(Re-posted from limitémagazine.com)
X-Men: First Class. Super 8. Green Lantern. Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Captain America: The First Avenger. Cowboys and Aliens. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Conan the Barbarian.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the summer films that are on fewer people’s radars—the ones that won’t be #1 at the box office—yet, they’re primed to absorb some serious critical acclaim.
Last year, Limité launched its Top 10 Indie Summer Flicks as an alternate to all of the standard summer blockbusters. Many of those films went on to receive sparkling reviews and accolades, as well as Oscar nominations in several categories (including Best Picture, Best Documentary, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay, among others), so we kinda feel like we know what we’re talking about here.
We’re proud to present the second-annual summer film guide. Share your thoughts below by leaving a comment.
1. BEAUTIFUL BOY
by Daniel Quitério
Michael Sheen and Maria Bello play Bill and Kate, a married couple that learns its son committed a mass shooting at his university before taking his own life. The two struggle through the grief and confusion as the media spill into their lives. Beautiful Boy is the winner of the 2010 Toronto Film Festival International Critics’ Award.
This chilling film is reminiscent of last year’s Rabbit Hole with threads of 2005’s American Gun interwoven. Both Beautiful Boy and Rabbit Hole explore a couple’s relationship as it struggles over the death of a son. In Beautiful Boy, however, the stakes are higher, as that son is also responsible for taking the lives of several others, which is a subplot in the heavy-handed message film American Gun.
This film’s got “Oscar performances” written all over it for both Sheen and Bello, two highly underrated actors who have been aching for and deserving of that spotlight.
Director: Shawn Ku
Screenwriters: Michael Armbruster, Shawn Ku
Cast: Michael Sheen, Maria Bello, Alan Tudyk, Moon Bloodgood, Kyle Gallner, Meat Loaf
Distributor: Anchor Bay Films
Genre: Drama
Site: beautifulboythemovie.com
Release Date: June 3
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