NYFF: Albert Serra's idea of "Liberté"

by Jason Adams

What better way to make a movie about sadomasochism than to inflict that relationship on the viewer? That seems to have been the grain of an idea that ignited Albert Serra to make Liberté, at least -- a fascinating nightmare slog that actively pokes you in the eye while also lulling you to sleep. I say all this with a sort of admiration! Perhaps I was brainwashed a bit by the time it was through but I certainly haven't been able to stop thinking about Liberté since I fell under its awful spell days ago, and that's got to count for something.

Somewhere in a patchy nighttime forest in 18th Century France an assemblage of powder-puffs, mostly men but with a couple of corseted ladies who keep caged up in their litter boxes -- the proper word is really "palanquin" but "litter box" will totally make sense once you've seen/suffered the movie -- have gathered to cavort. And cavort they shall, in the slowest of motions...

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Abominable and Judy both meet eager audiences

Weekend Box Office Actuals September 27th-29th  🔺 = New or Expanding / ★ = Recommended
W I D E	PLATFORM / SPECIALTY TITLES
Abominable	Judy
1 🔺  Abominable  $20.6 *new*	1 🔺 Judy $2.9 on 461 screens *new* QUICK TAKE
2 Downton Abbey $14.3 (cum. $58.3)  DAME MAGGIE	2 🔺 Nothing to Lose 2 $606k on 97 screens *new*
3 Hustlers $11.3 (cum. $80.5) REVIEW, PODCAST ★	3 🔺 Linda Ronstadt... $385k on 247 screens (cum. $2.2) REVIEW
4 It Chapter Two  $10.2 ($193.7)	4 Official Secrets $149k on 260 screens (cum. $1.6)
5 Ad Astra $10 (cum. $35.3) REVIEW ★	5 Chhichhore $136k on 78 screens (cum. $1.9)

numbers on that chart are pulled from boxofficemojo

Judy and Abominable were the stories of the weekend, both opening well. Despite opening on 461 screens, Judy was the 7th highest grosser of the weekend with a promising $6313 per screen average. A good launch for Renée Zellweger's Oscar campaign which will expand to more cities/theaters next weekend and probably also a sign that adults are ready for the Oscar-aiming fare to arrive. Abominable benefitted from an opportune release date, despite being that rarity: a non-sequel. It's been over a month since the last animated feature with a wide release and that was the underperformer Angry Birds 2 so demand was high. 

NYFF: The color-filled noir of "The Wild Goose Lake"

by Jason Adams

Police officers close in on and surround a perp, their light-up dance sneakers blinking blue with every step. Hotel rooms half orange half pink, a sleepless phantasmagoria. A panicked streak through a zoo in the middle of night, flashes of light illuminating a tiger, an elephant, a succession of wild animal eyes in extreme close-up, blinking back madness. The Wild Goose Lake, the latest film from Black Coal Thin Ice director Yi'nan Diao, turns the crowded alleys and markets of Wuhan, Central China, into some sort of neon fever dream -- a riot of crime and color and scooter rides straight to hell, bang bang.

Starting off like a variation on The Warriors we first meet our characters gathered for an underground syndicate meeting -- everybody's come together to divide up the city, block by block, street by street...

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Al Pacino May Meet Oscar Again

by Murtada Elfadl

Oscar may call an old favourite's name again this year. Al Pacino, an eight-time nominee, has not been recognized by his peers in the Academy since he won for Scent of a Woman (1992) more than a quarter century ago. However in Martin Scorsese The Irishman he finally gets a showcase part that will likely bring him back to the ceremony. 

In this story of American moral decay and gangland infiltration into all structures of American society, Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa the controversial leader of the country’s strongest union, the Teamsters. The film tracks his involvement with the mafia particularly his friendship with hitman Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro). It’s not only a great part but a flashy and memorable one particularly in comparison with the quieter tones that his co-stars De Niro and Joe Pesci have to play...

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Oscar History: Dame Maggie Smith

by Cláudio Alves

Younger audiences may know Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall and the sharp-tongued Countess of Grantham, but, before Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, she was already a British national treasure, having won two Oscars by 1979, with four additional nominations. This awards season, with the Dowager Countess promoted to the big screen, she might return to the Academy’s good graces.

Her Downton Abbey role has already proven an awards magnet with three Emmys and a Golden Globe. Maybe its popularity will translate to movie awards? 

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