Lookee all these films! It’s not like we didn’t just LOVE The Girl Who Played With Fire (actually, we didn’t), but it’s nice to see the stranglehold Stieg’s sequel had on the Magic Lantern’s two small screens has finally been broken. A ton of fresh films this week, including four at the Lantern.
AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE
Everybody has a flavor of bad movie they enjoy: horrorcore, sexploitational, blacksploitational, you name it. American Grindhouse explores the “hidden” (really?) history of the grindhouse movies, the cinematic equivalent of the carnie freak show. These exploitation films were shown in dubious theaters that used these in order to get people to show up to the movies. Now, they just charge us $15 to watch one in 3-D. Who’s doing the exploiting again? At Magic Lantern (DH) Rated R | SHOWTIMES
A FILM UNFINISHED
The Nazis were pretty bad dudes, dig? This much, I think we can all agree on (unless you’re Rich Iott). But they were master propagandists, which extended to Warsaw Ghetto, an unfinished film they shot on location to (falsely) document their amazing beneficence toward the Jews. The discovery of a long-lost reel finally shows how the Nazis manipulated the film to make it seem like they weren’t the most evil bastards to ever walk the earth. (Spoiler alert: They were.) At Magic Lantern (DH) Unrated | SHOWTIMES
JACKASS 3D
A tough Detroit cop is trying to stay on the trail of a power-hungry auto magnate who’s trying to eliminate his competition — permanently. Starring Carl Weathers in the lead role alongside Sharon Stone, this … Oh wait, that’s the 1998 film Action Jackson. This is just another hour-and-a-half long episode of Jackass. A bunch of guys get hit in the nuts. In 3-D. (DH) Rated R | SHOWTIMES
KISSES
Kylie and Dylan live on Dublin’s fringe, in a place devoid of life, color and the prospect of escape. You know, the suburbs. After a confrontation with Dylan’s alcoholic father (a drunken Irishman got violent?), the two decide to run away to the “magical” nighttime lights of Ireland’s capitol city. There, they have to survive on the kindness of strangers, their own wits and … Bob Dylan lyrics? At Magic Lantern (DH) Unrated | SHOWTIMES
MADMOISELLE CHAMBON
Jean and wife Anne Marie are happy, living at home with their son, Jeremy. But when Jean goes to Jeremy’s class to tell about his job (he’s a mason), the teacher invites him over to “look at a window frame.” (Classic line!) One thing leads to another, and before you know it, a French movie breaks out — guilty lovers caught in a romantic triangle. But uh-oh, there’s a baby on the way. That’s gonna complicate things. At Magic Lantern (DH) Unrated | SHOWTIMES
NEVER LET ME GO
Kathy, Tommy and Ruth are growing up in the quasi-mystical land of England, schooled at the idyllic English boarding school of Hailsham. They grow, they love, they betray, they do everything just like normal kids do. But it turns out they’re not normal at all. It’s always a bit disturbing to discover the meaning of life, but what would you do if you found out your life had no meaning at all? At AMC 20 (DH) Rated R | SHOWTIMES
RED
The title is an acronym for “retired, extremely dangerous,” and it refers to the ex-CIA folks (Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, among them) who would much rather not be living the soft life. They’d rather be back in the saddle, shooting things up. And in this terrific, slick, and funny action film for adults, that’s just what happens. Directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife). (ES) Rated PG-13 | SHOWTIMES
A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP
Also known as A Noodle Story, this vividly colored film is a remake of the Coen brothers’ 1984 film Blood Simple. Only instead of a neo-noir crime film, it’s a comedy. And instead of being set in a bar in a Texas town, it’s set in a Chinese noodle shop in the desert. And instead of winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, it was “in competition” at the Berlin International Film Festival. And instead of being available on DVD from Netflix, it’s … At AMC 20 (DH) Rated R | SHOWTIMES
