By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Alice Cooper looked me in the eye and asked, “So what’s worth seeing at the movies?”

“For pure entertainment, The Muppets, I responded.

“Oh, that’s a good movie!” Alice responded.

As Christmas week wraps up, many family movies like The Muppets and Arthur Christmas will be in their final big screen performances, before being delegated onto the small screen at home. Local theaters will begin receiving their Oscar buzz movies like The Iron Lady and Albert Nobbs, while fulfilling escapist desire with films like Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Adventures of Tintin.

Young Goethe in Love opens this weekend. A philosopher best known for his existential pessimism, Young Goethe (Alexander Fehling) is an energetic young man full of passion. He meets and courts Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein) and lands a municipal job as a bureaucrat.

Most of Young Goethe in Love is appropriate Christmas entertainment featuring a German countryside, family picnics and sing-alongs. Of course, the romance sours and the audience sees Young Goethe become a philosophical curmudgeon.  While there is an opportunity for the film to grow dark and sinister (the final credits present a very disturbing aspect of the film), Young Goethe in Love is about youth dancing a polka.

Seducing Charlie Barker opens this weekend at the The Living Room Theater on the Florida Atlantic University campus. Miami native Amy Glazer (who also directs) will be in attendance Friday, Dec. 23. She will introduce and host a “Q & A” after the screening of her movie.

Charlie Barker (Stephen Barker Turner) is a struggling actor who does not want to compromise his artistic integrity. His mate, Stella (Daphne Zuniga) supports him.  While attending an elitist ritzy party in Manhattan, Charlie is seduced by Clea (Heather Gordon), a siren in a red dress. Much like the fate of an Alice Cooper protagonist, Charlie Barker’s situation goes from bad to worse … or so it seems.

Thanks to Heather Gordon’s energetic performance and excellent line delivery, Seducing Charlie Barker works as sophisticated entertainment. The film gets dark, yet there are many plot twists that take a routine downfall movie into a different philosophical plane. Then again, for those seeking simple escapist entertainment, The Muppets will make a fine Christmas outing this weekend.  Merry Christmas!

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Last weekend may go down as one of the most dismal Decembers in box office history. Gary Marshall’s New Year’s Eve was the top of the heap, with a meager $13 million and bad reviews. The award-winning Hugo is losing money. Even the positive word of mouth has done very little to boost the profile of Arthur Christmas.

Of all the movies on the big screen, The Muppets is perhaps enjoying the strongest word of mouth and steadiest revenue. From beginning to end, it is an entertaining motion picture for both children and adults who grew up with the Muppets for the past 40 years.

Brothers Walter (A new Muppet voiced by Peter Linz) and Gary (Jason Segal, who co wrote the screenplay) travel to Hollywood to meet the Muppets. Taking Gary’s girlfriend Mary (adorable Amy Adams) with them, Walter and Gary tell the Muppets that they have not been relevant to the public since 1978.

Taking advantage of the Muppet’s low profile in pop culture, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) has plans to destroy the Muppets’ studio and build oil wells.

Of course, Kermit the Frog comes to the rescue and decides to produce a show, just like the old days.  Celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg, Mickey Rooney and Selena Gomez donate their time to serve on the Muppet Tele-phone. Along the way, Fozzie Bear tells some stupid jokes and Amy Adams gets to sing two good songs. Right up to the clever closing gag, The Muppets deserves its success for being so entertaining.

Opening tomorrow in local theaters is Blackthorn, an  intriguing western. James Blackthorn is the alias of infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy (Sam Shepard), an old man with regrets. Deciding to reconnect with his only remaining family, Blackthorn treks back to the United States after years in exile.

Lacking the big budget of last summer’s Cowboys & Aliens, Blackthorn succeeds with character development and unique situations. One shoot-out echoes the vastness of David Lean’s Lawrence  of Arabia. As Blackthorn, Shepard gives his most confident performance since playing Colonel Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff.

For those seeking traditional Christmas fare, the Miami City Ballet will be bringing George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker to the Broward Center for six performances starting Wednesday, Dec. 21. For tickets and show times, visit www.miamicityballet.org/nutcracker.php

Cinema Dave stands with “The Blues Brothers” at Art Basel last week.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Opening tomorrow, Le Havre is a Finnish/French film about a sad shoeshine guy who struggles to make ends meet for his ill wife. Despite his depressive situation, he finds a person who is in a worst dilemma, a young Nigerian boy separated from his family. With this simple plot set in motion, “Le Havre” reaches its climax in a sweet and entertaining way.

Since my interview with Alice Cooper years ago, his band made the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and Welcome 2 My Nightmare became his most successful album since the 1980s. Yet, his most satisfying experience may be personal.

On daughter Sonora’s acquisition of her driver’s license, he said, “She is one of the best drivers I’ve ever seen. In school, she was the more timid kid, less aggressive of my three kids. She is now a freshman in college and drives herself to school.”

Oldest daughter Calico is part of the comedy troupe Groundlings and is making a niche for herself in independent movies. His son Dashiell recently married a beautiful blond he met on the hockey rink; Dashiell hit a slap-shot and his future wife, Morgan, was the goalie.

In two weeks, Alice and his band will be ending their No More Mr. Nice Guy Tour at the Seminole Hollywood Hard Rock.

Like a good carnival barker, Alice exclaims, “This is my best live band ever. We have Steve Hunter (Cooper band mate from the 1970s), Orianthi (from American Idol and Michael Jackson’s last band) and the voice of Vincent Price opens the show.”

The Vincent Price gesture reveals debt to the past.

He explains, “My generation, like Ozzy Osbourne and I, have a harder edge, but we were all taught by the Beatles. We had good teachers and we learned to incorporate melody lines.”

The Grammy Award noms. snubbed Welcome 2 My Nightmare but Cooper was unfazed. He acknowledges the current culture of the music and radio business.

“Some of the nominations were boring; good songs are not getting played. Radio does not play what is good, but who is supposed to be the next big thing. An album like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band would not get airplay today. I feel sorry for young bands today. My advice would be become the best live band around, learn melody and lyrics from 70s bands.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

There is no denying the financial juggernaut know as Twilight: Breaking Dawn: Part I, which now owns the 5th largest box office gross of 2011. While this Twilight film is as limply-directed as the previous motion picture, the story does fulfill fans’ expectations about Bella Swan, Vampire Edward and Wolf Boy Jacob with a good cliffhanger ending for Breaking Dawn: Part II.

One of the sad casualties of this vampire monster box office was Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, based on Brian Selznick’s award-winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo (Asa Butter-field) is an orphan who lives in a Paris train station who is pursued by a bumbling security guard (Sacha Baron Cohen) for annoying a man named George (Ben Kings-ley).

What starts off as a standard required reading Juvenile Fiction novel becomes a mystery about cinematic history. Given Selznick’s ancestry (his cousin David produced Gone with the Wind) and the appearance of Sir Christopher Lee as a book salesman, Hugo is a film that will be discussed in academic circles long after the stars of Twilight retire.

In Into the Abyss, initially, Werner Herzog uses an academic approach in his straightforward documentary about death row. Fortunately, the iconic German director also brings both humor and humanity to this bleak subject. While interviewing death row inmates, Herzog admits he is politically against capital punishment. However, Herzog presents such a fair and balanced approach that advocates will find support for their own political bias.

With his soothing grandfatherly voice, Herzog asks some pretty off-the-wall questions. However, these questions create an emotional intimacy between the viewer and the interviewee. For example, when a chaplain discusses the final steps of an execution, the man comes across as a dispassionate bureaucrat. Yet, when Herzog asks the chaplain about “the squirrel story,” the man becomes a blubbering mess. Into the Abyss opens tomorrow.

Also opening tomorrow is Answers to Nothing, a piece of Los Angeles fiction. With a title like that, this motion picture has a tough story to sell. Obviously inspired by Robert Altman movies and the Oscar-winning movie Crash, Answers to Nothing features a cast of 1990s television actors who seek answers in the noir-ridden city of angels. The four subplots actually answer some questions, but one has to wonder if the questions were worth asking.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

It is one of the great ironies of the holiday season that the motion picture industry issues their Oscar consideration flicks with dark themes about the end of the world or mental illness. Happy Feet Two and Melancholia are no exception this holiday season.

Told in two parts, Melancholia opens with the story of “Justine” (Kirsten Dunst), a bride who is late for her elaborate wedding reception in a stately mansion. John (Keifer Sutherland) complains about the cost of the wedding, while Gaby (Charlotte Rampling) complains about everything. Justine is supported by her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg – the daughter of the recently reviewed Gainsbourg – A Heroic Life).

Claire’s story dominates the second part of the story. As the wedding ends in a shambles, the planet Melancholia is on a collision course with planet Earth.  Given his knowledge of science, John poo poos the notion about the end of the world, Claire is neurotic, but Justine seems pacified by these events.

Given the serious drama, Melancholia moves at a snail’s pace, broken up by the humor generated by John Hurt and Rampling. Technically, Melancholia is an impressive art film with visual nods to French Impressionism. Dunst manifests her melancholia with a brave and naked performance.

While the subtext of Happy Feet Two deals with global warming, at least this animated sequel lacks the condescension of an Al Gore/Michael Moore documentary. In fact, it celebrates public problem-solving based on individual actions.

It has been at least five years since the events of the first Happy Feet.  Mumbles (Elijah Wood) and Gloria (Pink – replacing the late Brittany Murphy) are the parents to Erik (Ava Acres), a young penguin with learning disabilities.  Given his painful youthful experiences, Mumbles attempts to impart his wisdom upon his son, but the boy is too young to understand. Calamity happens and Mumbles must save his community yet again.

Don’t fear kiddies. Happy Feet Two never ventures into melancholia. The musical score is upbeat and families were dancing in their seats at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery IMAX theater. Like the first Happy Feet, ticket buyers will leave the show with a hitch in their giddyup. At least this columnist is thankful that he did not have to review The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 this weekend! Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

The Artist claimed the “Best in the Fest” award at the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. A black-and-white silent movie with a grand musical score, this film was a labor of love for the participants involved, including Uggie the Jack Russell terrier.

In a recent telephone interview, Malcolm McDowell commented on his involvement – ”I met with the director about another part, which I could not do due to my commitment to Franklin & Bash. However, we managed to shoot my part in one day.”

McDowell’s one-day cameo became the focus of attention at the recent Cannes Film Festival.

“Cannes was celebrating the 40-year anniversary of A Clockwork Orange, but 25 percent of press conference questions were about The Artist. I am happy about how well-received The Artist has become,” he added.

Like The Artist’s celebration of a bygone era, FLIFF 26 has become cinema history. With the exception of two uppity celebrity handlers for the opening weekend festivities and the illness of Senator George McGovern, this fest fulfilled its unique promise of understanding the challenges for future filmmakers while acknowledging the debt of our founding filmmakers.

Despite volunteer staff shortages locally, the outreach programs in Pompano, Sunrise and the Bahamas proved to be a financial boost to local business. Muvico Pompano sold extra tickets during a traditional slow period at the box office.

Given Dennis Farina’s surprise appearance for the screening of the award-winning The Last Rites of Joe May at Muvico Pompano, expect more volunteer opportunities in North Broward County for FLIFF 27.

An Evening with Piper Laurie was one of the most talked about events of the fest. Foregoing the planned screening of The Grass Harp, Piper reflected upon her six decades in the movies and her experiences with stars like Ronald Reagan and Paul Newman, and playing Carrie’s harpy mother. Cinema Historian Foster Hirsch conducted Piper’s insightful interview.

The ocean conservation documentary Islands of Life, which earned a Spirit of Independence award, featured Sidney Poitier and his daughter Pamela. Pamela Poitier attended the screening 3:10 to Yuma starring Glenn Ford. Ford’s son, Peter, was in attendance to discuss his new book Glenn Ford: A Life. Ford and Poitier’s meeting acknowledged a piece of cinematic history. Both of their fathers starred in an important film – The Blackboard Jungle, released 61 years ago.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

John Wayne portrayed Tom Doniphon, The Man who Shot Liberty Valance, although Ranse Stoddard (James Stewart) got the credit for eliminating the bad guy, portrayed by Lee Marvin. As your humble swashbuckling journalist and information scientist, I have always sought the Tom Doniphons lost in the shadows of history.

Often considered the stepping stone in the overhyped career of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier is the Tom Doniphon of pugilistic history. The South Paw from Philadelphia was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1969-1973 and only lost to two men – twice – Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. After his heavyweight heyday, it was revealed that “Smokin’ Joe” was partially blind from cataracts when he was World Heavyweight Champion.

Overcoming handicaps is something Joe Frazier was trained to do at a very young age. Frazier’s father, Rubin, lost his left arm a year before Joe was born. Growing up in rural North Carolina, Frazier became his father’s “left hand man.” There is no irony that when Frazier knocked down Ali in Superfight I 40 years ago, he did it with a left hook. Given his perseverance growing up, it is appropriate that he has a cameo appearance in the original Rocky.

The search for Tom Doniphon is apparent in my book, The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World. In the final chapter, I wrote about the importance of letting go of the many artifacts in my apartment, which has been hard since they remind me of the people associated with them. While it would be “easy” to throw them out, I feel it would devalue the spirit of generosity in which I received them, so I have been donating them to nonprofits “From the Cave of Cinema Dave.”

While the “Cinema Dave Adventure Pack” raised $50 for the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, I wonder how much money will be raised at the Doreen Gauthier Lighthouse Point Library Semi Annual Fall Book Sale next Thursday, Nov. 19?

LHP Library has received eight boxes from my cave, with more on the way. Besides “special collection VHS” and movie related books, one will find text books, biographies and historical books that were used to supplement the curriculum for a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence circa 1996.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

France has dominated the foreign motion picture world his year. The heralded release of The Artist opening the 26th Annual Fort Lauderdale Film Festival shows an emphasis on visual art, making films like these pure cinema protein.

While Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is a biography, it is also influenced by the surrealistic motion pictures from the 1960s, most notably Blow Up and La Dolce Vita. (Given the egotistical nature of the title character, the protagonist may have thought that he invented those acclaimed motion pictures). Not for all tastes, but this film is visually arresting.

Born to Jewish parents in Nazi-occupied France, the precocious Serge Ginsberg fantasizes about the world around him through music and art. After changing his name to Serge Gainsbourg (Eric Elmosnino), the musician becomes an international pop sensation. Gainsbourg romances the sex symbols of the 1960s (Bridget Bardot, Jane Birkin) and releases controversial music that becomes disguised as elevator music. While physically he grows into an adult, emotionally Serge remains a man-child.

Although a bit long, this film is fascinating. The ensemble cast is European and actresses cast as Bardot and Birkin look like twins. Contortionist Doug (Pan’s Labyrinth) Jones mimes the part of Gainsbourg’s alter ego with dark and humorous results.

As we reach the center point of FLIFF 26, actor Dennis Farina takes center stage in The Last Rites of Joe May (www.
FLIFF.com for showtimes). Introduced to the American Public in the 1980s television series Crime Story, Farina has portrayed John Travolta’s arch rival in Get Shorty, Jennifer Lopez’s dad in Out of Sight and Robert DeNiro’s nemesis in Midnight Run.  In The Last Rites of Joe May, Farina is top-billed and portrays a composite character that sums up the actor’s previous two decades in the public eye.

Also in the fest is Troupers. In his book Born Standing Up, Steve Martin wrote about The Amazing Ballantine’s influence upon his comic persona. We lost Carl Ballantine two years ago, but his final words of wisdom can be heard in the documentary Troupers. Directed by his daughter Saratoga Ballantine, Troupers interviews 12 familiar faces from the acting profession, among the most recognizable: Kaye Ballard, Betty Garrett, Pat Carroll and Harold Gould. While the fame of Steve Martin may have eluded these individuals, these performers seemed to enjoy their work and lives.

Women of Entre Nous with creators of About Fifty on Chairman’s Cruise

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Having portrayed Hunter S. Thompson in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny Depp now crosses the line from reality to fantasy with The Rum Diaries.

Written by Thompson in the 1950s, but not published until 1998 (to coincide with the release of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,), The Rum Diaries is a fictional adaptation of Thompson’s escapades as a journalist in the Caribbean. It’s probably closer to the truth than Terry Gilliam’s biopic.

Depp portrays journalist Paul Kemp, a writer in search of his voice. Lotterman (Richard Jenkins), the editor, hires Kemp to write horoscopes for the only newspaper in Puerto Rico. Chaperoned by Sala (Michael Rispoli), Kemp uncovers the white collar corruption of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), the lure of Sander-son’s skinny-dipping fiancée (Amber Heard) and the call of the wild.

Containing an aire of anti-capitalist propaganda, The Rum Diaries is a fun ensemble piece with a great soundtrack and beautiful scenery. In contrast, Margin Call retains some of the “anti-capitalist propaganda” themes, but sets the story in the urban jungle known as Wall Street.

Unlike Oliver Stone’s manic Wall Street movies, Margin Call contains a deliberate pace that explains how the stock market fell apart in the autumn of 2008.

The story begins with the firing of Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), who gives a flash drive to his former trainee Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto).

While analyzing the data, Sullivan realizes that a financial time bomb has been lit. From this point forward, Sullivan follows the chain of command, beginning with his immediate supervisor (Kevin Spacey) and ending with the corporate editor (Jeremy Irons).

Margin Call is a good serious movie that may be far more appropriate than some of the Halloween releases this weekend.

The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (www.
fliff.com) begins their outreach to Muvico Pompano this weekend. Playing Saturday, About Fifty has received positive buzz from the press and FLIFF ticketbuyers.

Halloween weekend, FLIFF will feature a trio of unrelated horror movies, Vamperifca, Deadheads and Dr. Limp-tooth. While entertaining in their own right as contemporary B-Monster Movies, all three movies contain a sense of déjà vu.

Vamperifca will be remembered as a showcase for Martin Yurkovic, played with limp-wristed zeal. He is both funny and frightening. While Dr. Limptooth deals with flaccid vampire teeth, Deadheads has nothing to do with Jerry Garcia and everything to do with Zombies.

Cinema Dave’s “Adventure Pack” is raffled off for FLIFF.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Variety is the theme for this weekend’s movie openings, Sholem Aleichem is a spirited documentary about a Jewish writer who came to America and helped define his culture. A contemporary of Chekhov and Gogol, Aleichem was a major influence on Philip Roth and Woody Allen. Fiddler on the Roof is based upon his stories about Old Europe.

A French film with English subtitles, Mozart’s Sister is a tale for music historians. The older sister of the famed Wolfgang Amadeus, Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart (Marie Féret) lives in the musical shadow of her famed brother. A musical prodigy herself, Nannerl sheds gender conformity by making friends with the royal children of King Louis XV.

This weekend formally  kicks off the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF), which moves the opening night gala at the Signature Grand to Saturday night. Besides Penelope Ann Miller, Senator George Mc-Govern and Dennis Haysbert, Beau Bridges has been added to this weekend’s festivities.

Bridges will be screening Don’t Fade Away on Sunday at Cinema Paradiso. It’s likely he will discuss “the family business;” his brother is Jeff Bridges, his father is the late Lloyd Bridges. The family Bridges filmed the classic television show Sea Hunt, which was partially shot in South Florida.

Beau played husband to Norma Rae, the film that garnered Sally Field her first Oscar. Jeff and Beau portrayed The Fabulous Baker Boys and attempted to woo Michelle Pfeiffer by tickling her ivories.

It is on television that Beau received his most critical praise, most notably earning the Emmy Award for portraying a historical figure in Without Warning – The James Brady Story. Not one to stay typecast in a genre, Beau had a recurring role in Stargate SG-1 and was the patriarch in Harts of the West, co-starring Harley Jane Kozak.

With the expansion into the Bahamas, Sunrise and Pompano, the emphasis for FLIFF26 is community outreach, which is why I have donated a hardcover edition of my book, The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World to the gala’s silent auction.

Along with the 665-page volume, I have donated various cinema artifacts from my “cave,” all encased in an old-fashioned suitcase that used to transport a ventriloquist’s dummy. For film and party listings, celebrity sightings and information about “The Cinema Dave Adventure Pack,” contact FLIFF staff at 954-525-FILM.