#—like these things due to a sense of materialism... and in fact the Grinch himself doesn't even have any criticism of their materialism

[transwolvie]

this shit is why I hate the live action film as an adaptation, fun fact, cuz like....this is the correct assessment about that film and doesn't that kind of defeat the fucking point of the original story

[regrettablewritings]

Preference: Surviving the Holidays

Characters: Dewey Finn, Peter B. Parker, Tadashi Hamada, Bruce Wayne

Dewey Finn: Thanksgiving

Dewey’s relationship with Thanksgiving was wack, for lack of a better word. Really that could be said for his relationship with most holidays, but what made Thanksgiving stand out ever so slightly was just how obsessively tied to gatherings with loved ones it was when compared to other holidays: You could party for Christmas; you could party for New Years; you couldn’t really party for Thanksgiving. And given that most of his time growing up was just himself and his ma . . .Yeah, the guy wasn’t too crazy about what he considered to be a sham of a holiday. (Plus, he didn’t vibe with the parade.)

And none of that lessened as he got older, with his relationship with his mother becoming more and more strained. After a while, the most he really got from the holiday was tagging along accompanying Ned to his own family’s place. But once Patty came along, that window of opportunity closed.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t long for it. Quite the contrary, it had become sour grapes for Dewey: He could gripe and sneer about Thanksgiving being a “boring-ass” wannabe day all he wanted to; the truth simply was that deep down, he knew he wouldn’t really mind the idea of being in the presence of somebody who loved and appreciated him enough to share a meal with him. Or to be thankful that he was in their lives and wanted him to know it.

That, and he missed the option of not having to stay cooped up in the apartment he mooched off in, eating Kraft Mac straight out the pot while imagining others elsewhere eating homemade baked macaroni as a side to a much more delicious and filling meal.

You personally didn’t feel especially impassioned by the day one way or another to be frank. At least, not usually. You weren’t sure what had gotten into you -- maybe it was because the two of you had just moved in together and wanted to make a statement, or maybe the spirit of the season had finally possessed the both of you, or maybe it was because the delirium of moving in two weeks before a holiday had finally taken its hold (moving is statistically one of the most stressful events in a person’s life, after all) -- but there was a newfound determination in trying to “get this right.”

Of course, there’s nothing and no one who says that a house only becomes a home once it has been christened by a successful feast. But there was a sense of maturity that did come with the idea of holding down even a dinner for two that wasn’t picked up from the deli down the street, or delivered by some knock-kneed cyclist. And it was a maturity the both of you were far too eager to acquire.

Never mind the fact that most of your kitchenware was still lost amongst the boxes (what few of them you could fit in the glorified Fruit-By-the-Foot box you called an apartment). Or that you guys were on a budget. Or that the dinner table was an old plastic collapsible one reminiscent of the tables put up at parties held in gymnasiums. You two were adults, goddammit, and you were going to pull this off at least once! Just once, and things would go back to normal.

. . .

Like most things that tended to involve the great Dewey Finn, you had no idea how this happened.

There was no turkey, no green beans or corn on the cob or even mashed potatoes or a pumpkin pie. Instead, what cluttered the table was a plate of Bagel Bites, tater tots, a plastic case of Lofthouse cookies, and, of course, some Kraft Mac. Neither one of you said anything. At least, not out loud. But the sheepish expressions you gave one another said everything.

Time had gotten away from you both. As did proper ingredients to prepare the more traditional meals associated with the day. You supposed that, in a panicked haze, the both of you wound up grabbing and putting together whatever you could to salvage your pride efforts but you began to suspect that that might not’ve been enough.

“. . . At least we beat Snoopy’s meal,” Dewey tried. A beat passed. Then a snort.

“S-shut up!” you cried. How dare he criticize an animated beagle’s meal of popcorn and toast? Though you had to admit, he had a point: You’d take pizza-decorated bagelettes over popcorn any day -- including Thanksgiving Day, apparently.

In the end, it wasn’t the most . . . traditional situation. And it certainly wasn’t enough to change Dewey’s mind about the day. But you both had to agree: It was a feast that certainly christened your new home together as your own. And for that, you were quite thankful.

Peter B. Parker: Hanukkah

While it wasn’t the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah still held a heavy level of importance in Peter’s heart. Growing up, it had served as a foundation for so many things in his life: In certain traditions, stability was established; in the togetherness it garnered, there was love; and in the activities partaken, there were memories. Memories of helping Aunt May in the kitchen and of Uncle Ben determining him to be old enough to recite the proper prayers. Of lighting the menorah and setting the room aglow with the history of a miracle . . .

It was therefore a huge regret of Peter’s when he had foregone observing both the winter holiday, as well as many others in his culture during the more recent years when his life began to slip and slide out of control. So when he reemerged from Miles’ dimension, ready and willing to take a chance on life again, it was only natural that Peter was also ready and willing to bring back more positive habits and influences – celebrating Hanukkah included.

And with you, now present in his life and curious and eager as ever, he couldn’t help but feel all the more encouraged to share it. And maybe perhaps show off. Just a little.

For example, once you removed the whole Spider-Man situation, Peter was a pretty simple guy. Especially when it came to foods: Far be it from Peter B. Parker to turn down a burger with some fries or some pizza or street food. So that’s what made it stick out all the more when, after the first night he announced his decision to attempt making challah. Followed by some latkes. Maybe a babka as well. And some sufganiyot. Never mind that he had never actually made some of these without the more experienced Aunt May taking up most of the task. But he was determined and literally and metaphorically hungry for success, and who were you to question his ambitions?

. . . Apparently somewhat saner and more aware than he was. The babka and latkes were simple enough, thankfully. But the sufganiyot? Peter couldn’t fry like that; not with the best materials money could by, when said money was provided on the budget of two people trying to make it in one of the pricier boroughs of New York. And the less said about the challah process, probably the better. . . . Though you still had plenty to say.

“You’re a spider, Peter – why is your weaving coming out so weird?” you questioned, eyeballing the tangled mess of dough. Peter huffed, trying to keep his glower on his failed efforts, rather than redirecting it at you.

“It’s not my fault the guy moves too fast,” he said, referring to the tutorial you had both played on loop. He muttered something along the lines of “for beginners, my ass.” At this rate, the real holiday miracle would be if you not only braided the challah correctly, but also if you didn’t burn down the raggedy apartment. You wanted to say that there would be no shame in calling it and just going to one of the nearby Jewish bakeries for a loaf, but your partner seemed invigorated by spite-induced determination to see this task through.

Never mind that the strands of dough flopped against one another in spite of his best efforts. At this point, it resembled less of a perfect princess braid and more like a flattened Tangela. It was pitiful, really, but you had to admit: The pout his failed efforts had earned him was cute. You didn’t want to think lightly of what he was deeming a situation, but it was quite nice seeing him like this at all. When you had first met he was quite nearly the opposite, all grumpy and aloof and wanting nothing to do with you.

Who would’ve guessed that in due time, he’d become the very man who stood before you, eager to interact with you and bond with you, sharing moments like these . . . Moments which you wish he would just go ahead and enjoy along with you.

“Hey, Peter?”

“Ye -- ” A small blast of flour collided with his crooked nose, stopping the man short. “HEY!” He cracked one eye open just enough to glare at your grinning face.

“Don’t be such a Grinch, Peeby -- ”

“Wrong holiday,” your boyfriend snarked as he wiped his face.

“Hush. Anyway, we still got a few more nights to figure this out,” you reminded. You placed a quick peck on his powdery cheek for good measure. His shoulders slumped with a sigh. As much as he didn’t want to say it, he knew you had a point. Maybe he had gotten a bit too (literally) wrapped up in getting all this right. Though he did feel his spirits lift somewhat as you placed your hand over his with assurance.

Somewhat. All that was missing was --

Pff!

“UGH! PETER!” Your hands flew to your face in an effort to wipe away the fistful of flour that now caked it. All the while, the offender himself laughed. He was probably going to have to appease you with some chocolate gelt “for damages” but as far as he was concerned, it was worth it. After all, what better way to share these important moments than with his favorite person?

Tadashi Hamada: Christmas

A local little cafe in the heart of San Fransokyo was simultaneously the best place to be for the holiday season, and the worst. The great things about it were the cute store-bought and homemade decorations that decked the cozy halls of the establishment; the seasonal baked goods and sandwich specials that made the Lucky Cat smell like cinnamon or roasted turkey; the cozy feeling that welcomed you like a hug whenever you walked in.

Alternatively, there was the whole to-do with picky or rude customers coming in from out of town; the saturation of Christmas music screeching through the speakers; and way-too-hype women taking up tables for hours at a time after spending the day shopping (and clogging the already small aisles with the bags from said shopping).

But all in all, Tadashi made it all better.

Having grown up in the Lucky Cat, he’d long since learned how to cancel out the grinchiness the holiday season brought out, and was more than happy to help you do the same using his own methods. If you focused on the little things, he figured, you could attach sweeter memories and associations to them. Especially if you veered a little off the usual path.

Sure, there was joining him in the kitchen to prepare and bake cranberry-speckled pastries and frost cookies to resemble familiar holiday characters and items. But there was also stringing popcorn garlands together (“Tadashi, you’re the youngest 70-something year-old I have ever met.” “Hush, you; I’m doing you a favor by laying my Christmas cheer all over you.” “Phrasing, ‘Dashi, geez!”). But at the end of the day, there was one thing in particular that your boyfriend did to sweeten the deal. The one thing only someone like Tadashi could do: Snowball fight a la manipulation of barometric pressure.

Following the incident with the snow machine two years ago, Tadashi had to make a promise to Aunt Cass to only use it outside. Away from the house. That suited Tadashi just fine. After all: What better way to pelt your loved one in the face using snow warfare than to do so in a wide-open space like the park? And while those fortunate (and unfortunate) enough to have come upon the unusual winter wonderland he had created, the facts still stood: This was about you and him. You vs him, diving behind mounds of snow, screeching with both joy and discomfort whenever the snow made an impact against bare skin, eyes tearing up from the cold . . .

You could’ve done this for hours, especially since you were pretty positive Tadashi was letting you win. If only he hadn’t called for an armistice.

“ ‘Armistice’? For what? You scared I’ll beat your butt again?” you taunted through chattering teeth.

“No, you ding-dong,” Tadashi shook his head. “Look at you: You’re clearly at your limit with the cold.”

“Nuh-uh!” As if to betray you, your body gave a sudden jolt; a release of shivers like a spring being let loose after coiling. As if unimpressed, the young man reached for your gloved hands and gave one a gentle squeeze.

“Does that hurt?” he questioned.

You winced. “N-no . . .”

You heard him click his tongue. “Ah. Enforced armistice.”

“No fair!” you whined.

“If you sign the treaty, I will include hot cocoa when we get back.”

. . . Well, he could make a mean hot chocolate. Not too sweet, not too bitter, it was perfectly creamy with only the slightest hint of cinnamon for kicks. It was the perfect thing to relax you, causing you to come undone as it’s warmth spread about you inside while the warmth of the kotatsu took care of you on the outside.

“Comfy?” your boyfriend asked. You purred, foregoing a more proper answer just to take another sip of the glorious hot drink. Your enthusiasm earned you a chuckle from him as he inched closer to you. Just enough to hold your hand in his. “For body heat purposes” he might’ve insisted, had you asked. Not that you minded it: It was just what the evening needed to feel complete. Not the goofy, awful ugly sweater he wore that made Rudolph’s nose blink when you pressed a certain spot; not the gentle crooning of Christmas classics sounding from the miniature stereo Tadashi had set up; not even stockings carefully lined along the makeshift mantle, or the presents glimmering beneath the lights of the twinkling tree.

Just the warm feeling of togetherness. That this beautiful man you get to call yours is so willing to share how he celebrates with you. And that you, it turn, get to celebrate with him.

“Hey, you made her cocoa?!” Hiro’s complaining ripped through the air.

And his small but nevertheless vibrant family, of course.

Bruce Wayne: New Years Eve

Let’s face it: New Years Eve sucks. All everyone wants to do is throw a party (even when they actually don’t really want to), the parties are either obnoxiously loud or awkwardly quiet (there is no in-between), there’s never any food because all people wanna do (or have been convinced to do) is drink, and the alcohol is usually crap by the time you get there because everyone already knew to tackle the good booze as soon as they arrived.

Suffice to say, you had some gripes when it came to New Years Eve. And in spite of the luxurious images that tended to come to mind, parties thrown by the wealthy weren’t any different from the average one thrown by the common man. Really, the only difference was that the alcohol was of higher quality and the gatherings were usually held at some large hall like a hotel ballroom or even at a prestigious gallery.

But even if you’d known that beforehand, you still would’ve accompanied Bruce to one such party. Bruce wasn’t fond of them himself, but he needed to at least make an appearance to save face with all the moochers and bigwigs from neighboring industries and enterprises. You were honestly just there for support, though it was just as agonizing for you as it was for him.

Well, at least you didn’t have to actually talk extensively with anyone, you mused. You’d been nursing your drink for the last half hour or so, trying to walk that thin line between going about undisturbed while also not coming across as frigid or wallflowery. Not too far off, you could see Bruce smiling at another partygoer: A buxom ginger, surely an important figure in her own right, but clearly seeing no harm in grinning coquettishly at the affluent Prince of Gotham. You felt no trace of jealousy within you, however. You knew Bruce’s real smile, and the one he was currently providing her wasn’t it in the slightest.

No, the real one was the one he flashed you when he glanced over at you to make sure that you were doing fine off and alone. A sweet, glorious smile that reached his eyes. Though, there were also traces of exhaustion. And you suspected that the smile you returned held just as much because soon after that, you watched him excuse himself from whatever conversation he’d been trying to carry before making his way over to you.

“How’re you holding up?” he inspected.

You shrugged and sighed, “It is what it is. I’m making peace with the fact that the last thing I would’ve eaten this year would’ve been an assortment of cocktail wienies, what I think might’ve been pate, and ginger ale.” You’d meant for it to come across as more humorous, but the dry tone you had delivered your words in ruined the effect.

Bruce winced and offered yet another smile: A wobbly, more sheepish one.

“You ready to go home?”

God, yes.

“No, no,” you replied. “Really, it’s fine. Besides, it’s almost midnight anyway -- it probably wouldn’t look good if Bruce Wayne ditched a party his glorious hosts have so graciously invited him to.”

You watched as your significant other raised his brow. “Honey, I’m Bruce Wayne: I’m known for ditching parties.”

“Oh,” you said simply. Fair point. To your minor relief and slight embarrassment, he huskily chuckled.

“C’mon,” he sighed, placing his hand on your lower back as guidance. “My ass is sore from all the butt-kissing. Let’s go home where it’s warm. And quiet.”

“And we can actually eat!” you chirped, a little too excitedly. Once again, your embarrassment was met with approval.

The outside was both quieter and just as noisy as the inside of the celebration. Quieter because of the muting effect the fallen snow had, but also more lively because of the surrounding restaurants and streets and bars filled with people cheering and blowing party horns and singing in slurred joy. You liked it better than the party, if you had to be honest. But maybe perhaps because as you wandered the snow-caked streets to reach where Bruce had parked the car, you felt his gloved hand wrap around your own.

Of course, it was probably just to keep your hand warm -- maybe even just to make sure you kept pace with him, or that if you wouldn’t fall if you hit a small patch of black ice. But in a little corner of your mind, you couldn’t help but romanticize it: It was like he was accompanying you into the new year in a way. Just you and him. No loud parties, no pressures, no being anywhere or with anyone you didn’t want to be.

“Thanks, by the way.” Bruce broke the silence in a puff of cold air. “I know these really aren’t your thing -- I mean, personally, they aren’t mine, either, but you really didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to. But I appreciate that you . . . that you did.”

Your cheeks burned, though not from the whipping cold of the late December air.

“Of course I did . . .” you reasoned. “I know it sounds goofy but . . . we’re in this together, y’know?” You gave his hand a small squeeze. He squeezed yours right back, but with a bit more power. The warmth of it traveled up into your chest and cheeks. You licked your chapping lips.

“Besides,” you continued, “if I had just stayed home, I would’ve been bored. And probably would’ve given my New Year’s Kiss to Alfred.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, who knows? New year, new me, right?”

You couldn’t have imagined what Bruce would’ve responded with next if it weren’t for the sudden distraction: The air, disorderly and sloppy mere seconds before, had all at once seemed to become uniform with the sounds of chanting. A count down.

You’d lived through so many New Years before, you weren’t quite sure what made this one different. There was no reason for you to pause as you did, your heart suddenly thundering in your chest at the realization of what was to come. It was just another year, right? A new year with new promises, new disappointments, new surprises both good and bad, new --

“ -- two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!”

You had barely had a moment to register the words before you became distracted with registering something entirely different: A pair of warm lips pressed against your own, the feeling of large arms wrapped about your waist to pull you in close.

As he parted from you, Bruce flashed you one of his real smiles once more. One that denoted the mischief only you were truly privy to.

“Beat him to it,” he teased.

And for as shocked as you were over the exchange of the midnight kiss, you couldn’t help but blink . . . and find yourself in a giggling fit. That was why this year felt different: You had never had a boyfriend on New Years before. Scratch that: You had never had Bruce for New Years. And that made a world of difference. You didn’t want to make any assumptions but . . . it was a pretty great way to start a new year, if you did say so yourself.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND November 30, 2018  - The Possession of Hannah Grace

Finally! A long-needed reprieve from the slew of fall releases with a weekend where there’s only one new wide release … and it’s the textbook definition of a “dumper,” too. At least all the Thanksgiving releases did better than I predicted, particularly Creed II, and they should continue to dominate over the next couple weeks until a bunch of new wide releases open on December 14.

THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE (Sony/Screen Gems)

I’m not even sure what to say about this horror movie, originally called “Cadaver,” except that it was directed by Dutch filmmaker Diederik Van Rooijen (no, I don’t know that name either) and that it’s been on the shelf for quite some time. Presumably, it’s a leftover from the Clint Culpepper Screen Gems that was famous for making low-budget horror films that would be bounced around the release calendar, sometimes for years. This one is about the found corpse of a young girl who may have been killed via exorcism.

This was originally supposed to open in the summer of 2017, but like so many other Screen Gems films, it was continually pushed back, so now it follows the studio’s summer horror release Slender Man, which probably should have done better than its $30.6 million domestic gross. The  it wound up on the less-than-desirable weekend after Thanksgiving, a known dumping ground.

Regardless, various horror hits have proven that having bankable stars isn’t completely necessary, and one thing that Possession has going for it is exactly that, having the word “possession” in its title, because it’s something that still holds a lot of interest for horror fans. Having the word “exorcism” in the title helped Scott Derickson’s debut The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Last Exorcism, though not the latter’s unfortunate sequel. Chances are that few over the age of 20 will have any interest in the movie even with stronger horror films like Halloween and Overlord mostly vacating theaters.

Like Slender Man, this movie doesn’t really have any bankable stars, with Shay Mitchell from Pretty Little Liars being the film’s biggest name, followed by Grey Damon, Mirror Master from The Flash.

On top of that, Screen Gems is only opening Possession in less than 2,000 theaters, another pointer that it shows little faith in the movie, as does the fact it won’t be screened in advance for critics (another Screen Gems practice of olde). I’m sure that the critics forced to pay to see the movie on Thursday night to review will just be THRILLED to write raves about a movie that few will know or care about. Frankly, I’ll be shocked if The Possession of Hannah Grace gets anywhere near the top 5 this weekend, and a 7th place opening with between $5 and 6 million would be about as good as it should get.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Ralph Breaks the Internet  (Disney) - $24.5 million -56% 2. Creed II  (MGM) - $18.5 million -48% 3. The Grinch  (Universal) - $14 million -54% 4. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald  (Warner Bros.) - $12.7 million -57% 5. Bohemian Rhapsody  (20thCentury Fox) - $7 million -50% 6. Instant Family (Paramount) - $6.5 million -48% 7. The Possession of Hannah Grace  (Sony/Screen Gems) - $5.3 million N/A 8. Widows  (20thCentury Fox) – $4.4 million -47% 9. Robin Hood (Lionsgate) - $3.9 million -58% 10. Green Book  (Universal) - $3.3 million* -40%

*UPDATE: Universal didn’t expand this into more theaters as I expected, so I’ve lowered my number accordingly. Maybe the studio will expand it further next week.

LIMITED RELEASES

While there’s only one new wide release, there’s plenty of limiteds, and two of the most high-profile ones are from Netflix, one that’s also streaming Friday, the other streaming in December.  For those who want to go out this weekend, there’s also a musical-comedy to put horror fans into the holiday spirit that’s been running the genre fest circuit…

Those who have been waiting for this year’s big holiday musical zombie comedy are in luck, because John McPhail’s ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (Orion Pictures) comes out Friday after playing almost every genre festival going back to Fantastic Fest 2017. Taking place in the town of Little Haven, it stars Ella Hunt as Anna, a young woman planning for her high school holiday musical whose world is turned upside-down by the zombie apocalypse, but that’s not going to stop her and her friends from breaking out into song. I saw this film a few months back, and I was mixed on it, partially because it’s such an obvious homage to Shaun of the Dead but also has very modern poppy songs that really weren’t my cup-of-tea. I know a lot of people who love the movie, though, and if you want a fun time, I think the film is quickly becoming a cult classic among those who have seen and dug it.

MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE is Andy Serkis’ second feature as a director, and as you may have guessed, it’s based on the same Rudyard Kipling novel “The Jungle Book” that inspired the Disney movies, using the performance capture CG technology Serkis perfected in the “Planet of the Apes” movies.  Featuring performances and voices by Cate Blanchett (voicing the python Kaa), Christian Bale (as Bagheera), Benedict Cumberbatch (Shere Khan) and Serkis himself as Balloo, this is a much darker take on the material, probably not for very small kids, but I liked it more than the Jon Favreau Disney movie, maybe because it handles things more seriously. I also thought newcomer Rohand Chand was a much more palatable Mowgli.  The film does decently when it’s just Mowgli and talking animals, but gets even better when humans are introduced into the story. Netflix will give Mowgli a limited theatrical release before streaming on the network starting Dec. 7.

The latest GKIDS animated contender to the Disney animated Oscar domination is MIRAI (GKIDS), the new film from filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) along with Japan’s Studio Chizu. It’s about a four-year-old boy named Kun, whose parents give him a baby sister named Mirai (or “future”), who he immediately is jealous of due to the attention she gets. I watched the dubbed version of the movie (not my favorite thing since dubbed Japanese films always seem somewhat dumbed down for Western audiences), featuring the voices of John Cho, Rebecca Hall and Daniel Dae Kim, and it’s a fairly sweet movie with some great life lessons for younger children. It doesn’t have as many fantasy aspects as other Japanese Anime films but it does have Kun interacting with different versions of those around him, including his dog.

Receiving a one-week qualifying release on Friday is Germany’s Oscar entry is NEVER LOOK AWAY  (Sony Classics), the new film from Oscar-winning filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others). This is another historical drama, loosely based on the life of visual artist Gerhard Richter with Tom Schilling (Woman in Gold) playing a young artist who has watched East Berlin go from Nazi occupation, watching his older sister be sentenced to death due to her mental illness by a ruthless Nazi doctor (Sebastian Koch), to falling in love with a young woman (Paula Beer) who happens to be that doctor’s daughter and escaping to West Berlin during the country’s contemporary art movement. I found the movie to be overly long and a little confusing, because I wasn’t sure what the movie was supposed to be about until about 30 minutes into it.  Either way, it will open for its full theatrical release in February.

Another Oscar entry out Friday is the one from Italy, which is Alice Rohrwacher’s HAPPY AS LAZARRO, exec. produced by Martin Scorsese and getting a limited theatrical release in New York and L.A. (mainly for Oscar qualification) at the same time as streaming on Netflix. It’s a fable set within the countryside estate of Inviolata, a community of hard-working tobacco farmers who are being used by the area’s greedy Marquise. Much of the film is seen through the eyes of a teenaged simpleton named Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo), who observes more than he speaks, creating an introspective film that jumps forward in time… and that’s about all I can say about what’s a pretty major plot twist.

Another acclaimed doc getting a limited theatrical release is Dava Whisenant’s BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY (Focus Features), which follows comedy writer Steve Young who discovered a number of vintage record albums that ended up being “internal use only” cast recordings for Broadway musicals made for some of America’s biggest companies like General Electric, Ford and more. The winner of this year’s Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director, the film features interviews with David Letterman (White wrote for Letterman’s show and Letterman is also the film’s exec. producer), Chita Rivera, Martin Short and more, and it will get a limited release Friday.

In THE MERCY  (Screen Media), directed by James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Man on Wire), Colin Firth plays Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor who participates in a 1968 round-the-world sailing race.  Although he isn’t as experienced as other racers, Crowhurst’s design sense convinces him that he can be the fastest in the round-the-world race, much to the concern of his wife (played by Rachel Weisz). Crowhurst’s journey in his boat the Teignmouth Electron was the stuff of legend as he relayed stories back to the press in England, but as they say on the internet, you would not BELIEVE how his story ended…. And I won’t give it away. As a sailing aficionado myself (having received my sailing license a few short years ago), I was pretty excited for this movie when I heard about it a few years ago -- I even asked Firth about this when I interviewed him for the last Bridget Jones movie -- but it ended up being a dull and ultimately dour affair that didn’t even keep this sailing fan invested.

Opening on Wednesday at the Metrograph is Gary Hustwit’s doc Rams (Film First) about design innovator Dieter Rams, best known for his work at Braun and Vitsoe. No surprise that the theater owned by a designer and doc filmmaker in Alex Olch would show this, and Hustwit will be there in person after the 6pm screening Friday and 4:30pm screening Sunday to discuss. Also, it features an original score by Brian Eno!

A rare limited release from Warner Bros’ is Til Schweiger’s Head Full of Honey, an English remake of his own 2014 German hit of the same name. It stars Nick Nolte as Amadeus, a man who is slowly succumbing to dementia, much to the consternation of his son (Matt Dillon) and his wife (Emily Mortimer). In order to help her grandfather get back some of his memories, Amadeus’ 10-year-old granddaughter Tilda (Nolte’s actual daughter, Sophia Lane Nolte) takes her grandfather to Venice before he can be thrown into a home.

Opening in select theaters and On Demand is the John Pogue-directed crime-thriller Blood Brother  (Lionsgate) starring R’n’B star Trey Songz (aka Tremaine Neverson) as a cop forced to risk his life to stop an ex-con from getting revenge on the childhood friends who let him take the fall for a crime they committed. It also has a cameo by WWE superstar R-Truth!

For one “night” only, people can see the director’s cut of Lars von Trier’s controversial serial killer thriller The House That Jack Built  (IFC Films), starring Matt Dillon, which played (and disgusted many) at Cannes over the summer. I haven’t seen it yet but already got my ticket, hoping that I won’t be as nauseated as I was in the clit-snipping scene in Anti-Christ. Von Trier’s latest also stars and the “American cut” (or whatever it’s called) will be released theatrically on Dec. 14. If you’re in New York, it’s showing almost all day at the IFC Center but with many screenings already sold out.

Henry Barrial’s drama DriverX (Sundance Selects) stars Patrick Fabian (The Last Exorcism) as a  middle-class L.A. father whose record store closes, so to keep his family afloat, he takes a job driving for a ride-share service called “DriverX,” forcing him to learn to deal with his young passengers. It opens at the IFC Center in New York and presumably in L.A. and On Demand.

Just in time for the holidays, the family-friendly animated Elliot: The Littlest Reinder  (Screen Media) will open in select cities Friday and then be available for one-night only in other areas on Saturday night. It’s the story of a miniature horse named Elliot who travels to the North Pole to compete for a spot on Santa’s sleigh team. It features the voices of Josh Hutcherson, John Cleese, Martin Short, Samantha Bee and more.

Opening Friday at the Cinema Village isNo Shade (Artmattan Films), Clare Anyiam-Osigwe’s British romantic drama starring Adele Oni as freelance photographer Jade, who has been in love with her best friend Danny for 10 years, but what’s keeping them from going further is the shade of her skin.

Other films out this weekend include the Bollywood offering 2.0, Shankar’s follow-up to 2010’s Robot; Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s Sicilian Ghost Story (Strand) opening at the Quad; the Korean crime-thriller Unstoppable  (Well GO USA) from Kim Min-Ho; and filmmaker Robert Townsend returns with his new doc Making the Five Heartbeats (about his 1991 passion project), which gets an Oscar-qualifying run at L.A.’s Laemmle Noho 7 this Friday and in New York on Dec. 7

STREAMING

Netflix will also be streaming Italy’s Oscar entry HAPPY AS LAZARRO on the streaming network starting Friday in case you can’t get to one of the cities/theaters playing it. (See above for more.) Also, the holiday movies start coming at you hot and heavy with the sequel A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, starring Rose McIver and Ben Lamb, which follows last year’s holiday rom-com. Angela’s Christmas is an animated family movie set in 1910 Ireland featuring the voices of Ruth Negga (Preacher) and Lucy O’Connell, based on Frank McCourt’s book. (I’m not sure if this is the same short that premiered in 2017 or an extension, sorry!) From France comes Romain Gavra’s  crime-comedy THE WORLD IS YOURS about a small-time mobster who accepts a job in Spain that involves drugs, the Illuminati and his overbearing mother. The description describes the movie as “Cynical” which means that it was made for me! Lastly, there’s Sebastian Hoffman’s Spanish film Tiempo Compartido (translated as “Time Share”), described as “Cerebral” (maybe not so much for me?). It involves two family men trying to save their families from a tropical paradise convinced that an American time share company wants to take their loved ones away.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

A couple more days of the Midnight Cowboy  restoration, plus the Darius Khondji retrospective continues for a few more days – I highly recommend seeing David Fincher’s Se7en on the big screen if you haven’t already. This weekend’s Playtime Family Matinee is one of my personal faves, Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, screening on Saturday and Sunday at 11AM – bring the kids!  A bit last-minute, but Metrograph has added a Spike Lee X6 mini-retrospective, since he was already slated to intro a screening of BlacKkKlansman. They’ve added 1990′s Mo’ Better Blues, his 2006 reunion with Denzel for Inside Man, 2000′s Bamboozled, and one of my personal faves, Summer of Sam from 1999.  (Not really repertory, but the Metrograph is also launching a series this weekend called Double Exposure: Portraits and Parallels Across the Diaspora, as in African and African-American filmmakers. I’m afraid I don’t know too much more than what you can read on the site.)

NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Exciting news for L.A. repertory buffs… The New Bev is back!! The festivities will kick-off Saturday with screenings of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, a double feature of Butch and Sundance: The Early Days and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a 25th Anniversary screening of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused! Unfortunately, these are all sold out online but there may be tickets available at the door. I look forward to the programming ahead for this beloved theater. 

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Rita Hayworth 100 continues through Thursday with screenings of Blood and Sand, Cover Girland The Lady from Shanghai on Wednesday, andPal Joey, Separate Tables and Gilda on Thursday. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. selection is Elliot Silverstein’s 1965 film Cat Ballou, starring Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin and Nat King Cole. Beginning on Friday, they have a 4k restoration of Edgar G. Ulmer’s 1945 film Detour  (Janus Films), starring Tom Neal and Anne Savage. On Friday, Film Forum is also launching a new 4k restoration of Alex Cox’s 1991 Mexican feature Highway Patrolman (Kino Lorber), and I’m always interested in seeing more from the director of Repo Man and Sid and Nancy. 

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

This weekend, the American Cinematerque’s theater has an Argentina: New Cinema 2018 series, so no repertory for now.

AERO  (LA):

On the other hand, the Cinemateque’s other theater is showing a bunch of Buster Keaton movies as part of The Great Buster series  (named after the recent Peter Bogdonavich doc), which will include Sherlock Jr. (1924) and Steamboat Willie Jr.  (1928) on Friday as a double feature, The General (1926) on Saturday with the 1921 short The High Sign, Seven Chances  (1925) on Sunday with a digital restoration of the short Cops!, followed by a screening of that aforementioned doc Sunday evening. Should be a fun weekend for Buster Keaton fans.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Ack! Totally spaced on the fact that the Quad was doing a giallo series, which began over the weekend with Perversion Stories: A Fistful of Giallo Restorationspremiering DCPs of many rarey-seen if even screened in the States films like The Case of the Scorpion’s Tale (1971), Torso (1993), The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975) and more. I’m really bummed that I forgot to mention this in last week’s column (that’s what happens when you begin a series on a Sunday, Quad) and that I wasn’t able to get to any of these, but it runs through Thursday so if you’re reading this on Weds. morning (hopefully), you still have time to catch a few of them.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Late Night Favorites shows James Cameron’s Aliens (1986), Weekend Classics continues its Coen Brothers retrospective with O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) in 35mm on Friday through Sunday, while the Shaw Brothers Spectaculars series offers The Super Inframan

(1975), which looks pretty cool.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

This weekend, the theater gets the restoration of Luchino Viscoti’s Senso (1968) which had been playing at New York’s Film Forum. Matt Donato*’s favorite film of all time, Dude Bro Party Massacre III,  will play at midnight on Friday. (*Look him up on social media!)

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

German filmmaker Christian Petzold will be in town for a sneak preview of his new film Transiton Friday night, but it will kick off Christian Pentzold: The State We Are In, a two-week retrospective of the underrated German filmmaker who has delivered such modern-day classics as Barbara and Phoenix (one of my favorite movies of 2014), 2008’s Jerichow and many more, some of which have barely been seen in the United States, including his 1998 television film The Sex Thief, and 2000’s The State I Am In. Click on the title above for the full line-up, but Pentzold will do QnAs after Transit and a couple others this coming weekend.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

On Monday, BAM kicked off its Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema series, so no repertory for now.

MOMA (NYC):

The Museum of Modern Art is in the midst of it’s The Contenders 2018 series, but it also continues its Silent Comedy International series with screenings of Transatlantic Teamwork on Thursday and Sunday, Clowning Around (the World) on Thursday, another screening of Daffy in Deutschland on Friday and other repeats over the weekend. Modern Matinees: Douglas Fairbanks Jr.continues with State Secret (1950) on Thursday, Stella Dallas (1925) on Friday then A Woman of Affairs (1928) next Wednesday. Since I haven’t seen any of this, I have nothing further to add.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The 50thAnniversary restoration of Gordon Quinn and Gerald Temaner’s Inquiring Nuns continues as well as Glenn Close: Ten Great Performances by Glenn Close with Dangerous Liaisonson Friday evening, a “Sensory Friendly Screening” of Disney’s 101 Dalmations on Saturday (as well as another matinee of this on Sunday, Reversal of Fortune and Cookie’s Fortune on Saturday afternoon/evening, as well as Albert Nobbs and Close’s latest The Wife on Sunday.

That’s it for this week. Next week, no new movies in wide release... but I’ll still have a column for those interested in other stuff.