It’s Week Three at SIFF: We’re now past the halfway mark of the 25-days festival but there’s much more to come. So don’t stress that the Tuesday showing of Moonrise Kingdom is sold out; it opens in theaters in Seattle a couple of days later. In fact, a lot of films already have Seattle release dates set; check out Moira Macdonald’s list at The Seattle Times. Meanwhile, Parallax View continues to update its SIFF 2012 guide here, with links to capsules, features, and reviews from The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, Straight Shooting, and others.
The Samaritan, starring Samuel Jackson, “is no Tarantino firecracker; its deliberate narrative pacing derails crucially in rushed climactic passages,” writes Kathleen Murphy at MSN Movies. “But this chronicle of a damaged man’s long dying casts a genuinely noir spell, and gives Jackson the chance to show how interesting an actor he can be when not straitjacketed into rote action roles.” Plays one show night (added shows on the weeked) at Grand Illusion.
The Intouchables, a French hit that played the first weekend of SIFF, opens in theaters this weekend. “A feel-good flick that broke box-office records in France, The Intouchables boasts a natural-born movie star in Omar Sy, who’s gifted with the kind of charisma and physical grace the camera loves and audiences are helplessly seduced by,” writes Kathleen Murphy at MSN Movies. “[Y]ou can almost forgive the film’s breezy racial stereotyping, cheap comedy and phony-baloney attitudes toward art, culture, class, and quadriplegia. Almost.” Opens in area theaters.
Openings
Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, a documentary in life and legacy of Seattle-born ballet legend Robert Joffrey, opens for a week-long run at NWFF. Moira Macdonald interviews the director for The Seattle Times.
The Manzanar Fishing Club, a documentary on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, opens at The Varsity. “Proving that sometimes the best way to grasp a big narrative is through a deceptively narrow approach, this labor of love by writer Richard Imamura and director Cory Shiozaki — both with many personal ties to the internment story and, significantly, to trout fishing in the Eastern Sierra — takes a unique angle on the human (and American) craving for freedom,” writes Tom Keogh for The Seattle Times.
Ultrasonic plays at Grand Illusion for a week. Director Rohit Colin Rao will be at the Saturday, June 2 show for a Q&A.
The City Dark, a documentary on light pollution from director Ian Chaney, opens Saturday, June 2 at NWFF for a six-day run.
Repertory
The 1975 animated feature Hugo the Hippo, featuring the voices of Burl Ives and Paul Lynde and song by Marie Osmond and Jimmy Osmond, is still unavailable on home video in any form. It plays on Saturday and Sunday at NWFF.
There is also a one-night-only showing of Antero Alli’s Flamingos at NWFF on Friday, June 1.
For more alternative screenings, read Moira Macdonald’s At A Theater Near You roundup at The Seattle Times.
Schedules and Showtimes
You can check your favorite independent cinemas, neighborhood theaters and multiplexes here.
Independent theaters:
SIFF Cinema
Northwest Film Forum
Grand Illusion
Seattle Art Museum
Central Cinema
The Big Picture
Majestic Bay Theatres
Cinerama
Multiplexes and Chains
Cinebarre
Landmark Theatres (Egyptian, Guild 45, Harvard Exit, Varsity and others)
Regal Cinemas (Meridian 16, Thornton Place and others)
AMC Cinemas (Pacific Place, Oak Tree, Alderwood and others)
Kirland Park Place
Lincoln Square Cinemas
Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas