A Circus Life Not Rated
Normal life paused a century ago in many places when the circus came to town. The performers trouped down Main Street in a cavalcade of wagons heavily carved and gilded. By the 1950s those rolling sculptures were put to pasture, rotting in barns or turned into chicken coops. Wisconsin’s Chappie Fox, who made his life’s work out of rescuing those wagons and preserving them at Baraboo’s Circus World Museum, is the subject of A Circus Life. The documentary is also an informative look at an era when the traveling circus was part of the common cultural currency of America. (David Luhrssen)
The film shows on Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at the Oriental Landmark Theatre.
Frances Ha R
At 27, Frances Ha (Greta Gerwig) suffers from the Peter Pan syndrome. She plays at being a dancer, believing that she and BFF Sophie (Mickey Sumner) have identical belief systems. Frances is wrong. Sophie moves on, getting a solid job and becoming involved in a serious romantic relationship. Unable or unwilling to function in a socially acceptable manner, Frances drifts from one job and one living situation to the next. Both annoying and endearing, many of us will recognize someone we know in Frances' unconventional attitude. Written by Director Noah Baumbach and girlfriend, Greta Gerwig, there's an effortless quality to this black-and-white film that depends on Gerwig's ability to proudly explain, "I'm not a real person yet." (Lisa Miller)
The Internship PG-13
After the Internet makes their jobs obsolete, a couple of middle-aged salesmen (Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn) talk their way into a coveted Google internship. The pair find themselves competing against young, tech-savvy smarties who speak a different language. The old guys are both impressed and flummoxed by a campus equipped with napping pods and slides that take them between floors. The salesmen attempt to use their understanding of teamwork to prove that experience can trump youthful idealism—with mixed results. Made with Google's cooperation, the film reads like a long product placement, but its tame, inoffensive humor soon wears thin. (L.M.)
The Purge R
In the not-too-distant future, all crimes (including murder) are legalized during a 12-hour annual festival of violence. The wealthy have used this time to purge society of criminals and ne'er-do-wells. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey portray James and Mary Sandin, a couple raising two teenagers in a heavily fortified McMansion earned by James' work as a security expert. Hunkering down for a quiet night at home, the family's plan to ignore the mayhem is dashed when their daughter rescues a stranger (Max Burkholder) from a murderous mob. Having tracked the fugitive to the Sandin's home, the gang leader (Rhys Wakefield) demands the Sandins turn the stranger over in exchange for their lives. Unwilling to comply, the Sandins dig in and fight, while viewers sweat their action and fantasize about whom we might want to kill in such a situation. (L.M.)
