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FLICKS: John Carter, Musical Chairs and The Matchmaker

Posted on 22 March 2012 by LeslieM

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

This week’s column will review three distinctly different motion pictures. Each one of these films will satisfy their respective ticket buyer.

The box office has not been too kind to John Carter and some mainstream critics have denounced the film as clichéd. What these critics overlook  is that author Edgar Rice Burroughs is the father of all science fiction cliché novels that spawned  films like Star  Wars, Star Trek and Indiana Jones.

From beginning to end, John Carter provides two hours of visual candy featuring water, air, fire and a showdown between  the armies of good and bad guys.

Once this film leaves the Museum of Discovery IMAX Theater to make room for Wrath of the Titans, expect John Carter to crash land at the Box Office.

What it lacks in special effects, Musical Chairs makes up for with pure drama. E.J. Bonila portrays Armando, the son of a Spanish restaurant owner in New York City. Armando is a good provincial son, but he longs to dance (ballroom) in a competitive field.

He meets the beautiful Mia (Leah Pipes) who is in training for a big competition. After Mia and Armando have a quick dance in the studio, she steps out into the street and becomes a paraplegic.

From this tragedy, Armando displays true courage and compassion as he helps Mia overcome her handicaps, some physical but mostly with self esteem. Directed by Susan Seidelman, Musical Chairs is full of warmth and humor.

Last, but not least, is The Matchmaker, an Israeli film with English subtitles about a teen and his unforgettable mentor. In 2006, Arik learns that he is the beneficiary of Yankele Bride, the local “matchmaker” from Arik’s teen years.

This film is a memory piece, especially for people older than 40. We remember a world in which new music could be found listening to a friend’s reel-to-reel tape recorder. The posters on the wall did not celebrate marijuana, but John Wayne. The Matchmaker is the best new movie opening this weekend.

Join director Susan Seidel-man (Desperately Seeking Susan) for Q&As after screenings of her new movie Musical Chairs this weekend on Sunday, March 25, 1:30 p.m., Regal Delray 18, and 5:10 p.m. at Boynton Cinema.

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