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Weekend Movie Guide 07/08: Bowie 'Fell to Earth', Bateman Fells 'Horrible Bosses'
The Man Who Fell To Earth courtesy Rialto Pictures
David Bowie built a musical career on outsider personas like Ziggy Stardust & Aladdin Sane. In The Man Who Fell to Earth, his first starring role, he's literally from another planet. Rialto Pictures celebrates the film's 35th anniversary with a director's cut opening exclusively at the Nuart.
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a haunting meditation on physical encounters & spiritual weakness. Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) seeks to help his homeworld by bringing our water to a dying desert planet. To accomplish this, he acquires patents for his advanced technology so he can obtain industrial resources. Overwhelmed with newfound wealth & influence, he becomes enveloped in his earthly experiences, from carnal pleasures to betrayal. Newton's glassy eyes are cold & disconnected, a poignant reflection of Bowie's real life addiction & alienation.
While it's undoubtedly Bowie's movie, he isn't the only one to credit for The Man Who Fell to Earth. Supporting cast includes character actors Rip Torn (the Men In Black films & a zillion others), Candy Clark (American Graffiti) & Buck Henry (who also wrote The Graduate). Behind the camera, director Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout) imbues desolation with beauty. Call it acid sci-fi. Buck Henry will host tomorrow night's 8:30PM show, while Candy Clark is coming to introduce Monday's 8:30PM show.
Horrible Bosses has little interest in the human condition. Unless that condition is working with a self-obsessed psycho, a sex-obsessed siren, or a combover-obsessed cretin. The wicked workplace comedy pits bumbling beheaders Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) & Jason Sudekis (Saturday Night Live) against bad bosses Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston (freshly cemented) & Colin Farrell. Jamie Foxx rounds out the killer cast as an assassination consultant. Seth Gordon (King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters) directs the dark comedy, with Rush Hour co-producers Brett Ratner & Jay Stern on board.
Are you a more adventurous film-goer? Then check out our weekly guide to the best of LA's repertory theaters, exclusive screenings & midnight movies. This week we have special coverage of a Robert Mitchum retrospective & exclusive preview events with Errol Morris & George Ratliff.
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Wide Release
Horrible Bosses (Reviews) (Showtimes)
The Zookeeper (Reviews) (Showtimes)
Limited Release
Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap (Reviews) (Laemmle's Fallbrook 7)
The Chameleon (Reviews) (Laemmle's Fallbrook 7) (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Crime After Crime (Reviews) (Laemmle's Sunset 5) (Laemmle's Town Center 5)
The Ledge (Reviews) (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Reviews) (Nuart Theatre)
Position Among the Stars (Reviews) (Laemmle's Fallbrook 7)
Trigun: Badlands Rumble (Reviews) (Downtown Independent)
That's all for this week (& next too - short vacation). See you at the movies!
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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