✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: January 19-25

Jerod Ra'Del Hollyfield -

The latest releases and special screenings hitting Music City this week. 

The Zone of Interest Renowned director Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin, Birth) offers his first new film in a decade with this tale of a family living out the last days of World War II in a cottage a stone’s throw from Auschwitz. Its meditation on the banal evil of bureaucrats took Cannes by storm last May. It hopes to do the same for the Oscars when nominations come out next week. Now playing at the Belcourt.

Freud’s Last Session What if Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) and C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode) met two days after the onset of World War II to talk about God, power, and the modern era? This British import hopes to answer that question through some tense dialogue and intense staring that should prove irresistible to history buffs and amateur theologians alike. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20 and Regal Hollywood 27.  

I.S.S. When World War III breaks out on Earth, the astronauts on the International Space Station receive orders to commandeer the spacecraft by any means necessary. It’s up to West Side Story’s Ariana Debose and everyman actors Chris Messina and John Gallagher, Jr. to talk world powers down from self annihilation in this taut and well-reviewed sci-fi effort. Now playing in theaters.

Founder’s Day In the heat of a contentious mayoral election, a masked killer embarks on a series of gruesome slayings that rocks a smalltown. It’s up to a group of plucky young citizens to fight back and preserve their local heritage. While it will certainly lack the wit and depth of recent horror hit Thanksgiving, it’s still the perfect relief from this week’s cabin fever. Now playing in theaters. 

Double Down South Tom Schuman (Vandy alum and Oscar-winning writer of Dead Poets Society) investigates the world of illegal keno pool gambling through the relationship between a young upstart (Lili Simmons) and an underworld veteran (Kim Coates) in this Southern-fried thriller. Now playing at AMC Bellevue and AMC Highland 12 (Cookeville).

Cult Killer Antonio Banderas and Alice Eve play private investigators who must join forces to blow a small town’s corruption wide open while digging into the murder of a colleague. Now playing in theaters.  

Queen Rock Montreal The music legends’ 1981 show that spawned the classic live album gets the IMAX treatment this weekend only. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20, Regal Opry Mills 20, wne Regal Streets of Indian Lake (Hendersonville). 

A Hard Day’s Night Relive the classic farce that launched  The Beatles into the stratosphere with this 4k restoration. Playing as part of The Belcourt’s Music City Mondays series on 1/22. 

Torso One or the most infamous Italian giallo slashers follows a group of college kids fleeing their university town for a remote cabin after a string of eviscerations on campus only to find the killer may have followed them there. Avoid concessions and see the film that influenced every slasher released since. Playing Friday, 1/19 at 11:59 p.m. at The Belcourt.

Sunday Supper Every Sunday until Valentine’s Day, The Belcourt offers up a bounty of films about culinary delights from all-time classics like Babette’s Feast to cult films The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover and I am Love. This weekend brings French master Louis Malle’s My Dinner with Andre, an introspective  and self-reflective conversation between actor Wallace Shawn and theatre royalty André Gregory. 

Winter Classics The Belcourt knows we’re in the dregs. To help combat our seasonal blues, it’s culled together the best in snowy cinema. There are horror classics (The Thing and Misery), family favorites (101 Dalmatians), and cinephile catnip (McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Doctor Zhivago). This weekend offers Disney’s Frozen and 80s action classic Runaway Train.

Main Atal Hoon (Hindi) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari navigates rising tensions with Pakistan over nuclear testing in this Bollywood biopic. Now playing at Regal Hollywood 27.