The annual Magnolia / Magnet drop has arrived. Twenty screeners from both indie production houses. As usual, they don’t have a lot of Oscar competitors in the bunch, but some true indies make it more appealing.

Alan Partridge

Stars: Colm Meaney, Steve Coogan, Tim Key, Karl Theobald, Nigel Lindsay, Felicity Montagu
Director: Declan Lowney
Premise: From IMDb: “When famous DJ Alan Partridge’s radio station is taken over by a new media conglomerate, it sets in motion a chain of events which see Alan having to work with the police to defuse a potentially violent siege.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
87% (95 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
66 out of 100 (27 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Big Bad Wolves

Stars: Tzahi Grad, Lior Ashkenzai, Rotem Keinan, Dov Glickman, Menashe Noy, Dvir Benedek, Nati Kluger
Director: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado
Premise: From IMDb: “A series of brutal murders puts the lives of three men on a collision course: The father of the latest victim now out for revenge, a vigilante police detective operating outside the boundaries of law, and the main suspect in the killings – a religious studies teacher arrested and released due to a police blunder.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
78% (55 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
64 out of 100 (24 critics; as of 11/8/14)

The Double

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Phyllis Somerville
Director: Richard Ayoade
Premise: From IMDb: “A clerk in a government agency finds his unenviable life takes a turn for the horrific with the arrival of a new co-worker who is both his exact physical double and his opposite – confident, charismatic and seductive with women.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
82% (114 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
68 out of 100 (31 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Filth

Stars: James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan, Imogen Poots, Brian McCardie, Emun Elliott
Director: Jon S. Baird
Premise: From IMDb: “A corrupt cop manipulates and hallucinates his way through a bid to secure a promotion and win back his wife and daughter.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
62% (77 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
56 out of 100 (24 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Force Majeure

Stars: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren
Director: Ruben Ostlund
Premise: From IMDb: “A family on a ski holiday in the French Alps find themselves staring down an avalanche during lunch one day; in the aftermath, their dynamic has been shaken to its core, with a question mark hanging over their patriarch in particular.”
Oscar Chances: Foreign Language Film: XXXX
Rotten Tomatoes:
95% (76 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
86 out of 100 (30 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Frank

Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Moira Brooker, Paul Butterworth, Phil Kingston, Billie Traynor, Shane O’Brien, Scoot McNairy, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Premise: From IMDb: “Jon, a young wanna-be musician, discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
93% (121 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
75 out of 100 (33 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Frontera

Stars: Ed Harris, Michael Pena, Eva Longoria, Amy Madigan, Aden Young
Director: Michael Berry
Premise: From IMDb: “A former Arizona sheriff’s wife is killed while riding on their ranch property. It would appear a Mexican man illegally crossing into the US is at fault. As the former and the current sheriff search for answers, lives are changed forever.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
54% (24 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
58 out of 100 (13 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Happy Christmas

Stars: Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, Joe Swanberg
Director: Joe Swanberg
Premise: From IMDb: “After a break up, Jenny moves in with writer Kelly, her filmmaker husband, and their child. Despite a rocky start, Jenny’s influence helps Kelly realize that an evolution in her life, career and relationship is necessary for her happiness.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
78% (58 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
70 out of 100 (28 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Honeymoon

Stars: Rose Leslie, Harry Treadaway, Ben Huber, Hanna Brown
Director: Leigh Janiak
Premise: From IMDb: “A newlywed couple finds their lake-country honeymoon descend into chaos after Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of their first night.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
77% (35 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
65 out of 100 (9 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Journey to the West

Stars: Qi Shu, Zhang Wen, Bo Huang, Show Luo, Shing-Cheung Lee
Director: Stephen Chow
Premise: From IMDb: “Tang Sanzang, a Buddhist trying to protect a village from three demons, his emerging feelings for Miss Duan, the demon hunter who helps him repeatedly, and Sanzang’s trans-formative encounter with the Monkey King.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
93% (28 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
68 out of 100 (13 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Life’s a Breeze

Stars: Kelly Thornton, Fionnula Flanagan, Pat Shortt, Eva Birthistle
Director: Lance Daly
Premise: From IMDb: “Tells the story of a family as they search for a lost fortune around the streets of Dublin.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
36% (11 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
55 out of 100 (7 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Life Itself

Director: Steve James
Premise: From IMDb: “The life and career of the renowned film critic and social commentator, Roger Ebert.”
Oscar Chances: Documentary Feature: XXXX
Rotten Tomatoes:
97% (144 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
87 out of 100 (32 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Life Partners

Stars: Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs, Gabourey Sidibe, Beth Dover, Abby Elliott, Kate McKinnon, Adam Brody, Mark Feuerstein
Director: Susanna Fogel
Premise: From IMDb: “Two codependent best friends – one straight girl, one lesbian – and the man who comes between them.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
80% (5 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
Not Rated (as of 11/8/14)

Nymphomaniac, Volumes 1

Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stella Skarsgard, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Connie Nielsen
Director: Lars von Trier
Premise: From IMDb: “A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac recounts her erotic experiences to the man who saved her after a beating.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
75% (175 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
64 out of 100 (41 critics; as of 11/8/14)

Nymphomaniac, Volumes 2

Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stella Skarsgard, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Connie Nielsen, Jamie Bell, Willem Dafoe
Director: Lars von Trier
Premise: From IMDb: “The continuation of Joe’s sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adulthood, obsessions and what led to her being in Seligman’s care.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
60% (114 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
60 out of 100 (34 critics; as of 11/8/14)

The Sacrament

Stars: Kate Lyn Sheil, Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, AJ Brown, Gene Jones, Kentucker Audley, Shawn Parsons
Director: Ti West
Premise: From IMDb: “A newsteam trails a man as he travels to an undisclosed location to find his missing sister. Upon entering “Eden Parish” and meeting the community’s leader, it becomes apparent to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
62% (58 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
49 out of 100 (21 critics; as of 11/8/14)

The Two Faces of January

Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac
Director: Hossein Amini
Premise: From IMDb: “A thriller centered on a con artist, his wife, and a stranger who flee Athens after one of them is caught up in the death of a private detective.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
81% (99 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
66 out of 100 (30 critics; as of 11/8/14)

We Are the Best!

Stars: Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Premise: From IMDb: “Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band — despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
97% (110 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
87 out of 100 (28 critics; as of 11/8/14)

White Bird in a Blizzard

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Gabourey Sidibe, Dale Dickey, Mark Indelicato, Sheryl Lee
Director: Gregg Araki
Premise: From IMDb: “In 1988, a teenage girl’s life is thrown into chaos when her mother disappears.”
Oscar Chances: None
Rotten Tomatoes:
48% (50 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
50 out of 100 (22 critics; as of 11/8/14)

White: United States of America v. James J. Bulger

Director: Joe Berlinger
Premise: From IMDb: “Number 2 on America’s Most Wanted list after Osama Bin Laden, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger terrorized the city of Boston for years without ever being charged with so much as a misdemeanor. Bulger was a monster, murdering over a dozen known victims, but did the FBI and local law enforcement give his reign of terror over South Boston a free pass?”
Oscar Chances: Documentary Feature: XXXX
Rotten Tomatoes:
77% (39 critics; as of 11/8/14)
Metacritic:
74 out of 100 (18 critics; as of 11/8/14)