Kip Mooney
On Heaven Knows What and The Rest of This Weekend's New Film Releases.
In addition to the below films, the Oak Cliff Film Festival also goes down this weekend. To see our own Angela Jones' picks on the best films screening at that weekend-long affair, head here.
Jurassic World.
Director: Colin Trevorrow.
Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly.
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio.
Playing At: Wide.
There are two ways of approaching this one: You can either bemoan that Hollywood is doing yet another reboot/sequel/rehash as our own Javier Fuentes does in his full review of this one — and I won't blame you for that, as I've been there plenty myself. Or, on the other hand, you can look and see that they actually got some talented people involved in front of and behind the camera for this one. Chris Pratt is a god among men, and Colin Trevorrow’s Safety Not Guaranteed is one of the best indie movies of recent years. No, this one won’t be nearly as effective as Jurassic Park. That's a given. But so, too, is this: Not everyone is as great a director as Steven Spielberg. Also, for whatever reason, people seem to forget that the second and third movies in this franchise weren't that great. So the bar maybe isn't set as high as everyone thinks it is.
Heaven Knows What.
Directors: Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie.
Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Joshua Safdie.
Cast: Arielle Holmes, Caleb Landry Jones, Buddy Duress, Eleonore Hendricks.
Playing At: Angelika Dallas.
Get ready for the feel-bad movie of the year! Heaven Knows What is a depressing but enthralling look at homeless heroin addicts of New York City, who are always stealing and degrading themselves for their next fix. Some of the scenes are actually re-enactments from Arielle Holmes’ life. Others are the creation of the Safdie brothers who are at the helm this one. No matter: Whether true or not, this one's bound to devastate you.
This is Spinal Tap.
Director: Rob Reiner.
Writers: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner.
Cast: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner.
Playing At: Alamo Drafthouse.
Showings: Tuesday, June 16.
Truth be told: There are few films funnier than This is Spinal Tap, one of the first and best mockumentaries ever made. The core trio of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer would reunite for Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, but this remains the gold standard of heavily improvised comedy. This screening's especially great, too, since it's part of Alamo's Hopped Up Cinema series, which features craft beer flights and Q&As about the film.
