THE WEEKEND WARRIOR 1/17/24 Reviews and Repertory Round-Up
New York Jewish Film Festival, Grand Theft Hamlet, Alarum, Dig! XX, Night Call
This is probably going to be a lighter week for reviews since I’m reviewing Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man separately, I didn’t get a chance to see One of Them Days, and I already reviewed September 5, when it first got a limited release.
Also, a bit of housecleaning from this week’s Early Edition is that September 5 is *NOT* going wide this weekend and instead will only be expanding into 120 theaters. The Brutalist is indeed expanding into 200+ theaters and A24 is also rereleasing Sing Sing into more than 500 theaters following Colman Domingo’s various awards nominations. I’m not sure either of the latter will break into the top 10, and it seems like Sony Classics has given up on expanding Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, nationwide on Friday. Also, a reminder
But before we get to some reviews, I wanted to write more about the 2025 New York Jewish Film Festival, which is taking place up at Film at Lincoln Center from Wednesday, Jan. 15, through Jan. 29. I’ve known about this annual festival for many years but I just haven’t been able to cover it as much as I’d like despite there being a lot of cool stuff playing there as their New York premieres.
For instance, the Brian Epstein biopic Midas Man, directed by Joe Stephenson, stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (from “The Queen’s Gambit”) as the early Beatles manager who struggled with being a closeted gay man at a time when it was criminal to be a homosexual has its New York premiere as the Opening Night film. Eddie Marsan plays Brian’s businessman father, who doesn’t approve of the direction his son is taking, so a little different than his role as Amy Winehouse’s father in Back to Black, while Emily Watson plays his more approving mother. Fortune-Lloyd does a terrific job playing Epstein as being cheeky and irreverent, and he keeps the film going even during some of its sillier moments.
The Closing Night film is Ilana Trachtman’s Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round, a documentary about the Jewish community of Bannockburn in Maryland who are on the forefront to fight segregation at the Maryland-based Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1960 along with students from Howard University. The movement to allow the black residents of the area to partake in the rides and fun at the park led to many similar movements across the country to end desegregation. I’ve long known about Jews’ involvement in the civil rights movements of the ‘60s, and it’s nice to see a doc focused more on this, especially with how divisive our country has gotten, and New York City is no exception.
Another terrific doc playing the fest is Joy Sela’s The Other, which takes a comprehensive and fairly balanced look at the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Palestine, but it’s a movie that was made before the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023, so it’s basing most of its commentary on the overall situation that’s gone on for decades. Sela has interviews with people with all different perspectives on the conflict, but the important thing is that it’s all from before October 7, so things have likely changed including many opinions as the war in Gaza has gotten much worse. That’s premiering on Jan. 22, and I highly recommend it if you want to get more FACTS about the conflict in Gaza, how it began and how the locals feel about it.
The festival is also holding the New York premiere for Jerusalem-born Pinhas Veuillet’s Neither Day Nor Night on January 27 (two screenings), which centers around a very different conflict, between “the patriarch of a French Sephardic family and the Ashkenazi headmaster at his son's school.” Oren Rudavsky’s doc Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire sounds interesting, although bot of its screenings are already sold out.
Also, Joan Micklin Silver’s excellent Hester Street, starring Carol Kane, is getting a 50th anniversary screening at the festival, and if you haven’t seen it, I recommend checking it out. I probably saw it nearly 50 years ago, and I saw it again more recently at the Metrograph.
There’s also a lot of other great discovery films, and I wish I had more time to watch some of them, especially since many of these movies might never get a theatrical release in the States, but that’s also true of many of the great Lincoln Center film series.
So then let’s get to a few limited releases, since there aren’t any wide releases to review.
GRAND THEFT HAMLET (Mubi)
And now for something completely different from the more serious docs I may have covered above. Piny Grylls and Sam Crane made this doc about Sam’s desire to stage a performance of Shakespeare’s classic play “Hamlet” but only in the open world setting of Grand Theft Auto Online. During the pandemic shutdown, actor Sam and his friend Mark Oosterveen, mostly out of boredom, decide to do this, and they documented the whole thing with this film that takes place fully within that world.
I actually never played Grand Theft Auto, even though I’m generally a fan of open world video games like “Red Dead Redemption” and “Assassin’s Creed.” This is an interesting experiment, and it leads to a funny and entertaining film, especially as Sam and Mark are trying to find actors for this production and do some “location scouting.” At the same time, they’re constantly picked off and killed by overzealous players who are playing the game just to cause mayhem, and there are some funny characters they meet along the way.
The end results fall somewhere between “Squid Game” and Sing Sing in that it seems like an ambitious endeavor that will only really payoff if they’re able to pull it off, and spoiler: They do. So yeah, not a bad movie for people who are equal fans of Shakespeare and video games, and surely there’s a Venn Diagram that has a few people on there.
Grand Theft Hamlet opens in select theaters across the country on Friday, including the IFC Center and Alamo Lower Manhattan in New York and the Alamo Downtown in L.A.
ALARUM (Lionsgate)
Opening in select theaters and on VOD is this new action-thriller from Michael Polish, one half of the filmmaking Polish Brothers. Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald from last year’s excellent Strange Darling play two spies who go rogue by going off to get married. Their attempt to go off-the-grid is foiled when they come upon a downed helicopter with a stolen thumb drive, and other intel agencies send their assassins after them. The movie also stars Sylvester Stallone (yes, that one) and Michael Colter.
I can’t say that I went into this one with very high expectations, because it’s been a while since I’ve seen anything by Michael Polish that I liked. I was vaguely interested in what he might do in this sort of espionage and action space, and there were aspects that weren’t bad, like the actual action, but otherwise, the film really doesn’t offer very much to an already overused film genre.
Eastwood and Fitzgerald’s performances aren’t bad, but it feels like Stallone is sleepwalking through this one as a secondary character, and I have no idea what Colter is doing with his silly accent. Similarly, I rarely could figure out what anyone was talking about in Alexander Vesha’s non-sensical screenplay. In fact, I’m not even sure I could tell you what “Alarum” is, even though the word certainly is said a lot by a lot of different characters.
Some people might like this movie that’s mostly being four-walled and won’t be in theaters long, but I’m sure it will be discovered on VOD and streaming, but to me, it just seemed like a bland and derivative offering that does nothing new or innovative.
Review: 5.5/10
DIG! XX (Oscilloscope)
I’ve been a Dandy Warhols fan for probably 24 or 25 years, and part of my becoming a fan was seeing Ondi Timoner’s Dig! Twenty years ago after its Grand Jury Prize win for documentary at Sundance that year. I’m not sure I ended up reviewing it back then, but last year, Timoner released a recut, extended, and updated version of her doc that covers the friendship and rivalry between the Dandys and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, two bands hugely influenced by the psychedelic rock bands of the ‘60s. The Dandy Warhols would go onto having much bigger hits by playing the game, making music videos, and touring incessantly, while the Brian Jonestown Massacre was constantly plagued by inter-band turmoil and the difficult nature of its frontman, Anton Newcombe. Those were all present in the doc 20 years ago, and the new version of the movie, which will open at the IFC Center in New York and other theaters on Friday, follows up on where both bands are 20 years later. You can see the full list of where it’s opening on Friday and where else it will be playing at the official Oscilloscope site. I actually watched this new version out of Sundance last year, but didn’t get a chance to rewatch to review, but you can watch the trailer below. If you like the original Dig! You’ll probably want to watch this.
A few things I didn’t get to…
NIGHT CALL (Magnet)
Jonathan Feltre and Romain Duris star in Michiel Blanchart’s French crime-thriller following a young student and locksmith named Mady (Feltre), who is asked by a woman named Claire (Natacha Krief) to open a locked door of an apartment that isn’t her, stealing the bag of Yannick (Duris), a vicious mobster who wants his bag back and blames Mady, who then has to prove his innocence. I love Duris as an actor from great films like Jacques Audiard’s The Beat My Heart Skipped and others, so I’ll try to find time to watch this to see what he’s like as a bad guy.
WISH YOU WERE HERE (Lionsgate)
Actor Julia Styles makes her directorial debut with this film that has such a generic overused title, but it’s also based on a novel by Renée Carlino, adapted by Styles. It stars Isabelle Fuhrman from the Orphan movies, Mena Massoud, Jimmy Fails, Gabby Kono-Abdy, Jennifer Grey, and Kelsey Grammer. It deals with people trying to take a chance on true romance with Furhman playing Charlotte, a woman who spends the perfect night with a stranger but then looks for answers about her disappointing life.
Also, there’s something called AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR from Blue Fox Entertainment and the doc LEFT BEHIND from Abramorama, but I’ve run out of time to think about other movies.
REPERTORY
Besides the ongoing series, the Metrograph is also screening a new restoration of Fujisawa Isao’s 1974 film Bye Bye Love starting Friday for its U.S. theatrical premiere. They’re also showing a few other films that as part of “Bye Bye Love: Fujisawa and the Japanese New Wave,” including Tehigahara’s Woman in the Dunes from 1964 and his 1966 follow-up, The Face of Another.
The director of the Oscar shortlisted and BAFTA nominated Santosh will present a few films as part of “Sandya Suri Selects” with Alain Gomis’ 2017 film Félicité screening a few times this weekend.
“15 Minutes” will be screening Nicolas Refn’s The Neon Demon (2016), starring Elle Fanning
“Amongst Humans” will show Tarkovsky’s original Solaris from 1972 (rather than the Soderbergh remake starring George Clooney, which is pretty bad) and also will screen Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin (2013), starring Scarlett Johansson, which I found to be quite overrated, although it was many of our introductions to Adam Pierson from A Different Man. There are also a few extra screenings of Alien Nation and David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth.
“The Many Lives of Laura Dern” will screen David Lynch’s 3-hour Inland Empire from 2006.
“Delphine Seyrig: Rebel Muse” screens Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman one more time on Thursday night (already sold out) and Donkey Skin on Thursday night, and then over the weekend, it’s playing Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and Marguerite Duras’ India Song from 1975.
“Raise Ravens and They Will Pick Your Eyes Out” has a few more screenings of Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry, one on DCP on Friday and then on 35mm on Saturday.
“Male Magnetism Curated by Andrew Norman Wilson” will screen Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers one more time on Thursday night.
“A.I. from Metropolis to Ex Machina” continues through the weekend until 1/23 with screenings of Will Smith’s I, Robot, Spike Jonze’s Her (another overrated film), Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall, Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, the original Stepford Wives, and much more. (One thing that’s noticeably absent from this series is the ‘70s Westworld movie, starring Yul Brynner!) But there’s plenty of other things worth seeing including Brad Bird’s animated The Iron Giant, which is this weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” on Sunday.
“Donald Sutherland: Never the Guy Next Door” ends on Thursday but there are a couple of stray films like the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie playing over the weekend (actually Friday and Saturday at midnight). Other late night movies on Friday and Saturday include the Japanese thriller, Battle Royale, and the popular ‘90s teen witch film, The Craft. Also, David Fincher’s Se7en is playing on Friday and Saturday late in case you missed it in IMAX a few weekends back.
On Thursday night, you have another chance to see Greg Araki’s 2004 film, Mysterious Skin, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet. On Friday El Cine presents the 1989 film Santa Sangre, then on Saturday, you have another chance to see the 4k restoration of Amadeus and on Sunday, Fat City (1972) will be shown on 35mm. Also on Sunday, there’s the eighth installment of “Peculier Puppets” showing puppet and animated films from yesteryear in 16mm. You definitely should check that out if you like puppets!
“Blackout 1973” continues over the weekend with another screening of Pam Grier’s Coffy on Thursday night as well as screenings of Xala from 1975 and Wattstax from 1973. Over the weekend, they’re also showing a few series of shorts by cinematic pioneer Georges Méliès, mostly movies from the first decade of the 20th Century so probably a lot of silent film rarities that are rarely seen. Also, Stephen Frears’ Prick Up Your Ears, a terrific 1987 film starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina, will screen on Friday night in a 35mm print.
Steve Martin’s musical Pennies from Heaven is screening on Saturday as part of the series “Skipped a Beat.” Otherwise, it’s mostly stuff on Netflix with Emilia Perez continuing to play regularly here (and also down at the IFC Center, and soon at the Metrograph, too!)
NITEHAWK CINEMA PROSPECT PARK & WILLIAMSBURG
“All About Altman” is screening Robert Altman’s 1974 film, Thieves Like Us, on Saturday and Sunday at brunch time at Prospect Park, and then screening Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean (1982) on Tuesday night. Williamsburg will be screening one of my all-time favorite Altman films, The Player (1992), just one time on Sunday morning, and then A Wedding (1978) on Tuesday night as part of the series.
The “80s Invaders” will screen the excellent 1988 horror film, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, on Monday night at Prospect Park. On Sunday and Monday morning, you can bring the whole family to see John Lasseter’s 1975 animated classic, Toy Story, at Williamsburg, and then Williamsburg is also doing a “Secret Double Feature” as part of next week’s monthly “Anime After Dark” series. That starts at 9:30pm, so expect a long night. On Tuesday night, you can see Julie Taymor’s 2007 Beatles musical, Across the Universe, as part of “Re-Consider This!”
“See It Big: Let It Snow” gives you another chance to see the James Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (starring one-time-only 007 George Lazenby) on Friday night, as well as a screening of Larisa Shepkio’s 1977 Russian film, The Ascent, on Sunday afternoon. For MLK’s birthday, you can see Shola Lynch’s 2004 doc, Chisolm ‘72: Unbought and Unbossed, on Friday evening or Monday afternoon.
“To Save and Protect: the 21st MOMA International Festival of Film Preservation” continues to run through the end of the month, but since I’m not that familiar with the films being shown, I have nothing more to add there.
Huntington, Long Island’s premiere arthouse will screen Scorsese’s Raging Bull on Thursday night, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense on Friday night, the Coen Brothers’ Fargo on Saturday, and then Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on Sunday, so that’s quite a weekend. “Anything But Silent” will show three silent 1928 Laurel & Hardy films on Tuesday night as part of “Laurel and Hardy Year 2” with piano accompaniment.
That’s it for this week. Next week, we’re getting the Mel Gibson-directed Flight Risk and the Steven Soderbergh horror film, Presence, as well as other odds and ends.
Michael Polish directing a Stallone action flick? That's the kind of nonsense movie that I'd invent in a dream.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com