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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María Telón and Maria Mercedes Coroy (Julie Romano/Kino Lorber)Seventeen-year old Maria (María Mercedes Coroy) has been promised in an arranged marriage to plantation manager Ignacio (Justo Lorenzo), but she becomes pregnant by young, unreliable Pepe (Marvin Coroy). This seemingly melodramatic coming-of-age scenario unfolds among Kaqchikel-speaking Mayans in Guatemala, living in the shadow of a volcano. Director Jayro Bustamante’s first feature has the feel of a soap opera directed by Werner Herzog; the film documents the Mayans’ rural lives in a stark drama about sex and superstition.
Watch the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at Landmark E Street Cinema
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Margherita Buy (Music Box Films)Margherita (Margherita Buy) is a film director struggling with a difficult leading man (John Turturro) and a terminally ill mother in this semi-autobiographical film from director Nanni Moretti (We Have a Pope). Moretti’s own mother died in 2010, but despite an impressive 88 percent on the Tomatometer, some reviews note the film’s comic elements seem to distract from the mourning at its heart. The Post’s Michael O’Sullivan writes that, “Moretti’s farcical subplot … is more of an annoyance than a welcome counterbalance to sentimentality.” and despite a strong performance from Buy, “Mia Madre is still, on the whole, less than the sum of its parts.”
Watch the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at the Avalon.
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A Fat Wreck—The Punk-U-Mentary
First-time director Shaun Colón uses puppets and 8-bit animation to tell the story of San Francisco punk label Fat Wreck Chords. The movie focuses on founder and NOFX member “Fat” Mike Burkett and his ex-wife Erin, whose pop punk roster numbers bands like Propaghandi and Lagwagon and describes themselves as having spent the last 25 years “ruining punk rock.” Longtime fans of the label, Colón and writer Greg Pratt share their enthusiasm for punk in a labor of love made by fans, for fans.
Watch the trailer.
Wednesday, August 31st at the Howard Theatre, 620 T Street, NW. $10
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Brian Wilde and Dana AndrewsA psychologist (Dana Andrews) investigates a Satanic cult suspected of murder in this 1957 film by director Jacques Tourneur (Out of the Past, Cat People). As part of its series dedicated to production designer Ken Adams (best known for sets like Bond villain Ernst Blofeld’s volcanic secret lair), the AFI is screening a 35mm print of this British film, considered one of the scariest ever made.
Watch the trailer.
Friday, August 26, Tuesday, August 30 and Thursday, September 1 at the AFI Silver.
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The Washington Psychotronic Film Society is the area’s premiere source for sequels you didn’t know existed. Next week’s program is an unofficial sequel to The Gods Must Be Crazy. As the WPFS puts it, “Taoist exorcist Lam Ching-Ying (the great Mr. Vampire) ends up grounded in Africa with his vampire transport and meets N!xau (The Gods Must Be Crazy). Together they face snakes, baboons, a fake-ass rhino, Zulu warriors, a witch doctor, a hulking zombie, white devils, and culture shock. With the help of Coca-Cola, ostriches, Bruce Lee, a bit of magic and a bit of heart, they just might overcome it all!”
Watch the trailer.
Monday, August 29 at 8 p.m. at Smoke and Barrel.
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Also opening this week, a 13-year old rapper comes of age in Morris from America; and a French woman looks back on the dangers of falling for Vincent Cassel in My King. We’ll have full reviews tomorrow.
