Opening This Week

By Neil Pedley The Tribeca Film Festival is in full swing, but if you don't...

By Neil Pedley

The Tribeca Film Festival is in full swing, but if you don’t live in New York, there’s no need to fret. No less than three films (“From Within,” “Mister Lonely” and “Redbelt”) on this list of coming attractions have played the festival in recent days. Then again, if you are in New York and want to catch something outside the fest, there’s always that intimate character drama starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and a red and gold metal suit of armor.

“The Favor”
Writer/director Eva J. Aridjis brings us a quiet tale of angst and alienation starring former New York subway busker Ryan Donowho as Johnny, a high school loner who’s taken in by Lawrence (Frank Wood), a quiet pet photographer, after his mother (Paige Turco) is killed in an accident. In order to be the father he needs, Lawrence must fight through Johnny’s rebellious behavior and enlist the help of the one person he responds to — Marianna (Isidra Vega), a gentle neighborhood girl.
Opens in limited release.

“Fugitive Pieces”
Premiering at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, this adaptation of Anne Michaels’s novel was written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa, who last made a splash with the Mary-Louise Parker drama “The Five Senses.” Robbie Kay stars as the young Jakob, a boy rescued and smuggled out of occupied Poland after his parents die at the hands of a Greek archeologist (Rade Serbedzija). Jakob is played later in life by Stephen Dillane as a man still haunted by his memories and hiding behind his writing as he struggles to reconnect with his humanity and the woman who loves him (Ayelet Zurer).
Opens in limited release.

“Iron Man”
It just wouldn’t be summer without superheroesm and “Iron Man” is turning on his jet pack and taking the maiden voyage of this year’s blockbuster season. Robert Downey Jr. stars as the other man of steel by night and by day, rogue billionaire and military industrialist Tony Stark, a man who constructs an armored suit for himself after realizing the potential devastation his weapons could cause in the wrong hands. Director Jon Favreau, whose own alter ego was the host of IFC’s “Dinner for Five,” was entrusted to make sure this flagship Marvel franchise turns out more like “Spider-Man” than “Ghost Rider.”
Opens wide.

“Made of Honor”
Brit Paul Weiland, who directed more made-for-TV “Mr. Bean” movies than is probably healthy, helms this big screen adventure that continues the current fad of romantic comedies told from the male perspective. Patrick Dempsey fills in for Rowan Atkinson as a confirmed bachelor who feels he will never find a woman as good as his best friend Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), but when he finally realizes that she’s indeed the one, he has a small problem — she’s gotten engaged to someone else. We don’t want to give spoilers, but we think we know how this ends if the former “Can’t Buy Me Love” star pulls out that seductive riding lawn mower of his.
Opens wide.

“Mister Lonely”
Harmony Korine, who rose to prominence with shockingly provocative films like “Julien Donkey-Boy” and “Gummo,” shows his softer side in this whimsical story of love and identity, co-scripted by his brother Avi. Diego Luna stars as a Michael Jackson impersonator who meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator (Samantha Morton) while in Paris and leaves with her for a self-contained commune in Scotland populated exclusively by look-a-likes. Denis Lavant and Werner Herzog are also part of the film’s eclectic supporting cast.
Opens in limited release.

“Redbelt”
As surprised as we were to see a David Mamet film without William H. Macy, we might have been a little bit more shocking to see UFC titans Randy Couture and Enson Ionue in one. Regardless, the acclaimed playwright once again makes the world safe for the F-word while classing-up what would otherwise a lowbrow martial arts vehicle starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as a self-defense instructor forced to approach the world of pay-per-view fighting after his training regimen is stolen and employed as a gimmick by an unscrupulous promoter. But Mamet’s mixed martial arts film is no joke — the writer/director holds a purple belt in jujitsu and is said to be an ardent fan of MMA.
Opens in New York and Los Angeles.

“Son of Rambow”
Hammer & Tongs (a.k.a. director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith) revisit their intended first production, which was put on hold while they brought us the brave but flawed adaptation of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy.” Pint-sized debutants Bill Milner and Will Poulter star as two boys — one raised in a puritanical community, the other spawned from the local black sheep — who form an unlikely friendship as they decide to make their own version of “Rambo: First Blood.” Already a hit with critics in the U.K., it remains to be seen if ’80s nostalgia and the unmistakable backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain will translate as well for an American audience.
Opens in limited release.

“XXY”
A hit on the international festival circuit last year, this offbeat drama tells of a family’s struggle to cope with their child’s intersexuality once she turns 15. Inés Efron stars as Alex, the young hermaphrodite who is trying to reconcile an identity in the face of a turbulent sexual awakening due to a family friend, Alvaro (Martín Piroyanski), and their families’ mutual fears and prejudices. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film secured a Critic’s Week prize for its director, Lucía Puenzo.
Opens in New York.

[Photo: "The Favor," Seventh Art Releasing, 2006]