Harry, your hands are freezing.
Cold Weather
Bundle up for indie auteur Aaron Katz’s sibling-relationship drama/mystery thriller, which debuted at last year’s SXSW fest. Forensic science student (and Sherlock Holmes die-hard) Doug ditches college in Chicago to move to Portland, shack up with his sister, and work a dead-end job at an ice factory. A run-in with his ex followed by her disappearance thaws his once-quieted principles of detection.
It’s like: Brick meets Dance Party, USA.
Take: A warm body.
Premieres: Today
Cedar Rapids
A movie about the Iowa city, filmed outside of Iowa — irony matched by Miguel Arteta’s (Youth in Revolt) 2011 Sundance laugh riot. Drawing inspiration from comedic genius Alexander Payne, Arteta details the coming-of-age story belonging to insurance agent Tim Lippe (Ed Helms). Having never flown, stayed at a hotel, or even been outside his hometown, Tim’s sent to Cedar Rapids for a convention. Middle-aged naivete coupled with John C. Reilly’s inebriated brutish behavior — we’ll drink to that.
It’s like: The Office on a bender.
Take: Your happy hour crew.
Premieres: February 11
Putty Hill
A disheveled suburb of Baltimore sets the backdrop for writer/director Matt Porterfield’s recycled-Metal Gods feature, which hit home with 2010’s Berlinale and SXSW attendees. In it, a reclusive teen dies from heroine addiction, in turn uniting a fractured community. Rather than sensationalizing, Porterfield draws sympathy through his fiction-meets-documentary style. The film, shot in just twelve days, poses the question: When one puts no value on life, why should death be any less meaningless? Too deep?
It’s like: American Teen meets The United States of Leland.
Take: Your neighbors.
Premieres: February 18
Flip through the rest of February’s must-see cinema.
Photos: Courtesy of IFC Films; Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures; Andrew Laumann / Courtesy of Puttyhillmovie.com
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