Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to celebrate all the good things in life with family and friends. But it seems like the holiday is slowly becoming overshadowed by the absurd and incredible shopping deals of the day after. This year, fans of streaming movies and television will reap some of that benefit, as Roku has announced a low-cost streaming player that will be sold as part of their Black Friday push. The device, which will regularly be sold for $50, will be only $25 online and at participating retailers. Despite the low-end cost, the Roku SE will still have access to all of their apps and can stream at 1080p. This could be a good push for those who haven’t already jumped into the streaming world or are still stuck to their computers. Now that we’re all done obsessively watching a Shia LaBeouf watch all of his own movies (we admit, it was surprisingly entertaining), check out these new titles streaming online this weekend.

Netflix

W/ Bob and David (Series, Season 1)

I discovered Mr. Show with Bob and David in college and it became one of the things my friends and I quoted endlessly. Even though some of its episodes were nearly 10 years old, it was so different and so special, that it seemed something just for us. Seventeen years later (can you believe it?) Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are back with a vengeance in a short series that is sure to capture the same rogue comedic spirit. In the years since their landmark first run, Odenkirk has reached critical acclaim and an Emmy nomination for best actor in a drama series (for Breaking Bad) and Cross created one of the most lovable losers in sitcom history (in Arrested Development). Seeing their incredible success over the years makes W/ Bob and David even more interesting—now they are back to claim the throne in sketch comedy once more.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
Anna Karenina (Joe Wright, 2012)
Call Me Lucky (Bobcat Goldthwait, 2015)
Dear Jack (Joshua Morrisroe & Corey Moss, 2009)
Mala Mala (Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles, 2014)
The Wolfpack (Crystal Moselle, 2015)

Fandor

Araya (Margot Benacerraf, 1959)

One of the most beautiful documentaries ever made, Margot Benacerraf’s black-and-white study of Venezuelan salt mines is incredibly naturalistic and full of life. In a lot of ways, the film is a direct descendant of the Robert Flaherty school of filmmaking, as it takes an exotic location and simply watches daily processes. Araya is able to build a story out of many characters, however, and it does so very effectively—looking mostly at three generations of a family that all take on different jobs in the mine. The film effortlessly defines each in an anthropological way while maintaining their humanity. Also available now on Fandor is their newest Spotlight, called “The Auteurs,” which includes films from some of the greatest masters of film. Particular films available include The Conformist, Fitzcarraldo, Metropolis, The Turin Horse and The Beaches of Agnès.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
A Coffee in Berlin (Jan Ole Gerster, 2012)
Fire Over England (William Howard, 1937)
Forget Me Not (Zoltan Korda, 1936)
The Great McGonagall (Joseph McGrath, 1974)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (Harold Young, 1934)

MUBI

Red Road (Andrea Arnold, 2006)

Before Andrea Arnold found indie acclaim with her 2009 drama Fish Tank she made the compelling thriller Red Road. In the film, Kate Dickie stars a Jackie, a security camera operator who quietly goes about her work until she sees a man from her past show up on screen. This simple setup has received comparisons to the work of thriller masters Alfred Hitchcock and Michael Haneke, and while Red Road is smaller in scope, it delivers on tension. Arnold wonderfully blends in the cinematic realism that she has become known for, giving a unique feel to the usually slick genre. Interestingly, the film’s characters were conceived by filmmaker Lone Scherfig (An Education, The Riot Club) and adapted by Arnold, who wrote the screenplay. You can check out this female-driven thriller on MUBI until December 7.

Other titles new to MUBI this week:
Gigante (Adrián Biniez, 2009)
The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)
Lancaster, CA (Mike Ott, 2015)
The Little Deputy (Trevor Anderson, 2015)
Love and Anarchy (Lina Wertmüller, 1973)

Video On-Demand

Entertainment (Rick Alverson, 2015)

The recent spring of anti-comedy films has become one of the most bizarre movements in recent cinema. There has been successful and notable work from the genre’s key figures Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim and Canadian filmmaker Quentin Dupieux, but with Entertainment, Rick Alverson has set himself apart. Along with star Gregg Turkington, who plays a thinly veiled version of his comedic persona Neil Hamburger, Entertainment brings more dramatic stakes and pathos to the anti-comedy narrative. The film follows a stand-up comedian on a horrific tour through hotel lounges and dive bars across the American southwest. The unnamed comedian takes the Neil Hamburger act and replaces his alternative success with ridicule from audiences and overwhelming despair. It doesn’t try to be a character study, but you can’t help but probe into the character’s mind during the bombed performances and many quiet moments. Surrounding Turkington’s outstanding performance is a stellar and surprising supporting cast which includes John C. Riley, Tye Sheridan, Amy Seimetz and Michael Cera. For more opinions on Entertainment, check out of full review of this “dark, surreal road trip that brings out laughter and pain in [a] subversive, provocative anti-comedy.”

Other titles new to VOD this week:
Heist (Scott Mann, 2015)
Mr. Holmes (Bill Condon, 2015)
Shelter (Paul Bettany, 2014)
Tangerine (Sean Baker, 2015)
Terminator Genisys (Alan Taylor, 2015)

Ian McKellen and Bill Condon haven’t worked together in 17 years. In 1998, they made the excellent Gods and Monsters; now, they’re weaving a brand new tale about the world’s greatest detective in the wonderful Mr. Holmes. The craziest thing about this reunion is, McKellen plays an elderly crank confronting mortality in both movies. Talk about gas left in the tank. McKellen’s one of the finest actors working, and his performance as Sherlock Holmes is one of the crowning jewels of his late career.

Sherlock Holmes is as trendy and popular now as he’s ever been, and of the handful of actors who’ve embodied Mr. Holmes over the past several years, I’d dare to say McKellen is the best of the lot (not a knock on Cumberbatch; put down your pitchforks). The film, adapted from Mitch Cullin’s 2005 book A Slight Trick of the Mind, finds Holmes face-to-face with his greatest adversary: the merciless ticking hands of time. Holmes is defined by his intellect, after all, and erosion of the mind is one thing, tragically, that old folk like him simply can’t escape. Given this scenario, is there any choice other than the cerebral, soulful Sir McKellen to fill the 93-year-old detective’s shoes? No; his casting is as close to perfection as one could hope for.

The story is no less complex or enthralling than your classic Arthur Conan Doyle yarn, juggling three unique, parallel stories with vigor and precision. Sherlock may be in a self-reflective, somber state, but the film that frames him moves with energy and brisk forward momentum. The primary plot line takes place in 1947: Holmes is retired, fighting off Alzheimer’s in a countryside home in Sussex to live out his final days. He’s watched over by a widowed maid, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) and her bright (and nosy) 10-year-old son, Roger (Milo Parker). No longer inundated with deathly mysteries to unravel, Sherlock spends most of his time tending to his beloved bee colony, harvesting their honey and admiring the splendor of their well-oiled hierarchy.

There’s also a more curious connection between Sherlock and the bees, one that leads us to the film’s second narrative thread. They remind him of his final, unsolved case, which rattled him to the bone 30 years prior. In flashbacks to 1919 London, we learn how a troubled woman and a magical music instrument scarred him for life. Of the three tales, this one is vintage Holmes and will feel most familiar to diehards. The third story is the bizarre in the best way, as Holmes travels to Japan (again in flashback) in search of prickly ash, a plant with properties that may be the key to stopping his mind’s degradation. His guide is Mr. Umezaki (the terrific Hiroyuki Sanada), a devout fan of Sherlock’s who’s more than happy to aid him in his quest.

In an interesting deviation from canon, Sherlock is world-famous in very much the same way he is in our reality: his old friend Mr. Watson has written a popular series of mystery books based on their old cases, which have even spurned movie adaptations. A delightful scene sees Holmes watching one said film in a theater, chuckling and cringing at the absurdity of it all.

The central relationship between Sherlock and young Roger is the lifeblood of the film. The three plot lines are well-woven and involving, but these are the real stakes: Sherlock is hanging onto our world by a thread. He’s got no loved ones because he views all around him as pawns in his grand game of chess. With his best days seemingly behind him, a young boy reaches out a hand and offers him a final chance to live life with others, rather than in the presence of them. Sherlock’s always been almost-human, but there may be hope for him yet.

Parker is as key to the film as McKellen. He never panders, he isn’t concerned with being cute, and he’s got such a rage in his eyes that we fully understand why Sherlock is compelled to tame it. Roger’s fascination with the detective and his legacy drives a wedge between he and his mother, who he essentially treats like a peon. His resentment of her, and her consequent resentment of Sherlock creates a tense dynamic between the three leads, who breathe life into every carefully-penned, contemptuous line of dialogue (adapted from Cullin’s book by Jeffrey Hatcher).

Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr.’s more charismatic interpretations of Holmes fit their respective properties appropriately, but McKellen’s more pained, desperate version has almost bottomless depth. Much like Roger, you treasure every moment you’re with the old curmudgeon. Condon and Hatcher were just the men to bring this atypically humanistic vision of Sherlock Holmes from book to screen, and Mr. Holmes is a movie I’ll be itching to revisit for years.

Bill Condon’s Mr. Holmes, starring Sir Ian McKellen as an aging iteration of everyone’s favorite detective, is a classic Sherlock page-turner in movie form. And rightfully so: it’s based on Mitch Cullin‘s 2005 novel, A Slight Trick of the Mind, which follows Holmes in his twilight years in a countryside home, his mind deteriorating, as he’s cared for by a housekeeper (played in the film by Laura Linney) and her son, Roger (Milo Parker). In Roger he finds a companion with whom he can share his memories before they fade away. The film also follows two parallel, flashback stories: Holmes’ trip to see the mysterious Mr. Umezaki (Hiroyuki Sanada) in Japan in search for a cure for his mental condition, and a classic Sherlock mystery involving a troubled woman reeling following two failed pregnancies.

I spoke with screenwriter Jefferey Hatcher about his experience working on Mr. Holmes, which comes out tomorrow, July 17th.

Were you on set during filming?
Yeah, for a little bit. For about two weeks at the end.

What’s it like writing the script, not being on set all that much, and then seeing the final product?
The things you focus on are the things you were on-set for. You remember, “They did this 800 times. They kept knocking that thing over.” You tend to have reference points no audience member would have. I’m always amazed with how actors can work with so much focus on them. Dozens and dozens of people watching you do something terribly intimate. I’ve done a little acting myself, but that kind of intimacy with that audience…[pauses] It’s always amazing to think how they can focus and function.

Would it be more nerve-racking for you to do something on camera as opposed to on stage?
Oh yeah, in front of a camera. It’s the same way we feel when we see ourselves in photographs. Onstage, there’s always some distance. There’s a bit of a haze.

The lights…
Yeah, right. I remember reading something Cary Grant said: “Screen acting is very difficult because I’ve got a double chin.” He’d have to keep his head a certain way or they’d see his double chin. It’s like, really? You’re thinking about this? I wouldn’t want to see myself on the screen.

So it’s the proximity.
I think so. I think actors who don’t care about that stuff, or actors who don’t care about how you perceive them and know exactly how to present themselves, do well. To have to think [like a screen actor] is kind of amazing. But the theater allows you a little more distance, even if it’s a small house.

The lights help because you can’t see faces.
No one quite gets that. I get up onstage and deliver a soliloquy to the house, and it’s like, I can’t see any of you. I can see a couple faces in the first couple of rows.

And you can hear them messing with their peanut bags.
Especially in England. The Brits, more so than us, eat during shows.

It’s more of an English thing?
Yeah. You come back from intermission during Shakespeare, and they’re eating ice cream. [In a British accent] This is the theater of the Elizabethans!

I hadn’t read the book going into the film. I was expecting more of a meditative, slower-paced movie. I was surprised to find the momentum of the film so brisk and thrilling.
The book has those parallel stories, though they’re in different sequence. That was always there. The question was, how do you shuffle it? At one point we had him going to Japan later in the script, giving it its own section of the movie. But it felt like we spent too much time just in Japan that way, so we rearranged it and made it a flashback. That was dangerous at first glance, because we had two flashbacks going on. But I think it makes sense because each story is progressing in its own direction.

The classic Holmes tale is the one with the woman in the past. Then you’ve got the domestic, current tale. Then there’s the sort of oddball tale in Japan. Holmes was going to a place where rational thinking and reason had ended up with the atom bomb going off. It comes off much more strongly in the book, but I hope it comes off in the film as well. In a sense, that’s my favorite section because it’s so controlled and tight and neat. His relationship with Mr. Umezaki is so peculiar. I’m glad the movie feels like it’s moving forward all the time and it’s not a bunch of people sitting around, talking about death.

The cast is really good. The kid, Milo Parker—he’s gotten a lot of praise.
McKellen was attached when Bill said he wanted to do it. We talked about various actresses, but very quickly, Bill said, “What about Laura Linney?” Beyond that I don’t think I had any suggestions about other actors. I adore Roger Allam, who plays the doctor. He’s got a great, soupy kind of voice. He should play Christopher Hitchens in a biopic sometime. We knew the kid had to be someone who wasn’t the classic, adorable kid. There had to be a strangeness and a quiet about him.

There’s rage in him as well.
I’d never say this to him, but he’s got, like, thyroid eyes that really pop out at you.

His glare is killer.
Oh yeah. I like the fact that you kind of have to work to get to him, which is very much like Holmes. He’s not like, “Come! Love me!” When there’s distancing like that, it makes it even better when you do embrace. Laura Linney does things I can’t even imagine. She’s so honest, never less than completely truthful. Her rage is real, her tears are real. She makes what could be an unsympathetic character very sympathetic, just by virtue of being herself. She’s a wonderful actor.

I think the three main actors are incredibly generous to each other. No one tries to steal a scene.
Sometimes there are people who say, “I’m giving you this scene,” and then they go away. None of these actors do. Their presence is so key. It’s almost as if they say, “Even if I’m off-screen, the camera’s on me.” It’s good for the film because Holmes sees people as supporting characters in his life. It’s a world of interns and secretaries and drivers, not people you actually live with. What’s cool about the film is, bit by bit, he brings them into his level, whatever that may be.

What is Holmes’ greatest fear?
He famously says to Watson in one of the stories, “I am an intellect; the rest of me is mere appendage, “which is a line we couldn’t use because it’s cut off in that copyright thing. The idea that your intellect goes away means that everything goes away. Because Holmes is suffering some form of dementia, that kind of fear of not being able to remember things or think through a problem…[pauses] It’s not simply, “I’m having some befogged days.” My essence, my soul, is being eradicated. For a man who depends, thrives, finds sustenance in that kind of intellectual pursuit, you’re really left with only two outs: commit suicide or embrace someone. The embrace is the hardest thing, because it’s not based on intellect. He had Watson and Mrs. Hudson, but they never talked about it. Here’s an example where he actually has to say to someone, “Live with me. Stay with me.”

In the post-internet age, it’s becoming harder and harder to surprise modern audiences with mystery stories. Everyone’s savvy and trying to stay five steps ahead of the plot. How do you surprise them?
It’s wildly tricky. I can’t go see a thriller where I’m not trying to out-guess it. Having the experience of having something just flow over you and be surprised [is great]. I’m probably the last person in America who was surprised by the ending of The Sixth Sense. I’m like, “He’s dead?!” It was great to be surprised. When I do out-guess something, there’s a sort of “meh” quality to it. You’re right about that. You want to play fair with the audience. There’s a bit in the movie where Holmes explains to Ann Kelmot how he knows one thing versus the other. There are quick flashes. You want the audience to say, “Yes, we saw that. The filmmakers played fair with us. But we did not expect to see the things that Holmes picked up on.” It is very tricky. The hardest thing these days is knowing the audience can go back and forth simply by moving the cursor. Have you seen The Conversation?

Yeah.
Remember the beginning? “He’d kill us if he had the chance. He’d kill us if he had the chance.” Then, when he listens to it near the end, he hears, “He’d kill us if he had the chance.” If you were watching that in 1971, you’d say, “Oh, he heard it wrong.” But now, with DVDs, you can turn it back and say, “No, she doesn’t say it that way!” They didn’t expect a world where somebody would be able to do that, technically. Now it’s harder to cheat the audience and say that something happened when they can go back and check it. If you cheat like that, the audience gets really pissed off.

You just really hope to god that, when you do the revelation, the audience goes, “Gasp!” It’s okay, actually, if some of them say, “I knew it!” Audiences sometimes like to think they’re ahead a few minutes. That’s okay. To be ahead 30 minutes is bad. But a couple of minutes isn’t such a terrible thing. Sometimes the audience wants their suspicion confirmed. You always want to present options for the audience to consider. It’s the red herring thing. If they have one option to consider, that’s what they’ll pick. So you have to give them at least two options, stated or unstated. A friend of mine says, “If the answer is either A or B, the answer should be C.”

I think being genuinely surprised is one of the rarest joys at the movies these days.
The big one here that I think we’re all so pleased with is the difference between bees and wasps. We say it right at the beginning of the film. We show you close-ups, something getting plucked out of someone’s neck. And yet, at a certain point, I hope the audience forgets that difference in the same way the characters do. To me, that’s playing fair.

In Chinatown, there’s a part where Nicholson looks into this pool, and there’s this stuff glittering. He turns to this guy, who says, “Bad for glass! Bad for glass!” Of course, it sounds like it’s a joke because he can’t pronounce grass. But he is saying glass, and he’s looking at glasses. All through the film, Nicholson is opening drawers, and there are glasses there. When he fishes out the glasses at the end and realizes they’re John Huston’s, they never say, “Oh, of course. That was a pair of glasses.” But there are these clues everywhere. The audience goes, “Aw, geez. I should have picked up on what he did.”

I think the bees/wasps thing is poetic and artistic as well. It’s not just a juke.
Something Bill put in that I hadn’t realized was how many times McKellen passes between glass. You see him in reflections and in windows. It’s all this glass within glass within glass. Some of these things aren’t things you think about, but it’s almost like you’re exercising some poetic muscle, but not intentionally. I think if you’re doing it intentionally, you can tell.

What makes Sherlock Holmes so enduring as a character? Depending on what’s going on in society in culture at any given time, we view him in a new light.
You can always tell what era Holmes stories are from. For example, Basil Rathbone, during World War II, kind of imagined that you’d need a Holmes who’s not doubting himself much, who’s going to win all the time. Nicol Williamson is a coke freak in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. It makes sense that it’s the ’70s. Jeremy Brett is this sort of crazy, near psychopath in the ’80s ones. I tend to think [he endures] because Sherlock is so anchored in the Victorian, Edwardian world. He’s so defined: we know what he looks like, what he sounds like, what he thinks. But there’s also a sadness and emptiness to him. There’s something missing in him. [Arthur] Conan Doyle will refer to it, and sometimes it’s a joke, and sometimes it’s not. But it’s always there. That’s the crack actors, writers and directors get to fill.

Summer movies are typically thought of as billion-dollar budget shoot-em ups, exotic car chases, loud explosions, and the latest Michael Bay film (which usually has all of those). But summertime offers more than just mainstream blockbusters. There are plenty of independent films fresh off the festival circuit and ready for public consumption in the summer months.

We’ve compiled our most anticipated indie titles for you to watch this summer. So if you’re looking for a break from the next superhero sequel, try some of these.

Slow West

(May 15th)

The fact of the matter is, we’ll watch anything with Michael Fassbender. The actor has been unstoppable for the past several years, turning out one mesmerizing performance after another. Even more, Fassy is clearly a loyal guy, forging relationships with a handful of directors, which has in turn resulted in some incredible films (12 Years a Slave being the high water mark of his collaborations with Steve McQueen). Now he’s at it again with Slow West, this time with first-time feature director John Maclean (the pair teamed up for Maclean’s first two shorts, Man on a Motorcycle and the very fun Pitch Black Heist). Slow West, also written by Maclean, is an absurdist western that sees young Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee) on a journey across the American west chasing after the woman he loves and accompanied by the enigmatic Silas (Fassy). To boot: the film co-stars the always terrific Ben Mendelsohn playing the depraved baddy like only he can. The film popped up first at Sundance earlier this year where it took home the World Cinema Jury Prize for drama—another good sign. All of this piled on top of the ridiculous first trailer and the fact that both of Maclean’s shorts are rich—and mostly successful—experiments in mood and great showcases for the actors involved. Consider Slow West an intriguing alternative to the bonkers (Mad Max: Fury Road) and the bubbly (Pitch Perfect 2) on May 15th. [Gary]

Heaven Knows What

(May 29th)

Even when you get the opportunity to cover more than one festival in a year, there’s always going to be a movie (or two, or three..) that will inevitably elude you. This was the case with me, last year, during TIFF, where our very own Dustin watched and praised Heaven Knows What and its sensation of “never knowing what’s going to happen next that makes for a fixating film.” The story is distressingly bleak, following the life of heroin junkie Harley (Arielle Holmes) as she wanders through the drug-addled streets of NYC, making one poor decision after next. In all honesty, though, it’s the remarkable tale from behind the scenes that’s peaked my interest in this indie, directed by brothers Bennie and Joshua Safdie. It’s a case of subject matter choosing its creator, since the Safdies happened on Holmes, a former heroin junkie who used to be homeless, completely by chance. The story of Heaven Knows What is very much a semi-autobiographical account of Holmes’ experience. This blurring of the lines between fiction and real-life makes for an especially revealing and fascinating viewing experience, and with the buzz ringing throughout all of last year, my hopes are considerably high for this one. [Nik]

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

(June 12th)

After winning both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards during its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was one of the first 2015 films we put on our highly anticipated list. Writer Jesse Andrews adapted the screenplay from his own novel, telling the story of a teenage filmmaker forced to befriend a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer. As the two slowly form a friendship, the teenager decides to make a short-film about his dying friend, putting his classic film parodies on hold. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl sounds like a mashup between The Fault in Our Stars and Be Kind Rewind, taking a heartfelt young adult story (minus the cheesy stereotypes) and presenting it with unique stylistic flourishes and Criterion Collection references. Fox Searchlight quickly bought the rights for the film after premiering to standing ovations and glowing reviews from Sundance, and the studio plans to release the film on June 12th. Until then, we’ll attempt to contain our excitement and stock up on tissues. [Dustin]

Dope

(June 19th)

With the accolades it picked up at this year’s Sundance—including a lovely little bidding war for its distribution before finally landing with Open Road Films—and as it prepares to close out the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, Dope hardly needs any more festival love before it opens June 19 (though it will get one last send off to theatrical release at the LA Film Festival). This vibrant film, directed by Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood, Brown Sugar), looks like the cool geeky-gangster ‘90s throwback movie I didn’t know I was waiting for. Starring Shameik Moore as Malcolm, a high-schooler trying to get by, keep his grades up, and make it into Harvard while traversing his rough Compton neighborhood, the film looks fast paced and clever. Like John Hughes took the wrong exit off the freeway and landed in the hood. The misadventures of a black teen and his friends, navigating the drug scene with nerdy hilarity just sounds fresh. And since teen tales have been needing a revamp for a while, this one looks like it’s got the smarts, the laughs, and sure as heck has the beats. We can’t wait to watch—and buy the soundtrack. [Ananda]

Tangerine

(July 10th)

Ever since seeing Sean Baker’s Starlet, I’ve been anxiously anticipating what he would do next. Starlet, for those who don’t know, is an odd couple tale about a young porn star who befriends an old woman she meets at a garage sale. Everything about Starlet screamed bad Sundance movie to me: the unlikely pairing, the unconventional hidden secret (She’s a porn star! Shock!), and the inevitable bonding of both characters despite their differences. And yet, Starlet completely won me over. Yes, it’s clichéd, but Baker, working on a low budget, has two incredible lead performances, along with a screenplay that brought out a winning, human side to the story. It was also gorgeously shot, with a look that could only be described as Californian. Tangerine looks like an entirely different and more abrasive experience, following two transgender prostitutes around Los Angeles on Christmas Eve as one of them hunts down her cheating boyfriend/pimp. The red band trailer promises a film full of frantic energy, sun-kissed visuals (Baker remarkably shot the whole thing on an iPhone, and even on a low budget he still nails the California look) and an earnest, humanistic portrayal of its characters. This summer is bound to be filled with big budgets and high concepts, but I won’t be surprised if this lo-fi work turns out to be this season’s true stunner. [C.J.]

Irrational Man

(July 17th)

I found myself in the minority last year as I very much enjoyed Woody Allen’s mystical rom-com Magic in the Moonlight, which starred Emma Stone and Colin Firth as a pair of illusionists stripping away each others’ guises on the French Riviera in the 1920s. I was charmed; sue me. Irrational Man, Allen’s annual movie offering this summer, stars Stone yet again, this time partnering up with another older man (though the gap is a bit narrower this time), Joaquin Phoenix. It’s a mystery drama about an existentially tortured philosophy professor (Phoenix) who falls for one of his students (Stone), who may be lifesaver that keeps him from drowning in his sea of alcoholism and depression. I loved the ebullience of Magic in the Moonlight, but it’ll be nice to see Allen tackle more turbulent material. His last drama, Blue Jasmine, was a face-melting showcase of star Cate Blanchett’s raw talent; with Irrational Man, it may be Phoenix’s turn to wow us. [Bernard]

Mr. Holmes

(July 17th)

Sometimes there is just a perfect role for an actor. That’s what we have with Mr. Holmes, another vision of the master sleuth—this time aged and retired, and played by Sir Ian McKellen. It’s been easy to take the veteran actor for granted recently, with a majority of his recent credits as Gandalf or Magneto. Don’t get me wrong, he’s more than dependable in those roles, but I’m excited to see him put away the staff and helmet and do something a little different. Sherlock Holmes has always been a character with a lot to offer for a smart and reserved performer, and McKellen will no doubt bring grace and wisdom. I also like the idea of setting the character in a small-set film, allowing the appeal to be more about character work than mystery. Mr. Holmes also pairs McKellen back with director Bill Condon, who has also been recently wrapped up in a franchise. Their collaboration on Gods and Monsters was perhaps the best work of both men—Condon won an Oscar for his script, and McKellen received his first acting nomination. Mr. Holmes may be too small to get much notice from the Academy, but it might be their best shots in a long while. [Aaron]

Southpaw

(July 24th)

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal stung me with his performance in 2013’s Prisoners, then he put me on the ropes in 2014 with the one-two punch of Enemy and Nightcrawler. With that kind of prowess, why wouldn’t his next role be that of a boxer? In the upcoming sports drama Southpaw, Gylenhall plays Billy Hope, a champion fighter who has it all until tragedy strikes his family, sending his life into an uncontrollable spiral. Reduced to nothing, Billy seeks redemption and prepares for a comeback with the help of trainer Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker). Gyllenhaal’s past film-to-film character transformations have been tremendous, and whatever he does will have my interest, but here he takes “commitment to craft” to the next level, with a physical transformation for the ages. He looks like an absolute beast in the ring, and if the trailer is any indication, his emotional intensity will be just as fierce. While I’m not convinced direction from hit-or-miss Antoine Fuqua equates to an Oscar win for Gyllenhaal (Fuqua directed Denzel Washington to Oscar glory as another kind of beast in 2001’s Training Day), I am convinced the actor has more than a fighting chance thanks to a screenplay written by the guy who created TV’s Sons of Anarchy, Kurt Sutter. [Michael]

Unexpected

(July 24th)

Like several other films on this list, Kris Swanberg’s highest profile work yet, Unexpected, made its debut back in January at the Sundance Film Festival to a strong reception among critics and festivalgoers. The film stars Cobie Smulders as Samantha Abbott, a high school teacher in Chicago who discovers she is pregnant around the same time she finds out Jasmine, a student of hers played by Gail Bean, is also facing an unplanned pregnancy. In focusing on the friendship that forms between the two as they face a similar (and at times wildly different) situation, Swanberg has delivered a film that seems to have impressed a lot of people back in Park City, Utah. Hopefully this film (along with Andrew Bujalski’s Results) can also serve as a breakout towards many more interesting roles for Smulders, who has always shown a lot of potential but has until recently been mostly wasted on How I Met Your Mother and as Maria Hill, the most thankless role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unexpected also stars Anders Holm (Workaholics) and Elizabeth McGovern (Once Upon A Time in America), it is set to be released on July 24th. [Ryan]

The End of the Tour

(July 31st)

It’s easy to understand why a large portion of film journalists have responded so enthusiastically to The End of the Tour since the movie premiered at Sundance. Based on Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky’s book, this drama recounts the time Lipsky (here played by Jesse Eisenberg) spent interviewing the late author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel, in a performance several have already deemed “transformative”) during Wallace’s book tour for his iconic release “Infinite Jest.” Maybe that prospect of a writer interviewing a writer about writing holds a greater cachet if you’re already a Way Too Indie interviewer; however, considering that The End of the Tour comes from director James Ponsoldt, the movie’s qualities should appeal more broadly. Ponsoldt’s last two films, Smashed and its spiritual prequel The Spectacular Now, feature characters in varying levels of crisis struggling to articulate their true feelings. Tour has already been labeled “dialogue-heavy,” and Ponsoldt’s ability to steer scenes around natural yet increasingly tense conversations should serve Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel particularly well. An opportunity to hear Eisenberg and Segel exchange bits of introspective self-analysis could turn into a surprisingly poignant summer diversion. [Zach]

Sinister 2

(August 21th)

Any time a sequel is announced to a movie where all of the main characters were killed off at the end, you have to wonder what direction the filmmakers are going to venture in with the follow up. With Sinister 2, co-writers Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill seem to be giving fans of the original exactly what they asked for. The highly-anticipated sequel will bring the original film’s comic relief character, fan favorite Deputy So & So (James Ransone), to the frontlines alongside series newcomer Shannyn Sossamon. Though Scott Derrickson isn’t returning to the director’s chair, his replacement is no slouch, and should be a familiar name to genre diehards. Director Ciaran Foy previously tackled a movie with lots of creepy children in 2012’s Citadel, so while he may have some pretty big shoes to fill, Foy may very well be the right man for the job. While it’s doubtful that Sinister 2 will sweep the Oscars, it looks to be a fun, creepy follow-up to one of the best wide-release horror films to come along in the past few years. [Blair]

Mr. Holmes

Ian McKellen and director Bill Condon collaborate for the first time since 1998’s Gods and Monsters to offer their talents to the long-running Sherlock Holmes franchise with Mr. Holmes. McKellen plays the detective at an advanced age facing his greatest enemy of all: time. Resigned to a countryside cottage where a housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her aspiring sleuth son (Milo Parker), Holmes looks back on his life as his mind—his greatest treasure—begins to fade. He can only remember fragments of an unsolved case involving a mysterious woman, which haunts him every day.

Split into three narrative threads, Mr. Holmes is the cinematic equivalent of a juicy page-turner (it’s based on a 2005 novel by Mitch Cullin). Condon darts from mystery to the another moments before we uncover a tantalizing clue, resulting in a terrific sense of narrative propulsion one wouldn’t expect to find in a movie about such meditative subject matter. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing an elderly Mr. Holmes once you’ve seen McKellen work, which is no big surprise; what it a surprise is how close Linney and Parker come to stealing the show.

Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine

Coming off the controversial success of Going Clear, Alex Gibney and his research and production machine dissect the career of Steve Jobs, a man whose work people fell in love with, but whose temperament was often notoriously nasty. Delving into the private life of the deceased visionary as he built what would become the great tech empire of the century, the film thoroughly outlines Jobs’ accomplishments and influence, mostly to set the stage for its real goal. Jobs’ unsavory, vaguely monstrous approach to both his personal relationships and business dealings have been well documented before, but Gibney and his team explore the disagreeable side of Jobs’ character more comprehensively than any other piece of media to date.

The issue with the film is its scope: It simply tries to cover too many topics and dates and pivotal events and facets of Jobs as a man. Information piles up so quickly that by the end of the film I was struggling to remember what happened in the first half. The more incisive final act of the film, which exposes controversies like Apple’s employee-less foreign operations company in Ireland (where income taxes are more manageable than in the states), is the highlight, and a film more focused on these kind of indictments may have been more intriguing.

Saint Laurent

In Saint Laurent, Bertrand Bonello (House of Tolerance) casts Gaspard Ulliel as Yves Saint Laurent to explore the French designer’s peak years, from 1967 to 1976. If it were acceptable to issue difficulty levels to movies, I’d give this one a nine: its plot is about as graspable as a puddle of spilt champagne. What we see is essentially a free-form sequence of moments, whose significance is often more than elusive. Cinematically, though, almost everything looks interesting, if not flat-out brilliant. The colors pop, the costumes are breathtaking, and the staging is off-putting, in a way. A notable moment when Ulliel smiles directly into the camera, for instance, sends chills down your spine.

The movie’s length (150 minutes) is, by far, the biggest barrier to entry. Bonello is in super-stylized, artsy mode throughout, and that means some sections are glacial and abstract and only pay dividends after you’ve left the theater; whether or not this is a good thing depends entirely on your taste. As a portrait of a man, Saint Laurent is surprisingly unflattering, and that’s a good thing, an eschewing of the hagiography cliché.

Sherlock Holmes is a character that people (at least filmmakers) can’t seem to get enough of. He’s everywhere these days, on big screen and on television. And while those movies and shows vary widely in their scope and story, one thing they all have in common is that the detective they depict is in his prime. But all that is set to change with this summer’s Mr. Holmes.

Mr. Holmes looks to focus on the super sleuth in his twilight years as he spends his days tending to his bees, alone but for the company of his housekeeper and her young son, Roger. Before long Roger and Holmes team up as they revisit the circumstances of his final unsolved case, all while Holmes grapples one last time with the mysteries of life and love.

The great Ian McKellen takes up the lead role in the Bill Condon directed film (hopefully more Dreamgirls than Twilight), and was written by Jeffrey Hatcher. The film premiered at Berlin 2015 to a hefty heap of praise and the official trailer shows off some incredible cinematography, so it’s safe to safe we’re excited for this one.

Check out Mr. Holmes on July 17th.

Mr. Holmes Official Trailer

It was announced today that the 58th annual San Francisco International Film Festival will play host to the US premiere of Bill Condon‘s Mr. Holmes, a fresh take on Sherlock Holmes that sees Sir Ian McKellen playing the famous detective. The film marks Condon (Kinsey, The Fifth Estate) and McKellen’s first collaboration since 1998’s Gods and Monsters and also stars Laura Linney and newcomer Milo Parker. SFIFF takes place from April 23rd to May 7th, with Mr. Holmes screening as a Marquee Presentation on Saturday, April 25th, 12:30 pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.

From the press release:

“We’re thrilled to have Bill Condon’s smart, elegant and moving take on the legendary detective as a Marquee Presentation at the Festival, “ said SFFS Director of Programming Rachel Rosen. “I know our audiences will appreciate the film’s stylish direction and stellar performances, led by the incomparable Ian McKellen.”

McKellen reunites with Gods and Monsters (1998) director Bill Condon for Mr. Holmes, a new twist on the world’s most famous detective.   1947, an aging Sherlock Holmes returns from a journey to Japan, where, in search of a rare plant with powerful restorative qualities, he has witnessed the devastation of nuclear warfare.  Now, in his remote seaside farmhouse, Holmes faces the end of his days tending to his bees, with only the company of his housekeeper and her young son, Roger.  Grappling with the diminishing powers of his mind, Holmes comes to rely upon the boy as he revisits the circumstances of the unsolved case that forced him into retirement, and searches for answers to the mysteries of life and love – before it’s too late.

Loosely adapted from Mitch Cullin’s novel A Slight Trick of the Mind and featuring precise attention to period detail and the visual splendor of the English countryside, Mr. Holmes stands proudly along the other indelible portraits of the unforgettable man who lived at 221B Baker Street.

Britain has its share of heroes and legends and Mr. Holmes sees two of them finally come together: the extraordinary Ian McKellen and super sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

The twist of premise in Mr. Holmes (because there has to be a twist with how many adaptations are currently going on) is that Sherlock (McKellen) has survived into his twilight years and finally retired to a small village to live the life of a beekeeper (we’re asked to ignore how many times Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle actually killed him off). And while most renderings prefer to focus on more action packed stories of the private detective, Bill Condon‘s film sees Sherlock keeps to himself, wrestle with the mythologic status that his name has taken on, and undertake one final adventure.

Sherlock Holmes movies seem to be a genre all their own these days. So the question is, can Mr. Holmes separate itself enough from the pack (Sherlock, Elementary, the RDJ/Guy Richie films) to really shine? Condon’s record of late hasn’t been stellar (The Fifth Estate, and not one, but two Twilight movies), but McKellen always turns in a captivating performance, and the reviews out of Berlin seem startlingly good. Not to mention the cinematography by Tobias A. Schliessler (Lone Surviver) looks absolutely gorgeous.

Mr. Holmes trailer