We’re going beyond the hype this week and putting our focus on a few films — some in theaters, some streaming — you might not have heard about, but should. Here’s our roundup. “Girl You Know It’s True”: One of the biggest music scandals to rock the industry came in the shocking reveal that the two lead singers of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s pop group Milli Vanilli lip-synched all their songs, never singing one friggin’ note.
That confession further tarnished the rep of the Grammys, which anointed the duo with its best new artist trophy, an honor later revoked. Director/screenwriter Simon Verhoeven’s entertaining biopic looks at how greed and fame fueled the calculated, infamous rise of the German group made up of two attractive Munich club dancers, the late Robert Pilatus (Tijan Njie) and Fab Morvan (Elan Ben Ali). Framed as sort of a rags to excessive riches story and as a well-deserved slap to the two-faced music industry, “Girl You Know It’s True” is executive produced by many involved in this public hoodwinking.
But while that gives you pause the resulting film doesn’t let either singer off the hook — showing how they became drug-snorting, bed hopping divas that demanded sushi (and flew into a rage if they didn’t get it) along with one red Ferrari. But it is sympathetic to their plight as well, showing how they, like so many pre-packaged performers (cooked up in this case by producer Frank Farian — played well by Matthias Schweighöfer in a Spicoli-like wig) were lucrative puppets in a hit-making machine that celebrates bouncy tunes and hot looks over actual singing talent. “Girl You Know It’s True” doesn’t always work (the fourth-wall breaking narration hits a false note and the industry skewering and racist reactions to the two could have been even more pointed) but even at 2 hours, this one is as catchy as, well, a Milli Vanilli song.
Details: 3 stars out of 4; available to rent and stream Aug. 9. “Twilight of The Warriors: Walled In”: A few decades back, martial arts movies were supremely popular, side-kicking their way into American theaters and onto VHS and DVD.
Today, the deluge has turned into more of a trickle. Director Soi Cheang throws it back to that heyday with this seamlessly edited, action-stuffed Hong Kong epic that’s visually arresting and massively exciting. Already a huge hit in Hong Kong, it’s a summer find that lands in theaters this week.
it sets itself in Kowloon Walled City, a decaying, large-scale Hong Kong slum where a refugee named Chan Lok-kwan (the lithe, acrobatic Raymond Lam) lands after being hoodwinked by triad leader Mr. Big (martial arts superstar Sammo Hung) over an ID card. Lok-kwan jets off with a bag of Mr.
Big’s blow and catches the eye of Cyclone (Louis Koo), a barber/gangster with cred and connections to a decades-old grudge match. Cyclone gets him a job and sets him on a path for a new life. The plot gets far more tangled than that and draws in past vendettas and secret legacies.
It serves as a bouncy functional diving off point into a pool of tightly choreographed brawls that are guaranteed to make you blurt out “ow, ouch.” They’re spectacular, vigorous sequences in what’s a very stylized production (the underworld look is incredible to behold) that rockets to a massive showdown that might just make you applaud in your seats. See it on the big screen.
Details: 31⁄2 stars; in theaters Aug. 9. “The Last Front”: These days, a good, old-fashioned World War I-set thriller can be hard to come by.
Director/screenwriter Julien Hayet-Kerknawi comes to the rescue with this intense, visually striking first feature that feels an awful like a Western. Rather than tell a soldier’s story (a staple of this genre), he focuses on the Lamberts, a Belgian farm family. Grieving widower Leonard Lambert (“Game of Thrones” Iain Glen) reluctantly leads the charge against the Germans as they advance on his farm where he lives quietly with his dreamy son and uptight daughter.
An unfortunate encounter with the drunken, rage-fueled lieutenant Laurentz (Joe Anderson, in full-blown hissable mode) thrusts Leonard into helping all villagers as his grief turns into fury. “The Last Front” does grab you but it isn’t subtle by any means — even when it depicts artful scenes in nature as a sharp contrast to the blood men spill in battle. But it’s done with such conviction and passion, you won’t mind.
Details: 3 stars; in select theaters Aug. 9. “This Closeness”: A quick trip to Philadelphia for a high school reunion leads an attractive but seriously self-absorbed Gen-Z couple, Tessa and Ben (Kit Zauhar and Zane Pais) to rent a sliver of a room in an apartment.
Their host (Ian Edlund) turns out to be introverted and socially awkward, traits that both annoy and fascinate this couple stuck in a rut. Zauhar is also writer and director here, and her very funny, squirmable sophomore feature gazes at how we wall ourselves off from each other even when we happen to be together. During Tessa and Ben’s brief stay, jealousies, hookups, slights and arguments happen and point to personality fractures in all parties involved.
Zauhar is a dexterous actor and an astute observer of frayed, worn-down relationships and how they come loaded with baggage that tends to get unloaded in an unhealthy way. Her bit involving the hot-and-cold frustration over a malfunctioning air conditioner is ingenious, and serves as a perfect metaphor for her bickering couple. She’s the real deal, and I can’t wait to see what the New York-based filmmaker comes up with next.
Details: 3 stars; available to watch for free on MUBI. “Starve Acre”: A few years back, A24 gobsmacked us with one of the strangest Icelandic folk horror yarns ever. It was about a cute but unsettling half-human lamb.
If you thought that one — called simply “Lamb” — was weird, just wait till you get a load out of director/screenwriter Daniel Kokotajlo’s ‘70s-set brain messer featuring an ominous bunny. It’s beyond weird, and I mean that as a compliment. Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark star as a none-too-happy British couple living on his family’s rugged, isolated land — rooted in a nasty bit of back history — way out in the country.
When their boy starts doing odd “Omen”-esque acts, they begin to worry — for good reason. Then the unexpected happens, shifting the entire film. Based on a novel by Andrew Michael Hurley, “Starve Acre” is bizarre from start to bloody finish.
If you like literal-minded, meat-and-potatoes horror films, avoid it. But if you dig moody oddities with a dash of humor and a Gothic look that puts you ill at ease throughout, grab it. Details: 3 stars; available to rent on multiple platforms.
“The Abandon”: If funds and time are tight, it’s never wise for a filmmaker to shoot at a variety of locations. It’ll only create more headaches. Director Jason Satterlund and screenwriter Dwain Worrell wisely keep most of their action contained to the inner walls of a strange cube where wounded soldier Miles Willis finds himself trapped.
A claustrophobic story such as this one relies heavily on ingenuity and good acting to make you care. The ever-game Jonathan Rosenthal does just that. His performance is a very physical one since he gets battered about while the cube starts to slowly close in on him.
Miles isn’t alone, though, and communicates with another (Tamara Perry) without ever seeing her. She, too, is stuck for no apparent reason. Questions, suspicions and surprises swirl about as each tries to figure out if they can trust the other.
“The Abandon” succeeds on a variety of levels, as a taut survival thriller, a kicky sci-fi film and an emotional drama (I was surprised how this one got to me at times). It also hits you with a “what the hell” finale that swings open the door for a sequel. Bring it on.
And the meantime, let’s hope Rosenthal and Satterlund get the notice they deserve. Details: 3 stars, available now to rent). “Detained”: In this over-the-top but satisfying neo-noir that cribs heavily from “The Usual Suspects” playbook, a disoriented hit-and-run suspect Rebecca (Abbie Cornish) finds herself relentlessly interrogated by two badering detectives (Laz Alonso and Moon Bloodgood) over a crime she can’t remember committing.
Did Rebecca really mow someone over? Or is she just being framed? Director and co-screenwriter Felipe Mucci keeps us guessing throughout in this implausible, unhinged shocker that’s recklessly enjoyable and well-acted. Beware, though, it does go overboard with a couple of “surprise” reveals. Those can be easily forgiven since this is a finely tuned ride ideal for toss-the-brain-aside weekend consumption.
Details: 21⁄2 stars; available to rent now. “Duchess”: Clunky, junky and devoid of any nutritional value, director/co-screenwriter Neil Marshall’s inept crime thriller wants to meld a Guy Ritchie caper with a Jackie Collins novel, and it winds failing at both. Charlotte Kirk stars as a brash London pickpocket who falls for a hot guy (Philip Winchester) involved in illicit activities, including diamond trafficking.
Kirk’s character Scarlett/Duchess provides lackluster voice-over narration in a derivative bore that jets back and forth to the Canary Islands and London. The blah fight scenes get pointlessly gory and the romance is a yawner It’s a star vehicle for Kirk who isn’t able to convince us why we want to spend any time with Duchess. The camera certainly cozies up to her, worshiping her body to excessive levels.
It’s hard to imagine that this came from the same filmmaker who gave us “The Descent.” Details: 1 star; available to rent Aug. 9.
Contact Randy Myers at [email protected]..
