Appreciating the least obvious Best Picture nominee, J.R. Jones revisits Anthony Mann, and The Witch (finally) makes an unholy bond with Madison
Thursday
L.A. Streetfighters (6:30p — Central Library, Rm 302)
Kung fu cinema is chock full of the unsavory. Shoddy dubbing. Exploitative violence. Cultural misappropriation. Richard Park’s L.A. Streetfighters hits a few of those. It Korean teen for example (Jun Chong) stars in a movie whose alternate title (Ninja Turf) is a reference to feudal Japan, and one only needs to glimpse the accompanying trailer to bask in the gloriously awful sound mixing. Co-starring PKA world champion Bill Wallace, choreography vet James Lew and Best of the Best‘s’ Phillip Rhee, consider this Ppark’s vital warmup to ninja motorcycles of Miami Connection. Nobody in town does it badder than “Bad Cinema.” (FREE.)
All freakin’ weekend
The Witch (Sundance, AMC Star, Point)
After being exiled to the countryside, a Puritan family becomes unwilling victims of a malevolent force that’s holed herself up in the wilderness just outside of their new homestead. It’s taken nearly 13 months for The Witch to make good on a distribution deal (believe me, I’ve counted). During its theatrical purgatory, this New England horror darling has racked up all kinds of critical hype, including but not limited to loaded comparisons to Kubrick. Pulling from all manner of blood-curdling horrors — infant abduction, a pair of unsettling twins, and a family goat you’re unlikely to forget anytime soon — Robert Eggers draws on his days as a production designer to stack his deck with religious fervor, unspeakable sin, and dialogue ripped sctraight from records of the period.
Mustang (Sundance)
Five Turkish sisters are locked inside their own home for getting a little too close to the neighborhood boys. Deniz Gamze Ergüven directs things with a def, immediate hand while allowing for genre touches to creep their way into this conservative village. Shades of prison films, coming-of-age stories and even horror work their way into a climactic rebellion that rejects arranged marriages, sex-shaming, and the terrible contradictions that constrict us. The Witch brings the hype this weekend, but the scariest stories are often the most prescient ones. Screening Room Calendar.
Friday
Men in War (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
The world was four years removed from the Korean War when Anthony Mann tried his hand at committing U.S. involvement to film. Centered around a single day in September, 1950, Men in War pits Robert Ryan’s American lieutenant against an unruly sergeant (Aldo Ray) as the group taverses through enemy territory. As life is wont to imitate art, conflict would arise not just within a possibly blacklisted story but outside of it as well. Mann was met with harsh criticism from the Pentagon, which refused to cooperate with the production, let alone lend the motion picture spare assets as extras. The results are isolating, with Elmer Bernstein’s score adding to the platoon’s wartime claustrophobia. And that may be a topic of discussion of Chicago critic and Robert Ryan biographer J.R. Jones, who concludes this FREE UCLA Festival presentation with a discussion.
Saturday
Spotlight (2:00p, 8:00p — Union South Marquee)
Let’s set aside the obvious proximity of WUD Film’s schedule to the Oscars and simply appreciate that Spotlight isn’t the typical prize horse of annual awards-whoring. It’s an understated piece of direction from Tom Mccarthy, bereft of flashy monologues or moral grandstanding, and this despite its Boston-area journalists uncovering the moral quagmire that was the Catholic Church’s widespread abuses. It’s also ugly. Sure, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams are still good looking people, but one could write an entire essay on the importance of dressing your unfashionable journalists like unfashionable journalists. Oh, and it improves on subsequent viewings. Next to adrenaline-fueled post-apocalypses and Leonardo DiCaprio wolfing raw liver in the freezing cold, Spotlight doesn’t scream out its accomplishments. Given its message on the importance of grinding out a second look at something, the residual effect is all too fitting. (FREE.)