The New Wave: 4/30/10

So The List has undergone a name change as its focus shifts a little bit. Where it started out as me basically drawing attention to my lack of a social life by listing every single movie I planned on seeing that week, circumstances have slowly forced it to evolve into a quick glimpse at the new releases and in most cases a brief blurb about what I think of it's prospects. I'll still be listing these broken down into the big releases and surest bets, down to what shouldn't be touched with a 100-ft. pole. And as always I'll focus on the films that can be seen somewhere in the DC metro area. No point getting everybody excited over something that ain't ever hittin' our fair city.

I'm gonna have a hard time believing any other documentary this year will be as cool or as inventive as this. Gift Shop takes us on a wild journey of artisic discovery alongside buffoonish filmmaker, Thierry Guetta, who tags along with mysterious street artists as they ply their trade in secret. But it's not until the world renowned Banksy enters the picture and takes over that the crap really starts hitting the fan, and the line between what is real and what's all an elaborate ruse start to blur. Run out and see this. Now. You can read my review right here.

Heaven help you guys this week if this is near the top of my list. It's just not a good time to be a movie fan in the Nation's Capital right now. As horror remakes go, director Samuel Bayer's take on the clawed dreamstalker ranks somewhere between The Amityville Horror and Friday the 13th. It's not offensively terrible the way Amityville was, but it's not gonna scratch your itch for a good fright either. I'll leave the comparing of Jackie Earle Hayley to Robert Englund to those better suited to judge. Ok, I'm lying, I want Englund back. Now. You can read my review here.

On sheer premise alone, The Girl on the Train has my undivided attention. Supposedly based on a true story about a French girl who lies about being the victim of anti-Semitic attack. Her honesty isn't in question, the real mystery is why. Looks like an intriguing character study from famed French director, Andre Techine(Wild Reeds), who has a knack for unflinching socal commentaries.

If there's time....

A smash hit from the makers of last year's amazing crime film, Gomorrah, Mid-August Lunch is the story of a middle aged man forced to be the entertainment for his elderly mother and her feisty friends. Gomorrah screenwriter Gianni di Gregorio pulls triple duty as writer, director, and star. I have a tendency to not totally buy into the quirkiness of Italian cinema, so this one's a maybe. Plus they always make me hungry. Too much darn food on screen all the time.

A broad, political film about five women who's lives are changed during the CIA backed coup to throw the Iranian government. Helmed by acclaimed visual artist, Shirin Neshat, she no doubt is bringing some of her own experiences to the table having grown up in Tehran in the 1960s. Those inclined to check this out might want to take a look at the phenomenal 2007 film, Persepolis, which covers a lot of the same territory.

No....just no...!!!

Let's talk about a fall from grace, shall we?  I'm not talking about Brendan Fraser, who has toiled in these lowbrow areas before. I'm talking director Roger Kumble, who burst onto the scene back in 1999 with Cruel Intentions and then it's funnier follow-up, Cruel Intentions 2. Since then he's made some of the most foul dreck of the decade, including chick-centric The Sweetest Thing, which has the distinction of being one of  a handful of movies so distasteful that I left early to beat traffic to a dentist appointment. Everything you need to know about how crappy this thing is going to be is staring at you right there in the film's poster. Expect plenty of Fraser's goofy bugged out expressions(his comedy crutch), dancing animals, and a heavy handed lesson about wildlife protection or something. Go plant a tree, or fix an injured bird's wing or something. Do anything but see this.