Movie Nation

Virtually every time I have interviewed Terry Gilliam, the conversation turns to “the unluckiest filmmaker in the movies.”

Take all of Orson Welles’ problems finding financing, twist them into constant studio interference leading to “The only movies I can make are ones I shouldn’t be making,” coupled with Heath Ledger, a co-star, dying before “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” was finished, and you’ve got a cinematic visionary who appears to be cursed.

Most famously, his “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” — co-starring Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort, turned into a debacle worthy of a documentary of its own — “Lost in La Mancha.”

By God, he’s finished it. Finally. With Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce and Olga Kurylenko and Stellan Skarsgard and by cracky it looks crackers.

Let’s hope it actually makes it from Cannes to a theater near you and me.

Gott in himmel, vas ist los?

A gay German “Beguiled” spoof built on comically over-the-top womynist/leftist revolutionary rhetoric?

Oh, it’s from Bruce LaBruce, Ontario’s boundary-bending icon of the queer cinema. He’s made movies about a young into MUCH older men (in a nursing home) — “Gerontophilia” — and gay Goth zombie love (“Otto; or Up with Dead People.”

So over the top? Yeah.

“The Misandrists” is about a remote revolutionary indoctrination camp for the Feminist Liberation Army, German (mostly) lesbians training for a world without men, which takes in an injured young male revolutionary (Til Schindler) on the run from the authorities.

Big Mother (Susanne Sachße, a mainstay of LaBruce movies such as “The Raspberry Reich) doesn’t know about him. Nor do any of her “sisters,” the teachers at this “boarding school.”

Only Hilde (Olivia Kundisch) and Isolde (Kita Updike) do. They hide him in the basement, where Isolde takes to nursing young Volker.

The “school” is a hotbed of encouraged coupling, re-coupling and quasi-comic sexuality, all masterminded by the leather-clad, cane-walking Big Mother. 

“I can’t help if it’s kinky!”

They gather for group meals, sing womynist hymns — “Glory be to the Mother, and to the daughter.”

They give thanks for their gender — “Blessed be the Goddess of All Worlds that has not made me a man!”

They watch gay porn — “I don’t NEED to watch gay porn to be disgusted by men!”

And they plan the Revolution, women plotting a world without men.

Meanwhile, there’s all this flirting and nearly-nude pillow-fighting going on, with only Isolde opting out.

“Of course I like you…as a COMRADE.”

LaBruce toys with stereotypes, softcore porn tropes and ever-so-arch reminiscences of the Golden Age of German Leftist militancy. And who knew you could make “The Beguiled” more gay?

As the quoted lines above demonstrate, he’s got a way with canny, cutting and campy dialogue.

What he doesn’t manage well is comedy in general. The vamping isn’t in the “Rocky Horror” range, the camp characters are never campy enough to be funny. The one-liners just kind of lie there. The movie’s many make-out scenes do what they do in most exploitation films, they stop the movie cold.

And when he takes the story into his spin on a “Beguiled” revenge resolution, he crosses the last few lines available to him, and then anti-climaxes his way to the credits as if he ran out of money or ideas or both.

But he may know his audience, and he may have a point (sort of) when he excuses himself from criticism by having a character voice this apologia.

“There’s no point in trying to explain the right thing to the wrong people.”

MPAA Rating: unrated, graphic surgery, explicit sexual content, nudity

Cast: Susanne Sachße, Kita Updike, Viva Ruiz, Til Schindler, Olivia Kundisch, Victoire Laly

Credits:Written and directed by Bruce LaBruce. A Cartilage release.

Running time: 1:31

I mean, “actuals” come in tomorrow, and although it does appear “Avengers: Infinity War” was cleared the $248 million or so “The Force Awakens” erupted with, the estimates could be a couple of million off.

But right now, $250 million is what it looks like the third Avengers movie — with everybody from Robert Downey Jr. to Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Evans to Chris Pratt, Don Cheadle to Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson to Samuel L. Jackson — hyped to Hell and back, has earned.

Wow.

“A Quiet Place” earned $10.65 million.  Pretty much the only other movie to make a mark.

“Rampage” fell off a cliff, “Super Troopers 2” fell off a steeper cliff.

A PETA approved horror film?

Just kidding. I kid. I mean, meat-eating tourists stop at the wrong diner, order the wrong meal, and next thing you know, THEY’RE on the menu.

Hans Stjernswärd directed this one. Not sure of release status of “The Farm.” Looks…rough. 

It’s the one thing scientists and space entrepreneurs can agree on. That the commercial push into space could very easily be driven by the hunt for resources we use up on Earth.

With the Chinese buying mineral mines of every sort and magical batteries requiring those rare substances, getting our hands on them means a future that looks like “Outland,” a pretty good Space Western about mining a moon of, Saturn was it?

That seems to be the set up for “Prospect,” a Chris Caldwell/Zeek Earl thriller — horror, it appears — about looking for gold or some such in all the alien places.

“Prospect” premiered at South by Southwest and is “coming soon” to a cinema or VOD date near you.

Marvel’s money-minting machine cranks up the hype and pulls in the faithful again with “Avengers: Infinity War” blasting off to the second biggest opening weekend ever.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” still holds the all time US opening weekend record.

UPDATED — The Actual numbers, released Monday, show “Infinity War” capturing the recordThe Actual numbers, released Monday, show “Infinity War” capturing the record, a $257.6 million opening.

Deadline.com, basing its estimates on a $39 million Thursday and $103 million (inc Thursday) Friday, says Disney will pocket $237 million for the film’s domestic take, opening weekend, some $498 million worldwide.

Just in one weekend.

Reviews were somewhat less enthusiastic for this first half of a two-parter, directed by the Russo brothers. Kind of a random roundup of Not-Quite-Every-Avenger, no arc or narrative flow, place-holding ending. But these folks know how to sell a movie that’s pre-sold (every late night stunt, etc., under the sun). So we’ll see what Sat and Sunday produce.

“Black Panther,” in case you were worrying about the Mouse not making enough on that one, is still slated to finish fifth this weekend, over $687 million in the bank since its Feb. opening.

The much more modestly priced horror sleeper “A Quiet Place” falls to second, another $10 million to take it to $147 by Sunday night. “Rampage” is running out of gas, “I Feel Pretty” is closing in on $30, and “Ready Player One” is ready to exit the top ten with a modest $130-135 million as its final cash take.

“Isle of Dogs” drops out of the top ten.

The Verge has a piece on Moviepass’s new restrictions to its “A month of movies at one low low price” ticket packaging that lays out what I’ve been wondering about this “deal” all along.

A movie a day for $10 a month is, as I’ve said, not great for theaters and on its surface, pretty bad for the studios, too. MoviePass was losing money, “on every ticket sold,” as well.

So now they’re restricting “select” (opening weekend of release) tickets. You can’t go more than once.

And they’ve limited you to 4 movies for $9.95. Still a deal, but…surely everybody in the movie making and showing business is still losing money.

Unless, of course, you consider the data mining that comes with it. You make a month’s worth of ticketing decisions, and they know what they are. Studios, for starters, can use that. So can anybody else who knows what the “Fast and Furious” or comic book movie or horror or teen romance demo likes and would consider buying.

That’s right, another “disruptive” Internet “deal” that has hidden benefits — for “them.” 

Alyssa McKay plays the daughter Dad (Ben Foster) leaves behind when he’s nabbed in the public forests of Oregon in this story of living off the grid and on the edge of existence. 

It has “Winter’s Bone” bones. Same director. Yup. There’s Dale Dickey from “Winter’s Bone” in the cast as proof.

It’s based on Peter Rock’s novel “My Abandonment.” Looks promising. I find stories of living out of society’s reach — offline, off the grid — fascinating. “Leave No Trace” will be on a few theater screens and VOD in June.

“Well, as Bertrand Russell said, ‘people in a democracy tend to think they have less to fear from a stupid man than an intelligent one.’ Actually, it’s the other way around. It’s the stupid man.” — Henry Fonda as presidential candidate William Russell in “The Best Man” (1964) On TCM at the moment.

A pro-wrestling comedy co-produced with WWE and starring Dwayne Johnson, as he was in his PREVIOUS life?

The Rock’s  little comic tirade here is one of the funniest speeches he’s ever put on screen. And he’s been funny, a LOT, in action comedies, kids’ comedies and comedy comedies.

So we are intrigued. “Fighting With My Family” was directed by Ricky Gervais’s funnier half, Stephen Merchant, and co-stars Lena Headey. Hey, anything to keep the guy from taking that “Fast and Furious” or “San Andreas/Rampage” money.

Have a laugh at this.