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Click on the title for details. |
SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 2, 2006
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SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 2, 2006 |
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AFTER FREEDOM (dir: Vahe Babaian, Not Rated) – This heartfelt drama tells the story of an Armenian-American man and the difficulty he faces in straddling two cultures. Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan, as well as Wim Wenders, sing its praises. |
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BE WITH ME (dir: Eric Khoo, Not Rated) – Love, hope, tragedy and other stuff like that are woven into an intertwining tapestry of stories held together by a deaf and blind woman in this hypnotic drama from Singapore, which also happens to be this month’s Film Movement selection. | |||
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BEOWULF & GRENDEL (dir: Sturla Gunnarsson, R) – Filmed against the stunning backdrop of Iceland, director Sturla Gunnarsson vividly brings to life the epic poem that everyone labored through in junior high. |
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THE CLAY BIRD (dir: Tareque Masud, Not Rated) – A young boy is sent to a religious boarding school as Pakistan teeters on the edge of civil war in the 1960s. This insta-classic splendidly evokes CHILDREN OF HEAVEN and THE COLOR OF PARADISE with its gentle depiction of young lives in the Muslim world. | |||
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CURIOUS GEORGE (dir: Matthew O’Callaghan, G) – Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore lend their vocal talents to this adaptation of the beloved children’s books. And hippie loser Jack Johnson lends a bunch of teeth-grindingly awful songs. |
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^DOWN IN THE VALLEY (dir: David Jacobson, R) – Even a cast including Edward Norton, David Morse, Evan Rachel Wood and Bruce Dern can’t ignite this lackluster cowboy noir set in contemporary Los Angeles. Norton plays Harlan, a charismatic and potentially dangerous drifter who stirs up trouble when he begins romancing a rebellious teenage girl. | |||
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DROP DEAD SEXY (dir: Michael Philip, R) –It’s actually kind of a maverick move to rip off WEEKEND AT BERNIES and cast Crispin Glover and Jason Lee in it. |
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THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT (dir: Justin Lin, PG-13) – Paul Walker and Los Angeles are out, Lucas Black and Tokyo are in. I’m sure the kids will enjoy this but, be warned, it’s rated PG-13 for “reckless and illegal behavior.” | |||
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KILL YOUR IDOLS (dir: Scott Crary, Not Rated) – All your favorite New York art-punk scenesters, from Sonic Youth to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, show up for this celebration of some of rock history’s most cutting edge and unlistenable music. |
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LA TROPICAL (dir: David Turnley, Not Rated) – Award winning photo-journalist David Turnley ventures into one of Havana’s barrios to record the all-night celebration that occurs when working-class Cubans gather to dance to the country’s most exciting music. | |||
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LADY VENGEANCE (dir: Park Chan-Wook, R) – Followers of ultra-violence will be psyched to know that the third installment in Park Chan-Wook’s Revenge trilogy is available and apparently makes OLDBOY and SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE look like a walk in the park. |
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THE LAKE HOUSE (dir: Alejandro Agresti, PG) – In the reunion no one has been waiting for, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock re-team and share a romance that must endure such problems as his silly voice, her annoying face and, oh yeah, the fact that they exist in different spacial dimensions and must use a magic time-traveling mailbox to communicate with one another. If this movie exists, which apparently it does, and some Hollywood scummers spent, oh , fifty million bucks to make it, which they apparently did, does that mean the terrorists have already won? | |||
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LAST DISPATCH (dir: Helmut Schleppi, Not Rated) – This documentary chronicles the farewell concert of Boston band Dispatch, a band with a huge underground following that never signed to a label. Imagine a punk rock THE LAST WALTZ and you’ve got it. |
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MEET THE FAMILY (dir: Stan Lerner, R) – It’s MEET THE PARENTS if you substitute Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro with African-Americans. What took so long? | |||
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THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE (dir: Mary Harron, R) – Mary Harron, the cool director of I SHOT ANDY WARHOL and AMERICAN PSYCHO helms this bio-pic of the legendary pin-up idol of the 1950s. Expect nudity! |
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RUSSIAN DOLLS (dir: Cedric Klapisch, Not Rated) – See whatever happened to Xavier from L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE in this sequel set five years later in Paris. And fear not AMELIE fans, Audrey Tautou is back as well. | |||
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*SPACEMAN: A BASEBALL ODYSSEY (dir: Brett Rapkin, Not Rated) – Outspoken and eccentric former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee always got as much attention for his antics off-field as he did for his strikeouts. He remains one of the most popular Boston players in history and this documentary captures his spirit splendidly. |
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WINDY CITY HEAT (dir: Bobcat Goldthwait, Not Rated) – My two most trusted news sources, The Onion and Vice, both declare this to be the funniest thing they’ve seen in years. It’s purportedly an elaborate practical joke played on a delusional actor who thinks he’s won the role of a lifetime. In actuality, the joke may be on the viewer. | |||
| * = Greg's pick of the week ^ = Bart's pick of the week | ||||||