February revivals: second half

Hi, Mike here with revival options to catch for the rest of February. A small list with a couple of repeats to start, but it's a list I feel real good about. Again, I'll try to keep the descriptions brief, and include a link to the website of wherever it's playing. Here we go:



JAWS- Fri Feb 18 and Sun Feb 20 at Midnight- IFC Center- A midnight screening of this classic, on all 3 nights of Presidents Weekend. On both AFI Top 100 lists, but higher up for me. More like in my personal Top 35 as opposed to just one of one hundred. Don't underestimate the quality of this Spielberg film on the big screen, and IFC Center tends to get good prints. It's not just another fish film. 3 Oscars including John Williams's memorable score, and a nomination for Best Picture (along with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon and Nashville; not shabby.)http://www.ifccenter.com/films/jaws/#day_sun

THE GODFATHER- Sun Feb 20 at 8:20- Film Forum- Part of the Al Pacino films of the 1970s retrospective. One of the greats. Winner of 3 key Oscars: Picture, Screenplay Adaptation for Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo and Marlon Brando for Actor. No need to mention the Oscar controversy in this list about Brando that night. No need to mention its high place on both AFI lists. No need to mention its place in my personal top 35 (pretty high, yet not as high as Godfather 2). Just need to say; unless you're over the age of 46, you saw its brief re-release in 1997 or saw a crappy print when it's played at Midnight at Landmark Sunshine Cinema, you've only seen this on tv. Maybe you saw it's brief run at the Forum or the Ziegfeld back in the fall of 2008 in its restored print. But there are plenty of you out there who have no clue about the immersing power of this terrific film. Now is a great time to correct this:
http://www.filmforum.org/films/pacino.html


DOG DAY AFTERNOON- Tues Feb 22 at 7 and 9:30- Film Forum- Part of the Pacino films of the 70s retro. A Sidney Lumet classic. One of the great New York City films, and one of the great heist films, and based on a true story. A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus. A quintessential New York film that couldn't be made outside the 70's. 6 nominations, including Pacino, Lumet and Picture; an Oscar for Screenplay. "ATTICA! ATTICA!".


ALICE'S RESTAURANT- Mon Feb 28 at 8 with an introduction from Craig Lucas- IFC Center- Part of a series of films where Gay and Lesbian artists talk about the films that heavily influenced them. In the case of playwright Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss, The Light in the Piazza), it was Alice's Restaurant, from director Arthur Penn (Oscar nominated for this). Not a hit film when compared to Penn's previous picture, Bonnie and Clyde, but for those who weren't around when this came out, consider it a forgotten gem. It doesn't play out Arlo Guthrie's classic song, but is more inspired by it. Depicts the end of the hippie lifestyle/ free love movement, like with Gimmie Shelter. But unlike that documentary, there's no brutal sorrow here. More of a wistful sadness, with a somewhat ambiguous ending. Lucas will introduce the film, but I have no idea if he'll discuss it post-screening:

http://www.ifccenter.com/series/queerartfilm/

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/alices-restaurant/



Let me know if there's any interest. And if you like to see me and hear me, you can find me on-stage in Amateurs, starting Saturday Feb. 19 for 3 weekends. Go to http://www.parksideplayers.com/ for details and reservation information. Ask me film stuff afterwards if you like. I don't promise enlightened answers, but I do promise responses. Later all.

Oscar catch up and other flicks

Hey all. Mike here with films to catch up with. Instead of revivals, here's a handy list of Oscar nominees and films that either would fit well on a best of 2010 list or helped make 2010 a better than average year in film. The films are broken up in 5 categories: major Oscar nominees in theaters, major nominees on DVD/pay per view/On Demand, minor Oscar nominees in theaters, minor nominees on DVD/pay per view/On Demand, and a few others.

Major nominees to catch up with at a theater: BLACK SWAN, TRUE GRIT, THE KING'S SPEECH,

127 HOURS (Director Danny Boyle pulls out the cinematic bag of tricks, to make an interesting 90 or so minute film about a guy trapped for 127 hours and had to cut off his arm to survive. Seriously, a guy trapped by a rock for over 75 minutes, not an easy task to pull off in an interesting way, and Boyle does it. Without a strong lead from James Franco, who cares. We care. And don't worry too much about being queasy about the arm scene. In the end, you do realize Franco himself has two good working arms, right? He's not really cutting off his own arm, you do GET THAT?!?!?),

ANOTHER YEAR, BLUE VALENTINE, THE ILLUSIONIST, INSIDE JOB,

BIUTIFUL, RABBIT HOLE (Not looking forward to tackling these spinach films. "Come watch these. They're good for you. They're good for your soul!)

Major nominees to catch up with on DVD or pay per view: INCEPTION, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, TOY STORY 3, GAS LAND,

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (above average family dramedy with good acting. There are much better films this year however, so it's not ending up on my top 10. Was just fine with the script and acting nominations it received, wasn't annoyed by it's Best Picture nomination. Though I will say, if Annette Bening wins Best Actress over Natalie Portman for Black Swan, I'm ok with it because I've always liked Bening, but I also recognize it as career achievement, NOT the best of 2010.),

WINTER'S BONE (good modern noir, where even someplace far from a major city, the idea of never snitch is alive and well. Great to see Jennifer Lawrence get acknowledged, and happy to see John Hawkes not get lost in the shuffle for Supporting Actor. Again, better films this year, so Oscar and I disagree yet again, go figure . . . . ),

THE TOWN (Feels like I've been down the road before with The Departed, Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, and it suffers a little by comparison. Not buying the attempted romance with Rebecca Hall either. When we get to the third heist, I also felt a little action fatigue instead of complete tension. But some good action scenes otherwise, and having the law, in the form of Jon Hamm, be a jerk, is a nice change of pace. Loved Jeremy Renner running hog wild in the film, as a variation of de Niro's character from Mean Streets, only more violent with mad skills with automatic weaponry).

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, RESTREPO, DOGTOOTH

Minor nominees to catch up with at a theater: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEADLY HARROWS PART 1, BARNEY'S VERSION, THE WAY BACK, TANGLED,

UNSTOPPABLE (comes out on DVD February 15.),

TRON: LEGACY (Best way to see this was on a real 3D IMAX screen, like at the Lincoln Square theater in Manhattan, not the smaller fake-ish ones that have been opening up for awhile. Still it helps if you were a big fan of the 1982 original, though it would also give you this question: how do you do a sequel to Tron and barely have the Tron character there at all? Good music and even better visuals. Garret Hedlund looks good and moves well, but doesn't seem to have a lot of range. Luckily we had Jeff Bridges in two major roles, and Olivia Wilde, James Frain and Michael Sheen provide good cover support. And no, I was not freaked out or annoyed by the CGI done to Bridges' face in his second role. So what in this case if it looks a little fake? Bridges wasn't playing a human, why can't he look humanoid and yet inhuman. Too much thinking in a Tron film, people.),

COUNTRY STRONG (Gwyneth annoys me, and I just wrote above about Hedlund's questionable range. So I'm suppose to watch this film where they are the leads? Why? Are you providing me with the eyelid clamps like in A Clockwork Orange, because that's the only way short of paying me, that I will watch this in a theater.).

Minor nominees to catch up with on DVD or pay per view: ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Mia Wasikowska's performance allowed me to hang in there through Tim Burton's weakest film that didn't feature apes. The interesting visuals could only cover the dull script for so long. I felt Crispin Glover was a more effective villain than Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen, and by the time we got Anne Hathaway's ultra-bland White Queen, I no longer cared. I'm grateful I didn't waste money on 3-D since it wasn't shot that way. Nice Cheshire Cat though.),

I AM LOVE- (Similar to the Louis Malle film Damage, with a bit of Dynasty and more than a little Italian flavor to it. Having a liking for soap opera helps. Wonderful Tilda Swinton performance, as a Russian woman who's had a good life in her Italian family, but not necessarily a happy one. Until her passions are stoked by her son's friend. As strictly an English speaker, I had no problem with her performance, as opposed to online native Italian speakers who had major issues with the phonetics of her speech. Since I'm not about to learn Italian for the sake of bloggers, I'll just give it a thumbs up. Yes, I realize this is a case of glass houses here, but I can live with that.

THE WOLFMAN, SALT,

IRON MAN 2 (Good to see Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell have fun as villains. But six or seven different story lines slapped together is not a joy to watch. Passable time killer, but that's if you enjoy the characters from the comics and/or Downey Jr. Otherwise a major disappointment compared to the first film. Marvel might have made a mint, but they dropped the ball with this film.).

And now, some others that should be caught up with:

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES- (Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar last year.),

A PROPHET- (Foreign Language Film nominee),

THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF PHIL SPECTOR (no idea when this will hit DVD),

DESPICABLE ME, ENTER THE VOID, CARLOS,

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Very good thriller, the pieces hold together quite well. Good performance from Michael Nyqvist, but the standout is both the creation of Lisbeth Salander, and Noomi Rapace's performance. I was truly disappointed, though not surprised, that Rapace's performance wasn't Oscar nominated. Overall, Fincher has a good enough story that would be hard to screw up, but how will the remake hold up when there's even less suspense the second time on screen will be interesting. Affection for the lead characters/actors is almost all that carried me through the two sequels. For the die hards who are willing to experience disappointment, just to see characters they've bonded with.),

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN (Deserves to be seen just for the discussion it will provoke after. And anything that prefers to side with parents and students, as opposed to say, Randi Weingarten can't be all bad. Comes out on DVD on February 15.),

THE EXPENDABLES (Check your brain at the door and have fun with the personalities, and all the things that go boom. Though for action films, I prefer the next picture.),

RED (The casting of Bruce Willis aside, it violates Schwarzenegger's edict that all action films where the man is the lead, must have physical imposing leads. By that standard, Jaws shouldn't exist, so fuck him. Fun film, though I should say John Malkovich is truly believable as a man who ingested LSD everyday for 9 years. Scary fun believable.),

JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK (A helluva survivor in show business. This documentary subject doesn't ask for or expect pity or perhaps even empathy; but definitely wants a chance to make you laugh. You get to know your subject, and you stay interested. And you laugh too. Good job.),

MOTHER (2009 South Korean film, released earlier in the year. Not to be confused with the Albert Brooks film from the 90s I believe.),

BLUE BEARD (French version. Interesting re-telling from director Catherine Breillat, with good performances from then 15 year old Lola Creton and from {5? 6} year old Marilou Lopes-Benites as the winsome narrator. An little gem to find in Netflix, but NOT for kids.),

SHUTTER ISLAND (Yes, good art direction and score here. BUT, you either feel the journey of the film is worth taking, or you feel the ending jerks you around and you'll feel like your time has been wasted. No in-between. I understand if you lean toward the later, but I felt the trip was worth. Seriously, you need to be spoon fed every answer? Walk away from this film then.),

AJAMI- (2010 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film, and a good one. You could whittle it down as Crash meets Rashomon, but that isn't an insult. 5 different stories that show how life is in the mixed community of Christians, Jews and Muslims in Tel Aviv. Not a happy drama, but a good one.)

Enough for now. The picture of the Oscar by the way was one of the Oscars awarded to Casablanca for Best Picture, that was part of a tour sponsored by TCM of Hollywood memorabilia. Caught it at Grand Central Station back in October. Later all.

Feb revivals: first half

Hey, Mike here with a list of revivals to catch for the first half of February. One correction from the last post. I did catch one more revival in 2010-11 than I did in 2009-10. I forgot to post The Great Dictator, from the Chaplin retrospective done last summer at the Forum. It slipped my mind until I spotted a documentary about Hitler and the film late on February 1st, followed by a screening of Great Dictator. It might be a little hard to watch the very first time on tv, but once you know it, it's easy to like. I real feel foolish for forgetting it. Anyway, moving on to this list, again keeping the descriptions as minimal as possible, followed by a link to whatever place is screening the films:

HARLAN COUNTY, U.S.A. and/or THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK- for free, subject to ticket availability- Fri Feb 4 at 4:30 (Harlan) and 8 (Milk)- MOMA- 2 films, both Oscar winners for Best Documentary, both free, subject to ticket availability.

First, Harlan County, U.S.A. , an Oscar winner in 1977. You can see this for 16 dollars on March 15 at 8 at IFC Center. But if you don't want to pay anything and can get out of work a little early, here's a free option. The documentary covers the 13 month coal miner strike, at times violent, in a small Eastern Kentucky town against the Eastover Mining Company. To quote the old description from the late Two Boots Pioneer website:

The story focuses on the miners and their families’ fight for decent living standards in an area where many still live in shacks with no indoor plumbing and work at jobs with little security and dangerous conditions. The film was named by Congress to the National Film Registry, designating it an "official" American film classic.

Next, The Times of Harvey Milk, one of the best films of 1984, and winner of the Best Documentary Oscar in 1985. If you know the movie Milk, here's the film that once you see this, you'd think Gus van Sant and all involved were playing this documentary on a running loop while preparing and filming. Archival footage and interviews give us an idea of the man. The picture covers his and Mayor George Moscone's assassination by Dan White, the murder trial, and the reaction to both, the Twinkie Defense, and the light sentence. Harvey Fierstein narrates:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1139

THE BIG HEAT- Fri Feb 2 and Tues Feb 6 at 7:30 and 9:20- This film helped start the Forum's Fritz Lang retrospective, The Big Heat, was apparently such a big hit, that the Forum is giving the picture its own one week run. Glenn Ford plays an honest cop, hell bent on revenge after a gangster he's after kills his wife. Lee Marvin plays memorable mob muscle, but Gloria Grahme is the standout, almost in her own movie, as the scarred gun moll, who one might argue, is going down a darker path than Ford's:

http://www.filmforum.org/films/bigheat.html

THE AFRICAN QUEEN- Fri Feb 11 and Sat Feb 12 at 1, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30 and 9:40, Sun Feb 13 at 7:30, and Mon Feb 14 at 3:10, 5:20 and 7:30- The Friday Feb 11 7:30 screening features an intro by Stefan Kanfer , author of Tough Without A Gun: : The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart, with a book signing after- Film Forum- A new 35mm restoration. The years it took to restore the classic Bogart-Hepburn-Huston film is almost legendary at this point, what with its original negatives shrunk and permanently damaged. Now, it looks better than it has in decades and it gets a one week run.

Filmed on location in the Belgian Congo, this romantic adventure film set a new standard for the genre, thanks to the powerful chemistry Huston drew from his stars. An AFI Top 100 film. Nominations for Picture, Hepburn and Screenplay, but an Oscar for Bogie. It's been considered partly (or mostly) for career achievment, considering Montgomery Clift was up for A Place in the Sun, and oh yeah, Brando for Streetcar. But considering he had only been nominated once at that time (for Casablanca) how upset could one be? 

http://www.filmforum.org/films/africanqueen.html

A smaller list than usual, the next list or two might be that small or even smaller, we'll see. Later all.

January revivals: 2nd half

Hey all. Mike here with a short list of revivals to catch for the rest of the month. Short because of schedule, as well as a lack of interest in some of the potential options. Never mind more lousy weather ahead. Like I last time, I'll try to keep the descriptions short, and provide a link for you to look further.

But since I have the time, let me thank those who caught the following revivals with me over the past 12 months:

YOJIMBO, SANJURO (boy, do I like me some Kurosawa),

THE ATOMIC CAFE with THE SMELL OF BURNING ANTS (at least with Atomic Cafe, friends may not have enjoyed it, but they learned a little American history. But Burning Ants? Holy shit, I was getting embarrassed as it went along. 12 LOOOOOONNNNGGGG minutes),

CITIZEN KANE (now number 6 on the list of all time favorites. Seeing it on the big screen as opposed to TV is the difference, to quote Larry Miller, between shooting a bullet and throwing it),

ALIENS,

METROPOLIS (my favorite revival outing. It all makes sense now, and the journey, and the score, are wonderful),

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, BREATHLESS (1960),

KEY LARGO (like the film, NOT LIKING the end involving Bacall),

THE NAKED SPUR, WINCHESTER '73 (2 good Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann Westerns, though I really enjoyed Winchester more),

HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, LAURA, LIMELIGHT, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, MODERN TIMES, THE SHINING, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI,

BLUE COLLAR (a forgotten film from the 70s that deserves to be better known),

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (ok, but hoped for better),

BOB LE FLAMBEUR (boy, do I also like me some Melville),

THE JERK,

PSYCHO (the bullet comment I made about Citizen Kane, applies to Psycho as well),

MOVIE MOVIE,

THE TIN DRUM (epic. Simply epic. If you have an HD TV with a good sound system and 3 hours to kill, Netflix this. Now or after you do your Oscar catch-up, but Netflix it),

EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF,

POINT BLANK (the best of my Midnight movie excursions),

MARLENE, ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS, CLUNY BROWN, and ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS.

31 films in all. The same number of revivals I caught the year before. Thank you all who took a chance on some of these, who came out to see at least one of these, and special thanks to Ed, who caught far more of these than I had any right to hope for or expect. Now on with the current list:

WINTER KILLS with a Q and A with writer/director William Richert- Fri Jan 21 at 6:15- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- An offbeat forgotten film from 1979. Adapted from Richard Condon (The Manchurian Candidate)'s novel, which does not refer to the family here as the Kennedys, but little doubt is left to the reader, and in this case, the viewer. It fits the paranoia genre that was popular in the70s, as well as the Watergate-era feeling of corrupt, lying government and men in power. Unlike the book, the film plays the story out as a dark satire, jamming some humor, alongside the jolts and the conspiracy theories. All with Condon's approval I might add.

Jeff Bridges plays the little brother of a popular, assassinated President. He's alerted by the friend (Richard Boone) who does the family's dirty work, of a grassy knoll kind of situation. Bridges goes down the metaphorical rabbit hole, that leads him to Cuban gangsters, a CIA hitman (Eli Wallach), and possibly worse. He also wonders if there's anyone he can trust. Can he trust his girlfriend? Can he trust the company man (Anthony Perkins) for the family, surrounded by enough computers to tap any call in the world? And can he even trust his own dad, the powerful patriarch played with scene-stealing gusto by John Huston?

The rest of the story made not make a ton of sense when it's over, but the ride is worth it. A flop in its day despite good to very good reviews. The film was pulled after only two weeks of mediocre business, the reason is still unknown. There's more, but I'll let Richert (who made his directorial debut here) tell his own story, and he'll get the chance. There will be a post film Q and A with Richert:

http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/richert.html

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP- Sat Jan 22 at 8- MOMA- Technically a revival. It came out in New York back in the spring. Since it no longer has a Tri-State theater release, it works for the purposes of this list.

A probable Oscar nominee for Best Documentary, expected to be a front runner, against Inside Job and the interesting Waiting For Superman. It follows an eccentric, L.A. based Frenchman, who decides to go from shopkeeper to documentary film maker. He decides to shoot the work of international graffiti artists, without ever planning on turning all the footage into something cohesive (or competent?). The tables are turned when the man tracks down the never photographed Bansky, who's drawn on walls throughout Katrina torn New Orleans and on the barrier at the Palestinian West Bank. Not only is Bansky blacked out, he takes the camera and starts filming the Frenchman, and changing him as well. Seems interesting:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/film_screenings/10797

THE BIG HEAT with or without HUMAN DESIRE- Fri Jan 27 and Sat Jan 28 at 6 (Heat), 7:45 (Desire) and 9:15 (Heat)- Film Forum- The start of a Fritz Lang retro. Specifically, his Hollywood films. 2 films starring Glenn Ford. First, The Big Heat, the one I want to catch the most of the two. Ford plays an honest cop, who gets too close to a crime kingpin. Once the kingpin kills Ford's wife, the kingpin thinks that will be enough to deter Ford. Wrong, game on. With Lee Marvin as memorably cruel Mob muscle, Jocelyn Brando (Marlon's older sister) as the wife who might as well have had Dead Meat tattooed on her forehead, and a terrific Gloria Grahame (Oklahoma, In A Lonely Place) as the gun mole who pushes too hard, and one time too many.

Double featured with Human Desire, which I don't mind seeing, but I don't have to stick around for it. I'll let the website provide the description as well as show the other films in the Lang retrospective:

http://www.filmforum.org/films/lang.html

WAY OUT WEST and/or ROME, OPEN CITY and/or, FELLINI'S ROMA and/or FLIRTING WITH DISASTER- Sat Jan 28 at 12:30 (West), 2 (Roma), 4:15 (Fellini) and 6 (Disaster)- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria- 4 films playing on this day at the Moving Image, 2 of which can be seen for one admission. You can do 3, but the Fellini film couldn't be done this way.

12:30 Way Out West- A Laurel and Hardy comedy from 1937, where the duo keep their promise to an old gold prospector, of delivering the deed of a gold mine to his daughter. But they don't count on a greedy saloon keeper, trying to get the deed. With a memorable soft shoe scene by Stan and Ollie.

2 Rome, Open City- A restored print of Robert Rossellini's film. Shot shortly after the Nazi occupation of France was over in a documentary style, we follow Resistance members. One in particular, the leader, is trying to escape a pursuing Gestapo. Won the Grand Prize at Cannes, an Oscar nomination for its Screenplay. With Anna Magnani.

4:15 Fellini's Roma- A restored print. Fellini's borderline avant-garde picture, where the narrative (such as it is) alternates, between Federico's younger self in Rome under Fascist control, and about thirty years later, as the older Federico (playing himself) tries to film the city as it was in 1970 modern day, but bemoans the hippies, automobiles, congestion, and everything that isn't around anymore from his youth. With unbilled cameos from Gore Vidal, Marcello Mastroianni and Anna Magnani.

6 Flirting with Disaster- Part of a mini-retrospective of David O'Russell's films. An art house hit from 1996. Ben Stiller stars in this screwball comedy/road picture, as a man who was adopted when he was young, searching for his biological family as an adult, aided by by wife Patricia Arquette and possibly incompetent social worker Tea Leoni. Great cst that includes Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin (pictured here, licking Arquette's armpit).

http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2011/1/29/day/type/1

Let me know if there's interest. Later all.

January revivals: 1st half

Hey, Mike here with the first list of revivals for the new year. Won't have a lot of time over the next few months, so I'll post it in a different way. I'll list titles, try to keep my description as minimal as possible. After the description, there's a link to the website with further info about the film and its location. Two exceptions; one film where IFC Center hasn't done an update, the other film is fairly unfamiliar, especially if you're not British, a Beatles fan, or if you're under 45. In the case of the later, I felt it necessary to be at least somewhat descriptive. Here we go:

THE THING (1982)-Sat Jan 8 at 12:05AM- IFC Center- One of the better horror films, possibly the best from the 1980s, gets a midnight screening, or 12:05AM in this case. One of only a few that I can think of, where a remake tops the original. Alien shape-shifting life crashes onto Earth, and in order to exist, it must live like a virus and wipe out or take over the life that already exists on whatever planet it exists on. Which in this case is us. And it's up to an isolated group from an American scientific station, desperately playing catch up and grasping for theories, to stop it. But when it starts taking them over, and becomes hard to tell which of them are human and which are not. Kurt Russell makes a great action lead, with character actors like Keith David, Donald Moffat, and Wilford Brimley filling out the talented cast. The make-up effects grossed out some audiences (damaging potential word of mouth) and most critics, but they don't feel too over the top and still hold up today. Especially one scene where one portion tries to escape from another part in a very memorable way. If you haven't seen it, I'm not spoiling this:

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/the-thing/

ELEVATORS TO THE GALLOWS- Tues Jan 11 at 7:30- Florence Gould Hall @ the French Institute: Alliance Francaise- 55 E. 59th St. bet. Park and Madison- Part of the Lino Ventura retrospective. A French actor who I've brought him up a few times I believe, as the lead in Army of Shadows. Louis Malle's first film. A man and a woman plot the murder of her husband, succeed, and then things begin to fall apart. An almost real time escape attempt from the police before they discover the body. Made stars out of director Malle and Jeanne Moreau as the descendant to Barbara Stanwyck's character in Double Indemnity, and the ancestor to Kathleen Turner's character in Body Heat. Ventura plays the police inspector:

http://www.fiaf.org/french%20film/winter2011/2011-01-ct-lino-ventura.shtml#jan11a

RIVER'S EDGE preceded by A HERO OF OUR TIME with free beer afterwards- Fri Jan 14 at 7:30- the Walter Reade- A special screening the successful indie film from 1986, released in 87, set among a group of slacker teens. The bond is tested when one of them kills his girlfriend, and brings the group out to see their friend's dead naked body, left to rot on a hill. The different reactions from the teens in the group, make up the film. Ranging from unquestioned loyalty from Crispin Glover (far from from McFly in Back To The Future), to Keanu Reeves' confusion about whether or not to go to the police. With a performance from Dennis Hopper (as the adult you don't want around these teens) that continued the comeback path that Blue Velvet and Hoosiers started. A little more humorous than you might expect, but with a subject like this, expect a good, dark drama.

Preceded by a short, A Hero Of Our Time, featuring Hopper and directed by Michael Almereyda, of Deadwood and Hamlet (Ethan Hawke version). After River's Edge, there will be free beer and alcohol in the lobby, for those who want it:

http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/fcs/riversedge.html

Now a choice of two Midnight screenings during Martin Luther King weekend:

PAPER MOON- Fri Jan 14 and Sat Jan 15 at Midnight-ish - IFC Center- Oscar winning film that rarely gets a revival screening. With my luck, it would have to be at Midnight (ish?). A dramedy, where Ryan O'Neal and daughter Tatum are con artists during the Depression. They may or may not actually be father and daughter, they pose as such often enough for their various cons. The last film Peter Bogdanovich ever directed that audiences gave a crap about, at least until Mask.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK- Fri Jan 14- Sun Jan 16 at Midnight- Landmark Sunshine Cinema- Any of you ever hear of Indiana Jones? Ever see Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen? If you did, it might have been at a revival screening, usually at midnight. Well, here's another one, playing three nights, since it's Martin Luther King weekend. One of my all time favorites, on both AFI Top 100 lists, multiple Oscars, and holds up just as well today as in the early 80s.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE RE-OPENING with DUCK SOUP, THE HUSTLER and 2001 AMONG THE OPTIONS- Sat Jan 15 starting at noon- Museum of the Moving Image- 35th Ave at 37th St in Astoria- After almost 23 months where it was either closed or open on a small scale, the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria reopens on Saturday, Jan 15th. The museum, formerly having the word American in its name and used to be known as AMMI, will have expanded exhibits, production workshops, gift shops, cafe and an area for live musical performances. But what interests me most is their 2 new screens; a 267 seater and a more intimate 68 seat screening room. This supposedly will give them the chance to screen things from 8mm to 70mm, as well as digital screenings. On Martin Luther King day, the museum will be free, and you can see Coraline in Digital 3-D, and/or King . . . A Filmed Record. I can't make that, so consider it an unofficial posting. What is official here is their lineup on opening day/night:

12:30PM: DUCK SOUP- The Marx Brothers classic. A flop in its day, a classic from the late 50s-early 60s on. An AFI Top 100 film, in my personal top 100, and one of the best comedies ever made. The museum recommends this film for families with children 8 and up.

1PM: PLAY TIME- A French comedy directed, co-written by, and starring Jacques Tati, as his famous M. Hulot character. Imagine the klutzy M. Hulot going from typical Paris to not just any metropolis, but to an actual Metropolis. As in a place similar to the city from Fritz Lang's Metropolis, but with enough alienation and little use for individuality, that Tom Stoppard and/or Terry Gilliam had to know this film when making Brazil. A mega-flop in its day, but with ever growing appreciation for it as the years have gone by. The film shot in 70mm by Tati, this might be the only time a (restored) 70mm print has been shown in a revival house here.

2PM: THE HUSTLER- Classic Paul Newman film, as he plays "Fast" Eddie, cocky incarnate, and the rise and fall as he tries to become the best at pool. A lame synopsis, I admit. But to go further without spoiling the film for some, is bad form. And to go on about the snappy dialogue and the grimy ambiance of this sports noir, requires a better writer than myself. I just want you to go. In a 35mm print restored by Fox.

4PM: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY- I've seen it, I love it, and need no excuse to see Stanley Kubrick's classic. And if you've never seen it, maybe the Ziegfeld, the Walter Reade and the Paris are the only theaters to best see it. But this is as good as its gonna get to see it in Queens. A restored 70mm print from Warner Bros. I'm not sure if this is restoration from the year 2001 and it's a new print struck from that 9 year old restoration, or if its a new restoration from its recent conversion to Blu-ray and blown up to 70mm size. We'll see if you like. 2001, The Hustler and Play Time are all from the Museum's "Recovered Treasures: Great Films From World Archives" series.

5PM: 8mm FILMS FROM MIKE AND GEORGE KUCHAR- And now for a change of pace. Talk about independent cinema, a screening of films from the Kuchar brothers from the Bronx. 3 shorts, 16mm blown-up prints of 8mm film borrowed from Anthology Film Archives, Anita Needs Me, Sylvia's Promise, and A Town Called Tempest are the titles. A combined 58 minutes in length. Afraid I don't know much more about it.

The way it's structured, the best one can do is catch 2 films for one admission, or 3, if you choose to do Duck Soup, The Hustler and the Kuchar shorts. On your downtime, you can check out the museum itself. After the films, there will be some kind of multi media, partially interactive party called Signal To Noise, that will run from 8pm to 2am. The price is 15 dollars, which is museum entry and film admission combined. In the future, it may not be cost effective to go unless one can go to at least 2 films there in a day, unless one goes for membership. We'll see how that goes for future postings. No idea if the SAG card is still accepted:

http://movingimage.us/site/calendar/index.html

HOW I WON THE WAR- Sat Jan 15 at 8- 92Y Tribeca Screening Room- Part of a Richard Lester mini-retrospective, in honor of the director's upcoming 79th birthday. For this retro, the 92ndY Tribeca has gone for some of his little known 60s British films, as opposed to pics like A Hard Day's Night, or one of those 70s Musketeer. How I Won The War is on DVD as part of MGM/UA's Avant Garde series, and boy does it fit. A different kind of anti-war black comedy. Set mostly in period of combined British WW 2 battles from 1942-1945, Lester didn't take the approach of war having noble purposes, but as being completely destructive, regardless of the purpose or task at hand. Throw in the idea of class, where incompetent upper class have the power to lead lower classes to their death (an oversimplification, but I have to keep going), and throw the rat-a-tat-tat editing and shooting style that was pioneering in A Hard Day's Night, and Lester is really pissed. Michael Crawford plays the incompetent braggart better skilled at talking then soldiering.

Suffice to say, critics destroyed it, and audiences stayed away. But it has a following of a kind. It's bitterness fit better in Catch-22 (book and film), and War's going back in forth in time doesn't seem strange to us after Memento or Lost or the new film Blue Valentine, and this doesn't count the amount of times characters talk directly into the camera. Plus there's the curiosity of having John Lennon, in his only non-Beatles acting role, as a solider. The picture/poster of him in costume, round glasses, either whistling or blowing a kiss to us, was probably more successful. Not the best film on this list, but I try to bring up things you may not be familiar with, and for most of you who are adventurous, How I Won The War certainly qualifies:

http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?category=92Tri+92YTribeca+Film888&productid=T-MM5FJ91

Let me know. Later all.