THE WEEKEND WARRIOR July 19, 2024
FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ODDITY, CROSSING, SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY
I’m hoping this will be less of a crazy column unlike last week with its 11 reviews, which was just way too much, so I’m keeping things a bit more minimal this week.
Before I get to the theatrical releases, I want to mention a few special events, including one of the world’s best genre film festivals, the Fantasia International Film Festival, its 28th Edition, which takes place in the wonderful city of Montreal from July 18 through August 4. I’ve had the benefit of attending it a couple years, and it really is such a fun festival with so much diversity in terms of genre films, including Asian films, animation, and a lot more. Every few years, they also preview upcoming studio horror movies. I haven’t really had much time to look through what they’re offering this year – I mean, you can do that easily enough by just clicking on that link – but it’s kicking off on Thursday night with Ant Timpson’s new movie Bookworm having its World Premiere, and some of the Asian films having their North American Premiers include Swimming in a Sand Pool from Japan and Jay Song’s 4PM from South Korea, which Fantasia somehow got without having to share with Japan Cuts and the New York Asian Film Festival respectively, which are still going on this weekend. Also, Alexandre De La Patelliere’s The Count of Monte Cristo adaptation, that was a hit out of Cannes, will play at Fantasia on Friday. There are also new movies from E.L. Katz and Scooter McRae, as well as previews of Damian McCarthy’s Oddity (review below) and Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo, which is coming out nationwide in August.
Fantasia also does some fantastic tributes with this year’s Cheval Noir career award going to filmmaker Mike Flanagan, and Vincenzo Natali getting a Canadian Trailblazer Award. Again, you can read about the full line-up at the festival’s fantastic program.
Hitting NYC on Friday and the Laemmle Monica in L.A. on July 26 is the Latin & Spanish Film Roadshow, put on by Outsider Pictures. It’s playing five films from Spain and Latin Ameria that you can read more about by clicking on the link. You can get a Showcase Pass for $40 and watch all five films, basically make a day of it. I personally haven’t had a chance to see any of them, but I’m confident that there’s some good stuff in there.
Since I’ll have already reviewed TWISTERS (Universal) separately – you can read that review here – I’ll instead focus on the other wide release…
ODDITY (IFC Films/Shudder)
Irish filmmaker’s Damian McCarthy’s horror film probably would have been more appropriate if it was called “Enigma,” because boy, did it take a long time for me to figure out what was going on, to the point where I actually rewatched the first hour a second time. Essentially, it stars Gwilym Lee as Ted Timmis, a psychologist at an institution for the mentally disturbed, whose wife Dani (Carolyn Bracken) is murdered one night, presumably by one of his patients. Months later, her blind twin sister Darcy (also Bracken) shows up at Ted’s home with a wooden mannequin that she suggest can help them solve the case of her murder.
That plot summary probably sounds pretty simple, but if you’re not really paying attention while watching this (as clearly was the case the first time I watched), you might miss important details, because the first 15-20 minutes, which focuses more on Dani being alone in this mostly empty remote house when she’s visited by a patient of her husband’s who suggests she’s in danger. The movie then cuts to a shop full of oddities owned by her sister, as she’s visited by Ted… and then that same sister shows up Ted’s house where he’s living with his new girlfriend, Yana (Caroline Menton).
The reason why this set-up is so confusing is because we don’t find out what happened to Dani until quite a bit later, and then we don’t learn what REALLY happened much later as the film delivers an impressive twist. In the meantime, we meet Tadhg Murphy’s Olin Boole, the patient that visits Dani, although he’s back at the institution, and then when Darcy shows up at Ted’s home with the mannequin, it takes some time to really know what the hell is going on. It doesn’t help that maybe 50 minutes into the movie, we meet one of Ted’s work colleagues, with about as little fanfare as we’re introduced to every other character.
McCarthy certainly seems like a capable horror director with some solid scares and sufficient amounts of gore, in moderation, but some of the decisions in the storytelling, such as jumping around in time and location, makes it quite confusing for the viewer and that ultimately hurts it from being something I can recommend to anyone.
Oddity certainly should find some fans, if not in theaters this weekend, then surely when it hits Shudder, presumably next month, but it requires quite a bit of patience that not everyone will have, even if it does eventually lead to a satisfying last act.
Rating: 6.5/10
THE BOX OFFICE CHART
1. Twisters (Universal) - $58.5 million N/A
2. Despicable Me 4 (Universal) - $24.8 million -43%
3. Inside Out 2 (Disney/Pixar) - $12.6 million -37%
4. Longlegs (NEON) - $10.2 million -54%
5. A Quiet Place: Day One (Paramount) - $6 million -47%
6. Fly Me to the Moon (Sony/Apple) - $5.1 million -46%
7. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Sony) - $2.2 million -48%
8. Oddity (Shudder/IFC Films) - $1.6 million N/A
9. Horizon: An American Saga (Warner Bros.) - $1.1 million -50%
10. MaXXXine (A24) - $1 million -52%
I guess this week’s “Chosen One”by default is….
CROSSING (Mubi)
Swedish-Georgian filmmaker Levan Akin (And Then We Danced) wrote and directed this drama that mostly takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, but it begins in Georgia where we meet Lucas Kankava’s Achi, who convinces his father’s friend Lia (Mzia Arabuli) to take him with her on a quest to find her niece, Tekla, who happens to be trans. Once they get to Istanbul, they encounter a group of street kids, but also they meet Deniz Dumanli’s Evrim, a lawyer fighting for trans rights in a country where they have very few.
I wisely went into this one not really knowing what the movie was about or what to expect, and I’m glad I did, since that allowed the storytelling to reveal itself at the pace Akin chose, which involves a number of different characters who we follow individually. The relationship between Lia and Achi is the main driving force of the movie as the young man is clearly a bit of a scammer trying to get something past the older woman, who is despearate to find her niece.
Akin’s cast is fairly astounding, particularly Mzia Arabuli and Deniz Dumanli, who like much of this movie, I knew nothing about, but they generally bring so much to their scenes, that I’d love to know what else they’ve done. I also greatly appreciated the film’s focus on the trans community of Istanbul, who you have to imagine has to deal with a lot of difficulties and hardships in order to live their life, but Crossing rightfully treats them like any other person, only once in a while touching upon the legal issues they constantly would face.
Without spoiling anything, there’s an interesting third act turn, one that might confuse or confound some viewers, but I thought it was a nice touch that helped build to quite an emotional ending.
Crossing takes an interesting journey in telling a story of trying to find a lost loved one, something we’ve seen many times before in films but never quite like this.
Rating: 7.5/10
SCALA!!! (Severin Films)
Opening at the Metrograph this Friday – but I decided to wait to see it there with a QnA on Sunday – is Jane Gils and Ali Catterall’s documentary about the Scala, the beloved London movie theater that from 1978 to 1993 ran some great midnight movies and grindhouse fare – some of which is being shown in an accompanying repertory series, which you can read more about in the Metrograph section below – but the filmmakers have adapted a book about the theater into a doc that includes the likes of John Waters, Ben Wheatley, and Mary Harron.
SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY (Netflix)
I was hoping to write about this doc from Jeff Zimbalist, who has directed some great docs over the years, including Favela Rising, The Two Escobars, and Pele: Birth of a Legend, and I guess I can add a little more about it this week, if not a full review. This played in IMAX theaters across the country last weekend, but not in New York City unfortunately, so I had to rewatch this on a screener, which clearly isn’t ideal as it shines a spotlight on Russian “rooftoppers” Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, daredevils who also happen to be lovers, as they plan to scale a 118-story mega-skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia under cover of the 2022 World Cup celebrations. The film does a great job capturing the acrobatics and subterfuge required to pull something jaw-dropping like this, and in some ways, it reminds me of the Oscar-winning doc, Man on Wife. I first saw this at Sundance, and I have a feeling it might end up being shortlisted at the Oscars as one of the year’s best docs.
CRUMB CATCHER (Doppelgänger Releasing)
Opening in select theaters (mostly Alamo and AMCs) on Friday is Chris Skotchdopole, produced by Larry Fessenden, from a story he came up with Skotchdopole and Rigo Garay, who stars as newlywed Shane, whose marriage to Leah (Ella Rae Peck) is tested, when “two weirdos with entrepreneurial zeal and a half-baked blackmail plot crash their honeymoon.” I love Larry’s stuff, so I probably should check this out, but I didn’t get a chance to watch it to review for this column unfortunately.
MY SPY: THE ETERNAL CITY (Prime Video)
Streaming on Thursday on Prime Video is this sequel to a movie that ended up on Prime Video due to the pandemic, which I quite liked, though I didn’t have a chance to see this sequel. It once again stars Dave Bautista as veteran CIA agent JJ, who teams with his unlikely protégé Sophie (Chloe Coleman) to stop a nuclear attack on the Vatican, where Sophie is on a high school choir trip. The sequel co-stars Kristen Schaal from the first movie, as well as Ken Jeong, Anna Faris, and Flula Borg. I have a feeling this would never have done well theatrically and probably will be seen by more people by being on Prime Video.
Other movies I just didn’t get to…
CUSTOMS FRONTLINE (Well Go USA)
CLEAR CUT (Lionsgate)
MODERNISM, INC. (First Run Features)
NEW STRAINS (Memory)
BEFORE DAWN (Well Go USA)
GREAT ABSENCE (GAGA/Picturehouse)
NYC REPERTORY
If you read this column regularly, then you probably already know that I try my best to provide one of the best previews of the repertory stuff that’s available to watch in and around New York City on any given weekend. You might also notice that I give a certain degree of favoritism to my favorite local arthouse, one that’s literally a block from my apartment, the Metrograph. Well, this week (and possibly next), we’re gonna do something a little different and put focus on another great downtown arthouse mainstay, since they’re killing it this month.
The hits start this week with a remastered 4k restoration of Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui’s 2002 film July Rhapsody, which could be seen as an adaptation of the Police song “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” but oddly, it was never released in the United States. It stars Jacky Cheung as Mr. Lam, a literature teacher who has a young teenage student (Karena Lam) who is obsessed with him, while at the same time, he’s having troubles at home with his wife (Anita Mui). I’m not really as familiar with Ann Hui’s films as I probably should be as an Asian film enthusiast, but looking through her filmmaker, I really didn’t see anything that I’ve seen before even though she’s directed a ton of movies. This one is fairly pleasant, all things considered, probably a good example of the Hong Kong New Wave that came out of the country receiving its independence.
They’re also showing Les Blank’s 1982 doc Burden of Dreams about the making of Werner Herzog’s troubled production of Fitzcarraldo, which will also be shown at Film Forum starting on Friday. It’s been a while since I saw Fitzcarraldo, but I’m a fan of Herzog’s movie, as well as his doc, My Best Fiend, about his troubled relationship with Klaus Kinski. Both these movies will have QnAs on Friday and Saturday. Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai continues on, as does Powell and Pressburger’s The Small Back Room, and I guess Film Forum Jr. is still on summer break.
But I still love the Metrograph, and will probably be spending part of my weekend there checking out soe of their series, including the start of “Lazy, Hazy, Swayze Days,” which will show some of the movies of the one and only Patrick Swayze, including a couple I just never got around to seeing. This weekend, you can watch two stone cold classics, Road House and Dirty Dancing!
Also staring this weekend is “In the Realm of Tatsuya Fuji,” focusing on the Japanese actor who starred in the controversial 1976 drama, In the Realm of the Senses, which will screen this weekend, as will Bright Future (2002) from Kiyoshi Kurasawa.
As mentioned above, the “Long Live Scala Cinema!” will be screening a shitload of great genre films including John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, David Lynch’s Eraserhead, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and the little-shown Café Flesh and more with a TON of QnAs and introductions by the filmmakers behind Scala!!!, so yeah, this is a great weekend to spend at the Metrograph enjoying its air conditioning and programming. (A few of the other ongoing series are taking the weekend off to accommodate this massive series this weekend.)
“In Pursuit of Shadows” will continue to show Wong Kar-Wai’s Chungking Express (1994) – they really do love Wong Kar-Wai at the Metrograph, if you hadn’t noticed – plus it will continue showing Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s J-horror film, Cure (1997), as well as Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003) and the underrated The Wild Goose Lake (2019) from Yi’nan Diao, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it. (This is a precursor to Wei Shujun’s new film, Only The River Flows, premiering at the Metrograph on July 26.)
“Summer at Sea” continues this weekend with Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight (2013) and Lina Wertmüller’s Swept Away (1974), which was famously remade by Guy Ritchie with his then-wife Madonna.
“Under the Pavement, The Beach,” which I JUST learned was about the French protests of May 1968, continues this weekend with Richard Rush’s Getting Straight (1970) with Elliot Gould.
“Art Cinema, Olympiad and the World” continues, but this really isn’t in my wheelhouse, so you’re best off just clicking on the title to see if it’s your thing.
Some great late-night programming this weekend, including Ralph Bakshi’s Fire and Ice (1983), as part of “Ralph Bakshi: Outside the Lines,” as well as this weekend’s “Late Night Favorites,” Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, The Matrix, and Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left. On Friday night, they’re showing a new 4k restoration of the Oscar-winning Amadeus (1984) with producer Paul Zaentz doing a QnA on Friday night. They’re also showing a new 4k restoration of Alex Steyermark’s Prey for Rock and Roll from 2003, starring Gina Gershon, on Thursday night with Steyermark doing a QnA with composer Stephen Trask, who you may know from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Starting Friday is “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection - 1994” with The Shawshank Redemption, Speed, Clerks, Little Women, and Barcelona being among the series’ first week of screenings. Starting yesterday (as mentioned last week) is “Agnès Varda’s Paris,” which will run through August 28, although there’s no word on what’s next.
NITEHAWK CINEMA PROSPECT PARK & WILLIAMSBURG
On Saturday and Sunday at noon, you can see Michael Mann’s Thief as part of “Robbin’ Season,” and then Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise (1932) will screen next Wednesday night. Also this weekend during the daytime, you can see a new restoration of Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF (1989). Monday’s “Kids vs. Evil” offering is the 1987 horror film, The Gate.
Williamsburg’s “July Giallo” series continues on Friday night (late!) with Fulci’s Murder Rock: Dancing Death (1984), and over the weekend on Saturday/Sunday (at a more reasonable hour), you can see Guy Ritchie’s Snatch from 2000 as part of “Robbin’ Season.”
The 2024 edition of “See It Big 70mm!” will be showing the 1956 John Ford Western The Searchers all weekend, while “World of Animation” is showing Disney’s Bambi on Saturday and then again next weekend. The German film City of Lost Souls (1982) screens as part of “From the Margins: The Trans Film Image” on Saturday afternoon.
Tonight (Thursday) at 7pm, you can catch the director’s cut of the brilliant concert doc movie, Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music, which is almost four hours long. (It’s worth it!) Friday night, you can see The Blair Witch Project (1999) or Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), the latter part of their Lanthimos retrospective. On Saturday, they’re screening Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits and National Lampoon’s Vacation – at different times, so you can see both. On Sunday, there’s the recent family film, Peter Rabbit, and the fairly recent Australian film, Limbo.
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger continues to play as their actual films are being shown at other theaters around town, such as…
“Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger” continues with Gone to Earth and The Tales of Hoffman being two of the weekend highlights.
On Friday night, drag queen Hedda Lettuce presents Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
JAPAN SOCIETY and FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
Are in the midst of Japan Cuts and the New York Asian Film Festival, respectively, so not much in terms of repertory stuff.
Still closed for renovations until August.
Next week, it’s Deadpool and Wolverine, and I really hope I’ll have a chance to see it to review, but otherwise, I’ll just review other stuff.