Holiday edition!
Opening this weekend...
THE SPIRIT, written and directed by Frank Miller
Premise: A rookie cop returns from the dead to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His main opposition is a former lab technician who has reinvented himself as The Octopus, an elusive criminal mastermind who knows the secrets behind his nemesis.
Playing: Everywhere.
Anyone remember when Frank Miller was a visionary comic book artist/writer? I miss that Frank Miller.
VALKYRIE, written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, dir. by Bryan Singer
Premise: Near the end of WWII, Claus von Stauffenberg leads to group of fellow German army colonels in an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler; the event would later be called the July 20 Plot of 1944.
Playing: All over.
All I can think about when I see the trailer for this one is that I already know how it's going to end. I love historical films, but even more so if I don't know the ultimate outcome right off the bat. And, eh, I'm sure I'll be netflixing this one once it's out. Until then I'm counting on Onyx to see this one and give us his review.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, written by Eric Roth, dir. by David Fincher
Premise: Benjamin Button was born under unusual circumstances. As everyone around him grew older, he aged backwards, making the challenges of life such as creating friendships, finding a job and falling in love all the more difficult and heartbreaking.
Playing: All over.
Cake Man caught this movie a couple weeks ago - you can check out his review here.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, written by Justin Haythe, dir. by Sam Mendes
Premise: A young couple raising a family in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s look to break free from their frustratingly mediocre lives.
Playing: All over.
Those Titanic kids are back at it again... but, really, could there be a less-interesting logline than the one they're giving us?
THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN, written and directed by Abdel Kechiche
Premise: At the port of Sète Mr. Slimani, a tired sixty year old, drags himself towards a shipyard job which has become more and more difficult to cope with as the years go by. He is a divorced father who forces himself to stay close to his family despite the scissions and tensions which are easily sparked off and which financial difficulties make even more intense. He is going through a delicate period in his life and recently, everything seems to make him feel useless; a failure. He wants to escape from it all and set up his own restaurant. However it appears to be an unreachable dream given his meagre, irregular salary which is not anywhere near enough to supply what he needs to realise his ambition. But he can still dream and talk about it with his family in particular. A family which gradually recompacts around this project which comes to symbolise the means to a better life. Thanks to their ingeniousness and hard work this dream soon becomes a reality... Or almost...
Playing: IFC Center
Can't really say I've read or heard much about this one at all - Time Out New York's rave review is the first I remember. I'm intrigued - if it's still playing when I get back to NYC I'll give it a shot.
WALTZ WITH BASHIR, written and directed by Ari Folman
Premise: By meeting and interviewing old friends from around the world, Ari, a former member of the Israeli Army, retraces his spotty personal history to a life-changing incident that occurred during his country's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
Playing at: Lincoln Plaza, Landmark Sunshine
I usually avoid putting documentaries up here (y'know, trying to focus on the writers and all) but this one is too interesting to be missed. I didn't manage to catch it when it was part of the NYFF, so I'm glad I'll get a second chance to see it now.
What are you doing/seeing this weekend?
1 comment:
I definitely want to see Waltz With Bashir and will probably do so that first weekend back. I've actually heard many good things about Valkyrie, so maybe I'll duck into it at some point.
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