FilmWeek

Every week, nearly a dozen movies open in the U.S. Most are independent films that won't ever see more than two weeks in a theater. Some think there are too many independent movies, too many bad movies, too many festivals, too many critics, too many awards shows and too many multiplexes. Larry and our FilmWeek critics Wade Major and Andy Klein discuss if there are too many movies today and ask our listeners to weigh in as well.

May officially kicks off the summer movie season. Larry and our FilmWeek critics Claudia Puig and Lael Loewenstein ask our listeners what films they're looking forward to and why. What makes a film worth seeing in a theatre, considering that after paying for parking, tickets, babysitter, gas, popcorn, it could run you upwards of $75 for an evening out? Is movie going as a collective and social experience in danger of being supplanted with home viewing?

This new documentary chronicles the story of Tomas Young, a 26-year-old soldier who was shot and paralyzed from the chest down after serving in Iraq for less than a week. The film was produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro. It follows Young as he deals with his disability and ultimately becomes an anti-war protestor and what he describes as a "political irritant." Larry talks with Donahue and Spiro about the film.

In his recent article for The Atlantic, Ross Douthat examines how the Iraq War and President Bush have sent the movie industry back to the paranoid, cynical era of the 1970s. Larry talks with Douthat about his theory that the industry is again trying to connect with Americans who are trying to cope with a military quagmire, rising oil prices, ecological destruction, and political corruption.

Larry and FilmWeek critics Lael Loewenstein and Wade Major, talk about why foreign language films have such a hard time finding distribution in the U.S., how critics can encourage audiences to see them, and why Americans seem to have such an aversion to sub-titles.

News of staff cuts at newspapers around the country has become fairly common lately. Among those who have been laid off or have taken buy-outs are film critics at dozens of dailies and weeklies. Though a plethora of movie blogs exist on the Web, critics whose work appears in print seem to be a dying breed. Larry and three of our FilmWeek critics discuss the trend.

Yes, it's true and coming to a theater near you. An Australian theater company and its investors plan to build new luxury theaters in the U.S. that charge $35 bucks a head. What will you get for your thirty-five dollars? Reclining seats, waiter service, and valet parking. Is it worth it? Well, it seems folks in other countries think so because they've been showing up to luxury venues there. But will these luxury theatres entice American audiences into the theatres, especially in this era of shrinking box office revenues and our declining economy. Ted talks with Rob Goldberg of Village Roadshow Cinemas about the luxury theatres his company is planning to bring to the States.

Larry and critics Andy Klein, of CityBeat, and Claudia Puig, of USA Today, review some of the week's new feature films including "Drillbit Taylor," "The Grand," "The Hammer," and "Under the Same Moon," as well as the documentaries "Fighting for Life" and "'Tis Autumn."

"Black Magic" is the story of the era of the Civil Rights Movement told through the lives of basketball players and coaches who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities. From more than 200 hours of interviews and footage, director and producer, Dan Klores, tells the story of separate leagues and facilities, championship games and titles that never qualified for the history books, and secret games played between blacks and whites in defiance of the law. Ted talks with the Klores, about the story he describes as one of "injustice, refuge, and joy."

Larry and critics Lael Loewenstein, of Variety and Peter Rainer, of The Christian Science Monitor, review some of the last week's new feature films including Married Life, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Bank Job, Last Stop for Paul as well as the documentaries My Name is Albert Ayler and Girls Rock!