It’s time to consider some features.

Hen

György Pálfi may be one of Hungary’s best working filmmakers — his early features Hukkle (2002) and Taxidermia (2006) were selected as Hungary’s Oscars submissions — but the director has now shifted to making films in Greece over political disagreement with the Hungarian National Film Institute. And now he’s making films for the birds. Hen occupies a bird’s-eye view of a Greek crime story. The bird is not the subject but the perspective and framing device. What initially plays as live-action Chicken Run (2000), tonally flies the coop, as the vividly colorful animal focus gives way to the crushed humanity of human trafficking amidst Europe’s migrant crisis. Given the experimental perspective, the tonal whiplash becomes harder to track, because even the perspective is a challenge, and so it begins to feel like Pálfi’s seriousness is at odds with his own cute artistic instincts. The ambition runs a bit hotter than the execution. We may spend the prime text of the film wishing it were simply a quirky animal movie. But find yourself a Hen who can do both.

Edie Arnold is a Loser

Just as authentically punk as it is funny and highly watchable, Edie Arnold Is a Loser is a comedy like what was being made decades ago repackaged with a smart, youthful ethos, and charismatic musical interests. Such a fun watch that will go criminally under the radar but deserves to find its audience and on the strength of its material, absolutely will, eventually. You can’t make movies this funny without whoever needs it finding it and getting equally entertained and healed by the material. A festival winner that is so easy to endorse.

The Furious

Kenji Tanigaki‘s The Furious takes a strong foothold as the early best action film of the year with expert choreography, exciting action concepts, and well-sold Martial Arts. Also, it’s an absolute blast and moves. Upon closer review, very likely also one of the year’s best movies of any sort, likely to be added to Action Canon lists, especially for this era, for the foreseeable future. A success story where everything goes right and cleanly legible action and exciting filmmaking are the rightful claims to whether or not a movie works. Thrilling stuff.

Obsession

A monkey’s paw scenario — inspired by… The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror segment — Obsession announces the arrival of a new wave of horror filmmakers. The proof is in the box office. Made for less than a million and profiting massively, over a hundred times over, Obsession is undeniable in that it’s found an audience. Whether the characters are distinctly likable or if there’s anyone to care for is another thing. It’s conceptually fun stuff decently executed, with some standout creepy scenes, and an audience that tells you everything you need to know: Barker will be making horror movies for a long time and shaping the future of the genre industry.

Assets & Liabilities

Local (Tacoma) filmmaker Zach Weintraub crafts a clever premise which is stretched wide so that it only lands near the end of the runtime. The anti-landlord story eventually finds its footing late but in the meantime is a pleasant, weird hang, about a Dad who is lost in middle-age, tries to connect with his youth, and ends up cursing himself, a strange concept movie that feels like a long short film idea, although what’s there works well enough, and has local production of note.

The Restoration at Grayson Manor

Oops! All Camp! Glenn McQuaid‘s The Restoration at Grayson Manor spends its energy on being bizarre and a fun little aside in LGBTQIA+ horror. Doesn’t pull any punches or do much else but its camp as anything and there is a small delight in its unrestrained laissez-faire attitude. If the filmmakers took a hands-off approach to its design, the character also soon takes a hands-off approach, on account of having a detachable hand that does what it wants. Then what?, is a fair question, but that’s about the shape of it.

Heel

Heel may have a curious idea about substance rehabilitation but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. In fact, it’s shocking, in that it fully endorses the inhumane treatment and subjugation of the addict. If we could just round folks up and force them to get well, maybe rehab would have better success, says the movie that needs its own AlAnon program. Unfortunately addiction recovery is not that easy. When you love someone through it who is close to you, then you find out, abuse is not a solution to a disease. You might expect better from Jan Komasa, director of Corpus Christi, but you do not get better this time.