THE WEEKEND WARRIOR March 15, 2024
ARTHUR THE KING, ONE LIFE, THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROES
We’ve had two great weekends in a row at the box office, so the month of March is due for a down weekend, and it will probably be this one, even if Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two should remain sitting pretty atop the box office this coming weekend.
I don’t often get out to Astoria, Queens, because it’s a bit of a schlep and half the trains that take me near to the Museum of the Moving Image don’t run on the weekends, but that’s not to say that it’s not a great way to see a movie, because it certainly is, and it’s one of the theaters in the city that regularly shows 70mm prints as well. I normally cover “MOMI’s” repertory stuff, but they do regularly show current films, and it’s annual “First Look” series regularly debuts new movies that you might not get a chance to see elsewhere. This year’s FIRST LOOK 2024 runs from March 13 through March 17. It opens with Fernanda Valadez’s Sujo (pictured) on Wednesday night with the filmmaker and her cinematographer on hand for a QnA, preceded by Charlie Shackleton’s short, Lateral. It has has a lot of interesting movies screening, but I’m almost more interested in the “Working on It” series of labs that will run through the program that will show works-in-progress and have panel discussions and workshops for filmmakers. (A huge shout-out to Eric Hynes, Curator of Film at MoMI and First Look Artistic Director, on this year’s line-up!)
Let’s get to a few wide releases, because there are a few of them, the widest release being….
ARTHUR THE KING (Lionsgate)
Mark Wahlberg stars in this odd mix of a dog movie and a racing/sports movie, playing Michael Lindnord, a real-life “adventure racer” (renamed “Michael Light”), a sport that involves endurance and racing across hundreds of miles of wild terrain. Michael is coming off an absolutely horrible showing at the last Adventure Racing National Championships, and he’s hoping to make up for it at the next one in the Dominican Republic. While going through the rigorous endurance event, the team encounters a dog that Michael names “Arthur,” and who ends up becoming a major part of their story.
This is written by Oscar winner Michael Brandt (Little Miss Sunshine) and directed by Simon Cellan Jones, who just directed Wahlberg in The Family Plan on Apple TV+, and it’s opening in 2,850 theaters, which is the widest of a new release this weekend, though it’s not likely to make much headway against Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two.
Mini-Review: Dog lovers might want to go into this one knowing that it’s possibly an hour or more before the titular pooch meets up with Wahlberg and his team, because this movie is mostly about the “adventure racing”... Is this some kind of craze? I never heard about it before seeing this movie, even though I knew there were endurance and toughness events, just nothing to the extent of trying to travel across over 430 miles in five or more days.
We meet Mark Wahlberg’s “Mike Light” as he’s losing one of these races with his frustrated teammates, but three years later, he’s ready to try again with a mostly new team, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Sulliman, and begrudgingly, Simu Liu’s returning social media addict. They go down to the Dominican Republic without the amount of training time they need due to budget constraints, but they make the best they can with what they have to try to win Michael his first championship.
It gets pretty corny at times, mainly because of Wahlberg’s line delivery – you know what I’m talking about – and it’s a little surprising the dialogue isn’t better considering Brandt’s prestigious resumé, but once Arthur joins the team for real, the movie definitely starts getting better, and you do find yourself rooting for the team, as should be the case. Simon Cellan Jones and his team do a decent job, particularly capturing the beautiful vistas of the Dominican Republic (not sure if they actually shot there) as well as some of the more tense action moments.
Arthur the King is perfectly fine, a mostly entertaining and joyful adventure film where a dog steals many of the scenes from its human co-stars, but I’ve seen much worse in this realm, and you probably won’t be too upset if you decide to give this a look.
Rating: 7/10
ONE LIFE (Bleecker Street)
Sir Anthony Hopkins stars in the second true-life wide release of this weekend, this one which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year. In the movie, he plays Sir Nicholas Winton, a British broker who in 1937 travelled to Prague in Czechoslavika and was so horrified by the situation with hundreds of starving refugee kids that he chose to do whatever he could to transport them to England and find them families to stay with until things got better.
Bleecker Street will release this in under 800 theaters this weekend, so it might have trouble making much of a dent in the top 10 and will probably open with $2 million or less.
Mini-Review: This film directed by James Hawes (Slow Horses, Black Mirror) begins in 1987 with the older Winton, as he reflects back on the events leading up to WWII where he travelled to Prague and began efforts to save the impoverished and starving kids that are suffering on the streets, as the Nazis are getting ready to invade.
The younger Winton is played by Johnny Flynn, an actor I’m not even remotely familiar with, but apparently, he stars in the upcoming “Ripley” series for Netflix, and he’s quite good, maybe because he has more to work with in the flashback sequences than Hopkins does in the 1987 sequences.
I was mostly interested in this one, because my own father left Germany during this time period to go to England via the Kindetransport, though he was already a teenager, but if not for the Kindetransport I wouldn’t be writing these words, so I was fascinated by Winton’s own efforts to save children and find them a family as the war raged.
Much of the movie is a bit of a slog, especially when it cuts back to the “present day” with Hopkins talking to his colleague, played by the great Jonathan Pryce in a single scene, which proves the adage that it’s better to show something (as it does in the 1937 sequences) than talk non-stop about it.
It’s only in the last act when Hopkins really delivers the type of performance that shows why he’s a two-time Oscar winner, as the film gets quite emotional, as Winton is reunited with the children he saved, who are now all adults with kids and grandkids of their own. It’s easy to be cynical with the amount of Holocaust-related movies being made these days. One Life certainly takes more than a few cues from the far superior Schindler’s List, but Winton’s story is an interesting one to learn about, one that I immediately found a connection to, even though I found it to be a little too tonally erratic at times, at least right up until the last act.
Rating: 7/10
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROES (Focus)
With the craziest (or coolest) title in recent memory, the directorial debut by actor Kobi Libii (which he also wrote) stars Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Dominion) as Aren, a poor artist who just can’t catch a break, but then he meets David Allen Grier’s Roger, who offers him a chance to join a secret society of “magical negroes,” whose entire purpose is to make white people more comfortable, so they don’t go around shooting black people. Yes, it’s quite high concept, but it’s also quite sharp social satire that had me laughing quite a bit, as you can read in my review below. It probably will open in around 1,000 theaters which doesn’t give it much chance to do much better than Focus’ last two movies, Lisa Frankenstein and Drive-Away Dolls, but it should be good for $3 million or so.
Mini-Review: I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this comedy going by the title, but I was happy to see Justice Smith, who I’ve grown to quite like from his movies, especially last year’s Sharper, and he does a similar job here as an every man experiencing this idea of “magical negroes” throughout history. What first-time director and filmmaker Kobi Libbi has going for him is this great premise that these magical negroes have been around for centuries helping white people adjust to black people.
Smith’s Aren is having trouble getting his abstract art to sell, but when he’s recruited by Grier’s Roger, he begins working at a marketing company where he begins a would-be friendship and possible romance with An-Li Bogan’s Lizzie. For that to work out, Aren finds that he has to
It’s just so great seeing David Allen Grier in this, having a much bigger role than his one in American Fiction, and it might be hard for this not to be compared to that Oscar winner, just because it uses social satire in a similar way. The popular Nicole Byer also has a smaller role as one of the leaders of the society.
Some people (translation: white people) might feel uncomfortable with the film’s title or the concept, but that is probably the entire point of making a comedy like this, and the laughs often deliver more times than not. A charming and witty debut from Libbi that avoids some of the tonal issues of American Fiction but brings a lot to the table as far as its own social satire.
Rating: 7.5/10
Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding, starring Kristen Stewart – which I reviewed last week – will be expanded by A24 into 1,200 theaters after a decent platform release in New York and L.A. where it averaged $33.5k in five theaters. This week, it should be able to have a solid expansion that will put it somewhere in the Top 6.
THE BOX OFFICE CHART
1. Kung Fu Panda 4 (DreamWorks Animation/Universal) - $28 million
2. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.) - $26.8 million
3. Arthur the King (Lionsgate) - $9 million N/A
4. Cabrini (Angel Studios) - $4.5 million
5. Imaginary (Lionsgate) - $4.3 million
6. Love Lies Bleeding (A24) - $4 million
7. The American Society of Magical Negroes (Focus) - $3.3 million
8. Bob Marley: One Love (Paramount) - $2.4 million -44%
9. One Life (Bleecker Street) - $1.8 million N/A
10. Ordinary Angels (Lionsgate) - $1.1 million
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch any of the many other limited releases this weekend to write full reviews, since my schedule has been so slammed, but hope to get to some of these soon.
KNOX GOES AWAY (Saban Films)
Michael Keaton directs and stars in this drama in which he plays a hired assassin suffering from early stage dementia who has a chance to redeeem himself by reconnecting with his estranged adult son. The movie also stars James Marsden, Suzy Nakamura, and Al Pacino, and it will open in select cities this weekend.
THE SHADOWLESS TOWER (Metrograph Press)
Opening at the Metrograph on Friday is Zhang Lu’s drama that follows the middle-aged loner Gu Wentong, who is encouraged by a young photographer he meets to reconnect with his estranged father who he hasn’t spoken to in 40 years.
BLACKOUT (Dark Sky Films)
I’m always excited when Larry Fessenden has a new horror movie, since he’s been so pervasive in terms of acting as the father of independent horror, especially in New York City. This one stars Alex Hurt, son of the late, great William Hurt, as Charley, who thinks that he’s a werewolf, as he’s not able to remember things that he’s done after seeing reports in the papers about violent murders in his town. Blackout opens on Wednesday night at the IFC Center with Fessenden doing a couple QnAs on Weds. and Thurs. nights.
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (Magnet)
French actor Romain Duris stars in this movie that just launched this year’s “Rendezvous with French Cinema” in February. It’s a father and son adventure set in a world where humans have started to mutant into animal species.
FRIDA (Prime Video)
Long-time Emmy-nominated documentary editor Carla Gutierrez (RBG) directs this documentary profile of the legendary Mexican artist, famously portrayed by Salma Hayek (who received an Oscar nomination) in the 2002 biopic. This will be on Prime Video starting Thursday.
REMEMBERING GENE WILDER (Kino Lorber)
Ron Frank (MLK: The Assassination Tapes, The Lost JFK Tapes) directs this documentary about the late, great ‘70s actor who originated so many beloved roles like the title character in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as well as making so many great comedies with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor. This opens at the Quad Cinema in New York on Friday.
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: OPUS (Janus)
Another late, great, musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto gave this somber performance of his music on piano for this film directed by Neo Sora, which will open at Film at Lincoln Center on Friday.
CLUB ZERO (Film Movement)
Jessica Hausner’s dramedy stars Mia Wasikowska as Ms. Novak, a teacher who gets a job at an elite school where she forms a bond with five students which “takes a dangerous turn.” I know this also opens at the IFC Center on Friday but received zero info about this in advance.
Also opening this weekend are…
EXHUMA (Well GO USA)
ESCAPE (Saban Films)
UPROAR (Blue Fox)
NYC REPERTORY
I don’t know where you’ll be this weekend, but I mostly will be at my favorite New York City repertory arthouse watching some of the great offerings in its current theaters. (It’s true. I actually have SEVEN movies booked to this weekend, cause there’s so much great stuff!)
I’m pretty excited that “A Touch of Wang Hongwei” will be showing Johnny Ma’s excellent 2016 crime-thriller Old Stone only ONCE on Friday night! Definitely go check it out! That series will also screen Zhangke Jia’s Xiao Wu (Pickpocket) (1997) this weekend.
“Remember Every Frame: Edited by Dede Allen” will show one of my all-time favorite sports movies, the hockey comedy, George Roy Hills’ Slap Shot (1977), starring Paul Newman, and ACE (American Cinema Editors) is going to have a special screening of Slaughterhouse Five, also edited by Ms. Allen with a panel conversation afterwards – that’s on Saturday evening.
The “Bad Actress” series will screen Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1966), the Billy Wilder classic Sunset Boulevard (1950), and Hong Sangsoo’s In Front of Your Face (2021), as well as repeat screenings of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? On Monday.
“Forever Young” will screen Andrea Arnold’s American Honey (2016), starring Sasha Lane, Shia Labeouf, Riley Keough, as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumblefish (1983), as well as repeat screenings of La Haine and Rebels of the Neon God on Monday.
“Mad House or Mad World” will screen Park Chanwook’s oddball sci-fi comedy, I’m A Cyborg But That’s Okay (2006), and if you want to do a really crazy double feature (one that might scar your kids for life), “Animal Farm: Pigs” will be showing the Korean horror film Chaw* (2009) and the animated classic, Charlotte’s Web, all weekend. (*I’m not even remotely surprised that Netflix didn’t allow Metrograph to show Bong Joon-ho’s Okja in this series, but it would have been perfect.
“Also Starring… John Cazale” will present the final screenings of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and The Godfather Part II this weekend on Friday and Sunday respectively. (The former is already sold out.)
Coming off what may be one of the Film Forum’s most successful series in many years, the “Japanese Horror” series that led to many sell-out shows has been extended through Thursday, December 21, so lots more chances to see classic Japanese horror films like House, Cure, Onibaba, and Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood. On Sunday, Film Forum will screen a beloved classic from my childhood, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). It’s also running a special 4k restoration of Claude Sautet's Classe Tous Risques (1960).
Screening this weekend are Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love and Basketball (2000) on Thursday, Jessica Hausner’s Hotel (2004), Jerry Lewis’ The Geisha Boy (1958), Hollywood or Bust (1956) and more, mostly in 35mm.
David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Moon will have late night screenings on Friday and Saturday night.
Did you know that the Village East has been carrying on a tradition by showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show on alternating Saturday nights? You do now.
Next week, a movie that I’m quite excited about, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, as well as Sydney Sweeney in the horror movie, Immaculate, and other odds and ends.