The Hunt (Jagten)

The consequences of gossip and lies can be devastating.

(2012) Drama (Magnolia) Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkoop, Lasse Fogelstrom, Susse Wold, Anne Louise Hassing, Lars Ranthe, Alexandra Rapaport, Ole Dupont, Rikke Bergmann, Allan Wilbor Christensen, Josefine Grabol, Daniel Engstrup, Katrine Brygmann, Hana Shuan, Oyvind Hagen-Traberg, Nicolai Dahl Hamilton. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg   

Western culture has this tendency to idealize children. In our eyes they are truthful little angels, incapable of lying. Well, any parent will tell you that they do lie, through their teeth at times. Sometimes, well-meaning adults  can push children into saying what they think those adults want to hear. We are defenseless against the word of a child.

Lucas (Mikkelsen) is working as a kindergarten assistant in a small town in Denmark (the school he previously taught at has been shut down). Divorced and regularly denied visitation rights with his son, he is nonetheless well-liked and well-regarded in his community in which he has deep long-standing ties. His best friend, Theo (Larsen) has been known to drink himself insensible in Lucas’ company, always relying on Lucas to get him home to his wryly understanding wife Grethe (Wold).

Theo’s daughter Klara (Wedderkoop), an angelic blonde little girl, adores Lucas…maybe too much. One afternoon when Lucas is rough housing with some of the boys, Klara rushes in and plants a rather adult kiss on his open mouth. Taken aback, Lucas admonishes her never to do that, and promptly forgets about the incident.

Klara doesn’t however. Humiliated, she sulks. Principal Agnes (Hassing) finds her and quickly realizes that something’s wrong but she misinterprets and assumes that the reason she’s upset with Lucas is because he touched her inappropriately. She calls in a child services advocate (Dupont) who questions Klara. Klara, eager to be on the playground with her friends and tired of the incessant questioning, finally agrees that is what happened to her.

Lucas finds himself in the middle of a storm that he didn’t see coming. His denials are met with anger – Klara is a child not known for lying, why would she lie about this? He is quickly ostracized by the community, by people he knows well who suddenly see him as a child molester and a pervert. Theo is torn – he can’t believe that Lucas would do such a thing but Grethe has no such qualms. Of course he did – her angel said so and when Klara, seeing the rift developing between her parents and Lucas exclaims that he never did anything wrong, Grethe is sure that she is blocking out an unpleasant memory and tells her daughter so firmly that Klara believes her. And now other kids are coming forward, claiming Lucas took them into his basement and fondled them.

Even Lucas’ girlfriend Nadja (Rapaport) has some doubts about his innocence which causes the enraged Lucas to dump her. Worse still, his visitation rights to his son Marcus (Fogelstrom) are suspended. Rocks are thrown through his window. Klara however doesn’t see the enormity of what’s happened – she shows up at Lucas’ door to walk his dog, something he would normally allow her to do but he gently shoos her back home.

Lucas is shown the uglier side of those he has known all his life as despite there being no evidence of any wrongdoing other than the word of Klara (the other stories are discredited when it is discovered by the police that Lucas’ house has no basement). As Christmas comes, Lucas is completely alone, ostracized and subject to being assaulted when he shows his face in a local grocery store.

Vinterberg, known as one of the founders of the Dogme95 movement of minimalist filmmaking with his masterpiece (to this point) Feste has crafted a movie that surpasses even that fine film. I can’t remember a movie in which I felt so emotionally drained after having sat through – some might consider the act of watching it a bit of an ordeal.

But it’s a good kind of ordeal, the kind that reminds us how ephemeral those ties that bind can be and how quickly our whole life can be turned inside out. Part of what draws us into this story is Mikkelsen’s outstanding performance. If this were a studio film (and I defy you to find a Hollywood studio with the guts to release a movie this harrowing) he’d be a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination come February. Because this is being distributed by Magnolia – a fine distributor of indie and foreign films, mind you – chances are it won’t get the notice and the push needed to get him the votes needed to get him on the ballot. Rest assured however that Mikkelsen’s work is as good as anything  you’ll see on the final ballot. It’s searing; Lucas is basically a quiet, good man trying to pull his life back together after a rough patch who is suddenly thrust into a situation that makes everything he went through previously look like a walk in the park. When things go South, Lucas reacts at first with incredulity then with denial and then with rage before finally going into a kind of shock.

The photography is simply exquisite as the bucolic Danish town, covered in snow or shining in the late summer/early autumn sun looks idyllic on the surface but like often happens, the rot is just below the surface. There is a scene near the end of the movie where Lucas stumbles into a Christmas Eve service where he is clearly not wanted. His face bruised and bloodied from a beating earlier that day, he sits in a pew, receiving disapproving glares from those around him. Nearby sits Theo and is family and Theo and he lock eyes several times. Theo gradually realizes that his friend is innocent – because he knows his friend and he sees the truth in his eyes. It’s a powerful scene and one that resonated with me long after the movie ended. I would recommend seeing the movie just for that scene alone.

Fortunately, there’s a lot more going for it than just that scene. Frankly, this is a movie that is as good as anything you’ll see this year. If there’s one flaw, it’s that the intensity might be too much for some. Still, if you are not emotionally fragile, this is the kind of movie that will lift you by the scruff of the neck and force you to see something of yourself whether you want to face it or not. To me, that’s a movie that’s worth its weight in gold.

REASONS TO GO: Emotionally wrenching. Amazing performance by Mikkelsen who should get Oscar consideration for it (but won’t).

REASONS TO STAY: Some people might be uncomfortable with the themes.

FAMILY VALUES:  Very, very, very adult themes. Some violence, some bad language and some sexuality. Definitely not for kids of all ages.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Mikkelsen won the Best Actor award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival for his role here

CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/26/13: Rotten Tomatoes: 91% positive reviews. Metacritic: 80/100; it’s still early yet but the critics appear to be embracing this film.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Scarlet Letter

FINAL RATING: 9.5/10

NEXT: Offshoring Part 2

The ABCs of Death

You really don’t want to know what F stands for.

(2012) Horror Anthology (Magnet) Ingrid Bolsø Berdal (voice), Erik Aude, Kyra Zagorsky, Ivan Gonzalez, Dallas Malloy, Sarah Bonrepaux, Lee Hardcastle, Fraser Corbett, Peter Pedrero, Darenzia, Arisa Nakamura, Hiroko Yashiki, Lucy Clements, Match, Yuri Murata, Je$$ica, Harold Torres, Mattias Oviedo, Alejandra Urdlain, Takashi Nishina, Chems Dahmani, Vanja Lazin. Directed by a bunch of people.  

Horror movies are undergoing a quiet renaissance with an underground that is active and imaginative. While many of these movies aren’t getting theatrical releases, with the advent of YouTube, VOD and other means of putting movies out there, we’re seeing some really good stuff not just here in America but from all over the world.

Tim League, founder of Fantastic Fest, America’s premier genre film festival, wants these talents to see the light of day. Along with co-producer Ant Timpson (a Kiwi whose Incredibly Strange Film Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious) he came up with a concept – assign 26 of the world’s most exciting up-and-coming horror film directors a letter of the alphabet and have them make a short film relating a word starting with that letter to death and then with all 26 shown as a single film.

Like all anthologies, the quality varies and with this many shorts (most of which last less than 5 minutes) there is a wide variety of styles and content. Some are more comic than horrific, some taking on a combination of the two. Many are attempts to push the boundaries, not only of gore but of good taste. Some are intriguing, some are innovative, some are repulsive and some are mediocre. Most people will find at least one of the shorts to be outstanding.

There were some that were just plain horrific in an old-fashioned sense -  A is for Apocalypse is, for example, from Nacho Vigolando (of Timecrimes and Extraterrestrial) in which a savage murder is turned into an act of mercy. One of my favorites was T is for Toilet in which an overly skittish young man who has an irrational fear of toilets (a fear which turned out to be justified) done in Claymation – the director, Lee Hardcastle, actually won the 26th spot on the roster in a contest.

Xavier Gens, the French director who helmed The Divide has one of the more straightforward shorts in the bunch.  In X is for XXL, a tormented overweight French woman decides to take matters into her own hands and reinvent herself to be more in line with the aesthetic of beauty that French models ascribe to. Take from that what you will.

There is also much humor. J is for Jidai-Geki (Samurai Film) from Japanese director Yudai Yamaguchi has a samurai about to deliver the coup de grace for a samurai committing hara-kiri unable to keep a straight face because of the faces his charge is making. Q is for Quack has Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die) and Simon Barrett commiserating over the disrespect afforded them by being assigned the letter Q and at their billing  in the credits. They concoct a brilliant way to make their segment stand out – then screw it up about as badly as it can be.

There are some surreal segments such as O is for Orgasm and W is for WTF. There is the animated K is for Klutz and the Russ Meyers tribute S is for Speed. I could go on and on but I don’t think it necessary to go over all 26 entries. You get the drift.

There’s enough good stuff to outweigh the bad by a pretty decent margin, so I can recommend this for most horror fans and even those mainstream moviegoers who don’t mind having their boundaries pushed a bit. This isn’t for the faint of heart, the squeamish or the easily offended. Who it is for are those who are looking for something a bit out of the norm and have an open mind about movies. I recommend bringing along someone with a big booming belly laugh. There was a guy like that at my screening of the film and it helps immensely.

REASONS TO GO: Some big laughs and some big scares. Pushes some boundaries and offers examples of what’s going on in the horror underground around the world.

REASONS TO STAY: Uneven – some of the segments are less successful than others. Too much toilet humor.

FAMILY VALUES:  Crude humor, graphic nudity and gore, foul language, violence, disturbing images and themes, drug use and a partridge in a pear tree.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Ant Timpson and Tim Teague, producers of the film, are best known for running the Incredibly Strange Film Festival and Fantastic Fest respectively; Teague is also CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse chain of theaters.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/21/13: Rotten Tomatoes: 39% positive reviews. Metacritic: 44/100; critics really didn’t get on board for this one.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: V/H/S

FINAL RATING: 7/10

NEXT: I Declare War

New Releases for the Week of April 19, 2013

OBLIVION

(Universal) Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo, Zoe Bell. Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Earth is recovering from an alien invasion and no, I’m not talking about migrant lettuce pickers. I’m talking about the bug-eyed outer space rectal probing sorts and these specific aliens have been driven off but at a steep cost – the planet is essentially uninhabitable now. Drones are mining the last of the planet’s resources so humanity can make a new beginning. One of the last drone repairmen is doing some routine maintenance when he stumbles onto a secret that will force him to re-evaluate everything he knows and put the fate of humanity squarely in his hands. From the director of TRON: Legacy.

See the trailer, clips, featurettes and a promo here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard, IMAX

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: PG-13 (for sci-fi action violence, brief strong language and some sensuality/nudity)

The ABCs of Death

(Magnet) Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Fraser Corbett, Hiroko Yashiki, Dallas Malloy. 26 of horror’s top young directors have directed segments involving horrific ways to die, one for each letter of the alphabet. The directors hail from all around the world and a wide variety of styles; there’s something to satisfy every one’s taste in horror. However be warned that while this is unrated, judging from what I’ve heard about the film it would have been slapped with an NC-17 had it been submitted to the ratings board.

See the trailer and a promo here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Horror

Rating: NR  

Ek Thi Dayaan

(ALT Entertainment) Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Huma Qureshi, Kalki Koechlin. A popular stage magician is haunted by an Indian witch.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Bollywood Horror

Rating: NR  

Home Run

(Goldwyn/Provident) Scott Elrod, Dorian Brown, Vivica A. Fox, Nicole Leigh. After a DUI conviction temporarily derails a major league baseball player’s career, he is sent home to coach a youth baseball team and enter a recovery program. While there he tries to woo the girl he left behind and rediscovers not only his love for baseball but his faith in God as well.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Faith-Based Sports Drama

Rating: PG-13 (for some mature thematic material)

Lords of Salem

(Anchor Bay) Sherri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davidson, Meg Foster, Dee Wallace. A DJ living in Salem, Massachusetts – site of the infamous witch trials – gets a record in a mysterious wooden box. When she listens to the disc, she has flashbacks to the town’s violent past. She begins to doubt her own sanity, but if she isn’t insane, could there be powers acting to exact revenge on Salem from beyond the grave?

See the trailer and clips here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Drama

Rating: R (for disturbing violent and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some drug use) 

Lore

(Music Box) Saskia Rosendahl, Kai Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi. At the end of World War II, the staunch Nazi parents of five children are taken into custody. The kids, led by the eldest sister at 14 years old, must undertake a perilous journey across a war-ravaged Germany to reach their grandmother in the North. This movie played the Florida Film Festival last week.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Period War Drama

Rating: NR  

Starbuck

(EntertainmentOne) Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand, Dominic Philie. A slacker trying to prove to his girlfriend that he’s worthy of being a good dad to the baby she’s pregnant with discovers that due to a clerical error, the sperm he donated for money back in the day has been used to create over 500 babies. This movie also played the Florida Film Festival last week; you can read my review of it here.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Comedy

Rating: R (for sexual content, language and some drug material)

2013 Florida Film Festival

Although there are a few more films yet to be screened as I write this, at last for me the Florida Film Festival has come to an end for another year and in all honesty I have to admit that this one from my standpoint was the most successful one yet. Although I have enjoyed every one I’ve been to thus far, at this one I had more fun, met more new friends and saw more great movies than ever. There were several that took me by surprise (i.e. I Declare War, Magical Universe both of which have reviews pending) as well as a few that were as good as any films we’ve seen at the festival (Forgotten Kingdom, This is Where We Live).

We got to meet Tippi Hedren, star of The Birds and who is appearing in Free Samples and at 83 years old she’s as beautiful and alluring as women half her age, as well as Cary Elwes, star of The Princess Bride who was as gracious and as charming as any star I’ve met. I also got to hobnob with indie filmmakers ranging from Oscar winner Bill Plympton to newcomers Marc Menchaca, Jeremy Workman and Joe York. All of them have terrific careers ahead of them.

So it is with some bittersweet feelings that I write this closing piece on the Festival. Work will begin shortly on the 23rd FFF for 2014. Still, as the army of volunteers heads home and the staffers at the Enzian take down the decorations, the tents, the tables and the posters, those of us who attended can applaud the hard work of all those who put the Festival together and kept it running smoothly. Special thanks to Enzian press relations queen Jennifer Guhl, box office manager Adam Kelley, program director Matthew Curtis, Enzian president Henry Maldonado, projectionist and general tech guy Joshua Martin, and the box officers, servers, bartenders, ticket takers and line managers that kept a smile on their face and a can-do attitude despite near universal exhaustion on all their parts. I’d like to particularly single out Adam Smith, Danielle Best, Will Reddy, Mark Yancey, Christina Lucero and Anna Wallace for making my experience even better through their unfailing good humor, willingness to assist an occasionally grumpy press guy and to do that hoodoo that they do so well.

I honestly hope you made it to this year’s festival. If not, do make plans to go next year. I know it’s a bit of a gamble going to movies you know nothing about, but the producers of the Festival take a lot of the worry out of it – the movies they pick for the festival are really, really good and there were so many of them that I couldn’t fit them all in during the run of the festival so for the next few weeks you’ll be seeing more festival film reviews even though the actual festival is over – and those I didn’t see will still proudly bear the Festival logo when I do get around to seeing and reviewing them.

So once again a very heartfelt thanks go to everyone involved with the 2013 Florida film festival, and congratulations are due all of them for an extraordinary job well done. Believe me, every sleepless night, every tired and aching muscle, every minor panic attack was worth it for all the joy you brought to the festival goers and the exceptional reflection you all were on Central Florida. I’ll be seeing you at the next one.

Pride & Joy

 

Nothing says Southern cooking better than barbecue and few do barbecue better than Helen Sanders.

(2012) Documentary (Southern Foodways Alliance) Will Harris, Dori Sanders, Rodney Scott, Lee Ross, Kendall Schoelles, Thomas Stewart, Julian van Winkle, Ben Lanier, Allan Benton, Bill Best, Geno Lee, Rhoda Adams, Leah Chase, Martha Hawkins, Ida Mamusu, Earl Cruze, Helen Turner, Bernard Colleton, Red Coleman, Sam Jones, Bruce Jones, Gerald Lemoine, Ronnie Durand. Directed by Joe York 

Southern cuisine is much more than pork rinds, barbecue and deep fried. The South has always gotten a bit of a bad rap when it comes to food until the last decade or two when chefs have begun to discover that there is an abundance of fresh ingredients, delicious cooking that takes its cues from all over the world. Celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse, John Besh, Art Smith, Norm van Aiken and of course Paula Deen have been enthusiastic ambassadors for Southern cooking over the past decade and some of the best restaurants in the world come from the South.

But Southern cooking isn’t all about celebrity chefs. There are literally thousands of food producers who take great pride in bringing to market the finest of ingredients, the most delicious of finished products. Some are the latest in generations of people who have done the same thing, some preserving the timeless traditions of taking the time to do things right.

The Southern Foodways Alliance has been dedicated to preserving Southern food traditions and publicizing the best of the best – those who produce beautiful Georgia peaches, grass-fed beef, gulf oysters, sweet Tupelo honey, flavorful smoked Virginia hams, gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, potent Kentucky bourbon and of course the best barbecue there is. Some of these are sold directly to the public while others are available only through suppliers.

York, acting on behalf of the SFA and the University of Mississippi Documentary program has been traveling throughout the South from New Orleans to Memphis, from Georgia to Virginia and all points in between – not just sampling the ample variety of food but documenting it on a series of shorts that celebrate the passions of these producers – from oyster shuckers to caviar farmers to orchard owners to bourbon distillers to beekeepers to barbecue pit masters – who not only cook the food but those who produce the ingredients.

He’s gathered some of these shorts as well as several new ones in a feature length documentary that not only celebrates the food but those behind it as well. We get to see people who love the land and its bounty, some of them quirky (grass-fed beef producer Will Harris likes to end his day with a “700ml glass of wine”), some of them completely passionate (like Tupelo honey producer Ben Lanier who waxes rhapsodic over the superiority of his brand of honey) and some of them who are philosophical (peach grower Dori Sanders on how food “speaks to you” and tells you something about who you are). Not a one of these shorts are boring and every one of them will not only give you a different outlook on food and eating but will make you downright hungry in the process.

You get a sense of the modern South here, from rural South Carolina to metropolitan New Orleans. The beauty of the green pastures where cattle graze in the late afternoon sun – far from the steroid-injected factory farm cattle who live in stalls fed on corn and chemicals meant to create a greater meat yield – gives you a sense of why these people love the land they tend and love what they do. These are people I wouldn’t mind spending an hour or two just chatting about their products and about their lives, sitting on the porch with a cold frosty beverage or perhaps enjoying the fruits of their labors. Sadly, we only get five minutes or so with each one – I could certainly have enjoyed longer chats with each and every one of these people. That’s the mark of a great documentary.

Incidentally, you can see the shorts at the Southern Foodways alliance website here and to find out where you can get the products shown in the film go to the movie’s website by clicking on the picture above.

REASONS TO GO: Each segment is fascinating and there isn’t one I didn’t wish had lasted longer.

REASONS TO STAY: You’ll be real hungry by the time this is over.

FAMILY VALUES:  There are some animal carcasses that might upset the very impressionable young or militant vegetarians.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Much of the transportation was done through a Ford Taurus station wagon, affectionately nicknamed the “Schwagon” which York drove to the various locations throughout the South. The Schwagon was retired with honors shortly before the film was completed.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/12/13: Rotten Tomatoes: no score yet. Metacritic: no score yet; the film is mostly on the festival circuit and at one-off screenings throughout the Southeast; PBS will be airing it sometime in the fall.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: Food Finds

FINAL RATING: 7.5/10

NEXT: Year of the Living Dead and more coverage of the 2013 Florida Film Festival!

This is Where We Live

Just a couple of good ol’ boys hanging out in the Texas Hill Country.

(2013) Drama (Bluff City) Tobias Segal, Marc Menchaca, Barry Corbin, Frankie Shaw, C.K. McFarland, Ron Hayden, Katherine Willis, Marco Perella, Brent Smiga, Brian Orr, Christine Bruno, Carolyn Gilroy. Directed by Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca

 

Real life isn’t anything like the movies; you don’t need me to tell you that. Sure, sometimes there’s a resemblance but most of the time we just kind of trudge our way through. There’s nothing really heroic about it from our own perspectives. Others however might disagree.

Some might see Diane Sutton (McFarland) as a heroine although I doubt she’d agree. The Suttons of Llano, Texas (up in the Hill Country for those looking to visit) have had it rough. If bad breaks were an art form, Diane would be Picasso. Her adult so August (Segal) has Cerebral Palsy in one of its most severe forms. Her husband Bob (Hayden) is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s-like dementia. Her daughter Lainey (Shaw) has an attitude the size of Texas and seems bitter at the lot life has given her. On top of it Diane’s blood pressure is high and her doctor (Perella) advises her to slow down, eat better and stop lifting heavy objects.

Yeah, right. Not on this planet. Nobody else possesses the strength and the cognition to move August from his wheelchair to bed (or to the shower or to the toilet). Even getting him out of the house is a chore of brute strength as Diane has to carefully maneuver him down the stairs. And she is the breadwinner, stocking shelves at a local grocery store. To say she’s tuckered out is an understatement.

At last she hires a handyman to build a wheelchair ramp for their home. Noah (Menchaca) is a hard drinking good ol’ boy who bears an eerie resemblance to Walker, Texas Ranger-era Chuck Norris (a fact which amuses Bob no end). He also has some demons of his own but he has a kind heart and August and he get along famously. Diane observes this and with the kind of hope that can only come from a woman used to being disappointed by life, she asks him if he can help out watching August.

To her surprise, he says yes. Noah becomes a caretaker for August who seems pretty amped to have a friend. Lainey regards Noah with suspicion and not a little hostility for her part. Noah gradually learns what is required to care for an adult whose mind is perfectly fine but is trapped in a body that prevents him from doing even the most basic things. As Noah gets to know August better, a deep friendship forms between the two.

However, Noah is prone to messing up and when you are caring for another human being, you can’t have too many of those. Noah’s presence has triggered something in each member of the family, as his interaction with them has triggered something in himself. Will their journeys unite them or will this family – in as fragile a state as any family can be in – be torn apart?

This could easily have been a Lifetime Movie about a heroic mom who holds a family beset by illness and tragedy together with the force of her will but Menchaca – who wrote and co-directed this – wisely chose to pass on the treacle and write from the heart with an eye (and ear) for the everyday struggles of working families who more or less have to go it alone in difficult times. The Suttons aren’t saints, nor are they sinners – they’re just folks like you and I, in a nearly intolerable situation and coping the best they can which isn’t always pretty. Sometimes they take out their frustrations out on each other. Sometimes they are unexpectedly tender. At no time are they anything other than authentic.

This is also as Texas a movie as you’re ever going to get. I’m not talking Dallas Cowboys Texas – I’m talking about small town Texas where skipping rocks is about all the entertainment you’re going to get on a dusty afternoon. Rather than turning the townspeople into chainsaw-wielding maniacs, it draws them closer together. They look out for each other and while sometimes they look away when someone makes a fool of themselves, you get a sense that this is a community that is fully aware that all they really have is each other. Cinematographer Ryan Booth captures the lonely desolation that has its own beauty and grandeur from the small town diners to the dusty prairie to the calm before a violent thunderstorm. This is a beautiful film that even those who don’t love Texas will see why many do.

Segal has the most physically demanding role and he handles it about as well as can be expected. His frustration at being unable to communicate is palpable – imagine if you couldn’t speak, had limited movement of your limbs and had to rely on caretakers for everything – even letting them know what your basic needs are can be a challenge, particularly for someone who doesn’t know you well enough to understand that your fingers brought to your mouth means you need to go to the bathroom, not that you’re hungry. It is pivotal that Segal convey that to the audience and he does so nicely

Menchaca also gives a superior performance as Noah. Noah’s a good ol’ boy sure but he’s also damaged, his relationship with his own family shredded and strained if it exists at all. His ghosts are influencing his interactions with the Suttons for better and occasionally for worse. Noah can be violent, particularly when he drinks (which is often) but he can be kind as well. He has empathy for Diane and even for Lainey who treats him shabbily.

McFarland does a magnificent job as well. Diane starts out heroic but as the movie progresses so too does our perception of her. She’s not the saint we first thought she was; there is a selfishness to her as well; she resents Noah’s relationship with August and as she becomes less of his total focus she doesn’t know exactly what to do so she lashes out – at Lainey, at Bob, at Noah and even occasionally at August himself.

The most impressive thing here is that for virtually the entire cast and crew (although veteran actor Barry Corbin is aboard) this is their first feature-length film. This is as mature and as accomplished a film as you’d be likely to find from veteran Hollywood crews as there are – that it comes from a tyro independent team is to say the least encouraging.

This will be playing the festival circuit for awhile. Hopefully a savvy distributor will get hold enough and give it some sort of theatrical release (if not a home video release). This is one of those hidden gems that you’ll want to view more than once, as welcome as a summer storm on a dry dusty molten hot August day in the Texas highlands. For any serious film buff, this is one to seek out. Check their Facebook page regularly (click on the photo above) to see when it’s playing near you and if it is, do what you have to and see it. You’ll be glad you did.

REASONS TO GO: Real people facing a real issue realistically. Each character undertakes a fascinating journey. Beautifully photographed and acted.

REASONS TO STAY: Some moments may be too intense for some.

FAMILY VALUES:  There’s a few bad words here and there, some scenes of child peril, some sexuality and some smoking and drinking.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The Sutton house was actually the home of Menchaca’s football coach who had recently passed away; much of the furniture and fixtures within were original to the house.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/11/13: Rotten Tomatoes: no score yet. Metacritic: no score yet; the movie is just now hitting the festival circuit.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Last Picture Show

FINAL RATING: 9.5/10

NEXT: Pride and Joy and more coverage of the 2013 Florida Film Festival!

New Releases for the Week of April 12, 2013

42

(Warner Brothers) Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Andre Holland, Lucas Black, Hamish Linklater, T.R. Knight. Directed by Brian Helgeland

One of the greatest heroes of the 20th Century was Jackie Robinson, the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman who became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. Most of us are aware of his role in integrating sports but few really understand directly the hardships he faced. Many whites thought he was despoiling the national pastime, some of his teammates included. Hopefully this movie will give us a greater appreciation of his heroism.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Sports Biography

Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements including language)

Ginger and Rosa

(A24) Elle Fanning, Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks, Timothy Spall. Two teenage girls in the London of the swinging ’60s who are the fastest of friends must come to terms with the approach of adulthood, the potential for nuclear war and their own feelings for certain men and boys. When one succumbs to forbidden desires, the other believes that she can only save her friend through saving the world – and sets out to do just that.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Coming of Age Drama

Rating: PG-13 (for mature disturbing thematic material involving teen choices – sexuality, drinking, smoking, and for language) 

No

(Sony Classics) Gael Garcia Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Marcial Tagle. Based on actual events, this tells the story of how when Chilean dictator Agustin Pinochet, facing international pressure, called a referendum on his presidency (which was expected to be a whitewash), opposition leaders recruited an advertising executive to spearhead their campaign. Knowing that a misstep would bring one of the most brutal regimes in history down on their heads, they contrive a clever and imaginative campaign to convince the Chilean people to vote no…but will it work? And what will be accomplished if it does?

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Historical Drama

Rating: R (for language)

Not Today

(Ocean Avenue) Cody Longo, Walid Amini, John Schneider, Shari Wiedmann. A privileged young man, vacationing in India, refuses to help a starving man and his daughter. Racked by guilt, he determines to help those he turned his back on only to discover that the man was forced to sell his daughter to human traffickers. Guided by the faith of his family back home, he pledges to make a difference and reunite a family torn apart.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Drama

Rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic material)

The Place Beyond the Pines

(Focus) Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta. A stunt motorcycle performer travelling town to town with a carnival discovers that he has fathered a child. Yearning to do right by his son, he settles down and gets a job but once his talents are discovered, he falls in with a jewel thief, sending him on a collision course with a cop in a corrupt police force. The two men’s lives will be permanently entwined as the sins of the fathers will be passed down to both of their sons.

See the trailer, a clip and a featurette here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Drama

Rating: R (for language throughout, some violence, teen drug and alcohol use, and a sexual reference)  

Scary Movie V

(Dimension) Erica Ash, Jerry O’Connell, Simon Rex, Ashley Tisdale. The newest installment in the horror spoof franchise that just refuses to die sends up, among others, Black Swan, Paranormal Activity, The Evil Dead, Sinister and Mama. If you can’t say anything nice…

See the trailer, a clip and a promo here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Horror Spoof

Rating: PG-13 (for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug material, partial nudity, comic violence and gore)

Trance

(Fox Searchlight) James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel, Danny Sapani. An art auctioneer enters a deal with the devil (or in this case a gangland boss) to steal a priceless Goya. However, the auctioneer double crosses the boss, moving him to beat the auctioneer unconscious. When he regains consciousness, the auctioneer no longer remembers where he hid the painting. A hypnotist is engaged to see if she can find the trigger to fetch the location from the auctioneer’s damaged brain when reality and hypnosis begin to blend…

See the trailer, featurettes and a clip here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Thriller

Rating: R (for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, some grisly images, and language)

2013 Florida Film Festival Begins Tonight!

Tonight marks the beginning of the 2013 Florida Film Festival, one of the best in the world and an event we here at Cinema365 look forward to with great anticipation every year. This year is the biggest one yet with 170 films from 23 different countries that cover nearly the entire range of film genre, from animated to horror films to documentaries to dramas to comedies to romances and everything in between. The opening night movie at 7pm tonight (there are only standby tickets available but if you’re interested give it a shot, you never know) is Twenty Feet from Stardom, an acclaimed documentary about backup singers that reportedly had even the savvy audiences at Sundance dancing in the aisles. We’ll be publishing our review of the film sometime late tonight or tomorrow.

My own personal recommendations are The Forgotten Kingdom which might just be the best movie playing at the Festival – a South African film on the nature of the father-son bond that can transcend just about anything, as well as Starbuck which also looks at fatherhood from the perspective of a slacker who finds himself the father of over 500 kids through excessive sperm donation. Documentary lovers should keep an eye out for The Year of the Living Dead which looks at George A. Romero and his iconic film Night of the Living Dead and it’s cultural impact.

We’ll be there to cover all of those and plenty more. So many films that our coverage will extend well past the festival’s end. Each movie playing the festival this year will get the Festival logo on the review, even if the review is published after the festival is history. If you haven’t been to a film festival, this is the one to see – it’s where filmmakers, stars and fans hang out in one big fun party atmosphere.

To get you started, today’s Cinema365 review is of a movie that played at last year’s festival, Your Sister’s Sister. You can click on the link to read the review and get an idea of the kind of movie you’ll see at this year’s festival.

Well, I’m off to the Regal for the opening night festivities. Hope to see you all there or in the upcoming nine days!

UPDATE: Well, if you ever wondered why opening nights are special at film festivals, this is your answer: tonight was simply transformative. Not only was the movie, Twenty Feet from Stardom an amazing documentary that everyone who has ever been inspired by music should see, we were lucky enough to be sitting directly behind one of the subjects of the film, backing vocalist Merry Clayton (you may not know the name but you sure know the voice – she’s the female vocals in the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”) we were treated to a performance by Ms. Clayton singing Leon Russell’s classic “A Song for You” followed by a wonderfully spirited Q&A session with her and director Morgan Neville fielding questions from the blown-away audience.

A review of the movie will follow tomorrow but I’d have to say that the 2013 Florida Film Festival is off to an amazing start. Whatever you do, find a way to make it down here because this promises to be one of the best (if not the best) festival ever!

Four-Warned: April 2013

Every month I’m going to look at every movie on the release schedule and try to assign them a numerical value corresponding to how anxious I am to see it. The lower the number, the more I want to see it. A one means I would walk through hell and high water to see it; a four means there’s no interest whatsoever. The numbers are not arrived at scientifically but they aren’t arbitrary either.

The numbers aren’t a reflection of the artistic merit of any of these films, but merely a reflection of my willingness to go to a movie theater and see it. The top four scores will be gathered as a means of reflecting the movies I’m anticipating the most; you may use that as a guide or not.

Each entry is broken down as follows:

NAME OF FILM (Studio) Genre A brief description of the plot. Release plans: Wide = Everywhere, Limited = In selected markets. RATING A brief comment

Keep in mind that release dates are extremely subject to change, even at this late date.

FOUR TO SEE
1. OBLIVION (1.2)
2. 42 (1.5)
3. EVIL DEAD (1.6)
4. PAIN AND GAIN (2.0)

FOUR TO SEEK OUT (FILMS NOT IN WIDE RELEASE)
1. THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (1.3)
2. THE BRASS TEAPOT (1.7)
3. SIMON KILLER (1.8)
TIE. TRANCE (1.8)
TIE. KON-TIKI (1.8)
TIE. TAI CHI HERO (1.8)

RATING SYSTEM: 1) Must-see, 2) Should-see, 3) Perhaps-see, 4) Don’t-see

APRIL 3, 2013

ANDRE GREGORY: BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER (Cinema Guild) Genre: Documentary. A portrait of the subject of My Dinner With Andre years after the fact. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 2.9 He’s an amazing raconteur but the trailer doesn’t give a sense of that.
LUNARCY! (Epix) Genre: Documentary. A group of disparate eccentrics have only a love for the moon in common. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.1 Could be fascinating but teasers don’t really show a whole lot about the movie.

APRIL 5, 2013

6 SOULS (Radius) Genre: Horror. A multiple personality patient may restore a grieving psychiatrist’s faith in God, but at the same time may lead her to a deadly secret. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.4 Nothing like an encounter with the devil to restore one’s faith in God.
THE BRASS TEAPOT (Magnolia) Genre: Fantasy. A struggling young couple find a magic teapot in an antiques store but as always with magic teapots, one must be careful for what one wishes for. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.7 Looks fun and kinky at the same time.
THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (Sony Classics) Genre: Drama. When a reporter exposes a former member of the Weather Underground now living a quiet life, he inadvertently lets loose long-kept secrets and exposes both men to mortal danger. Release Strategy: New York City/Los Angeles. RATING: 1.3 Robert Redford directing and an out-of-this-world cast? Count me in.
EDDIE THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL (Doppelganger) Genre: Horror Comedy. A has-been artist discovers his protégé is a sleepwalking flesheater but determines that this will inspire his greatest masterpiece yet. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 3.0 Looks kind of…uhhh…indie precious.
EVIL DEAD (Tri-Star) Genre: Supernatural Horror. A group of five friends find an ancient book in a remote cabin and unwittingly release an evil force. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 1.6 A remake of a Sam Raimi classic probably won’t equal the original – but it still could be worthwhile.
FREE ANGELA AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS (CODEBLACK) Genre: Documentary. The tale f Angela Davis, the controversial Berkeley philosophy professor whose left-leaning politics would put her at the center of a sensational murder trial. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.2 Davis herself speaks out for the first time about the events that made her a household name.
JURASSIC PARK 3D (Universal) Genre: Science Fiction. A test run at a biological theme park turns deadly. Release Strategy: Wide (3D, IMAX 3D). RATING: 3.6 Yet another classic movie cheapened by a brazen cash grab.
LOTUS EATERS (Phase 4) Genre: Drama. A group of young hip Londoners express their discontent with the system through embracing indie rock, having lots of sex and taking lots of drugs. Release Strategy: New York City (opening in Los Angeles April 12). RATING: 2.9 Haven’t we seen this movie before?
NO PLACE ON EARTH (Magnolia) Genre: Documentary. A family of Ukrainian Jews hide from the Nazis in a pair of cold, damp caves for over 18 months. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.2 An incredible story that hasn’t been told in 60 years.
SIMON KILLER (IFC) Genre: Thriller. Recently heartbroken, a somewhat mysterious young man visits Paris and falls in love with a prostitute, leading to blackmail, betrayal and a revelation of his true nature. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.8 A mesmerizing trailer; the word out of Sundance is that this one is amazing.
THE STORY OF LUKE (Gravitas) Genre: Dramedy. After his grandmother passes away, a young autistic man is forced to live with his dysfunctional family. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.0 Good cast. Kind of a been there done that story though.
THALE (XLRator) Genre: Horror. Two crime scene cleaners discover a mythical creature living in the basement and soon uncover the terrifying secret why she was there. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.9 Another odd and twisted Norwegian horror movie; they seem to be getting to be the next hot horror spot.
TOMORROW YOU’RE GONE (Image) Genre: Action. When an ex-con’s promise to commit murder for a cellmate who saved his life in the slam goes awry, he must fight to protect his freedom and the life of his new lover. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.1 While I like Willem Dafoe and Stephen Dorff, the trailer wasn’t impressive.
TRANCE (Fox Searchlight) Genre: Thriller. An auctioneer involved in an art heist double crosses the gang and is wounded in the head; when he awakens he has no memory of where the priceless painting is and must use a hypnotherapist to find the answers – which aren’t what they seem to be. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.8 The latest from Danny Boyle looks decidedly trippy.
UPSTREAM COLOR (erpb) Genre: Science Fiction. A man and a woman are drawn together, their lives tangled in that of an ageless organism that threatens to absorb their identities if they can’t do anything about it. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.0 From the director of Primer another sci-fi tale that relies less on special effects than being thought-provoking.

APRIL 12, 2013

42 (Warner Brothers) Genre: Sports Biography. The incredible story of Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 1.5 A great American hero gets a lavish film to tell his story.
THE ANGELS SHARE (Sundance Selects) Genre: Drama. A chronically unemployed new father wants to prove to his girlfriend’s family that he can support his child turns out to have a flair for brewing Scotch whiskey. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 2.0 The Full Monty in kilts and director Ken Loach has another solid addition to his filmography.
ANTIVIRAL (IFC Midnight) Genre: Horror. A new industry that supplies viruses from celebrities suffering from head colds to inject into obsessed fans who want to get closer to the objects of their obsession turns deadly. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.5 Directed by David Cronenberg’s son Brandon who appears to be a chip off the old block.
DISCONNECT (LD Enterprises) Genre: Drama. Several intertwining stories about our increasing reliance on technology for socialization and the devastating consequences that might be in store because of it. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.4 Some fascinating stories; hopefully it fares better than most anthology pieces.
FISTS OF LEGEND (CJ Entertainment) Genre: Drama. Three childhood friends whose dreams of pugilistic glory were derailed 25 years earlier gets one more shot at the brass ring. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.0 The trailer didn’t excite me much.
INTO THE WHITE (Magnolia) Genre: War. At the beginning of World War II a group of British and German airmen are shot down in harsh Arctic conditions and must co-operate to stay alive. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.2 The presence of Harry Potter star Rupert Grint will doubtless excite some curiosity.
IT’S A DISASTER (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Genre: Comedy. Four couples meet for brunch just as the world is about to end. Release Strategy: New York City/Los Angeles/Austin. RATING: 2.4 The humor looks to be dry as a bone; that kind of appeals to me.
SCARY MOVIE 5 (Dimension) Genre: Horror Spoof. The latest in a line of horror send-ups that take on recent hit horror films. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 3.3 If you’re likely to see this, you probably don’t need to know what it’s about anyway.
THIS AIN’T CALIFORNIA (Self-Released) Genre: Documentary. Skateboarding culture in Germany turns out to be not that different than skateboarding culture in California. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 3.8 Who’da thought?!
TO THE WONDER (Magnolia) Genre: Romance. A newlywed couple who move from France to Oklahoma find their relationship tested. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.9 One of the most beautiful trailers I’ve ever seen for director Terrence Malick’s latest, starring Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Olga Kurlyenko and Rachel McAdams.

APRIL 17, 2013

DECEPTIVE PRACTICE: THE MYSTERIES AND MENTORS OF RICKY JAY (Kino Lorber) Genre: Documentary. Renowned magician Ricky Jay discusses his background, who influenced him and shows off some of the dry humor that makes his act so memorable. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 2.8 No real trailer that I could find but the footage I did see looked very talking head.
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS (Self-Released) Genre: Musical Documentary. The acclaimed indie band The National’s 2010 tour is chronicled by the lead singer’s rascally younger brother. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.0 Also missing a trailer; might be good depending on how far out of the box they go.

APRIL 19, 2013

FILLY BROWN (Pantelion) Genre: Urban Drama. A young rapper comes to the awful realization that the ticket to her dreams may cost her everything she has. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.9 A hip-hop Cinderella story with a Latin twist.
HOME RUN (Goldwyn) Genre: Sports Drama. A baseball star suspended from the game is sent home to be a youth baseball coach. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.8 Looks like a standard sports redemption movie.
IN THE HOUSE (Cohen Media Group) Genre: Drama. A 16-year-old boy insinuates himself into a classmate’s home and causes chaos while his semi-truthful essays spark inspiration. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 2.0 Terrific cast and the right balance between comic and creepy.
THE LORDS OF SALEM (Anchor Bay) Genre: Horror. A DJ in Salem, Massachusetts plays a record she receives in a strange box and literally unleashes Hell. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.1 The latest from Rob Zombie stars his wife and looks like it kicks ass just like his other movies do.
OBLIVION (Universal) Genre: Science Fiction. A maintenance man repairing drones on an abandoned Earth after a failed alien invasion discovers an astonishing secret that could change everything. Release Strategy: Wide (Standard, IMAX). RATING: 1.2 Tom Cruise starrer looks like it will probably do fair to middling business but I’m a sucker for these sorts of movies.
UNMADE IN CHINA (Seventh Art) Genre: Documentary. The experiences of an American filmmaker trying to make a movie in China. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.3 Looks pretty fascinating and looks like making a film in China makes making movies in Hollywood child’s play by comparison.

APRIL 24, 2013

AT ANY PRICE (Sony Classics) Genre: Drama. An ambitious farmer wants his son to expand the family farming empire while the young man wants nothing more than to be a race car driver. Release Strategy: New York City/Los Angeles. RATING: 2.6 Sounds cheesy on paper but could well be a realistic look at what is facing the family farmer in the 21st century.

APRIL 26, 2013

ARTHUR NEWMAN (Cinedigm) Genre: Comedy. A man fakes his own death after screwing up his life, hoping to find a fresh start. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.8 Not so sure about the premise but with Colin Firth in the title role you can’t really go wrong.
THE BIG WEDDING (Lionsgate) Genre: Romantic Comedy. A divorced couple must pretend to be happily married in order to appease the ultraconservative religious mother of the bride who is marrying their son. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.5 Good cast but looks like another rote rom-com from the trailer.
GRACELAND (Drafthouse) Genre: Thriller. When the driver for a corrupt Filipino senator sees his own daughter kidnapped by mistake, he finds himself falling deeper into a web of deceit and corruption. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.6 Looks like a pretty taut and compelling thriller which is pretty rare these days.
KON-TIKI (Weinstein) Genre: True Life Drama. The story of Thor Heyerdahl’s epic journey to prove that pre-Columbians could have journeyed across the Pacific ocean in a balsa wood raft to colonize the Polynesian islands. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.8 One of the great adventurers of the 20th century.
MUD (Roadside Attractions) Genre: Drama. A pair of young boys find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi and decide to shelter him which may prove to be a fatal mistake. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.9 Matthew McConaughey has been on a roll of good performances and this just might be his best ever.
THE NUMBERS STATION (Image) Genre: Action. A CIA operative whose last assignment went disastrously wrong is ordered to guard a code breaker at a remote company station; when it comes under attack he must figure out what is going on and stop it before something even worse happens. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.1 John Cusack’s in it you say? Well that’s swell!
PAIN AND GAIN (Paramount) Genre: Action. A group of bodybuilders in a Miami gym mastermind a kidnapping and robbery but don’t count on the lengths their victim will go to get his money back. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.0 Dwayne Johnson seems to be in every movie being released this year so far.
THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST (IFC) Genre: Drama. A Pakistani living in the US is viewed with suspicion and mistrust after 9/11. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.2 Looks very intriguing, and director Mira Nair is one of my favorites.
SUN DON’T SHINE (Self-Released) Genre: Romance. A couple of newlyweds take a road trip through Central Florida, although their motivations are highly mysterious and suspect. Release Strategy: New York City only. RATING: 2.8 Looks a bit confused and muddled from the trailer.
TAI CHI HERO (Well GO USA) Genre: Martial Arts. A town of Tai Chi Masters whose form of Tai Chi is forbidden to be taught to outsiders finds their town under siege by a remarkable array of machines. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.8 The second in a trilogy, infuses steampunk into a martial arts movie – very cool!

SCHEDULED TO BE REVIEWED HERE AS NEW RELEASES
42, Oblivion, The Big Wedding, Mud, Pain and Gain

New Releases for the Week of March 29, 2013

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

(DreamWorks) Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Adrienne Palecki, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, D.J. Cotrona. Directed by John M. Chu

The Joes are decimated by a sneak attack but are shocked to discover that the strike was ordered by their own government – by the President, in fact. It becomes clear that the government has been infiltrated by Cobra, their arch-nemesis and at the highest levels. In order to survive and stop Cora from his evil plan they’ll have to call on some extra help – the man who started it all, G.I. Joe.

See the trailer, clips, promos and featurettes here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard, 3D, IMAX 3D

Genre: Action

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of combat violence and martial arts action throughout, and for brief sensuality and language)

The Host

(Open Road) Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Diane Kruger, William Hurt. The Earth has been invaded by parasites that take over the human body and erase their memories; the parasites are winning as the free human numbers are dwindling. A brave young girl will risk everything for those she loves and in doing so give hope to the human race that love can indeed conquer all. From the novel by Twilight series creator Stephenie Meyer.

See the trailer, interviews, featurettes and a clip here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: PG-13 (for some sensuality and violence)

On the Road

(Sundance Selects) Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams. A young writer’s life turns upside down when he meets a brash Westerner and his girlfriend. The three of them embark on a cross-country road trip to escape a world growing ever more conservative and conformist. Based on the classic Jack Kerouac beat novel.

See the trailer and clips here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Drama

Rating: R (for strong sexual content, drug use and language) 

Tyler Perry’s Temptation

(Lionsgate) Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Lance Gross, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Williams. A marriage counselor whose own relationship is rocky decides to be with another man. The repercussions of her choices send a ripple effect from her life to the lives of those around her. Based on Perry’s stage play Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.

See the trailer and a filmed version of the play the film is based on here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Urban Drama

Rating: PG-13 (for some violence, sexuality and language)