Lotta movies opening today. And because I love you, I’m listing them even though I’m on vacation very far away.
Beyond the Hills: Hey, who’s up for a two-and-a-half-hour drama about two childhood friends (and adolescent lovers) reuniting uncomfortably at a Romanian convent? (Seriously, it’s really great.)
Emperor: Peter Webber’s dull tale of MacArthur’s arrival in Tokyo after WWII spends most of its time following a gloomy general played by Matthew Fox — whom I’m still not sure I’ve forgiven for Alex. So, feh.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation: Step Up sequelizer John M. Chu takes over for an all-star follow-up that’s basically “Zero Dark Thirty for babies”, according to John. (At least Jonathan Pryce is back.)
Ginger and Rosa: Sally Potter’s coming-of-nuclear-age drama received mixed reviews at TIFF, but Susan likes it plenty.
A Good Death: Wannie de Wijn’s spare adaptation of his stage play is basically a nicer, calmer Cries and Whispers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The Host: To employ my favorite Twitter hashtag, #fuckthatwasawful. Review will be up later today.
Mad Ship: Life is grim in the Manitoba dust bowl in this period drama, which does not appear to feature an actual ship, mad or otherwise. I suspeect Rad would have been happy to see one.
Miami Connection: Imagine a movie as incoherent and dramatically uneven as The Room, only good-natured rather than noxious, and you’ve got this handmade 1988 curio about a tae kwan do rock group landing gigs and fighting baddies. John gives it a slightly ironic thumbs up.
The Resurrection of Tony Gitone: Jerry Ciccoritti, a hack ’80s horror director who reinvented himself in the ’90s as a proficient maker of television dramas, sneaks back onto the big screen with this self-financed indie set in Toronto’s Little Italy. Rad nobly takes the bullet.
Spring Breakers: What’s this? A Harmony Korine movie that’s actually making money? (Is that even legal?) John loves it. I’ll get to it one of these days.
Wake in Fright: Long before First Blood (and Switching Channels), Ted Kotcheff made an alcoholic psychodrama in the Australian Outback. Four decades later, you kind of have to see it to believe it.
Well, there we are. Enjoy the long weekend, eat a bun, I’ll catch you on the other side.