Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (Sept. 26)
Directed by Stefan Forbes
Political rock star Lee Atwater went from Southern good old boy to Chairman of the GOP, reinventing how elections are won in the process. And in this documentary, director Forbes reveals just how the dirty side to GOP politics has become mandatory thanks to Atwater. Anyone remotely interested in the outcome of this year’s presidential election should mark Boogie Man as a must-see.
Breakfast with Scot (Oct. 10)
Directed by Laurie Lynd
The first gay-themed movie granted permission to use a professional sports team’s logo and uniforms, Breakfast with Scot finds hockey commentator Eric (Ed’s Tom Cavanagh) and his partner Sam (Ben Shenkman) playing father to recently orphaned Scot (Noah Bernett). But Scot is a far cry from the sports-loving Eric, brandishing a charm bracelet and belting show tunes. A gay movie that isn’t afraid to make the case for flamingly gay men (even if two of the gay characters are played by straight actors), Breakfast with Scot could turn out to be fun, frivolous look at the way a 21st-century family is made. Or it could be a rainbow-colored mess.
Good Dick (Oct. 17)
Directed by Marianna Palka
Making her feature film debut, writer and director Palka creates a twisted world in which a lonely video store clerk (Jason Ritter) and a woman who rents dirty movies from his store (Palka) embark on a quirky romantic odyssey in Los Angeles. Since female filmmakers are all too rare—and good romantic comedies almost as hard to find—we have our fingers crossed that the attention-grabbing title belies a rom-com to rival Zoe Cassavetes’ Broken English.
I’ve Loved You So Long (Oct. 24)
Directed by Philippe Claudel
Hot on the heels of the superb thriller Tell No One, Kristin Scott Thomas stars in another French-language film. Thomas is heart-wrenching as Juliette, a woman who has spent so much time shutting down emotionally after a mysterious death and years of prison that she’s almost incapable of enjoying life. Her accent may need to be explained away, but her performance is nothing less than stellar.
The Haunting of Mary Hartley (Oct. 31)
Directed by Mickey Liddell
Hello, Upper East Siders! Gossip Girl here, letting you know that everyone’s favorite teen soap heartthrob, Chace Crawford, is coming to a big screen near you in teen horror flick The Haunting of Mary Hartley. Along for the ride—which involves a 17-year-old girl discovering just what she’s descended from—are fellow teen sensations AnnaLynne McCord (Nip/Tuck, 90210) and Shanna Collins (Swingtown). With a trashtastic cast like that, why bother going to Film Forum for its week’s run of Rosemary’s Baby? Xoxo, Gossip Girl.
Splinter (Oct. 31)
Directed by Toby Wilkins
When a young couple is carjacked by another young couple, their biggest worry is getting out alive. At first. Because deep in the woods, a terrifying creature that absorbs the corpses of its victims is lying in wait for the fractious foursome. A throwback to the monster films of the ’70s and ’80s, Splinter looks like a gory, fun alternative to watching the same old Halloween parade pass through the West Village.
Just Another Love Story (Nov. 11)
Directed by Ole Bernedal
Taking While You Were Sleeping to a very dark place, Danish director Bernedal’s thriller features a suburban family man who works as a crime-scene photographer. Bored with his life—despite his gruesome job—he happily allows himself to be mistaken for a coma victim’s fiancé. But when Julia awakens with amnesia and her real fiancé begins to wonder whom this stranger claiming his identity is, things become even more complicated. Hopefully, the complications don’t involve a pregnancy.
House of Sleeping Beauties (Nov. 14)
Directed by Vadim Glowna
In this German thriller, sixty-something German Edmond hears about a secret establishment where one can lie beside gorgeous, sleeping young girls who toss, turn, but never wake up, and he quickly heads over to partake. But when he sees the madam of the house smuggling out a corpse, his obsession with the girls takes an even more ominous turn.
Angel (Nov. 21)
Directed by François Ozon
Ever since 2003’s Swimming Pool, French director Ozon has been building a reputation among serious cinema fans with graceful genre movies edged with darkness. After a three-year absence, he’s back in U.S. theaters with Angel. Starring Romola Garai and based on one of those overheated mid 20th-century novels about a woman’s ambition versus her happiness, Angel follows the rise and fall of a grocer’s daughter who dreams of fame and fortune as a novelist. Inspired by the Hollywood melodramas that are so much catnip to directors today, Angel should continue Ozon’s string of critically acclaimed films.
Let Them Chirp Awhile (Nov. 28)
Directed by Jonathan Blitstein
Starring mumblecore star Justin Rice (Mutual Appreciation), Let Them Chirp Awhile is an homage to Umberto D., featuring a month of everyday life in NYC as Bobby (Rice) dog sits, staggers through failed attempts at relationships and finds himself a victim of plagiarism. Mumblecore still hasn’t really taken off, so maybe this movie (featuring a campy morality play about 9/11) can supply the plot the movement so desperately cries out for.
Directed by Stefan Forbes
Political rock star Lee Atwater went from Southern good old boy to Chairman of the GOP, reinventing how elections are won in the process. And in this documentary, director Forbes reveals just how the dirty side to GOP politics has become mandatory thanks to Atwater. Anyone remotely interested in the outcome of this year’s presidential election should mark Boogie Man as a must-see.
Breakfast with Scot (Oct. 10)
Directed by Laurie Lynd
The first gay-themed movie granted permission to use a professional sports team’s logo and uniforms, Breakfast with Scot finds hockey commentator Eric (Ed’s Tom Cavanagh) and his partner Sam (Ben Shenkman) playing father to recently orphaned Scot (Noah Bernett). But Scot is a far cry from the sports-loving Eric, brandishing a charm bracelet and belting show tunes. A gay movie that isn’t afraid to make the case for flamingly gay men (even if two of the gay characters are played by straight actors), Breakfast with Scot could turn out to be fun, frivolous look at the way a 21st-century family is made. Or it could be a rainbow-colored mess.
Good Dick (Oct. 17)
Directed by Marianna Palka
Making her feature film debut, writer and director Palka creates a twisted world in which a lonely video store clerk (Jason Ritter) and a woman who rents dirty movies from his store (Palka) embark on a quirky romantic odyssey in Los Angeles. Since female filmmakers are all too rare—and good romantic comedies almost as hard to find—we have our fingers crossed that the attention-grabbing title belies a rom-com to rival Zoe Cassavetes’ Broken English.
I’ve Loved You So Long (Oct. 24)
Directed by Philippe Claudel
Hot on the heels of the superb thriller Tell No One, Kristin Scott Thomas stars in another French-language film. Thomas is heart-wrenching as Juliette, a woman who has spent so much time shutting down emotionally after a mysterious death and years of prison that she’s almost incapable of enjoying life. Her accent may need to be explained away, but her performance is nothing less than stellar.
The Haunting of Mary Hartley (Oct. 31)
Directed by Mickey Liddell
Hello, Upper East Siders! Gossip Girl here, letting you know that everyone’s favorite teen soap heartthrob, Chace Crawford, is coming to a big screen near you in teen horror flick The Haunting of Mary Hartley. Along for the ride—which involves a 17-year-old girl discovering just what she’s descended from—are fellow teen sensations AnnaLynne McCord (Nip/Tuck, 90210) and Shanna Collins (Swingtown). With a trashtastic cast like that, why bother going to Film Forum for its week’s run of Rosemary’s Baby? Xoxo, Gossip Girl.
Splinter (Oct. 31)
Directed by Toby Wilkins
When a young couple is carjacked by another young couple, their biggest worry is getting out alive. At first. Because deep in the woods, a terrifying creature that absorbs the corpses of its victims is lying in wait for the fractious foursome. A throwback to the monster films of the ’70s and ’80s, Splinter looks like a gory, fun alternative to watching the same old Halloween parade pass through the West Village.
Just Another Love Story (Nov. 11)
Directed by Ole Bernedal
Taking While You Were Sleeping to a very dark place, Danish director Bernedal’s thriller features a suburban family man who works as a crime-scene photographer. Bored with his life—despite his gruesome job—he happily allows himself to be mistaken for a coma victim’s fiancé. But when Julia awakens with amnesia and her real fiancé begins to wonder whom this stranger claiming his identity is, things become even more complicated. Hopefully, the complications don’t involve a pregnancy.
House of Sleeping Beauties (Nov. 14)
Directed by Vadim Glowna
In this German thriller, sixty-something German Edmond hears about a secret establishment where one can lie beside gorgeous, sleeping young girls who toss, turn, but never wake up, and he quickly heads over to partake. But when he sees the madam of the house smuggling out a corpse, his obsession with the girls takes an even more ominous turn.
Angel (Nov. 21)
Directed by François Ozon
Ever since 2003’s Swimming Pool, French director Ozon has been building a reputation among serious cinema fans with graceful genre movies edged with darkness. After a three-year absence, he’s back in U.S. theaters with Angel. Starring Romola Garai and based on one of those overheated mid 20th-century novels about a woman’s ambition versus her happiness, Angel follows the rise and fall of a grocer’s daughter who dreams of fame and fortune as a novelist. Inspired by the Hollywood melodramas that are so much catnip to directors today, Angel should continue Ozon’s string of critically acclaimed films.
Let Them Chirp Awhile (Nov. 28)
Directed by Jonathan Blitstein
Starring mumblecore star Justin Rice (Mutual Appreciation), Let Them Chirp Awhile is an homage to Umberto D., featuring a month of everyday life in NYC as Bobby (Rice) dog sits, staggers through failed attempts at relationships and finds himself a victim of plagiarism. Mumblecore still hasn’t really taken off, so maybe this movie (featuring a campy morality play about 9/11) can supply the plot the movement so desperately cries out for.
