Check It. Dogtooth at the Sunset Laemmle 5.

Last month, the Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre did an unprecedented thing: book one new film to play for one full week. Cinefamily usually sticks to one-off screenings of older and less readily available movies, but they said this one film was just special enough to break the routine. That movie was Dogtooth.

And a special movie it is. As evidenced by the trailer above, this Greek film doesn't easily fit within any regular genre, and it isn't necessarily for the more conservative of minds. Without spoiling anything, a lot of strange and pretty mentally disturbing things happen in the world of Dogtooth. There's a lot of shock value, and viewers aren't expected to necessarily feel comfortable watching. But you also can't take your eyes off the screen, and with the right sense of humor and an open mind, you'll be able to chuckle along for some parts. It's an engaging film, and one to get you thinking. And hey, it's also up for an Academy Award (Best Foreign Language Film).

See what the buzz is all about -- it's sure to become a sort of cult film in the future. Dogtooth will be screening this weekend at the Sunset Laemmle 5, and don't wait, it won't stay there for long.

The Sunset Laemmle 5 is located at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Check here for showtimes.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Howl.

Admittedly, it was the promise of James Franco that originally pulled me into seeing Howl. I had read Allen Ginsberg's controversial yet renowned work a few years ago, and quite frankly, it didn't really hit me. Cool writing, sure, but I didn't really get it (and I knew it was more on the fault of me than anyone else).

So when the screening for Howl began, I suddenly realized that I was getting myself into something that I didn't quite feel prepared for. I hadn't read much about the film beforehand -- I usually avoid reviews and such anyway -- but I really had no idea what it was supposed to be: a biopic? A strange experimental film? A conglomerate documentary of sorts? An interpretation of the poem?

It turned out to be none of that, and for the better. Howl is more like a portrait, one that fervently evokes the passion of the times and of Ginsberg. And quite truthfully too, as the whole film is composed entirely of historical records -- every word can be traced back verbatim to interviews and court records, and even many of the scenes were based off of photographs.

Using the poem as a structure, the film covers Ginsberg (Franco, great as always) doing the first public reading of "Howl" in a coffee shop, an interview where he waxes nostalgically about his past with Jack Kerouac and Carl Solomon (to whom the poem is dedicated), and the obscenity trial surrounding the poem (featuring Jon Hamm and David Strathairn, both stunning). Swirling animations accompany the reading part, and though out-of-context I feel I would have hated them, it actually worked really well to illustrate the poem (albeit a little too literally). And really, there's a lot about this film that seems like it normally just wouldn't work, but somehow it all does. It's passionate but not overwrought, powerful but not cheesy.

And wow, really: what a poem.

Howl is showing starting today at the Sunset Laemmle 5, located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, or the Monica 4-Plex, located at 1332 2nd St. in Santa Monica.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. When You're Strange.

It was at Sundance last year, and now it's in L.A.

Writer/director Tom DiCillo's Doors doc "When You're Strange" is narrated by Johnny Depp and made with only footage from 1965 and 1971. Yeah, just take a minute to think about that awesomeness. Depp said it was "an honor to have been involved." Laemmle's Sunset 5, today through April 15.

When You're Strange is also playing at Laemmle's Encino and Pasadena theaters.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.ioncinema.com

Check It. Mother (Madeo).

In a bland, dreary field of tall grasses, an older Asian woman appears. She walks closer and closer, in slow, winding steps and then stops. She sways, side-to-side, eyes looking off into nothing in particular. She raises her arms, and they sway too. She's dancing.

And so begins Mother (Madeo), a South Korean drama-thriller that just opened in limited release last Friday. This opening shot is strange and unexpected, in that artsy film sort of way, but sets you right into the offbeat tone of the film (the next scene, not to spoil anything, sets you up for its suspense aspect). As you watch this lady, a simply unbeautiful older lady, begin to move in this uninhibited way, you also can't help but see the pain and loss in her eyes, and so you start to understand what sort of dark world she lives in.

It's a world where she, Hye-ja, is a lowly merchant who lives with and takes care of her adult son, Do-joon, who is mentally incapacitated. Although always bearing a sense of hope in her son, Hye-ja is constantly worried and often overbearing over Do-joon, and things only get worse when he gets accused of a mysterious murder. The film follows Hye-ja as she fights for Do-joon's innocence, searching for the rightful killer and doing only what a mother could for her son.

Despite being a dark suspense thriller, Mother is quite beautifully shot in the way it pays attention to detail and just how it makes you feel--there's a particular cell phone-lit scene that I thought was gorgeous in its tone and composition. The actress who plays Hye-ja is absolutely superb, and makes you realize the void in American film for realistic-looking actors. You'll stay with her character to the very end, feeling every ounce of pain and despair she feels. And it's painful, sure, to watch her story unfold, but one worth the thrill ride.

Mother is playing at the Landmark at 10850 Pico Blvd. in West L.A. or the Sunset Laemmle at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood.

-- Chau Tu