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New Wave
What do you get when you cross angsty teenage rebellion with post-Vietnam War trauma and late ‘70s/early ‘80s discotheque? Apparently New Wave, a musical subgenre sledgehammered by freshly arrived Vietnamese boat people. Combining elements of Eurodance, techno and synth-pop, New Wave existed as an outlet for refugees to both party off the traumas of war and to integrate into American culture. New Wave, the latest documentary from director/writer Elizabeth Ai, points a microscope at the nuances between generational trauma, anti-war politics, complicated familial structures, ‘80s glam rock sounds and aesthetics and the thumping music scene that embraced it all. The film follows megastars Lynda Trang Đài, an icon of the period, and Ian Nguyễn (a.k.a. DJ BPM) as they recount the stories of both hardship and ecstasy that shaped the movement. Set to a titular soundtrack, the documentary also follows Ai’s life, her young daughter, and the strained relationship with her mother which Ai attempts to repair. Watching this movie sent me down a nostalgic spiral of unlocked buried memories, of high shoulder pads, teased hair and flashy jewelry that dominated my family’s photo albums. A must-see cultural archive, come with tissues in tow for this certified tearjerker. NR. TIM TRAN. Tomorrow Theater on Saturday, June 14.
The Phoenician Scheme
Similar to Wes Anderson films before it, The Phoenician Scheme is a visually decadent exploration of nonsense, stacked with Benicio Del Toro as the eccentric protagonist, Zsa Zsa Korda, and my fave new nepo baby, Mia Honey Winslet Threapleton, as Liesl. The pair plays an estranged father-daughter duo set out to save Korda’s fortune from his enemies. Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston deliver notable performances as a duo of Ivy League b-ballers who challenge Zsa Zsa and Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed) to a basketball game, while Michael Cera offers a Steffon Urkel moment when his character’s plot twist is revealed, transforming him from a bumbling nerd into a more suave, seemingly irresistible persona. There are several acts that involve hand-drawn postcards that come to life as actual environments that the characters are immersed in, and every color choice and pattern feels intentional in the storytelling. I’m never actually sure what feeling watching a Wes Anderson movie is supposed to evoke, especially since so many people ardently worship this specific genre of film. But if you love the twitchy, manic acting, deadpan humor and unrealistic dialogue and cadences Anderson requires of his cast—not to mention kitschy yet precise backdrops, high-vintage set dressings and signature framing—all those components are here for you. PG-13. JAGGER BLAEC. Academy Theater, Cinema 21, Hollywood Theatre, Laurelhurst Theater, Living Room Theaters, St. Johns Twin Cinemas, Studio One Theaters, AMC, Cinemark and Regal locations.
Dangerous Animals
Dangerous Animals, the new film from Australian director Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy), combines the oceanic horror of Jaws and Open Water with a stalker thriller, then throws a romance story on top of it. And despite having so many angles, it still spends a lot of its 98-minute runtime spinning its wheels, with much of the film falling into a pattern of escape, recapture, escape, recapture. With this much repetitive cat and mouse, it eventually feels numbing as opposed to suspenseful, leaving the audience wanting the ending to arrive as badly as its protagonist. It doesn’t help that said ending is exactly what most viewers will see coming within the first 20 minutes. There are few surprises, beyond an effective and fairly gnarly bit of thumb-based body horror. Dangerous Animals is somewhat saved by the gorgeous aquatic photography (including some excellent underwater sequences), as well as its performances. Jai Courtney is intense as the shark-obsessed villain Tucker, Hassie Harrison sells her lone wolf protagonist Zephyr, and Josh Heuston is a charming love interest. The three deserve a more original script. R. MELODY ESME. AMC, Cinemark and Regal locations.
Mountainhead
Mountainhead was named both for the lavish mansion where the story takes place and as a play on Ayn Rand’s breakthrough novel The Fountainhead (just so you know what type of douchebag we’re dealing with). However, Mountainhead owes less to objectivist philosophy and more to Dr. Strangelove, with nuclear weapons swapped for A.I. and incompetent world leaders swapped with narcissistic tech CEOs. Four wealthy cretins (Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carrell, Ramy Youssef, Jason Schwartzman) gather for their annual boys’ weekend, only to find one of them launched a product that may be causing the downfall of several nations. From there our “heroes” determine how to handle the chaos and, potentially, use it to their advantage. It’s a setup rife for satire, which writer/director Jesse Armstrong and his cast make the most of—each lead is based on a familiar figure (some a little too familiar) and the actors ably bring them to life. The characters excel the most at rationalizing their own greed, pettiness and myopia as necessary (even virtuous!) and the coming oligarchic utopia they dream of building is both a strength and weakness of the script. There’s some laughs in their philosophical absurdity, but Armstrong’s verbosity makes scenes drag on too long, with the back half slogging toward an ultimately half-hearted conclusion. Mountainhead has many dreadful (and accurate) things to say about the modern icons of Silicon Valley, but takes too long saying them to make for a compelling story. TV-14. MORGAN SHAUNETTE. Max.