I have to start this week with an apology. Last week, somehow or another I completely and utterly missed talking about Black Panther. For some reason I thought that it was coming out this week. It wasn’t until I had already posted my pick of the week and actually had gone to the store on Tuesday that I realized Black Panther was out. Obviously, I would have mentioned, if not outright picked, one of the biggest releases of the year were I not a complete idiot and missed the release date.
Hopefully I’m not missing something quite as colossal as that this week. I can’t imagine anything would beat I Kill Giants in the new release arena anyhow. Based on the comic (which I loved), I Kill Giants is about a young, misunderstood girl who has difficulty at school in part because she spends her days escaping into a fantasy world of magic and monsters. The book has a perfect mix of whimsy and heartache. I’m hoping the movie can pull it off.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Game Night: Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star in this comedy about a group of friends who have a weekly game night only to find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.
Red Sparrow: Spy flick starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton got terrible reviews.
Black Venus: Arrow Academy presents this based-on-a-true-story about a young African woman who fled her homeland for Europe and then was exhibited as a freak, forced into brothels, and generally mis-treated all due to the size of her buttocks.
Graduation (Criterion Collection): This Romania drama blends naturalism with the precise construction of a thriller to take a hard look at the corruption inherent in its native country.
Beyond the Hills (Criterion Collection): Another Romanian film gets the Criterion treatment. This one’s about a woman returning to Romania to convince her friend to move with her back to Germany. But the friend is a dedicated nun and refuses to go. Apparently, the film uses this story to comment on Romania’s present political and social troubles.
Little Women: PBS recently adapted this classic book as part of their Masterpiece series. Stars Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, and Angela Lansbury.
Death Smiles on a Murderer: Arrow Video presents this Joe D’Amato-directed, Klaus Kinski vehicle about a man who discovers an ancient Incan formula for raising the dead and uses it for a series of revenge murders. If it’s half as good as that sounds, it will still be a masterpiece
Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters: Portrait of a Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima. It’s set on his last day when he famously committed public suicide.
The 15:17 to Paris: Clint Eastwood’s take on the true story of some American soldier’s who thwarted a terrorist plot on a Paris-bound train. He made the mistake of casting the actual soldiers as themselves and of giving them very little story to tell. The actual terrorist-stopping scene is exciting but it lasts about five minutes and the build-up to it is long, boring, and pointless.
I should also note there are a bunch of steelboks coming out this week. As far as I can tell, they don’t contain anything new, but if you dig that type of thing, you might want to take a look.
