This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
New Movie Friday: Danielson Doc, Dead Hookers, Depraved Psychos & Cute Orphans
Danielson: A Family Movie (or Make a Joyful Noise Here) - A music documentary about oddball indie/pop/folk band the Danielson Famile. The film features appearances by Daniel Johnston and Steve Albini, as well as a young Sufjan Stevens, who was mentored by the band's "patriarch," Daniel Smith, and whose success would soon grow to outshine that of the Danielson Famile.
The Dead Girl - Writer-director Karen Moncrieff (Blue Car) weaves together five seemingly unrelated stories that reveal the circumstances surrounding the death of a young prostitute (Brittany Murphy). The ensemble cast includes Toni Collette, Marcia Gay Harden, Piper Laurie and Rose Byrne.
The Hitcher - Remake of the 1986 horror film, this time starring Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton as a college couple stalked and terrorized by an evil hitchhiker (Sean Bean). Who knows? It might be sweet and quaint to recall a time when people actually picked up hitchhikers.
The Italian - Russian drama about a six-year-old boy who is on the verge of being adopted by an Italian couple but decides to run away and search for his mother.