2014 Oscar One-Offs (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

One Offs Offer Oscar Previews

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Tropic Cinema’s programming director Scot Hoard (let’s give him a hand of applause) calls them “One Offs,” meaning one-time showings of films that have been nominated in this year’s Academy Awards.

You just missed Tuesday night’s sneak peek of “The Hunt,” one of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. In this Danish entry, Mads Mikkelsen plays a schoolteacher whose life in a small community is turned upside down by an innocent little lie.

 But don’t despair, there’s more One Offs to come.

On February 11 you can see “Broken Circle Breakdown,” another candidate for Best Foreign Language Film. Based on the stage play by Johan Heldenbergh and Mieke Dobbels, this new Belgian film by Felix van Groeningen explores the lives of Didier and Elisa who share a passion for bluegrass music and their sickly daughter Maybelle.

And on February 18 you can watch a Best Documentary nominee called “Act of Killing.” Back in the ‘60s Anwar Congo and his Indonesian death squads helped kill more than one million alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and intellectuals. But now these mass murderers are appearing in films, playing gangsters and yodeling cowboys.

Also, on February 25 you can catch “Cutie and the Boxer,” another film that’s up for Best Documentary. Here, 80-year-old painter Ushio Shinohara (“the Boxer”) and his wife Noriko (“Cutie”) joust for recognition as he preps for a comeback exhibit and she flaunts her illustrations that depict their chaotic life together.

After that, you get ready to celebrate the 86th Academy Awards on March 2. Held at the Dolby Theater (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) in Los Angeles, the ceremony will be televised to more than 200 countries.

As happens each year, the Tropic Cinema will show the Oscars presentation live in its Carper Theater. Bubbly will flow as you watch the Red Carpet interviews and discover which actors and films will take home a golden statuette.

Talk about a One Off.

srhoades@aol.com