Friday Flicks: ‘Terminal’, ‘The Seagull’, ‘Beast’
Happy Friday, folks! We hope you’ve been shutting out the sun in your dingy apartment in favor of bingewatching your new fave shows like we have. Of course, across the pond many people are in Cannes soaking up all of the red carpet ridiculousness, as the 2018 film festival kicked off this week. While there are a few hefty handshakes being made here and there, many have noticed the deals are being made at a relatively low ebb compared to previous years, which The Hollywood Reporter noted shows Cannes is in a “state of transition” as “the rise of Netflix and the decline in DVD and TV licensing revenue” are changing the old model.
Off of the red carpet and over to the small screen and there has been a buttload of TV show cancellations and renewals as broadcast networks plan their schedules for the next TV season. We’re particular sad to see Brooklyn Nine-Nine getting the snip after a five-season run. But it’s not all bad news, folks, because Adult Swim just ordered a whopping 70 new episodes for its hit animated comedy Rick and Morty, meaning we’ll be joining the misanthropic, alcoholic scientist and his nervously disposed grandson on many more mind-bending misadventures. And awaaaaay we go!
But enough about the red carpets of Cannes and the schedules of network TV. We’re here for one thing and one thing only – it’s time to turn your attention to all the great indie cinema hitting the big screen this weekend. FD’s got you covered with our picks of the best movies to catch at the theater. Travel back in time to 17th century Russia with The Seagull; watch murderous consequences unravel in Terminal; and get caught up in a serial killer thriller with Beast.
The Seagull (Sony Pictures Classics)
on limited theatrical release now
Director Michael Mayer’s big-screen adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is dropping in theaters today. Starring Annette Bening (American Beauty), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris), the film focuses on eight people all stuck in a lovesick frenzy over the course of a summer weekend in the country. Set in 17th century Russia, The Seagull is a heartbreaking and amusing story of what happens when falling in love with the wrong person, containing heavy doses of lust, infatuation, and upper-class narcissism.
Terminal (RLJ Entertainment)
on limited theatrical release now
Vaughn Stein’s Terminal is set for release this weekend, following the twisting tales of two assassins carrying out a sinister mission. Starring Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), and Mike Myers (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) as a teacher battling a fatal illness, an enigmatic janitor, and a curious waitress leading a dangerous double life, the three lives collide as murderous consequences unravel at the hands of a mysterious criminal mastermind hell-bent on revenge.
Beast (Roadside Attractions)
on limited theatrical release now
Beast is a serial killer thriller with fairytale rhythms, following a troubled woman named Moll (Jessie Buckley) living in an isolated community who finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a free-spirited outsider named Pascal (Johnny Flynn). However, when he is arrested as the key suspect of a series of brutal murders, she is left even more isolated than before. As she tries to figure out who to trust, Moll finds herself forced into making difficult decisions that will impact her life forever.
The Day After (Cinema Guild)
on limited theatrical release now
South Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s The Day After is a boozy comical tale of infidelity and mistaken identity, about a married man named Kim (Hae-hyo Kwon) whose marriage is on the rocks after his wife (Yun-hee Cho) discovered he’s been having an affair with his assistant (Sae-byuk Kim). When the wife finds a love poem that was written for her husband, she mistakenly believes that the author is her husband’s new secretary, Areum (Min-hee Kim). The Day After is a darkly comical story of a man embroiled in extramarital entanglements but soon shifts into a heartfelt portrayal of a young woman on a quest for spiritual fulfillment.
What Haunts Us (Blue Fox Entertainment)
on limited theatrical release now
When documentary maker Paige Tolmach noticed an unusually high suicide rate at the Porter Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina, she decided to take a deep dive into her past in order to uncover the surprising truth. What resulted is a painfully in-depth portrait of a dangerous sexual predator and a community that could have done more.
Dark Crimes (Saban Films)
on limited theatrical release now
Based on the 2008 article “True Crimes – A postmodern murder mystery” by David Grann, Alexandros Avranas’s noir crime drama sees Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) give an outstanding performance as a joyless detective who becomes suspicious of an author when the incidents described in his hit novel resemble the inner-workings of an unsolved murder.
Filmworker (Kino Lorber)
on limited theatrical release now
Filmworker centers on Leon Vitali (Barry Lyndon) – a rising British television actor who chose to surrender his thriving career to become Stanley Kubrick’s right-hand man. For more than two decades, Leon played a crucial role behind the scenes helping Kubrick make and maintain his legendary body of work. In Tony Zierra’s insightful documentary, Leon’s candid, often funny, and sometimes shocking experiences in the company of Kubrick are woven together with rich and varied elements including previously unseen photos, videos, letters, notebooks, and memos from Leon’s private collection. It takes a rare person to give up fame and fortune to help someone else’s creative vision, but that’s exactly what Leon did and that’s exactly what Filmworker is here to both present and celebrate.
