Director Christopher Nolan and The Odyssey have dominated Hollywood news coverage lately.
Per Rotten Tomatoes, critical and audience reactions have also been (mostly) positive, though not entirely; see our own Kyle Logan's reaction, linked below.
Still, it's a key film of the season, and demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Meanwhile, there are a handful of other, less-heralded films that merit attention, including Steal Away, the Korean charmer Take Care of My Cat, and radio doc 40 Watts to Nowhere.
And we've even got a kidnapping picture that's not your usual kidnapping picture. (No, I don't mean because Chris Pine speaks Italian, but for other reasons.)
In any event, this may be a good weekend for catching up with other films in theaters, either for the first time or for a repeating viewing, including Olivia Wilde's The Invite. Our guide below lists this week's new releases, along with links to our reviews, where available.
The Odyssey
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Universal Pictures. Visit their official site for locations and showtimes.
Our review by Kyle Logan: "Christopher Nolan's last movie may have included modern politicians and his Dark Knight trilogy took some perhaps ill-advised stabs at political topics of the day, but his adaptation of The Odyssey is his most politically potent film. ...
"The Odyssey has many flaws, but perhaps its greatest flaw is the pacing. It's undoubtedly difficult to adapt an episodic epic into a single feature film, and Nolan does succeed in drawing out this ancient story's themes for today and creating moments of brilliance for the screen. But he fails to turn the story into a coherent whole with narrative momentum. It's the odd film that leaves you both exhausted and wishing for more. It's a movie that inadvertently makes the case that this story shouldn't be adapted, despite its significant successes."
Steal Away
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Elevation Pictures.
Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg: "Canadian filmmaker Clement Virgo, even in his more 'realistic' work such as Brother and The Book of Negroes, has always tinged his work with something that hints at the dark fantastic of the world, so it's not surprising that he would want to dive further into this rich pool.
"Steal Away, co-written by Virgo and Tamara Faith Berger, explores racism, slavery, coming-of-age, sexual desire, love, and brutality in a film that mostly succeeds in combining these elements in its contemporary take on the fairy tale."
The Kidnapping of Arabella
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Oscilloscope. Visit their official site for locations and showtimes.
Our review by George and Josh Bate: "Chris Pine speaks Italian, a young girl is willingly kidnapped, and a troubled woman tries to give herself a past she never had in The Kidnapping of Arabella, a unique and fairly moving dramedy whose lack of focus and momentum ultimately proves to be its undoing. ...
"Cavalli should be commended for introducing novelty into the tired, over-saturated genre of kidnapping movies and tugging at the heartstrings in the final stretch of her movie, although neither attribute makes this admittedly unconventional road trip one worth embarking on."
Take Care of My Cat
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Kani Releasing. Visit their official site for locations and ticket information.
The Korean coming-of-age film receives a re-release with a 4K restoration for its 25th anniversary.
Official synopsis: "A sleeper hit at the time of its release, Jeong Jae-eun's perceptive debut Take Care of My Cat chronicles the lives of five graduating friends whose bonds begin to fracture as they contend with their share of squashed dreams and unequal opportunities.
"Director Jeong sets the lives of her protagonists (among them Bae Doona and Lee Yo-won in breakout roles) against the industrial backdrop of Incheon, a port city adjacent to Seoul and bearing the brunt of South Korea's ruthless globalization efforts. In the doing, her film expands to accommodate notions of class, solidarity and privilege - in what is now a timeless snapshot of a rapidly evolving society.
"Alternately bleak and sunny, realistic and effortlessly cool, suffused with the joys of girlhood yet clear-eyed about the uneasy transition into adulthood, Take Care of My Cat offers a tender and a multi-faceted portrait of young women at the turn of the new millennium."
40 Watts From Nowhere
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Factory 25. Visit their official site for locations and ticket information.
Our review by Mel Valentin: "Produced by Jack Black, 40 Watts From Nowhere follows the brief, brilliant life, not unexpected, precipitous fall, and sudden demise of Carpenter's pirate radio station, KBLT, during a tumultuous cultural era, specifically the Los Angeles-based, post-punk music scene."
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