First Row Balcony

Wishlist...

2009-02-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. The Shoot Horses Don't They? February 27-March 5

Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA

2.Husbands February 27-28

Film Streams Omaha, NE

3. Birdsong February 25- March 3

Anthology Film Archive New York, NY

4. The Films of Marie Menken February 27-28

Harvard Film Archive Cambridge, MA

5. Aparajito February 25

Pacific FIlm Archive Berkeley, CA

Wishlist...

2009-02-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

1. Me and My Brother Feb 18-19

Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA

2.Great Speeches from a Dying World Feb 16-17

Anthology Film Archive New York, NY

3. An Evening with Pat O'Neil Feb 19

Walker Arts Center Minneapolis, MN

4. The Devil is a Woman Feb 20

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

5. Two of Three Things I Know About Her through Feb 24

Film Forum New York, NY

Wishlist...

2009-02-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. New Documentaries Shot on Super 8 February 12

MOMA New York, NY

2. Pillow Talk February 10-11

Brattle Theatre Cambridge, MA

3. Lithuania and the Collapse of the USSR February 9-15

Anthology Film Archive New York, NY

4. Valley Girl February 14

Clinton Street Theater Portland, OR

5. Amarcord February 13-19

Nuart Los Angeles, CA

Picture Show: Let the Right One In

2009-02-08T23:21:00.000-08:00

Location: Regency Fairfax

7907 Beverly Blvd.

Hollywood, CA 90048

Just shy of being first run, the Regency Fairfax is a second run venue for recent art house cinema. The historic space has housed movie theaters since the 1920s and maintains a classic asthetic and free standing ticket booth (one of the last in the city). On rainy days it is drafty and the ceilings leak with the temperatures in the screening rooms dropping significantly. However, like all old movie theaters the space recalls a Los Angeles that is rapidly disappearing and I hope that the theater maintains its history and wear and does not reemerge as plush or modern.

Picture Show: Che

2009-02-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

Location: Laemmle Sunset 5

8000 Sunset Blvd.

West Hollywood, CA 90046

In high school, Laemmle Sunset 5 was where I discovered the foreign films and 90s indies that were prerequisites for the film student I was becoming. Now, newer theaters like the Arclight and Landmark have overtaken the market, nearly eliminating my regular visits. I watched Steven Soderbergh's Che over the course of two days. During the film's four hours I was relieved that Soderbergh's extensive project avoided the typical pitfalls of a Hollywood biopic. The measured meditation on the life and death of Che Guvara took advantage of duration and allowed for the development of secondary figures and relationships. Instead of forcing the material into a curt, linear narrative Soderbergh allows for exploration, nuance and variation. Despite my declared resistance to biopics and Soderbergh I was deeply effected by both the elliptical narrative and interrogation of capitalism.

Amarcord (Coming to a Theatre Near You...)

2009-01-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Janus Films has restored new prints of Fellini's meditation on fascism in 1930s Italy. The film takes place in the costal town of Rimini, a series of beaches now filled with tributes to the famous director. Nostalgic for my real and imagined memories of Italy I am eager to encounter Fellini's.

January 14 & January 23

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

February 13 - 19

Nuart Los Angeles, CA

February 27 - March 5

Landmark Ken San Diego, CA

February 27 - March 5

Castro Theatre San Francisco, CA

March 13 - March 19

Landmark E Street Washington, DC

March 27 - April 2

Landmark Lagoon Minneapolis, MN

April 2- 5

Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH

April 17-23

Ritz at the Bourse Philadelphia, PA

May 8-14

Landmark Midtown Art Cinema Atlanta, GA

May 10-12

Cinestudio Hartford, CT

June 19-21

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Fort Worth, TX

What A Series: Great Directors: Cassavetes

2009-01-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

Film Streams

Omaha, NE

February 6- March 26

There is no one like John Cassavetes. In Thom Andersen's essay-film Los Angeles Plays Itself he describes him by saying: "His films face up to tragedy and reject it." There is an unsettling awareness of human behavior, desperation and need. The passionate desires to be understood, to be close to someone and to laugh are all painfully articulated. His films are the representations of self that we so desperately need and yet are afraid to look at. However, despite all the fear or anxiety that he might inspire I will never stop looking.

February 6

Shadows/ Faces

February 7

Shadows/ Faces

February 13

An Evening with Seymour Cassel

Rushmore

February 13- 19

Minnie and Moskowitz

February 20-26

Gloria

February 20-21

Too Late Blues

February 27- March 5

Husbands

February 27- March 5

A Woman Under the Influence

March 6- 12

Opening Night

March 6-12

Killing of A Chinese Bookie

Wishlist...

2009-01-29T02:53:00.000-08:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching.

1. The Last Man on Earth February 4

International Film Series Boulder, CO

2. La Chinoise January 29-30

Yerba Buena Center San Francisco, CA

3. Shadows of our Forgotten Ancestors February 2

Cornell Cinema Ithaca, NY

4. Standard Operating Procedure February 1

Union Theatre Milwaukee, WI

5. Panic in Needle Park January 30- February 5

FIlm Forum New York, NY

6. Bigger Than Life February 6-7

Wexner Center Columbus, OH

7. The Hustler/ Hud February 4

The Castr0 San Francisco, CA

8. Rio Bravo/ Touch of Evil January 28

New Beverly Cinema Los Angeles, CA

What A Series: 69

2009-01-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Northwest Film Forum's ambitious 69 will run from January until December of 2009. The series consists of a collection of screenings of films from the titular year including Funeral Procession of Roses, They Shoot Horses Don't They? and Paint Your Wagon. The thoughtfulness, breadth and duration of the compilation is unmatched by any other programming I have seen. To allow an entire year to ruminate on a single time period, idea and sentiment is refreshing, stable and demonstrates a commitment I hope to encounter in other schedules.

Picture Show: Manhatta and Other Restored Treasures

2009-01-22T01:32:00.000-08:00

Monday January 19

Location: Redcat

RedCat's weekly experimental film screenings are nothing short of lovely. The schedule alternates documentaries, features and shorts programs and generally includes guest speakers and Q&A sessions. The January 19th screening featured a shorts program of films restored by archivist Bruce Posner. The evening's centerpiece was a pristine, digital restoration of Manhatta that was so clean that the traces of time were practically invisible. Posner's aggressive approach to preservation and restoration insists on an erasure of wear and tear. The program included Manhatta, Soul of the Cypress, Ballet Mécanique, Haiti, 1941, Meditation on Violence, N.Y. N.Y., Confession and Sapho and Jerry. Deren's Meditation on Violence had been reframed to increase the image's clarity, revealing a hair that Deren had attempted to keep out of frame. The clarity and quality of all the films made me wonder: is it okay for things to look old? Is there charm to be found in the traces of time? Does restoration have to insist on perfection?

Wishlist...

2009-01-19T12:54:00.000-08:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. Primary January 19

MOMA New York, NY

2. The Last Picture Show/ What' s Up Doc January 21, 22

New Beverly Cinema Los Angeles, CA

3. Ivan the Terrible Parts 1 & 2 January 23-25

Yerba Buena Center San Francisco, CA

4. The Godfather January 23

Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH

5. Children of Divorce January 20

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

Picture Show: Badlands/ Sugarland Express

2009-01-19T10:40:00.001-08:00

Thursday January 15

Location: New Beverly Cinema

7165 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

I recently listened to a peer divide film viewers into two categories: the 1/2 full and the 1/2 empty and declare that he could easily discern which camp a person belonged to. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person he thought I was. Though I am not simply happy to sit in comfy chairs and look at the screen, I consider myself passionate about movies and deeply committed to theatrical exhibition. I suspect that I am both loyalist and nay-sayer: demanding but not without the ability to abandon critical mediation. The New Beverly's double feature of Badlands and Sugarland Express neatly matched my cynic and idealist. Rarely do I feel as vulnerable as I do when watching the films of Terrence Malick. I am struck by his eye for the beautiful and his subsequent ability to penetrate the frameline, to make the viewer reconceive the world around him. He fuses the mundane and sublime and locates the profound in the generally ignored. To watch a Malick film is to abandon my cynicism. Watching a Spielberg film, on the other hand, is to embrace my deepest skepticism. My utter rejection of Goldie Hawn's loopy, shrieking heroine suggests that though I love going to the movies there are some things I simply cannot tolerate.

Picture Show: The Wild Child

2009-01-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

Monday January 12

Location: Nuart

11272 Santa Monica Blvd.

West Los Angeles, CA 90025

François Truffaut's period piece stars the director as an 18th century doctor committed to educating a pre-linguistic child found living in the forest. Roger Ebert described the film as a meditation on the maturation process and an exploration of the way that young people think, learn and develop. Truffaut's Dr. Itard struggles with the frustrations and pitfalls of working with a pupil who has essentially no linguistic or social foundation and enacts a rigorous educational schedule with aspirations of teaching speech, language, morals and sociability. The film's trajectory is impressive and the lively subject learns at an alarmingly rapid rate. Despite the intrigue of the development process I was discouraged by the film's assimilation-based model of success. The titular wild child learns how to wear shoes, communicate and appreciate time spent inside, but at what cost? The victory of commitment to the perpetual march of gain-based progress struck me as slightly tragic. A natural intellect can enable someone to adopt society's system of rigor, punishment and rewards but I wonder if such successes can ever compare to the pleasure of being outside.

Wishlist...

2009-01-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. Kanal January 16

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

2. Terence Davies Trilogy January 15

MOMA New York, NY

3. Death by Hanging January 15

Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL

4. Made in U.S.A January 16

Nuart West Los Angeles, CA

5. Badlands/ Sugarland Express January 14

New Beverly Cinema Los Angeles CA

Picture Show: Brakhage with Brakhage

2009-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 11

Location: Egyptian Theatre

6712 Hollywood Blvd. at Las Palmas

Los Angeles, CA

I first encountered Stan Brakhage in college. Like many others, I was introduced to a father of the avant-garde: an unwieldy, polemical romanticist whose prolific output was seemingly impossible to conquer. The course came on the heels of the release of Criterion's first Brakhage DVD and my writing was supplemented with the digital versions of Window Water Baby Moving and Mothlight. I initially emphasized the gravity of his films and was daunted by the task of reorienting my eyes, of looking as if I had never seen before. The

Los Angeles FilmForum's screening of his later works and Q&A with his wife Marilyn challenged my perspective, interogating the deep seriousness with which I approached the films. While I watched The Machine of Eden, Burial Path and Visions in Meditation #4 I was struck by a tremendous lust for life. I encountered Brakhage as a man who loved looking and living, who had a vision that was both inclusive and discerning. Marilyn described Stan as a man who had a sense of humor and was well aware of the comedy in his works. Despite the seriousness of Brakhage's themes of living and dying I noticed how life's gravest moments are infused with humor and incredible artistry.

Made in USA (Coming to a Theatre Near You...)

2009-01-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Rialto Pictures is currently distributing a new 35mm, cinemascope print of Jean Luc Godard and sometime paramour Anna Karina's final collaboration. Somewhat of a nouvelle vague holy grail, Made in U.S.A. has been essentially unavailable with no stateside video or DVD release. After waiting years I will finally be able to see the final time that Godard filmed one of the cinema's most beautiful faces and to witness the film that J. Hoberman described as the most quintissential film of Godard's great period.

Jan 9-22

Film Forum New York, NY

Jan 16-22

Nuart Los Angeles, CA

Feb 20-28

Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA

Au Revoir 2008

2009-01-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

A year of painful farewells and blissful discoveries... true to form I will always remember the people who sat next to me during my favorite nights at the cinema. Five would have been too few and twenty too greedy so I have selected ten of the very best.

1. Contempt, Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA

2. The Exiles, Billy Wilder Theater, Los Angeles, CA

3. In the Year of the Pig, Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA

4. Harlan County USA, Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA

5. The Passion of Joan of Arc, Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA

6. Doctor Zhivago, Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA

7. Last Year at Marienbad, Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA

8. Days of Being Wild, Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA

9. I Don't Hear the Guitar Anymore, Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA

10. Jeanne Dielman, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

Picture Show.....

2009-01-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

After a holiday season of fruitful viewing and limited writing I will weakly attempt to use a single post to encapsulate a season of cinematic adventures. I was lucky enough to make my way across the country to revisit some of my favorite theaters and have spent months inundated with trailers and advertisements for potential oscar contenders. I look forward to 2009, despite the fact that I started the year with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Despite finding myself lost in a sea of final papers I made it to the cinema a few times this winter and a cursory list of my outings is included below.

Wendy and Lucy Film Forum (New York, NY)

Violence at Noon Harvard Film Archive (Cambridge, MA)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Somerville Theater (Somerville, MA)

The Wrestler AMC Loews Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA)

Quantum of Solace Cinerama Dome (Los Angeles, CA)

Passion of Joan of Arc Cinefamily (Los Angeles, CA)

Martin Arnold: Something Hidden RedCat (Los Angeles, CA)

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T10:03:00.000-07:00

The very best horror movie experiences
1.Alien
Regal Fenway Boston, MA
2.The Descent
Loews Boston Common Boston, MA
3.The Exorcist
AMC Beverly Connection Los Angeles, CA
4.Scream
Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza 4 Los Angeles, CA
5.The Shining
Regal Fenway Boston, MA
6.Dawn of the Dead
Brattle Theatre Cambridge, MA
7.House of Wax in 3D
Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
8.Friday the 13th
Brattle Theatre Cambridge, MA

Wishlist...

2008-10-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.
1. Black Orpheus October 30
International Film Series Boulder, CO
2. Eyes Without A Face October 28
Film Streams Omaha, NE
3. Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! October 29
Music Box Theatre Chicago, IL
4. Three Films by Hou Hsiao- Hsien November 2
Union Theatre Milwaukee, WI
5. The Tingler October 31
Cinefamily Los Angeles, CA

Picture Show: Lola Montes

2008-10-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 23
Location: Laemmle's Royal Theatre
11523 Santa Monica Blvd.
West LA, CA 90025

Rarely does film look so perfect. I found Lola Montes' spectacle in all its retro, bold configurations to be irresistible: the saturated color, circus performance and elliptical treatment of life and memory. In Lola Montes time isn't a linear, trajectory of conventional narrative instead it is a slipping, cyclical reiteration of actuality. Life is open to constant revisitation and in memory there is the potential to slide the adult self into the past. A former, affluent femme fatal Lola preforms her life experiences in a circus spectacular. A fusion of persona and pain, Lola's recreation of self is presided over by a ring leader who narrates her fusion of flashback and recreation. Despite all my loyalty to restraint I was in awe of the complexity and flourish of Ophul's film. I went to the last screening before the film's run at Laemmle's ended, and I am incredibly grateful that I did not let the opportunity pass me by.

Picture Show: The Round Up/ Silence and Cry

2008-10-18T01:30:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 17

Location: LACMA

5905 Wilshire Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

Before this double feature I barely knew anything about the work of Miklós Jancsó. There was a brief assertion of quality during an abridged phone conversation but little else. I didn't do research or readings, there was no summation of plot, I went in cold. Starting a screening with absolutely no expectations has become a relatively rare experience for me. I obsessively watch trailers, allotting myself nightly leisure time to peruse apple.com and I read reviews, a habit that true aficionados are often disdainful of. They suspect that my curiosity about the thoughts of others prevents me from forming opinions of my own. In the repertory world my foreknowledge is usually even more extensive. These are the films I read about in books and the screenings that are penciled into my organizer. There was something intimidating about approaching a screening without a cache of information at my disposal. I had to accept confusion and embrace my own lack of knowledge. There was no canon or discourse to guide my thinking. Instead I was left to my own devices and each exquisitely beautiful frame came as a surprise. Though Jancsó is a well known director the screenings felt like a discovery, and for me they were. The discovery that I have an infinite amount left to learn and that my current knowledge is but a sliver of cinematic possibility. Though this lack of intellectual command can feel intimidating, in the end it is pure bliss.

Lola Montes (Coming to a Theatre Near You)

2008-10-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have never seen Lola Montes but I suspect it is the very reason I am so passionate about going to the movies. So in simple, uninformed terms my advertisement for the film will be limited to the following

CINEMASCOPE

RESTORED PRINT

For a more sophisticated and informed description of the film I leave you to the able prose of Reverse Shot.

October 16-30

Film Forum New York, NY

October 10- 23

Laemmle's Royal Los Angeles, CA

October 10-23

Laemmle's Playhouse Pasadena, CA

November 7-13

Music Box Chicago, IL

November 19-25

The Castro San Francisco, CA

November 10- 25

Rialto Cinemas Elmwood Berkeley, CA

November 19-25

Smith Rafael Film Center San Rafael, CA

November 21-27

Landmark's E Street Cinema Washington DC

Wishlist...

2008-10-12T03:27:00.000-07:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. Red Persimmons October 14

Union Theatre Milwaukee, WI

2. Maîtresse October 12

BAM Brooklyn, NY

3. Home Movie Day October 18

Harvard Film Archive Cambridge, MA

4. A Brighter Summer Day October 18

LACMA Los Angeles, CA

5. Ashes of Time Redux October 10-16

ImagineAsian Center Los Angeles, CA

Picture Show: Season of the Witch / The Crazies

2008-10-11T02:28:00.001-07:00

Friday October 10

Location: Cinefamily

611 N. Fairfax Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

My home is wherever I can go to the cinema. There is just something about going to the movies... the crackling laughter during Playtime, the sing-a-long during Stop Making Sense, sitting in the auditorium is being part of something, and at the best theaters it is something truly exceptional. Rarely is this more evident than at the aptly named Cinefamily. Though I find their commitment to creative repertory schedules to be striking what interests me most about Cinefamily is their exhibitory practices. With rows of couches, nightly introductions, intermissions and the perfect chorus of laughter and gasps during the pulpy, rosy Grindhouse reels, at Cinefamily I know that even if I don't feel at home everywhere, I can always find a home there.

Spotlight on Halloween and Horror

2008-10-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

I can't resist Halloween...

Dressing up may have started in childhood but with each year of my life it has reached a new level of fanaticism. In truth, no amount of celebrating could ever compare to the amount of anticipation that I experience during October. Even by my extremely lax standards I am no longer within the appropriate age range for trick-or-treating and have entered into the adult realm of costume parties, movie screenings and occasionally the practically parental act of handing out candy. There is some level of sadness in realizing that I no longer need to go door-to-door and am instead encouraged to buy bulk candy for actual children. Though my candy collecting practices have devolved into the realm of the middle-aged I can still count on a near perfect month of schlock and horror movies. Los Angeles' own Cinefamily and New York's Pioneer Theatre have devoted all of October to pure, unbridled Halloween goodness. Now I just need to decide if I have the means and willpower to put my entire life on hold to go the Alamo Drafthouse's Rolling Roadshow screening of the Shining at "The Overlook" (Timberline Lodge) in Oregon.

Homicidal/ Strait- Jacket October 22, 23

New Beverly Cinema Los Angeles, CA

Night Tide October 31

Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL

Rosemary's Baby October 31- November 6

Film Forum New York, NY

24 Hour Horror Marathon October 25

Music Box Theatre Chicago, IL

Dusk to Dawn Horror Marathon October 31

American Cinematheque Los Angeles, CA

SchlockTober All October

Pioneer Theater New York, NY

Texas Chainsaw Massacre October 31

Red Vic Movie House San Francisco, CA

Come Play With Us October 31

Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Road Show

HOLYFUCKINGSHIT Evil Children All October

Cinefamily Los Angeles, CA

Humans Are Such Easy Prey All October

Steve Allen Theater Los Angeles, CA

What a Series: David Lean Retrospective

2008-10-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I composed a list of cinematic birthday presents that I hoped to acquire during the upcoming 12 months. Though I opted not to rank my selections in any particular order it was no accident that Lawrence of Arabia fell near the top of the list. I noted that I hoped to see all of the films in 35 mm. This request, aside from reinforcing my love of all things film, demonstrated a certain modesty on my part that has since been completely undermined by the upcoming David Lean Retrospective at the Wexner Center. Never, even in my wildest dreams, did it occur to me that I might get to see those films in 70 mm. This format, something of a theatrical holy grail, seems so fantastical that I didn't even dare to dream. Truth be told, I have never ever seen a movie in 70 mm and tomorrow at the Wexner Center, crowds will get to indulge.

Wexner Center

Columbus, OH

October 10

Lawrence of Arabia

October 12

Summertime

October 17

Oliver Twist/ Blithe Spirit

October 18

In Which We Serve/ This Happy Breed

October 24

The Bridge on the River Kwai

October 30

The Sound Barrier/ The Passionate Friends

Picture Show: Vivre Sa Vie

2008-10-06T01:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 5 2008

Location: Nuart

11272 Santa Monica Blvd

West Los Angeles, CA 90025

The last time that I saw Vivra Sa Vie was at a double feature with Une Femme est une femme at the Harvard Film Archive. It was part of a retrospective of films with scores by the incomparable Michel Legrand. Une Femme est une Femme is a work of tremendous showmanship; shot in both cinemascope and technicolor the film is Godard's playful, New Wave response to the American musicals that Karina was so fond of. Released just a year later, Vivra Sa Vie is undeniably melancholy. Karina is no longer a sailor-stripper but a shockingly enigmatic prostitute, alternately coy and stone faced. Like Dreyer's Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, which is prominently excerpted, Vivra Sa Vie is all about faces. Though the film seems impossibly densely written, with elaborate references to psychology and philosophy it incorporates an element of utter illegibility. Conversation, even in its most sophisticated incarnations is not able to provide necessary truths and answers, instead the most intimate conveyance of information occurs via the most simplistic of means. We are able to understand the undeniable complexities of life, not by puzzling through words but by recognizing the pain and confusion on Nana's face. Vivra Sa Vie steadily avoids answering any of the questions that it posits instead leaving us to mull over its tragedy, presented with perfect restraint.

Concessions: None

Link Me: Antiplex

2008-10-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

The man who brought you tourfilter has developed Antiplex, a guide to Boston's independent movie houses. The website is simple and user friendly and allows visitors to scroll through chronological listings of play dates and showtimes for Boston's independent cinemas.

Wishlist...

2008-10-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. Back To Skool...In the Nineties October 10

Romeo & Juliet/ Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ Starship Troopers

Castro Theatre San Francisco, CA

2. Season of the Witch/ The Crazies October 10

Cinefamily Los Angeles, CA

3. Les Diaboliques October 10

Film Streams Omaha, NE

4. Three Films by Wong Kar Wai October 9-12

Union Theatre Milwaukee, WI

5. La Ciénaga October 11

Harvard Film Archive Cambridge, MA

Spotlight on Nouvelle Vague

2008-10-03T01:02:00.000-07:00

There is just something about the French New Wave....

When I discovered it I fell hopelessly in love. It wasn't my first cinematic sweetheart but it was certainly my most passionate affair. As a slight film student fresh from nearly a decade of orthodontia it showed me everything I had always wanted film to be. It was technicolor, scope and kinetic with those scores by Michel Legrand and it demanded with every fiber of its being to be seen in theaters. It made me feel like I was part of something, an all encompassing, obsessive cinephelia, and most importantly (and perhaps embarrassingly) I found it to be devastatingly cool. Cool in every cliche, coming of age way that one conceives of the word. It was what I always thought cool would be while I was growing up: jokes and tricks and editing, minutes of silence, sprints through the Louvre, sex and smoking, and coca-cola in glass bottles.

I discovered it during my freshman year of college, but my obsession didn't reach it's peak until the following year when I discovered Godard's collaborations with Anna Karina. Eventually, after reading Truffaut's correspondence I came to adore him too: his intense loyalty to the cinema, the fabric of his friendships, his high regard for women...but at first all I could see was Jean Luc: his tinted glasses, his dangling cigarette, the famous photograph of him studying a strip of film. I was never exactly sure that I knew what he looked like, but I didn't care, I was completely enraptured. As I discovered how big the world of film really was no one captured my imagination like Godard. I spent years slowly reconstructing myself as his sometime wife Anna Karina: pinning my hair, wearing ribbons and knee socks, learning the Madison. I fell in love with their entire world and made myself a part of it. As I grow up and my interests broaden and change there will always be part of my heart the belongs to those years in the 1960s, to back issues of Cahiers du Cinema, to Odile, to Catherine, to Antoine Doinel.

Les Sixties September 5- October 2

Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL

Godard in the Sixties August 27- November 11

Cornell Cinema Ithaca, NY

Six in Paris October 3- October 9

BAM Cinemtek New York, NY

Jean Luc Godard: Movie Love in the Sixties September 5- October 17

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

1960s Godard October 4- November 2

Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH

Godard Retrospective October 10- October 23

Oak Street Cinema Minneapolis, MN

Contempt November 5

International Film Series Boulder, CO

Wishlist...

2008-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. The Pleasure of Being Robbed

IFC Center New York, NY October 3 - October 7

2. Bleak Moments

Walker Art Center Minneapolis, MN October 3

3. Masculine Feminine

Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH October 4- October 5

4. Rosemary's Baby/ The Devils

Castro Theatre San Francisco, CA October 3

5. Vivre Sa Vie

Nuart Los Angeles, CA October 3- 9

What A Series: The Man of 1,000 Faces

2008-09-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

Once exclusively a venue for silent films, Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre now runs monthly, vertically programmed repertory series. However, the theatre pays tribute to its roots by designating Wednesdays for films from the pre-synch sound era. During the month of October each Wednesday will be devoted to a different Lon Chaney film in a program entitled The Man of 1,000 Faces. The series begins Wednesday, October 1st with Victor Sjörstrom's heartbreaking He Who Gets Slapped. I am particularly drawn to this series because of its premiere screening. A passionate Ingmar Bergman enthusiast, I was first introduced to Sjörstrom by his film The Phantom Carriage, a piece often referenced as being one of Bergman's major influences. From the foggy, confused world of the recent dead I sought out more of Sjörstrom films and discovered a double feature of He Who Gets Slapped and Dumbo. I was floored by the poignancy of Chaney's performance. His painted face so nakedly conveyed desire and loneliness. His performance is one of the most open that I have ever encountered and as I sat in the auditorium my heart broke with his. Without words, Chaney is able to desperately, poignantly portray confusion, sadness and the overwhelming desire for human connection.

Cinefamily

Los Angeles, CA

October 1

He Who Gets Slapped

October 7

The Unholy Three

October 14

The Unknown

October 22

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

October 29

The Phantom of the Opera

Day of Wrath (coming to a theater near you...)

2008-09-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Janus is celebrating Days of Wrath's 65th anniversary with a mini rerelease. The film is set in a 17th century village and manages to combine Dreyer's restraint with soapy good times. Exquisite to behold and teeming with repression, passion, moral ambiguity and enough desire to knock the buckles right off your shoes, I can only hope the film comes to Los Angeles soon.

October 7

Cinema Arts Centre Huntington, NY

October 26

Symphony Space New York, NY

November 14-November 17

The Screen Santa Fe, NM

December 18- December 19

Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH

December 26 - January 1

Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA

Last Seen: Brattle Theatre

Link Me: Avant-Garde, Experimental Film and Microcinemas

2008-09-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Flicker Showcase is an amazing guide to microcinemas and alternative exhibition venues around the country and abroad. It is incredibly thorough and a wonderful resource.

That Luke Smile of His (Wishlist...)

2008-09-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Screen legend Paul Newman died yesterday of lung cancer, he was 83 years old. His passing makes this morning something of a heartbreaker. Newman wasn't just the Hollywood star you wanted to have a torrid romance with, he was the one you wanted to stay married to for 50 years (a pleasure enjoyed by Joanne Woodward). Devastating, rebellious and with a smile that made me weak in the knees, here are the films I hope to see in theatre retrospectives soon....

1. The Long Hot Summer

2. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

3. Hud

4. Cool Hand Luke

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

6. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

Birthday Wishes (Wishlist...)

2008-09-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

The very strangest and most Alison-centric of e-cards from the very nicest of friends. Here is what I am asking for (on 35mm with candy, popcorn and a soda if you please)

1. Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk)

2. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean)

3. The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky)

4. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders)

5. Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan)

6. Million Dollar Mermaid (Mervyn LeRoy)

7. Bush Mama (Haile Gerima)

9. The Long Goodbye (Robert Altman)

10. Unholy Rollers (Vernon Zimmerman)
11. The Stranger (Luchino Visconti)
12. La Notte & L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni)
13. The Greatest Show on Earth (Cecil B. Demille)
14. The Boy with Green Hair (Joseph Losey)
15. Minnie and Moskowitz (John Cassavetes)

16. Peeping Tom (Michael Powell)
16. Berserk! (Jim O'Connolly)

17.Werkmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr)

Spotlight on Experimental Film

2008-09-25T11:39:00.001-07:00

The Best In Experimental/ Avant-Garde Exhibition this fall. This is just a sample and is probably woefully incomplete...

Alternative Visions September 2- October 28
Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA
Stan Brakhage Sundays September 7- December 7
International Film Series Boulder, CO
Eyes Upside Down (w/ P. Adams Sitney) September 22
Harvard Film Archive Cambridge, MA
Balagan Presents: Psychedelic Cinema September 25
Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
Optical Multimedia Showcase September 26 and 27
Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
Derek Jarman's Heavenly Bodies September 26- October 2
Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL
Collaborations with Stan Brakhage October 9
Wexner Center for the Arts
International Experimental Film Exposition October 11
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, MA
Bruce Conner Program October 15 and 16
MOMA New York, NY
Bruce Conner, The Last Magician of the 20th Century October 18 and 19
Harvard Film Archive Cambridge, MA
Carolee Schneemann: Since 1968 October 23
Union Theatre Milwaukee, WI
An Evening With Bruce LaBruce October 27
MOMA New York, NY
Punto y Raya November 11
Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
Experimental Eye Ongoing Series
Cornell Cinema Ithaca, NY

Special Mention to the Yerba Buena Center and Red Ca t, who both have so many upcoming avant-garde screenings that there is not room to mention them all

Bon Anniversaire

2008-09-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

In honor of my birthday I have compiled a list of the 24 movies that I am the most grateful to have seen in theaters. It is a mixture of the rare, the technicolor, the epic and the overwhelmingly fun. I know that Boston area theaters are over-represented but I suspect that my recent relocation to California will shake things up for all future lists. To every person that sat next to me during one of these screenings .... I haven't forgotten and probably never will.

1. Satantango, Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA

2. Playtime, Harvard Film Archive

3. Days of Being Wild, Harvard Film Archive

4. Contempt, Brattle Theatre Cambridge, MA

5. Funeral Procession of Roses, Harvard Film Archive

6. Jeanne Dielman, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA

7. Killer of Sheep, Museum of Fine Arts

8. Black Narcissus, Theatre de Variétés Monaco
9. The Conformist, Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA

10. Cranes are Flying, Brattle Theatre Cambridge, MA

11. Days of Heaven, Brattle Theatre

12. Double Life of Veronique, Museum of Fine Arts

13. He Who Gets Slapped, Harvard Film Archive

14. Husbands, Brattle Theatre

15. It's a Wonderful Life, Brattle Theatre

16. The Little Fugitive, Harvard Film Archive

17. Linda Linda Linda, Brattle Theatre

18. Los Angeles Plays Itself, Aero Theatre Santa Monica, CA

19. The Silent World, Harvard Film Archive

20. Mystery of the Leaping Fish, Silent Movie Theater Los Angeles, CA

21. The Phantom Carriage, Brattle Theatre

22. Pierrot Le Fou, Brattle Theatre

23. Vertigo, Brattle Theatre

24. West Side Story Sing-A-Long, Brattle Theatre

Wishlist...

2008-09-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

If I could be everywhere at once these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. Out of the Past September 23

Denver Film Society Denver, CO

2. Fireman's Ball September 23-24

Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA

3. Carvaggio September 27, 28 and October 2

Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL

4. Belle Toujours September 24

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

5. Only Angels Have Wings September 26

BAM Brooklyn, NY

Picture Show: Encounters at the End of the World

2008-09-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday September 18th 2008

Location: New Beverly Cinema

7165 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

Before I discovered boys (or they discovered me) or I was old enough to go to a bar I spent most weekends at the New Beverly. Their schedule included the perfect blend of 1970's Hollywood and 1980's teen films to entice my 16 year old self. I spent Halloween there watching the Exorcist and went to double features in costumes. This was the first time I had been back since the death of Sherman, the theater's proprietor. To my delight things hadn't changed much. Every night is a straight double feature for one low ticket price and the concessions seem to be the only thing in Los Angeles that have avoided massive price inflation. I was able to get both popcorn and candy for $3.00, nothing short of a concessions stand miracle. The turn out was modest, but Herzog's film was wonderful.

Concessions: Reeses Pieces

What a Series: Taylor Mead a clown underground

2008-09-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Yerba Buena Center is doing a mini-retrospective featuring experimental film star Taylor Mead with Mead in person.

September 18- September 21

What a Series: Stan Brakhage Sundays

2008-09-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

The International Film Series in Boulder Colorado is playing a series of films by Stan Brakhage on the first Sunday of every month through December 7th. One of the most prolific filmmakers of the American avant-garde, Brakhage's film are unsurpassed in their stunning beauty, emotionally evocative nature and blending of the earthly and sublime. Their tactility and sumptuous visual imagery makes seeing them on film an unbelievable treat.

Last Year at Marienbad (coming to a theater near you...)

2008-09-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

There are films that I waited years to see. Sometimes it was because they were unavailable on DVD so my only means of access was a theatrical re-release and other times I was so sure of their magnificence on 35 mm that I forced myself into patience. The films in the former category are particularly precious to me, there is something romantic about remaining untouched by the age of digital proliferation. There is something to be said for a movie you would wait a lifetime to see. Last Year at Marienbad is one of these films. Alain Renais' elliptical, enigmantic "puzzle film" was rereleased by Rialto Pictures with a brand new 35mm print that is playing screens all around the country.

New Beverly Los Angeles, CA- September 26- 27

Oak Street Cinema Minneapolis, MN- October 3-6

Red Vic Movie House San Francisco, CA- October 19-20

Cinema at the Whitney New Haven, CT- October 24

International Film Series Boulder, CO- November 2

Billy Wilder Los Angeles, CA- November 9

Yerba Buena Center San Francisco, CA- December 7

Last Seen: Brattle Theatre, March 2008

Link Me: Gridskipper Does "Cool Movie Theatres in LA"

2008-09-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Travel blog Gridskipper compiled and mapped a selection of Los Angeles' coolest movie theaters deliberately singling out the independent choices and excluding "soulless megaplexes". Sadly they left out the Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood, but the best thing about "best of" lists is that they work everyone into a frenzy (and encourage us to seek out independent movie houses). Kudos Gridskipper! Check it out...

What a Series: Fritz Lang in Germany!

2008-09-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

Fritz Lang In Germany September 12- 25 2008

Jacob Burns Film Center Pleasantville, NY

If I was in Pleasantville then I would be at the Jacob Burns Film Center watching their retrospective of German Fritz Lang films. One of the most significant directors of German Expressionism and a personal favorite, Lang's more famous German works include the dystopian masterpiece Metropolis, and the suspense drama M starring the ever-unsettling and yet endlessly compelling Peter Lorre (described by Lang as his favorite of his own oeuvre during his cameo in Le Mepris) . Die Nibelungen: Siegfried, Die Nibelungen: Kriemheld's Revenge and Destiny will all be playing with live piano accompaniment.

Vivra Sa Vie (coming to a theater near you...)

2008-09-13T04:28:00.000-07:00

The incomparable Janus Films has struck a brand new print of Jean Luc Godard's Vivre Sa Vie. One of Godard's seven collaborations with his sometime wife Anna Karina, it is tragic and exquisite and Karina arguably has one of the most honest, open, beguiling faces every committed to film. Their collaborations are irresistible.

August 10-13

Jacob Burns Film Center Pleasantville, NY

August 22- August 28

SIFF Cinema Seattle, WA

September 13- September 14

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

September 22- September 23

Cornell Cinema Ithaca, NY

September 26-September 28

Union Theatre Milwaukee, WI

October 3- October 9

Landmark Nuart Los Angeles, CA

October 16

International Film Series Boulder, CO

October 23- October 26

Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH

November 7- November 13

Ritz at the Bourse Philadelphia, PA

November 26- December 4

Denver Film Society Denver, CO

December 12- December 13

Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH

Picture Show: Los Angeles Plays Itself

2008-09-13T02:13:00.000-07:00

Friday September 12th 2008

Location:

Aero Theatre

1328 Montana Ave. Santa Monica, CA

I lived in Boston for six years and at some point during that time my life became surprisingly akin to a low budget sitcom. There were about three sets where I spent all of my time, and whenever I entered one of these places the cast of my life was there waiting for me. One of the sets was the lobby of a single screen theatre. In between shows the entire staff, both on and off the clock, could be found eating dinner or reading the paper, a customer might wrongly suspect that the theatre was either completely over-staffed or correctly suspect that the lobby had become one of the three locations in most of our lives. These years fathered an incredible affinity for the single screen theater. The Aero in Santa Monica, CA the westside location of the American Cinematheque, is a movie theatre in this tradition. The marquee is visible from the street and the line curves around the block, there is something charming about knowing that everyone is waiting to see same movie as you. At the Aero I was surrounded by cinephiles and Angelenos alike who were seeing Thom Andersen's Los Angeles Plays Itself. Andersen's collage epic is an exploration of cinematic depictions of his beloved hometown. At times irreverent, misanthropic, and comedic, at its core Los Angeles Plays Itself demonstrates a tremendous love for Los Angeles (he resents the diminutive "LA") and a desire to unearth its organic, anti-commercial and sincere cinematic identity.

Concession Selection: Nut Rageous

Last Seen: Brattle Theatre, March 2005

Feature Presentation

2008-09-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

This blog is a testament to my belief that almost nothing in life can surpass the utter brilliance that is going to the movies, the pictures, the flicks, the cinema. Not just the films themselves, though they can be magnificent (particularly when they are in technicolor), but popcorn, Red Vines, trailers and the rare double feature or short preceding the show.

Wishlist

2008-09-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

If I could be anywhere at anytime then these are the movies I would be watching this week.

1. The Wild Bunch September 12

Harvard Film Archive Cambridge, MA

2. Belle du Jour September 11

The Museum of Modern Art New York, NY

3. Vivre Sa Vie September 13

Pacific Film Archive Berkeley, CA

Last seen at the Harvard Film Archive May 28th 2004

4. Sullivan's Travels

Charles Theatre, Baltimore, MD, September 13th

5. Cranes are Flying September 11

Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA

Last seen at the Brattle Theatre November 12th 2006

First Row Balcony

Wishlist...

Wishlist...

Wishlist...

Picture Show: Let the Right One In

Picture Show: Che

Amarcord (Coming to a Theatre Near You...)

What A Series: Great Directors: Cassavetes

Wishlist...

What A Series: 69

Picture Show: Manhatta and Other Restored Treasures

Wishlist...

Picture Show: Badlands/ Sugarland Express

Picture Show: The Wild Child

Wishlist...

Picture Show: Brakhage with Brakhage

Made in USA (Coming to a Theatre Near You...)

Au Revoir 2008

Picture Show.....

Happy Halloween

Wishlist...

Picture Show: Lola Montes

Picture Show: The Round Up/ Silence and Cry

Lola Montes (Coming to a Theatre Near You)

Wishlist...

Picture Show: Season of the Witch / The Crazies

Spotlight on Halloween and Horror

What a Series: David Lean Retrospective

Picture Show: Vivre Sa Vie

Link Me: Antiplex

Wishlist...

Spotlight on Nouvelle Vague

Wishlist...

What A Series: The Man of 1,000 Faces

Day of Wrath (coming to a theater near you...)

Link Me: Avant-Garde, Experimental Film and Microcinemas

That Luke Smile of His (Wishlist...)

Birthday Wishes (Wishlist...)

Spotlight on Experimental Film

Bon Anniversaire

Wishlist...

Picture Show: Encounters at the End of the World

Suggested Reading

What a Series: Taylor Mead a clown underground

What a Series: Stan Brakhage Sundays

Last Year at Marienbad (coming to a theater near you...)

Link Me: Gridskipper Does "Cool Movie Theatres in LA"

What a Series: Fritz Lang in Germany!

Vivra Sa Vie (coming to a theater near you...)

Picture Show: Los Angeles Plays Itself

Feature Presentation

Wishlist