Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein of Variety and Tim Cogshell of BoxOffice Magazine join Larry to discuss the week’s new film releases including The Town, Never Let Me Go, Easy A, Jack Goes Boating, Alpha And Omega, Lovely Still and Catfish, among others. TGI-FilmWeek! What’s hot and what’s not at the Toronto Film Festival? Peter Rainer and Claudia Puig share their crib sheets. Later, from the soundtracks for Chinatown and An American in Paris, to L.A. Confidential and Dances With Wolves, Uan Rasey and Malcolm McNab have created some of the most memorable movie music in film history.
Guests:
Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film critic for Variety
Tim Cogshell, KPCC film critic and senior film critic for Box Office Magazine
Peter Rainer, KPCC film critic and film critic for The Christian Science Monitor
Claudia Puig, KPCC film critic and film critic for USA Today
Malcolm McNab, musician, lead trumpet for Dances with Wolves and L.A. Confidential. His most recent album is The Infinite Trumpet.
Uan Rasey, musician, lead trumpet for An American in Paris and Chinatown, and many other films in MGM’s golden age.
Films reviewed:
The Town
The leader of a gang of bank robbers falls in love with a woman he held hostage.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner
Written: by Peter Craig, Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard
Based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan
Directed: by Ben Affleck
Rated: R
Warner Bros.
Never Let Me Go
In a dystopian Britain, three women leave boarding school and confront their roles in society.
Starring: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins
Written: by Alex Garland
Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Directed: by Mark Romanek
Rated: R
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Jack Goes Boating
When a limo driver falls in love, the relationship begins to affect the marriage of the New York City couple who set him up.
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega
Written: by Bob Glaudini
Based on the play by Bob Glaudini
Directed: by Philip Seymour Hoffman
Rated: R
Overture Films
Catfish
Starring: Nev Schulman, Angela Wesselman-Pierce
Directed: by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rated: PG-13
Universal
Last Train Home
This documentary chronicles the chaos of the New Year’s holiday in China, when the country’s 130 million migrant workers travel home big cities.
Directed: by Lixin Fan
Rated: PG
Zeitgeist Films
Lovely, Still
A lonely older man falls in love for the first time.
Starring: Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, and Adam Scott
Written & Directed: by Nik Fackler
Rated: PG
Monterey Media
El Súperstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Francés
Starring: Lupe Ontiveros and Danny Trejo
Written: by Amy French and Spencer John French
Directed: by Amy French and Beth Portello
Rated: unrated
Cinema Libre Studio
Easy A
A high school girl uses false rumors that she’s lost her virginity to her advantage.
Starring: Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Amanda Bynes & Cam Gigandet
Written: by Bert V. Royal
Directed: by Will Gluck
Rated: PG-13
Sony
Hideaway (Le Refuge)
A pregnant addict retreats to the beach after her boyfriend overdoses.
Starring: Isabelle Carré, Louis-Ronan Choisy, Pierre-Louis Calixte, Melvil Poupaud
Written: by Mathieu Hippeau & Francois Ozon
In French with English subtitles
Directed: by Francois Ozon
Rated: R
Strand Releasing
Alpha and Omega
A low class young wolf and his alpha female crush find their way home.
Voiced: by Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper and Larry Miller
Written: by Steve Moore and Christopher Denk
Directed: by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck
Rated: PG
Lionsgate
Devil
A group of strangers gets stuck in an elevator, and discovers one passenger is Satan.
Starring: Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O’Hara, Bokeem Woodbine & Jacob Vargas
Written: by Brian Nelson
Directed: by John Erick Dowdle
Rated: PG-13
Universal