January goes out on a dark note with offerings in horror, psychological thriller, and historical dramatization.
Gretel & Hansel
Written by Rob Hayes, Directed by Oz (Osgood) Perkins
Starring: Sophia Lillis, Alice Krige, and Samuel Leakey
Perkins has far more actings credits to his name than he does writing or directing but, since stepping behind the camera, he’s a particular affinity for horror films. Odds are, you probably haven’t heard of his other films, I sure hadn’t, but most people don’t come up with a hit their first-time at-bat. Hayes is in the same boat but those projects led them here and honestly it’s not their name recognition that’s selling the project anyway. The original Grimm fairytale is pretty damn creepy at its core and this film looks to stay closer to those roots than the plethora of kitschy film adaptations that came out in 2013. Galo Olivares’ cinematography looks to be particularly eerie and adept at capturing Jeremy Reed’s production design. Add to that, Lillis (IT) leading a very small cast as Gretel and Krige serving up witch, I have much more interest and faith in the movie now. There’s a lot of genre competition at the box office but this has potential to be good and do well.
The Rhythm Section
Written by Mark Burnell & Directed by Reed Morano
Stars: Blake Lively, Jude Law, and Sterling K. Brown
Morano has done well to parlay her success directing episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale into bigger opportunities but there’s only so much one person can do. At a glance, it’s easy to see this screenplay by Burnell is incredibly far-fetched. A woman whose family was killed in a plane crash seeks revenge on those who were responsible via some kind of larger conspiracy. Lively looks to be fully invested in the performance, minus the accent, but there is going to have to be a ton of explanation when it comes to what’s actually going on and the movie just isn’t that long. The title doesn’t even make any sense without context. I like the cast with Law and Brown as supporting roles but there are just so many questions that need answering and the trailer doesn’t really make me care to find out what those answers are. I could be wrong but my instincts are good with this kind of stuff and this one could wind up as a massive flop.
The Assistant *(Limited)*
Written & Directed by Kitty Green
Starring: Julia Garner and Matthew Macfayden
This is an interesting project for documentary filmmaker Kitty Green (Casting JonBenet ) who takes on her first feature film aiming at the most lopsided position in the entertainment business. Judging by the trailer, it appears to be a psychological thriller as a young woman gets her dream job as an assistant to a powerful executive but begins to realize things aren’t quite so simple. That young woman is played by Julia Garner who’s made a name for herself the last few years between Ozark, Dirty John, and The Americans. If nothing else, it’ll be a moment for her to shine as a lead performer. This was never going to be the kind of film to gross a ton of money at the box office but it’s in limited release right now anyway so the analytics guys can go over those numbers at a different time.
Incitement – Israel *(Limited)*
Written by Yaron Zilberman, Ron Leshem, and Yair Hizmi
Directed by Yaron Zilberman
Starring: Yehuda Nahari Halevi, Amitay Yaish Ben Ousilio, & Anat Ravnitzki
I’m no expert on Israeli cinema but I’ guessing this film is historically significant since it covers the assassination of the country’s prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Unlike many other movies that would tell this story one particular way, this effort is focused on the radicalization of a law student turned assassin named Yigal Amir. Zilberman appears to have integrated a good amount of historical footage for the sake of context and authenticity and it helped catch my attention. There’s plenty of political fodder in the media on a regular basis so I doubt people will be heading to the theaters for it as well but it does appear to be a good movie overall and may wind up as one of the best foreign-language films of the year…if you’re in the mood for that sort of thing.
The Traitor – Italy *Limited* Editor’s Pick
Written by Marco Bellocchio, Valia Santella, Ludovica Rampoldi, & Francesco Piccolo in collaboration with Francesco La Licata
Directed by Marco Bellocchio
Starring: Pierfrancesco Pavino, Luigi Lo Cascio, and Fausto Russo Alesi
There’s never any shortage of Italian Mafia movies. We just can’t seem to get enough of them. For Marco Bellocchio’s 50th directorial project, he decided to take on the story of Tommaso Buscetta, “the Boss of two Worlds” for which he was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Buscetta was one of the first mafiosos to become an informant and eventually testify at the largest anti-Mafia trial in history before entering witness protection for the rest of his life. It’s been on the festival circuit for a while now but, if you like Mafia movies, it looks like an excellent one.
Have fun at the movies!