D rerelease
A former Marine is torn between two worlds when he projects his mind into an alien body in an alien world.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver
Written and Directed: by James Cameron
Also in IMAX 3D
Rated: PG-13
Fox