DCist’s highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week.
What it is: West End Cinema hosts a one-day retrospective of Charlie Chaplin films, starting with a collection of his shorts, and moving through a handful of his best-loved features, first with early classics The Kid and A Dog’s Life, then with a trio of his most recognizable masterpieces: City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator.
Why you want to see it: No one should ever need any convincing when it comes to Chaplin. If you’ve never seen any of these, get yourself down to West End and take advantage of the opportunity to see them on a big screen.
View the trailer for The Great Dictator.
All day Sunday at West End. Check their site for the showtimes for each film.
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What it is: A documentary about a Mexican circus that has been on the road for over a century, but is struggling to continue.
Why you want to see it: Director Aaron Schock’s film was a hit on the festival circuit last year, hailed by most critics for his sensitive and poignant look at people whose entire culture and way of life is in danger of dying out. Schock will be on hand for the Saturday evening screenings this weekend.
View the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at E Street.
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What it is: Mel Gibson as a family man dealing with his own detachment and depression by communicating with his family through a beaver puppet who can say the things he can’t.
Why you want to see it: Mel Gibson’s behavior over the past year would test the staunchest defender of the notion of separating the art from the artist, giving pause even to someone who has never once thought twice about seeing a new Roman Polanski or Woody Allen film on opening day. But Jodie Foster has stood by her star (at least as it pertains to his performance), as well as to the easy joke generator that is the title of her latest directorial effort. If you think from the trailer that this looks smarmy and trite, you’d be right; the trailer says exactly that. But though reviews have been mixed, they haven’t been as bad as one might expect if the film is what the trailer makes it out to be. Most suggest the movie goes to far darker places than the clip hints at. That, and supporting turns from the excellent Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence, have me curious.
View the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at Georgetown, E Street, and Bethesda Row.
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What it is: Martin Scorsese directs a documentary about author and social commentator Fran Lebowitz.
Why you want to see it: Some of Scorsese’s best work over the latter half of his career has been in his documentaries, whether it’s his loving and tribute to the films of Italy, or the meticulously detailed profile of Bob Dylan, films where the director’s genuine affinity for his subjects translate into films that force you to take just as much of an interest as he does. His latest subject may not be quite as universally known as Dylan, the Stones or the Band, but after 82 minutes seeing her through Scorsese’s lens, that’s sure to change, as he presents her largely in her own words, in conversation with Toni Morrison. The AFI is presenting just one screening of the film, and Lebowitz will be on hand for the screening.
View the trailer.
Next Thursday at 7 p.m. at the AFI. $15.
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Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue
What it is: A collection of ten films chosen through the Sundance Institute’s Film Forward program, each screening simultaneously at various area venues.
Why you want to see it: The Film Forward program picks their ten films, five from the U.S. and five from abroad, to go on a 14-city international roadshow, in many cases with the filmmakers going along with them. Of the ten on the schedule this year, we’ve favorably covered four here at DCist, two (Freedom Riders and Afghan Star) at Silverdocs over the past two years, another when it opened locally in 2009 (Amreeka), and a fourth (Winter’s Bone) which made our top ten of 2010 list. Given the percentages, we’re guessing you’ve got a pretty good shot at seeing something good no matter what you choose.
Thursday at 6 p.m. at 10 different venues. Check the event page for a full rundown of where to see your chosen film.
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Also opening tomorrow is Thor, the latest Marvel comics hero to pop up onscreen in preparation for next year’s massive multi-hero Avengers movie. We’ll have a complete review tomorrow.
