Everyone’s At It

Vampire slayers, Muhammad Ali and Brüno all draw blood at the multiplex this week.

“In Search of Beethoven”
Having already gone “In Search of Mozart,” British documentary filmmaker Phil Grabsky continues his determined obsession to catalogue music’s ever-evolving place in the world and its influence throughout history. Applying the same template as before to Ludwig van Beethoven, Grabsky resists the typical biographical structure and instead pulls analysis from a wide range of experts, musicians, conductors and musicologists pooling it into a swirling, subjective amalgamation of the celebrated composer laced with excerpts from over 60 live performances of his works.
Opens in Chicago.

“Lake Tahoe”
A desert highway and a sparsely populated hinterland are the static backdrop for “Duck Season” filmmaker Fernando Eimbcke’s latest, a minimalist tale of offbeat incident and stoic teenage grief. Having crashed his car into a telegraph pole, recently bereaved Juan (Diego Cataño) wanders the streets of a sleepy nearby berg in search of an engine part, reconciling his loss while casually mingling with the eccentric townsfolk drifting about their business in a dreamily languid haze. In Spanish with subtitles.
Opens in New York.

“Soul Power”
In what’s sure to be an interesting companion piece to “Facing Ali,” this directorial debut from indie stalwart producer Jeffrey Levy-Hinte explores the larger cultural context of Ali’s famed 1974 Rumble in the Jungle bout, centering on the landmark three-day music festival that preceded it. Having his interest piqued working as editor on the 1996 Oscar-winning doc “When We Were Kings,” Levy-Hinte culls together the considerable concert footage left over from the boxing doc to create this document of what some would say was Africa’s Woodstock, a statement of unity through music from Africans and African-Americans alike.
Opens in New York and Los Angeles.

“An Unlikely Weapon”
In an age when taking pictures of celebrities staggering drunk out of nightclubs qualifies as legitimate photojournalism, director Susan Morgan’s portrait of legendary war correspondent Eddie Adams is a poignant reminder of the enduring power of the photographic image and how it can shape history. Credited with a photo of an execution that some would argue ended the Vietnam War, Adams carved out an illustrious career contributing to publications ranging from Time to Penthouse. Yet after covering 13 separate and bloody conflicts, the photographer was unable to escape the psychological ravages of what he’d witnessed,
and director Susan Morgan Cooper captures both Adams’ extraordinary career and the toll it took on his personal life.
Opens in limited release.

“Weather Girl”
In between his scripting duties on the “The Prince & Me 3: Royal Honeymoon” and “The Prince & Me 4,” actor-turned-writer/director Blayne Weaver found the time to upload a colorful rom-com riff on “Network” for the viral video generation. In Weaver’s third directorial outing, Tricia O’Kelley stars as Sylvia, a sassy weather girl whose “mad as hell” on-air meltdown directed at her cheating news anchor boyfriend (Mark Harmon) makes her an overnight Internet sensation. Unemployed, single and crashing in her little brother’s apartment, Sylvia catches the eye of his best friend Byron (Patrick J. Adams).
Opens in Los Angeles.

“Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg”
As the tagline for director Aviva Kempner’s latest historical doc purports, Gertrude Berg is quite likely “the most famous woman in America you’ve never heard of.” A powerhouse of the early entertainment industry, Gertrude Berg was the creator and star of long-running radio serial “The Goldbergs,” which transitioned into television’s first ever domestic sitcom, giving birth to in-home product placement in the process. Kempner captures testimony from journalists and broadcasters about the legacy of this pioneering entertainer who broke down ethnic barriers and paved the way for the women in the industry.
Opens in New York.

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