Beautiful Frauds

Washingtonian Movie Picks, Week of 7/12/12

LCD Soundsystem went out with a bang during the spring of 2011 when frontman James Murphy decided to let his longtime project go out at the height of its popularity, closing the book on the band in a massive one-night-only concert at Madison Square Garden. Appropriately enough, the concert film covering both that night’s festivities and the lead-up to and aftermath of the show is also seeing a special one-night-only release, which happens at select cinemas nationwide this Wednesday. Writer Chuck Klosterman shows up to provide some background in the form of an interview he conducts with Murphy, and the filmmakers combine that with observational footage of Murphy preparing for the show as well as traditional concert-film portions of the show itself.

View the trailer. One night only, Wednesday July 18 at 9:30 PM at the AFI.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

Despite a career filled with lush artistic provocations, no other film in Peter Greenaway’s oeuvre reaches quite the heights he achieved with this, his best-known work, in 1989. The dark, rich, painterly cinematography lends an air of refinement to a story that’s all about the basest inclinations of its characters and, in the end, just as shocking and stomach-churning as any grindhouse or exploitation movie. Helen Mirren stars as the wife of a crime boss (Michael Gambon) who’s taken over a local restaurant, frequenting the place with her and his entourage. Mirren’s character falls for a bookshop owner who also comes to the restaurant a lot, and the two engage in an affair, their subterfuge aided by the staff of the restaurant. But when her husband finds out, things start to go bad in a hurry, leading up to one of the most memorable scenes of revenge ever captured on film.

View the trailer. Monday at 8 PM at McFadden’s, presented by the Washington Psychotronic Film Society. WPFS screenings are free, but a $5 donation is suggested.