THE WEEKEND WARRIOR Jan. 3, 2025 - Reviews and Repertory Round-Up
From Ground Zero, Harbin, The Damned, The Last Republican
Happy New Year!!!! There isn’t really much to talk about in terms of the box office since there aren’t any new wide releases, as is often the case the first weekend of the New Year, and it’s hard to tell how many people are still off through the weekend or went back to work on Thursday. (Schools are still out, I’d imagine.)
Hopefully, you’ve already checked out my annual Top 25 movies for the year, and my sharing of the movies I saw at the Metrograph, which is regularly covered in this column, but now, we have to move onto 2025, and it’s not starting out that great, even though there are two moderately wide releases I enjoyed.
This week’s “Chosen One” is a movie I’ve already reviewed…
FROM GROUND ZERO (Watermelon Pictures)
As mentioned, I ended up reviewing this fantastic anthology film from Palestine, that “country’s” Oscar submission which was recently shortlisted for the Oscars International Feature category, earlier. It’s an incredible look at a cross-section of Gaza inhabitants who have been adversely affected by the war that followed the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack. Through the eyes and words and creative offerings from a variety of Gaza inhabitants, we see how bad it has gotten to live there with many evacuated from buildings that lie in rubble, having to share tents and portapotties with their neighbors and with no end in sight. It’s made up of roughly 22 short films with the particularly heartbreaking stories involving the children in the area. As I said in my review, this is absolutely a must-see for anyone who is still unsure about what is really going on in the Middle East. (Though I will say that having a friend whose daughter lives in Israel who he visits regularly, that place is also regularly being bombed, so this is definitely a two-way war… that really needs to end.)
This is opening quite wide on Friday in a couple of theaters in New York (including the Quad Cinema) but also in many other cities across the nation, and you can find out if it’s playing near you at the official site. Earlier this week, Michael Moore came on board as an executive producer, as well.
HARBIN (Well Go USA)
This Korean spy thriller from director Min-ho Woo (Inside Men, The Man Standing Next) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) back in September. It stars Hyun-bin and follows a group of Korean activists seeking independence from the oppressive Japanese regime that has taken control of their country. At the center of the group is Hyun Bin’s Ahn Jung-geun, who is leading a plot to kill the Japanese Prime Minister It while he is travelling through Russia to solidify Japan’s annexation plans for Korea. The group also needs to contend with suspicions that their members are being converted into moles for Japan, particularly by a persistent foe in Tatsuo Mori (Park Hoon), who is obsessed with capturing Ahn.
My first time trying to watch this, it just felt a little too grim and dreary for me to get through, so I gave it another go with an earlier start when I was a little less tired, which was a smart move. I honestly don’t know a lot about Asian history outside of WWII and various Chinese dynasties that have been well-covered in movies. Director Woo’s new film takes a look at a little-known period where Korea was fighting against Japan, and it begins with a meeting of the Independence Army before we get a horrifying flashback of Ahn and others in a battle against a Japanese advance team, which leaves most of Ahn’s colleagues dead after he makes a tough decision to let the Japanese leader (Mori) go.
Oddly, I hadn’t seen any of Director Woo’s previous movies, although he has had one huge hit in Korea and one minor secondary hit, and it’s clear that he’s one of the country’s more underrated filmmakers, whose work hasn’t necessary travelled over here until now. I can tell why his films are so popular, though, since he has a great way of telling a story in a way that reminds me of some of the great period films from Hong Kong.
At times, this was a little too grim and dreary to get through – there’s lots of snow and the film looks almost monochromatic at times – but it gets more interesting as it goes along and gets more into the plot to kill Ito. I’m definitely a little bummed I didn’t get to see this on the big screen as many of the critics did a TIFF, as there are some great set pieces that probably looked better seeing this in a theater. The film also offers a terrific score that adds to the tension and excitement of the action sequences.
Possibly one of my biggest criticisms of Harbin is that the costumes are fairly bland and samey, making it harder to distinguish between some of the characters, especially those in the Independence Army group who have similar facial hair. I’ve had this problem with Asian cinema before, particularly military/war films where it’s harder as a Westerner to tell the difference between characters, and in this case, it’s critical.
Those criticisms aside, Harbin is a fascinating look at Korean history that features a great cast who really deliver on the material to make this a substantially taut spy thriller.
Rating: 8/10
Harbin has already been playing in a couple of L.A. theaters, but it will open in New York and other cities on Friday.
THE DAMNED (Vertical)
From Icelandic filmmaker Thordur Palsson comes this period survival thriller, which was one of the better movies I saw at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival – not to be confused with the Civil War drama of the same name I saw at the New York Film Festival months later – and it’s quite a chilling and harrowing period thriller that would make a great follow-up to Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu without leaning nearly as hard on the horror element.
The film stars Odessa Young as the widow of a sea captain, running a fishing business, but her men are starving and morale is at all-time low. When a Spanish ship hits an iceberg and is sinking, they have to make the tough choice whether to save the men and add to their problem of resources, so they don’t save them. What happens after that is something that could be considered supernatural, and yet, The Damned isn’t necessarily “horror” with a capitol “H” since much of the horrors may be in their food-starved minds.
This is a fantastic feature debut from Palsson, who I spoke to over at Cinema Daily US, and I hope that people will seek this out, even though I’m not 100% sure how wide this is compared to other Vertical releases. It reminds me a bit of Sean Ellis’ The Cursed (which premiered at TIFF as Six For Silver) in terms of a different take on gothic horror, and I think it will appeal to those who enjoyed Rober Eggers’ Noferatu, despite being a smaller film.
Note that I’m probably going to be less prone to watch and review movies that I’m not really feeling, and that was the case for the next movie, which I started watching and just wasn’t in the mood to watch all the way through to the end, so no formal review for that. Don’t worry. I’ll still be watching and reviewing bad movies this year, but this still mostly being a holiday week, I’m not going to bother with…
THE LAST REPUBLICAN (Media Courthouse Documentary Collective)
This documentary, directed by Steve Pink – the director most well-known for comedies like Hot Tub Time Machine and its sequel, as well as directing many TV comedies – takes a look at Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who after the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot wants to hold those responsible accountable. I tried to watch this but frankly, I found myself to be quite bored, since this movie seems to be a little too late, because at this point, what happened in 2021 doesn’t matter since America decided to vote for the man responsible for a 2nd term, so watching this movie just annoyed me. Either way, it opens at the Film Forum on Friday.
EL HANA EL ANA FEEH (Orient Films)
From Egypt comes this romantic comedy from director Khaled Marei, the title translated to “The Happiness I Have” with the tagline (courtesy IMDB): “Dr.Ahmed, who is interested in giving advice to his followers about building character and marital happiness on social media, while he faces problems in his marital life, and is surprised when his wife proposes to her friend to marry him.” Since I don’t have a contact for a press screening/screener, I’m going to go see this on Friday night, so check out my Letterboxd for my thoughts on Saturday.
Also, David Fincher’s classic crime thriller SE7EN will be getting a re-release into IMAX theaters and considering how weak this weekend is in terms of new releases, I totally could see that breaking into the Top 10, depending on how many IMAX theaters show it across the country.
Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham’s stop-motion animated WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL will hit Netflix streaming this Friday as well, and though I won’t be reviewing, you can watch my interview with the filmmakers over at Cinema Daily US.
Oh, what the hell… here’s a chart for those that care. It’s free this week, but it won’t be next week. :)
THE BOX OFFICE CHART
1. Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney) - $28.3 million -20%
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount) - $25.8 million -30%
3. Wicked (Universal) - $15.3 million -22%
4. Moana 2 (Disney) - $14.5 million -23%
5. Nosferatu (Focus Features) - $13.3 million -39%
6. A Complete Unknown (Searchlight) - $7 million -40%
7. Babygirl (A24) - $2.6 million -47%
8. Gladiator II (Paramount) - $2.3 million -44%
9. Homestead (Angel Studios) - $1.7 million -45%
10. The Fire Inside (MGM Amazon) - $1.2 million -37%
REPERTORY
It’s a new year and a new month, which means… NEW SERIES AT METROGRAPH! Yeah, I’m pretty excited about what’s coming up this year. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even get a real job soon so I can pay for all these tickets, which at least I get at a members’ discount, because Metrograph is still offering one of the best membership deals in town at $50 a year or $5 a month. And even if you’re not in New York, that includes its great digital At Home platform. So yeah, if you didn’t get a membership for the holidays, just get one yourself!
In case you missed it, I posted my entire list of movies seen here in 2024, and it’s a doozy! Anyway, let’s see how the Metrograph is kicking off the year.
“15 Minutes” takes a look at fame and what it does to people through a series of movies, beginning this weekend with Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning classic Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring from 2013.
“Amongst Humans” is a series about aliens, and there are some great movies in this series this weekend including David Bowie in Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), John Carpenter’s classic 1982 remake of The Thing (which I’ve seen so many times but it’s also fun to see in theaters with newbies who haven’t seen it before), and Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind from 1977.
“The Many Lives of Laura Dern” seems like another excuse for the Metrograph to play David Lynch’s Wild at Heart so soon after its Nicolas Cage retrospective, but you’ll have to wait for that one, as this weekend, they’re showing Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women from 2016, featuring an early jaw-dropping performance from Oscar nominee, Lily Gladstone.
“Raise Ravens and They Will Pick Your Eyes Out” has such an interesting title, but I could not even begin to tell you what it’s about. This weekend, it’s including Tarkovsky’s Mirror (1975), Ye Lou’s Suzhou River (2000 – a Metrograph staple), the Brazilian Macunaíma (1965) from Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, and Andrzej Żuławski’s two-hour-and-46-minute On the Silver Globe (1988). Of course, I’ll be seeing the Brazilian movie.
“Delphine Seyrig: Rebel Muse” is this month’s “Metrograph series about someone Ed has never heard of” (to be perfectly honest with you), so I don’t have much insight into the series about the French actress, which screens Truffaut’s Stolen Kisses (1968), Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du commerce,1080 Bruxelles (which won the Sight and Sound all-time great films a few years back, and now I feel obligated to see it), and Daughters of Darkness.
“Ursula X Metrograph: Seize the Fire” (programming in conjunction with “Thornton Dial: The Visible and The Invisible, an exhibition at Hauser & Wirth” will screen the Buster Keaton 1928 classic, Steamboat Bill Jr., preceded by the classic Disney animated short and the very first appearance by Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willie, also from 1928.
The other great downtown arthouse has a series called “A.I. From Metropolis to Ex Machina,” running from Jan. 3 to Jan. 23, this weekend showing Ridley Scott’s stone-cold classic Alien, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Colossus: The Forbin Project, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Alphaville, Silent Running, Forbidden Planet, Metropolis, Moon, and much more. There may even be some of these in 35mm, because that’s the way the Film Forum roles. Forbidden Planet is also this Sunday’s “Film Forum, Jr.” so bring the kiddies for some crazy ‘50s sci-fi!
A lot of the same things continue to play here this weekend, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Coens’ Blood Simple, joined this weekend with the start of “Waverly Midnights: Auto/Erotic,” starting appropriately enough with David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), but also playing this weekend is David Lynch’s Eraserhead and Dario Argento’s Suspiria, all mainstays of the IFC Center.
Over the weekend, they’re showing 25th anniversary screenings of Peter Watkins’ La Commune (Paris 1871), both the shorter 208-minute theatrical version and the 345-minute full version, the latter on Saturday and Sunday. Yes, you read that number right. The full version is almost six hours long, so hopefully there’s an intermission.
“Divas and Despots: Ten Portraits by Pablo Larain” continues through the weekend until Monday with screenings of some of his rarer films like Ema, Neruda, Post Mortem, and Tony Manero. It’s also screening his recent Netflix film, El Conde, and The Club, a movie I loved that I totally forgot Larain directed. Also screening the amazing Chilean film, No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, which put Larain on many people’s radar.
NITEHAWK CINEMA PROSPECT PARK & WILLIAMSBURG
On Tuesday, you can see Matthew Robbins’ 1985 film, The Legend of Billie Jean, as part of “Misfit Alley” at Prospect Park, and then on Wednesday, “Adventures in Black Cinema” presents Ossie Davis’ Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970). Both of these are quite rare in terms of screening in New York, so don’t miss them.
On Saturday and Sunday at brunch, you can catch Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H* (1970), a movie that led to one of the most popular and successful TV shows of the ‘70s, at Williamsburg, beginning its “All About Altman” series. On Monday, they’re screening Altman’s Images (1972), another rarity for the repertory scene, and on Tuesday, Williamsburg is showing The Long Goodbye.
Definitely a good reason to get out to Astoria in Queens this weekend is for “Adam Elliot’s Clayography in Motion,” which will include a FREE screening of his latest film, Memoir of a Snail (which made my Top 25 this year) on Friday night, but they’re also showing his Oscar-winning short Harvie Krumpet as well as his previous feature Mary and Max with Elliot attending in person doing QnAs after the two features. It’s good to note that despite being animated, Elliot’s work isn’t necessarily meant for children, though I also don’t think that Memoir of a Snail deserved an R-rating. As part of the “Silents, Please!” series, it will show Nanook of the North (1922) one more time on Friday afternoon.
Wrapping up the “Marcello and Chiara Mastroiani, A Family Affair” series with screenings this weekend of Christopher Honoré’s Chambre 212 (On a Magical Night) (2012) and more through the weekend.
Still mostly playing new movies, including a few in 35mm, but on Thursday night, they’re playing Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) in 35mm. On Sunday, they’re playing Terrence Malick’s The New World (2005) in 35mm – not my favorite movie of Malick’s but hey, some people love it.
The repertory offerings relaunch on Friday night with James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day as part of the regular “Night Owl Cinema” and then Saturday night’s “Cult Café” is the 1981 Bill Murray comedy, Stripes. On Sunday, you can bring the kids to Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids and then the “Sunday Schmooze” is Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson’s 1980 dramedy, Five Easy Pieces. On Tuesday night, you can see Peter Greenaway’s amazing The Draughtman’s Contract (1982), and on Wednesday night, it’s showing the late Satoshi Kon’s classic anime, Paprika from 2006 (in Japanese with subtitles, of course).
In case you missed it the dozens of times it’s played at the Metrograph, my second favorite movie of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange will be screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Downtown Brooklyn on Monday and Tuesday (the latter is sold out) and on Staten Island on Tuesday.
Next week, we’re back to the usual with the Early Edition for paid subscribers hitting Tuesday morning and then the Review and Repertory Round-Up for everyone, probably on Thursday. Next week’s big new wide release is the action sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera from Lionsgate, but a bunch of other movies will be expanding wider, including Robbie Williams’ Better Man, Pamela Anderson’s The Last Showgirl, and Mike Leigh’s latest, Hard Truths.
Well, what do you know? My wife and I are going up to the Downtown Los Angeles Alamo next week to see Clockwork as well. My wife's absolute favorite film of all time, and definitely one of mine as well. We've seen it in the theater a few times over the years, but it's been awhile. Really looking forward to that screening....Cheers!