Annie Hall
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Part of what makes this wartime Hollywood drama (1942) about love and political commitment so fondly remembered is its evocation of a time when the sentiment of this country about certain things appeared to be unified. (It’s been suggested that communism is the political involvement that Bogart’s grizzled casino owner, Rick, may be in retreat from at the beginning.) This hastily patched-together picture–which started out as a B film and wound up winning three Oscars–displays a cozy, studio-bound claustrophobia that Howard Hawks improved upon in his superior spin-off To Have and Have Not. Then again, we get Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Marcel Dalio, and S.Z. Sakall, and Dooley Wilson performing “As Time Goes By.” The script (by Howard Koch and Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein) adapts an unproduced play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, and the underestimated Michael Curtiz directs the proceedings with verve. PG, 102 min. (JR) Sat 7/16, 8:30 PM, Oz Park, 2021 N. Burling, 312-742-7898.
Coach Carter
Broadly speaking, this is Richard Linklater’s French Cancan–that is to say, a humanist’s joyful exploration of the musical in which the actors’ personalities resonate as much as the characters they play. Or maybe it’s what Jean Renoir might have come up with if he’d remade Don’t Knock the Rock and cast fifth-graders as the musicians. Though this seems like a personal film, Linklater was hired to direct a cannily commercial script by Mike White, about a rock ‘n’ roll loser (Jack Black) who, fired from his job and his band, impersonates his wimpy substitute-teacher roommate (White) to land a teaching position at an upscale elementary school. This infantile character hasn’t got a thought in his head except for rock music, but somehow he becomes a model teacher, and through stealth and sheer perseverance he turns his class into an inspired gang of rockers. The kids, all real musicians performing, are wonderful, and so is Black; Joan Cusack is charming and funny as the principal. PG-13, 108 min. (JR) Wed 7/20, 8:30 PM, River Park, 5100 N. Francisco, 312-742-7516.
Shrek 2
The Nickelodeon cartoon series about an oceanic sponge and his starfish sidekick washes onto the big screen with a tide of weak one-liners, exaggerated reactions, and vaguely nauseating gags, including a live-action David Hasselhoff launching the heroes into the air with his pecs. In other words, your six-year-old will love it. SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg wrote and directed. PG, 90 min. (JJ) Thu 7/21, 8:30 PM, Unity Playlot Park, 2636 N. Kimball.
