It’s hard to know where to begin when discussing a film like Upstream Color. Trying to even classify it proves a little difficult, as the film contains traces of differing genres; is it a trippy psychological/paranoia thriller, body horror/science-fiction allegory with environmental concerns, or an indie romance about two lost souls? The truth is that the film fuses all these elements and more, while also bearing the fingerprints of influences from filmmakers as disparate as David Lynch, Steven Soderbergh, and Terrence Malick, as well as postmodern literary icons like Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, and Philip K. Dick. Like most of the work these masters have created, Upstream Color is destined to divide viewers into “pro” and “con” camps who will passionately defend or vehemently hate it. Whatever you make of the film, it is impossible to deny the uniqueness of it. The work is a wholly original creation, one that behaves like nothing you’ve experienced in cinema before.
In theaters: May 3, 2013 in New York City, other cities to follow
Seeing how fashion house put their collections, runaways and campaigns together can be a great insight as to how they have control over their creation but what happens in the retail world? Where the end-all place that every designer dreams about being sold? It’s none other than Bergdorf Goodman’s.
It’s the most mythic of all American emporiums – a one-of-a-kind Manhattan institution where over the last century, the view of fashion has been transformed into modern art. But behind Bergdorf Goodman’s magical window displays lies a very real world where the rich and famous wield their power and eccentricity, where young and talented designers have their dreams granted and denied, and where money and ambition co-mingle with radical ideas of beauty and provocative style. Now, for the first time, audiences get a chance to peek inside this world, as Matthew Miele’s Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s explores the history, inner workings and untold stories behind the store’s rise from a modest ladies’ tailor shop to a mirror of contemporary culture.
This highly anticipated documentary features interviews with fashion icons including Diane Von Furstenberg, Georgina Chapman, Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar De La Renta, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, and Christian Louboutin. The film will premiere in New York City theaters May 3rd, and expand across the country in the following weeks!
A ravishing ode to the haunting mysteries of love, Terrence Malick’s latest, To the Wonder, is an awe-inspiring sensory experience. Breaking away from a pattern of nostalgia-tinged narratives set in an amber-petrified past, Malick’s most recent work takes place in a modern time period, casting new light on the here and now. This new creative decision seems to have freed other aspects of his imagination, as this piece is also his most esoteric work yet. An opaque tone poem, the film is presented as an assemblage of gorgeous imagery, ponderous voice-over, and classical music, edited together in a style resembling a free-form association collage. Malick’s radical film grammar has developed throughout the course of his career to the point that it’s reached near abstraction. Those that found his Palme d’Or winning masterpiece The Tree of Life (2011) to be dense and obscure will probably have little use for this film. However, those that find those elusive qualities alluring will be richly rewarded. While Malick may leave viewers in a dizzying head-space over the structure, there is little doubt about his sincerity towards the emotional impact his work produces or the quality of feeling he is able to conjure with his nontraditional methods.
Inspired by actual events, The Icemanfollows notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) from his early days in the mob until his arrest for the murder of more than 100 men. Appearing to be living the American dream as a devoted husband and father; in reality Kuklinski was a ruthless killer-for-hire. When finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor daughters have any clue about his real profession.
Co-starring Academy Award nominee Winona Ryder (Black Swan) and Chris Evans (Avengers, Captain America), The Iceman is directed by Ariel Vromen (Danika) from a script he wrote with Morgan Land (Rx). Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), David Schwimmer (“Friends”), Robert Davi (“Profiler”) and Danny Abeckaser (Alpha Dog) round out the cast. The film features cameo appearances by Stephen Dorff (Public Enemies) and James Franco (127 Hours). Millennium Entertainment will release The IcemanMay 3, 2013.
In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey is part concert film, part “behind-the-music,” and part unbelievable rags-to-riches story. The documentary follows iconic rock band Journey on tour with new lead singer Arnel Pineda. Pineda’s personal journey from homeless kid in Manila to YouTube-discovered front-man of an American institution is a computer-age tale of the American Dream. The doc will be a hit for Journey fans, who gain intimate access to the band and plenty of opportunities to sing along.
The film starts with Pineda revisiting his elementary school in The Philippines. No one is star struck—in fact, they don’t even know the band Journey—but the rocker humbly takes it all in stride. His humility is the most evident part of his screen presence, no doubt a result of his personal experience. He grew up in poverty and became homeless at 12 when his mother passed away. Pineda sang on the streets for pennies a day. He eventually joined a band in pursuit of a career. After the wild life of a musician, joining various bands and falling into drugs and alcohol, he got sober and joined the band Zoo. The band performed Journey covers, which were often posted on YouTube.
The name Ashley Bell may not spark universal recognition. But horror fans will no doubt remember the poster for 2010′s The Last Exorcism featuring Bell in a back bend.
The 26-year-old actress burst onto the Hollywood scene with her role as the young, innocent Nell Sweetzer, possessed by a demon in the Eli Roth-produced The Last Exorcism. The low-budget-found-footage film earned nearly $70 million worldwide. Bell’s performance garnered her a Best Supporting Female Spirit Award nomination, an MTV Movie Award nomination, and some Oscar buzz—not bad for her first time on screen. The actress will reprise the role in the sequel, The Last Exorcism Part II, which bows on March 1st. She said, “I am a huge horror fan. I love horror movies. And it was the role of a lifetime to get a chance to play Nell in the first movie, and then get a chance to see the continuation of Nell’s story in the second film.”
Reincarnated follows Snoop Dogg on a spiritual journey as he immerses himself in Rastafari, explores musical and religious histories deeply rooted in Jamaica, and reemerges from his experience as “Snoop Lion.”
The cineplex will be run over this year with quality movies, both big and small. This year, each member of Limité‘s film staff presents his or her top 10 picks. What movies are you most looking forward to? Comment below.
Note: Since many of these films are currently in various stages of production, the release dates are subject to change. All loglines are courtesy of IMDb.com, unless otherwise noted.
Dan’s Picks
GRAVITY
by Daniel Quitério
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Screenwriters: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, Rodrigo Garcia
Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Genres: Sci-fi, Thriller
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: October 18
It’s been six years since Mexican writer/director Alfonso Cuarón took a seat in the director’s chair. And now, following his heralded 2006 release Children of Men, the filmmaker is primed to launch his much-anticipated sci-fi thriller Gravity. The $80 million space odyssey tale focuses on a pair of astronauts who are stranded beyond Earth after debris smashes into their shuttle during a routine spacewalk. Characters played by Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are tethered together as they spiral into negative space, hoping to find a way home.
The director partnered with his son Jonás Cuarón and filmmaker Rodrigo García (Albert Nobbs, 2011) on the script, which will be realized on screen in 3D and IMAX 3D. Prior to Bullock’s and Clooney’s attachment to the film, the two crucial roles had names like Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr. attached to them. Several other notable Hollywood elites were also considered for the weighty female lead, including Marion Cotillard, Scarlett Johansson, and Natalie Portman, among others. Cuarón proves himself an auteur of the highest caliber with this and other films which he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. His three previous Oscar nominations came in the categories of Best Original Screenplay (Y tu mamá también, 2001), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing (Children of Men, 2006). Gravity will be photographed by past Cuarón collaborator, the 5-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer and fellow Mexico native Emmanuel Lubezki, who likely employs a similar sense of vast space and wonder in this film as he displayed in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011).
My Brooklynfollows director Kelly Anderson’s journey, as a Brooklyn gentrifier, to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood. The film documents the redevelopment of Fulton Mall, a bustling African-American and Caribbean commercial district that – despite its status as the third most profitable shopping area in New York City – is maligned for its inability to appeal to the affluent residents who have come to live around it.
As a hundred small businesses are replaced by high rise luxury housing and chain retail, Anderson uncovers the web of global corporations, politicians and secretive public-private partnerships that drive seemingly natural neighborhood change. The film’s ultimate question is increasingly relevant on a global scale: who has a right to live in cities and determine their future?
