Central Track Contributor
On Low Down And This Weekend's Wide And Special Releases.
Citizenfour.
Director: Laura Poitras.
Cast: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, Jacob Appelbaum.
Playing At: Angelika Film Center (Dallas and Plano).
Citizenfour is on everyone's radar right now, so it might be a good idea to see it. I haven't yet, but it's about Edward Snowden, who rose to fame when he leaked classified information from the NSA in 2013. Right now, it seems like everyone's making a feature film about him — including Oliver Stone, who's tapped Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Snowden. This, the documentary on the matter, comes first. — CW
Food Chains.
Director: Sanjay Rawal.
Writers: Erin Barnett, Sanjay Rawal.
Cast: Eve Ensler, Barry Estabrook, Dolores Huerta.
Playing At: AMC Mesquite.
Hey, another food documentary about restaurant chains. I'm already tired just thinking about it. — CW
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I.
Director: Francis Lawrence.
Writer: Peter Craig, Danny Strong (screenplay); Suzanne Collins (novel).
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Playing At: Wide.
I have seen The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I and can tell you it's not very good. — CW
The Color of Noise.
Director: Eric Robel.
Writer: Eric Robel.
Cast: Tom Hazelmyer, Jello Biafra, Derek Hess, Pat Dwyer, Steve Austin, Chris Spencer, Chris X, John Stanier, Melvins, Daniel Corrigan, Long Gone John, Page Hamilotn, Rich Kronfeld, Hammerhead, Mike Hard, Shannon Selberg, Stu Spasm, Lisa Pemrick.
Playing At: Texas Theatre.
In the late '80s, U.S. Marine Tom Hazelmyer started a record label, by hiding records in a hand grenade crate under his bunk. Over the years, his Amphetamine Reptile Records grew into one of the most influential labels of its era, releasing albums from Helmet, the Melvins, Mudhoney and his own band, Halo of Flies. In this documentary, filmmaker Eric Robel tells Tom “Haze XXL” Hazelmyer's tale about his little label that could. Robel will also be in attendance at tonight's screening. — Cory Graves
Low Down.
Director: Jeff Preiss.
Writer: Amy Albany (memoir); Topper Lilien, Amy Albany (screenplay).
Cast: John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey.
Playing At: Angelika Film Center (Dallas and Plano).
Low Down has a lot going for it: It's directed by Jeff Preiss, best known as the cinematographer for Bruce Webber documentaries; it stars John Hawkes, Elle Fanning and Glenn Close; and it won the Cinematography Award (shot by Christopher Blauvelt) at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. But this is one movie that buries itself in a scattered plot before it has a chance reel us in, which is really unfortunate. Hawkes plays acclaimed pianist Joe Albany, who was known for playing with greats like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. Low Down focuses on the later years, when he battled heroin and being a terrible father. This is a really great and moody film — up until the third act, the act that will always make or break a film. It breaks Low Down. — CW
Reach Me.
Director: John Herzfeld.
Writer: John Herzfeld.
Cast: Lauren Cohan, Kyra Sedgwick, Thomas Jane, Terry Crews, Sylvester Stallone.
Playing At: AMC Mesquite.
Considering Reach Me has the lowest score you can possibly get on Rotten Tomatoes, I am glad I skipped this one. I must admit, though, the large and vastly assorted ensemble cast had me curious. I mean, for real: Sylvester Stallone, Tom Berenger, Lauren Cohan, Kevin Connolly, Kelsey Grammar, Thomas Janem Kyra Sedgwick, Danny Aiello, Terry Crews (!!!), Tom Sizemore, Ryan Kwanten, Nelly (yes, at one) and Cary Elwes? Wowsa. — CW
Gone With The Wind.
Director: Victor Fleming.
Writer: Sidney Howard (screenplay), Margaret Mitchell (novel).
Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel.
Playing At: Texas Theatre.
As part of its “Class of '39” film series, the Texas Theatre will screen that year's winner of the Oscar's Best Picture award, Gone With the Wind. When adjusted for inflation, the film's $3.3 billion take makes it the most financially successful film in the history of cinema. Sure, with the benefit of hindsight, some of the film's portrayals of racism and marital rape are indeed worth some criticism, but if you've never seen it, it should be on your bucket list. Just know going in that it'll require a four-hour commitment. — CG
Found Footage Festival, Vol. 7.
Playing At: Texas Theatre.
A dude from The Onion and another from The Late Show with David Letterman are the masterminds behind this touring festival, which finds them touring the country to show such random clips as “McDonald's Custodial Training Video (1983).” Basically, this is kind of like traveling through a YouTube wormhole of random videos with that “funny” guy from the office at the helm of the mouse. — Pete Freedman
