5 Off My Head - Film Comment Selects

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(First off, that picture to the right there really has nothing to do with this post except it's a picture that once appeared in an issue of Film Comment magazine and came up while I was googling "Film Comment magazine covers" to illustrate what's to come in this post, but if you don't want to look at a ripped Brad Pitt covered in blood then I can't help you.)

So this list isn't strictly "off the top of my head" because there's nothing random about it - I am going to see five movies at the Film Comment Selects series that the Film Society of Lincoln Center just announced, running from February 17th through March 1st, and this will be a list of them. Easy peasy. 

It might make more sense to make a list of five movies that I'm not seeing that I would like to see but cannot for various whatever reasons - movies like Rainer Werner Fassbiner's Despair, his only English language film and one of his that I have never seen, but I'll have to skip the screenings of it because it's only showing in the afternoon and I have a day job, yo. Same with Ingmar Bergman's Face to Face. Or then there's the American remake of the single-shot horror flick The Silent House starring Elisabeth Olsen, which I'll also have to miss because I already have plans that night. Or then the Russian futurist nightmare Target sounds interesting, about a cosmic fountain of youth and the wealthy people who take advantage of it, but I can't make that one either. 

But that's all sad junk since I can't go to any of those movies, 

so let's look at the ones I am going to see. Hooray for the positive!

1- First and foremost, tickling the tips of my toes with excitement, is Yorgos Lanthimos' follow-up to Dogtooth, called ALPS. I've talked about this one several times here at the blog - I adored Dogtooth with every fiber of my being, and I cannot wait to see this. 

2- David Wain made Wet Hot American Summer, so I will see anything he ever makes for the rest of forever, even if it stars Jennifer Aniston. His new movie Wanderlust is actually out in theaters only a couple of days after it screens for this series, but Wain and stars Paul Rudd and Kerri Kenney are scheduled to be at the screening, so I'm totally there. Paul Rudd! Have you guys seen the new TV commercial for it? Justin Theroux saying "Suck it." to Paul Rudd over and over again is what heaven looks like, right?

3- Even though my only real knowledge beforehand of the Aussie snuff flick Snowtown is the fact that Glenn of Stale Popcorn hated hated hated it, the hate was so hot and palpable that it's kind of drawn me in with fascination. So I won't blame you, Glenn, when I'm horribly offended, you warned me.

4- The Forgiveness of Blood is the second feature from Joshua Marston, who directed the very very fine Maria Full of Grace. If it's as good as Maria, then I will be very happy indeed.

5- And finally how could I resist going to see James Franco bringing his pretentious homosexually-tinged artiste persona to we the people for a screening of his re-edited take on Gus Van Sant's My Own Prive Idaho and its star River Phoenix, which he calls My Own Private River. I have a feeling my eyes are going to roll right out of my head with this one, but I'm sure at the same time I'll be thinking about how I have something to shut him up with, and so it goes.

Alright, so tickets are on sale now, 

head over here to check it out y'all! 

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