This Week in Movies
What to watch: 15 floors of brutal action and a Japanese melodrama on Austinscreens
Foreign films rule in Austin theaters this weekend, and the choices could not be more different. For a look at what's going on in international cinema check out an Indonesian master class in action filmmaking and a Japanese erotic melodrama on Austin screens this weekend.
This Weekend at the Drafthouse
For everyone fed up with the shaky-cam, fast cut, CGI-filled, low-stakes action that has dominated studio movies for the past decade, say hello to Indonesian stunner The Raid: Redemption. Reducing the action movie to its most threadbare elements — a SWAT team must fight its way through waves of gun and machete wielding thugs as they ascend a high-rise building to reach the sadistic kingpin on the top floor — The Raid: Redemption leaves ample room for its stars to perform their seemingly impossible stunts.
Director Gareth Evans (Merantau) puts his faith in his actors, keeping his camera unflinching as it works its way perilously in and out of the brutal battles. The result is a spectacle of proportions seldom experienced- a thrilling, violent action film that is sure to leave audiences bewildered. (The Raid: Redemption also opens Friday at Violet Crown Cinema.)
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Norwegian Wood, an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s novel of the same name. Set against the revolutionary angst of students in Tokyo in the 1960s, the story follows Toru Watanabe who is crushed when his best friend Kizuki commits suicide. Toru then splits his time between visiting Kizuki's girlfriend, Naoko, who has taken up residence in a sanatorium and falling for his unavailable classmate Midori.
It's a potent mixture for melodrama, something with which director Anh Dung Tran (The Scent of Green Papaya) is quite familiar. Shot by master cinematographer Ping Bin Lee (In the Mood for Love) and scored by Jonny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood), expect Norwegian Wood to be every bit as beautiful looking and sounding as it is emotionally affecting.
Beyond the Weekend
For anyone that has ever cringed at shoddy CGI in movies, the Alamo Drafthouse has a show for you. Cultivated and edited together by Bryan Connolly (Vulcan Video manager and co-author of the dauntingly comprehensive Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film) and Drafthouse pre-show creator Tommy Swenson, Computer Error: The Worst CGI in Movie History is a 90 minute barrage of the worst violations of cinematic computer shenanigans.
The piece premiered recently to an enthusiastic audience and now you have another chance (4/4) to experience this one of a kind celebration of all the worst keyboard and mouse-based sins ever presented on screen.