FLICKS: Kubo and the Two Strings, FLIFF sets dates

Posted on 08 September 2016 by LeslieM

flicks090816By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

It sounds like a broken record, but superheroes and Walt Disney Studios dominated the summer box office. Despite negative mainstream reviews, Suicide Squad and Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice did well at the box office, but did not rival Captain America: Civil War in both revenue and critical appeal. The 2016 box office crown goes to Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory, an animated tale with both story and heart.

While losing money for their producers, Kubo and the Two Strings is stop motion (as opposed to computerized like Finding Dory) animation like the original King Kong and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Lacking the narrative intensity of Finding Dory, Kubo and the Two Strings is a contemplative motion picture about life, the rites of passage and spirituality. Like a good piece of Asian Literature or an Akira Kurosawa movie, Kubo and the Two Strings places an emphasis upon colorful visualization and primitive symbolism. While Kubo is an archetypal protagonist, he is a character. Expect Kubo and the Two Strings to be an Oscar rival to Finding Dory next awards season.

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) Director Gregory Von Hausch has announced the dates for this year’s festival: Friday Nov. 4 thru Sunday Nov. 20. While guests and honorees have yet to be announced, the venues have been announced with opening ceremonies at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe and closing ceremonies at the historical Bailey Hall. The majority of films will be screened at either the Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood venues.

FLIFF will be a transformative festival. Much like old Joe Robbie Stadium, which is now called Hard Rock Stadium, Cinema Paradiso will now be known as Savor Cinema in honor of philanthropist Steve Savor. Having hosted several galas at his Villa di Palma in previous years, one can expect Steve Savor to energize the glamour aspect of South Florida’s biggest film festival.

In other news: this weekend, Tom Hanks stars as the title character, Sully, the commercial pilot who landed a jet airliner in the Hudson River. October sees the release of Dan Brown’s Inferno which is set in Florence, Italy and features a mystery evolving around Dante’s Inferno. Expect Tom Hanks to be in the news for the next two months, as Sully is directed by Clint Eastwood and Dante’s Inferno is directed by Ron Howard.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer opens Sept. 16 in local cinemas. Based on a true story, the film details German Attorney General Fritz Bauer’s efforts to bring Adolph Hitler’s chief bureaucrat, Adolph Eichmann, to justice.

With each passing Labor Day weekend, the memories of the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy fade into memory. Having turned 90, the old clown and humanitarian will be seen on the big screen on Sept. 23 in Max Rose. Playing the title character, Lewis is garnering his best notices since he was directed by Martin Scorsese in King of Comedy over three decades ago. Having recently been interviewed on the CBS Sunday morning program, it appears that Jerry Lewis will not fade into the darkness quietly.

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