At The Movies: Indie Picks This Weekend
Here in Austin, the weekend in film will certainly be dominated by Fantastic Fest. We'll have several staff members on hand, filing reviews over the next several days. In addition, there are a few exclusive titles making their way to town this weekend for limited runs that you may want to investigate further. We've got the rundown below.
Leaves Of Grass (Alamo Ritz)
Tim Blake Nelson's latest film has had a tumultuous history. It earned lots of rave reviews at last year's Toronto Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by FirstLook Studios. Along the way, the film has basically ended up being dumped straight-to-DVD (look for it in stores on October 12th). It begins a limited run at the Ritz today and star Edward Norton will be on hand to introduce the 8pm screening this evening.
A Woman, A Gun and A Noodle Shop (Regal Arbor)
Over the last 20 years, Zhang Yimou has brought us incredible stories like Shanghai Triad, Hero and Raise The Red Lantern. Curiously, he's chosen to give a Chinese update to the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple. Domestic reviews have not been kind - the movie is currently sitting at a horrible 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, but even a failed experiment from Yimou has our curiosity piqued.
Lebanon (Regal Arbor)
This film took home the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last fall. It depicts life inside a tank over 24 hours with four Israeli soldiers in the summer of 1982. This is an intensely personal debut feature for Samuel Maoz, who was a tank gunner that summer during the invasion of Lebanon.
