New in Theaters
Blue Jasmine (Playing at the Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive, 799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com.)
At least once does an artist worry or wonder when they’ll peak with their art. Very rarely do filmmakers have consistently strong careers unless their names are Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorsese. And then there is Woody Allen. It is interesting to notice how a long lasting filmmaker as inconsistent and experimental these days as Woody Allen seems to toss out a hit simply by not casting himself. As a young newbie at directing in the early 1970s, Woody chose to cash in on his stand-up following by casting himself as the lead in his comedies. By the time he was sweeping awards with Diane Keaton, he would occasionally keep himself behind the camera for his more serious films. It would take him a while to realize that the younger the audiences became, the less they could relate to his alter ego. But eventually he got it right again with the help of Scarlett Johansson and Europe.
“Match Point” (2005), “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008), “Midnight in Paris” (2011) and now “Blue Jasmine” are all better than “Hollywood Ending” (2002), “Scoop” (2006) and “To Rome with Love” (2012), partly because they feature younger actors rather than Woody himself for the audience to relate to. “Jasmine” returns Allen to America after a set of films shot in Europe, and reminds us of the days when he was in his prime with “Annie Hall” (1977) and “Hannah and Her Sisters” (1986).
With “Blue Jasmine” we follow, in nonlinear fashion, a delusional and unstable socialite named Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) through Manhattan and San Francisco with the fate of her doomed marriage to Hal (Alec Baldwin). Later on, after her divorce from him, she ends up moving into her sister Ginger’s (Sally Hawkins) apartment with Ginger’s two sons and rowdy boyfriend Chili (Bobby Cannavale). Throughout the feature, we witness Jasmine’s oblivion to her husband’s fishy ways with money, and also her disconnect to her sister from a failure to understand the fact that they are completely different people.
Andrew “Dice” Clay co-stars as Ginger’s ex-husband, Augie, and Alden Ehrenreich plays Jasmine’s stepson, Danny. Louis C.K. and Tammy Blanchard also provide cameos. In scenes where Jasmine is talking to herself, Blanchett and Allen convince the audience that she’s not a complete lunatic, but she is a bit delusional. Following in the footsteps of previous Allen directed strong female performances such as Geraldine Page in “Interiors” (1978), Gena Rowlands in “Another Woman” (1988) and Judy Davis in “Husbands and Wives” (1992), Blanchett is now another to watch.
Hawkins equally delivers in her usual charming fashion as the sister who is frustrated, yet still optimistic, while Jasmine crashes into her life and belittles Ginger’s boyfriend. “Blue Jasmine” is Allen’s nod to family dysfunction a la “A Streetcar Named Desire,” but still manages to have that Woody feel movie viewers recognize. Chili is reminiscent of Brando’s Stanley Kowalski as Blanchett and Hawkins are clearly modeled after Blanche DeBois and Stella Kowalski, but with Allen’s sense of humor and technique, his characters feel more neurotic and not completely unstable as Tennessee Williams’. For one of the best female led, well-directed, humorous, cleverest and wittiest movies of the year to enjoy, “Blue Jasmine” is the one to see.
Megan Bianco
Insidious: Chapter 2
“Insidious: Chapter 2” picks up where the first story ended, but the sequel has enough scares, laughs and a story of its own to stand alone.
Like its 2010 predecessor, “Insidious 2” is a haunted-house tale with supernatural elements. The typical horror-movie tropes are at play here: Creaky doors, creepy apparitions and long, dark hallways explored by flashlight. There’s also a haunted piano that repeats the same eerie melody and an outrageously loud and colorful baby walker that spontaneously lights up and moves around.
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne return as well-meaning parents who moved into a new home after fearing their last one was haunted. Their eldest son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), has recovered from a mysterious coma (a reference to the first film), but he’s still plagued by nightmares. He doesn’t just see dead people – they want something from him. When the frights become too much, the family decides to stay with grandma for a while.
Carl (Steve Coulter) is a serious ghost hunter, while his assistants, Specs (screenwriter Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), provide much of the comic relief, including the always-amusing tranquilizer mishap.
The film is also self-aware and self-referential, rewarding viewers of the original film with additional explanations in the sequel. And, like its predecessor, “Chapter 2” leaves open the possibility of more to come.
“Insidious: Chapter 2,” a Film District release, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and violence, and thematic elements. Running time: 105 minutes. HH½ out of four.
SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer
The Family
(Not reviewed.) Robert DiNiro plays a mob heavy who takes his family underground in the witness protection program. But they have a lot of trouble quitting the life. Rated R.
(“Insidious: Chapter 2” and “The Family” are playing at Durango Stadium 9.)
Still Showing
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Midnight’s Children. (Wednesday only.) Based on the novel by Salman Rushdie. As India proclaims independence from Great Britain in 1947, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. Saleem Sinai, the illegitimate son of a poor woman, and Shiva, the offspring of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destiny meant for each other. Their lives become mysteriously intertwined and are inextricably linked to India’s whirlwind journey of triumphs and disasters. Not rated.
Riddick. Vin Diesel is back in the third installment of what was supposed to be a cult movie nine years ago. There’s just no telling what will work. Rated R.
Getaway. A formulaic thing in which Ethan Hawke races around an Eastern European city racing against the clock to avoid some catastrophe or other. Rated PG-13.
The World’s End. When some guys try to complete an epic pub crawl from their glory days, they find that the world has changed in more ways than one. Rated R.
You’re Next. This is a horror film, so, in this case, you don’t want to be next. Rated R.
Planes. (In standard format and digital 3-D with surcharge.) If they can make it talk, they’ll make a movie out of it. This one has planes. They talk. Rated PG.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. The next book-to-film installment in this latest mega-gazillion-dollar moneymaker. Rated PG.
Elysium. All the rich folks move to a paradise in the clouds while the poor folks wallow in squalor back on Earth. Some seek a better life. Rated R.
We’re the Millers. Jason Sudeikis creates a family from a bunch of derelicts to cover his drug-running activities. Rated R.
Gaslight Cinema
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Forest Whitaker plays the butler who served presidents for three decades at the White House. Oh, the stories he could tell ... Rated PG-13.
The Way Way Back. An introverted 14-year-old tries to survive summer vacation with his mom and her boyfriend (Steve Carell). Rated PG-13.
The Back Space Theatre
(1120 Main Ave., 259-7940, www.thebackspacetheatre.org)
Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie. East-coasters may have a better memory of the 20-month TV career of Morton Downey Jr. than many of our Western friends, but those of us who know will never forget the loudmouthed, offensive, chain-smoking talk-show host who just may have set television on its current path of over-the-top antics and reality TV. Thanks, Mort.
Ted Holteen and Associated PresS
