It's a slow week
again, with only one or two wide releases before the full court press
of Oscar releases hits over the last few weeks of December. No big
family pictures, no action-adventure smorgasbords, just a few
interesting options to spend a bit of time with in a theater.
Life Partners
Director: Susanna
Fogel
Writers: Susanna
Fogel, Joni Lefkowitz
Starring: Leighton
Meester, Gillian Jacobs, Adam Brody
Two best friends,
one gay (Meester), and one straight (Jacobs), come to terms with
their changing relationship as Jacobs meets the man she will marry.
Tensions – comedic and dramatic – follow.
Jacobs is a fine
actor, one of the funniest parts of TV's Community, and it's
interesting to see her going in a slightly more dramatic direction
here, or at least one where she isn't Britta-ing everything. Brody's
been strong in things like Thank You For Smoking and I'm
interested to see his smarmy charm at work here. Meester's the wild
card as I've never seen her in anything, but the trailer shows
promise.
The Pyramid
Director: Grégory
Levasseur
Writers: Daniel Meersand, Nick Simon
Starring: Ashley Hinshaw, James Buckley, Denis O'Hare
Writers: Daniel Meersand, Nick Simon
Starring: Ashley Hinshaw, James Buckley, Denis O'Hare
A found footage
horror-thriller about a bunch of attractive archaeologists uncovering
a new Egyptian pyramid with dark secrets inside. Traps are set,
spirits awaken, and a certain something stalks them from the shadows.
We can debate all day about the merits of the found footage genre, but at the very least, from the short look I've had at it, The Pyramid seems to take things like atmosphere and mise en scene seriously. It's not just a cheapie scare-picture. There looks to be some meat to it from a filmmaking perspective, likely helped along by producer Alexandre Aja, whose The Hills Have Eyes remake was full of deeply disturbing imagery and more than a little flash.
We can debate all day about the merits of the found footage genre, but at the very least, from the short look I've had at it, The Pyramid seems to take things like atmosphere and mise en scene seriously. It's not just a cheapie scare-picture. There looks to be some meat to it from a filmmaking perspective, likely helped along by producer Alexandre Aja, whose The Hills Have Eyes remake was full of deeply disturbing imagery and more than a little flash.
Wild
Director: Jean-Marc
Vallée
Writers: Nick Hornby, Cheryl Strayed (from her memoir)
Writers: Nick Hornby, Cheryl Strayed (from her memoir)
Starring: Reese
Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffmann
Reese Witherspoon
stars as Cheryl Strayed, an addict who tries to set her life straight
by hiking vast distances, alone and contemplating her
choices.
Vallée directed last year's Dallas Buyers Club, a so-so movie with great performances that swept the male acting categories at the Oscars, but it looks like he has exploded his style into a grandiose, meditative scope with the well-worn “nature as cleanser” theme everywhere. This got a great reception at the Chicago International Film Festival a couple months back, so I'm excited to see it. If you can only see one movie this weekend, this would be my pick.
Vallée directed last year's Dallas Buyers Club, a so-so movie with great performances that swept the male acting categories at the Oscars, but it looks like he has exploded his style into a grandiose, meditative scope with the well-worn “nature as cleanser” theme everywhere. This got a great reception at the Chicago International Film Festival a couple months back, so I'm excited to see it. If you can only see one movie this weekend, this would be my pick.
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