Newspaper Page Text
UP NEXT AT ^
CINE
NOW SHOWING:
+ H E
LODGE
YOU RE NOT WELCOME HERE.
THE ASSISTANT
COMING SOON:
PORTRAIT OF A
LADY ON FIRE 2/28
Science
on Screen
THE POLLINATORS
3/10
THE . ■3/26
BIB LEBOWSKI
FANTASTIC FUNGI 3/27
ATHENS JEWISH
FILM FESTIVAL
Starts 3/21
SHOWTIMES & TICKETS
▲THENSCINE.COM
Wed. February 26
GEORGE'S 50TH BIRTHDAY BASH
7PM-MIDNIGHT
Thurs. February 27
SHAW DAVIS & THE
BLACK TIES
Fri. February 28
AMORAMORA
BIRD DOG JUBILEE
Sat. February 29
CHAMOMILE AND WHISKEY
Mon. March 2
BLUES NIGHT
WITH BIG C
Thurs. March 5
HEART OF PINE
Fri. March 6
FIVE EIGHT
CRAIG WATERS & THE FLOOD
Sat. March 7
LIQUID DYNAMITE
240 N. LUMPKIN ST. / 706-546-4742
Robodog and Snowbnb
WHAT TO SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN THIS WEEK
By Drew Wheeler movies@flagpole.com
Wide releases remain sparse, as the heavy
box office hitters await the warmer weather.
Original Saw writer Leigh Whannell follows
up 2018’s excellent, underseen take on The
Terminator, Upgrade; with an update of H.G.
Wells’ The Invisible Man starring Elisabeth
Moss. Another version of that other Jane
Austen novel...no the other other one,
Emma, stars The Witch’s
Anya Taylor-Joy. My Hero
Academia, a popular fran
chise about a superhero
high school gets a second
animated feature in My
Hero Academia: Heroes
Rising. Cine just debuted
two captivating, low-pro-
file, new films, The Lodge
and The Assistant.
(Read on for more about
both.) At Flicker on Feb.
26, True Crime Theater
presents Heavenly
Creatures, Peter Jackson’s highly imagina
tive account of the obsessive relationship
that leads two teenaged girls to murder one
of their mothers; in case you did not know,
the girl portrayed by Kate Winslet is popu
lar mystery writer Anne Perry. The Georgia
Museum of Art’s Black History Month Film
Series concludes with Selma on Feb. 27.
Women’s History Month kicks off with Iron
Jawed Angels at the Richard B. Russell
Building Special Collections Libraries on
Mar. 2. The weekend’s Tate Movies are the
fresher-than-anticipated Zombieland:
Double Tap and what I think is the first
Athens screening of the critically acclaimed
Waves from Feb. 28 through Mar. 1.
Beechwood’s Flashback Cinema offers one
last chance to see The Godfather on the
big screen on Feb. 26, before Cary Grant’s
iconic run from a crop-duster in Alfred
Hitchcock’s North by Northwest on Mar. 1.
THE CALL OF THE WILD (PG) Happily, Harrison
Ford headlines the entertaining new
adaptation of Jack London’s classic yarn,
because the CGI dogs, namely Buck, are
digitally obvious eyesores. I cannot recall a
frame Buck shares with any human costar
where the fake animal looked like present.
Understandably, digital dogs free up story
telling options for the filmmakers. No pesky
PETA complaints or obstinate animals to
deal with. The only limit is what How to
Train Your Dragon director Chris Sanders
can convince the irascible Ford to do. The
resulting product is naturally gorgeous,
when it does not resemble the cutscenes
from a video game or the movie portion
of a theme park ride. (Maybe Disney can
reuse the footage for a Call of the Wild
sled simulator.) I get the urge to have Ford
narrate the film (you have Harrison Ford,
so why not use him?), but narratively it
is a no-go for several reasons, some fairly
spoiler-ish. Still, watching the appealingly
grouchy 77-year-old play fetch with a digital
dog may be one of the more uplifting movie
moments of 2019. Who else has more expe
rience interacting with fake, furry costars
than Han Solo himself?
THE LODGE (R) Probably the coldest movie
of 2019, The Lodge strands two kids (It’s
Jaeden Lieberher and Lia McHugh), at a
cabin during Christmas with their dad’s
new girlfriend, Grace (Riley Keough). Sound
like the logline for a holiday laugh fest?
What if I told you Grace is the sole survivor
of a religious cult massacre perpetrated
by her father? And then I added the bit
about how the kids have recently lost their
mother (Alicia Silverstone). Also, their
dad is Richard Armitage, who is just like
Hugh Jackman minus any of the warmth
or charm. Following up Goodnight Mommy
with another maternal horror movie, might
make one think directors Veronika Franz
and Severin Fiala have mommy issues.
Fortunately, they also know how to stage
scenes both literally and atmospherically
chilly. Eventually, horror films like The Lodge
face a conundrum when the time comes for
resolution. Go obvious or outrageous; real
or supernatural? So many effective pieces—
cult backstory, tangible dread, delicate per
formances, edgy sound design—may go to
waste on audience members left personally
dissatisfied by the filmmakers’ choices.
THE ASSISTANT (R) Whatever you do, don’t
go into The Assistant thinking thriller,
as the trailer and movie poster allege.
The sadly relevant film is a soul-crushing
examination of the moviemaking business
from the viewpoint of the assistant to a
major producer like Harvey Weinstein.
Over the course of one
day, just a little over a
month into her tenure,
Northwestern grad Jane
(Julia Garner) pretty
much confirms her worst
suspicions of her abusive,
heard-but-never- seen
boss. The HR scene where
Jane attempts to connect
the dots for another pow
erful man behind a desk
(played with unnerving
authenticity by Matthew
Macfadyen as a blue-eyed
robot programmed to act compassionate) is
its own kind of abuse. Written and directed
by Kitty Green (the intriguing documentary
Casting JonBenet), The Assistant complicates
the entertainment experience of watching
a movie: By buying a ticket am I complicit
in the predatory abuse the industry glosses
over with digital effects, megawatt charisma
and self-congratulatory awards shows? ©
MMMtf : M BOM "* fuoosvci nny
So Mm WIW JMt W 4 cWje of
fVz Oiwt +Vie C\U Mout KEm# We. gftoiwU cf*
C<K&\t +1# Wm £vte of- Mol+tylt hwMs
UWpsiel'fl* A|cws
buried (
js SiAhh M-SizeA lAeti ■ ■
I TO,I y«l7 ..
Stott M\ Want# tfe
ets \mt). uW- fcf ^ V 1
y+wTofcW all iWj.MivcA less
iteuMPrtnH'to cr
oof
b IV) 0 irvt V (■A fn*.
12 FLAGPOLE.COM | FEBRUARY 26, 2020