Absolute Wilson
More than a biography, Absolute Wilson is the moving and revealing tale of a child, the son of the mayor of Waco, who grew up as a troubled outsider in a segregated, fundamentalist Texas during the 40’s and 50’s. Plagued by a speech impediment and learning disabilities, longing for the love of a disapproving father; Robert Wilson learns to embrace his differences and discovers profound liberation in the New York arts world of the 1960s.
“Absolute Wilson” is a tour de force into the mind of an unbending spirit. Providing further insight into Wilson’s life and art is lively commentary from a range of collaborators, lovers, admirers, family members — and even detractors — including musician David Byrne, writer Susan Sontag (in one of the last interviews before her recent death), composer Philip Glass, opera star Jessye Norman, critics John Rockwell and John Simon.
The creator of revolutionary works of theatre, opera, dance, performance and fine art, Wilson continues to change the landscape of 21st century expression with groundbreaking international theatre sensations such as “Deafman Glance,” “Einstein on the Beach,” and “The Black Rider.” Wilson’s work pushes the limits of time and space, forging images of astonishing beauty, nightmarish psychological complexity, stark wit and haunting emotion. Many have lauded him as a mesmerizing visual genius. Others damn his productions as indulgent and costly. Incendiary, influential, contradictory, puzzling, other-worldly, mischievous, unclassifiable – Wilson is absolutely all of these.
20 Centimeters
With an “Almodovarian” twist and the flamboyance of “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” director Ramón Salazar’s “20 Centimeters” tells the story of Marieta (Mónica Cervera) a narcoleptic, transsexual who longs to get rid of 8 inches of equipment that separates her from being the glamorous woman she dreams to be. When she accidentally falls asleep in the most inopportune times, Marieta’s dreams become lavish and colorful musical numbers, where as a real woman she can sing in Spanish, French & English. So cue up the lights, powder that face and slip on that sexy gown because Marieta’s dreams are about to come true…
Exit: The Right to Die
Fernand Melgar’s “Exit” is a new documentary that deals with the most mundane and yet most emotionally fraught of subjects: death. Eventually, none of us escapes the ordeal of a parent or friend’s death; inevitably we wonder if fate will be kind to us, or if we will endure a painful and lingering demise. In Switzerland, Exit, a membership organization, facilitates a dignified, swift and pain-free end to the lives of members who are terminal. The film follows the activities of volunteer “escorts” responsible for visiting clients. We hear their conversations, watch them prepare the lethal solution, and in one instance oversee its administration. The humanity and decency with which all this is conducted leaves little wonder that Exit has a long waiting list for membership. Amazingly, for more than 20 years Switzerland has been the only nation in the world to allow legally assisted suicide by groups such as this one. As anyone who has ever raised the subject knows, in the United States it remains one of our last taboos – despite the fact that a majority of Americans support some form of “the right to die.” “Exit” makes apparent that the freedom to end one’s life is one that every society owes its citizens.
Tideland
“Tideland” celebrates the resiliency of childhood and the power of the imagination as only Terry Gilliam, one of our few truly visionary filmmakers, could conceive it.
Jeliza-Rose (Ferland) is a young girl in a very unusual situation – both of her parents are junkies and she is usually left to her own devices for entertainment. When her mother dies, her father (Bridges), a rock ‘n roll musician well past his prime, takes her to a remote farm in the country, she escapes the vast loneliness of her new home by retreating into a world that exists only in her mind. Here, fireflies have names, bog-men awaken at dusk, and squirrels talk. And the heads of her four dolls – Mystique, Baby Blonde, Glitter Gal, and Sateen Lips – long since separated from their bodies, keep her company.
As optimistic as it is surreal, as humorous as it is suspenseful, and filled with extraordinary, hallucinatory images that defy description, “Tideland” is Terry Gilliam at his most uncompromising – and uncompromised – best.
Sweet Land
When Lars Torvik’s grandmother Inge dies in 2004, he is faced with a decision – sell the family farm on which she lived since 1920, or cling to the legacy of the land. Seeking advice, he turns to the memory of Inge and the stories that she had passed on to him.
Inge arrives in Minnesota in 1920 to marry a young Norwegian farmer named Olaf but her German heritage and lack of official immigration papers makes her an object of suspicion in the small town, and she and Olaf are forbidden to marry. Alone and adrift, Inge goes to live with the family of Olaf’s friend and neighbor Frandsen and his wife Brownie, where she learns the English language, American ways, and a hard-won independence.
Inge and Olaf slowly come to know each other, and against the backdrop of endless farmland and cathedral skies they fall in love, a man and woman united by the elemental forces of nature. Still unable to marry, they live together openly, despite the scorn of the neighbors and the disapproval of the local minister. But when his friend Frandsen’s farm is threatened by foreclosure, Olaf takes a stand, and the community unites around the young couple, finally accepting Inge as one of their own.
Based on Will Weaver’s short story A Gravestone Made of Wheat and shot on location in Southern Minnesota.
One Night with the King
An epic motion picture set in an imaginative world of adventure, intrigue and romance, “One Night with the King” follows a young girl who rises from peasant to princess by going against the culture and seeking the King’s heart rather than the riches of the kingdom.
By ‘chance’ she is born with exceeding beauty to a people who have been carried away as slaves to the most powerful kingdom in the world. By ‘chance’ her parents are killed while she is young leaving her to be taken in by her uncle, a man who has found favor as a royal scribe. By ‘chance’ the Queen is executed by the unknowing King, spurned on by the ruthless plotting of palace princes hungry for power. By ‘chance’ the King is left feeling alone, pushed and prodded, desperate to live up to and avenge the battles of his father. By ‘chance’ Esther is carted off to the palace to become part of the Kingís harem at the same time a vengeful young prime minister with the Kingís ear is rising to prominence with a plan for orchestrating the genocide of her people.
So begins the story of Esther, “One Night with the King,” a story that reveals that all of life is under God’s command. Power, position and prominence are one thing, but when Esther must choose between all she’s ever dreamed of and the fate of her people, will she be able to find the courage to step forward and embrace her destiny?
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
Based on the best selling young adult adventure series of books by Anthony Horowitz, this story concerns Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer), a 14-year-old orphan who has been unwittingly trained all his life by his uncle with the skills to become a secret agent - scuba diving, mountaineering, martial arts and so on. When his uncle (Ewan McGregor), an MI6 agent, is killed, Rider learns the truth and finds himself forced against his will to take on a dangerous mission for the British secret service. Using the tools and gadgets of the trade, in the vein of 007, Alex must infiltrate the lair of billionaire and possibly evil mastermind Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) in order to stop him from releasing a biological weapon upon all of England via his brand new, high tech Stormbreaker computers.
So Much So Fast
From Academy Award nominees Steven Ascher & Jeanne Jordan, directors of Troublesome Creek…
A black-humored cliffhanger of romance, guerrilla science and the redefinition of time, “So Much So Fast” unfolds like a nonfiction novel. Stephen Heywood finds out he has ALS. His brother Jamie becomes obsessed with finding a cure. And the woman who’s falling in love with Stephen has a decision to make.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
The original 1974 film, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” shocked and stunned audiences with its bone-chilling realism. The horrifying story, drawn from a series of true events, is considered by many to be one of the greatest thrillers of all time and a landmark of terror that has influenced countless films in its wake. Iconic in popular culture, its menacing evil character, Leatherface, will forever be one of the most recognizable screen villains.
With 2003’s remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” starring Jessica Biel, the filmmakers at Platinum Dunes brought new life and vigor to the horror movie genre, while also honoring its predecessor. Now the company continues on that path with a startling prequel, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,” which details the beginnings of the Hewitt clan and exposes their psychotic idea of family fun.
It’s 1969. The conflict in Viet Nam has exploded to immeasurable proportions, and 18-year-old Dean Hill’s (Taylor Handley) number is up. Dean’s brother Eric (Matthew Bomer), who has already seen his share of combat, plans to take Dean to enlist in his beloved Marine Corps in hopes of keeping an eye on him rather than letting him take his chances at the local induction center.
But Dean’s plans do not coincide with his older brother’s. Instead, he plans to confront Eric about dodging the draft after the boys and their respective girlfriends, Bailey (Diora Baird) and Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) head across Texas for a final fling of serious fun.
Soon after their journey begins, the spirited foursome are spooked by a menacing pair of bikers, Holden (Lee Tergesen) and his girlfriend, Alex (Cyia Batten). When Alex chases the group’s jeep, propelling them into a serious accident, Chrissie is thrown from the vehicle. As Alex attempts to rob the injured trio, Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) arrives on the scene and turns the tables on their would-be assassin. While Chrissie hides in the nearby brush, she watches as the sheriff kills Alex in cold blood and then inexplicably taunts her friends before ordering them into the back of the patrol car.
Unbeknownst to Chrissie, Hoyt is headed back to the Hewitt family home where Thomas who is being groomed to become the terrifying monster known as Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) and the rest of the Hewitt clan await. In an effort to save her friends, she attempts to convince Holden to help her, but he is on a one-man rampage to avenge his girlfriend’s death. As Chrissie witnesses the horrors inflicted by the Hewitt family upon the people she loves, she realizes she is their only hope of survival.
The Queen
When news of the death of Princess Diana, undoubtedly the most famous woman in the world, breaks upon a shocked and disbelieving British public, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II retreats behind the walls of Balmoral Castle with her family, unable to comprehend the public response to the tragedy.
For Tony Blair, the popular and newly elected Prime Minister, the people’s need for reassurance and support from their leaders is palpable. As the unprecedented outpouring of emotion grows ever stronger, Blair must find a way to reconnect the Queen with the British public.