The Cinema Corner – October 20th

Movie of the week – Salem’s Lot

The Lighthouse continues its Stephen King season with a real event tonight – a 35mm screening of director Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot. Made for TV in 1979, it’s one of the earliest and best King adaptations, with some unforgettably creepy sequences and arguably the best screen evocation of the small town America King is known for just as much as his scares. On Saturday and Sunday you can catch screenings of Pet Sematary.

Brawl in Cell Block 99

The best movie I’ve seen all year is Brawl in Cell Block 99. Vince Vaughn reinvents himself to play a hulking prisoner forced to kill a fellow inmate to save his pregnant wife from the gangsters he betrayed. A love letter to ’70s exploitation cinema, the script is packed with quotable lines and the action hits hard, leading to a climax you’ll never forget. Oscar for Vaughn!

I Am Not a Witch

The blackly comic Zambian film I Am Not a Witch follows a young girl who finds herself accused of witchcraft. Transferred to a camp for witches, she is taken under the wing of an unscrupulous politician. The film provides an insightful and witty look at the consequences of the bizarre superstitions that somehow continue to thrive in parts of the world today.

The Death of Stalin

The latest comedy from The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci is The Death of Stalin, a screwball look at the chaos that followed the death of the titular Soviet dictator. Iannucci’s particular schtick is wearing a bit thin at this point, but an impressive ensemble cast keeps this one moving.

By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com