Maureen Cavanaugh: It's springtime at the cineplex. The weather may be beautiful outdoors, but there are still lots of reasons to go indoors to the movies. There are quirky comedy-dramas, a searing Italian crime movie, a Russian remake of 12 Angry Men , and a remake of one of the most notorious horror movies ever made. This is the KPBS Film Club of the Air and we'll talk about the following movies:
SUNSHINE CLEANING
Our first film is called Sunshine Cleaning...It's the story of a working-class single mom Rose, played by Amy Adams. Rose is stuck. She's having an affair with her high school boyfriend, a cop who is married to someone else. Rose's father, played by Alan Arkin, is always coming up with hairbrained schemes to make money and her sister Norah, played by Emily Blunt, is tattooed and angry. But things turn around for Rose when she starts her own business cleaning up crime scenes.
Sunshine Cleaning is currently playing at Landmarks Hillcrest Theaters.
THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD
The next new movie we'll be talking about stars John Malkovich as "the Great Buck Howard." He's a magician and mind reader who's glory days on the Johnny Carson show are far behind him, but who is still taking his act on the road. And we enter his world through the eyes of his new, young manager, played by Colin Hanks.
The Great Buck Howard is currently playing at Landmark's La Jolla Village Theaters .
GOMORRAH
We move on now to a movie called Gomorrah , which is a play on the name of Camorra -a mafia crime syndicate located in Naples and the subject of the film. This movie follows five storylines that weave through a maze of poverty, corruption and violence in modern day Italy.
Gomorrah is currently playing at Landmark's Ken Theater and will be held over for one more week.
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
The Last House on the Left
is a remake of a classic 1970's horror film that was directed by Wes Craven. Craven serves as a producer on this new version. It's about two very unlucky teenage girls who meet a group of crazed killers, and what happens when one of the girls' parents exact their own version of revenge.
Last House on the Left is currently playing in area theaters.
12
The movie 12 Angry Men is a classic American courtroom drama...but it serves as the inspiration for the new Russian movie called 12 . A group of male jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen teenager accused of killing his adoptive father. And slowly, the jurors begin to change their minds about a guilty verdict.
12 is currently playing at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas.
Guests:
- Beth Accomando is the KPBS film critic. She writes the KPBS blog Cinema Junkie .
- Scott Marks is the author of the film blog Emulsion Compulsion .
