

Hopefully, the same fate doesn’t await “Athena.” While the logline and early marketing materials err on the side of the nebulous (“Hours after the tragic death of their youngest brother in unexplained circumstances, three siblings have their lives thrown into chaos”) but early word is that his scope has widened and his political edge sharpened. It was one of the best films of that year but was unceremoniously dumped on Netflix. 2018’s “The World is Yours” felt like the filmmaker reaching a new plateau it felt wholly original while still acknowledging its forebearers (the title is a reference to “Scarface”).

and Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne project) to one of international cinema’s most exciting modern filmmakers while holding firm to those pop sensibilities (he always has the coolest artists contribute to his scores). The son of director Costa-Gavras (“Z,” “State of Siege”), Romain Gavras has grown from a music video wunderkind (with his memorable clips for artists like M.I.A. It would be easy to write off “Road House” as nonsense, were it not for the pedigree behind and in front of the camera (including producer Joel Silver, cinematographer Dean Cundey and sturdy character actors like Sam Elliott and Kevin Tighe) and fact that it is relentlessly entertaining. Especially when he gets entangled with a smalltown hood (played, with scenery-chewing aplomb, by a clearly slumming Ben Gazzara).

Patrick Swayze, at his dreamiest, plays Dalton, who is hired by a rowdy roadside bar to be a “cooler ” his main job is to temper the establishment’s violent outbursts, make friends with the rougher clientele and to make sure everybody has a good time. While waiting for that film to drop next year, why not revisit the original? If, by some cosmic fluke you have never seen “Road House,” it’s time to change that. Jake Gyllenhaal recently shared a photo from the first day of photography on his “Road House” remake with director Doug Liman.
