By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Where Crabby Jacks [recently burned down in a fire] was located, the marquee for the only Drive-In movie theatre in Deerfield Beach once stood.

Spawning from there, 36 years ago, traffic jams were caused on Federal Highway, thanks to the release of the film Jaws.

During rush-hour traffic last Friday morning, commuters on I-95 may have witnessed the return of Jaws,  a Megalodon, a giant shark thought to be extinct from South Florida waters for thousands of years,  riding on the back of a truck headed to its new home at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science. It will be part of the Prehistoric Florida exhibit in the new EcoDiscovery Center, slated to open on Veterans Day, 2011.

Veteran’s Day will also mark the last day of the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.  Beyond screening foreign and homegrown motion pictures, FLIFF has invited some well-known celebrities.

Best known for her work in Carlito’s Way and Kindergarten Cop, Penelope Ann Miller will attend Gala Night with screening of The Artist, an award-winning movie on the European circuit this summer.

On Nov. 8, Piper Laurie will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in dramatic classics like The Hustler and horror classics like Carrie.

To find out more about this year’s festivities and surprise guests keep checking www.fliff.com.

Also Drive opens this weekend.  Ryan Gosling portrays a stuntman who moonlights as a get-away-car driver.  For years, his character has worked in partnership with Shannon (Bryan Cranston), who has ties with organized crime figures portrayed by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman.  When one caper goes astray, Gosling becomes the surrogate husband to Irene (Carey Mulligan).

While Drive contains some great stunts and action scenes, this flick is more like a Film Noir drama.  Gosling gives a deadpan performance similar to what Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum and Steve McQueen would have provided in their day. The best, most surprising performance comes from Brooks; the goofy comedian sinks his teeth into a monstrous role of a capo de capo.  Drive is off-road fun as a Saturday matinee.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

The tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001 seems as fresh today as it did on that lovely Tuesday morning. Since that day, we have witnessed folklore and urban legends about the attacks upon our American soil, mostly for political gain.

The fog of war created a world in which some heroes are considered villains, and villains have become martyrs.

The Debt is a taut espionage thriller with the depth to confront the issues of collateral damage in the face of conflict.

In 1997, a historical book is written about three Mossad secret agents – Rachel (Helen Mirren), Stefan (Tom Wilkin-son) and David (Ciarán Hinds), who killed a Nazi war criminal in hiding. As Rachel reads to an audience about her heroics, David walks in front of a truck and dies.

The Debt flashes back to the early 1960s, when the young Rachel (Jessica Chastain), young Stefan (Marton Csokas) and young David (Sam Worthington) investigate, plot and execute their plan to locate Dr. Bernhardt (Jesper Christensen), a gynecologist with a good bedside manner.  To reveal more would be a big disservice  to the plot. Suffice it to say that The Debt is not settled until the final moments of the movie.

The conflicted characters and their motivations propel the narrative. Yet, Director John Madden adds little touches with camera framing to make the violent sequences more tense and personal.  One particular scene in the gynecologist’s office presents a dangerous woman in her most vulnerable position.  If he could get away with it in his day, Sir Alfred Hitchcock would be proud of the character dynamics of that memorable scene.

Last year, Christoph Waltz earned his Best Supporting Oscar for his work as a Nazi in Inglourious Basterds. This year, Christensen may be considered for a similar role. Given the cold-blooded actions of Rachel, Stefan and David, one almost sympathizes with this Nazi villain.  It is when Dr. Bernhardt plays the “victim card” that one truly detests this bureaucratic terrorist.

Known for his big screen heroics with Avatar and Terminator Salvation, Worthing-ton portrays another violent character. This time, he is the odd man of the team.

Sadly, Worthington’s elder counterpart looks more like Tom Wilkinson’s younger counterpart.  Fortunately, for the pivotal role of Rachel, both Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren are equally matched in looks, temperament and heart.

Dave Montalbano & Michael Berryman

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Hurricane Irene damaged the box office. Don’t Wait Until Dark performed poorly, but this Guillermo Del Toro production has a second chance this weekend for much-deserved redemption. This great date movie is the summer’s best monster movie.

With no relation to the Lee Marvin classic from 1967, Point Blank is a French Film with English subtitles that needs no dialogue. This visual treat opens at a breakneck pace and never lets up, yet provides just enough character identification to merit audience empathy.

When a thief with mob connections ends up in the hospital, an unlucky male nurse is blackmailed by the mob bosses to free the thief. To make matters worse for the male nurse, his wife is suffering from a problem pregnancy when she is kidnapped by sinister forces. Point Blank draws the audience into a roller coaster world in which the bad guys are not so bad and the good guys are not as good as they appear. Not a moment of film is wasted up to the final frame.

As the summer blockbuster season slows down, the convention and festival season pick up. Six years ago, Petey Mongelli staged Screamfest in Coral Springs and Hurricane Wilma destroyed Broward County for two weeks. Screamfest, which began in 2002 originally, outgrew Broward and evolved into Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend, the biggest horror movie convention in Southern United States.

Staged in Orlando, this year’s Spooky Empire will be held Oct. 7-9 (www.spookyempire.com). Headliners include Malcolm McDowell, Lance Henriksen, Michael Berryman, and artist Barry Anderson and Night of the Living Dead’s Bill Hinzman continue their perfect attendance.

When asked about the migration to Orlando, Petey replied, “We outgrew Broward. The convention grew bigger and bigger, and the Wyndham Hotel on International Drive provided a suitable venue for the Creepy Car/Hearst Show and the Zombie Walk, which involves thousands of volunteers.” While Petey will continue his Spooky Empire in Orlando, next year he plans a 10-year retrospective in Broward County.

As Spooky Empire concludes, the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival begins. Director Gregory von Hausch has been playing close to the vest, but this Labor Day weekend, he plans to reveal the listing of filmmakers, special guests and key dates for festival screenings, parties and events. (Fest runs Oct. 21-Nov. 11). For more information, visit www.fliff.com.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

If Hurricane Irene leaves us alone, two varied movies opening this weekend will provide a fine diversion.

Don‘t Be Afraid of the Dark is a great date movie to end this summer’s blockbuster season. Chasing Madoff is an espionage documentary about the Gordon Gekko of our time, Bernie Madoff.

In the recent decade of irrational exuberance, money managers missed the signs of approaching doom. Much like ignoring hurricane warnings, people like Harry Markopolos warned the watch dog organization of Wall Street, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). When Madoff’s financial abuse made front page news,  the SEC lost credibility with independent investors. The sins of Madoff have affected charitable fundraising on a local level.

Sometimes veering too much toward dramatic comedy, Canadian director Jeff Prosserman’s superficial approach deflates Harry Mark-opolos’ emotional sacrifice.  That said, this film simplifies Madoff and his Ponzi schemes, making a complicated financial con job approachable for the layman.

For the past decade, Guillermo Del Toro has directed some of the most consistently interesting motion pictures; starting with The Devil’s Backbone, both Hellboy movies and Pan’s Labyrinth. He has also produced the gothic thriller The Orphanage and this summer’s best monster movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.

Based on a 1973 teleplay staring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton, “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” opens with a scary myth-making prologue, good old fashioned opening credits that foreshadow the plot structure and an entertaining balance between laughs and scares.

Vulnerable from the opening scene, Bailee Madison plays the disregarded daughter of Guy Pearce, a real estate speculator who is trying to sell the Blackwood Mansion. Dealing with dueling divorced parents is trauma enough, but little Bailee must contend with scurvy little demons under her bed at the Blackwood Mansion. Once awakened, these intelligent little devils need a human sacrifice to be placated.

The success of this motion picture weighs heavily on 9-year-old Madison, a Ft. Lauderdale native. Along with the nifty special effects, Madison holds her own with veteran actors Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is good popcorn-eating Saturday Morning escapism.

By Dave Montalbano

While attending a Family Reunion in Alabama, circa 1969, my dad made a point of introducing Annie Laurie to me. Annie Laurie was the Watson family cook for many decades.

My mom, aunt and 10 uncles kept in touch with Annie Laurie until she died a few years back. It is nice to know that my family treated Annie Laurie with more respect than the Southern Belles treat The Help in this movie based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling book.

Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) returns from college and lands a job with the local newspaper, writing a “Dear Abby” column about household chores. Being a Dixie princess, Skeeter seeks advice from a friend’s help, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Reluctant at first, Aibileen helps Skeeter with her column.

As Skeeter gains Aibileen’s trust, the young lady learns much about the subculture of The Help, black ladies who raise white women’s children. From cooking tasty food to changing diapers, these maids of Mississippi are the pillar of southern hospitality. Yet, in a culture where people are considered equal, but separate, the help are not allowed to use their employers’ bathrooms.

It is life’s details that plant the seeds of historical evolution. Ticket buyers witness the 1960s civil rights struggle of their neighbors. Director Tate Taylor takes Kathryn Stockett’s words and creates an entertaining motion picture with subtle depth.

Already, there is “Oscar” buzz about The Help. The SAG Awards will likely nominate The Help for Best Ensemble acting. 1970s veterans Sissy Spacek, Cicely Tyson and Mary Steenburgen sink their teeth into their small, but pivotal character roles, while Stone and Davis move the narrative along. Octavia Spencer will be remembered as the breakout star from this film.

Opening tomorrow is The Names of Love, a French romantic comedy that finds humor in religion, sex and politics.

Sara Forestier portrays Baya, an Algerian Arab hippie chick with leftist politics who is attracted to Arthur Martin (Jacques Gamblin) a straight-laced Jew whose parents are Holocaust survivors.

Taking a cue from Woody Allen movies, this film tackles dark themes with humor and has belly laughs involving social faux pas and Parisian nudity. Sara Forestier is a force to be reckoned with. She will next be seen in the U.S. as French pop star France Gall in Joann Sfar’s “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.”

By Dave Montalbano

While I am not a fan of end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-flicks, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a pleasant surprise on so many levels — good story, interesting character development with a clarity of vision. Thought-provoking and fully entertaining, Rise of the Planet of the Apes has set a new standard with summer Science Fiction movies, while remaining true to the wild and original ideas of Pierre Boulle’s novella.

San Francisco Professor Will Rodman (James Franco) seeks to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, as his father Charles (John Lithgow) suffers from this malady. When a female test subject reacts badly to treatment, Professor Rodman adopts her son, a baby ape. While Charles names the ape Cesar (Andy Serkis), Professor Rodman provides a nurturing environment and pharmaceuticals that promote intelligence.

Tragically, paradise is lost and Cesar ends up being a captive in a monkey house run by John Landon (Brian Cox)and his sadistic son Dodge Landon (Tom Felton).  After torture and abuse, Cesar organizes his cell-mates and creates ‘the rise of the planet of the apes.’

Director Rupert Wyatt provides realistic logic to Cesar’s evolution, making Cesar’s growth a joy to behold. The audience gets to know Cesar and his compatriots, as well as the rogues’ gallery of brutal humans. Wyatt is not afraid to present static scenes with no dialogue. When dialogue is spoken, the words actually have meaning.

In spite of the epic grandeur of this movie, this film is full of clever details for the Apes fans. Shortly before one climatic moment, a cameo appearance from the late Charlton Heston helps set the dramatic moment on a subconscious level.  It is a bone-chilling moment.

Given his performances as “King Kong” and “Gollum,” Serkis is the perfect actor to play Cesar in his motion-capture costume. The Academy Awards should create a special category for this type of performance. As Professor Rodman, Franco puts behind his public relations fiasco at this year’s Oscar’s ceremony. Given his success as Draco Malfoy, hopefully Felton will be able to play a nice guy soon, for the actor is quite good as the cad you love to hate.

On Aug. 20, Deerfield Beach High Class of ’81 reunion commences at Deer Creek Country Club. Tickets are $125 and include open bar, buffet, prizes and music. Save $25 by contacting Kelly Palmer-Skidmore at 561-445-6854 by close of business tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 12.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Forty summers ago, I saw my first western on the big screen – Big Jake, a box office champion that particular summer. Big Jake starred John Wayne, his family and his stock company; it featured gorgeous landscapes and a morality tale about family values. The Duke’s grandson, Brendan Wayne, was born the following year and now has a small role (as the Sheriff Taggart’s Deputy) in the current box office champion, Cowboys & Aliens.

The film opens when an amnesiac cowboy named Jake (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the desert with a strange device attached to his forearm. Jake strolls into town and runs afoul Percy (Paul Dano), a spoiled brat son of a cattle baron, Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). It turns out that Dolarhyde and Jake have a bad history together and are headed for a show down.

As a torch-bearing vigilante prepares a lynching, a strange light comes out of the sky. Within moments, the townspeople witness their neighbors get lassoed into the sky. Jake and Dolarhyde put aside their differences to rescue friends and families who have been abducted by sky demons.

With a title like Cowboys & Aliens, one does not need to look deeper for a theological subtext. The sky demons are aliens from outer space, with petty motivations. In fact, the science fiction aspect of this film is routine, yet the film excels when it remains a western.

The best thing about Cowboys & Aliens is the ensemble’s characters.  Character actor Sam Rockwell is given some rare moments to shine as an everyman bartender. Keith Carradine, as Sheriff; Clancy Brown, as Pastor; and Adam Beach, as ranch hand, are given genuine moments of character development.

While top-billed Daniel Craig recalls Clint Eastwood’s younger days, Cowboys & Aliens can be seen as Harrison Ford’s comeback film. Looking more like George “Gabby” Hayes than Indiana Jones, Ford creates a whole character. While gruff most of the time, Dolarhyde is given some quiet moments to shine with a boy who soon becomes an orphan.

While the showdown with the aliens gets a bit clunky toward the end, director Jon Favreau makes up for it by providing great visuals of cowboys riding across the range on horseback. Cowboys & Aliens succeeds as Saturday Matinee popcorn-eating entertainment, but I doubt it will have the durability of Big Jake.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Earlier this year, Superman talked about renouncing his U.S. citizenship, claiming to be a citizen of the world. A product of the DC Comic book universe, Superman seemed to forget that he was fighting for “Truth, Justice and the American Way.”

Perhaps seeking public relations leverage, Marvel Comics has unleashed Captain America: The First Avenger,  one of the most patriotic movies to be released in a decade. The American public rewarded Captain America with an impressive non-holiday box office gross of $65 million.

While this film is a stand-alone motion picture, it is part of the series of Marvel Comics movies released since 2008, (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor) that will lead to next Summer’s first blockbuster, in May 2012, The Avengers. Of all of the recent Marvel motion picture heroes, Captain America is easily the most likable.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the runt of Brooklyn, who wants to serve America during World War II. Despite the protests of Colonel Chester Philips (Tommy Lee Jones), research Professor Erskine (Stanley Tucci) sees a good heart in Steve Rogers and recruits the scrappy Dodgers fan for a special scientific experiment. With Howard Stark’s (Dominic Cooper) technical influence, the experiment is a success and Steve Rogers becomes known as Captain America.

First used as a propaganda tool, Captain America comes under the radar of the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a villain who takes up where Adolph Hitler left off. As the Red Skull plots the destruction of America, Captain America recruits the Howling Commandos and kicks some “Nazi” butt.

Given his work with The Rocketeer, October Sky and Jurassic Park III, director Joe Johnson is perfect to bring both the spectacle and sensitivity to this picture.

The acting ensemble has fun with this film. Jones’s fast-talking delivery has audiences howling with laughter. As Iron Man’s daddy, Cooper does a good impression of his fictional son (played by Robert Downey Jr.)

Yet, this film belongs to Chris Evans and thrives because of his sincere performance. Captain America is what a summer Saturday matinee blockbuster should be.

For those who cannot get into Harry Potter, Captain America or Cowboys & Aliens this weekend,  the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival presents the 10th Annual French Film Festival at Cinema Paradiso July 28-31. 954-525–FILM or www.fliff.com.

By Dave Montalbano

After a decade, the cinematic Harry Potter series comes to a close.

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

My introduction to Harry Potter began 12 years ago when Deerfield Beach Percy White Youth Services librarian David Serchay called me when I was working at Sunrise Dan Pearl Library to check the shelf status of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. (Five years later, David went on a “set-up” date to go see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with Bethany, who is now mother to David’s twin girls).

If the Beatles were the social myth of my childhood
and Star Wars the transitional myth of Generation X’s adolescence, then Harry Potter
and the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry has become the cultural hero of the new millennium.

With a record-breaking box office revenue of $168 million, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 delivers upon its original promise. The production team was wise to divide this final movie into two parts, sustaining both narrative flow and the attention to detail.

Part 2 picks up directly from Part 1. The evil Lord Volde-mort (Ralph Fiennes) has obtained the invincible Elder Wand, while Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his consorts, Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) bury a loyal ally. As the evil magician grows more powerful, Harry and his allies seek Voldemort’s Achilles heel. As war wages between wizards, beasts and dementors, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry becomes ground zero.

With the exposition out of the way, director David Yates is freed to direct three extremely well-done action sequences involving a heist, a dragon and a fire in a vault. These scenes are the ones that fans have been waiting for since the disappointing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The visual clarification is worthy of the action sequences from a John Ford/John Wayne classic.

Since the opening of the first film a decade ago to the current release, the Harry Potter franchise has enjoyed a quality ensemble of British actors. As the monstrous Professor Snape, Alan Rickman deserves kudos for balancing the contradictory motives of the menacing character. Of course, the series would have folded years ago if it were not for the sincere, consistent and empathetic performances from Radcliffe, Grint and Watson.

The closure from this final film is equal to the closure I felt concluding J.K. Rowling’s book. Let’s enjoy the waning days of Harry Potter mania and look toward our next social mythology.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

As Transformers departs the Museum of Discovery to make room for the final installment of Harry Potter, two more independent movies will be opening locally, The Trip, a funny flick, and Into Eternity, a serious documentary.

Into Eternity asks a simple question – how do you remove nuclear waste? Of course, the answers are not easy when one has to factor in that the contamination is poison to humans and that waste must NOT be touched for 100,000 years. Thus is the dilemma that is debated in this documentary from Denmark.

Writer/director Michael Madsen’s 75-minute documentary has visual echoes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain. We witness long, static shots of entering storage caves and machines lowering nuclear container into pools of H2O. Presented in subtitles and dubbed English, we listen to the pessimistic “experts” debate the disposal problem.

Dead pan arguments over the philosophical question “How do we explain this problem to future generations?” No answer is truly obtained, but Madsen provides a pointed commentary. As the debate becomes as absurd as the arguments in the war room reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb,  the camera cuts to a reindeer pooping in the forest.

The Trip is a quasi documentary that involves a road trip and fine dining in the
English countryside. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (British Television’s equivalent to Bing Crosby & Bob Hope) portray fictional versions of themselves. Coogan is given an assignment to be a food critic. Unable to take his girlfriend, Coogan takes his married friend and arch rival, Brydon.

As Coogan and Brydon enter each pub, there are multiple montages of gourmet food being prepared. While dining, the two men amuse themselves by doing impressions of celebrities like Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Richard Burton. When the two start getting on each other’s nerves, Brydon breaks into another impression.

This film is a repetitive six- day journey that contains very British references and pithy comments, as one character states, “Behind every joke is a cry for help.”