Theatrical Releases: Race & Risen

RISEN || February 19th, 2016

	EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT || Seen for the 2016 Oscar Challenge, “Embrace Of The Serpent” was Colombia’s foreign language nominee at this year’s Academy Awards. Black-and-white and set in the Amazon, the film is set in two eras, both starring Karamakate (Nilbio Torres and Antonio Bolívar), a shaman that lives alone in the jungle. Based loosely on the diaries of two exploring scientists, the story follows both their adventures with the shaman as they discover the dark nature of the jungle while searching for a sacred plant called yakruna.
	RACE || Obviously taking on a double meaning, “Race” tells the true story of Olympic track and field runner Jesse Owens, an African American man that faces off against Adolf Hitler’s idea of the superior race in the 1936 Olympics. Stephan James (“Selma”) plays Owens while Jason Sudeikis plays his coach. Owens set so many records and dealt with his own civil rights issues while being the poster child for standing against oppressors.	PASS
	RISEN || Someone made a joke that “Risen” was the CSI of the Biblical era. Joseph Fiennes plays a Roman military tribune tasked with finding out what happened to Jesus Christ following the crucifixion and resurrection, set to disprove that Jesus had risen and thus, his body must be hidden somewhere. The task becomes uncovering every dead body in the city. As we know from the Bible, Jesus’ body obviously was not found, so there’s the spoiler for you.	PASS

	BUSCO NOVIO PARA MI MUJER || Roughly translated as “I Am Looking For My Wife’s Boyfriend,” the Spanish language film “Busco Novio Para Mi Mujer” is about just that, a husband who wants to end his marriage so badly, that he goes looking for the perfect man in which to get his wife to fall in love and break off the marriage. As with any romantic comedy, however, you can imagine, eventually he will come to see what he loves about his wife and will regret setting the plan in motion and the trailer makes that abundantly clear.	PASS
	CITY OF WOMEN || What happens to a man that stumbles upon a hidden woman fortress? Italian director Federico Fellini set out to answer that question in 1980 with his film “City Of Women,” which has now been restored for theatrical release. Fellini was known for his bigger works like “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8 1/2” (1963), so “City Of Women” was actually one of his later works. Described as a “surrealist tour-de-force,” the film jumps into its fantasy world head first.	PASS
	COLLIDING DREAMS || As the trailer was a little unclear to me, here is the synopsis for “Colliding Dreams” provided by iTunes Trailers: “Colliding Dreams recounts the dramatic history of one of the most controversial and urgently relevant political ideologies of the modern era. The century-old conflict in the Middle East continues to play a central role in world politics. And yet, amidst this fierce, often-lethal controversy, the Zionist idea of a homeland for Jews in the land of ancient Israel remains little understood and its meanings often distorted. Colliding Dreams addresses that void with a gripping exploration of Zionism’s meaning, history and future.”	PASS
	CRAZY ABOUT TIFFANY’S || Famous for its world renowned jewelry, the Tiffany & Co. brand has become synonymous with quality diamonds. The documentary “Crazy About Tiffany’s” takes a look at this craze, interviewing celebrities like Katie Couric and Jessica Biel, who are apparently heavily supportive of the store. It also takes a look at its presence in pop-culture, like the film “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” starring Katherine Hepburn, and even its signature boxes and bags of a light blue color that now has iconic meaning.	PASS
	FORSAKEN || Father and son Keifer and Donald Sutherland star in the Western titled “Forsaken,” where Kiefer plays a gunfighter named Henry, who returns home to live a life of civility when his own town turns against him with the coming of the railroad and the gang that is headed by Brian Cox, who look to run out the people unwilling to sell their land. Demi Moore also stars as Henry’s married love interest who he still pines for. Henry must decide whether to be taken advantage of or to step in and pick up a life that he swore to leave behind. The problem is, none of these people quite fit the era or the characters that they’re playing.	PASS
	ROLLING PAPERS || With the dying of the newspaper business, one Colorado paper, The Denver Post, decided to follow current trends and appointed the world’s first marijuana editor, seeing as marijuana was made legal in Colorado in 2012. Now, with The Cannabist column up and running, the paper is getting national attention, with reviewers stepping up to give their thoughts on different strains of weed and even the head of The Denver Post weighing in on the topic. Will this save the newspaper industry? Probably not. But it’s still somewhat entertaining.	PASS
	WE ARE TWISTED FUCKING SISTER || It’s crazy to think that the fans of Twisted Sister were basically supporting a local band that enjoyed putting on their mother’s clothing and makeup and performing their riotous, metal act. Headed by Dee Snider, the band started in 1972 and went on to be known as the “unsignable band” with one executive even stating that he was told by a boss that if he ever brought up the name Twisted Sister, he would be fired. The documentary “We Are Twisted Fucking Sister” takes a look at all this along the 10 year journey that this band took to finally become known across the country.	PASS

THEATER

• “Embrace Of The Serpent”

RENT

STREAM

PASS

• “Busco Novio Para Mi Mujer”
• “City Of Women”
• “Colliding Dreams”
• “Crazy About Tiffany’s”
• “Forsaken”
• “Race”
• “Risen”
• “Rolling Papers”
• “We Are Twisted Fucking Sister”