Popcorn & Candy is DCist’s selective and subjective guide to some of the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week.
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(Breaking Glass Pictures)Rico and Scooby are young single fathers trying to figure out what to do when a neighbor gives them a pitbull puppy; meanwhile, Floyd’s half-ton hog Charlotte becomes a hometeam mascot. First-time filmmakers and Prince George’s County natives Joe Frank and Zach Reed co-directed this sometimes heartbreaking indie-comedy that mixes freewheeling documentary (some of it is shot on an iPhone) with semi-fictional stories from their neighborhood. The pair cast non-acting friends from Cheverly and Landover to essentially play themselves, and if the loose structure seems like a home movie, it’s an occasionally hilarious one. Just watch its stars dis the cheap dining options on Annapolis Road. As Rico says early in the film, Sweaty Betty looks to bring hope to the ‘hood, beyond the drugs and crime. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with next. You can read my interview with co-director Zack Reed.
Watch the trailer.
Available now on DVD and VOD.
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Jack NanceA mutant baby; a puffy-cheeked chanteuse who lives in a radiator; big hair. The Washington Psychotronic Film Society has a very special dream next week, and at a special venue. Made over the course of five years, David Lynch’s feature film debut is the sight and sound of nightmares, but Mel Brooks is not alone in thinking this is an industrially dark black comedy. Still, while purists may prefer the ambiance of a dark movie theater, a (hopefully) crowded bar and an open tab is not a bad way to see it.
Watch the trailer.
Monday, January 18 at 8 p.m. at Smoke and Barrel, 2471 18th St. NW
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This month I’m hosting 35mm screenings at the intimate Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress. The series Time Capsule: 1966 continues next week with director Conrad Rooks’ impressionistic, semi-autobiographical feature debut. This relic of the ’60s includes appearances by William S. Burroughs, the late jazz musician Ornette Coleman, The Fugs, and Allen Ginsberg. Tickets are already sold out for the remainder of the series, but standbys are encouraged to line up starting at 6:30 p.m. as available seats will be released five minutes before show time. For information, call (202) 707-5502. Learn more about the Library of Congress’ 2015-16 concert season here.
Watch a mash-up trailer.
Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m. at the Mary Pickford Theatre, third floor of the Madison Building, Library of Congress. Free. (Tickets are sold out but a standby line forms at 6:30 p.m.)
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The Twentieth Annual Iranian Film Festival continues at the National Gallery of Art this weekend with this 2014 film from director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The Gallery writes that, “Makhmalbaf has recently transformed himself into a truly global filmmaker. He has ventured from Afghanistan to Israel to Europe to make films addressing key issues in innovative ways. Inspired by the Arab Spring, this satirical, suspenseful contemporary allegory is set in an unnamed country. When a rebellion topples his administration, the cruel titular leader goes on the run, in disguise, with his young grandson. Forced to beg for food and shelter, the undercover despot — a clear stand-in for any number of real-life leaders — learns just how loathed he is.”
Watch the trailer.
Sunday, January 17 at 4 p.m at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium, Free.
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The Embassy of the Czech Republic launches a year-long series of Czech comedies at Bistro Bohem with this 1938 film from director Carl Lamac, who has over 100 directorial credits on the IMDb (including the 1935 Franco-German production I Like All the Women) but is little known in the U.S. Mr. Ducháček Will Fix It (Ducháček to zařídí) is about a lawyer (Ladislav Hemmer) who falls in love with a young aristocrat’s daughter (Adina Mandlová) but learns that the family is deep in debt. It doesn’t sound like a comedy, but the title promises that it will be fixed, so feel free to laugh.
Tuesday, January 19 at 7 pm at Bistro Bohem, 600 Florida Avenue, NW. Free, RSVP required: 202/735-5895 or bistrobohem@gmail.com Guests must arrive by 6:45 pm to keep their reservation.
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Also opening this week, two films just nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar: the Turkish coming-of-age drama Mustang and the harrowing Holocaust drama Son of Saul. We’ll have full reviews tomorrow.
