ArethA Areth A FrA FrAnklin • Alici AliciA A keys • mick jA jAgger • BO BOn nO • steve WinWOO WinWOO WOOd d • gregg AllmA AllmAn rter • jimmy cli Arence cA cArter liFFF • Percy sledge • Wils WilsO On Pickett keith rich ichA Ards • cllA
“EVOCATIVE, SOULFUL, ENORMOUSLY ENTERTAINING. A terrific documentary.”
moviEs
by Ken Hanke & Justin Souther
Community Screenings
– Gary Goldstein, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“MAGNIFICENT! ‘Muscle Shoals’ is more magical than any two Harry Potter movies put together.”
– Mark Feeney, BOSTON GLOBE
The incredible True sTory of a small Town wiTh a big sound
muscleshoalsmovie.com
The Carolina ExCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT STARTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 Asheville Asheville (828) 274-9500
MOUNTAIN XPRESS ( ASHEVILLE, NC ) WEDNESDAY 10/23 1/8 PAGE ( 4.9063” ) X 2.5125” ALL.MSC.1023.MXEmail
sociAl JusTice Film nighT • TU (10/29), 7pm - Social Justice Film Night will screen the documentary The United States of ALEC at Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place. Donations accepted. Info: uuasheville.org.
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advertise@mountainx.com octoBER 23 - octoBER 29, 2013
moVie nighT AT colony eArTh • TUESDAYS, 8pm - Colony Earth screens feature films, documentaries and more. By donation. Info and location: avl.mx/vb.
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2014 GO LOCAL DIRECTORY
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hoW To sTeAl A million • WE (10/23), 3pm - The Audrey Hepburn film series will screen How to Steal a Million in Pack Memorial Library’s Lord Auditorium. Free. Info: 250-4700.
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into a physical space. Embodying the Internet as three-dimensional space (in this case, as endless rows of desks in open air, reminiscent of 1999’s The Matrix) has always been tricky, and usually comes off as corny — and it’s no different here. Even with these distractions, the film isn’t ruined. When The Fifth Estate is using its brain, it works well and has surprising depth. Condon and TV writer Josh Singer have made a movie that neither honors nor vilifies Assange, whose ideals of social justice, transparency and truth in a digital age are held to high standards. But at the same time, there’s his close friend and WikiLeaks partner — not to mention the film’s conscience — Daniel, who sees Assange’s ego and vanity firsthand, and questions the dangers an uncensored truth may create. Much of the climax involves the leak of U.S. diplomatic cables on the Afghan war and Assange’s refusal to redact names and information, ignoring the real-life consequences this information might have on those identified. Assange’s purpose and goals are seen as noble, but his selfishness, squirrelly personality and unwillingness to compromise are ugly drawbacks. This moral complexity is really what makes the film, even if it’s undermined by some blatant summarizing in the film’s last scene that comes across as a bit patronizing. This perhaps personifies the movie — it does a lot right, but nothing spectacularly so, often faltering thanks to a director who’s lost his luster. Viewed more as an intelligent, often entertaining
political thriller and less as an important film on important topics, The Fifth Estate is worth a look. Rated R for language and some violence. reviewed by Justin Souther Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemas, Regal Biltmore Grande
Music Madness No. 2 HHHHS diREctoR: Various pLayERs: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Big Star, Death documEntaRy RatEd R thE stoRy: A collection of four music-oriented documentary films. thE Lowdown: The second week of The Carolina’s mini-festival of music documentaries has something for just about everyone: from The Beatles to the Stones to Aretha Franklin to Big Star to a band improbably called Death.
a Band called death Director: Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett. Players: Bobby Hackney, Dannis Hackney, David Hackney, Alice Cooper While A Band Called Death isn’t the oddest film in the group, it almost certainly boasts the oddest story. If you’ve never heard of the band in question, don’t feel left out. The original group recorded just seven tracks and only ever released one single. That they are now being considered the forerunners to punk music — a few years before there even was such a thing — is remarkable, but not undeserved once you hear their music. What is perhaps more unusual, though, is Death was comprised of three black kids from Detroit — kids who were hooked on The Beatles, The Who, Alice Cooper and Queen rather than Motown. The film straightforwardly tells their story, and, of course, the story of their late-in-the-day discovery by a music world that wasn’t originally interested in them. The music and the personalities of the two surviving brothers are terrific, even if the con-