CinePhillyist

The Devil and Daniel Johnston - We're not done yet with the Philly Film Fest movies; here's another one jumping out, this time a documentary about the manic depressive and critically acclaimed folk musician, artist, and - according to some - genius, Daniel Johnston. Luckily, Johnston has obsessively filmed himself for many years, so the movie has plenty of intimate and revealing footage to work with. Sounds like this one might be a bit tough and personal, but probably also rewarding, especially, of course, if you're a fan of the guy's music.
Trailer
Showing at: Ritz Five

Lonesome Jim - Actor Steve Buscemi's latest directorial effort has finally made it to the Philly area. It's the story of a 27-year-old named (as you might expect) Jim, who finds himself unable to handle life on his own, and moves back in with his parents. Unfortunately for him, he is then crushed underneath the weight of family obligations. Until, that is, he meets a local woman and her son. We've always liked Buscemi, and this one sounds like it could be fun, especially since it features the lovely Liv Tyler and the tangentially famous Casey Affleck.
Trailer
Showing at: Ritz Five

Akeelah and the Bee - The opening night film of the festival hits theaters this weekend. It's the story of a young girl from a single parent home in South LA struggling to get into the National Spelling Bee. Her mother (Angela Bassett) hires tough taskmaster, former spelling-bee champ, and current college professor Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) to help out. At first Larabee doubts his student's ability and commitment, but eventually she proves herself to him and everybody, and melts his cold heart, etc., etc., blah blah blah. You probably see now why we didn't go to this one while it was in the festival. Sounds like your typical heart-warming childhood drama. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then by all means, be our guest. But we'll stay away from this one if you don't mind.
Trailer
Showing at: Riverview, The Bridge

Most Likely to Suck: RV - A dysfunctional family (father: Robin Williams; mother: Cheryl Hines; daughter: JoJo; son: Josh Hutcherson) take a roadtrip in an RV, and end up fighting nature, animals, weird campers, each other, and a series of other hilarious hardships in this no-doubt hijinks-filled adventure. We're sorry, but we didn't even like the National Lampoons Vacation movies the first time around. Why did someone feel the need to do them again, but with all the dirty bits cleaned out? Not even one fresh idea seems to have gone into this entire movie; even the tagline being used in the ad campaign ("On A Family Vacation, No One Can Hear You Scream") is a parody of the tagline for a movie that's almost 30 years old (Alien), and that's been parodied a million times already anyway. We can't imagine why anyone would go see this film, which means it will probably rule the box office this weekend. Sigh.
Trailer
Showing at: Riverview

Stick It - The makers of the stupid fun Bring It On return to do the same thing again, but this time instead of hot young girls spouting snappy dialogue while cheerleading, it's hot girls spouting snappy dialogue while doing gymnastics. And it's got talented actor Jeff Bridges in it as a legendary coach. Sweet! We can hardly wait.
Trailer
Showing at: Riverview

United 93 - The movie of the true story of the passengers of United flight 93, who fought back against their hijackers on 9/11. Is it too soon for such a film? For that matter, will there ever be a right time to make a movie of this story? We'll let you decide that for yourself. But we will say that we think it'd be hard to make a film based on this story that's not powerful, dramatic, and moving.
Trailer
Showing at: Riverview, The Bridge

Imagine the Sound (screened w/short film Don Cherry) - Imagine the Sound is a 1981 documentary about free-jazz, with performances by, and interviews with, some of the masters of the genre. Don Cherry consists of black and white footage of the titular jazz great playing on the streets of Manhattan. A Friday evening with experimental jazz? Sounds cool.
Showing at: The International House, Tonight at 7PM ONLY

REEL RISD - Rhode Island School of Design's 2005 Film, Animation, Video Senior Show. Consists of eleven short films in various genres and making use of various media. College film shorts can be awful, but they can often also be fresh, interesting, and superbly creative. Bound to be an interesting night.
Showing at: The International House, Saturday at 5PM ONLY

Land of the Lost Films - This will be in today's Frugal post, but we thought we'd give it a quick mention, here, too, seeing as how it's film all. Being screened during this '80s-related event are Downtown 81 - a star-studded examination of a fictional day in the life of Jean-Michel Basquit - and the pilot and first episode of the short-lived MTV series, "Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes," a show about pop culture hosted by the artist.
Showing at: The International House, Saturday at 7PM ONLY

Image Credits: Movie poster database, About.com