07/26/11

The Captain's Theme

Captain America is different from the rest of this summer's crop of superheroes because he doesn't live in Lisa Frank-inspired other world of Asgard (like Thor) and doesn't travel to a planet to meet other alien superheroes (like the Green Lantern). He spends the entirety of his movie on Earth, and the bulk of it during World War II.

This means he doesn't get futuristic guns or ships, doesn't have a robot-controlled Iron Man suit, and he doesn't even get a grappling hook. His powers, though super, are almost too human—he basically has extra speed, strength, and agility (and a cool shield that can stop bullets). How is that...

Posted at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

07/19/11

Potter Redux

Now that the film series is over, what will fill the Harry Potter-shaped hole in your heart?

After all, rumors of Harry's popularity have not been exaggerated. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part Two shattered box-office records over the weekend, taking in more than $168 million for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever. "Deathly Hallows Part 2 alone accounted for nearly two out of every three tickets sold this weekend," writes Box Office Mojo.

But now, it's finally over. (At least until they realized they can make another half-billion dollars with an Origin of Dumbledore movie or something like that.) You don't just come down off an eight-movie series like that...

Posted at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2

07/12/11

Harry Potter Primer

We dragged it out for as along as we could, but, after seven books and eight movies, enough is enough. After a week of movie marathons and Harry Potter-shaped 3D glasses, the Harry Potter series comes to a close this Friday with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two. What do you need to know to give the series a proper conclusion?

3D?
The question of the summer movie season seems to be whether or not 3D is worth the step-up in ticket price. (Cinema De Lux in White Plains, for example, charges $11.50 for a 2D ticket and $16 for a 3D...

Posted at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

07/05/11

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune—Kenneth Bowser’s Powerful Biopic Is at the Jacob Burns Center Tonight

(This week, I decided to “lend” my Poptional Reading blog to my Westchester Magazine colleague, Carol Caffin, a music aficionado and former music publicist, who is a huge fan of 1960s folk and folk-rock, including the music of the late Phil Ochs. –ML).

On a bitter, steely cold day in January, I dragged my husband and my son (actually, they came willingly—even, seemingly, happily—but I sensed that it was one of those things they were doing to show me how much they love me) into Manhattan to the IFC (Independent Film Center). The long-awaited (to me, at least) documentary, Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune, directed by Kenneth Bowser and named for one of Phil's most poignant songs, was opening there, in the heart of the West Village,...

Posted at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0