Maybe I’ve been overthinking things. Worrying too much about the corrosive effects of superheroes on the cinema and all that. I did 1,500 words on The Dark Knight last week, and I’m sticking to every annoyed one of them. I will add that a friend asked why I didn’t go under the surface and explore the “politics” of the film, and I said it was because they were right there in plain view, 9/11-Iraq window-dressing to make the story “relevant.” But that’s enough on last week’s sensation for now.

Why so serious? It may be the humidity, or the lack of a proper summer vacation. So I’m clearing my mind. Getting a few matters off my cursor. I’m taking you to the movies, then dropping you off, with a few bucks for popcorn and some parting wisdom. If you’re multiplex-bound, consider the generally excellent Wall-E, which, along with Hellboy II, could use a little more love. If indie/arthouse is how you roll, take these capsules, and call me in early August, when we’ll meet again.

Baghead. Day for Night meets The Blair Witch Project, as discontented “mumblecore” filmmakers tired of failure get more than they bargained when they hole up at a summer cabin in the offseason to improvise a horror movie based on one of their deepest fears — a stranger with a bag on his (or her) head, ready for the kill. The notion is more than paper or plastic as a “Baghead” emerges from the woods to stalk the four friends, two of whom are in a collapsible relationship, and the other pair on the verge of hooking up. The whole mumblecore movement may be a generational thing — no-budget productions where amateurish performers stare out of dirty window shades for minutes at a time aren’t my bag. (more…)