Past Masters

A rich repertory selection saves the year for cinephiles

Comments (0) By Joshua Land Tuesday, Aug 29 2006

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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Directed by Larry Charles
20th Century Fox, November 3

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has brought his television creations to the big screen before (2002's Ali G Indahouse) but Borat marks the first time he's brought his proven formula—uncomfortable interviews with real people unaware they are part of an elaborate joke-—with them. The trailer promises Kazakhstanian shenanigans in the classic Borat mold including a horrific rendition of the National Anthem in front of a hostile rodeo crowd. MS

photo: Photofest/courtesy of Museum of the Moving Image.

Out 1: Spectre (1972) Directed by Jacques Rivette Shown: Juliet Berto

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See also:

Hip-Hop's New No Wave
Downtown's odd relationship with rap bravado continues this fall�now with Muppet costumes
by Zach Baron

Crossover Alley
Krazy Kat and Vegetable Sex to greet the fall season
by R.C. Baker

Festival Frenzy
Try a little of everything at fall dance smorgasbords
by Elizabeth Zimmer

Hope Floats
Wet hot American bummer: Chris Adrian's post-flood Magic Mountain
by Phyllis Fong

Early RSVP
Wedding bells are ringing for Rudnick and his glittery cast
by Michael Feingold

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For Your Consideration
Directed by Christopher Guest
Warner Independent, November 17

After skewering rock stars, dog shows, and small-town theatrical impresarios, Christopher Guest and his band of improvisers turn their sights on the biggest target of all: the Academy Awards. Admittedly, after last year's Oscars, which included an interpretative dance of Crash's sexual molestation scene, no parody could be funnier than the real thing. MS

Tenacious D in "The Pick of Destiny"
Directed by Liam Lynch
New Line, November 17

As Will Ferrell has Adam McKay, Jack Black has Kyle Gass—unsung partners who wring the most inventive work out of their superstar brethren. So the long-gestating D film (hatched in '04) should be an unhinged aria of Sasquatch jokes, Ronnie James Dio homages, and maniacal mugging. RES

The Good German
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Warner Brothers, December 8

They brought you Out of Sight, the Ocean's series, and the much-maligned Solaris. With their fifth collaboration as director and star, Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney tell the story of an American journalist (Clooney) thrown into the middle of a Graham Greene–style murder mystery in post-WWII Germany. MS

Children of Men
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Universal, December 25

Alfonso Cuarón, bulging with Harry Potter grosses, goes big again by adapting P.D. James's dystopia of worldwide infertility. Even the testosterone-rich Clive Owen can't will that blue line into existence. A burnt-out Michael Caine eases his masculine hurt until there's a miraculous conception that could save humanity. RES

Pan's Labyrinth
Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro
Picturehouse, December 29

Set in the same supernatural Spanish Civil War rubble as Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth further mines the fascism-as-horror vein. A young girl discovers a destiny-dealing satyr at the heart of a labyrinth behind her house—offering an escape from her repressive family life. RES