In A Cold World, Some Fuzzy Warmth

It’s a pretty slight week, all told, with major-studio silliness competing with art-house staples. Go see the cat movie, it’s delightful.

A Cure for Wellness: I’ll just say this: If Gore Verbinski’s ridiculous Gothic horror movie doesn’t trigger a critical reappreciation of Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, we have failed as a species.

Fist Fight: Charlie Day does his panicked-screaming thing, Ice Cube does his surly-growling thing and everybody has a pretty good time in this (slightly) grown-up spin on the ’80s chestnut Three O’Clock High.

The Great Wall: Medieval Matt Damon fights monsters in China in Zhang Yimou’s latest gargantuan action epic. Rad’s review will be up later today. UPDATE: Meh.

Kedi: With a playful spirit and a thoughtful subtext about human psychology, Ceyda Torun’s documentary about the street cats of Istanbul looks to be the art-house sleeper of the season. And you know what? It deserves to be.

Land of Mine: Martin Zandvliet’s Danish drama about German POWs forced to clear Nazi landmines was eclipsed by the unrelenting intensity of Kilo Two Bravo at TIFF 2015. And now it’s up for Best Foreign-Language Film. Go figure.

A Man Called Ove: Sweden’s foreign-language contender — a dry comedy about a widower who torments his neighbors with jerkass behavior — is also out this week. Glenn found it enjoyable, if a little calculated.

My Scientology Movie: If you found Alex Gibney’s Going Clear a little on the dry side, here’s Louis Theroux with an ingenious new angle on the ways in which the “Church” makes life hell for anyone who looks at it funny.

XX: It turns out a horror anthology directed entirely by women is as much of a mixed bag as every other horror anthology, but this one has some solid moments — especially during Jovanka Vuckovic’s chilly opener and Karyn Kusama’s insidiously clever closer.

There, that’s everything. Well, there’s also the Toronto Black Film Festival and the TIFF Next Wave festival this weekend. Those might be worth braving the cold, too.

One thought on “In A Cold World, Some Fuzzy Warmth”

  1. I guess one advantage Land of Mine will have over Kilo Two Bravo is subtitles. While I loved Kilo Two Bravo, and it played out in such stark fashion that the dialogue wasn’t particularly needed. I had trouble with accents in that movie (and I don’t usually have trouble with Scottish accents…no problem with Trainspotting). I watched it wishing it had been subtitled.

    Also, more kitty movies. Kitty movies all the time.

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