Advertisement

Reviewed in brief: 'Computer Chess,' 'Prince Avalance'

August 8, 2013 at 7:53PM
An undated handout photo of Wiley Wiggins in "Computer Chess," an Andrew Bujalski film. "Computer Chess" is set in 1980 at a gathering where programs created by nerds face human competition. (Computer Chess via The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH STORY SLUGGED COMPUTER FILM REVIEW. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED.
Wiley Wiggins in “Computer Chess,” an Andrew Bujalski film. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Computer Chess
⋆⋆½ out of four stars
Unrated: Brief sensuality.
Theater: Lagoon.

Remember the early 1980s, when computers were bulky, balky and human chess masters could outmaneuver their best efforts? Mumblecore master Andrew Bujalski ("Funny Ha Ha") carries us to those days of yesteryear, shooting with clunky period video equipment for just the right banal visual presentation. Schools such as MIT and Cal Tech dispatch their top nerds to a weekend tournament in a bland hotel, and the result is a shambling, Altmanesque ensemble comedy. Bujalski pits machine vs. man, man vs. woman, hotel guest vs. clerk, would-be swingers vs. automaton-like grad students, and hints of a SKYNET-like machine intelligence vs. spotty, dotty human consciousness.

While everyone in this agreeable but slug-slow trifle is a peripheral character, there are hints of a chesslike pecking order among the players, with a visiting grad school adviser and his impatient wife making a passive-aggressive king and queen. The period satire is painfully accurate, and several of the actors (Myles Paige as a prickly, overdressed popinjay programmer, Boston critic/filmmaker Gerald Peary as the pompous master of ceremonies) are droll delights. We know that computers got better at communicating over the past 30 years. As for humans, well, judge for yourself.
COLIN COVERT

Prince Avalanche
⋆⋆ out of four stars
Rated: R for some sexual content.
Theater: Landmark Lagoon.

Insecure, sententious Alvin (Paul Rudd) and his girlfriend's horny younger brother Lance (Emile Hirsch) take jobs painting traffic lines on a rural Texas highway in an area that's been wasted by a wildfire. It's a far cry from writer/director David Gordon Green's last few films, like "Your Highness" and "Pineapple Express." The cinematography is beautiful, and the score by Explosions in the Sky and David Wingo heightens the juxtaposition of peace and restlessness. Rudd and Hirsch can't carry the spare, directionless plot, though. Lance's stories of his sexual escapades are a hoot, and scenes including a salty truck driver (Lance Le Gault) provide a much-needed diversion. But this is ultimately an acting showcase gone awry, and you wind up feeling as agitated and bored as the main characters.
ANDREW WAGAMAN

Emile Hirsch and Paul Rudd in PRINCE AVALANCHE, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Emile Hirsch and Paul Rudd in “Prince Avalanche.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Advertisement
about the writer

about the writer

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

We respect the desire of some tipsters to remain anonymous, and have put in place ways to contact reporters and editors to ensure the communication will be private and secure.

Advertisement
Advertisement

To leave a comment, .

Advertisement