Aug 28, 2007

Skating, Dancing, and Dogs

Searching for comic possibilities is the conservative and deadly serious world of figure skating, Will Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction, Old School) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite, School for Scoundrels) don sequined tights in Blades of Glory. 80's retro and breakdancing archetypes get comic treatment as Jamie Kennedy (Malibu's Most Wanted, Son of the Mask) starts Kickin' It Old Skool. Our two dog movies this week are Year of the Dog, the quirky romance starring Molly Shannon (Gray Matters, American Splendor) as she searches for love, and The Dog Problem, where Giovanni Ribisi (The Dead Girl, Heaven) buys a dog to better his life, but finds that his new pet comes with unforeseen complications. Acclaimed at several film festivals, Offside is the story of an Iranian woman who longs to do what Islamic custom forbids: attend a soccer game. In Bam Bam & Celeste, stand-up comedian Margaret Cho takes on her former high school nemesis, and allows her to break out her popular Mother character.

Neverdown is a tale of redemption and the reclaiming of life after prison, and features author Kurt Vonnegut in a mentor role. A documentary about Holocaust survivors, Forgiving Dr. Mengele follows survivor Eva, who has come to terms with a frightening history. The other documentary this week is Air Guitar Nation, detailing the establishing of the US Air Guitar Championships and the people who compete.

Season 1 of Heroes follows an ensemble cast as seemingly everyday people discover that they may each have an X-Men-like gift, and ascend to heroics or descend to villainy. The first season of Friday Night Lights is also new this week, the drama built around a small town football team. Reckless has also picked up the second disc of the anime series Bleach, the story of a young man who becomes a Soul Reaper.

Older films new this week are in our new to Reckless section, with old cult classics and new Criterion Collection releases.