Cons, Corporate and Otherwise

Posted by Neil Pedley on May 11th

Your guide to what’s new in theaters this week: Offbeat foreign fare compliments star-studded domestic offerings, alongside some intriguing and inventive docs.

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“Anaglyph Tom (Tom With Puffy Cheeks)”
Forty years after “Tom, Tom, The Piper’s Son,” his groundbreaking interpretation of Thomas Edison’s turn-of-the-century short, experimentalist and paracinema pioneer Ken Jacobs returns to Edison’s original print, this time with a mind to work his singular magic in gloriously vibrant 3-D. Employing digital technology to isolate actors and images and intermingle the themes of his 1969 film with present day footage of the economic crisis, Jacobs orchestrates a cinematic ballet where the past and the present literally dance together before our eyes.
Opens in New York.

“Angels and Demons”
Despite the fact that some viewers who turned out to see Ron Howard’s lumbering, talk-heavy 2006 blockbuster “The Da Vinci Code” are rumored to still be asleep, Howard and star Tom Hanks are back with a second helping, offering up another yak-tion-packed alternative to the summertime CGI smackdown. Adapted from Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci” prequel, this film sees Hanks reprise his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who’s summoned to the Vatican to investigate a purported Illuminati conspiracy involving a plot to murder cardinals and steal nuclear material.
Opens wide.

“The Brothers Bloom”
Once again showcasing an uncanny ability to teach an old genre new tricks, Rian
Johnson’s much-delayed fantastical crime caper finally arrives in theaters more than four agonizingly long years since his debut, the wonderfully hazy high school noir “Brick.” Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody star as a pair of legendary career grifters who, with their longtime sidekick Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), lay it all on the line for that always perilous “one last con,” relieving a beautiful heiress (Rachel Weisz) of her fortune.
Opens in limited release.

“Big Man Japan”
Not one of those films best enjoyed under the influence (which seems to have devolved into code for “it’s crap”), “Big Man Japan” is so outlandish that no amount of narcotics could possibly make it any stranger. A directorial debut for Japanese comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto (who also stars and co-scripts), this blend of “Hancock” and “Godzilla” finds reality TV star and part-time 50-foot warrior Masaru Daisatou battling giant monsters and tiny ratings as he struggles to cope with the ongoing pressure of protecting his city. In Japanese with subtitles.
Opens in limited release.

“Kassim The Dream”
Few stories deliver the pre-packaged narrative punch (no pun intended) of Ugandan child-soldier-turned-champion-boxer Kassim Ouma, the center of Kief Davidson’s documentary. Kidnapped by rebel forces at age six and forced to commit atrocities, Ouma found an escape through boxing for the Ugandan military team. Opportunistically defecting to the United States during an exhibition tour, the fighter found himself broke and alone and pursued his own unique interpretation of the American dream (peace of mind), rising through the ranks of the sport on his way to becoming the Junior Middleweight Champion of the world.
Opens in Los Angeles.

“Jerichow”
Taking the treacherous triangle of James Cain’s “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and relocating it to an idyllic yet stiflingly depressed river town west of Berlin, cult German writer/director Christian Petzold follows his 2007 thriller “Yella” with this disquieting sensual drama that should further enhance his international reputation. Benno Fürmann stars as Thomas, a dishonorably discharged veteran whose trip home for his mother’s funeral leads to an encounter with brutish drunk Ali (Hilmi Sozer) and Ali’s aloof wife Laura (“Yella”‘s Nina Hoss). With Ali away for a long weekend in his native Turkey, Thomas and Laura begin an illicit liaison that slowly spirals into inevitable tragedy. In German and Turkish with subtitles.
Opens in limited release.