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Picks of the Week

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Space Aliens LLC) — While Madeleine Olnek can brilliantly maneuver a script that both slices and entertains in a satirical breath, there are moments of pure, unfettered comedy, from the absurd to the slapstick, that feel classic and even quotable. Like most movie aliens, Olnek’s have a childlike fascination with Earth’s most pedestrian innovations: a revolving dessert case is true love incarnate, a commercial clothes dryer better than psychedelics. As the aliens move with great difficulty through their new lives in New York City, their wit is so sharp that the original concepts and jokes become even funnier as the movie progresses. Olnek’s grasp of her comedic arc is enviable. She sustains, and even pushes the laughs further, with each successive one-liner. Read Holly Herrick’s full HTN review, as well as A Conversation With Madeleine Olnek. Available on DVD and at Amazon Instant.

Gayby (Wolfe Video) — The short that inspired this feature was a real crowd-pleaser, and while I never doubted Jonathan Lisecki’s ability to extend the story to a near-90-minute run time, I was nonetheless extremely jazzed to discover just how much fun this movie is (I first saw it when it world premiered at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival). While not formally groundbreaking, Lisecki and his collaborators have nonetheless managed to make an actually funny independent film, which is kinda groundbreaking, come to think of it. Read Adam Schartoff’s very funny Conversation With Jonathan Lisecki. Available on DVD.

Recommended

Girls: The Complete First Season (HBO) — Available on DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy.

Miami Connection (Image Entertainment) — Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

New/Old to DVD/Blu-ray

The Qatsi Trilogy (Criterion) — Features Godfrey Reggio’s acclaimed films Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqoyqatsi. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Portrait of a Lady: Special Edition (Shout! Factory) — Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Black Like Me (Video Services Corp.) — Available on DVD.

Following (Criterion) — Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Have Not Seen Yet But Really/Kinda/Sorta/Maybe Wanna

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (Music Box) — Available on DVD.

Beloved (MPI Home Video) — Available on DVD.

The Bourne Legacy (Universal) — Available on DVD, 2-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet, and at Amazon Instant.

Ted (Universal) — Available on DVD, 2-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet, and at Amazon Instant.

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Michael Tully is an award-winning writer/director whose films have garnered widespread critical acclaim, his projects having premiered at some of the most renowned film festivals across the globe. He is also the former (and founding) editor of this site. In 2006, Michael's first feature, COCAINE ANGEL, chronicling a tragic week in the life of a young drug addict, world premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film immediately solidified the director as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s "25 New Faces of Independent Film,” a reputation that was reinforced a year later when his follow-up feature, SILVER JEW, a documentary capturing the late David Berman's rare musical performances in Tel Aviv, world-premiered at SXSW and landed distribution with cult indie-music label Drag City. In 2011, Michael wrote, directed, and starred in his third feature, SEPTIEN, which debuted at the 27th annual Sundance Film Festival before being acquired by IFC Films' Sundance Selects banner. A few years later, in 2014, Michael returned to Sundance with the world premiere of his fourth feature, PING PONG SUMMER, an ‘80s set coming-of-age tale that was quickly picked up for theatrical distribution by Gravitas Ventures. In 2018, Michael wrote and directed the dread-inducing genre film DON'T LEAVE HOME, which has been described as "Get Out with Catholic guilt in the Irish countryside" (IndieWire). The film premiered at SXSW and was subsequently acquired by Cranked Up Films and Shudder.

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