The Double Feature Weekly Wrap-Up, 7/1/12

Welcome to the third edition of the Double Feature Weekly Wrap-Up! Boy oh boy were some of these tough to pair up, but I'm proud of the picks I finally made. My self-imposed rules for matching up movies are in my first post here. Let get started with the week's reviews!

• The Tempest - Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's final play was luscious if somewhat misguided. I know it seems unfair to pair it with another fusion Shakespeare film, but this is just screaming to be watched alongside Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, which, in my opinion, is still the best fusion Shakespeare out there.
• Bal - This moody, understated Turkish drama about a father-son relationship is so arresting and gentle in it's approach it was almost diaphanous. After much thought I decided this really needed to be a triple feature as there are two movies that would enhance and draw out the two different sides to this wonderful film. The first is Australia's Romulus, My Father, which is an understated but complex look at a dysfunctional family. The second is Michael Haneke's The Seventh Continent, a visually arresting look at a family gone all sorts of wrong. Watch Romulus first, Bal second, and end with The Seventh Continent as the final shots of Haneke's film will stay with you forever.
• And Everything Is Going Fine - Soderbergh's posthumous tribute to Spalding Gray is composed entirely of older recordings and pieces of Gray's monologues and interviews. Pair this with Howl, a drama about Ginsberg's long poem composes entirely of snippets of the poem and the obscenity trial about it.
• The Puffy Chair - This early Duplass brother's film about a road journey gone sideways was my biggest challenge of the week. I wanted something that had relationship issues, family issues, and a twist to it all wrapped up in an indie package. I got it with Easier With Practice, a fascinating little film about two brothers on the road and a strange but intriguing anonymous phone call. I admit to a small measure of pride for thinking of this match - it wasn't easy!
• Neds - This film about a troubled teen growing up in the violence of 1970's Scotland pairs perfectly with This Is England, a film about a troubled teen who gets pulled into skinhead extremism in England. Make sure you leave the subtitles on for both of these - the ascents are amazingly thick!
• The Vanishing - The original Dutch version of this thriller is infinitely more chilling and frightening than the American remake. Because the original had a grainy, indie feel to it I really wanted to pair it with something of both similar tone and style. I got that with Peacock, a haunting tale about a man devolving into psychosis with Cillain Murphy in the role of his life.
• The Elephant in the Living Room - This documentary about man's desire to tame the wild pairs perfectly with Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's documentary about one man's quest to live with grizzly bears in the wild.

So there you go, my double feature recommendations for the week. Enjoy and happy movie watching!