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Pick of the Week

Moneyball (Sony) — I found this movie to be surprisingly excellent. If Hollywood put this type of stuff out, I would visit the multiplex much more often. Available on DVD, 2-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy, Blu-ray + UltraViolet Digital Copy, and at Amazon Instant.

Recommended

Night and Day (Zeitgeist Films) — See Hong Sang-soo’s film for all sorts of reasons, the first-and-foremost of which is the hilariously pained performance by Kim Yeong-ho. Available on DVD.

Aurora (Cinema Guild) — Cristi Puiu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is one of my favorite films of this century—as close to Dostoevsky as I have seen cinema ever get—which meant that this film had a lot to live up to. Of course, it didn’t. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t appreciate it—I’m recommending it here—but if you’re feeling a sense of general itchiness, you might want to wait to press play until you’re in a more patient mood. Available on DVD.

Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season (HBO) — I really like, but don’t outright love, this series. The first season especially seemed to lose its luster along the way, but the production value is top-notch, as are the performances (specifically Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, and an increasingly unhinged Michael Shannon). Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Man From London (Zeitgeist Films) — As with my above reaction to Aurora, I was a bit disappointed with this Bela Tarr. But likely that’s because I deem his Werckmeister Harmonies and Satantango to be so superior to most films out there. Again, check your expectations, and your nagging impatience, at the door, and you will have a much better time. Available on DVD.

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

Higher Ground (Sony Classics) — Available on DVD and 2-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo.

Protektor (Film Movement) — Available on DVD.

An Idiot Abroad (BBC) — Available on DVD.

Wild Card of the Week

Film Socialisme (Lorber Films) — Maybe if I were still a 20-year-old undergrad this latest Jean-Luc Godard “film” would appeal to me, but thank God those days are a vague, distant memory. Sitting through this type of stiffly didactic work makes me feel like my parents must feel watching something like Werckmeister Harmonies. For a more recent example of an “essay film” that is gushing with warmth and intelligence and humanity and excellence, please visit Patricio Guzman’s Nostalgia For The Light. But if you are a Godard completist and haven’t yet seen this one, it is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. You have been cautioned.

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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.

Comments
  • Gus

    Higher Ground has to be the most underrated movie of the year.

    January 11, 2012
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