Dancy's performance propels warm indie film 'Adam'

Random reviews and news:

Indie alert — " Adam" is now playing in Wichita after premiering earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

It's a charming, romantic indie that's buoyed by Hugh Dancy's excellent portrayal of the titular Adam, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome ("on the autism spectrum," one character explains).

In the beginning of the film, Adam's father has just died, leaving Adam to fend for himself. That's when he meets Beth (Rose Byrne), a schoolteacher who has just moved into his building. Things are awkward at first, but soon they get to know each other and begin a topsy-turvy romance.

The film teeters near schmaltz at times, but what saves it is Dancy's robust performance. Full of ticks and nervousness, Dancy gives Adam a gentle tenderness and makes us root for him. We see what's clicking in his head as he tries to make sense out of experiencing love for the first time.

It's beautiful acting, and an enjoyable, warm experience overall. See it while it's here.

Studio shenanigans — The biggest news last week was that Paramount pushed Martin Scorsese's latest film, the much-hyped " Shutter Island," from an Oct. 2 release to Feb. 19, 2010.

It's a surprise move, one that studio execs insist is not because of artistic reasons but economic ones. Regardless, it takes the film out of awards contention this year, and it was predicted to be a strong Oscar contender.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. marshal investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.

The release date change comes on the heels of another high-profile change, when Universal announced last month that it would bump the Benicio Del Toro hairfest " The Wolfman" from its Nov. 6 slot to Feb. 12. (After also previously announcing that the film needed six weeks of reshoots — not a good sign.)

Red Zombie thing — I think it's really weird that there are now two movies titled "Halloween II." (Shouldn't it really be "Halloween 10" — or whatever number we're on now?)

But it's even more disturbing that rocker-turned-director Rob Zombie will now tackle another classic: " The Blob."

Variety reports that Zombie will write, direct and produce a remake of the 1958 film that launched the career of Steve McQueen.

But Zombie, whose films haven't exactly been critical darlings, is going to put his own crazy stamp on the new "Blob."

"My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing," he said to Variety. "That's the first thing I want to change."

Uh, you do realize it's called "The Blob," right? That's kind of what the movie is about, a deadly, man-eating — for lack of a better definition — blobby thing.

Production — with a reported budget of around $30 million — will begin in the spring.

No word yet on blob casting.