Central Track Contributor
On The Oak Cliff Film Festival and The Rest of This Week's New Releases.
The 2nd Annual Oak Cliff Film Festival.
Where? All over Oak Cliff.
The Texas Theatre-created and Oak Cliff-based three-day Oak Cliff Film Festival kicks off its second year this weekend with debut and repertory programming featuring everything from uber-indies to docs to retro screenings. And, also? Parties! Lots and lots of (film nerd) parties! Highlights include Silent Shadow of the Bat (a collection of silent film clips that inspired Bob Kane to create Batman, which will be accompanied here by live score from the 2 Star Symphony), Drafthouse Films' I Declare War, and American Juggalo (a doc about the subculture of Insane Clown Posse fans known as Juggalos, duh). See the full line-up and schedule here.
The Kings of Summer.
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
Writer: Chris Galletta.
Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias.
Where's it playing? The Angelika.
A coming-of-age tale about three teens that build a fort in the woods in hopes of creating an adolescent utopia free from the worries of the grown-up world, this debut film from Jordan Vogt-Roberts has elements of everything from The Explorers and The Goonies to The Sandlot to Stand By Me, which, as you might guess, is what has helped make it not only a king of Sundance and DIFF (not to mention numerous other film festivals) but perhaps the summer movie season itself.
The Internship.
Director: Shawn Levy.
Writers: Vince Vaughn and Jared Stern.
Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rose Byrne.
Where's it playing? Various Metroplex megaplexes.
Yup, the guys who crashed a bunch of weddings a few years back are back together and at it again. Here, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson star as two salesmen that, after their jobs become obsolete due to the digital age, decide to join 'em when they canâ��t beat 'em and battle for a competitive internship at Google. Unfortunately, a quick search for the film's reviews on the ol' Googs will show you that you probably won't want to click the “I'm feeling lucky!” button on this one.
The Purge.
Director: James DeMonaco.
Writer: James DeMonaco.
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder.
Where's it playing? Various Metroplex megaplexes.
A family is held hostage after they harbor a person who just so happens to be the target of a murderous crime syndicate during a 12-hour period known as “The Purge,” during which any and all crime is deemed legal by the overseeing bodies. The title serves as a coincidental parallel for the film's 85 minutes, which is a crime in and of itself.
Before Midnight.
Director: Richard Linklater.
Writers: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke.
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.
Where's it playing? The Angelika and the Magnolia.
It was almost two decades ago that we first met and fell in love with Jesse and Celine just as they did, first in 1995's Before Sunrise and then in 2004's Before Sunset. Now married, the coupled subjects of Richard Linklater's triptych indie lovefest are back for another tale of love at first — and second, and third — sight.
Samurai Cop (1989) with HD Restoration.
Director: Amir Shervan.
Writer: Amir Shervan.
Cast: Robert Z'Dar, Matt Hannon, Jannis Farley.
Where's it playing? Friday and Saturday at midnight at the Inwood Theatre.
A Japanese/Mexican crime lord with a mullet? Check. A guy who dies four different times because they didn't know enough people who wanted to be in this movie? Check. Random scenes featuring facial reactions to comments about the size of Samurai Cop's “sword?” Yes, it's got that too. If any of this sounds appealing to you — and why would it not? — you'll definitely want to check out writer/director Amir Shervan's 1989 cult hit, newly restored from the original 35mm negative.
