Old Stone
Veteran short film director Johnny Ma announces his place in the feature directing world with this extremely captivating Chinese drama about a man just trying to do the right thing. Chen Gang gives a masterful performance in the lead role and surely deserves the awards he is racking up on the fest circuit since the film premiered in Berlin. Zeitgeist is thankfully bringing the film to theaters at the end of the month.
Headshot
It's the Mo Bros. plus Iko Uwais in the balls-out, head smashing Indo-actioner that had everyone at Toronto's Midnight Madness premiere cheering with glee. Check out Mack's review for more.
Toni Erdmann
As we inch closer to year's end, the inevitable Top 10 lists will creep out from film critics soon. Expect Maren Ade's latest film to be on pretty close to every single one. It's also Germany's entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar and I'd be shocked if it doesn't at least get a nom. Here is Ben's review. Sony Classics will bring it out on Christmas Day.
The Red Turtle
This touching dialog free film made by Michael Dudok de Wit in close conjunction with Studio Ghibli is a real tear jerker. It's also a beautiful exploration of humanity and manhood. Check out my Cannes review here and look for it in theaters early next year from Sony Classics.
Jirí Menzel – To Make A Comedy Is No Fun
I'm taking a bit of a flyer here with my 5th pick and going with this documentary (on only its second festival stop) by Swiss director Robert Kolinsky about the Czech director. While Menzel is probably most famous for his 1967 Oscar-winning masterpiece Closely Watched Trains, the director has stayed prolific in his native film industry well past his early success. This doc looks at his life and inspirations as well as accounts of those heady Czech New Wave times.
