Quirky art-house films

Art-house films. It sounds so stuffy. So unapproachable. But really, these films are about empowering the little guy (even if that little guy has studio financing). Don’t be surprised if “In the Shadow of the Moon” does for astronauts what “March of the Penguins” did for the waddling birds.

“In the Shadow of the Moon”
Starring: Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke, Harrison Schmitt
Director: David Sington
Story: This documentary brings together astronauts from the nine trips to the moon that took place from 1968 to 1972. New first-person interviews are interwoven with archival footage (some never before seen).
Buzz: Variety’s Todd McCarthy wrote, “Deftly mixing a treasure trove of archival footage with engaging commentaries of surviving astronauts from all nine Apollo moonshots, this British production will bring it all back for those with first-hand memories of the time, while providing a stimulating primer for younger generations.” This looks like one of those documentaries that may spark a chord with audiences (a la “March of the Penguins”).
Web site: NA
Release date: Sept. 7

“Wristcutters: A Love Story”

After Dark Films

Starring: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, Tom Waits, John Hawkes, Will Arnett, Leslie Bibb
Director: Goran Dukic
Story: Zia (Fugit) slashes his wrists and enters a strange afterlife in this dark comedy. There he encounters angels and suicide bombers. He also meets a fellow suicide who’s also a Russian musician (Whigham) and a stranger (Sossamon) hitchhiking through the afterlife.
Buzz: Film Threat’s Eric Campos described the film this way: “Imagine a blend of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Roadside Prophets.’” He added, “This movie has a whole lotta goofy and that’s gonna be quite a bit for some audiences, but other people will find a delightfully strange road trip.” Since making a splash in “Almost Famous,” Fugit has primarily stuck to supporting roles films like “Saved!” and “White Oleander.”
Web site: http://www.wristcutters.com/
Release date: Oct. 19

“Control”

The Weinstein Company

Starring: Samantha Morton, Sam Riley, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, Toby Kebbell
Director: Anton Corbijn
Story: This biopic follows Ian Curtis (Riley) of Joy Division, who committed suicide at age 23. Morton plays Curtis’ wife Debbie (they married as teens). Kebbell co-stars as Curtis’ manager, Rob Gretton.
Buzz: UK Guardian Unlimited writer Peter Bradshaw gave the film four out of five stars and wrote, “Sam Riley gives a superb performance as Ian Curtis, intuitively recreating his on-stage mannerisms, from the stock-still hunch over the mic, with eyelids lowered, to the crazy, elbows akimbo running on the spot routine, which like nothing else made him look like some sort of visionary outpatient.”
Web site: NA
Release date: Oct. 10

“Under the Same Moon”

Fox Searchlight

Starring: America Ferrera, Adrian Alonso, Jesse Garcia, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Maya Zapata, Carmen Salinas
Director: Patricia Riggen
Story: Rosario (del Castillo) works illegally as a cleaning lady in Los Angeles, while her mother (Angelina Pelaez) supports her 9-year-old son Carlitos (Alonso) back in Mexico. When his grandmother passes away, Carlitos decides its time to head to Los Angeles to reunite with his mother. Along the way he finds a father figure in fellow illegal Enrique (Derbez).
Buzz: The film received a standing ovation when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, but Variety’s Justin Chang warns that some audiences might find the film a bit heavy handed. “An emotionally rich core goes a long way toward redeeming some manipulative storytelling and overly simplistic handling of a divisive issue in (the film).”
Web site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/
Release date: Sept. 28

“Fierce People”

Lionsgate

Starring: Diane Lane, Anton Yelchin, Donald Sutherland, Kristen Stewart, Elizabeth Perkins, Paz de la Huerta, Blu Mankuma, Chris Evans
Director: Griffin Dunne
Story: When her son Finn (Yelchin) gets arrested, Liz (Diane Lane), a cocaine-addicted massage therapist, decides to make a change. She and Finn go to live at the estate of an ex-client, billionaire Ogden C. Osbourne (Donald Sutherland). There they get lost among the super rich as Finn falls for Osbourne’s granddaughter (Stewart) and befriends her charming brother (Evans). But when a shocking act of violence occurs, the plush world loses its luster.
Buzz: After he saw it at the Tribeca Film Festival, Filmcritic.com’s Chris Barsanti wrote “A bundle of good raw material and confused objectives, the film starts out as a skewed fable but ends up in grimmer territory, with no good reason for having traveled there, and begging to be taken more seriously.” Dunne has a less than stellar track record as a director (“Practical Magic,” “Addicted to Love”).
Web site: http://www.lionsgate.com/profile/fiercepeople.php
Release date: Sept. 7

“Moving McAllister”

First Independent Pictures

Starring: Mila Kunis, Jon Heder, Ben Gourley, Rutger Hauer
Director: Andrew Black
Story: Ladder-climbing law intern Rick Robertson (Gourley) has four days until the Bar Exam. Desperate to win points with his boss (Hauer), he offers to drive his boss’ stuff from Miami to Los Angeles. Along for the ride: the boss’ Hollywood-bound niece (Kunis). Heder plays a hitchhiker they pick up on the way.
Buzz: Heder has never quite been able to capture the quirkiness that made his “Napoleon Dynamite” character so fun, but that doesn’t stop casting directors from handing him those benevolent weirdo roles (“Just Like Heaven,” “Blades of Glory”) again and again. This film is a true indie and comes from the writing-directing team of Gourley and Black who made 2003’s “Pride and Prejudice” (no, not the one that starred Keira Knightley).
Web site: NA
Release date: Sept. 14

“Finishing the Game”

IFC Films

Starring: James Franco, Dustin Nguyen, Roger Fan, Sung Kang, McCaleb Burnett
Director: Justin Lin
Story: After Bruce Lee’s untimely death in 1973, the studio is left with only 12 minutes from his last film, “Game of Death.” In this mockumentary, the studio heads decide to launch a search to find Lee’s replacement. We meet five aspiring thespians desperate to be part of the game, including a washed-up soap star (Nguyen), a B-movie marital artist (Fan), a Southern bit player (Kang) and a mixed race actor who could pass for white (Burnett).
Buzz: Variety’s Justin Chang called the film “essentially a one-joke send-up of bumbling would-be actors trying to jumpstart or salvage their careers.”  Lin is the man behind the excellent, high-energy film, “Better Luck Tomorrow.”
Web site: NA
Release date: Oct. 5

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