Indie Movie Preview ‘08
Herzog’s latest dull, mainstream film, “Encounters at the End of the World”
I just came to a realization.
After I see “The Dark Knight” at 12:01 on Friday morning … and then again at 3 a.m. … and then probably again at 6 a.m. on IMAX … after that I won’t have anything to look forward to for a very long time.
The best of the big summer movies are through after “The Dark Knight.” We’re left with only a potentially not-awful “X-Files” movie and the probably really funny “Pineapple Express.” But, as far as I’m concerned, summer’s almost over.
It’s time for moviegoers’ brains to shift gears again, to get back into more serious, Oscar-ey fare.
But in the meantime, I’m going to be trying to see all of these little movies-that-could at the local arthouse.
Not the indie flicks that are going to be getting awards attention come late fall, the ones that only you and your movie-obsessed friends will have even heard of.
Goodbye, Batman. Hello, yellow subtitles.
“The Edge of Heaven” (Now in theaters)
From writer/director Faith Akin, who made the charming road comedy “In July” and the searing drama “Head-On,” comes another critically acclaimed character study that examines the tenuous relationship between Turkey and Germany. Like “Head-On,” this one supposedly puts human misery up-front-and-center for the first two acts, and then shifts into a sad and revealing aftermath.
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“In Search of a Midnight Kiss” (RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1) Black and white comedy about finding love late at night.
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“Young People Fucking” (Now in theaters)
Examines the relationships of five couples through one sexual encounter. Sure, it’s probably immature, crass, etc. But it also looks really, REALLY funny.
“Traitor” (RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27)
This one looks like a low-rent version of “The Fugitive” but with international intrigue. Don Cheadle plays a U.S. Special Ops badass who may or may not have betrayed the U.S., and Guy Pearce is the FBI agent on his tail.
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“Encounters at the End of the World” (Now in theaters)
After his successful feature-lenghth drama “Rescue Dawn,” Werner “Crazier than a Shithouse Rat” Herzog returns to the documentary. Zee director travels to the far reaches of Antarctica to see why some people want to live there. Looks like surreally beautiful cinematography and a Herzogian examination of human nature. I’m there.
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“Bottle Shock” (Aug. 6)
It’s a dramedy that tells the little-known-about historical event that put California wine on the map. In 1976, nobody thought American wine was worth a damn. But after a blind Paris wine-tasting contest, that all changed. The film follows a few of the real-life goofballs who helped give California wine its punch.
