DOGTOOTH

Dir. Giorgos Lanthimos (2009);  94 min

FRIDAY, May 31st  at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, June 1st at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, June 2nd at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

‘I hope your kids have bad influences and develop bad personalities,’ says the well-to-do dad of three suburban young adults as a putdown in the mysterious, bold ‘Dogtooth’, hinting at a unique approach to parenting of which Josef Fritzl would be proud. Director Giorgos Lanthimos gives us a middle-class Greek family, lorded over by a businessman father who keeps his three children within the walls of their smart home and teaches them the incorrect definitions of several new words each day (‘A motorway is a very strong wind’). These kids’ world is without outside interference: when their mother talks on the phone, they think she’s speaking to herself; when planes fly over, they think they’re toys. Perhaps the dad’s biggest mistake is to allow a security guard from work to enter their home and sexually satisfy his son. He doesn’t bargain on her trading gifts and ideas with his daughter for sexual favours. Nor does he pre-empt the danger of her lending his daughter videos of ‘Rocky’ and ‘Flashdance’.

With hints of Haneke’s ‘The Seventh Continent’, Ian McEwan’s ‘The Cement Garden’ and even ‘Lord of the Flies’, Lanthimos has crafted a stunningly provocative and at times witty play on the inspirations that make us who we are. All families live by their own rules, and this drama takes that idea to its perverse and shocking conclusion. Lanthimos films these calamities in a quiet, observational style, with calm colours, subtle camera movements and gentle edits, lending an air of normality to a world that couldn’t be less so. Special and troubling. ~ Time Out

MILK

Dir. Gus Van Sant (2008);  128 min

FRIDAY, May 24th  at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, May 25th at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, May 26th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

Like Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992), this moving biopic about the slain gay-rights activist Harvey Milk is not only the story of a political leader but a political event in its own right, introducing mainstream moviegoers to a martyred hero and implicitly championing his ideals. Known in San Francisco as the Mayor of Castro Street, Milk pulled off an impressive balancing act in the mid-70s: though he worked tirelessly for gay rights, he also assembled an unlikely power base of gays, hippies, seniors, union members, and small-business owners that catapulted him to elective office on the city's board of supervisors. Sean Penn gives a meticulously detailed performance as the cagey and charismatic pol, but credit should also go to Dustin Lance Black, whose script squarely locates Milk at the center of his community, his city, and his cause. ~ Chicago Reader

VISUALS FILM FESTIVAL

ONE NIGHT ONLY! FRIDAY, May 17th @ 7PM

Come support aspiring filmmakers at Visuals, 5th Avenue Cinema’s community film festival, which features the latest shorts from talented student/community filmmakers and local media artists, as well as free Hotlips pizza. The featured short films often run the gamut from animation to experimental, from music videos to found footage. All films are carefully selected by the PSU Film Committee, and the screening is followed by voting and an awards ceremony in which we award prizes to the winners for the audience choice and Film Committee Palme d’Or awards.

The screening starts at 7pm and is for one night only.

The 2013 program:

I'm So Tired - Dir. Julian Smuggles

Some Days - Tiffany Creed

Buster Bright Boy – Kristopher J. Ballard

Ole' Burton Hill - Veronica Rose

Boot Party - Seri Soulatha

Shaolin Rescue - Gerard Donaghy

Superdrunk - Skyler Wells

The Ballad of Peter and Emily - Don Andrews

skate|or|skate|or|cry - Riley King

Missing - Roger Mellon

The Land Between - Melissa Gregory Rue

The Considerate Man - Brian Grant

THREE KINGS

Dir. David O. Russell (1999);  114 min

FRIDAY, May 10th  at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, May 11th at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, May 12th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

Four characters seeking personal gain are nearly sidetracked by altruistic impulses in this emotionally and politically responsible movie set in Iraq during the immediate aftermath of the gulf war—a damning yet idealistic satire about the motives behind U.S. foreign policy. The visuals are wild, the sound track has the audacity to underscore the subtext instead of just echoing the obvious, the comedy is irreverent and occasionally slapstick, and the metaphorical details are consistently strong. The movie even examines the conventions of star-studded actioners without stripping the leads of the charisma and apparent immortality of full-blown action heroes. Writer-director David O. Russell (Spanking the Monkey, Flirting With Disaster) has achieved it all: he's made a movie (1999) that's about filmmaking—and things that really matter. With George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze. ~ Chicago Reader

BIUTIFUL

Dir. Alejandro González Iñarritu (2010);  148 min

FRIDAY, May 3rd at 7 & 10pm

SATURDAY, May 4th at 7 & 10pm

SUNDAY, May 5th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

Javier Bardem cuts a tragic figure as a dying Barcelona lowlife who traffics in illegal immigrants and communes with the dead. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, working for the first time without screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, abandons their usual intersecting story lines (so fresh in Amores Perros, so stale by the time of Babel) to concentrate on Bardem's character as he struggles to provide for his children, manage his bipolar ex-wife (Argentine stage actress Maricel Alvarez), steer his African street vendors away from police, and keep Chinese sweatshop workers out of harm's way. Cinematographer Rodrigo Pietro grounds the ghostly encounters in grainy imagery, his unobtrusive handheld camera and deeply saturated colors best appreciated in a nightclub sequence that looks like something from Hieronymous Bosch. ~ Chicago Reader

ROSEMARY'S BABY

Dir. Roman Polanski (1968);  136 min

FRIDAY, April 26th  at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, April 27th at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, April 28th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

A supremely intelligent and convincing adaptation of Ira Levin's Satanist thriller. About a woman who believes herself impregnated by the Devil (in the guise of her husband), its main strength comes from Polanski's refusal to simplify matters: ambiguity is constant, in that we are never sure whether Farrow's paranoia about a witches' coven is grounded in reality or a figment of her frustrated imagination. Sexual politics, urban alienation, and a deeply pessimistic view of human interaction permeate the film, directed with a slow, careful build-up of pace and a precise sense of visual composition. Although it manages to be frightening, there is little gore or explicit violence; instead, what disturbs is the blurring of reality and nightmare, and the way Farrow is slowly transformed from a healthy, happily-married wife to a haunted, desperately confused shadow of her former self. Great performances, too, and a marvellously melancholy score by Krzysztof Komeda. ~ Time Out

THE MASTER

Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2012);  144 min

FRIDAY, April 19th  at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, April 20th at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, April 21st at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

A self-destructive loner (Joaquin Phoenix), discharged from the navy after serving in the Pacific in World War II, flounders back in the States before coming under the wing of a charismatic religious leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman) transparently based on L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. This challenging, psychologically fraught drama is Paul Thomas Anderson's first feature since the commanding There Will Be Blood (2007), and like that movie it chronicles a contest of wills between an older man and a younger one, as the troubled, sexually obsessed, and often violent young disciple tries to fit in with the flock that's already gathered around the master. This time, however, the clashing social forces aren't religion and capitalism but, in keeping with the era, community and personal freedom—including the freedom to fail miserably at life. The stellar cast includes Amy Adams, Laura Dern, and Jesse Plemons. ~ Chicago Reader

MISS BALA

Dir. Gerardo Naranjo (2011);  113 min

FRIDAY, April 12th at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, April 13th at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, April 14th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

What would you get if Michael Mann retooled Lucrecia Martel’s ‘The Headless Woman’ for the Guns & Ammo set? Gerardo Naranjo’s gobsmacking ‘Miss Bala’ is what: an abrasive, anything-can-happen dirge through Mexico’s dismal criminal underbelly as seen through the gorgeous peepers of the wannabe beauty queen of the title (Stephanie Sigman).

While visiting a grotty underground discotheque frequented by bent coppers, our feisty heroine is kidnapped by a band of faceless, nameless terrorists and coerced into carrying out their illegal bidding (and more). It’s then simply a case of watching in horror as she’s knocked around the city like a pinball, violated at regular intervals and with absolutely no one she can turn to for assistance.

On a purely technical level, this is a highly accomplished and original piece of work, with all the action delivered from the perspective of the simpering but tough Sigman. Narajo channelled Godard’s ‘Pierrot le Fou’ in his rough-edged previous feature, ‘I’m Gonna Explode’, and even though the tone is very different, this new work playfully evokes the spiralling descent into savagery of JLG’s ‘Week End’, or even the impulsive, tinpot revolutionaries that populate his ‘La Chinoise’ or ‘Prénom: Carmen’. Not that Narajo is particularly interested in fleshing out rational ideologies for either cops or bandits: his film is all the more disarming for the fact that it takes place in a society where politics appears redundant and money and power are gained through violent, minutely orchestrated coups.

So it’s not a political film, nor is it one that peddles a liberal news agenda about Mexico’s ongoing drug war. It does, however, allow us to take an objective look at various legal power structures, and it helps us to understand that whoever wins this battle, we lose.

~ Time Out

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD

Dir. Andrew Dominik (2007);  160 min

FRIDAY, April 5th at 7 & 10pm

SATURDAY, April 6th at 7 & 10pm

SUNDAY, April 7th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

Where does criminality end and celebrity begin is the question posed by Australian director Andrew Dominikwhose stunning second film – after 2000’s excellent (and not entirely dissimilar) ‘Chopper’ – sets the Western genre barn ablaze to deliver a gripping, Gothic tête à tête between two of American history’s most morally perplexing folk heroes. Kicking off with an expertly choreographed train robbery which acts as both a narrative nub and tonal barometer for the director’s bucolic, mournful mise en scene and script, the film then ruefully traces the interlocking paths of Jesse James and his young admirer Robert Ford. Early word suggested that Casey Affleck’s Ford was the man to keep an eye on come awards season, but this is unquestionably Pitt’s film, his James insouciantly radiating a piercing, unreadable intensity redolent of Joe Pesci’s work with Scorsese, a truly enigmatic presence constantly obscured behind warped glass, thick smoke, or even his own visibly battered visage. Though, in the end, the film’s main intention is to have you query every element of its mischievous title (and you probably will), it’s a journey of immense emotional foreboding and, flabby coda aside, a red-raw classic.

~ Time Out

13 ASSASSINS

Dir. Takashi Miike (2010);  141 min

FRIDAY, March 15th  at 7 & 9:30pm

SATURDAY, March 16th at 7 & 9:30pm

SUNDAY, March 17th at 3pm

SYNOPSIS:

Likely to tan the high-concept hides of every Hollywood action flick this year, this majestically violent film from ultra-prolific Japanese maestro Takashi Miike’s probably the closest modern cinema has come to Akira Kurosawa’s mud-and-blood-caked Samurai showdowns. 

The first hour is a pure, slowburn tease. One plot strain demonstrates the outlandish barbarism of a feudal lord, while another has a select unit of fighters hatching a grand plan to take him down. The film is built as a long crescendo, opening at a level of considered, Zen-like reflection and ending with a prolonged cacophony of elaborate, town-wide annihilation. 

There are occasional dashes of CGI for elements that couldn’t be staged for the camera (cue rampaging herds of burning bulls), but Miike’s film is all the more triumphant for offering elaborate, tangible sets, elegant period attire, hardboiled dialogue and rolling oceans of glorious, rosy red blood. Pure joy. ~ Time Out