BNF FIRST QUARTER 2016 FILM LIST Note: This list was compiled from various board member informal contributions. In the interest of time of preparation on the Board’s part, please excuse variations in formatting and typos. Hope you find this useful in the BNF Member Polling process. ENGLISH SPEAKING FILMS 1. A Brilliant Young Mind – 2015 -‐ Samuel Goldwyn Films -‐ Dir: Morgan Matthews IMDB 7.3; Meta 70/100; RT 100/89% want to see Drama/Comedy | English | 111 min | PG-‐13 (expected rating) In a world difficult to comprehend, Nathan struggles to connect with those around him -‐ most of all his loving mother -‐ but finds comfort in numbers. When Nathan is taken under the wing of unconventional and anarchic teacher, Mr. Humphreys, the pair forge an unusual friendship and Nathan's talents win him a place on the UK team at the International Mathematics Olympiad. From suburban England to bustling Taipei and back again, Nathan builds complex relationships as he is confronted by the irrational nature of love. Stars: Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins. David Edwards (Daily Mirror) says: "Take the story of a young maths prodigy, add three notable performances, subtract any of the by-‐the-‐numbers mawkishness you might expect, and the result is a small gem of a Brit flick." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3149038 2. Brooklyn – 2015 – Fox Searchlight – Dir: John Crowley IMDB 7.2; Meta 75; RT 100/NR The profoundly moving story of Eilis, a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother's home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within www.imdb.com/title/tt2381111 3. Burnt – Oct 2015 – The Weinstein Co – Dir: John Wells – comedy/drama – Bradley Cooper stars Adam Jones is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars. Bradley Cooper stars. www.imdb.com/title/tt2503944 4. Carol – 2015 – UK -‐ Weinstein Co., Dir: Todd Haynes – drama/romance – Cate Blanchett, Kyle Chandler, Rooney Mara star RT 95, IMDB 7, MC 98 Set in the 1950s NY, a department store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older married woman. www.imdb.com/title/tt2402927 5. The Diary of a Teenage Girl – 2015 – Sony Classics -‐ Dir: Marielle Heller RT 93/82; The Guardian 4/5*; Chgo Trib 4*; IMDB 7.0; Meta 86 Like most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the
world.” What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl's sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment. www.imdb.com/title/tt3172532 6. Experimenter – 2015 -‐ Magnolia Pictures -‐ Dir: Michael Almereyda IMDB 7.3; Meta 80/100; RT 100/89% want to see Drama/History/Bio | English | 90 min | NR In 1961, social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted the "obedience experiments" at Yale University. The experiments observed the responses of ordinary people asked to send harmful electrical shocks to a stranger. Despite pleadings from the person they were shocking, 65 percent of subjects obeyed commands from a lab-‐coated authority figure to deliver potentially fatal currents. With Adolf Eichmann's trial airing in living rooms across America, Milgram's Kafkaesque results hit a nerve, and he was accused of being a deceptive, manipulative monster. EXPERIMENTER invites us inside Milgram's whirring mind, beginning with his obedience research and wending a path to uncover how inner obsessions and the times in which he lived shaped a parade of human behavior inquiries. Stars Peter Sarsgaard, Taryn Manning, Winona Ryder, and more. John DeFore (Hollywood Reporter) says: "Technically puckish where appropriate but grounded by strong performances from Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder, the film is not awards bait but makes some Big Thinker biographies that are look staid." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3149038 7. Genius – 2015 – Lionsgate – Dir: Michael Sandage – bio/drama A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others. Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Laura Linney. www.imdb.com/title/tt1703957 8. Grandma – 2015 – Sony Pictures Classics – Dir: Paul Weitz RT 89/77; imdb 6.8; Meta 77 Elle (Lily Tomlin) has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when Elle's granddaughter Sage unexpectedly shows up needing $600 before sundown. Temporarily broke, Grandma Elle and Sage spend the day trying to get their hands on the cash as their unannounced visits to old friends and flames end up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets. Comedy www.imdb.com/title/tt4270516 9. I’ll See You in My Dreams – 2015 -‐ Bleecker Street Media -‐ Dir: Brett Haley IMDB 6.9; Meta 75/100; RT 94/70 Drama/Comedy | English | 95 min | PG-‐13 In this vibrant, funny, and heartfelt film, a widow and former songstress discovers that life can begin anew at any age. With the support of three loyal girlfriends (June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, and Mary Kay Place), Carol (Blythe Danner) decides to embrace the world, embarking on an unlikely friendship with her pool maintenance man (Martin Starr), pursuing a new love interest (Sam Elliott), and reconnecting with her daughter (Malin Akerman). Rex Reed says "The tender magnetism of Blythe Danner turns an intelligent, sensitive story of love among the not so young into a work of art." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3236120 10. Learning to Drive – 2015 – Broad Green Pictures-‐Dir: Isabel Coixet RT 53: IMDb 6.5; NY Times Critics Pick; 1st runner up for People’s Choice Award at 2014 Toronto Film Festival
Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) is a New York author whose husband has just left her, inspiring her to embrace independence and learn to drive. Her teacher, Darwan (Ben Kingsley), is a gentle Indian Sikh cab driver with an impending arranged marriage. As Darwan teaches Wendy how to drive, they both learn valuable lessons about relationships, life and friendship. www.imdb.com/title/tt3062976 11. Love & Mercy. PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Music | 19 June 2015 (USA) Ratings: 7.6/10 from 7,364 users Metascore: 80/100 In the 1960s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-‐garde pop masterpiece. In the 1980s, he is a broken, confused man under the 24-‐hour watch of shady therapist Dr. Eugene Landy. Director: Bill Pohlad; Stars: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903657 12. Man From Reno -‐ 2014 -‐ Gravitas Ventures -‐ Dr. David Boyle IMDB 7.3; Metacritic 73; RT 95/91 Mystery/Drama -‐ Unrated -‐ 111 min. -‐ English/Japanese A stranger in the increasingly strange city of San Francisco, Japanese crime novelist Aki (Ayako Fujitani -‐ Tokyo!) is unsure of precisely what role she has to play in a real-‐life murder mystery involving ambiguous MacGuffins and amorphous identities. Unfolding in lonely places such as bookshops and hotel bars, Dave Boyle's (Surrogate Valentine, White On Rice, Big Dreams Little Tokyo) moody thriller uncovers exhilarating new takes on genre conventions. Consequently, it's an alluring l'homme fatal who supplies Aki with the breadcrumb trail of clues that entices her into a labyrinthine plot of sinister dealings. In turn, the aging sheriff (veteran character actor Pepe Serna -‐ Scarface, The Black Dahlia, The Jerk, fantastic in a rare leading role), who should rightfully be riding to her rescue, proves to be equally out of his depth. The game is afoot, the chase is exhilarating and the stakes are perilously high in this inspired neo-‐noir. (Courtesy of Los Angeles Film Festival) (C) First Pond WINNER OF BEST OR OUTSTANDING NARRATIVE FEATURE: San Diego Asian Film Festival, Tallgrass International Film Festival, Asian Film Festival of Dallas, Los Angeles Film Festival http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2287170 13. Meet the Patels – 2015 – Alchemy Films – Dir: Geeta Patel/Ravi Patel –Geni comedy/doc/drama IMDB 8.1/10 A laugh out loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost 30 year old Indian-‐American who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams and his parents. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2378401 14. Mistress America – 2015 – Fox Searchlight -‐ Dir: Noah Baumbach IMDB 7.2; Meta 77; RT 83/83; Chgo Trib 3* Tracy is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-‐to-‐be stepsister, Brooke -‐ a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town -‐ she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke's alluringly mad schemes. www.imdb.com/title/tt2872462
15. Trumbo – 2015 -‐ Bleecker Street Media -‐ Dir: Jay Roach IMDB 6.5; Meta 57/100; RT 99% want to see Drama/Biography | English | 114 min | R Rated The successful career of 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo comes to a crushing end when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs. This film tells the story of his fight against the U.S. government and studio bosses in a war over words and freedom, which entangled everyone in Hollywood from Hedda Hopper and John Wayne to Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger. He continued writing under pseudonyms and won two Academy Awards while blacklisted. He resumed his career under his own name after the blacklist effectively ended after 1960. His credits include “Roman Holiday” and “Spartacus.” Movie stars Bryan Cranson, Alan Tudyk, Elle Fanning, Helen Murren, John Goodman, and more. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203606 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS 16. About Elly -‐ 2015 -‐ Iran -‐ Cinema Guild -‐ Dir: Asghar Farhadl RT 98/87. IMDB 8.2, The Guardian 4*, Ebert 4* A gripping mystery set among a group of friends who go on a holiday retreat to the Caspian Sea. Ellis brought along in hopes of setting her up with recently divorced Admad. Seemingly trivial lies start accumulating and suddenly come back in full force when Elly suddenly vanishes. Her mysterious disappearance sets in motion a series of deceptions and revelations threaten to shatter everything they hold dear. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1360860 17. The Farewell Party -‐ 2015 -‐ Israel (Hebrew) -‐ Samuel Goldwyn Films -‐ Dir: Tal Granit, Sharon Maymon Chgo Trib 3*; IMDB 7.3; Meta 70; RT 92/80 THE FAREWELL PARTY is a compassionate dark comedy about friendship and knowing when to say goodbye. A group of friends at a Jerusalem retirement home build a machine for self-‐euthanasia in order to help their terminally ill friend. When rumors of the machine begin to spread, more and more people ask for their help, and the friends are faced with an emotional dilemma. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3163304 18. Jauja -‐ 2015 -‐ Argentina (Spanish, Danish) -‐ Cinema Guild -‐ Dir: Lisandro Alonso IMDB 6.6; Meta 76; RT 92/50; Chgo Trib 3* A remote military outpost in Patagonia, 1882, during a genocidal campaign against the aboriginal population. Capt. Dinesen (Viggo Mortensen) has come from Denmark with his fifteen-‐year-‐old daughter to take an engineering job with the Argentine army. Ingeborg falls in love with a young soldier, and one night they elope. The Captain ventures into enemy territory to find the young couple. “Alonso's films are about men moving through the landscape, leaving behind the rules of civilization to become lost in the wilderness.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2514338 19. Phoenix – 2015 -‐ Sundance Selects -‐ Dir: Christian Petzold IMDB 7.2; Meta 91/100; RT 100/100% want to see Drama/History | German-‐English | 98 min | PG-‐13 Stars Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Nina Kunzendorf. Nelly Lenz, a Jewish singer, has survived the Nazi concentration camps but at what cost? She is
disfigured and has had to undergo facial surgery. Back in what is left of Berlin, accompanied by her faithful friend Lene, she has only one thing in mind, finding Johnny, her musician husband in the ruins of the city. She wants to know if he still loves her and if he has betrayed her, as Lene claims he has. She does meet him but Johnny does not recognize her. Worse, he asks her to impersonate... Nelly, with a view to grabbing her inheritance. Stephanie Zacharek (Village Voice) says: "The director's last film was the superb 2012 Barbara, also starring Hoss and Zehrfeld, another romance with a mystery built in; Phoenix is an even finer piece of work, so beautifully made that it comes close to perfect." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4359416 20. Taxi – 2015 -‐ Kino Lorber -‐ Dir: Jafar Panahi IMDB 7.6; Meta 94/100; RT 100/100% want to see Drama/Comedy | Persian | 82 min | NR When you are a filmmaker and you are not allowed to direct movies any more, you have to retrain. So why not become a taxi driver? Or better, why not pretend you are a taxi driver and make a film despite everything? This is what Jafar Panahi has done. Now he invites you to get into his cab for the price of a cinema ticket, to ride through the streets of Tehran and discover its people in the persons of his various passengers. Deborah Young (Hollywood Reporter) says: "Amazingly, Panahi turns the utterly simple, economical format of a camera inside a car into something relevant to his own artistic state and full of eye-‐opening insights into Iranian society.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4359416 21. Theeb – 2015 – United Arab Emirates (Arabic) -‐ Film Movement – Dir: Naji Abu Nowar imdb 7.7; RT 100/NR; The Guardian 3/5* A young Bedouin boy uses his nascent survival skills to outwit potential enemies in “ Theeb” a classic adventure film of the best kind, and one that’s rarely seen these days. The stunning location work in southern Jordan has the grandeur of Monument Valley, yet this is no Western knockoff but a well-‐told WWI-‐era story grounded in Bedouin-‐specific customs (Variety). In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during WWI, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming of age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3170902 22. Tom at the Farm – 2015 – Canada (French) – Amplify -‐ Dir: Xavier Dolan Chgo Trib 3*; IMDB 7.0; Meta 67; RT 76/69 Note: subtitled version only After the sudden death of his lover, Tom travels from his home in the city to a remote country farm for the funeral. Upon arriving, he's shocked to find that Guillaume's family knows nothing about him and was expecting a woman in his place. Torn between his own grief and that of the family, Tom keeps his identity a secret but soon finds himself increasingly drawn into a twisted, sexually-‐charged game by Guillaume's aggressive brother. “Hitchcock meets Highsmith in noir thriller” (Chgo Trib). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2427892 23. When Marnie Was There -‐ 2015 -‐ Japan -‐ Gkids -‐ Dir: Hiromasa Yonebayashi Chgo Trib 3.5*; RT 88/88; IMDB 7.8; Meta 71 Transposed from rural Britain to the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, “Marie” is part coming-‐of-‐age tale and part ghost story. It deals with friendship, loneliness, abandonment and foregiveness, and though its curious narrative arc means you’re never sure exactly where it’s going, the film works up a considerable emotional charge by the end. Animated. PG http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3398268
24. Youth (I) (2015) 118 min | Drama | 4 December 2015 (USA) IMDB 7.2/10 ; Metascore: 78/100 | 9 from Metacritic.com Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps. Fred, a composer and conductor, is now retired. Mick, a film director, is still working. They look with curiosity and tenderness on their children's confused lives, Mick's enthusiastic young writers, and the other hotel guests. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. But someone wants at all costs to hear him conduct again. Director: Paolo Sorrentino Stars: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3312830 DOCUMENTARIES 25. Amy – 2015 – A24 -‐ Dir: Asif Kapadia RT 97; IMD 8; NY Times Critics Pick A shattering, intimate portrait of the late British singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse in her own words, this film features unseen archival footage and unheard tracks. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2870648 26. The Look of Silence – 2015 – (Indonesian) -‐ Drafthouse Films -‐ Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer Chgo Trib 3.5*; RT 96/92; IMDB 8.4; Meta 92 A family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers. The Look Of Silence does something virtually without precedent in cinema or in the aftermath of genocide: it documents survivors confronting their relatives' murderers in the absence of any truth and reconciliation process, while the murderers remain in power. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3521134 27. Merchants of Doubt -‐ 2015 -‐ Sony Pictures Classics -‐ Dir: Robert Kenner IMDB 7.5; Meta 70; RT 85/73; Chgo Trib 4* Documentary takes audiences on a satirically comedic, yet illuminating ride into the heart of conjuring American spin. Kenner lifts the curtain on a secretive group of highly charismatic, silver-‐tongued pundits-‐for-‐hire who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities -‐ yet have the contrary aim of spreading maximum confusion about well-‐studied public threats ranging from toxic chemicals to pharmaceuticals to climate change. “ This enthralling film...is as fascinating as it is horrifying” (Chgo Trib). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3675568 28. Red Army -‐ 2015 -‐ Sony – Dir: Gabe Polsky RT 96/86; IMDB 7.7; Meta 82 RED ARMY is a feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy. From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3264102
