NEW YORK MOVIE JOURNAL (Sept.-Oct. 2019)

[Chris Knipp]

LOWTIDE (Kevin McMullin 2019). In a first film channeling Stephen King, a group of local boys in a Jersey shore town are in constant trouble for burglarizing rich "Bennies," summer out-of-towners, then when an eccentric local dies they find a cache of real value. Like in the Chaucer tale or Treasure of the Sierra Madre, finding gold sows terrible discord. The young actors are fine, but the action is a bit meandering and inconclusive. It star Jaeden Martell excels as the smart peewee. Best just for the atmosphere and personal dynamics. Watched at Quad Cinema Sun., Oct. 6, 2019. Metascore 63%.

[Chris Knipp]

MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN ( Alexandre O. Philippe 2019). Not an unusual documentary but good for exploring the synergy between Dan O'Bannon, writer; Ridley Scott, director; and H.R. Giger, artist, that made this sci-fi-horror movie something special. I could have done with less focus on the "chest busting scene." Watched at Cinema Village Oct. 10, 2019. Metascore 70%.

[Chris Knipp]

FIRST LOVE 初恋 (Hatsukoi) (Takeshi Miike 2019). Crazy violent funny Miike crime/coming of age mashup with Leo (Masataka Kubota), a mop-haired, eager young boxer, raised as an orphan, who learns he's dying of a brain tumor and it makes him feel invincible in protecting a defenseless young woman in trouble. They wind up in the middle of a yakuza turf war. Debuted in Directors Fortnight at Cannes. As Jessica Kiang says, "it's wired to explode, and it's a blast." Watched at Village East Oct. 12, 2019. Metascore 76%.

[Chris Knipp]

THE DEAD CENTER (Billy Senese 2019). I was intrigued by the presence e of ace indie director Shane Carruth's (Primer, Upstream Color), here playing a lead outside his own filmography; he does so nicely. He's cast as a psychiatrist drawn into treating a man formerly a body-bagged suicide "John Doe" (Jeremy Childs) who violently revives and winds up catatonic in the hospital psych ward. This tricky patient, oscillating between pathetic and menacing, seems either a zombie or possessed by a malevolent spirit. Alternately motionless or causing deaths all around him, he superficially resembles the creepy guy in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's much cooler film Cure. Scary and momentarily disturbing without having an original plot, The Dead Center lacks the subtlety of the Japanese film, but it moves right along and is reputedly is a major step forward from Senese's first film. Watched at Cinema Village Oct. 14, 2019. Metascore: 63.

[Chris Knipp]

GREENER GRASS (Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe 2019). Surreal comedy focused on 95% super bland white suburban people who all wear pastels, adults wear braces, and everyone drives around in golf carts. Many odd, ludicrous details, and people-pleasing is highlighted early when a woman gives her baby to her friend in the opening scene after she admires it. But I agree with Kristen Yoonsoo Kim on Letterboxd, who wrote, "this ... offended me. feels like the idea of ​​a fun and wacky time for someone who has never seen a movie before but loves SNL skits?" Pace is often off and story is a weak element. But given the elaborate strangeness, cult status is likely. Watched on a screener prior to Oct. 18, 2019 release. Ultimate Metascore 69 [when this was written it was 77%%].

[Chris Knipp]

TELL ME WHO I AM (Ed Perkins 2019) "What if every memory that haunts you could be erased? What if something truly horrific had happened to you and the person who loves you most could wipe that from your mind? Would you want ... See full summary. Essentially it reads like a very high-toned Jerry Springer episode. Still. it is memorable and has a beautiful (thhough very distressing) shape. Watched at Quad Cinema Oct. 30. Metascore 69%.

Last movie seen in New York this trip. More on this when recovered from wrist surgery and I can think.