by The Great White Gypsy

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - Directed by Mat Whitecross, Written by Paul Viragh
The problem with good music biopics is they are hard to see on the big screen. I must admit, I still haven’t caught The Runaways yet. This one really intrigues me because, not only are most of the cast and crew unknown, but Ian Drury and The Blockheads aren’t exactly on everyone’s iTunes Genius bar. For those of you too lazy to click a link, Ian Drury, despite having polio most of his life, rose to become an icon of British punk-rock in the 1970’s. Whitecross has done mainly documentaries to date. But the coolest thing about this film? The dude who plays Drury (Serkis) is the same dude who played Gollum in LOTR. Odd.
Andy Serkis, Olivia Williams, Ray Winstone, Noel Clarke, Naomie Harris
May 5

The Trotsky - Written and Directed by Jacob Tierney
Unless you actually watched his 2003 Dickens adaptation Twist, you have no idea who Jacob Tierney is. But we all know who Jay Baruchel is (She’s Out of my League, Real Time, Undeclared), and I for one think it’ll be awesome to see him playing a teenager who believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky. Even in high school, Jay’s character seeks to mirror the Russian revolutionary’s life, including exile, marriage, and ultimately his assassination. Might end up being esoterically Red, but we’ll see.
Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Colm Feore
May 5

Happiness Runs - Written and Directed by Adam Sherman
Based on true events from the ‘70’s, this is Sherman’s (producer, Wristcutters: A Love Story) first big feature about a generation of children lost to the hedonism of utopian hippie communes. Forced polygamy, promiscuity, and drug use are amplified by a cinematography that apparently seeks to portray these communes as cultish. May be a bit over the top, but it’s all the proof I need that hippies are, in fact, ruining society.
Mark L. Young, Hanna Hall, Rutger Hauer, Andie MacDowell, Jesse Plemons
May 7

Iron Man 2 - Directed by Jon Favreau, Written by Justin Theroux
I usually don’t cover the big movies unless there’s a good reason. And I think there is here. With the collapse (reboot) of the Spider-man franchise, and the skepticism surrounding Thor and Green Lantern, a lot is riding on Iron Man 2 if Marvel has any hope of keeping fans interested enough to wait for The Avengers. Favreau killed it with Iron Man and, though the previews appear to showcase his original style, the studio may have tried to cram more side plots and characters into in than a two-dollar whore (or Spider-man 3, whichever). Guess there’s only one way to find out.
Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle
May 7

Mother and Child - Written and Directed by Rodrigo Garcia
There is a fine line between making a specific film that everyone can appreciate and sympathize with, and making a categorically ethnocentric film that will alienate anyone who can’t relate to the story. Rodrigo Garcia did a great job directing In Treatment, which shows me he can handle intimate settings and complex character interaction. However, this story about three women and their experiences with the adoption process will require much more exposition in a two hour block. I hope he can pull it off.
Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Carla Gallo
May 7

Multiple Sarcasms - Written and Directed by Brooks Branch
Timothy Hutton has had a strange career. He won an Oscar in 1981 for his role in Ordinary People. After that, I didn’t see him in anything good until City of Industry and Playing God, both in ‘97. Then nothing again, until 2008’s Lymelife, after which he burned through The Killing Room, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Serious Moonlight, and The Ghost Writer. His recent comeback gives me hope for this character-driven drama about an unhappy man who quits his job to write a play about his life and the people in it.
Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany, Mira Sorvino, Stockard Channing, Mario Van Peebles, India Ennenga
May 7

The Living Wake - Directed by Sol Tryon, Written by Peter Kline and Mike O’Connell
Jesse Eisenberg has been a busy mofo the last couple years. Keeping up with his awkward second banana routine, he plays an aspiring poet and writer enlisted by his friend K. Binew to chronicle Binew’s last day on earth. Binew spends the day inviting everyone he meets to his “living wake”, where he plans to perform one more live act before dropping dead. The story doesn’t strike me as original, But Eisenberg is growing on me, and anything Jim Gaffigan is in is usually worth a laugh or three. Hot Pocket!!!!
Jesse Eisenberg, Mike O’Connell, Jim Gaffigan
May 14

Perrier’s Bounty - Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, Written by Mark O’Rowe
I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while now. I almost stayed in Ireland an extra week just so I could see it over there first. Fitzgibbon and O’Rowe haven’t done much outside of Intermission, which wasn’t anything really special as far as Irish film goes. However, this one looks like it could be the Lock Stock of Irish cinema, which tends to flounder if it doesn’t have anti-British sentiment or the IRA to fall back on. Great cast, simple story, I still can’t wait.
Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne, Jim Broadbent
May 14

Holy Rollers - Directed by Kevin Asch, Written by Antonio Macia
Jews selling ecstasy to Israelis? How does that not sound like an awesome movie? Based on a true story, Jesse Eisenberg plays a young Hasidic man who gets mixed up with drug dealers in Brooklyn. Featuring a rookie writer and director, and a young, largely unknown cast, but c’mon … yarmulkes!
Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor, Q-Tip
May 21

John Rabe - Written and Directed by Florian Gallenberger
Hurray Germans! Apparently, Schindler wasn’t the only one with a list. In this historical drama, John Rabe is a German businessman who stays in Nanking during the 1937 Japanese invasion and subsequent massacre of the Chinese in order to save as many people as he can. Looks like it could be a solid foreign flick. My only question: Does Steve Buscemi really think he can hide in obscure stuff? I can spot those eyes a mile away.
Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Bruhl, Steve Buscemi
May 21

Solitary Man - Directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, Written by Brian Koppelman
Yes, we’ve seen the story of an old guy sleeping with young women and trying to remember the “good ol’ days”. And yes, Susan Sarandon and Michael Douglas are still on quests to get some lo-fi street cred. But Koppelman and Levien directed Knockaround Guys (surprisingly good), and between them they’ve written Rounders, Runaway Jury, and The Girlfriend Experience. This one seems worth a look.
Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Mary-Louise Parker, Jesse Eisenberg, Olivia Thirlby, Danny DeVito
May 21

Survival of the Dead - Written and Directed by George A. Romero
I’m not sure that any other director can lay claim to the kind of cult following Romero has enjoyed just from one film franchise. Keeping a dismembered hand on the wheel, Romero has managed to keep his vision out of the reach of studios and direct every film from Night of the Living Dead in 1968 to this one. And even though the last installment (Diary of the Dead) was a godawful handheld nightmare right up there with Cloverfield and Quarantine, Romero - like his hoard of undead - cannot be stopped. I’m also very, very happy this one isn’t in 3-D. I almost spent $12 to watch it early…just now.
Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe
May 28

Micmacs - Written and Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
This film has been getting a lot of good feedback from festivals all over the place. Jeunet has done a handful of good French films, and one subpar American film (Alien: Resurrection), but I do love the bandwagon. It’s about a store clerk who is shot in the head with a stray bullet, and years later gets a rag-tag bunch of quirky characters to go after two large ammunition companies. Damn surrender monkeys. Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Nicolas Marie, Jean-Pierre Marielle
May 28

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Agora - Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, Written by Alejandro Amenabar and Mateo Gil
This one’s been sitting on my computer (along with Abre los ojos) for quite some time. Amenabar has done really well on his native soil, but his only other “American” film was The Others, which I still think was a funny, funny joke. Rachel Weisz is always good in ancient world period pieces, and this one looks much more politically and philosophically driven, instead of the typical Gladiator-wannabes. I should probably get on this one.
Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac
May 21 (Limited)

Black Death - Directed by Christopher Smith, Written by Dario Poloni
Christopher Smith is a strange little British man. The three films he has under his belt include Creep, a cut-and-dry thriller, Severance, a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy, and Triangle, a mind-fuck with no KY. Now it appears he’s upping the anti again with this horror-mystery about a village bringing people back to life during the first black plague outbreak. I’m game.
Sean Bean, Carice van Houten, Kimberley Nixon, Eddie Redmayne
May 28 (UK)

Acts of Violence - Written and Directed by Il Kim
Revenge tales are always fun, whether the film is actually good or not. Watching your average joe go from distraught victim to harbinger of doom doesn’t usually need a great writer to pull it off. Which is good, considering this is Kim’s first attempt at…anything. He also stars as Flyn, a man who seeks vengeance on the men who raped his wife. But instead of a simple payback story, Flyn continues to rip people apart, keeping his violent secrets from his wife (Sobieski) and telling only his priest (Perlman). Can’t find more release info beyond “May 2010”, so look for it on DVD, or at the tiny cinema around the corner.
Il Kim, Leelee Sobieski, Ron Perlman
May-ish

The Human Centipede (First Sequence) - Written and Directed by Tom Six
I really don’t know how to feel about this one. It looks like it could be good for a few Hostile moments, and the tagline is “100% medically accurate”. However, the image of three people sewn together, ass to mouth, on their hands and knees, can’t be serious, can it? I guess it’s serious enough that IFC snatched this one up, and Tom Six is already working on the sequel, due out in 2011.
Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura
May-ish

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