Indie Film Release Guide: February 14th [An ONTD Original]
The major studios are taking wildly different approaches to Valentine’s Day this year. Universal is going the traditional route with The Photograph, a romantic drama starring Issa Rae and directed by Stella Meghie, while Paramount premieres the reconfigured Sonic the Hedgehog, starring the voice of (OP’s fave) Ben Schwartz as Sonic. And then there’s Sony, who decided to counterprogram the holiday with horror film Fantasy Island to scare up some Valentine’s viewers.
The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Six” - Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia/Sony and Disney. Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: February 7th, January 31st, and January 24th.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Click to viewStars: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino
Writer/Director: Céline Sciamma
Genre: Drama, Romance
Plot: On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.
What you should know: It’s in French. And yes, this was included in the roundup back in December when it was in theaters for a week. But now that it’s getting a wider release, I am exercising my unlimited power as the person who makes these posts to promote it again!! Because it’s great.
Opens in: Select cities - more than just NYC & LA, so check your local listings! But not the wide release we were promised... Neon is fucking this up again, and I am not happy about it.
Buffaloed
Stars: Zoey Deutch, Jai Courtney, Judy Greer, Jermaine Fowler
Writer: Brian Sacca
Director: Tanya Wexler
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot: Set in the underworld of debt-collecting and follows the homegrown hustler Peg Dahl, who will do anything to escape Buffalo, NY.
What you should know: Premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
Opens in: Select cities, and available VOD
Olympic Dreams
Stars: Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas, Gus Kenworthy, Morgan Schild
Writer: Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas, Jeremy Teicher
Director: Jeremy Teicher
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Sport
Plot: In the Olympic Athlete Village, a young cross-country skier bonds with a volunteer doctor after her competition ends.
What you should know: They filmed on location in Olympic Village during the last winter Olympics, and several Olympic athletes make cameos.
Opens in: Select cities, and available on demand
Downhill
Stars: Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
Writer: Jesse Armstrong, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Ruben Östlund (original screenplay)
Director: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot: Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.
What you should know: A remake of the film Force Majeure.
Opens in: Wide release
Ordinary Love
Stars: Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, David Wilmot, Amit Shah
Writer: Owen McCafferty
Director: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
Genre: Drama, Romance
Plot: An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.
What you should know: Opened the 2019 Cork International Film Festival.
Opens in: Select cities
Come As You Are
Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Grant Rosenmeyer, Hayden Szeto, and Ravi Patel
Writer: Erik Linthorst
Director: Richard Wong
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot: Three young men with disabilities flee their overbearing parents on a road trip to a brothel in Montreal catering to people with special needs. Sam, a traveling nurse, drives the three guys across the border as they go on this trip to lose their virginity and embrace their independence.
What you should know: Remake of the acclaimed Belgian film Hasta La Vista.
Opens in: Select cities, and available VOD
A Simple Wedding
Stars: Tara Grammy, Christopher O'Shea, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Rita Wilson
Writer: Sara Zandieh, Stephanie Wu
Director: Sara Zandieh
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Plot: Cultures clash and families collide when an Iranian woman finds love with an eccentric bisexual artist.
Opens in: Select cities, and available VOD
Impossible Monsters
Stars: Santino Fontana, Dennis Boutsikaris, Laila Robins, Geoffrey Owens
Writer/Director: Nathan Catucci
Genre: Thriller
Plot: An ambitious professor becomes caught up in the murder of a participant in his sleep study, as the lines between dreams and reality blur.
What you should know: Santino Fontana recently won a Tony for his role in Tootsie.
Opens in: Select cities
I Was at Home But
Stars: Thorbjörn Björnsson, Esther Buss, Martin Clausen, Lucas Confurius
Writer/Director: Angela Schanelec
Genre: Drama
Plot: After a 13-year-old student disappears without a trace for a week and suddenly reappears, his mother and teachers are confronted with existential questions that change their whole view of life.
What you should know: It’s in German.
Opens in: Select cities
VFW
Stars: Martin Kove, Stephen Lang, Sierra McCormick, William Sadler
Writer: Max Brallier, Matthew McArdle
Director: Joe Begos
Genre: Action, Horror
Plot: A group of war veterans must defend their local VFW post and an innocent teen against a deranged drug dealer and his relentless army of punk mutants.
What you should know: Shot at a real VFW hall.
Opens in: Select cities
Also opening: Eve (Trailer), After Midnight (Trailer), The Kindness of Strangers (Trailer), The Misogynists (Trailer), The Rest of Us (Trailer), Eat Brains Love (Trailer)
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What have you been watching lately, ONTD? Seeing anything this weekend?