
If you ask somebody about the war films they’ve seen, the first titles that come to mind are usually large-scale epics that feature scenes of combat and violence. These films effectively depict the horrors of war. However, the level of action in some of these films can be distracting and compromise our emotional involvement with the characters once we see how quickly they can vanish, and the level of violence that can occur.

Chilean Filmmaker Pablo Larraín never mentioned the word Trilogy when he embarked on creating Tony Manero (2008), Post Mortem (2010) and No (2012), however, these three films do act as part of a whole: Larraín’s vision regarding Pinochet’s military coup of 1973 and the ensuing dictatorship. Tony Manero and Post Mortem are both grim parables of folks stuck in a moral stupor, wandering the streets of a Chile that no longer knows itself, that silently witnesses the arrest and disappearance of hundreds of people every day, violence and torture a common thing and a convenient shroud for the crimes of civilians.

A predominantly accelerated 15-year-old called William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is embarrassingly out of sync with his snarling high-school mates. His mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) is an English teacher who worries about William’s influences and invites rowdy laughter from his classmates when she shouts, “Don’t take drugs!” to him while dropping him off.

What do Fleetwood Mac, surgical mutilation and a delightfully chubby Haley Joel Osment have in common? Along with a recurring erotic nightmare of mine, Kevin Smith’s new film Tusk. Based on an episode of Smith’s long-running “SModcast,” Tusk tells the story of podcaster Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) who embarks into Manitoba on a quest for new material.

What I love about Martin Scorsese is that he is a filmmaker who loves movies. Over the years his personality has taken on new dimensions as a film historian as well as a director. The movies he’s restored through his non-profit Film Foundation company has brought tons of movies that would have either gone unseen, or deteriorated without his restoration projects.

Every Monday Film Inquiry publishes the movies that are opening in cinemas! This week, another eight movies are opening: The Maze Runner, Tusk, The Guest, The Zero Theorem, This Is Where I Leave You, A Walk Among The Tombstones, Tracks and Hector And The Search For Happiness Note that these are based on the opening dates in the United States.