CinePhillyist

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

Most Likely to Rule: Be Kind Rewind
Expect our review of this Michel Gondry comedy, starring Jack Black, Mos Def, and Danny Glover, later on this morning.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse

The Band's Visit
A fish-out-of-water comedy about the Ceremonial Police Band of Alexandria, Egypt arriving for a gig in Israel, only to find that their hosts and transportation have failed to show up. Trapped in a middle-of-nowhere town, the members of the band have to find places to stay, leading to tension, conflict, and an unlikely interracial romance between an Israeli and a Palestinian. And, eventually, "the co-mingling of Egyptian band members and Israeli residents imparts each individual with insights into his cultural identity and that of the others." Actually sounds rather clever and funny, and the critics are almost unanimous in praising it, so we'd say it's definitely worth a viewing.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz Five

Taxi to the Dark Side
A documentary examining the death of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram Air Base from injuries inflicted by U.S. soldiers. The film moves from a village in Afghanistan to Guantanamo to the White House, and has little positive to say about the Bush administration and its policy on torture. We've heard this is a very good film, if also depressing and angering, and its current incredible 100% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes seems to confirm that assessment. A must-see!
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz Five

Charlie Bartlett
We should have a review of this teen comedy for you later on today.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview

Most Likely to Suck: Cover
Bill Duke directs and Louis Gossett, Jr. and Vivica A. Fox star in this drama exploring the troubling proliferation of AIDS in the African American community. We haven't heard much about this film, but the handful of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (there aren't even enough to generate a freshness rating) are all extremely negative, so we can't say we have much hope for it - even though it's an important topic, and we loved Bill Duke in Predator.
Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview

The Signal
This is a horror/sci-fi film told in three parts, each part directed by a different person. It's set in Terminus City, which is a place of conformity and order - until a mysterious transmission pulses through all electronic devices, jamming all forms of communication and turning nearly everyone into murderous, rampaging psychopaths. Ben has managed to avoid being affected by the signal, so he fights his way through the chaos to rescue the woman he loves. Sounds intriguing, but also a bit cliched, like a weird combination of Cloverfield and Warren Ellis' zombie comic Black Gas. Reviews are mixed. Probably a loser, but might be worth a shot, especially if you're into the genre.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview

Vantage Point
Five different people witness an assassination attempt on the US President during an appearance in Madrid, and as the stories of each of the witnesses are told, the pieces of the puzzle slowly fall into place, revealing the shocking truth behind the crime. It's an interesting, if familiar, premise, and the talent involved is pretty impressive (the film stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt). But ever since we saw one of the ads, we've been thinking this movie could either be really good, or really bad. And the reviews are mostly negative, so we have to recommend against it.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview, The Bridge

Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard
Werner Erhard was a pop culture icon of the 1970s and 80s, creating a controversial but popular program called "est" that fueled today's multi-billion dollar personal growth industry. This film features Erhard's first public interview in more than a decade, as well as rare and exclusive footage of est seminars, and interviews with participants, family members, and experts. All are used to examine Erhard's life and legacy (just like it says in the title!), and how his work is still affecting our culture today. Sounds rather fascinating, but the few ratings and reviews we've been able to find suggest it's a rather mediocre film.
Freshness
Showing at: The Bridge

Selections from the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival
Since Wednesday, the International House has been holding screenings of selected works from the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, a festival meant to "put a human face on threats to individual freedom and dignity, and celebrate the power of the human spirit and intellect to prevail." Tonight is a screening of The City of Photographers, a documentary about how photographers and their work helped focus international attention on the repressive tactics of Pinochet's regime in Chile. It's preceded by Suffering and Smiling, which looks at the impact of the politically charged music of legendary African singer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his son Femi. Saturday there are two separate screenings, and the first is Strange Culture, about a college professor and artist who was preparing an interactive exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art when his wife died of heart failure. When he called 911, the police looked around at the exhibit materials and called the FBI. Now he faces up to 20 years in prison on mail and wire fraud charges relating to his acquisition of materials for the art exhibit. Finally there's White Light/Black Rain, which features interviews with fourteen survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, as well as survivor paintings and drawings and historical footage and photographs. These all sound like powerful, fascinating films.
Showing at: The International House

Image via Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery