2015 L.A. Film Festival Preview: 5 Movies to Look Out For
Lily Tomlin in ‘Grandma’ (Sony Pictures Classics)
The 2015 L.A. Film Festival kicks off in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, June 10 with the opening-night movie, Grandma, which earned plenty love for Lily Tomlin and crew at Sundance and Tribeca. And while there are plenty of other recognizable festival hits screening (including Dope, Brand: A Second Coming, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and The Overnight), there’s a gaggle of films having their world premieres. Here are five to look out for:
Band of Robbers
This adventure comedy directed by brothers Aaron and Adam Nee imagines what a grown-up Tom Sawyer (Adam Nee) and Huck Finn’s (Kyle Gallner) life might look like in 2015. The twist on Twain is enough to pique interest before you add in a stellar supporting cast that includes future Supergirl Melissa Benoist, super-comic Hannibal Buress, Stephen Lang, Eric Christian Olsen, and Creed Bratton (aka Creed from The Office).
The Escort
Lyndsy Fonseca has owned the boob tube for years now, appearing in such hit TV shows as Big Love, Desperate Housewives, Nikita, and Agent Carter, which doesn’t leave her much time for movies. Here, she headlines a drama about a Stanford-educated escort who allows a journalist to tag along on her exploits. Director Will Slocombe describes her lonely hotel-set existence as “Lost in Translation-y,” which has us ready to check in.
Dude Bro Party Massacre III
Hate the living hell out of Entourage? This could be your antidote. The movie features a bunch of entitled, sex-crazed bros who die merciless deaths at the hands of a female killer named Motherface. And it’s all shot in the throwback, low-grade ‘80s campfest style, with some laughs added via Patton Oswalt. (And you don’t have to have seen the first two Dude Bro Party Massacre movies, since they don’t exist.)
Day Out of Days
Zoe R. Cassavetes (daughter of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowland) returns for her sophomore directorial effort, and first movie since the 2007 Sundance premiere Broken English. The film stars Alexia Landeau as a formerly well-known actress struggling to land roles in Hollywood at the age of 40. With Maggie Gyllenhaal’s recent indictment of the industry fresh in mind, not to mention a budding movement addressing gender inequality in show biz, this one is all kinds of topical.
Flock of Dudes
The 2015 L.A. Film Festival is a little dude-heavy. This comedy marks the big-screen lead debut of comic/Whitney star Chris D'Elia; he plays a hard-partying thirtysomething dude who decides the only way to evolve is to break up with all of his bros. Skylar Astin, Bryan Greenberg, Kumail Nanjiani, Hilary Duff, Jamie Chung, Marc Maron, and Hannibal Buress (a double does of Hannibal Buress!) all factor in for a fine ensemble.
The L.A. Film Festival runs June 10-18.
