USA - 83 minutes Writer/Director: Gillian Robespierre Executive Producer: Stefan Nowicki, Michael Sackler, Julia Godzinskaya, Sophie Vickers, Brent Stiefel, Jenny Slate, David Kaplan, Gillian Robespierre Producer: Elisabeth Holm Cinematographer: Chris Teague Editor: Casey Brooks Production Designer: Sara K White Sound Designer: Mark Corbin Music: Chris Bordeaux Cast: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, Gabe Liedman, David Cross, Polly Draper, Richard Kind
"Obvious Child" is an honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) gets dumped, fired and pregnant just in time for the worst/best Valentine's Day of her life. Forever nudged by her parents to make better choices, Donna's forced to do just that when a one-night stand leads to a difficult decision that does and does not define the rest of her life. Though confident in her choice, Donna must gain the confidence to believe in her talent, herself, and the best in those around her, especially one surprisingly decent guy who just might make this the worst/best Valentine's Day ever.
USA - 97 minutes Writer/Director: Ron Judkins Cinematographer: Tari Segal Executive Producer: Clark Freeman Producer: Judy Korin, Jennifer Young Cast: Michael O'Keefe, Catherine Dent, Blake Bashoff, Julie Mond, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ryan Alosio, Mike Genovese
FINDING NEIGHBORS is a comedic drama about three sets of Los Angeles neighbors searching for true connection. Six months late on a book delivery, stay-at-home graphic novelist Sam Tucker (Michael O'Keefe) has succumbed to a full-on mid-life and creative crisis. Between ice cream, television and a severe case of writer's block, Sam mourns the loss of his youthful inspiration. After his stellar early success and the subsequent failure of his last project, Sam has become unable to move forward. Sherrie (Julie Mond), the provocative girl-next-door, offers him an easy and willing distraction. But it is Sam's budding friendship with another neighbor, Jeff (Blake Bashoff), which helps him begin to reconnect with his creative thread. After a ridiculous misunderstanding, the men start to spend time together. Their playful and unlikely camaraderie frees each of them from the weight of their pasts. But Sam reveals nothing of this to his wife Mary (Catherine Dent). And as he begins to change, she becomes increasingly suspicious about what is actually going on in the neighborhood. While searching for clues, Mary's anxieties take an abrupt new turn. Understandably hurt that Sam has become emotionally intimate with someone other than herself, she's doubly confused by the discovery that Sam's 'someone else' is a man. As Sam begins to recapture his creative fire, he may be losing the one thing he has never doubted: his marriage.
USA - 89 minutes Director: Thomas Beatty, Rebecca Fishman Writer: Thomas Beatty Cinematographer: Aaron Kovalchik Executive Producer: Karina Miller Cast: Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Knighton, David Krumholtz, Melanie Lynskey, Ahna O'Reilly, Jason Ritter, Dale Dickey, French Stewart, Ned Beatty
ANDREW'S mom has just died of horrible cancer. He's a mess. His trusted friends take him on a week's escape to the Southern California desert in an effort to shake him out of his grief. Then he drops a bomb on them. Andrew truly believes the only way to combat the huge hole in his heart is with an overwhelming act of kindness, intimacy, and yeah-- 'making love with the women I care about most.' His friends are baffled by the request and frankly, pissed. And what about his longtime girlfriend HANNAH? She's always one to put others' needs above her own, but Andrew's new idea of a 'healing process' has left her right on the edge of sanity. There are other complicating factors as well. Andrew's beer-swigging best friend DAVE popped the question to his girlfriend ZOE before their arrival in the desert. No one else knows and Zoe has yet to give him an answer. Also, Zoe happens to be the newest and, well, hottest member of the group and the whole orgy thing makes her just want to leave. Then there's OWEN and EMILY, perfect on the outside, shitshow on the inside. The incredulity and sweetness that first drew Owen to Emily now bores him, and as the tension in the house mounts, his eye wanders to Emily's best friend, Hannah. Also there's the fact that Emily is kind of considering Andrew's request, which makes Owen's head explode. The thing about being best friends is that you stick by your people--and when reasoning doesn't work, you hire your best friend some dirty desert prostitutes. When that doesn't work and your friend runs off into the desert night--well, then you're pretty much screwed. That's when you actually have to answer the question--how far would you go for a friend? The backdrop to this adventure is the ever-present desert--a harsh, vast environment, filled with things you don't want to sit on, and people you don't want to sit with. There's RICH, the crazy man who rents them the house; OLD MAN CARL, who's wandering the desert looking for his dog; LORIE, a drunk at a bar with whom Andrew finds some kinship; and GROUSLY, a mangy old dog who becomes Andrew's best friend and later, the catalyst for his breakdown. No one can hide in the desert. Whatever trouble you bring with you will be exposed to the sun. Andrew wears his pain on his sleeve; everyone else thinks they can hide theirs under their clothes. But the desert won't have it, and neither will Andrew.
USA - 95 minutes Director: Andrew Putschoegl Writer: Andrea Grano, Tara Karsian Cinematographer: Andrew Huebscher Producer: Tara Karsian, Andrea Grano, Andrew Putschoegl Cast: Andrea Grano, Tara Karsian, Sean Maher, Sigrid Thornton, Russell Sams, Patrick O'Connor, Jenny O'Hara, Richard Moll, Larisa Oleynik, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Molly Hagan, Dan Gauthier, Eric Lively, Pat Carroll, Kathy Grano
Kat and Samantha have been best friends for years. Kat is given a couple's weekend workshop as a birthday gift by her mother (never mind that her relationship with her ex has been over for six months). Samantha never seems to have a problem finding men to date - they just never seem to last. Samantha convinces Kat to take advantage of the idyllic retreat by pretending to be lovers - how hard could it be? They expect some down time by the pool and maybe a few good stories to bring home with them. What they don't expect is to get immersed in a world where they are surrounded by lovable couples who are fighting to keep their relationships strong, and by default, make Samantha and Kat face their own shortcomings. They find themselves having to work on their relationship that isn't really a relationship. During an intense few days, they find the lines between reality and fiction start to blur, and before they know it, they are acting like a real couple. Could it be there is really something there, or has the 'Closer to Closeness' weekend just worked a Jedi mind trick on them?
USA – 90 minutes Rated R for some strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language
Director: Denis Villeneuve Writer: Javier Gullón Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini, Stephen R. Hart, Jane Moffat
www.imdb.com/title/tt2316411
A man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
Set on the outskirts of the U.S. Civil War, The Retrieval follows a fatherless 13 year-old boy sent north by his bounty hunter gang on a dangerous mission to retrieve a wanted man. During their journey towards the unwitting wanted man's reckoning, the initially distant pair develops unexpected emotional bonds. As his feelings grow, the boy is consumed by conflicting emotions and a gut-wrenching ultimate decision.
A disillusioned architect and his distant father come together after many years, but when a woman from the past resurfaces, old wounds threaten to break their new found relationship.
Druid Peak is a coming of age story about a troubled teenage boy who finds his place in the world tracking wolves in the wild lands of Wyoming.
Sixteen year‐old Owen Wagner isn't just rebellious‐‐ he's a bully with a mean streak. Growing up in coal country West Virginia, he struggles against the claustrophobia of small town life and the displacement he feels as the only child of his mother's first marriage. With anger he can't contain, he lashes out against school and family. But when his actions lead to the accidental death of a friend, his mother decides the only way to save him is to send him away. Owen is shipped off to live with his father, Everett Gordon, a biologist working on Yellowstone's wolf reintroduction program. At first, Owen wants no part of this new life. But on a failed attempt to escape the park, he has his first encounter with a Canadian gray wolf. The creature's deep, penetrating gaze startles him‐‐ stirring something long dead inside his own self.
Sensing the first signs of change in his son, Everett encourages Owen to collect some basic data about the wolf he saw and its family pack‐‐ the Druid Peak pack. Owen's small assignment grows into a passion and his own life becomes deeply tied to the Druid Peak wolves and their struggle for survival. When a change in government policy threatens the animals, Owen must decide how far he will go to protect the wolves, his father, and the place he has finally come to call home.
USA - 90 minutes Director: Rajeev Nirmalakhandan Writer: Jason Ronstadt, Rajeev Nirmalakhandan Cinematographer: Matt Wilson Executive Producer: Victor Kearney Producer: Peter Touche, Patrick Nelson Cast: Chris Marquette, Rumer Willis, Brendan Sexton, Veronica Cartwright, Bruce Altman
The oddest couple takes an unforgettable journey through the American Southwest, finding happiness in the unlikeliest of places, seeing in each other what no one else has seen before. Maya is a tough, jaded, firecracker of woman who is a product of a neglected childhood and the abuses and excesses of Los Angeles. When her life comes close to fracture, she catapults herself as far from her old life as possible. She blindly hits the road on an uncharted course. When her car breaks down in a no-where town in New Mexico, her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Duncan. Duncan is a hermit from this sleepy speck of a town, alienated from the world physically and socially. He is a slave to his routines and obsessions of order and pattern. He keeps to himself, unable to conjure the appropriate impulses for building social relationships and content with his lonely existence. He is obsessed with map-making, his wristwatch keeping his every move planned down to the second. He knows the world schematically and from the stories of the people who pass through his gas station where he works. He has not ventured more than five miles from his grandmother's house, with whom he lives. He blissfully lives in the back of an old delivery truck parked in her driveway. He doesn't understand metaphors or sarcasm. Duncan is a literal man who carries a wisdom about the world that no one has seen till now.When Maya ends up in this small town and steals a truck, she has no idea that she has stolen Duncan's home. Maya's combative personality relents when Duncan's aloofness and gentleness sparks her curiosity. Suddenly, the two end up on the road together and Maya begins to understand that Duncan sees the world the way a child might see a bedtime story.Their journey together is filled with wondrous moments of discovery and humor. Maya learns what it feels like to care for someone else and Duncan sees the world for the first time. Maya tries to unite Duncan with his biological father, but when she discovers that he wants nothing to do with him, and that her own mother wants her even less, she realizes they have no one else but each other in the world. In a story filled with pathos and humor, Duncan and Maya's inspiring journey takes them to places they never expected. Together, they are family.
USA - 90 minutes Director: Rob Meyer Writer: Luke Matheny, Rob Meyer Cinematographer: Tom Richmond Producer: Dan Lindau, R. Paul Miller, Kirsten Fuller, Lisa Jenkins Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Kingsley, Alex Wolff, Michael Chen, Katherine Chang, James LeGros, Daniela Lavender
David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history. In an uncharacteristic lucky break, the pretty new girl in school winds up joining David and his posse as they steal a Cabriolet and set out on a trip of adventure and mishap. Nerdy, naive, and totally unequipped to handle the challenges of the real world, they persevere through car crashes, near-death experiences, and their own hilarious ineptitude. Along the way, rival birders and Dr. Lawrence Konrad - a treacherous ornithologist idol - try to beat them to the punch. Yet the closer David gets to discovery, the more David grows up: leading his friends, winning the girl, and realizing that his obsession with birds may be pointing him in the wrong direction.
USA - 93 minutes Director: Daniel Doherty II Writer: Matthew Giegerich, Chelsea Rae Mize Cast: Lucas Neff, Maiara Walsh, Blake Silver, Levi Fiehler, Lamorne Morris, Emily Wickersham
Will and Harper, indie game developers, have hit it big-they finally have a game climbing up the sales charts. However, a major game corporation has also taken notice, and has released almost an exact replica of their game. The guys decide to take action, and hire a lawyer to fight GameTekk on their behalf. The situation gets even more complicated when Sophie, a girl that Will has been interested in, is revealed to be his lawyer's serious girlfriend. They are making gains in their lawsuit, and it's beginning to look like they might even have a chance at winning. Now Will has to make a choice-will he continue with the lawsuit, or will he pursue Sophie and risk losing his career, best friend, and business partner?
USA - 84 minutes Writer/Director: Alex Beh Cinematographer: Christophe Lanzenberg Cast: Alex Beh, John Heard, Jean Smart, Austin Stowell, Spencer Curnett, Sarah Habel
After giving up on making it in the Chicago improv scene, a young comedian fatefully reconnects with the former love of his life one fall night while working at a coffee shop in his hometown. Afraid of growing old and alone like his divorced father, Warren must choose between winning her back or finding the courage to go after his dreams a second time.
USA - 80 minutes Writter/Director: Jake Hull Supervising Producer: Jenna Edwards Produced by: Seth Requenez, Rhett McClure, Dan Falk, Mark O'Brien Cast: Kevin Zaideman, Dan Cummins, Eddie Pepitone, Shang Forbes, and James Adomian.
"TRUNK'D" is an unapologetic road-trip comedy that involves four men driving from Nebraska to Texas to dispose of the body of a dead call girl whom they find unresponsive the morning after a bachelor party.
USA - 102 minutes Writer/Director: Nicole Gomez Fisher Cinematographer: Raoul Germain Producer: Courtney Andrialis Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Ana Ortiz, Steven Strait, Priscilla Lopez, Tibor Feldman
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES is the story of a woman who finds herself stuck. After the death of her philandering husband, Alexis Fish is both broke and broken-hearted. But it's not until she is called back to Brooklyn for a distant relative's funeral that she realizes what she thought was her rock bottom clearly wasn't, going home is. SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES is the story of one woman's comedic journey back to where it all went wrong, to face her dysfunctional cross-cultural family and admit that the perfect life with the perfect man, wasn't so perfect after all.
Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his "manager," the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.
