A Real Pain
Writer, director and actor Jesse Eisenberg juggles all three duties in his second film, “A Real Pain,” as both director and star. Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play odd-couple cousins who reunite on a tour through Poland to honor their grandmother who passed away. Eisenberg plays the nervous, uptight but devoted family man to Culkin’s polar opposite. This is a dramady about family pain. Their grandmother was a holocaust survivor, and it’s affected both of them. The draw here is Eisenberg’s writing and Culkin’s performance which some are saying could be nominated for Oscars this year. Also starring Will Sharpe and Jennifer Grey.
Now Playing at the Michigan Theater.
Flow
A cat, dog, lemur, capybara and bird team up Noah’s Ark style when their lives are upended by a massive flood that engulfs the world in this gorgeous, animated feature. You won’t find any cute animal voices here — the animators chose to use real animal sounds for each character. The movie focuses on cat, who saves himself from the flood by hopping onto a boat. Once aboard, he finds several other animals who must act together to survive. Although there are traces of human existence in the film, you won’t find any of them on screen. It’s the animals and their adventure that take center stage for Latvia’s official entry for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film.
Opens Dec. 6 at the Michigan Theater.
All We Imagine as Light
A poetic meditation on life in Mumbai through the lens of three women and their complex friendship. Of the three, one is a nurse with an estranged husband, another has a boyfriend her family has forbidden, and the third is a widow whose home is about to be bulldozed to make room for a new high-rise. Director Payal Kapadia won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, so don’t miss your chance to see it in a theater. Starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha and Chhaya Kadam.
Opens Dec. 6 at the State Theatre.
A Complete Unknown
Set in the music scene of early 1960s New York, “A Complete Unknown” is the story of Bob Dylan’s rise to stardom, from folk singer to worldwide acclaim, and culminates in his groundbreaking performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. In demand actor Timothee Chalamet (Dune) steps into the role of Dylan and James Mangold directs (“Walk the Line,” “Ford v Ferrari”). It will be interesting to see how Chalamet rises to the challenge of portraying an iconic American musician. Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro co-star as Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. With Elle Fanning and Boyd Holbrook.
Opens Dec. 25 at the State Theatre.
Nosferatu
Director Robert Eggers (“The Witch,” “The Lighthouse”) reimagines F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film which was itself a riff on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This is gothic horror at its finest with the film generating a lot of positive buzz in the lead up to its Christmas Day release. There’s a stellar cast on hand with Bill Skarsgard as Count Orlok, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe. A great Christmas gift for horror fans who expect to feel unnerved and a little disturbed. Also with Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Opens Dec. 25 at the Michigan Theater.
Free
Benshi Attack – Silent Sword Films
Benshi Kataoka Ichiro returns to Ann Arbor for an evening of swordplay, with DJ arwulf arwulf spinning the tunes. FREE and open to the public (with RSVP).
Silent films were never silent in Japan. A benshi always stood to the side of the screen, providing narration and imitating the voices of characters. This evening presents a tour through the history of the samurai film starting with the first film ever made in Japan and ending with an Ozu comedy. In between, we’ll see early anime, the oldest Japanese American film and one of the greatest action films of all time.
Playing Dec. 9 at the Michigan Theater.
Anniversary screening
Mary Poppins, Dec. 29, Michigan Theater
FREE for kids 12 & under by reservation
Christmas classics
Miracle on 34th Street, Dec. 15, Michigan Theater
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Dec. 19, Michigan Theater
Die Hard, Dec. 20 & 26, Michigan Theater
(See Michigan/State Theater Calendar for a complete list of Christmas films.)
