There is a darker side to internet streaming. Internet piracy has had a long tradition lurking around the uncouth reaches of the web, and it’s not going away any time soon. Earlier this week, a developing story from Engadget showed how piracy (briefly) became a little more accessible. Streaming app Popcorn Time, which allows users to easily browse and stream many new bootleg films and television shows, launched a web browser-based service. Unsurprisingly, it has been promptly taken down, though for interesting reasons you can see in the story. For film and television options you can (legally) stream this extra long Memorial Day weekend, see below!

Netflix

Girlhood (Céline Sciamma, 2014)

Céline Sciamma’s follow-up to Water Lillies and Tomboy has an unfortunate name too similar to last year’s critically acclaimed indie juggernaut, but it shouldn’t be ignored. Girlhood follows a young teen, Marieme, struggling to find her place in the lower-class suburbs of Paris. Abused by her older brother, she turns to a group of tough older girls who shape her identity and bring her into adulthood. It is an incredibly expansive film in both story and emotional impact, spanning a shorter time than other coming-of-age films, but with a tremendous amount of character development. As Marieme quickly grows up, her story takes conventional turns that are told in very surprising ways. Because of this, Girlhood feels both completely tied to this character’s reality but also universal – the best goal for any coming-of-age drama. Considering Marieme is a lower-class black girl from Paris this is quite extraordinary.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
American Dad (Season 9)
The Blue Room (Mathieu Amalric, 2014)
In the Bedroom (Todd Field, 2001)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
Jen Kirkman: I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) (Stand-Up Comedy Special)

Amazon Prime

Laggies (Lynn Shelton, 2014)

What happened to Lynn Shelton’s Laggies? Despite positive reviews, the director’s highest profile work came and went quickly through theaters, without nearly as much fanfare as Humpday or Your Sister’s Sister. Well, if you were one of many that missed it in its short run, it is now available to stream for Amazon Prime subscribers. The film explores how Megan’s (Keira Knightley) “quarter-life crisis” brings her to a relationship with teen-aged Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her father (Sam Rockwell). We saw the film at TIFF last year and thought the film showed off “excellent chemistry between its cast, giving off the authentic vibe that we’re used to seeing in Shelton’s work.”

Other titles new to Amazon Prime this week:
The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004)
Manny (Leon Gast & Ryan Moore, 2014)
The Prince (Brian A Miller, 2014)
Struck by Lightning (Brian Dannelly, 2012)

Fandor

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (Erik Sharkey, 2013)

The movie poster has become a dying art – it might actually already be decomposing. Recent profile doc Drew: The Man Behind the Poster explores the time when a movie poster was the best marketing tool for the cinema and so much more. Even if you don’t know the name Drew Struzan, you’ve seen his work – he’s become world-famous for the poster designs for the Star Wars series, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future. This film lets you meet the man, see how he works and how his work has directly effected the film industry. Included to heap their praises on Struzan are Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas and more. As a bonus, Fandor also has a short doc available called Behind the Poster, a look at the “Polish Poster School,” where some of the most bizarre film posters have been created.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (James Nguyen, 2010)
Danton (Andrzej Wajda, 1983)
Ivan the Terrible: Parts I & II (Sergei Eisenstein, 1945)
Lola Montès (Max Ophüls, 1955)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, 1985)

Video On-Demand

Oculus (Mike Flanagan, 2013)

Among the most underrated films from last year, don’t be fooled by the corny high concept of Oculus. In fact, this horror flick about a haunted mirror is scary, spellbinding, smart, and one of the craziest films to come out in recent years. It is an amazing achievement from director Mike Flanagan, who also co-wrote the script and edited the film – with those three aspects of Oculus are working on all cylinders. We’ve had a ton of content on the site the past two years on this film, so you should check out our TIFF 2013 festival review, our theatrical review and interview with Flanagan after you rent the film on-demand.

Other titles new on VOD this week:
American Sniper (Clint Eastwood, 2014)
Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014)
Seventh Son (Sergey Bodrov, 2014)
Strange Magic (Gary Rydstrom, 2015)

As far as film festivals go, The Mill Valley Film Festival is a uniquely soul-soothing affair. I’ve covered a fair amount of festivals since I started here at Way Too Indie, and they’re typically full of head-spinning commotion (especially when celebrity guests are involved), but it’s hard to get flustered when you’re surrounded by the gentle, towering redwoods and verdant scenery of Mill Valley.

When the festival’s Opening Night special guests, The Homesman‘s Hilary Swank and Men, Women & Children‘s Jason Reitman, arrived on the red carpet that sat under a beautiful acorn tree, the atmosphere was calm and breezy. Swank noticed immediately: “Well, this is different!”

Home on the Range, Graves in the Dirt

Following her photo op on the red carpet at the beautiful Outdoor Art Club, Swank crossed the street to the Sequoia Theater to introduce The Homesman to a packed house of eager festival-goers. As festival Executive Director Mark Fishkin welcomed Swank to the front of the room, he gushed about how he and his festival programmers saw the film at Cannes and decided they absolutely must showcase the film at the 37th iteration of the festival. Lo and behold, here they were.

A look at the dark side of mid-19th-century frontier America, The Homesman, directed by and co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, sees a stalwart, strong-willed pioneer woman called Cuddy (Swank) partner with a madman claim jumper named Briggs (Jones) to escort three mentally-ill women from Nebraska to Iowa in a sturdy wagon. The premise is straightforward enough, and the film delivers on the expectations of a trek-across-the-frontier Western, but the film’s third act takes a pleasantly unexpected turn that will leave you reeling and disturbed. Oscar talk surrounding Swank is deserved; her physically tough, emotionally vulnerable performance is terrific and one of her best. Jones’ painterly imagery is at times jaw-dropping, though his turn as Briggs isn’t as revelatory as Swank’s.

The film’s most intriguing element is its subtle messaging about gender roles, particularly those of women. Cuddy has money in the bank, owns land, works hard in the fields, and can sing a fine tune. The tragedy is, she can’t find a man to marry her. Hell, she can’t even pay a man to marry her, which she tries to early in the film. Despite her virtues and the townsfolk praising her as “as good as any man”, she’s just not any man’s idea of wife material. “Plain as a tin bucket”, Briggs calls her. The real tragedy is how women still deal with the same gender inequity today.

Intimacy in the Internet Age

At a press conference held prior to the screening of his new film Men, Women & Children, director Jason Reitman dispelled the notion that the film was about anything other than human connection in the digital age. “The film doesn’t deal with social media,” Reitman said. “It deals more with the way we text and the way we search the web. There are plot lines devoted to Ashley Madison; There are not plot lines devoted to Facebook.”

A sprawling cautionary tale about the evils of the internet, Men, Women & Children examines the ways in which the internet affects the way we connect as human beings. From a married couple who get their kicks on romance sites (Adam Sandler and Rosemarie DeWitt); to a teenager who quit football to hang out with his friends on an online role-playing game (Ansel Elgort); to a mother who goes to scary lengths to monitor her daughter (Jennifer Garner), the spectrum of sad stories is exhaustive. It all becomes a bit overbearing, though: Though the actors in the ensemble cast are wonderful and turn in good work, the characters are too simply-drawn to connect with on a deep level, ironically. This is an honest depiction of the dangers of the digital age, just not a compelling one.

Out on the Town (Center)

After a full night of screenings (which also included Lynn Shelton’s Laggies, which I missed because I have yet to acquire my dream superpower of splitting myself in two), the crowds drove over to Town Center Corte Madera a few miles away for the sparkling Opening Night Gala. There was delicious food (the ridiculous, giant wheel of grana padano cheese was my highlight) and booze, and some bangin’ bluegrass jams from local outfit The Brothers Comatose. I brought my wife with me (always nice to prove to her I’m not as uncool as I appear), and we had a rollicking good time meeting with friends and talking about how disturbing The Homesman was. If you’re in the Bay Area in the next 10 days, come out to Mill Valley and say hello. I’ll be at the movies. (Or at the Mayflower Pub down the road in San Rafael, depending on my mood.)

Consistently bringing in a wide array of compelling new films from unique voices of cinema, the 23rd Philadelphia Film Festival announced its packed new lineup and schedule yesterday. Bookended by beloved movie stars delivering awards-worthy performances, the festival opens with Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s vividly imagined Birdman on Thursday, October 16th and closes with Jean-Marc Vallée’s heart-wrenching Wild. Through 11 days, the Philadephia Film Festival will locally premiere more than 100 features and shorts from 28 countries.

“I think we’re really on the verge of some big years for cinema,” begins the festival’s Artistic Director Michael Lerman. “This festival will showcase the first steps in these innovative new directors.”

Beyond the buzzed about Centerpiece screenings (which includes The Good Lie, St. Vincent, Laggies, and the Toronto International Film Festival Audience Award winner The Imitation Game), Philly’s screenings includes programs like “Greater Filmadelphia” (with work from Philadelphia’s home grown talent), “Masters of Cinema” (movies from world-renowned filmmakers), and “The Graveyard Shift” (horror, action, and anything weird), providing a variety of options for audiences of all tastes.

The Philadelphia Film Festival’s “PFF On Us” program continues in 2014 with free tickets available for all the films featured in the “American Independents” and “Documentary Showcase” film categories. These selections include I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story, Glass Chin, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter & Point and Shoot.

Tickets to these free screenings and more information about the 23rd annual Philadelphia Film Festival is available at the Philadelphia Film Society’s website: filmadelphia.org.

2014 Philadelphia Film Festival Full lineup

Opening Night Film
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Director Alejandro González Iñárritu, USA

Closing Night Film
Wild, Director Jean-Marc Vallée, USA

Centerpiece Screenings
The Good Lie, Director Philippe Falardeau, USA.
The Imitation Game, Director Morten Tyldum, USA, UK
Laggies, Director Lynn Shelton, USA
St. Vincent, Director Theodore Melfi, USA

American Independents
Presented by the Lincoln Motor Company: Featuring powerful new voices in American cinema, these fresh, gritty films explore a variety of subjects through the filmmaker’s uncompromising vision. All films in this series are a part of the “PFF On Us” free ticketing program.

Big Significant Things, Director Bryan Reisberg. 2014, USA
Glass Chin, DirectorNoah Buschel, USA
Imperial Dreams, Director Malik Vitthal, USA
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, Director David Zellner, USA
Man From Reno, Director Dave Boyle, USA, Japan
The Mirage, Director Kyle Roper, USA
Wild Canaries, Director Lawrence, Michael Levine, USA

Cinema Down
From the land that brought us Mad Max, Moulin Rouge! and Driving Miss Daisy comes brave new work from veteran and budding Australian voices alike

52 Tuesdays, Director Sophie Hyde, Australia
Charlie’s Country, Director Rolf de Heer, Australia
The Infinite Man, Director Hugh Sullivan, Australia
The Mule, Director Angus Sampson, Tony Mahony, Australia

Documentary Showcase
Presented by 500 Walnut: Comprising the best in documentary filmmaking, these compelling films feature everything from stirring character studies to fascinating looks at current global issues.

Art and Craft, Director Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, co-directed by Mark Becker, USA
Ballet 422, Director Jody Lee Lipes, USA
The Great Invisible, Director Margaret Brown, USA
I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story, Director Chad Walker, Dave LaMattina, USA
The Immortalists, Director David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg, USA
Mudbloods, Director Farzad Sangari, USA
The Overnighters, Director Jesse Moss, USA
Point and Shoot, Director Marshall Curry, USA
This Time Next Year, Director Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman, USA

From the Vaults
Film history comes alive as it was meant to be seen – on the big screen. Come see old favorites bigger than life once again

Blue Velvet, Director David Lynch, USA
Capote, Director Bennett Miller, USA
Mulholland Drive, Director David Lynch, USA
The Straight Story, Director David Lynch, USA
To Have and Have Not, Director Howard Hawks, USA
Wild at Heart, Director David Lynch, USA

The Graveyard Shift
Horror, action, suspense, and the downright weird, these films will keep you awake during the graveyard shift.

A Hard Day, Director Seong-hun Kim, South Korea
Housebound, Director Gerard Johnstone, New Zealand
In Order of Disappearance, Director Hans Petter Moland, Norway
It Follows, Director David Robert Mitchell, USA
Revenge of the Green Dragons, Director Andrew Lau, Andrew Loo, USA
V/H/S: Viral, Director Marcel Sarmiento, Nacho Vigalondo, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Gregg Bishop, USA, Spain

Greater Filmadelphia
Presented by Philadelphia Gas Works: Featuring work from some of our finest homegrown filmmakers, this category brings our city and its talent to the big screen.

Crescendo! The Power of Music, Director Jamie Bernstein, USA
Happy Valley, Director Amir Bar-Lev, USA
Listen Up Philip, Director Alex Ross Perry, USA
Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere, Director Dave Jannetta, USA
Teacher of the Year, Director Jason Strouse, USA
Tomorrow We Disappear, Director Jimmy Goldblum, Adam Weber, USA

Masters of Cinema
Presented by Comcast: These new films exemplify the masterful work of world-renowned filmmakers as they continue to thrill and inspire audiences with cutting-edge features.

Clouds of Sils Maria, Director Olivier Assayas, France, USA
Goodbye to Language 3D, Director Jean-Luc Godard, France
Mommy, Director Xavier Dolan, Canada
Two Days, One Night, Director Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium, France
Winter Sleep, Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey, France, Germany

New French Films
The birthplace of cinema, France continues to produce some of the best movies in the world with films that are funny, daring, sexy and uniquely French.

Breathe, Director Mélanie Laurent, France
Girlhood, Director Céline Sciamma, France
Hippocrates, Director Thomas Lilti, France
Love at First Fight, Director Thomas Cailley, France
This Is My Land, Director Tamara Erde, France

Sight and Soundtrack
Presented by Sweat Fitness: Featuring rockumentaries, musician biopics and films that are centered on the unifying power of music.

Beyond the Lights, Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, USA
Deep City: The Birth of the Miami Sound, Director Dennis Scholl, Marlon Johnson, Chad Tingle, USA
The Last Five Years, Director Richard LaGravenese, USA
Someone You Love, Director Pernille Fischer Christensen, Denmark, Sweden
Song One, Director Kate Barker-Froyland, USA
Traitors, Director Sean Gullette, Morocco
Tu Dors Nicole, Director Stéphane Lafleur, Canada

Spanish Language Stories
Presented by Southwest Airlines: Offering gripping stories and unique perspectives, these Spanish-language films explore a multitude of subjects ranging from the culturally specific to the universal.

10,000 Km, Director Carlos Marques-Marcet, Spain, USA
Güeros, Director Alonso Ruizpalacios, Mexico
Los Ángeles, Director Damian John Harper, Mexico, Germany
Manos Sucias, Director Josef Wladyka, USA, Colombia

Spotlights
Presented by Philadelphia Magazine: Highly-anticipated movies from some of the biggest names in the industry, these films shine a spotlight on top talent from around the world.

Big Hero 6, Director Don Hall, Chris Williams, USA
Creep, Director Patrick Brice, USA
Escobar: Paradise Lost, Director Andrea Di Stefano, France, Spain, Belgium
Faults, Director Riley Stearns, USA
Gabriel, Director Lou Howe, USA
Life Partners, Director Susanna Fogel, USA
Love, Rosie, Director Christian Ditter, UK, Germany

World Narratives
Presented by 6ABC: Explore the world through film with this diverse selection of international cinema that features distinct perspectives and images from around the globe.

Beloved Sisters, Director Dominik Graf, Germany, Austria
Cracks in Concrete, Director Umut Dağ, Austria
The Duke of Burgundy, Director Peter Strickland, UK
Force Majeure, Director Ruben Östlund, Sweden
Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem, Director Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi, Elkabetz, Israel, France, Germany
Human Capital, Director Paolo Virzì, Italy
Run, Director Philippe Lacôte, Ivory Coast, France
Stations of the Cross, Director Dietrich Brüggemann, Germany, France
The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Director Isao Takahata, Japan
Titli, Director Kanu Behl, India
The Tribe, Director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Ukraine
Villa Touma, Director Suha Arraf, Palestine
The Way He Looks, Director Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil
When Animals Dream, Director Jonas Alexander Arnby, Denmark
Xenia, Director Panos H. Koutras, Greece, France, Belgium

Short Films
12 Years of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be Classic, Director Max Joseph, USA
130919 * A Portrait of Marina Abramović, Director Matthu Placek, USA
8 Bullets, Director Frank Ternier, France
After School, Director Guillaume Renusson, France
Astigmatismo, Director Nicolai Troshinsky, Spain
The Chaperone, Director Fraser Munden, Neil Rathbone, Canada
Chevette 83, Director Luis Oliva, Canada
The Cut, Director Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, Canada
High Ground, Director Geoff Bailey, USA
Inside the Mind of Colin Furze, Director David Beazley, UK
Marilyn Myller, Director Mikey Please, USA, UK
Me + Her, Director Joseph Oxford, USA
The Obvious Child, Director Stephen Irwin, UK
Port Nasty, Director Rob Zywietz, UK
Tim and Susan Have Matching Handguns, Director Joe Callander, USA
A Town Called Panic: The Christmas Log, Director Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, France, Belgium
The Video Dating Tape of Desmondo Ray, Aged 33 & 3/4, Director Steve Baker, Australia
Watch Out, Director Joshua Stewart, USA
The Way, Director Max Ksjonda, Ukraine
Yearbook, Director Bernardo Britto, USA

Coming off a disappointing previous film (Touchy Feely), director Lynn Shelton returns with Laggies to what she does best —examining likable but flawed characters at a crossroads in their life. Working from a script she didn’t write (a first for the director) and her largest budget to date, Shelton ditches her typical improvisational approach for a more conventional structure. But even with a more refined technique, Laggies still obtains excellent chemistry between its cast, giving off the authentic vibe that we’re used to seeing in Shelton’s work.

It’s been over 10 years since Megan (Keira Knightley) graduated from high school, and while her friends are getting married, having babies, and starting up their own restaurant, Megan twirls signs on the street for her father (Jeff Garlin). It slowly dawns on her that she’s lagging behind her peers and just floating through life. She needs some time away from her social group and her boyfriend Anthony (played by Mark Webber, who always gets typecast for these kind of roles) to clear her mind and to find herself.

This is when the film begins to test your ability to overlook and roll with the nonsensical developments. After buying beer for a group of underage high schoolers, Megan forms a close friendship with one of them named Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz). Megan decides to cash in her I-O-U from Annika for the beer and devises a plan to get away from her routine for a while. So she tells everyone she’s going on a weeklong self-development seminar, but instead stays with Annika at her father’s (Sam Rockwell) house. Like the audience, her father questions Megan’s motives but it doesn’t take much arm twisting before he allows her to stay. Everything goes according to plan until Megan develops feelings for Annika’s father, which threatens to ruin her relationships with Annika and Anthony.

Shelton continues to show her extraordinary ability to get the best performances out of her cast. Knightley puts on the best performance of her career by dominating her own scenes and enhancing everyone else’s around her. Moretz is very much in her comfort zone playing a snippy teenager and pairs well with Knightley. Rockwell has the luxury of getting the best material to work with, playing both the cool dad and the love interest with the effortless charm he’s known for.

There are some great life messages in Laggies, namely about gaining perspective on life while helping others avoid making those same mistakes. Another theme throughout is on the nature of relationships, their fragility and the constant attention needed to make them last. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of predictable moments in Laggies. It’s far too easy to guess how the story’s plot points will turn out before they happen. A predictability that is of course dissatisfying. Filled with solid performances from everyone involved, and an enjoyable original soundtrack by Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Laggies is Lynn Shelton’s most accessible and crowd-pleasing film to date. Unfortunately it comes at the expense of believability and few moments that contain her unique style, making the film feel overly familiar and generic.

The Mill Valley Film Festival has built a reputation as a showcase for future Oscar winners and emergent independent and foreign filmmakers. The festival has hosted five of the last six Best Picture Oscar winners, rolling out the red carpet for A-list actors and filmmakers while heavily supporting local filmmakers as well. Nestled in one of the most beautiful places in the world, filmmakers, actors, and attendees alike are drawn to Mill Valley every year by the easy, low-stress atmosphere, the gorgeous surroundings, the varied special events and, of course, the films. In its 37th year, the festival looks to deliver everything loyal festival-goers expect and more.

“Variety has said once–probably more than once–that Mill Valley has the ambience of a destination festival and the clout of an urban festival,” said festival founder and director Mark Fishkin at yesterday’s press conference. “Change” is one of the themes of this year’s festival, with the folks behind the festival embracing the evolving landscape of film and film distribution. Said Fishkin: “For us, change is inevitable, but we are still part of a special division of the film industry, which is theatrical exhibition. We take our role as curators very seriously, whether it’s films that are coming from the Bay Area or films coming from Cannes.”

The Homesman

Tommy Lee Jones‘ latest offering, The Homesman, will open the festival, with star Hilary Swank set to attend. The film is a Western, following a claim jumper (Jones) and a young woman (Swank) as they escort three insane woman through the treacherous frontier between Nebraska and Iowa. Fishkin describes it as a “feminist Western” that is “extremely moving. We’re just so proud to be showing it in this year’s festival.”

Co-headlining opening night is Men, Women, & Children, Jason Reitman‘s new film starring Ansel Elgort, Adam Sandler, Judy Greer, and Jennifer Garner that explores the strange effect the internet age has on parents and their teens. Reitman will be in attendance to present. Lynn Shelton‘s Laggies will also play opening night, completing the killer triple-threat. The film, about a woman stuck in slacker adolescence, stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, and Sam Rockwell.

The festival looks to finish as strong as it started, with Jean-Marc Valée‘s follow-up to Dallas Buyers Club, spiritual quest movie Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed, who embarked on a 1,100-mile hike to heal deep emotional wounds. Laura Dern also stars, and will be honored with a tribute.

French favorite Juliette Binoche stars across Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria. Binoche plays an actress who’s asked to return to a play that made her famous 20 years ago, but this time in an older role, forcing her to reflect on the young woman she once was and what she’s become since. Another French actress who can do no wrong, Marion Cotillard is outstanding in the Dardenne brothers’ new film, Two Days, One Night. Recalling the best of Italian neorealism, the film follows a woman who’s got a weekend to convince her co-workers to forego their bonuses to save her job.

The Theory of Everything

Two emerging young actors will be spotlighted as Eddie Redmayne and Elle Fanning will be in attendance to discuss their respective new films. Fanning stars in Low Down, which views the troubled life of jazz pianist Joe Albany (John Hawkes) from the perspective of his teenage daughter (Fanning). Set in the ’70s, the film also stars Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey. In a breakout performance, Redmayne portrays legendary physicist Stephen Hawking in the stirring biopic The Theory of Everything, which is quickly generating momentum on the festival circuit.

Several other films that have been building steam on the festival circuit will play at the festival as well. English landscape painter J. M. W. Turner is played brilliantly by Timothy Spall in Mike Leigh‘s Mr. Turner, which we loved at Cannes. Also portraying a significant real-life figure is Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars in The Imitation Game, the story of English mathematician Alan Turing and his groundbreaking intelligence work during World War II. Steve Carell‘s highly-anticipated turn in Foxcatcher as John Du Pont, the man who shot olympic great David Schultz, will surely continue to stir up Oscar talk as the film plays late in the festival. Robert Downey Jr. stars as a big city lawyer who returns home to defend his father (Robert Duvall), the town judge, who is suspected of murder.

Metallica is set to play a pleasantly unexpected role in the festival as his year’s artist in residence, with each of the four members of the band presenting a film. Drummer Lars Ulrich has naturally chosen to highlight Whiplash, Damien Chazelle‘s drama about a young aspiring drummer and his relentless instructor. Chazelle will also be in attendance. Lead singer James Hetfield has chosen to present a classic, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, while guitarist Kirk Hammett, one of the world’s foremost horror aficionados, will offer up Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Bassist Robert Trujillo is showing a sneak peek at a documentary he produced himself, Jaco, which tells the story of legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius.

On the local side of things is a special screening of Soul of a Banquet, a documentary by filmmaker Wayne Wang  about celebrity chef Cecilia Chang. Wang and Chang, who both have deep San Francisco Bay Area roots, will be in attendance to celebrate their storied careers and present their film collaboration. Chuck Workman, another Bay Area legend who’s best known for editing the clip reels at the Oscars, will be honored at the festival as well.

We may seem like reclusive budget-shirking obscure film enthusiasts over here at Way Too Indie, and well, some of us are, but we’re not living in any dark holes and far be it from of us to say that a film that had a little money behind it isn’t worth our notice. So here we are, covering our bases. In The Mainstream we’ll look at what’s doing well at the box-office (and secretly hoping it’s an indie darling) and all those major releases that demand our attention in the name of pop culture.

What do summer movie hits like Face/Off, Con Air, My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Lost World, Batman & Robin, and Men in Black have in common with Summer 2014? They were all released in 1997, which is officially the last time we had as dismal a box office as we did this past summer. How surprising with such cinematic gems. I mean, come on, Nick Cage was in two of those. *Wink*

Yeesh. Do you see now why we encourage indie film viewing, people? The studios just can’t be trusted to give us good stuff.

Obviously we didn’t hate everything this summer. We’re almost embarrassed at how much we’ve been gushing over Guardians of the Galaxy (we swear we’re an indie site, honest). But with 12 sequels this summer, only 3 really proved that fans were asking for them with increased ticket sales, so 8 of them were clearly the studios guessing what we like and dismally failing once again.

Well hopefully we all got our fix of explosions and CG and we can move on into September and the fall and enjoy the somber, yet touching, offerings they have to bring.

That said, September is slightly droll.

The few things on our agenda from the mainstream is James Gandolfini’s last performance in The Drop, YA epic The Maze Runner, all-star studded comedy This is Where I Leave You, and, because Sam Rockwell can almost redeem any film (sorry The Way Way Back), we might also see Laggies. As for the indie side, The Guest, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, The Skeleton Twins, Tusk, The Two Faces of January, and Pride all have us pretty revved up.

Here’s your September release guide below. Happy watching, and hi-ho into fall!

September Preview

The Week of August 31

Forrest Gump (Rerelease), The Longest Week, Frontera, No No: A Dockumentary

The Week of September 7th

My Old Lady, No Good Deed, Search Party, Dolphin Tale 2, The Identical, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, 108 Stitches, The Drop, Atlas Shrugged Part III, The Quitter, Wheels

The Week of September 14th

The Guest, The Maze Runner, A Walk Among the Tombstones, This is Where I Leave You, Reclaim, Space Station 76, The Zero Theorem, Tusk, The Skeleton Twins, The Scribbler, Tracks, Hector and the Search for Happiness

The Week of September 21st

The Equalizer, The Boxtrolls, Laggies, Pride, A Matter of Faith, The Two Faces of January, The Song, Jimi: All Is By My Side, Two: The Story of Roman & Nyro 

August Box Office Domestic Grosses

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (Buena Vista) – $283,566,704
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount) – $167,684,505
3. Let’s Be Cops (Fox) – $60,762,872
4. Into the Storm (WB) – $42,981,248
5.  The Hundred-Foot Journey (Buena Vista) – $42,097,623

2014 Year-To-Date Box Office Domestic Grosses

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (Buena Vista) – $283,566,704
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Buena Vista) – $259,766,572
3. The LEGO Movie (WB) – $257,759,191
4. Transformers: Age of Extinction (Paramount) – $244,480,845
5. Maleficent (Buena Vista) – $238,721,001

Freaked out by a sudden marriage proposal, Megan (Keira Knightley) takes a week to lay low at the house of a high schooler (Chloë Grace Moretz) that she’s only just met. Sometime after Megan’s bought her new teenage hangers on beers, made out with her young friend’s father, and tweaked the nipples of a Buddha statue, it becomes clear that Moretz isn’t playing the only adolescent in Laggies.

From Humpday and Touchy Feely director Lynn Shelton, her first feature based on a script she didn’t pen (that credit goes to first-time scribe Andrea Seigel), Laggies debuted at this year’s Sundance film festival to mostly positive reviews. Many noted that the Megan role is one of the best Knightley’s had in her career, and makes for great use of her abilities as an actress. Coming off of her starring role in Begin Again, Knightley’s established a side to her career that doesn’t need to involve the Pirates franchise or Jane Austen novels but instead sees her playing far more normal characters.

The film also stars Sam Rockwell. Which is good news, because he’s Sam Rockwell. Check out Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell in the new trailer and teaser poster from director Lynn Shelton’s upcoming coming-of-age comedy Laggies — opening in select theaters October 24h!

Laggies trailer

Laggies movie poster