The Liminal Space
Featured Review
TOP 10 of the moment...
Here's Ten Things You Should Check Out
(in no particular order...)
01
The Curse of Frankenstein
So we've been watching a lot of Hammer films lately, and this is one of the best to come from that iconic studio. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing -- a.k.a. the John and Paul of the looming shadow of the British invasion -- star in this magnificently darker interpretation of Shelley's already dark masterpiece. Available to rent/stream at Amazon and many other sites.
02
Legion on FX
Noah Hawley of "Fargo" and his spin on the X-Men, though you wouldn't know it has much to do with the source material. Some of the best psychological TV we've seen. More to come on this one.
03
My Favorite Thing is Monsters
Incredible graphic novel by Emil Ferris. Both the art and the narrative engage and surprise in their layered and poignant portrayal of growing-up in an unconventional household, at an unconventional time - Chicago, in 1968. Everything about this book offers a fresh and singular look at the tumult of the world through the eyes and imagination of a child.
http://www.powells.com/book/my-favorite-thing-is-monsters-9781606999592/62-0
04
Fargo on FX
Just finished the third season, which may well be the best political TV out there, if only for its unflinching honesty and willingness to show us at our very best and very worst.
05
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Perhaps the best, most searing, most scathing, satire on race and culture in our modern world in a long time. Funny, poetic, sweet, and incendiary, all at the same time. A masterful literary feat.
http://www.powells.com/book/the-sellout-9781250083258/2-4
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06
The Other Two
A new series from Comedy Central about the less-successful siblings of "Chase Dreams," a 14-year old YouTube star on the rise. Searing insight into modern media and culture with standout performances from Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Wanda Sykes, Richard Kind, and especially from Drew Tarver and Heléne York in the title roles. Check it out at http://www.cc.com/shows/the-other-two
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07
Raw
Written and Directed by Julia Ducournau, this French horror film is unlike any other. Difficult to describe, riveting to watch. If blood - lots of it - is not a turn-off, check it out.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4954522/
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08
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
A Persian language vampire film by Iranian-American filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour (her latest is The Bad Batch). Beautiful and unusual.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2326554/
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09
Dawson City: Frozen Time
From acclaimed filmmaker Bill Morrison (Decasia) this unusual documentary blends the strangely intertwining histories of cinema, film stock, the gold rush in the Yukon, and a treasure trove of silent film, thought to have been lost forever, dug out of the Canadian permafrost. Morrison's expertise at using old, decaying movie prints to create hypnotic, moving visual imagery takes this far out of the realm of conventional documentaries.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5215486/
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10
The Roxie, The Castro, & Alamo Drafthouse
If you happen to live in the SF Bay Area then you are lucky to be able to see films at The Roxie and The Castro - both historic movie theaters in the heart of the city with terrific art & revival house programming. They are a gift to movie lovers - often showing movies on 35mm prints which are increasingly harder to see. And they're always on the edge so... patronize them. You won't be sorry.
On a more au courant note, the Alamo Drafthouse chain of theaters is bringing a similar art & revival house aesthetic to a number of spots around the country. Replete with a bar/restaurant (sips and nibbles delivered to your seat) they are among the boldest of the new paradigm for high-end movie theater experiences, in the ongoing effort to get people off of their couches and back into the cinemas, in front of the iconic flicker. Find the one in your area and check it out.