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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Courtesy of Jeff Krulik Heavy Metal Parking Lot: The 30th Anniversary Exhibit and Beer
The University of Maryland toasts its most famous film graduate Friday night with a reception for the 30th anniversary of Jeff Krulik’s landmark documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot. An exhibit in the gallery of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library charts the film’s path from VHS samizdat to global juggernaut, and includes items from the university’s recent acquisition of the Jeff Krulik Collection. Additional items from the Krulik Collection will also be on display. Not on display: every band t-shirt seen in the movie, which some kind soul at the intersection of metal fanaticism and obsessive cataloging assembled here. The exhibit’s opening reception, which is open to the public, is also an opportunity to debut the commemorative beer, a commission from Union Craft Brewing. The Belgian-style strong golden ale, which is described as the marriage of “a soft malty character with fruity and spicy notes from the yeast,” will be served from kegs at the event; limited edition six packs will only be available for sale from the Union Craft brewery in Baltimore. Tomorrow’s event includes short presentations by film scholars, a screening of the film, a Q&A with filmmakers Krulik and John Heyn, beer, and memories.
Friday, May 27, 2016 from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at The Pavilion of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park (intersection of Stadium Drive and University Boulevard). Free.
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(IFC Films)Directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg got permission to film what was supposed to New York Representative Anthony Weiner’s comeback as he ran for New York City mayor. Kriegman, a former chief of staff for Weiner, and Steinberg had unparalleled access to the candidate, his family, and his campaign team, and seemed poised to follow their subject on what was becoming a successful quest for a higher office. But Weiner’s ambitions were derailed by another sexting scandal, resulting in a very different documentary. Rolling Stone’s David Ehrlich write that the film is, “hardly just an opportunistic snapshot of a celebrity’s public implosion …[this] inside look at the spectacular failure of Anthony Weiner’s 2013 mayoral campaign in New York is one of the best documentaries ever made about a political scandal.”
Watch the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at Landmark E Street Cinema.
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Julian Dennison and Sam Neill (The Orchard)The AFI launches its new Washington DC Fantastic Film Showcase with a sneak preview of the new film from director Taiki Waititi, whose vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows was one of the funniest movies of 2014. In this new comedy, a rebellious kid goes on the lam in the New Zealand bush with his cranky uncle (Sam Neill), setting off a nationwide manhunt. Also screening: a restored DCP of the rare Japanese animated feature, The Belladonna of Sadness; and Under the Shadow, in which social critique in ’80s Tehran is infused with horror. Stay tuned for more coverage of the festival next week.
Watch the trailer.
Thursday, June 2 at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver.
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Courtesy of the FreerThe annual Korean Film Festival continues this week with this new drama from director Jung Ji-woo. The Freer describes the film as an examination of “the world of competitive sports and the toll it takes on its youngest members. Park Hae-jun plays Gwang-su, a washed-up competitive swimmer hired by an ambitious mother to coach her young son, who keeps finishing fourth in competitions. Gwang-su’s increasingly brutal training methods begin to carry on the circle of abuse that destroyed his own youthful athletic career. In addition to its strong performances and important message, Fourth Place boasts gorgeous underwater cinematography that emphasizes the pure joy of swimming.”
Watch the trailer.
Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m. at the AFI Silver.
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The Washington Psychotronic Film Society celebrates Memorial Day with a criminal love story in the spirit of Bonnie and Clyde and The Honeymoon Killers. As the programmers describe the film, “Joe was a lonely, grape-hating, psychotic killer. Then he met Kate. She’s gorgeous, she hates grapes, and, whatta-ya-know, she’s a kills people too! Unfortunately for this deadly duo, they run into Herman, a local plumber and part-time cannibal, and he wants bodies—their bodies. Will Joe and Kate abandon their homicidal urges? Will they watch anything besides slasher flicks? Fava beans and a nice Chianti, or is wine out of the question? Psychos in Love foreshadows the grand guignol culinary delights of Silence of the Lambs, served up with a healthy portion of wry wit and all-American T&A. You’ll find yourself humming the theme in the morning.”
Watch the trailer.
Monday, May 30 at 8 p.m. at Smoke and Barrel.
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Also opening, this weekend, A Monster with a Thousand Heads, a stylistically restrained film about one of the great modern horrors: medical insurance. We’ll have a full review tomorrow.
