Top 10 Smaller Films To Look Out For
While upcoming blockbusters like Spectre, Star Wars: Episode VII and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 may be automatically appealing, it's easy to forget that there are many more smaller films which also look promising, if much less flashy.
Here's a list of 10 smaller films you might want to look out for in the very near future, in no particular order.
ENTERTAINMENT
An arty take on actor Gregg Turkington's Neil Hamburger character with a cast which includes Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker, John C. Reilly and Dean Stockwell, Entertainment looks set to be a cross between bad taste comedy and quiet David Lynch-style madness. Probably a love-it-or-hate-it type of movie but probably well worth a shot.
GOODNIGHT MOMMY
Goodnight Mommy is an Austrian production which will follow two kids obsessed with their own mother, who appears to have undergone some kind of radical facial surgery. Expect chilling horror aplenty and quite probably a wacky, disturbing twist in the vein of Pedro Almodovar's brilliant 2011 oddity The Skin I Live In. The film was made and released in numerous festivals last year but its official U.S. release is next month.
The little prince
In France, when it comes to children's books, they just don't come more beloved than Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, the story of a mysterious young boy who literally lives in his own world. There have been film adaptations of the classic tale before but this upcoming animated effort looks set to please both fans of the book and younger, more Pixar-oriented viewers.
EXPERIMENTER
This one'll probably fly completely under the radar but the fact that it's based on the intriguing true story of Stanley Milgram's electric shock-themed experiments, stars the criminally underrated Peter Sarsgaard as the lead along with a great cast which includes Winona Ryder, John Leguizamo and Twilight's Kellan Lutz as, believe it or not, William Shatner, makes it a potential cult favourite.
Boulevard
This one, granted, has already technically been released in the U.S. but U.K. audiences have yet to witness the late, great Robin Williams' final on-screen performance which, based on the film's trailer, looks set to be an emotional ride with some first-class acting at its heart. Worth checking out if only to pay tribute to one of our greatest comedians.
I AM CHRIS FARLEY
Speaking of one of our greatest comedians, here's a documentary about the much-too-short life of SNL legend Chris Farley who sadly passed away back in 1997. Again, this has already technically enjoyed some limited form of release but fans of the Beverly Hills Ninja and Tommy Boy actor such as myself, who didn't get the chance to see it, will definitely want to seek it out so consider this a reminder.
MISTRESS AMERICA
Writer/director Noah Baumbach's movies may, these days, mostly be about how great and adorable Greta Gerwig is but, then again: Greta Gerwig is pretty great and adorable. Plus Baumbach is essentially the new Woody Allen, consistently delivering quality movies packed with crackling, instantly quotable dialog. Can't go wrong. The film is out now so don't miss it!
TRUMBO
After Bryan Cranston, best known for his career-redefining role in the series Breaking Bad, was basically shunned out of that Godzilla blockbuster a year ago, he is finally given a proper story and an interesting character to work with here as he takes on a biopic of blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Helen Mirren, Diane Lane and Louis C.K. also star.
Rock the Kasbah
It's been a while since we've had a good Bill Murray-starring indie movie (last one was St. Vincent), and those are usually worth the detour. Rock The Kasbah sees Murray play a washed-up rock manager who, somehow, ends up coaching a young singer through Afghanistan's own version of American Idol. The film also stars Bruce Willis and Zooey Deschanel and will be out this October.
Masterminds
From Jared Hess, the man behind Napoleon Dynamite and the sadly little seen Gentlemen Broncos, comes Masterminds, a comedy about three bumbling thieves who figure out a way to set up one of the biggest bank heists in American history. With a cast which includes Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson, it looks set to be yet another really fun ride full of laughs and bad haircuts.
