Friday, July 25, 2014
The new Maniac bears the distinction of having been banned in New Zealand, sort-of hobbit homeland, for its depiction of brutal killings from the killer's point of view.
What You Missed
Frank (Wood) is an Angeleno who earns his living restoring vintage mannequins. It sounds like the sort of occupation that would earn him a lot of hipster points in LA, combined with his generally emo demeanor and soulful blue eyes, but here's the thing: Frank isn't good at dating. He's better at stalking women on the street, ambushing them, murdering them, scalping them and decorating his beloved mannequins with the trophies.
The back room of his mannequin shop is a house of horrors where he sits amid his hideous creations (who appear as real women through his eyes), exhorting them not to be jealous, since he loves them all the same. Oh, and he talks to himself and his absent mommy a fair bit.
Anna (Nora Arnezeder), a young French photographer, stumbles on Frank's retro shop and thinks it's the coolest thing ever. She wants to feature his mannequins in her gallery show and make some sort of statement about objectification. Frank really likes her, but can he keep his madness at bay? I think you already know the answer.
Tags: maniac , elijah wood , franck khalfoun , Movies you missed , Image , Video , Web Only
Friday, July 18, 2014
This week in movies you missed: I watch "the weirdest feature film ever to make an Oscar shortlist," according to Steve Pond of the Wrap.
What You Missed
We are somewhere in Greece, in a house with a garden surrounded by a high wall.
Three teenagers listen to a tape introducing them to new vocabulary words. The tape gives glaringly incorrect definitions. The kids, a boy (Hristos Passalis) and two girls (Aggeliki Papoulia and Mary Tsoni), aren't fazed. They plan a new game: They'll see who can keep his or her finger under burning hot water the longest.
Dad (Christos Stergioglou) returns home from work, bringing a young woman named Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou). She goes into the boy's room and has mechanical sex with him, then leaves. The two sisters greet her as one might greet a cleaning woman.
The non sequiturs continue. The brother (none of these characters have names) speaks to someone invisible through the hedge. A plane buzzes overhead, and Mom (Michele Valley) encourages the kids to run and catch it if it falls. A wandering cat in the yard inspires bloodcurdling terror.
The more the film progresses, the more it becomes clear that the rules of this family are not our rules. The parents know this — it's by design. The kids, raised in isolation, do not. By the end, the teens' struggle to achieve independence — and their parents' countermeasures — will have led to genuinely disturbing transgressions against everything most of us consider "natural" and "right."
Tags: dogtooth , Giorgos Lanthimos , Movies you missed , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 11, 2014
This week in movies you missed: In our world of omnipresent cameras, it's hard to believe that a regime could starve and slaughter millions of people and leave little direct evidence of its atrocities on film. But that's what the Khmer Rouge did in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Among its victims were the family of Rithy Panh, this film's director, who was then 11 years old.
Panh made this documentary to fill in history's "missing pictures" with those he carries in his memory. He uses clay figures and dioramas to illustrate deportation, forced labor, "re-education" and genocide, supplementing these images with existing documentary footage (much of it from Khmer Rouge propaganda films). The Missing Picture earned an Oscar nomination last year for Best Foreign Film and was honored in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2013.
What You Missed
Voice-over narration by Jean-Baptiste Phou (in the English-language version) tells Panh's story. It starts with tableaux of Phnom Penh in the early '70s — a lively city where young Panh, whose father teaches school, visits film studios and marvels at the beautiful actresses.
On April 17, 1975, the communist revolutionaries take the city. They herd the urban dwellers onto transports and bring them to the countryside, leaving the city a wasteland. They take their possessions and dye their clothes black. They force them to abandon modernity and work the land on starvation rations. They take away pens and eyeglasses. They control every aspect of their lives.
Tags: missing picture , rithy panh , Movies you missed , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 4, 2014
This week in movies you missed: Last Thanksgiving saw the release of a film directed by Spike Lee and starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Samuel L. Jackson. Almost nobody saw it. I find out why.
To be honest, I already knew why this movie wasn't a good fit for a post-turkey family trip to the movies. And if you saw the original Oldboy (2003), a cult film from Korean director Chan-wook Park, so do you. The question is, is Lee's Oldboy really as bad a film as its dual status as unnecessary remake and box-office bomb might suggest?
What You Missed
Joe Doucett (Brolin) is an asshole. Everybody hates him, from his boss to his business clients to his ex-wife, who can't believe he doesn't care enough to show up for his daughter's third birthday. On this day, somebody does something about it.
Joe passes out drunk and wakes in a hotel room with a locked door and barred windows. Each day his invisible captors feed him vodka and Chinese dumplings. The television informs him that his ex-wife has been brutally murdered and he is the prime suspect.
Why You Missed It
Oldboy reached 583 U.S. theaters — none in Vermont — and ended up grossing about $4.9 million worldwide. Its production budget was $30 million. The property had originally been optioned by Steven Spielberg, and Will Smith had expressed interest in playing the lead role.
Oldboy is now on Netflix and Amazon Instant.
Tags: oldboy , spike lee , chan-wook park , josh brolin , Movies you missed , Image , Video , Web Only
Friday, June 20, 2014
This week in movies you missed: Let's take a break in the south of France, where a three-week summer vacation is considered "short." Let's soak up the sun glinting from the waters of a gorgeous lake and — wait, why is everybody on this beach a naked dude? What's that sound coming from the bushes? And what's that happening out there in the water — could it be a murder?
What You Missed
Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) is a young vegetable seller who frequents a beach known as a cruising spot. He has his eye on Michel (Christophe Paou), a handsome bruiser with facial hair, but Michel's possessive boyfriend makes sure he keeps his distance.
So, instead, Franck finds himself spending his time by the lake with Henri (Patrick d'Assumçao), a pudgy, middle-aged logger who just ended a relationship with a woman. Henri declares himself interested only in friendship, saying he's weary of letting sexual desire consume his life.
One day, as Franck watches from the woods, Michel drowns his lover in the lake. There are no other witnesses. He doesn't go to the police.
And the next day, when Michel approaches him with an invitation, Franck says yes.
Tags: stranger by the lake , alain guiraudie , Movies you missed , Image , Web Only
Saturday, June 14, 2014
This week in movies you missed: Sometimes in the summer, you just wanna watch something languid, gorgeous and trippy. Something with a weird title. Who cares if you "understand" it? Go with the flow!
So I checked out the 2010 Cannes Palme d'Or winner, a newish arrival on Netflix Instant. This art film from director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Syndromes and a Century), shot in his native northern Thailand, has provoked lots of online commentary. Some wags reportedly refer to it as "Uncle Bong Hit."
What You Missed
Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar) is slowly dying of kidney failure. He invites his city-dwelling sister-in-law, Jen (Jenjira Pongpas), to his remote farm, where he grows tamarinds and keeps bees, and asks her to take over the place after his death.
So far, so normal. But then, one night while Boonmee and Jen are having dinner, the ghost of Boonmee's wife (Natthakarn Aphaiwonk) shows up. With her comes their son, Boonsong (Geerasak Kulhong), also deceased, who appears covered with hair, Chewbacca-style, with glowing red eyes. He explains in a matter-of-fact manner that he followed a "ghost monkey" into the jungle, mated with her and became one of her kind.
It's a pretty mellow family reunion, all things considered. In the following days, Boonmee continues to contemplate imminent death, which he says makes him feel excited, like the prospect of giving a presentation the next day. He does not recall his past lives or ever discuss doing so.
Unless that's what's happening in the out-of-nowhere sequence with the princess and the catfish sex — well, you'll just have to watch it and decide for yourself.
Why You Missed It
Do I really need to tell you why this film didn't get a wide release in fly-over country? It reached six U.S. theaters and is now available on DVD/Blu-ray and for streaming practically everywhere.
Tags: uncle boonmee who can recall his past lives , Apichatpong Weerasethakul , Movies you missed , Image , Web Only
Friday, June 6, 2014
This week in movies you missed: This time, for a change, I’m previewing a movie you don’t have to miss. Hank and Asha will play this Friday, June 6, through Thursday, June 12, at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury — a great resource for art-house fare up north. More info here.
Full disclosure: I heard about Hank and Asha from my coworker, staff writer Ethan de Seife, who knows the filmmakers. If you look closely, you’ll see him in a restaurant scene!
What You Missed
Asha (Mahira Kakkar) is an Indian studying film in Prague. When she sees a documentary by New York director Hank (Andrew Pastides) at a festival, she has questions — but he doesn’t show up for the Q&A, so Asha sends him a video letter. He responds in kind, and we watch their relationship evolve as they continue to correspond in this format over several months.
The two young artists open up about their work (he’s a PA for a reality show), their families and past relationships, their hopes for the future. When Asha says she longs to see Paris, Hank sends her a ticket — to meet him there. That’s when things get less light-hearted, because Asha hasn’t told him everything about herself.
Tags: hank and asha , james e. duff , mahira kakkar , andrew pastides , Movies you missed , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 30, 2014
This week in movies you missed: Last December, Uganda’s parliament passed an act that makes “aggravated homosexuality” punishable with life imprisonment. Since then, according to a group called Sexual Minorities Uganda, violence against the gay community has increased tenfold. In April, the Ugandan government raided an AIDS treatment program on the grounds that its real mission was “training youth in homosexuality.”
Being gay has never been easy in Uganda, but where did the recent groundswell of fear and hatred come from? This 2013 documentary from Roger Ross Williams argues that it started with American evangelicals who view this predominantly Christian African nation as the perfect place to put their fundamentalist beliefs in practice.
What You Missed
In Missouri, at the HQ of a Pentecostal mission called the International House of Prayer (yes, IHOP), a group of fresh-faced young people prepare for their upcoming trip to Uganda. They talk about helping orphans and preaching a gospel of love.
Meanwhile, in Uganda, the streets are dotted with signs exhorting citizens to “Stay a Virgin” and pray away the gay. Native missionaries stop cars and hand out leaflets. A popular, well-funded minister preaches against homosexuality, and a member of parliament proposes a law that would make it punishable by death. A tabloid ironically called Rolling Stone prints photos of known or suspected gay people under the words “Hang Them.”
Tags: god loves uganda , call me kuchu , david kato , roger ross williams , Movies you missed , Image , Video , Web Only
Friday, May 23, 2014
This week in movies you missed: Call this the Summer of Cheaper Blockbuster Substitutes. Last week I watched Monsters, the cheaper version of Godzilla. This week I check out the under-$10-million version of Gravity. Is a bigger budget always better?
What You Missed
In the near future, a private company sends a spacecraft with six astronauts to Jupiter's moon Europa, which may hide a life-supporting ocean beneath its coating of ice. (This could actually happen, with NASA in charge.)
Six months along on their lonely voyage, the astronauts lose their communication line with Earth. When they try to repair it, disaster ensues. As a result, humanity has been in the dark about the Europa mission's outcome — until now, we're told.
The found-footage film poses as a documentary exposé, presenting footage from the ship (and outside the ship, and the crew's helmets) along with talking-head commentary from the scientists who designed the mission, played by Embeth Davidtz, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and, bizarrely, comedian Dan Fogler. We know early on that one crew member has been killed — but not how, or what happened next, or whether anyone survived.
Tags: Movies you missed , europa report , sebastian cordero , gravity , prometheus , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 16, 2014
This week in movies you missed: This weekend brings us Warner Bros.' new $160 million version of Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards. Who's Gareth Edwards, you may be wondering, and what makes him big enough to snag the job of rebooting the big guy?
Answer: He made a movie called Monsters (2010) for reportedly less than $500,000, with a crew of seven and special effects he created with off-the-shelf software in his bedroom.
What You Missed
In 2011, NASA discovered evidence of nearby extraterrestrial life and sent out a probe. On the way back to Earth, the craft crashed in northern Mexico. Result: Six years later, part of the country is occupied by giant, glowy flying squids. (That's what they look like, anyway.)
Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) is a photojournalist who haunts the edges of Mexico's quarantined Infected Zone, looking for photo ops of children killed by alien attacks. Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able), his boss' daughter, has been injured while vacationing in Mexico, so Andrew is enlisted (with threats of imminent job loss) to bring her safely home.
This involves traveling to the very verge of the Infected Zone, where a mishap deprives the pair of their passports. Their only way home is through the quarantined area and over the massive wall that the U.S. has built to keep flying squids from infringing on its territory. (Are you catching the political implications yet?)
Why You Missed It
Monsters reached 25 U.S. theaters. It's now on DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime.
Tags: monsters , godzilla , gareth edwards , scoot mcnairy , Movies you missed , Image , Web Only