Altered Minds
Dying of cancer, Nobel Prize-winning psychiatrist Nathaniel Shellner (Judd Hirsch) celebrates his final birthday with his family in a house with many memories. The party goes out of bounds with the arrival of troubled son Tommy (Ryan O’Nan), a horror novelist who believes his stories are drawn from repressed childhood events. He accuses dad of conducting mind-control experiments on his children. Can it be true? Altered Minds is an interesting thriller buoyed by Hirsch’s presence.
The Kingdom of Zydeco
Zydeco Crossroads: A Tale of Two Cities
Director Robert Mugge specializes in documentaries on American roots music. With Zydeco Crossroads and The Kingdom of Zydeco, Mugge focuses on the accordion and rubboard-powered music of Louisiana and the role of public radio in preserving and promoting the genre. Kingdom documents a good-natured battle of the bands between veteran Boozoo Chavis and upstart Beau Jocque. Crossroads features concert footage. Especially worth seeing is accordionist Rosie Ledet leading a scorching blues-rock band.
The Chase
In this 1946 film noir, Chuck (Robert Cummings) is a hard-luck veteran who finds a wallet on the sidewalk. Returning it to its owner, a vicious gangster (Steve Cochran) with a cynical henchman (Peter Lorre), Chuck falls into a labyrinth of depravity and insanity—turns out he’s suffering from shell shock, but not everything he sees is delusional. Michèle Morgan co-stars as the gangster’s terrified wife, whom Chuck seeks to rescue in this strange, low-budget thriller.
A Kiss Before Dying
Dorie (Joanne Woodward) is pregnant and boyfriend Bud (Robert Wagner) feigns concern but begins calculating: Her rich father will disinherit her if they marry, disrupting his plans to rise from the lower middle class without unwanted burdens. Solution: murder Dorie. Based on Ira Levin’s novel, this 1956 psycho-drama is a revealing look at midcentury American mores. Dorie blames herself: “It’s always the girl’s fault,” she says. Lionel Newman’s carefree score is at odds with the heartbreak.
