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Angles We Have Heard On High |Mathieu Amalric leans dangerously far into traffic in Arnaud Desplechin’s sorely overlooked A Christmas Tale.

TREE!
A Christmas Tale
CAST | Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric
This sprawling family drama from unpredictable French director Arnaud Desplechin (Kings & Queen) is too noisy, unsentimental, and tonally unstable ever to replace It’s a Wonderful Life as a seasonal favourite, but it certainly deserves a wider audience than it got upon its sadly limited theatrical release in 2008. This Criterion release is unusually light on extras, but Desplechin’s immense gallery of characters and his rich vision of family life — full of grudges, tantrums, brutal humour, and unexpected outbursts of poetry — is the real attraction here. A must-see.

YI!
Paper Heart
CAST | Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera
When new cast member Nasim Pedrad did an impression of her on a recent episode of Saturday Night Live, Charlyne Yi may have become the most obscure “celebrity” that show has ever spoofed. A fixture on California’s burgeoning “alternative comedy” circuit, her most prominent film role was as one of Seth Rogen’s stoner friends in Knocked Up; this comic mockumentary about her (possibly fictional) romance with Michael Cera was supposed to be her breakout film. Most found it way, way, way too cutesy for comfort — but will you be the exception?

BEA!
Saturday Night Live: Season Five
CAST | The Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi had both left the show by this point, but with Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Garrett Morris, and Laraine Newman still on hand, this was the last gasp of SNL’s “classic” period. Guest hosts include Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Buck Henry, Ted Knight, Kirk Douglas, Teri Garr, Bea Arthur, Bill Russell (!), and Strother Martin (!!!), while musical acts include Randy Newman, Marianne Faithfull, The Roches, Tom Petty, Blondie, Gary Numan, and Anne Murray. Hold on... Anne Murray was on SNL?!? The Dictator won’t believe it until he sees it.