It’s a week of slim pickings, with the world’s biggest music
festival understandably holding a monopoly on the local events calendar, but
there are a handful of wide releases to speak of. Let’s get to it!
***CRITIC’S CHOICE***
MONDAY,
JUNE 30: THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Dusk @ Brocach Irish Pub, 1850 N. Water St. (FREE!)
Call to make reservations: 414-431-9009
I have recommended screenings of The Wolf of Wall Street
as part of On the Marquee as many times as I’ve done for Frozen screenings, so I
guess scientifically speaking The Wolf of Wall Street is the adult
equivalent of Frozen (the Lemmon Quaaludes sequence is the 21+ “Let it Go”).
As long as it keeps screening locally, I’ll keep recommending it. DiCaprio
turns in an all-time performance here, showing a comedic dimension to his
acting that we never knew he was capable of. And don’t get me started on
Scorcese – he has the fire in his belly that belies the fact that this is a
movie from a 71-year-old man and not an angry American four decades his junior.
It’s passionate, infuriating, hilarious and propulsive in ways that few
mainstream American releases are these days.
WEDNESDAY,
JULY 2: TAMMY, EARTH TO ECHO, DELIVER US
FROM EVIL all open in wide release
Check local listings for
pricing and showtimes.
While Summerfest means that local-specific film-going
options are scarce this week, the fact that the 4th of July weekend
is approaching means we don’t have the same problem for wide releases. There
are three big releases that couldn’t be more tonally different, with the family
flick Earth to Echo, the gritty horror flick Deliver Us from Evil and
the Melissa McCarthy comedy vehicle Tammy all making their bow.
Horror films ‘based on true events’ are a dime a dozen these
days, but the book Beware the Night that Deliver Us from Evil takes its
inspiration from is interesting. Ralph Sarchie (played in the film by Eric
Bana) is a veteran NYC cop who has since become a demonologist, and this film
acts as the inciting action behind that decision, telling the story of
fictional Sarchie’s teaming with a renegade priest (Edgar Ramirez) to solve a
case that the priest insists has paranormal origins. Director/co-writer Scott
Derrickson has tred through this territory before with The Exorcism of Emily Rose,
so he should prove adept at mining jump scares and tension from the grimy
interiors that the characters have to explore while uncovering the truth. Looks
vaguely promising.
I have less faith in Tammy, even though Melissa McCarthy
co-wrote the film with her husband Ben Falcone (who also directs), if only
because I’m growing tired of McCarthy settling for these loutish character
pieces when she’s clearly capable of so much more as an actress. This looks
like Identity
Thief redux, with Susan Sarandon replacing Jason Bateman on the road
trip, and that does not inspire much in the way of confidence. But knowing that
McCarthy herself was behind the shaping of this story and premise to her own
abilities, there is no way it can be as dismal as that previous effort. Fingers
crossed.
Round out the early holiday weekend is Earth to Echo, the next
in the interminably long line of found footage style films. That said the
premise behind Earth to Echo seems much more inspired by the 80’s adventure
films for young adults than the usual horror roots behind the technique, so
this is a somewhat new spin. Three young men happen upon an alien being and
have to help it find its way home and if you’re thinking that this is E.T.
then you’ve happened upon why I said “somewhat new” in the previous sentence.
I’ll save the more rigorous discussion for my review dropping this Wednesday,
but this is definitely the most family-friendly new release coming your way
this week, so if you’re planning on hitting the multiplex with your little
ones, this is your main option. That said, pack some Tylenol.
