Flicks that reimagine the U.S.-Mexico border as an alien-infested no-man’s land and recount the true tale of an LSD-enhanced Major League Baseball player get their due at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival.
The festival, which begins Thursday, will also present the world premiere of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and the California debut of Jonah Hill’s semi-improvised black comedy Cyrus, along with a number off-kilter pictures. They include:
Monsters (June 23): Director Gareth Edwards tells the story of a photojournalist tasked with transporting his boss’ daughter to the United States from Mexico by traversing an Infected Zone occupied by aliens.
Space Tourists (June 25): Christian Frei’s space documentary travels the world, from Kazakhstan’s crumbling cosmodrome to Texas, where a millionaire tries to buy a ticket for interstellar travel. The Swiss filmmaker also takes a look at the space-junk subculture composed of collectors who make their living from debris that falls to earth.
Centurion (June 25): Set in A.D. 117, this swords-and-sandals history piece pits vicious Celtic confederation known as the Picts against Roman soldiers. If the red-band Centurion trailer (embedded above) is any indication, director Neil Marshall has produced one bloody romp.
Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No (Friday, part of Shorts Program No. 2): Illustrator/director James Blagden recounts, in hilarious animated form, the historic no-hitter thrown in 1970 by Dock Ellis when the pitcher was tripping on acid.
The festival has also organized a Friday screening of Pink Floyd The Wall hosted by Inception director Christopher Nolan, who will dissect his fondness for the 1982 music movie. And DIY schlock maestro Roger Corman is slated to take questions June 25 about his storied genius for churning out low-budget films like Jack Nicholson’s 1963 trash classic The Terror, which was written and filmed in just two days.
Details and complete schedule can be found at the Los Angeles Film Festival website.
