Chile Pages
THE CIVIL WAR Editor Paul Barnes brings recut clips from the 1990 Ken Burns documentary series The
Civil War to Santa Fe audiences for this discussion and screening in advance of the September airing of its 25th-anniversary restoration. This event is held in conjunction with the New Mexico History Museum exhibit Fading Memories: Echoes of the Civil War. $10 suggested donation. 6 p.m. Friday, May 8, only. The Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe.
(Not reviewed) THE D TRAIN Dan Landsman ( Jack Black) is an unpopular man who always wanted to be cool. While organizing his 20th high-school reunion, he sees ex-classmate Oliver Lawless ( James Marsden) in an ad for Banana Boat sunscreen. Figuring others would come to the reunion and acknowledge his coolness if he reeled in this big shot, Dan flies out to L.A., where things get weird. This low-key comedy is short on jokes and intermittently awkward, and Black and Marsden never seem to get a firm handle on the tone and the degree to which they need to unleash or dial back their comedic personas. Rated R. 97 minutes. Regal DeVargas, Santa Fe. (Robert Ker)
THE EPIC OF EVEREST Not rated. 85 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe. See review, Page 44.
5 FLIGHTS UP It’s hard to think of a more agreeable couple to spend a little sentimental movie time with than the wonderful Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton. They play Ruth and Alex, who decide to sell their Brooklyn fifth-floor walk-up after 40 years because the stairs are starting to take their toll on them and on their little terrier, Dorothy, who’s no spring chicken herself. Director Richard Loncraine (the Ian McKellen
Richard III) handles the swarms of supporting characters and subplots with élan, glossing nicely over the smarmy moments. Cynthia Nixon is brightly brittle as their niece-realtor, and Korey Jackson and Claire van der Boom provide lovely flashbacks as their younger selves. Adapted from Jill Ciment’s novel
Heroic Measures. Rated PG. 91 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema, Santa Fe. ( Jonathan Richards)
HOT PURSUIT Reese Witherspoon plays a cop who is tasked with bringing a witness (Sofia Vergara) to testify against a dangerous money launderer. The whole escapade is quickly revealed to be a setup, which puts the unlikely pair through a series of situations that are comedic or deadly, or both. Rated PG-13. 87 minutes. Regal Stadium 14, Santa Fe; DreamCatcher, Española.
(Not reviewed)
LA SAPIENZA Not rated. 101 minutes. In French and Italian with subtitles. The Screen, Santa Fe. See review, Page 46.
PLAYING IT COOL It’s springtime, and love is not only in the air but in every frame of this romantic comedy, which follows a hunky bachelor (Chris Evans) who doesn’t fully believe in true love — until he finds the right woman (Michelle Monaghan). Aubrey Plaza, Luke Wilson, Anthony Mackie, Topher Grace, and Philip Baker Hall co-star. Rated R. 94 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema, Santa Fe. (Not reviewed)
THEY LIVE Before The Matrix pulled the curtain back on society, Roddy Piper played a construction worker who gets sunglasses that let him see the truth behind society’s power structure (a dollar bill reads “This is your God,” and so on). He discovers some people are actually aliens, gets into an extended back-alley brawl with his only ally (Keith David), and fights the power. Over the years, director John Carpenter’s 1988 satire has grown to become one of the biggest cult films of all time. It’s silly, but plays well with an audience. Rated R. 93 minutes. Jean Cocteau Cinema, Santa Fe. (Robert Ker)
WELCOME TO ME Alice (Kristen Wiig) is off her meds when she wins the lottery and decides to bankroll a talk show for herself. In this surface-level exploration of the effects of unmanaged mental illness on friends and family, it’s unclear whether we’re supposed to genuinely care about Alice or if we’re supposed to be rolling our eyes at how difficult it would be to have her in our lives. Plot holes abound, but a few star turns, including Tim Robbins as Alice’s therapist, and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Joan Cusack as television producers, make Welcome to Me watchable and intermittently entertaining. Rated R. 105 minutes. Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe and Violet Crown, Santa Fe. ( Jennifer Levin)