tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17766248598828275142024-02-07T10:27:47.600-08:00The Loft CinemaThe Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-10555465129080578822012-05-31T09:54:00.002-07:002012-05-31T09:54:51.639-07:00MovingThe Loft Blog is dead. Long live The Loft Blog!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://loftcinema.tumblr.com/">http://loftcinema.tumblr.com/</a>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-61387172995242819082011-12-19T11:41:00.000-08:002011-12-21T11:30:29.471-08:00The Loft's Favorite Films of 2011<b>COMBINED LIST:</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dfi.dk/Service/English/News-and-publications/FILM-Magazine/Artikler-fra-tidsskriftet-FILM/72/~/media/Film2/M/Melancholia/Melancholia-F6-Framegrab02.ashx?w=450&h=306&as=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://www.dfi.dk/Service/English/News-and-publications/FILM-Magazine/Artikler-fra-tidsskriftet-FILM/72/~/media/Film2/M/Melancholia/Melancholia-F6-Framegrab02.ashx?w=450&h=306&as=1" width="320" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Melancholia<br />
2. Take Shelter<br />
3. Marwencol<br />
4. Attack the Block<br />
5. The Interrupters<br />
6. Incendies<br />
7. The Last Circus<br />
8. Bill Cunningham New York<br />
9. Meek's Cutoff<br />
10. <i>TIE</i> Drive <i>and </i>The Tree of Life<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Steven Soloway, Deputy Marketing Director </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSFbcOZVAzlVqKMbP7XfBioLQfDGMKTG9FB7xZHy3Dz7jCjS32_" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSFbcOZVAzlVqKMbP7XfBioLQfDGMKTG9FB7xZHy3Dz7jCjS32_" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Melancholia<br />
2. Meek's Cutoff<br />
3. Cold Weather<br />
4. Bill Cunningham New York<br />
5. Marwencol<br />
6. The Trip<br />
7. Waste Land<br />
8. Tiny Furniture<br />
9. The Mill and the Cross<br />
10. The Turin Horse<br />
<br />
<b>Alyson Hill, Projectionist </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fest11.sffs.org/i/stills/main/incendies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="http://fest11.sffs.org/i/stills/main/incendies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Melancholia<br />
2. Incendies<br />
3. My Week With Marilyn<br />
4. Crazy, Stupid, Love.<br />
5. Bridesmaids<br />
6. Heartbeats<br />
<div>7. The Skin I Live In<br />
8. Source Code<br />
9. The Trip<br />
10. The Muppets<br />
<br />
<i>Honorable Mentions: </i><br />
Tabloid, Attack the Block, Bill Cunningham New York, The Last Circus, Take Shelter, We Need to Talk About Kevin, We Were Here</div><div><br />
<b>Pedro Robles, Assistant Manager </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRrkgfyyMEwolw6fIHnPRU1wGhN4Cl0mG63fkS-8_0r_9ns3nkXjQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRrkgfyyMEwolw6fIHnPRU1wGhN4Cl0mG63fkS-8_0r_9ns3nkXjQ" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Melancholia<br />
2. Marwencol<br />
3. Incendies<br />
4. Attack the Block<br />
5. The Trip<br />
6. The Skin I Live In<br />
7. Rango<br />
8. Source Code<br />
9. Bridesmaids<br />
10. The Last Circus<br />
<br />
<b>Dave Paiz, Facilities Manager</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSR65VA7yheyYsLvOa2ruqFA3sO2qT83Nsj5hh9uJjnkVoUctTGuA" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSR65VA7yheyYsLvOa2ruqFA3sO2qT83Nsj5hh9uJjnkVoUctTGuA" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>1. The Last Circus<br />
2. Tyrannosaur<br />
3. We Need to Talk About Kevin<br />
4. Melancholia<br />
5. The Interrupters<br />
6. Into the Abyss<br />
7. Armadillo<br />
8. Hesher<br />
9. PJ20<br />
10. Lemmy<br />
<br />
<b>Jeff Yanc, Program Director </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS1G5ZoMYAQp07uDh_T8xdfPjbLvmc8I0wRXWv4D9DW4jZdcpBf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS1G5ZoMYAQp07uDh_T8xdfPjbLvmc8I0wRXWv4D9DW4jZdcpBf" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Take Shelter<br />
2. Melancholia<br />
3. Meek’s Cutoff<br />
4. The Skin I Live In<br />
5. Hobo with a Shotgun<br />
6. The Housemaid<br />
7. Rubber<br />
8. A Somewhat Gentle Man<br />
9. Secret Sunshine<br />
10. Bill Cunningham New York<br />
<br />
<i>NOT RELEASED IN U.S. :</i><br />
Our Day Will Come (French / dir. Romain Gavras / starring Vincent Cassel)</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Tim Keene, Floor Staff</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRk9G0sqmJoHobxy9fXgVz9SSCM2n3gXQcfuVhCuRCqjybSXNKrkA" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRk9G0sqmJoHobxy9fXgVz9SSCM2n3gXQcfuVhCuRCqjybSXNKrkA" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Louder Than a Bomb</div>2. Bridesmaids<br />
3. Cedar Rapids<br />
4. Source Code<br />
5. Marwencol<br />
6. Win Win<br />
7. Bill Cunningham New York<br />
8. Tiny Furniture<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>Peggy Johnson, Executive Director</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ramascreen.com/wp-content/uploads/Shame.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://www.ramascreen.com/wp-content/uploads/Shame.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>1. Shame</div>2. Melancholia<br />
3. Attenberg<br />
4. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia<br />
5. Drive<br />
6. Rubber<br />
7. Tyrannosaur<br />
8. The Future<br />
9. Senna<br />
10. Certified Copy<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>Zach Breneman, Business Manager</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHiW4Kmpt72gZpP5hWkyoR1HWthcoKRpBD0vAA_gg4rYsvzMxTPQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHiW4Kmpt72gZpP5hWkyoR1HWthcoKRpBD0vAA_gg4rYsvzMxTPQ" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Take Shelter</div>2. Melancholia<br />
3. The Interrupters<br />
4. Incendies<br />
5. Armadillo<br />
6. Senna<br />
7. Attenberg<br />
8. The Tree of Life<br />
9. The Trip<br />
<div>10. Attack the Block</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Honorable Mention:</i></div>13 Assassins, Certified Copy, Drive, Four Lions, General Orders No. 9, Louder Than a Bomb, Margin Call, Meek’s Cutoff, Poetry, Rubber<br />
<br />
<b>J.J. Giddings, Marketing Director</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS0Q59nNVGsX843mpLYOXxRbu_uEdFRGNszHOs2n4pO43-qRtlKLQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS0Q59nNVGsX843mpLYOXxRbu_uEdFRGNszHOs2n4pO43-qRtlKLQ" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. Take Shelter<br />
2. General Orders No. 9<br />
3. Senna<br />
4. World on a Wire<br />
5. Drive<br />
6. Attenberg<br />
7. Melancholia<br />
8. The Tree of Life<br />
9. The Interrupters<br />
10. Armadillo<br />
<br />
<i>Honorable Mention:</i><br />
<div>Bellflower, Hesher, Final Destination 5, Hobo With a Shotgun, Tyrannosaur, Dragonslayer, The Last Circus, 13 Assassins, Attack the Block, Margin Call</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Peggy Springer, Office Manager</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvag2NuDBJzDCr-V-B3MU38Fs8nZiHAOn5ePiAamWp5OWsFl4hprdYBsWu9PFpR_UnEBApNmbPkMp-95VOj3KbnRmifU_nzJp6QeEb8AwzpONS3dx6MQpBnwR-iLIhHgYZUyM_01Gd56j_/s1600/the-tree-of-life-terrence-malick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvag2NuDBJzDCr-V-B3MU38Fs8nZiHAOn5ePiAamWp5OWsFl4hprdYBsWu9PFpR_UnEBApNmbPkMp-95VOj3KbnRmifU_nzJp6QeEb8AwzpONS3dx6MQpBnwR-iLIhHgYZUyM_01Gd56j_/s320/the-tree-of-life-terrence-malick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
1. The Tree of Life</div>2. Marwencol<br />
3. Hesher<br />
4. Le Quattro Volte<br />
5. The Robber<br />
6. Boy<br />
7. Cold Weather<br />
8. Buck<br />
9. Poetry<br />
10. Bellflower<br />
<br />
<i>Honorable Mention:</i><br />
<div>The Last Circus, Take Shelter, Melancholia, The Interrupters, Being Elmo<br />
<br />
<b>Dale Meyers, Projectionist </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ifc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/09262010_isawthedevil2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://www.ifc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/09262010_isawthedevil2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. Melancholia <br />
2. The Last Circus <br />
3. I Saw the Devil <br />
4. Attack the Block <br />
5. Insidious <br />
6. Biutiful <br />
7. Take Shelter <br />
8. American: The Bill Hicks Story <br />
<br />
<b>Ben Truman, Floor Staff </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRlmuL8F5HOknT1nhoDoAaKCo3EtExE8vA5fSNfbtZ3ac5uoZNBcA" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRlmuL8F5HOknT1nhoDoAaKCo3EtExE8vA5fSNfbtZ3ac5uoZNBcA" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>1. Attack the Block <br />
2. Louder Than a Bomb <br />
3. Take Shelter <br />
4. Bellflower <br />
5. American: The Bill Hicks Story <br />
6. The Illusionist <br />
7. Hobo With a Shotgun <br />
8. Drive <br />
9. The Trip <br />
10. Super <br />
<br />
<b>Debi Mabie, Education Director </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8ZXEqLjMEQqEt-x6deLHzIOrM57jqn-i7HSprKy-HTUGVykdK" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8ZXEqLjMEQqEt-x6deLHzIOrM57jqn-i7HSprKy-HTUGVykdK" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. Shame <br />
2. A Trip to the Moon (Restored) <br />
3. Buck <br />
4. Bill Cunningham New York <br />
5. Attenberg <br />
6. A Somewhat Gentle Man <br />
7. Being Elmo <br />
8. Super <br />
9. Boxing Gym <br />
10. Resurrect Dead </div><div><br />
<i>Honorable Mention: </i><br />
Marwencol, The Human Centipede 2, Rubber, Santa Sangre, Dolphin Tale, Monte Carlo </div><div><br />
<b>Luanne Withee, Membership Director </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHv52sBXRnw3YrG3QSBlFKVmDtw-qxTjnxT9DrWh0Iz_TwY7bIJg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHv52sBXRnw3YrG3QSBlFKVmDtw-qxTjnxT9DrWh0Iz_TwY7bIJg" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. Marwencol <br />
2. Bill Cunningham New York <br />
3. Boxing Gym <br />
4. The Interrupters <br />
5. Restrepo <br />
6. Senna <br />
7. Waste Land<br />
8. Tabloid <br />
9. Buck <br />
10. The Topp Twins </div><div><br />
<i>Honorable Mention: </i><br />
Hobo With a Shotgun, The Housemaid, Melancholia, Poetry, Tucker and Dale vs Evil <br />
<br />
<b>Alexandra Bernhardt, Floor Staff </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTWaVt6ZsTaEQuhKNa-Z3RSZT3wGpmy8bLL6f3uHV-eYEOHbebR" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTWaVt6ZsTaEQuhKNa-Z3RSZT3wGpmy8bLL6f3uHV-eYEOHbebR" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. We Need to Talk About Kevin <br />
2. The Last Circus <br />
3. Buck <br />
4. Incendies <br />
5. Project Nim <br />
6. Take Shelter <br />
7. Certified Copy <br />
8. Point Blank <br />
9. Attack the Block <br />
10. Bridesmaids <br />
<br />
<b>Evan Salazar, Floor Staff </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeFdxu9q8RlL4_LFqiNATP-xqC6alYekB3QG1ERk4-2xSOy07dwQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeFdxu9q8RlL4_LFqiNATP-xqC6alYekB3QG1ERk4-2xSOy07dwQ" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. Drive <br />
2. The Tree of Life <br />
3. Certified Copy <br />
4. I Saw the Devil <br />
5. Poetry <br />
6. Tabloid <br />
7. A Separation <br />
8. Melancholia <br />
9. Kill List <br />
10. The Illusionist <br />
<br />
<i>Award for Movie That I Saw For Some Reason and Was Surprisingly Really, Really Awesome:</i><br />
FAST FIVE <br />
<br />
<b>Mike Wilkins, Projectionist </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-XUh6JDOA8_d-jQ0mt6ya38XGTlONNw8SZeU8XNf7A5AsT8WHtX0RZt311v4KyskHb_UkO35WOPdTim1ZYrQ8HBa3N-HSdHEjxb0zxdF91Ku2u3svju0H6GUFEEJwj5RwGEs5USu_lk/s1600/Hobo+with+a+Shotgun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-XUh6JDOA8_d-jQ0mt6ya38XGTlONNw8SZeU8XNf7A5AsT8WHtX0RZt311v4KyskHb_UkO35WOPdTim1ZYrQ8HBa3N-HSdHEjxb0zxdF91Ku2u3svju0H6GUFEEJwj5RwGEs5USu_lk/s320/Hobo+with+a+Shotgun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. Take Shelter <br />
2. Hobo With a Shotgun <br />
3. Resurrect Dead <br />
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes <br />
5. Attack the Block <br />
<br />
<b>Kyle Canfield, General Manager </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnQkkVdLcIdim-9O-BGfwe6E63PKeuOhhdZUywCsmQZppq9UqF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnQkkVdLcIdim-9O-BGfwe6E63PKeuOhhdZUywCsmQZppq9UqF" /></a></div><div><b><br />
</b>1. Hugo (in 3-D) <br />
2. Meek’s Cutoff <br />
3. The Interrupters <br />
4. Take Shelter <br />
5. Bellflower <br />
6. Certified Copy <br />
7. I Saw the Devil <br />
8. Senna <br />
9. Attack the Block <br />
10. The Illusionist <br />
<br />
<i>Honorable Mention: </i><br />
The Robber</div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-39802417413603557552011-11-11T12:47:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:54:49.875-08:00Hidden Gems: The Ten Films at The Loft Film Fest You Might not Think You Need to See (But You Do)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RGz_lr-KJgLlN6QIq9OlKExwDSLahv7mygXqVLIJtnUmhJvP90YNCF3mUgEjalDHnx3etlWMs6xzpr8Tw8mB9fAcVIviO4T6sYWiUy41Q6Gs-2FLao76z5mQsXjHHy5FZa5aN7x1oK4/s1600/logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RGz_lr-KJgLlN6QIq9OlKExwDSLahv7mygXqVLIJtnUmhJvP90YNCF3mUgEjalDHnx3etlWMs6xzpr8Tw8mB9fAcVIviO4T6sYWiUy41Q6Gs-2FLao76z5mQsXjHHy5FZa5aN7x1oK4/s1600/logo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We're super excited about this year's Loft Film Fest lineup, and while you might know about some of the bigger films in the festival (<i>Melancholia</i>, <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i>, the 10th Anniversary screening of <i>Donnie Darko</i> with writer/director Richard Kelly in person), we're hoping you don't overlook some of the other great films that might otherwise fly under the radar. Here they are in alphabetical order:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>1. <b>ARIZONA SHORTS SPOTLIGHT</b><br />
<br />
Alright, so this is kind of cheating, because it's really six films, but what are you going to do? This collection of films really proves that the talent pool in Arizona is incredibly rich. Big things lie ahead for all of these filmmakers. In fact, <i>Guru</i> already played in the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. Not only are these directors going to do great things--they already have.<br />
<br />
<br />
<center></center><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="232" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uSjfUHyhoII?rel=0" width="373"></iframe></center><br />
Monday at 7:30PM in the main theatre.<br />
<br />
2. <b>ATTENBERG</b><br />
<br />
In the spirit of one of The Loft's favorite movies of last year, <i>Dogtooth</i>, comes a new Greek mini-masterpiece. <i>Attenberg</i> stars Giorgos Lanthimos, director of <i>Dogtooth</i>, and is written and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, who produced that film. But it is completely its own movie. If you can get past the strangeness, it's actually a touching film about the difficulty of connecting with other people. Funny, moving, and unique.<br />
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Saturday at 5:00PM in the upstairs theatre.<br />
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3. <b>HERE</b><br />
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<i>Here </i>is one of those great romances that works almost effortlessly. Although you never find out a great deal about the pasts of the leads, they come together in the space of the film, and you completely believe it. The film itself also just <i>works</i>. The cinematography blends perfectly with the poetic touches, and at the end, you're reminded that Ben Foster really is one of the best young actors in the game. Really world-class stuff.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Tuesday at 7:30PM in the upstairs theatre.</div><center style="text-align: left;"> </center><center style="text-align: left;">4. <b>INTERNATIONAL SHORTS SHOWCASE</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><br />
</center><center style="text-align: left;">Okay, we're cheating again (warning: not the last time). Here's the thing. Short films are great. Just like the best John Cheever stories can rival any of the best novels ever written, so can a great short film be completely satisfying within the boundaries of the form. Here we've gathered seven of the funniest, oddest, and all-around most striking shorts we've seen this year. And two of the filmmakers will be in attendance! What's not to like? <br />
<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="232" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v3m12pk-0wg?rel=0&hd=1" width="373"></iframe></center><div style="text-align: left;">Sunday at 7:45PM in the main theatre.</div><center style="text-align: left;"> </center><center style="text-align: left;">5. <b>LOS OLVIDADOS</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><br />
</center><center style="text-align: left;">Here is a great, award-winning film that has been forgotten by time. It happens every once in a while, and it's always baffling when you finally get around to seeing it: what took so long? Luis Bunuel's films cut to the quick, and his devotion in this particular work to neo-realist techniques, with flashes of his trademark surrealism, makes this tale of street kids in 1950 Mexico both thrilling and gut-wrenching. This film is not available on DVD or Blu Ray, and is being shown in a brand new, restored 35mm film print--for FREE!</center></center><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Sunday at 11AM in the main theatre.</div><br />
<center style="text-align: left;"> </center><center style="text-align: left;">6. <b>LOUDER THAN A BOMB</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><br />
</center><center style="text-align: left;">Alright, we've all been around the block a few times at this point. We've seen the "competition" documentary a few times, and we've already seen <i>Best in Show</i>. But I kid you not, <i>Louder Than a Bomb</i> will move you. Plain and simple: the kids in this film are incredible. And the film itself weaves in and out of their lives with a deft precision that will keep you laughing and crying intermittently throughout. Do not miss this film.</center><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Friday at 4:45PM in the main theatre.</div><br />
<center style="text-align: left;"> </center><center style="text-align: left;">7. <b>RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"> </center><center style="text-align: left;">Good, plot-driven documentaries can be hard to come by. <i>Resurrect Dead</i> is a documentary that plays out like a thriller, with a true mystery at the center of it all that's weird & compelling. Watching the gang band together and try and figure it all out is, simply, joyful.</center><br />
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Wednesday at 7:30PM in the upstairs theatre.<br />
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8. <b>SLACKER 2011</b><br />
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One of the giants of the independent film movement of the 1990s is Richard Linklater's <i>Slacker</i>. It was a big statement for a generation, and it was a huge statement about Austin. 20 years later, the filmmaking scene in Austin is as strong as ever, and they banded together to creatively re-imagine the original film. It's great to see all of the different voices coalescing into one weird, funny explosion of cinematic energy. Three of the filmmakers will be in attendance, and this is something you might not get a chance to see--ever again.<br />
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Friday at 10:00PM in the main theatre.<br />
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9. <b>THE TURIN HORSE</b><br />
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Bela Tarr is, simply, one of the greatest filmmakers alive. He has a vision and a voice so unique that his films are almost instantly recognizable. To see a Bela Tarr film on the big screen is really the only way to see it, and it's almost certain you won't get the chance to do so in Tucson again. Do yourself a favor--take a leap. It's an experience you won't regret or forget.<br />
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Sunday at 4:45PM in the main theatre.<br />
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10. <b>THE WORLD ACCORDING TO KIRBY DICK</b><br />
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If you've seen a Kirby Dick film, you already know he's one of the most provocative, interesting filmmakers working in the documentary form today. He's also an amazing guy and a Tucson native. With this program, you'll get to see some of his early work--like the amazing short documentary "I Am Not a Freak." As a special bonus, you'll also get a sneak peek at his new film, which will be debuting at a major film festival this winter. We're not allowed to talk about the subject matter, but suffice it to say, it's as interesting and button-pushing as you might expect from the man who brought us <i>Outrage</i> and <i>This Film Is Not Yet Rated</i>. Not to be missed.<br />
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Saturday at 2:00PM in the main theatre.The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-26311127770437099892011-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:002011-11-09T09:55:23.353-08:00MISSING REEL: The Rambling GuitaristMISSING REEL: FILMS FORGOTTEN BY CINEMA'S CANON<br />
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<i>Cinema’s canon is well known. If I were to say, “We’ll always have Paris,” or, “No, I am your father,” you’d know exactly what films I was talking about. Not every film that deserves to be alongside those makes it up there, though. Some have even been nearly forgotten, passed over, or practically erased from movie history. This is a column about those films, the ones that exist on dubbed-over VHS tapes and pirated PAL laserdiscs. They are the missing reels from cinema’s history, the empty spaces in its canon. </i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">THE RAMBLING GUITARIST (1959) </div><div style="text-align: center;">directed by BUICHI SAITO </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyLLFjMxUFtd6CYBiFHzv1t3JFXPknQHLbRzTwjmXRQ2gzUkcwjBF_PqISgGfovuOrz719K0Q8_EpX4_K9SmOmxbIeGWnq2cohPuyZTQbPWRCNitS4s5pu3mey6CYrGRPGroJnZvhVfc/s1600/rg3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyLLFjMxUFtd6CYBiFHzv1t3JFXPknQHLbRzTwjmXRQ2gzUkcwjBF_PqISgGfovuOrz719K0Q8_EpX4_K9SmOmxbIeGWnq2cohPuyZTQbPWRCNitS4s5pu3mey6CYrGRPGroJnZvhVfc/s320/rg3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
To many, Japan has only one director, and his name is Akira Kurosawa. It’s not their fault that they think that, though. He is regularly the only Japanese filmmaker mentioned on any “best of” list that has to do with film, the director with the most films released by the Criterion Collection, and has inspired countless films, from S<i>tar Wars</i> to <i>A Bug’s Life</i> (that is a theory that is backed up by nothing, by the way. But seriously, watch it again; it’s Seven Samurai with a caterpillar). However, looking at only Kurosawa would be like looking only at Steven Spielberg in the realm of American films: they are the biggest names out there. And, you know, Spielberg doesn’t do much for me and Kurosawa isn’t my favorite Japanese director. He’d crack my top ten, though (<i>Ikiru</i> is a pretty perfect film, so just based on that he makes it). <br />
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<a name='more'></a>Personally, I much prefer the other face of Japanese cinema, the face that emerged just as Kurosawa was starting to slow down in late 50s and early 60s. During that time, a Japanese studio called Nikkatsu Corporation starting producing strange, low-budget films brimming with violence and sex. These films starred young actors portraying criminals, musicians, vagabonds, sexpots, and anything else that embodied “cool.” It works for me and it certainly worked for Nikkatsu, seeing as their early films heralded in the Japanese New Wave and a torrent of success and money. Forget the days of the honorable samurai protecting the villagers; these films were all about kids beating the hell out of each other, sleeping around with multiple partners, dancing in seedy jazz clubs, and spitting in authority’s face. Not only was the subject matter innovative, but so was the filmmaking itself. Directors like Seijun Suzuki and Ko Nakahira used their tight budgets to create new and stylish cost-saving techniques, which included, among other things, juicing the hell out of their scope lenses (seriously, watch practically <i>any</i> film from the 1960s produced by Nikkatsu. They’re all in the widest of widest widescreen there is, with the sides of the frame squeezing tightly and everything in the middle looking sort of elongated and bloated. I love it).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPKnHlzIYsiCIPRwE4uFMd_kt5Bh2pDDRUbne3LALxT4VUpXGmSPo8h7cwJc-4x47jmRwfmyE1vd8NAbG4YFvz2mCl58iSy7kbZ03zbc2qwj5z6y7zoN4zKOZ-xsP8WW-NjOm1T1a8nUE/s1600/rg2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPKnHlzIYsiCIPRwE4uFMd_kt5Bh2pDDRUbne3LALxT4VUpXGmSPo8h7cwJc-4x47jmRwfmyE1vd8NAbG4YFvz2mCl58iSy7kbZ03zbc2qwj5z6y7zoN4zKOZ-xsP8WW-NjOm1T1a8nUE/s320/rg2.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSLWnKgUlNio7jujyrsDTXD80yclLhz32B9FrUJxZmF2zGeV7RbitPMghMLurRBEaJ1F6Io4gFcbsD6eb2eYph2LB_mjjDUI68buluDppTzPj9sZBPx-he8q7s44CJDVJjAI4oJcVZyo/s1600/rg5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
1960s Nikkatsu films were all about being young, cool, violent, and the exact <i>opposite</i> of the Japan portrayed in Kurosawa’s films. Nothing exemplified this better than the <i>Wataridori</i> series, and especially the installment <i>The Rambling Guitarist</i>, directed by Buichi Saito. <br />
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The concept for the <i>Wataridori</i> series is so ridiculous that it loops back around and becomes cool again: a young man named Taki travels around Japan wearing a leather jacket (sometimes with fringes, but sadly not in <i>Rambling Guitarist</i>) while strumming his acoustic guitar, crooning country-and-western songs. He stops in random cities, falls in love with a girl (that girl is usually, inexplicably, played by actress Ruriko Asaoka, who portrays a litany of different women in these films), beats up some gangsters, and pals around with classic Nikkatsu tough-guy Jo Shishido (whose implanted chipmunk-looking cheeks don’t appear as strange in <i>The Rambling Guitarist</i> as they usually do). The series is B-movie madness, with one of the installments even being a Western, Native Americans played by Japanese and all. What keeps it all together and from ever feeling slight or stupid is the artful cinematography and Akira Kobayashi as the wanderer, Taki. He exudes cool (count how many times I say that word in here), control, and effortless style. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jim Jarmusch had seen a number of the <i>Wataridori</i> films—<i>The Rambling Guitarist</i> in particular—and took inspiration from Taki for the character Jun in his film <i>Mystery Train</i>. All in all, Taki is the violent loner with a heart of gold, and who doesn’t want to be that?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSLWnKgUlNio7jujyrsDTXD80yclLhz32B9FrUJxZmF2zGeV7RbitPMghMLurRBEaJ1F6Io4gFcbsD6eb2eYph2LB_mjjDUI68buluDppTzPj9sZBPx-he8q7s44CJDVJjAI4oJcVZyo/s1600/rg5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSLWnKgUlNio7jujyrsDTXD80yclLhz32B9FrUJxZmF2zGeV7RbitPMghMLurRBEaJ1F6Io4gFcbsD6eb2eYph2LB_mjjDUI68buluDppTzPj9sZBPx-he8q7s44CJDVJjAI4oJcVZyo/s320/rg5.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Before I get to the meat of the film, I have to share something. Like any fan of strange, foreign films knows, sometimes it’s really difficult to get your hand on a copy of certain films, let alone a good copy. You see, <i>The Rambling Guitarist</i> has never been released in the United States, and I doubt it ever will be. So, with that being said, my copy is sans subtitles. I had no idea what anyone was saying during the course of the film, besides the small phrases I’ve picked up from watching movies (and knowing things like “I see” or “Hello” doesn’t really help with viewing comprehension). <br />
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But this isn’t a highfalutin film. This isn’t an existential gaze into the void. This is a movie with upwards of five bar fights, a shoot-out on a ship—wait, <i>two</i> shoot-outs on a ship, tough-guy stare-downs, and cabaret girls baring copious amounts of leg. Clearly story is the least of this film’s concerns, and the story is <i>incredibly</i> easy to follow, anyway. “Why did those men highjack that boat?” you might ask. The exact answer doesn’t really matter; all that matters is that they did it because they are villains and were paid to. In a movie where a character stops mid-fight to punch out a row of windows for no discernable reason, story is not king.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguirb4IrFlwBoN0qoC29xxCBJ9a12z8GoUMYV4CXDMi0-JjgqgFROnWknN_l1IFuISLCay2tI9RUfjHEhWSKb10tdGGlHeLQFAV58TjW4vpHfYKSHx59xuD53mlZHLXDUsOIVc3aHwgqE/s1600/RG1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguirb4IrFlwBoN0qoC29xxCBJ9a12z8GoUMYV4CXDMi0-JjgqgFROnWknN_l1IFuISLCay2tI9RUfjHEhWSKb10tdGGlHeLQFAV58TjW4vpHfYKSHx59xuD53mlZHLXDUsOIVc3aHwgqE/s320/RG1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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The very first shot of <i>Guitarist</i> is something out of John Ford: dry plants grow over gravel, a mountain rests in the background, and a hopping wagon carrying our hero is pulled by horse over a dirt path. There is no way we can be in Japan. And yet, immediately after the opening credits play over the films fantastic theme, we are taken to a very urban setting: neon signs, cramped streets, steam rising from the gutters. What exactly happened here? What happened is Nikkatsu’s obsession with American pulp and matinee double features: while Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse dissected and displayed Japanese life with the same authenticity as Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini did for Italy, Saito and the rest of the Japanese New Wave crew were all about destroying that authenticity. This is the key difference between the French New Wave and the Japanese New Wave: the French were about demolishing and reassembling film. The Japanese were about demolishing and reassembling everyday life. While not affiliated with Nikkatsu, Japanese New Wave directors like Nagisa Oshima and Hiroshi Teshigahara created fantastical films that critiqued and exploded societal expectations. Teshigahara’s <i>Woman in the Dunes</i> (based on the amazing novel by Kobo Abe) doesn’t mirror real life, but rather comments on it and then dismantles it. <br />
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How does this connect with the juxtaposition of environments, moods, violence, and sex found in <i>Guitarist</i>? 1960s Nikkatsu films were concerned with lashing out in a society that rarely lashes out. If a film wanted to have a Japanese man singing country-and-western songs while beating up gangsters on a fishing boat, it could. It didn’t matter if it made little sense or any sense at all. That wasn’t the point. Japanese society at that time found itself artistically stiff, stuck in the same ghost stories and Ozuian family dramas it had been telling for years. Nikkatsu came along and essentially said, “Enough of that. Lets blow the whole thing up.”<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqtgVwpzCBcnbPeYdNV4hK3VK6InBTLAtABqUfuqbH4YuwRxOyQcvGxZVuUnYNpWjZo_1c9nifQ-UJsVcmFLXsPWQXHFlMhNsk3rA-Vp1U5Xk_MiHgYUbpdiZPVIt4N3Tn0PjpIzsBzg/s1600/rg7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqtgVwpzCBcnbPeYdNV4hK3VK6InBTLAtABqUfuqbH4YuwRxOyQcvGxZVuUnYNpWjZo_1c9nifQ-UJsVcmFLXsPWQXHFlMhNsk3rA-Vp1U5Xk_MiHgYUbpdiZPVIt4N3Tn0PjpIzsBzg/s320/rg7.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<i>Rambling Guitarist</i> finds itself blowing up, literally, a mere three minutes in. While sitting alone in a bar, Taki notices two American sailors beating up some street musicians (for whatever reason, the sailor’s dialogue has been dubbed over by Japanese actors speaking in fragmented English). As the rule of the wandering badass goes, Taki intervenes and proceeds to beat the living hell out of the sailors in a spectacular bar room brawl (which includes Taki doing the odd window-smashing bit). The American sailors are thrown through what seems like upwards of seven sheets of glass, beaten by practically every bar stool in the place, and punched by Taki too many times to try to count. It’s a fantastically unafraid and visceral sequence: there is no way an American director could have gotten away with this scene with the Hays Code in place. <br />
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Taki runs from the cops after basically destroying the bar and finds himself in the home of a beautiful woman who takes him to a Japanese crime boss who runs a nightclub. There he runs into the musicians he saved from the sailors—who work for the crime boss—and is offered a job by him. Since he is a rambler, a wanderer, a vagabond, Taki declines and leaves. That is, of course, until he meets the boss’ daughter, whom he quickly falls for. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbpHvvKYrwm4uNMbroITBjF5nzs9jX86fCtQd87Yk-sCBwS8WGvLoNuwBHNDnuU85b1mi9saPTzmIAWwPeC2vPSATHuFoxH7HvvmLxqY0yDOKRrFf0-frRRdIY6EoKIXNP3d7MM1NSl4/s1600/rg6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbpHvvKYrwm4uNMbroITBjF5nzs9jX86fCtQd87Yk-sCBwS8WGvLoNuwBHNDnuU85b1mi9saPTzmIAWwPeC2vPSATHuFoxH7HvvmLxqY0yDOKRrFf0-frRRdIY6EoKIXNP3d7MM1NSl4/s320/rg6.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPRlnNciQTBImdYicMMPVIJqb4R_VFJAAiBfMJ4RETOOuHIxb8Zk3U5QYot5VpExCikw6mTBiC1iLh5FcC1IjNT2GlCV9rHgKS9s4am5TilGp8jFRJQAZlE19QHD7wdPXM6AePZlXJ_M/s1600/rg4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Like I said earlier, this is not a film concerned much with story. Taki accepts the job, but soon the crime boss finds out Taki is sleeping with his daughter and wants Taki killed. This can all be seen coming. But, again, that’s not the point. The point is the film’s bombastic use of color, harrowing action set pieces, terminal coolness, and complete rejection of all expectations of Japanese art. It’s American B-movies turned up to ten, with a touch of French anarchy and absurdity thrown in. People try to pass off <i>Pulp Fiction</i> as the first of its kind, or they say that <i>Breathless</i> did it before Tarantino decades prior. Well, <i>Rambling Guitarist</i> came out a year before Godard’s <i>Breathless</i>, and while the two films are very different, they’re both striving for the same thing. They are “cool” stews, mixing disparate elements to create something new. But while <i>Breathless</i> winks, <i>Guitarist</i> is cool with no pretensions. The message is all in the content and not <i>how</i> the content is being presented. <br />
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As you can see, lots of other films take credit for what Guitarist and similar Japanese New Wave films did. The Japanese New Wave is a movement that is rarely mentioned, and if so, never mentioned in the same league as Italian Neorealism or German Expressionism. It was overshadowed by France’s version, and all of its hard work was just seen as more of the same. This isn’t the case. It’s a radical, revolutionary movement, and one that deserves to be embraced like French New Wave has been. It’s a vital part of Japanese film history, and a vital part of film history as a whole. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPRlnNciQTBImdYicMMPVIJqb4R_VFJAAiBfMJ4RETOOuHIxb8Zk3U5QYot5VpExCikw6mTBiC1iLh5FcC1IjNT2GlCV9rHgKS9s4am5TilGp8jFRJQAZlE19QHD7wdPXM6AePZlXJ_M/s1600/rg4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPRlnNciQTBImdYicMMPVIJqb4R_VFJAAiBfMJ4RETOOuHIxb8Zk3U5QYot5VpExCikw6mTBiC1iLh5FcC1IjNT2GlCV9rHgKS9s4am5TilGp8jFRJQAZlE19QHD7wdPXM6AePZlXJ_M/s320/rg4.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Yet, even without all the context, <i>Rambling</i> <i>Guitarist</i> is still a hell of a film. It’s incredibly watchable, filmed exceptionally (I cannot stress how amazing the colors look), and creates a world that is alive and vibrant. It’s abundantly clear that this was a film created with a huge heart behind it. Saito has crafted a strange, violent, and rich world populated with crooks, beautiful women, and a badass who breaks as many hearts as bones in his opponent’s bodies. <br />
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So, yeah, I guess you could go watch <i>Seven Samurai</i> again if you want. <br />
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<i>The Rambling Guitarist</i> is not available in the United States. <br />
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Evan Salazar is an undergraduate student of Creative Writing at the University of Arizona. He wonders if Jo Shishido ever regretted those cheek implants. He can be contacted at <a href="mailto:salazar1@email.arizona.edu">salazar1@email.arizona.edu</a>.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-60485578305896388332011-10-14T13:09:00.000-07:002011-10-14T13:09:30.676-07:00THE LAST CIRCUS / Staff Review by Dave Paiz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static-l3.blogcritics.org/11/06/17/161871/EIFF-2011---The-Last-Circus.jpg?t=20110617101232" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://static-l3.blogcritics.org/11/06/17/161871/EIFF-2011---The-Last-Circus.jpg?t=20110617101232" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i>The Last Circus</i> is the best, most brilliantly bizarre psycho clown movie you'll see this year. It's also a quasi-monster movie and brutally tragic love story that left an indelible imprint on this reviewer’s psyche. The tale of an ill-fated love triangle isn’t exactly a new one, but director Alex de la Iglesia executes this one in a wildly over-the-top and unpredictable fashion that boggles the mind and blisters the senses.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>As the newest member of a small traveling circus, Javier (Carlos Areces) is the Sad Clown, a kind, bespectacled man-child who falls hard for the wrong woman and ends up paying dearly for it. As the son of a Happy Clown who, years before, unexpectedly discovered a monstrous side of himself he never new existed, Javier unknowingly embarks on a similar path in the name of Love, and the end result isn't pretty.<br />
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In this case, and illustrating why it’s rarely a good idea to get romantically involved with a co-worker, Javier becomes infatuated with fellow circus performer Natalia (Carolina Bang) - the abused wife of the charismatic, yet relentlessly brutal Sergio (Antonio de la Torre), the Happy Clown and de facto leader of the circus. Sergio is a violent, drunken beast who humiliates Javier on stage and off, and beats Natalia senseless when his fragile ego is challenged. Despite his brutish demeanor, his fellow performers defer to him out of fear, and because the Happy Clown is the main attraction and unrivaled backbone of the circus.<br />
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Following a selfless act of kindness, Javier quite unexpectedly finds himself the object of Natalia’s reckless and ill-advised flirtations. The two then engage in a sort of clandestine puppydog courtship that ultimately pits Javier against Sergio in an epic battle of clown versus clown for the heart of the woman they both love. What follows is a dizzying descent into madness, and a deeply symbolic depiction of what happens when fantasy overwhelms reality, and the selfish desire to possess and control another consumes everything in its path.<br />
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Javier's character is the only one given much of a back story, and we're left to guess about why Sergio and Natalia are the way they are, but what the film lacks in character development it more than makes up for thematically and stylistically. Circuses are all about appearance and performance, and the absence of character depth and detail underscores their largely symbolic roles as the distilled essences of male and female egos driven mad and ripped asunder by love and lust.<br />
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The last time I remember seeing “The Last...” as part of a film title was <i>The Last Airbender.</i> As the original Spanish title of the film is <i>Balada Triste de Trompeta</i> (A Sad Trumpet Ballad), the studio execs probably felt that <i>The Last Circus</i> was a more marketable title. Rest assured that de la Iglesia’s film is in no way related to M. Night Shyamalan's most recent pile of cinematic excrement.<br />
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If you can imagine a cinematic love child endowed with the stylistic DNA of Terry Gilliam and Robert Rodriguez, and midwifed by Brian DePalma, or Tony <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1318622697_0">Montana</span> as The Joker in a phantasmagorically surreal sequel to John Woo’s <i>Face/Off</i>, then you’ll come close to de la Iglesia’s dark, demented vision of love, betrayal and revenge.<br />
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With a pulse-pounding score and gritty, hyperkinetic cinematography that veers from the ethereal to the violently nightmarish,<i> The Last Circus</i> is a richly textured hallucinatory feast for the senses, and an unqualified must-see for anyone with a taste for the weird and unconventional.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>THE LAST CIRCUS opens Friday, October 14th at The Loft Cinema.</b></span>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-56843463426454625172011-08-31T17:28:00.000-07:002011-08-31T17:28:07.165-07:00TABLOID / Staff Review by Evan Salazar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTM1xU2N2ZSIle8oJEdB2TARHBYwHW_11HdidWhzsUfni4RBnQj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTM1xU2N2ZSIle8oJEdB2TARHBYwHW_11HdidWhzsUfni4RBnQj" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div>There is a point in Errol Morris’ new documentary, TABLOID, when a tabloid journalist is speaking about a sex act perpetrated by the film’s main focus, Joyce McKinney. Straight faced, he says, “She chained him up,” but then he lets loose with a smile and says, “Well, I guess she used ropes, but ‘chained up’ sounds better.” In a film about lies, scandal, and the delusions people carry with them, it’s a surprisingly honest moment about myth-creating and fact-skewing. With this brief, candid aside, the journalist displays that he is willing to embellish the truth with the most provocative word-choice the facts allow. His ability to be honest about that doesn’t seem surprising – he writes for tabloids, after all, which even its journalists must be aware aren’t the most prestigious of news sources – but in a film all about fantasy and insular world-building, it is a very telling, funny, and finally, wise moment of self-awareness. Joyce McKinney could learn a thing or two.<div><br />
</div><div><a name='more'></a>Armed with a darling southern drawl and golden locks of voluminous hair, Joyce McKinney was the tabloid queen of the late 70s and early 80s. Her tale involves kidnapping, private detectives, the Mormon Church, bondage, disguises, and even cloning. The pieces fit together, believe it or not, but the way all these events are perceived through different sets of eyes is the focal point of the story. The film only has two real sources of information: McKinney, and the tabloid reporters writing about her. McKinney is clearly unstable (which the film never attempts to explore the origins of, one of its only true flaws), and the tabloids are, well, tabloids. They make their living off of giving exaggerated reports of already ridiculous stories, so who are we to trust? Other faces temporarily chime in, but these people were either only in the midst of the situation for a short while or are tenuously, if it all, connected.<br />
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We are left only with the woman who inspired all this mayhem, or the reporters who made the mayhem international news. Neither side can be totally trusted, yet I personally found myself on the side of the journalists. Throughout the film, McKinney proves times and time that again she is unstable, manic, and a pathological liar (a bit about her fingers being bitten off and her intestines being ripped out by a dog, all the while holding up both of her hands – all fingers in tact with no visible scarring – raises multiple, if not infinite eyebrows), and yet she is none the wiser to it. She has been living this life since the 1970s, and now in interviews conducted almost 35 years after the fact, she still holds onto her self-righteousness and victimizing. Even when the things she speaks out against might deserve criticism – religion, gossip, invasion of privacy, et cetera – she still comes across as slightly crazed and unhinged. She’s incredibly charismatic, however, and it’s no wonder she was such a huge deal for a short while. Her tongue is lightning fast and her wit sharp (when asked if she forced a man to have sex with her, she claims you can’t force a man to have sex with a woman if he doesn’t want to: “It’s like putting a marshmallow in a parking meter”), and she comes across as intelligent, overall. Which is important – the film never seems like it is trying to make a point of how crazy she is, and it never feels manipulative. Instead, Morris is confident that her words, the journalist’s words, and the newspaper clippings and photos will do the talking for themselves. And they certainly do.<br />
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If it’s not clear already, this is no “dry” documentary – I don’t think Morris has a dry documentary in him, anyhow. It’s lighting fast and well edited, and filled with hilarious and inspired interviews. I am not a big documentary guy because I find a lot of documentaries go too wide, too broad – war, health, nature, et cetera – and there is only so much depth you can mine from such nuanced things in 90 minutes. Unless you’re Ken Burns and have ten-hour plus documentaries, the level of sophistication you can give to such huge topics seems meager at best to me. But Morris is a master of the quirky, small, and strange – films like VERNON, FLORDIA or GATES OF HAVEN hone in on a small, small portion of the world and allows these small places and people to offer up big ideas. They’re specific, esoteric – and because of that offer up a much more filling and interesting viewing experience. TABLOID is no different. It is a strange, harrowing journey filled with all the pieces of a great dime store novel in a master filmmakers hand. And it’s all true – well, sort of. Maybe?<br />
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<i>Evan Salazar is a member of the floor staff at The Loft Cinema and is currently going to school for Creative Writing at the University of Arizona. He doesn't mind being told he looks like Woody Allen. He can be contacted at</i> <a href="mailto:salazar1@email.arizona.edu">salazar1@email.arizona.edu</a>. </div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-65092953983073804932011-08-24T12:17:00.000-07:002011-08-24T12:17:24.325-07:00THE LAST MOUNTAIN / Staff Review by Dave Paiz<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLobtATrfiJ_LsPh88aANllXGyTMhfJgPbFObxFQCYJ-M4dRRuUmB9KX6zepszwOKHk9Bfcxyksn6_IK-B7KZUGY0xxa2xEUfv8IEu8Xl-owX2CaZBmiw79BZmlYX4kJIPXJq52RexB10/s1600/TLM_Kanawha+River+coal-fired+power+plant%252C+WV_by+Chris+Jackson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLobtATrfiJ_LsPh88aANllXGyTMhfJgPbFObxFQCYJ-M4dRRuUmB9KX6zepszwOKHk9Bfcxyksn6_IK-B7KZUGY0xxa2xEUfv8IEu8Xl-owX2CaZBmiw79BZmlYX4kJIPXJq52RexB10/s320/TLM_Kanawha+River+coal-fired+power+plant%252C+WV_by+Chris+Jackson.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><i><br />
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</i></div>"The epicenter of the climate change battle in the United States is Appalachian coal, and the epicenter of the battle around Appalachian coal is Coal River Mountain." </i><br />
- Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council<br />
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In the opening moments of Bill Haney's new documentary, "The Last Mountain," the president of the West Virginia Coal Association makes the snide and vaguely contemptuous assertion that most Americans don't know where their electricity comes from, and that they even see it as some kind of entitlement.<br />
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While there may be a kernel of truth embedded in that statement, that hardly justifies the ongoing destruction of the Appalachians by those who value profits more than people. Once you blow off the top of a mountain, it ceases to be a mountain. And once you blow the top off an entire mountain range, all that's left is a desolate field of rubble and a variety of health and environmental woes that didn't exist before. And situated in the center of a field of toxic rubble that used to be mountains lies West Virginia’s Coal River Mountain, the titular focus of the film.<br />
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"The Last Mountain" is easily one of the most compelling environmental documentaries I've ever seen, and makes a strong case that the war between Big Coal and average citizens struggling to preserve their environment, their health, and a sustainable future for their children, has implications that concern us all.<br />
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The key to making a really good documentary is to present the subject from as many different angles as possible, and Haney manages to present the fundamental views of all parties that have a stake in this fiercely heated conflict. <br />
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Currently, nearly half of America's electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants, and roughly 1/3 of the coal needed to keep those plants running comes from the Appalachian mountains. <br />
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The coal industry has determined that the fastest, cheapest way to extract the coal is by literally blowing the tops off the mountains, using enough explosives each week to equal the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. Unfortunately, in their relentless pursuit of short-term profits, they've largely ignored the long-term damage done to the environment by way of flooding and pollution of area waterways, as well as numerous accounts of cancer and other insults to human health many believe are directly associated with the coal industry's practices.<br />
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What began as a local struggle has grown into something much bigger, and become a major focus of longtime environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who features prominently in the film. <br />
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As the debates surrounding climate change and corporate control of our democracy grow louder with each passing day, "The Last Mountain" couldn't be more timely. It's a classic David vs. Goliath story that pits ordinary citizens from all walks of life against a monolithic and seemingly implacable foe with the power to buy off politicians at the highest levels, break the law, shape the scope of public debate and manufacture consent as it deems fit. <br />
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If you’re not already dead inside, the film will shock, sadden and enrage you, before finally showing an inspirational glimmer of hope offered by sustained, non-violent civil disobedience and the transformational long-range potential of renewable energy sources.<div><br />
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</div><div><i>The Last Mountain plays Wednesday, August 24th at 7:30PM only, as part of our ongoing One Hit Wonders series. This screening is co-presented by The Southern Arizona Green Chamber of Commerce. A post-film panel discussion will take place with the following local environmental experts:</i></div><i>ARDETH BARNHART, Program Director of Renewable Energy at UA, formerly with AzRISE<br />
PABLO GARCIA-CHEVESICH, researcher/consultant in watershed management specializing in land reclamation & erosion control<br />
VINCENT PAWLOWSKI, 27 years in engineering, holder of a new degree in Sustainable Community Development from Prescott College<br />
DAVID SCHALLER, President of his energy & climate consultancy after a lengthy career with EPA, specializing in Sustainable Development & Climate Change<br />
KATHERINE KENT, owner of the Solar Store, will moderate the panel.</i></div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-67458219198774794652011-08-03T12:14:00.000-07:002011-08-03T12:21:14.682-07:00POETRY / Staff Review by Evan Salazar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/images/issue/420/poetry-2_420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/images/issue/420/poetry-2_420.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="yiv945001613MsoNormal" style="color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div>The reason Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING is so scary is because the Overlook Hotel is perpetually saturated in light, never allowing the Torrance family to escape the terrors that haunt its walls. The twins don’t hide in dark shadows – they are fully visible. Even when Danny does his best to shut his eyes and wish them away, they stay in full light, their terror un-obscured and completely unhinged. When what scares one the most is partially hidden, the full picture never materializes and one is allowed to not face all of its cruel characteristics; but when one’s fears are in the open, dosed in bright light, the terror is inescapable.<br />
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<div>While not a horror film by popular definition, Lee Chang-dong’s newest film, POETRY, operates under very much the same idea of THE SHINING: What is most frightening, awful, and cruel about the world is basked in the South Korean sun for all to see in this film. There are few scenes shot at night, little (if any) use of dramatic shadows, and simple, elegant photography work by cinematographer Kim Hyun-Seok – yet the story explores dark, awful truths about human cruelty, ageing, and loneliness. The darkness creeps in the corner of the frame, haunting each of the characters and the spaces they live in. At certain points, the subtle drama explodes, and one realizes just how palpable and heavy everything preceding the explosion was. But that’s just the thing: all of the heft and bleakness of the film is handled with a deft hand. It quietly crawls into your skin and lays dormant until emotions cannot stay suppressed any longer. The film has a tight, knowing grip on the viewer’s emotional valve. It starts at a quiet hiss, and quickly ratchets up to a flood.<br />
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I don’t want to spoil much of the film’s plot. The journey that the character Yang Mija takes is a disquieting, emotional, and finally, enigmatic one. She is a kind older woman, a feeling woman. She also contains reserves of anger, emotional carelessness, and a large pool of sadness. Actress Yoon Jeong-hee carries the whole film, and her face is a prize to film itself. She packs so much into a tiny twitch, a quick smile, the narrowing of her eyes – and this is all only heightened by the circumstances her character finds herself in, by the fact that she may have to lie, that she may have to sacrifice things, or that her health and life might be taking a different path than she so desires. Again, I don’t want to spoil much of the film’s plot, so I am going to refrain from specifics, but at a certain point the plot doesn’t even matter that much – it’s all about the character of Mija, her questions and worries, her strength and also her feelings of hopelessness.<br />
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Of course, the film is called POETRY, and there is a lot of depth mined from simply the concept of poems, writing, expressing one’s self. There is a striking moment where Mija’s poetry class is asked to answer what the most beautiful moment in their life was, in hopes of it unlocking poetic inspiration. Some are confident in their answers, speaking of love and family; the most interesting answer to me, however, was one middle aged man’s answer about moving out of a cheap basement after 20 years and finally living in a real apartment. He claims he has had no beautiful moments in his life, but maybe that is the only moment on its way to something resembling beauty. It’s a sad and emotionally bare moment, and it perfectly encapsulates the spirit of poetry. In fact, one can argue that his answer is the most poetic, beating out confessions of love or family or childhood memories. The film explores the realm of poetry with a great deal of care and interest – it is never overly sentimental or sickly sweet, but rather subdued, calm, introspective. And when married with the other components of the film, it shines like a beacon of hope across the bleak reality of human suffering.<br />
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POETRY, much like the style of writing it takes its name from, is a fluid and sinuous film. It is completely absorbing and rewards those who ease into its deliberate pace. The film asks you to find the beauty, the heart in the ugly and cold – to discover the way you wish to view the world. The film understands that this may take awhile for one person to discover, and so it takes its time answering its own questions, as well. By its end, POETRY becomes a haunting reverie about losing and then gaining something in return. Human minds can still reach far out and grasp what they want, even when everything else falls in its presence.<br />
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</i></div><div style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><i>POETRY opens Friday, August 5th at The Loft.</i></div></div></div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-51345394431291866672011-08-02T11:29:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:29:03.981-07:00Reflections on Kids' Fest / By Peggy Springer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Mf791OucXbOMKV8gVtHdePmu65DnMx66bcIYKK6h5YdhWt7H6r8Lql7D_nAvYqPlijXvosiuSqCDNPbQRLkr81STJnoueluu5zGDy9Q6-pZmrRbIQzkF7VWqEvB7WJdeRSXNM7fY2_A/s1600/185387_10150279016789857_63731214856_7258234_3987017_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Mf791OucXbOMKV8gVtHdePmu65DnMx66bcIYKK6h5YdhWt7H6r8Lql7D_nAvYqPlijXvosiuSqCDNPbQRLkr81STJnoueluu5zGDy9Q6-pZmrRbIQzkF7VWqEvB7WJdeRSXNM7fY2_A/s320/185387_10150279016789857_63731214856_7258234_3987017_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The 2011 Tucson International Children’s Film Festival, or Kids Fest for short, began Saturday, July 23 with the <i>Annie Sing-A-Long</i> and ended Sunday, July 31 with <i>Babe</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During those nine days of fun, movies, prizes, popcorn, kids, babies, grown-ups who came as parents, and grown-ups who came just to see the films, we saw many of the same faces just about each day, and some faces we saw everyday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for coming to the movies with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See you next year!</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">to the little smiling girl dressed exactly like Annie (wig and freckles included) accompanied by her parents also dressed as characters from the film,</div><div class="MsoNormal">and to the dad and daughter who practiced singing all the songs in the car on </div><div class="MsoNormal">the way to the theater that first day,</div><div class="MsoNormal">to the boy who pumped his fist in the air with excitement when he learned he could </div><div class="MsoNormal">go find a seat in the theater as soon as he entered the lobby with his mom,</div><div class="MsoNormal">and to all of you who were waiting at the gate each morning before 9:15 am, </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGE95zbeh8DD7xhGgPV06T7v8Vz6Cw2j-gfqUgOulzK3a53xWIEuCNoGVpl0ODuXS7NTrQ4uNIbTb8AEfwt5jAyqlOpTawbcW2fPNJAIDDMEI9zmFhoiV2iUF1JjOnvZ36CXb23JIutY/s1600/283544_10150276406344857_63731214856_7236971_2155606_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGE95zbeh8DD7xhGgPV06T7v8Vz6Cw2j-gfqUgOulzK3a53xWIEuCNoGVpl0ODuXS7NTrQ4uNIbTb8AEfwt5jAyqlOpTawbcW2fPNJAIDDMEI9zmFhoiV2iUF1JjOnvZ36CXb23JIutY/s320/283544_10150276406344857_63731214856_7236971_2155606_n.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">to the little girl who described in full detail what she was wearing the day before</div><div class="MsoNormal">after she asked me if I remembered her,</div><div class="MsoNormal">and to the happy eyes and eager hands waiting to get free books from Bookmans </div><div class="MsoNormal">on Thursday before the movie Holes, </div><div class="MsoNormal">to the many polite Pleases and Thank Yous for the tickets, popcorn, give-aways, </div><div class="MsoNormal">and raffle drawings,</div><div class="MsoNormal">and to those of you who made perfect paper airplanes to throw at Jeff onstage </div><div class="MsoNormal">before <i>King Kong</i>,</div><div class="MsoNormal">to the family who said they would have been there everyday except they were going </div><div class="MsoNormal">on vacation at the end of the week,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SLh-1eHGRk6LLeKCuDq5cEKz5eg6Tfp5RKeePTbldqbz4Vu7SKvtcozCyoSQkKS3G_ww3lfUv4dncnU9tamTu_a8w7Kg1Zdm7IduxQX-ZczteniDbyJCfizzCCBmKdzh-uBIFnPwqvc/s1600/285585_10150281166534857_63731214856_7281423_3056507_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SLh-1eHGRk6LLeKCuDq5cEKz5eg6Tfp5RKeePTbldqbz4Vu7SKvtcozCyoSQkKS3G_ww3lfUv4dncnU9tamTu_a8w7Kg1Zdm7IduxQX-ZczteniDbyJCfizzCCBmKdzh-uBIFnPwqvc/s320/285585_10150281166534857_63731214856_7281423_3056507_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">to the little girl who explained on the second-to-last day that she hadn’t been there</div><div class="MsoNormal">for a couple of days because her mom was having a C-section (“A C-SECTION!”),</div><div class="MsoNormal">to the young boy who oinked and wore his pig ears all throughout Babe,</div><div class="MsoNormal">and to the young man who thanked Jeff genuinely and eloquently for making this </div><div class="MsoNormal">festival accessible to anyone and everyone,</div><div class="MsoNormal">to the parade of youngsters who circled the lobby with their faces painted before </div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit</i> led by the proud leader of the incredible Tiggies,</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Kids Fest is for everyone but we do it for all of you.</span><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIZT5WEyoXIJR3lmR2bs9gTKlO1E_0NgZvUXZHNxhMDv7jND6vwQQA38oRb2QxWf6PWz5TEZqVqWrm4UXYuxsllhq3UzmL4247kn8st7w-N3n-PZth_4nJwad2jk9HEj1CbM2wCxlm3A/s1600/254791_10150281169859857_63731214856_7281507_4297103_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIZT5WEyoXIJR3lmR2bs9gTKlO1E_0NgZvUXZHNxhMDv7jND6vwQQA38oRb2QxWf6PWz5TEZqVqWrm4UXYuxsllhq3UzmL4247kn8st7w-N3n-PZth_4nJwad2jk9HEj1CbM2wCxlm3A/s320/254791_10150281169859857_63731214856_7281507_4297103_n.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
</span></div><div><i>Words by Peggy Springer, Administrative Assistant.</i></div><div><i>Photos by Steven Soloway, Office Manager.</i></div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-46132917159855414402011-07-28T11:55:00.000-07:002011-07-28T11:55:46.464-07:00THE TRIP / Staff Review by Evan Salazar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/img/8/9/9/i/7/6/0/o/TripWalking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.digitaljournal.com/img/8/9/9/i/7/6/0/o/TripWalking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Michael Winterbottom is one of the few directors who deserves the title of “eclectic” or “quirky.” You’d be hard-pressed to find one of his films that is much like the others, as he jumps freely from the quasi-documentary to the full-on documentary to thrillers and then to, at its core, artful pornography (lets be honest, 9 SONGS is not much more than porn intercut with some live music and strained attempts at plot – which is by no means a bad thing, you know, it just is what it is). In the vein of continuing to do what absolutely no one expected him to do next, Winterbottom directed a six episode British miniseries called THE TRIP, which brought back Steve Coogan (TROPIC THUNDER, 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, HAMLET 2) and Rob Brydon’s fictionalized portrayals of themselves from an earlier Winterbottom film, A COCK AND BULL STORY. The miniseries was then edited into a feature-length film and brought over here to the States, and that is what we are presented with here.<br />
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The film’s plot is simple—so simple, in fact, that calling it a plot seems almost a bit overblown. Steve Coogan plays a version of himself that is insecure, arrogant, and angry, and after his girlfriend abruptly leaves for America, he finds himself traveling solo through Northern England on a restaurant tour set up by a magazine. Too afraid to be alone for too long a time, Coogan invites his sort-of-kind-of friend Rob Brydon along. Brydon is affable and kind, but also carries doubts and fears of his own. The major difference is that Brydon doesn’t use his insecurities to scrutinize and demean others, unlike Coogan, who can’t help but sneer at everything he comes into contact with. The film is a collection of conversations and moments between the two at high-class restaurants and local sights. They riff on each other’s jokes, they compare impressions of famous actors (the Al Pacino and Michael Caine impressions are hilarious, and I’d be remiss not to mention their spot-on Woody Allen impressions), and they both occasionally stew in the other’s misery.<br />
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Fans of British comedy and television will notice similarities between Coogan’s character and Ricky Gervais’ character from his HBO series EXTRAS. Both are addled with aspirations that far out-reach their actual skill sets, and so they turn their anger for themselves into anger for others. They both also see themselves as big stars deserving more than they are given: Coogan deems his past film and television work pedestrian, instead wishing for the mainstream American success he knows he deserves. Brydon is the antithesis to Coogan, finding solace in family, his minor success, and living his life with levity. Coogan’s self-hatred has morphed into an ever-present cynicism, while Brydon saves his fears for phone calls to his wife late at night.<br />
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Did I mention this was a comedy? Because it is. All great comedies have dark underbellies, and this one is obviously no exception, but it’s worthy to note how truly funny this film is. Major portions of the film are made up of Coogan and Brydon riffing off each other’s jokes for extended periods of time, doing their best to out-funny the other. Coogan and Brydon are naturally funny people, and even when in the midst of the more dramatic scenes of the film, find an excellent comedic rhythm. No two people could be funnier to watch compare a drink’s consistency to snot or riff on anachronistic dialogue in costume dramas.<br />
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The film is also beautifully shot. The low-hanging grey clouds and hilly moors of Northern England lend themselves to somber beauty, and the documentary-style camera movements bring a lackadaisical, voyeuristic quality to Coogan and Brydon’s conversations—it’s as if you were sitting two tables away from them in the restaurant. The film’s beauty really can’t be stated enough, though: shots are framed with clear and apparent care, like during Coogan’s first conversation with his American girlfriend over the phone. There is a wonderful shot of him standing at the apex of a hill in silhouette as clouds roll across the landscape, and it’s this attention to visual beauty that almost brings the film’s comedic elements to a whole new level. The marriage between the melancholic visuals and humor create a profound effect on the overall product; the film is not self-serious, but it is very genuine in its ideas, motives, and words. It is a film full of care, and it is apparent that the actors believe in each beat the film takes.<br />
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THE TRIP is perhaps a British version of a Woody Allen or James L. Brooks film; comedy with darker, deeper veins beneath its surface. It’s completely hilarious, but also thoughtful and maybe even a little sad. It does its balancing act with poise, allowing both sides weight evenly. A moment never gets too heavy that a joke can’t save it, nor does the film ever stray too far from the its emotional core. And that’s the film’s strongest component, how well it has its finger on the pulse of human emotions and interactions. It all feels very real, very funny, and very thoughtful.<br />
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<i>THE TRIP opens at The Loft Friday, July 29th.</i><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xxq-I_e_KXg" width="560"></iframe>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-61545040690820225052011-07-22T15:37:00.000-07:002011-07-22T15:37:06.869-07:00The Loft's FAVORITE FANTASY FILMS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/2011/02/TrollHunterPic4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/2011/02/TrollHunterPic4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Of all the genres, one could argue that Fantasy is the most open to interpretation. Typical Fantasy plots tend to involve either children or the mentally unsound (or both), and feature supporting characters like goblins, faeries, and the like. But beyond such limited conventionalities, Fantasy is what film is all about; when we walk into a theater and watch frozen images moving at 24 frames per second, watch actors reading lines from a script in manufactured rain or sunlight, we pretend for a little while that it's "real." In honor of the new film THE TROLL HUNTER, which opens today at The Loft, here are our favorite films that we deem Fantasy.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Kyle Canfield, General Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2008/06/willow-warwick-davies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2008/06/willow-warwick-davies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> <i>Willow</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Alexandra Bernhardt, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zW1ryXkcKHieOZBFMfI7tOOVXAusyE-U9FLeMGXyK5E_2Wly_rbXAZ9IlQrSfhzejBilE6NW0yfF87QU9tU_Uj4LZ3FdUtt8hjcg_fMgnfAScUPcqhFgHiVWwHoqinXLZv2vsRvv-wU/s1600/Spirited+Away+(2001)+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zW1ryXkcKHieOZBFMfI7tOOVXAusyE-U9FLeMGXyK5E_2Wly_rbXAZ9IlQrSfhzejBilE6NW0yfF87QU9tU_Uj4LZ3FdUtt8hjcg_fMgnfAScUPcqhFgHiVWwHoqinXLZv2vsRvv-wU/s320/Spirited+Away+(2001)+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Spirited Away</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Pretty much every one of Miyazaki's movies is in the fantasy genre, and many of them are great, but <i>Spirited Away</i> is my pick because it really stuck with me. It has a nice mix of cool and creepy moments, it's kind of like a Japanese <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>. I had never been so fascinated by (or so fearful of) bathhouses until I saw this movie.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Steven Soloway, Office Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sNSeckFd4_8P9XgkSuTAKdwynJwQoFp0dj-ppRs2559egApI5jdgdM8x8UfqaPM2yDPsRqb-u0PXnYR8nPECJPOIzImo4FXHVy7xICA_yqLrZFsI3n4_xYtNjQmQHmUpZp14RIedzQg/s1600/NIVEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sNSeckFd4_8P9XgkSuTAKdwynJwQoFp0dj-ppRs2559egApI5jdgdM8x8UfqaPM2yDPsRqb-u0PXnYR8nPECJPOIzImo4FXHVy7xICA_yqLrZFsI3n4_xYtNjQmQHmUpZp14RIedzQg/s320/NIVEN.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>A Matter of Life and Death</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Evan Salazar</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://download.minitokyo.net/Princess.Mononoke.339705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://download.minitokyo.net/Princess.Mononoke.339705.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Princess Mononoke</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I admittedly don't watch many fantasy films. It's not really a genre that ever has much for me. But one of my favorite directors, Hayao Miyazaki, makes films that are, more times than not, on the fantasy tip of things. Sometimes his fantasy is a bit more subdued (like my favorite film of his, <i>My Neighbor Totoro</i>), but other times he embraces all of its tropes, and I think<i> Princess Mononoke</i> is one of his best examples of that. A girl raised by wolves, other-wordly creatures, curses, insane battle set-pieces, and a general sense of adventure lend itself to be a pretty great fantasy story. The difference between this and other fantasy films is its non-pandering emotional warmth and sense of adult intelligence. Lots of fantasy films depend on nostalgia and broad-stroke emotions, but <i>Mononoke</i> is a lot more nuanced. Its message of environmentalism is present in a lot of fantasy films, but its fair approach to both sides and adult treatment of these issues makes it noteworthy. It's not all black and white. Plus, the movie looks cool as hell, so there's that, too.<br />
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Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention <i>The Never-Ending Story</i> was one of my favorite flicks when I was a kid. I never got sick of that thing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b>Tim Keene, Floor Staff</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTIwMTM5Mjc3OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNTkwOTk2._V1._SX485_SY325_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTIwMTM5Mjc3OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNTkwOTk2._V1._SX485_SY325_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><i><b>Northfork</b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Not quite a true fantasy film, but a beautiful fantasy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>J.J. Giddings, Operations Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.forbiddenzonethemovie.com/images/00011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.forbiddenzonethemovie.com/images/00011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Forbidden Zone</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Peggy Springer, Administrative Assistant</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/a-life-less-ordinary-ewan-mcgregor-1215116_600_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/a-life-less-ordinary-ewan-mcgregor-1215116_600_400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b><i>A Life Less Ordinary</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;">This is a hard question for me, and I've decided to go with this favorite from the late nineties directed by Danny Boyle. I love watching Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz fall in love while Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo work very hard to make it happen. Plus there's Stanley Tucci, Ian Holm, Dan Hedaya, Tony Shalhoub and Maury Chaykin to watch as well. The soundtrack rules, everyone has funny lines, and it's super strange, funny, and charming.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b>Jeff Yanc, Program Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://366weirdmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/the_reflecting_skin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://366weirdmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/the_reflecting_skin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>The Reflecting Skin</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">This amazingly strange, and unfortunately obscure, British gothic/horror/dark comedy/fantasy about the nightmare of childhood could probably best be described as <i>Days of Heaven</i> as directed by David Lynch after he’s channeled the ghost of Ingmar Bergman. Set in the 1950s American heartland of rolling wheat fields and battered farm houses, this story of a young boy who uses his very active imagination to cope with the terrors of real life is poetic, perverse, sometimes operatic and always very unsettling. Ignored by his neurotic (and possibly dangerous) parents, the boy creates a world of his own, convincing himself that the reclusive English woman who lives next door is really a deadly vampire, and that the decomposing fetus that has suddenly appeared in the family barn is really his murdered best friend come back to Earth disguised as an angel.<span> </span>And when a pack of sinister leather boys in a black ’57 Chevy start cruising the countryside and kidnapping young boys for evil purposes, it REALLY starts to get weird. It also stars a young Viggo Mortensen as the kid’s older brother, so why this great, bizarre movie is still so underrated remains a mystery to me. <span> </span>If you liked Viggo in <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, why not check it out<span>?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"><span><b>Pedro Robles, Assistant Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i2.listal.com/image/1296383/600full-pan's-labyrinth-screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://i2.listal.com/image/1296383/600full-pan's-labyrinth-screenshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Pan's Labyrinth</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">My all time favorite fantasy film is <i>El Laberinto del Fauno</i>. This great tale wins my heart for the reason that I would have enjoyed watching it at any age. As a child, I would have been hypnotized by the fantastic and terrifying characters. As an adult, the mixture of history, gore and the bending of reality just sings a song of love to my heart. Every shot in it is incredibly beautiful and stands up to repeat viewings. Guillermo del Toro, I love you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Anthony Cutrone, Floor Staff</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thumbnails.hulu.com/6/825/6807_512x288_manicured__JNUFBXR5zkis+Xvgm+l+lQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://thumbnails.hulu.com/6/825/6807_512x288_manicured__JNUFBXR5zkis+Xvgm+l+lQ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Big Trouble in Little China</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Zach Breneman, Business Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCs2ueNF_XFpXaSsjpNL5A6vxYnyHWCHg52iXFO4HNUoeXG3tdafkSWv-MbIhfLynmCBqw4Slx99oBycjTCoNd265yYaQzeGZDkdwMVoihXkHpJoXQJo3AJZBtGCo4IRLJ1u_7ZezTEHsJ/s1600/Kurosawa.Dreams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCs2ueNF_XFpXaSsjpNL5A6vxYnyHWCHg52iXFO4HNUoeXG3tdafkSWv-MbIhfLynmCBqw4Slx99oBycjTCoNd265yYaQzeGZDkdwMVoihXkHpJoXQJo3AJZBtGCo4IRLJ1u_7ZezTEHsJ/s320/Kurosawa.Dreams.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Akira Kurosawa's Dreams</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As a kid, fantasy was by far my favorite genre. The obvious escapism of the fantastical is probably what did it, but I was also attracted to the danger implicit in any fantasy story (the donkey scene in <i>Pinocchio</i> and the pink elephant scene in <i>Dumbo</i> fueled my dreams for years)<i>. </i>My love for surrealism was also most likely founded here. Although I watched the films of Terry Gilliam more (<i>Time Bandits</i>, <i>The Adventures of Baron Munchausen</i>), the first time I saw <i>Akira Kurosawa's Dreams </i>was personally revolutionary on a couple of levels--it was my first foreign film, my first non-linear film, and it terrified me like nothing else I'd ever seen. But what scars us sticks with us. I've only seen the film twice, but its images are forever seared into my cerebral cortex.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>THE TROLL HUNTER opens Friday, July 22nd at The Loft, and plays daily at 10PM.</i></div><br />
<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TLEo7H9tqSM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-46458184905863085992011-07-05T11:03:00.000-07:002011-07-05T11:03:33.428-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tHHijRm305P9nC3qd-E6rJaRVWKTuaIXLyv51eNOa0k6hfd-4pHMdXN87wvBAsMNvCvqxdl_AdQg5wgZINjFjLpsZF-RwmloM_LPqpU2hPoU8DPNLWn1qNkbxLgZAhgvsayJIEei6ew/s1600/%255Bgickr.com%255D_5323eb94-34eb-2524-69e4-4907f2130279.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tHHijRm305P9nC3qd-E6rJaRVWKTuaIXLyv51eNOa0k6hfd-4pHMdXN87wvBAsMNvCvqxdl_AdQg5wgZINjFjLpsZF-RwmloM_LPqpU2hPoU8DPNLWn1qNkbxLgZAhgvsayJIEei6ew/s1600/%255Bgickr.com%255D_5323eb94-34eb-2524-69e4-4907f2130279.gif" /></a></div><br />
<h1 class="title" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 3em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;">AMERICA, F**K YEAH! THE "TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE"</h1><h1 class="title" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 3em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;">SING-A-LONG </h1><h1 class="title" style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 3em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;">AND CURSE-A-THON!</h1>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-14572068276339455322011-06-02T11:31:00.000-07:002011-06-02T11:31:52.241-07:00AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY - Staff review by Dave Paiz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmAZafr3J7A9PE-3-oWoNCW_9M9FKdeXpJ0oakq7tvcQo3D2v9QE-iC3xC4jli6OUP-oSibezioVoZpXX2dHvGvvknfWENHllNR5waB7dri2ARUIDhKp6GCqF1dx0gfscWHBjnUbxhL8/s1600/Bill-Hicks-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmAZafr3J7A9PE-3-oWoNCW_9M9FKdeXpJ0oakq7tvcQo3D2v9QE-iC3xC4jli6OUP-oSibezioVoZpXX2dHvGvvknfWENHllNR5waB7dri2ARUIDhKp6GCqF1dx0gfscWHBjnUbxhL8/s320/Bill-Hicks-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
In 1994 the savagely funny bundle of energy and awareness known as Bill Hicks left this mortal coil to rejoin the cosmos in the Arms of the One True God That Is Love and await the moment when All will again become One. I was going to open by stating the obvious - in this case, the fact that Bill Hicks was a truly gifted standup comic that died way before his time - but opted for something more or less in line with what Hicks himself might have penned for himself, had he been given the chance.<br />
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If you're like me, then you totally missed out on Hicks' all-too-brief rise and fall and continue to mine the depths of your skull trying to figure out what freaking planet you were on back then. I don't know about you, but for me, the window of time between the late '80's and early '90's was a bit of a fugue state, and many of the details of that era have mercifully been lost to the ravages of time and good, old-fashioned American hedonism. So on second thought, it's probably a good thing you're not like me, because I did a great many irretrievably stupid things back then, not the least of which was never getting into Bill Hicks when he was in his raging, stomping the mf'ing terra prime.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhf4ido7VzhXpZZSJBmTwEoZdaDRgstNkofZ0Y4lsb4jjuxnjsftG8djvbTwkzCYxHQ3VBHVJbNbxeE-uar9xkhyGhsRuj35Xg15RCb467cdFMetklkisz6wKAOEbwWkiXm6q_cukLos/s1600/bill+hicks+poster_405x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhf4ido7VzhXpZZSJBmTwEoZdaDRgstNkofZ0Y4lsb4jjuxnjsftG8djvbTwkzCYxHQ3VBHVJbNbxeE-uar9xkhyGhsRuj35Xg15RCb467cdFMetklkisz6wKAOEbwWkiXm6q_cukLos/s320/bill+hicks+poster_405x600.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />
More than just a comic, Bill Hicks was arguably the sharpest satirist and social critic of his generation and a fiery intellectual who made gelatinous potted meat product out of many of America's most cherished sacred cows. As it turned out, I was first introduced to his ideas by way of the industrial/psychedelic art-metal band Tool, whose epic 1996 release "AEnima" was dedicated to the late comic genius. Those who'd like to know more about Hicks without braving Tool's darkly beautiful, brain-melting musical stylings would do well to check out American: The Bill Hicks Story, a solid new documentary from directors Matt Hartlock and Paul Thomas.<br />
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Inspired early on by the likes of Woody Allen and Richard Pryor, Hicks' dreams of comic stardom initially took root in Houston, where he quickly made his mark on the local comedy scene while still in high school. Drawing initially from his strict Southern Baptist upbringing, Hicks poked fun at his family life and the various absurdities he observed during his weekly comic adventures in the so-called adult world. His act soon became wildly popular, but Hicks, perhaps sensing on some level that he didn't have much time on this earth, set his sights much higher, and he soon left the stagnant confines of Houston for Los Angeles and the all-encompassing nexus for standup comedy in the known Universe - The Comedy Store.<br />
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It's always seemed to me that once comics establish their voice, their shtick, they tend to stick with it throughout their career and never change. That was never the case with Hicks, who always felt that he was destined to shake up the status quo and constantly pushed himself to break new ground. This is where Hicks' story takes a familiar turn. Feeling like he'd hit a mental wall, and with his competing dreams of rock versus comic stardom stalled on both fronts, Hicks began to experiment with alcohol and psychedelic mushrooms with mixed results that forever changed his outlook on Reality.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGkUxKXCKDQov8zvPtS93LU-0Y_VMs4FzVu67D5wtN5wmO_46tjBjq0noCkvLCfyXTAunc1k55aBJjyj11FITLxRZ_E1yjhh5keo1OPuKZjoWniOEJV05tuA4oHwTEte19enFsfQDYBY/s1600/bill_hicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGkUxKXCKDQov8zvPtS93LU-0Y_VMs4FzVu67D5wtN5wmO_46tjBjq0noCkvLCfyXTAunc1k55aBJjyj11FITLxRZ_E1yjhh5keo1OPuKZjoWniOEJV05tuA4oHwTEte19enFsfQDYBY/s320/bill_hicks.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br />
And as anyone who's spent a fair amount of time jabbing their Third Eye with a cattle prod will attest to, once you hop on the Magic Bus, your ideas start getting, shall we say, more and more out there. Predictably, Hicks' material started veering off the beaten path, and mutated from observations about his family, to commenting on America and the nature of Reality itself. Largely relying on a dynamic visual style that combines still and moving images, the film also brings Hicks' story to life via interview footage from friends and family and a lot of great standup footage from Hicks himself. Rather than a distraction, the animation really enhances the film, most vividly during the hallucinogenic sequences.<br />
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Bill Hicks broke a lot of boundaries in a painfully short period of time, and we're left to wonder about what he'd be like today had he not succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 34. The time since he's been gone has seen the birth of the Internet and Facebook, the Bush v. Gore debacle, and cultural excreta like Reality TV and Fox News. Every day seems to bring with it some new conspiracy theory or brain-jarringly weird belief. Politicians on both sides routinely embellish reality to suit their own ends. In the midst of endless war and economic stagnation, we appear to be at a crossroads and enmeshed in fierce debate over what kind of nation we want to be moving forward in a post-911/post-Osama world. While he'll live on through his recorded material and this lovingly crafted documentary, it's a damn shame Bill Hicks didn't live long enough to lend his voice to the chorus of those now challenging us to throw off our assumptions, truly think for ourselves, and find a better way to live on this earth.<br />
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Review by Dave Paiz, Loft Cinema Facilities Manager and host of "Bat Country Radio" Saturdays from 2-4 a.m. on 91.3 FM KXCI.<br />
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<i>AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY</i> starts Friday, June 3rd at The Loft Cinema. ONE WEEK ONLY!The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-59791095723205859502011-05-20T18:16:00.000-07:002011-05-20T18:16:19.758-07:00The Loft's Favorite Westerns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieca3uerocjv4tI7RbNyxVlvrAEQ4lt4UcuEFdfohaPdlj6EiZUmbzwp1T6mjr7QUcBuJqArlLjdowNh5aCvhuwQybqiSqEStBNc4SBGxfxw4kZ4yEVGHER_A1oWuwkpxkzdvdhqBa83Q/s1600/meek_s_cutoff01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieca3uerocjv4tI7RbNyxVlvrAEQ4lt4UcuEFdfohaPdlj6EiZUmbzwp1T6mjr7QUcBuJqArlLjdowNh5aCvhuwQybqiSqEStBNc4SBGxfxw4kZ4yEVGHER_A1oWuwkpxkzdvdhqBa83Q/s320/meek_s_cutoff01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In anticipation of Kelly Reichardt's new award-winning new Western re-vision, <i>Meek's Cutoff</i>, here is a list of The Loft staff's favorite westerns, new and old, good and bad. Mostly old and good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<b>Steven Soloway, Office Manager</b><br />
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My favorite western, hands down, is John Ford's <b>MY DARLING CLEMENTINE</b>. Instead of making the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral the film's centerpiece, Ford focuses his lens on the little day-to-day things -- haircuts, romance, friendship, poker, drinking. <br />
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My favorite scene:<br />
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</center><center style="text-align: left;"><b>Peggy Springer, Administrative Assistant</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></center>I have limited knowledge and exposure to Westerns, but the Coen Brothers have made two in the last few years that are both among my favorite films of all time, so of course <b>NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN</b> is my favorite western, and the recent TRUE GRIT is a very close second. I love NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN for many reasons, but mostly because it's so cool. The performances are all amazing and I love how there is no score/soundtrack at all and the only music in the entire film is at the very end/end credit sequence. So Cool! Following very closely to the Cormac McCarthy novel, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN explores what happens when one individual quickly loses control of a situation he never had control of before, but he likes to think that he did.<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P3tp5vrEs3ZWqjDl7B6lyVayoa-RTR1E1vQWkWeTKGpjTd8Q8lddd0vMgrws-OEvUc-gWWxtsuUtv_hd380v4g4JXg23dVG5XCI40-MWxDUQ1GsSqiN88VGbrwkUzOvYr8KBixi8AnU/s1600/no-country-for-old-men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P3tp5vrEs3ZWqjDl7B6lyVayoa-RTR1E1vQWkWeTKGpjTd8Q8lddd0vMgrws-OEvUc-gWWxtsuUtv_hd380v4g4JXg23dVG5XCI40-MWxDUQ1GsSqiN88VGbrwkUzOvYr8KBixi8AnU/s320/no-country-for-old-men.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Alexandra Bernhardt, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div>My favorite western is <b>3:10 TO YUMA</b> (2007). I enjoy this film because it's more than just a shoot-em-up, it's a western with emotional impact and engaging characters. Also, one of my favorite performances by Russell Crowe.<div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>J.J. Giddings, Operations Director</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>DEAD MAN</b>. It's the western I've seen the most and I could watch it any time, any where. Plus it has an amazing cast and a killer score by Neil Young.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5oBd5QIibTlmOuZZOsnJhgt1dpVCsgiHTQEb_1KjfMNclfNWuOCt1N-wV10yejHP34Us60E65WV4wyPEXOUoF7y1vIThe46uDn_9TyHad86s9uNNZZaWbNioXwiUNVkjjq9K2b_0wlg/s1600/Dead_Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5oBd5QIibTlmOuZZOsnJhgt1dpVCsgiHTQEb_1KjfMNclfNWuOCt1N-wV10yejHP34Us60E65WV4wyPEXOUoF7y1vIThe46uDn_9TyHad86s9uNNZZaWbNioXwiUNVkjjq9K2b_0wlg/s320/Dead_Man.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Luanne Withee, Membership Director</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is easy for me: <b>THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD</b> because it is awesome!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2E7q-ci1-nrtEO-QIo_3MboKReenzgZauEujzBEt_3bIjrSzCoaRx5s6egqArMpF-JB3T5Uvf6iyA-vqaF-FHVahg1ILbrNf5xbiIlAD-EKz4oklNVKYEez29A4cveEDpqzto4pFpNY/s1600/nom4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2E7q-ci1-nrtEO-QIo_3MboKReenzgZauEujzBEt_3bIjrSzCoaRx5s6egqArMpF-JB3T5Uvf6iyA-vqaF-FHVahg1ILbrNf5xbiIlAD-EKz4oklNVKYEez29A4cveEDpqzto4pFpNY/s320/nom4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Kyle Canfield, General Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><b>UNFORGIVEN</b>: Gene Hackman vs Clint Eastwood... need I say more? (Because if I do, it would probably take a 20 page essay to touch on every point that makes this film one of the all time greats.)<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvFH0M8c98zpPgHSUI45pC1uMb6Dwm6Hack2EFCoBHMswuW0CDl5QoB2OA7V5BXeAV24IaXh-SW0XqSUyDzLC9Z5YJxkGqOGPVUb_otciCr9FbTB_YrCF11Dj3-dwv8R5p36mMoAH5_Q/s1600/unforgiven2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvFH0M8c98zpPgHSUI45pC1uMb6Dwm6Hack2EFCoBHMswuW0CDl5QoB2OA7V5BXeAV24IaXh-SW0XqSUyDzLC9Z5YJxkGqOGPVUb_otciCr9FbTB_YrCF11Dj3-dwv8R5p36mMoAH5_Q/s320/unforgiven2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Daniel Terry, Assistant Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>RIO BRAVO</b>. Why? Why not? The Duke, Dino, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Angie Dickinson and Angie Dickinson! What's not to like? Seriously though, it's just a great story with a great cast by a great director. It's near perfect in every way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBH5G7iLI0c6FNMgCOosAtuRF-ePCdYa61zOLYQZGZHbEwRw1BlfKAbv5oy7NTdVmd4Y0PDMCdIJnvsIEJ2zxy63OHJuCSloxWWELLoOM21xAHYI9cvAlidSwRg2MfnIAc7mjkC1tpMo/s1600/rio_bravo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBH5G7iLI0c6FNMgCOosAtuRF-ePCdYa61zOLYQZGZHbEwRw1BlfKAbv5oy7NTdVmd4Y0PDMCdIJnvsIEJ2zxy63OHJuCSloxWWELLoOM21xAHYI9cvAlidSwRg2MfnIAc7mjkC1tpMo/s320/rio_bravo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dave Paiz, Facilities Manager</b></div><br />
I hadn't really given this much thought prior to yesterday, but I'm going to have to go with, <b>BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID</b>. Redford & Newman at the top of their game. Solid screenplay by William Goldman, great music, and one of the best endings of any movie - EVER.<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDrjnGnvIKidm7lw5bHqjy11IdhAuB297zZ5UVxo-U0hmFPD55xweJmHDB2XdGbN6s8kVfnAiwxMz4kvfuV1MKdKz-uDbNdbt9dsbrmAHZp3xoc0AZgJHYRtRqk3AEfQfdoO2gyEW65I/s1600/butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDrjnGnvIKidm7lw5bHqjy11IdhAuB297zZ5UVxo-U0hmFPD55xweJmHDB2XdGbN6s8kVfnAiwxMz4kvfuV1MKdKz-uDbNdbt9dsbrmAHZp3xoc0AZgJHYRtRqk3AEfQfdoO2gyEW65I/s320/butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Peggy Johnson, Executive Director</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div>My favorite Western is <b>SEVEN SAMURAI</b> by Akira Kurasawa. Having grown up in the SW and been raised on Westerns, there are very few of what would be considered "classic Westerns" that I can tolerate (see REEL INJUN from the Loft Film Fest 2010 for a sampling of reasons). I also love all the remakes of SEVEN SAMURAI, from MAGNIFICENT SEVEN to LAGAAN to SHAOLIN SOCCER!<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zSS_uBFoVIOhP5SkeM42DV-dnU9dYMs4TJ3uL14PN3QeIadufFfPauIudPu7fz-m-pEwXyTIsDfXpy38SAufD9tKPi03zRBgdAj57DKhOA3qXETjTBETicYqVnA3iXW66Chg1hyIpyU/s1600/seven_samurai01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zSS_uBFoVIOhP5SkeM42DV-dnU9dYMs4TJ3uL14PN3QeIadufFfPauIudPu7fz-m-pEwXyTIsDfXpy38SAufD9tKPi03zRBgdAj57DKhOA3qXETjTBETicYqVnA3iXW66Chg1hyIpyU/s320/seven_samurai01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dan Steen, Assistant Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm gonna have to go with <b>THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES</b>, because it's the first western I saw that was genuinely funny (Chief Dan George is amazing), and for its relatively positive portrayal of Native Americans<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHS3CdqdnTetcvuwNLzHnnJbZfEUac4cGnQE_yvwkLZFUmoBlByCR9kmfbroJHXNClHAzVWeiG8wRoeHpq15V963ovHVUCSx6blpzTTdCMEg4Q-AdpKbltfhE85mxCR1EDE3Lql_5-7W4/s1600/600px-TOJWColtArmy-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHS3CdqdnTetcvuwNLzHnnJbZfEUac4cGnQE_yvwkLZFUmoBlByCR9kmfbroJHXNClHAzVWeiG8wRoeHpq15V963ovHVUCSx6blpzTTdCMEg4Q-AdpKbltfhE85mxCR1EDE3Lql_5-7W4/s320/600px-TOJWColtArmy-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tim Keene, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div>Mine is <b>SHANE</b>. I remember the longing, the loss.<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHFzNKf9QOJp0OcyXQ_IEGGGuiwq36LDsOixnGc1umtGh5wUFB8UTMfji7tig8GbrZcvJu0gXsrlgSRCtkUX0x1wfL6af-D3r2FclRf9sBxamXJGgM53gjYg82tCRwYQQZdhSBmUQ_us/s1600/western_shane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHFzNKf9QOJp0OcyXQ_IEGGGuiwq36LDsOixnGc1umtGh5wUFB8UTMfji7tig8GbrZcvJu0gXsrlgSRCtkUX0x1wfL6af-D3r2FclRf9sBxamXJGgM53gjYg82tCRwYQQZdhSBmUQ_us/s320/western_shane.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Anthony Cutrone, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE</b> is my favorite western. It's not a shoot-em-up western by any means, but it's a very human story about greed, isolation and trying to find the American dream in the wilds of central Mexico. The acting is top notch and this movie showed that John Houston was becoming one of the great American directors. It's just one of those movies that blows you away the first time you see it. It was nominated for 4 Oscars in 1949, including Best Picture, and won three. Best Director, Best Writing and Best Supporting Actor. A fun note, Paul Thomas Anderson stated that he watched THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE every night before filming THERE WILL BE BLOOD<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xr7Y_DVPLO47h3UAEUVxfv2Q5wcbJnziUpRoQopdC4AdU55RnR2aEmX3VyBUstamzad_PmK7YnlEfSWis30QOoHRMN1y4G7iy5wSPpIP40IpIpdWDV9Pd98-flrQHQHDOARotoTMiI0/s1600/The-Treasure-of-the-Sierra-Madre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xr7Y_DVPLO47h3UAEUVxfv2Q5wcbJnziUpRoQopdC4AdU55RnR2aEmX3VyBUstamzad_PmK7YnlEfSWis30QOoHRMN1y4G7iy5wSPpIP40IpIpdWDV9Pd98-flrQHQHDOARotoTMiI0/s320/The-Treasure-of-the-Sierra-Madre.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Evan Salazar, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><b>WILD WILD WEST. </b>It has a giant mechanical spider and Will Smith. Remember that one part where that thing blew up and Will Smith shot that gun? That part was awesome.<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0IXTGIvxn2S-v6MaVFMaZWieTIpfIwidP_dSv6Je-koaDkLODSU6um6M5uLdDOnvNaNeY2oTQePXW3XXPpdaeyhMOrcELUzaMYeQRrElCEP516Wzda7OoqP3en392CUqN0gcciW_d9o/s1600/9+wild+wild+west+1999-thumb-572xauto-162660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0IXTGIvxn2S-v6MaVFMaZWieTIpfIwidP_dSv6Je-koaDkLODSU6um6M5uLdDOnvNaNeY2oTQePXW3XXPpdaeyhMOrcELUzaMYeQRrElCEP516Wzda7OoqP3en392CUqN0gcciW_d9o/s320/9+wild+wild+west+1999-thumb-572xauto-162660.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>(My real answer is <b>THE WILD BUNCH</b> but that's not as fun!)<div><br />
</div><div><b>Jeff Yanc, Program Director</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font: inherit;" valign="top"><b>MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER. </b>This great, atmospheric Robert Altman western, starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie as a scummy gambler and an opium-addicted prostitute who become business partners in a desolate Old West mining town, feels like a hazy drug dream filled with lots and lots of snow, bizarre supporting characters, weird overlapping dialog and a very lugubrious soundtrack by Leonard Cohen. This is truly unlike any western I've ever seen.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></span></b></span></b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYL0xDW6c3jVPAczDK22M4wUBE94TKzVxXSoEaMKdUaB_FbPdFlYX2Q2yFi-L3F518rEeEYIGGHUVJHsIdNSdk3OUdMRCrRF0MAeTGBkExjeYyFGHs5bBQhXXhu1Bo3RQqOzXd3QqRODE/s1600/mccabe_and_mrs_miller_1971_685x385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYL0xDW6c3jVPAczDK22M4wUBE94TKzVxXSoEaMKdUaB_FbPdFlYX2Q2yFi-L3F518rEeEYIGGHUVJHsIdNSdk3OUdMRCrRF0MAeTGBkExjeYyFGHs5bBQhXXhu1Bo3RQqOzXd3QqRODE/s320/mccabe_and_mrs_miller_1971_685x385.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Zach Breneman, Business Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For me, Alejandro Jodorowsky's <b>EL TOPO </b>is the perfect blend of Western ideals mixed with surrealism and heady psychedelic mysticism. Although it by turns spoofs and deconstructs Westerns, it also IS one (much in the same way BLAZING SADDLES is a Western). It's also unlike any film ever made, before or since. Truly one of a kind.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72DiUljDSY_fhVhUylue07se4s_Jr-6tqiyOzFZOiqBtDgExKuJyIEC95JSKcC1bhos-dEt0mS2z_LaU_AeYLo4z0f695VgiE5T08i30-o2F4tj0CeSPHUVDlJF7wlghzixqcuyDoLN0/s1600/topo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72DiUljDSY_fhVhUylue07se4s_Jr-6tqiyOzFZOiqBtDgExKuJyIEC95JSKcC1bhos-dEt0mS2z_LaU_AeYLo4z0f695VgiE5T08i30-o2F4tj0CeSPHUVDlJF7wlghzixqcuyDoLN0/s320/topo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-18243780842270516172011-05-19T10:44:00.000-07:002011-05-19T10:44:46.124-07:00Kelly Reichardt: All Disquiet On The Northwestern Front - Matt Wavrin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRA873PMf8eCJQbyvpmM8jO4Z3UyNYprWObIo7Oi0_-ed9g-0xyX0BxsFKYsCGHXtoaMdK4Am989sG5zWHMVmDyJNlWn-Bbv4BZAd6GDpexYNaDuTOsMrVlRiaMb9bLu9uG0jDxvfWso/s1600/interview-kelly-reichardt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRA873PMf8eCJQbyvpmM8jO4Z3UyNYprWObIo7Oi0_-ed9g-0xyX0BxsFKYsCGHXtoaMdK4Am989sG5zWHMVmDyJNlWn-Bbv4BZAd6GDpexYNaDuTOsMrVlRiaMb9bLu9uG0jDxvfWso/s320/interview-kelly-reichardt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"I was scouting for </span></span><cite style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wendy and Lucy</span></span></cite><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> in Tucson on Highway 10 in the middle of nowhere and this van blew a tire right in front of me and went into the ditch. So I pulled over. It was this Mexican woman, she was mid-forties, maybe my age. She had no shoes on, just socks. I asked if she had AA or a spare tire. No. Well, do you have a cellphone? Yeah, but they just turned it off. She said, “Before I bought this Pepsi, I had $20.” That’s where she was at. So I gave her a ride to the next exit which was about half an hour away and we borrowed a jack from a trucker and circled back around. So now I’m like an hour out of my day and trying to figure out how deep I’m going to get into this. But she was so unpanicked by her situation. She was going to visit her husband and she was very accustomed, clearly, to shit going down like this and having to scramble. She was on her knees on the side of the road getting this tire off when a cop stopped. The cop never made an effort to help her but he kept telling me to be careful. What she was doing was way more dangerous but he stood there and watched her and kept telling me to be safe and get out of the way. She just took the whole thing in stride, which really made an impression on me."</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-Kelly Reichardt</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPxLf0gfszR2bUfkJVTY6enyd1y7Y1DxgthKDzW0VghouHK6nx-EukF44vDZlJT0YFw6641A497RcFrgsGVEBd5Wnqht8p8fzgwLIrwcjpzkDr8H9cQwOWArXPxaZXfzQRE2DwhoonMM/s1600/meeks-cutoff-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPxLf0gfszR2bUfkJVTY6enyd1y7Y1DxgthKDzW0VghouHK6nx-EukF44vDZlJT0YFw6641A497RcFrgsGVEBd5Wnqht8p8fzgwLIrwcjpzkDr8H9cQwOWArXPxaZXfzQRE2DwhoonMM/s320/meeks-cutoff-movie-poster.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A little over 2 years ago, I went to see something called "Wendy And Lucy" at The Loft Cinema in Tucson. Having heard good things about Kelly Reichardt's previous film, "Old Joy," I was anxious to watch it, but was not expecting to be as affected as I was. Truth be told, I didn't see a movie as uniquely powerful the remainder of the year. It announced a new filmmaking voice, but because of Reichardt's complete confidence as a director, it didn't need be loud, brash, gratuitous, violent, ugly, shocking, or controversial to burst onto the map. Its emphasis on character, dialogue, and human (as well as human-animal) relationships was so refreshing to see, it almost made you forget that most movies these days don't focus on these basic elements.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Based on a story by Jon Raymond (with whom Reichardt is again collaborating on her new film, "Meek's Cutoff") the sad predicament that Michelle Williams' Wendy gets herself in makes you feel for her, especially in this day and age. Reichardt described her film thusly: "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you don't have a net and you've had a shitty education and you don't have the benefit of family that's in any better situation than you're in, how does one improve their lot? Not even reaching the middle class, but how do you just get a toehold in the next level?"</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Wendy is a lost soul looking to find work in Alaska, when her hopes get derailed by a case of car trouble and a run-in with the law. "Old Joy," too, is concerned with a similar character, Kurt (musician and sometimes-actor Will Oldham) who has a wandering spirit in contrast to his old friend (Daniel London), a man content with family life. Kurt only wants to relive the connection the two friends once had, but it appears his friend has moved on.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: times,serif; font-size: small;"> Reichardt's new film, "Meek's Cutoff," can be considered a Lost Trilogy of sorts. Set in 1845 on the Oregon Trail, it concerns three families that are led, rather misled, by Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood) through the Cascade Mountains, enduring what you might expect if you ever played the classic computer game. Reichardt focuses on the plight of the families, particularly their need to find water as they become more skeptical of Meek's guiding abilities. Reichardt carries over actors from previous films, including Michelle Williams and Will Patton, but there are also new faces in the cast, such as Paul Dano ("Little Miss Sunshine," "There Will Be Blood"), Zoe Kazan (yes, granddaughter of Elia Kazan), Shirley Henderson ("Marie Antoinette," "Trainspotting") and Neal Huff ("Michael Clayton," TV show "The Wire").</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: times,serif; font-size: small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: times,serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although Reichardt made her debut with 1994's "River of Grass" (a little-seen independent set in her home state of Florida), she has only three shorts to credit, in addition to the aforementioned features. In the meantime, she teaches film at Bard College in New York. According to Reichardt, the gap between feature films (12 years passed between "Grass" and "Old Joy") had much to do with her financing frustrations, most certainly the thorn in the side for most independent filmmakers wishing to tell more personal stories.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>"Meek's Cutoff" opens at The Loft on May 20</i>.<i></i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>-</i>Matt Wavrin is a former Loft volunteer and devoted audience member (2001-2010). A graduate of The University of Arizona's Media Arts B.A. program, he now resides in North Carolina and is waiting for a miracle. Please send him one.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman','new york',times,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-64798210438058623892011-05-17T14:16:00.000-07:002011-05-17T14:16:24.149-07:00SAINT MISBEHAVIN': THE WAVY GRAVY MOVIE - Staff review by Dave Paiz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pksxmBDEjaoQeiPy2lfAk2GRInTDWSjPTSXQGkNMtnsojYIMLV6b-2L7HbXB7QahN1ZqVGLvnODa6cs5BhFtpjiytbAy06_ix9SQThlGoqeho3fGrj-oA19tV90LZg8Onl9DHt4pfck/s1600/WAVY+GRAVY_407x604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pksxmBDEjaoQeiPy2lfAk2GRInTDWSjPTSXQGkNMtnsojYIMLV6b-2L7HbXB7QahN1ZqVGLvnODa6cs5BhFtpjiytbAy06_ix9SQThlGoqeho3fGrj-oA19tV90LZg8Onl9DHt4pfck/s320/WAVY+GRAVY_407x604.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><br />
As one of the last of the psychedelic movers and shakers that helped shape the 1960's and beyond, it's a bit strange that Wavy Gravy has never had his own full-length documentary before now. Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Story ends the long wait for fans of the '60's icon and is an inspiring tribute to one of the most colorful, witty and deeply spiritual characters of his generation.<br />
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Ten years in the making, the film, directed by Michelle Esrick, traces the arc of Wavy Gravy's life, from his humble beginnings as beat poet/spoken word performance artist Hugh Romney, to his eventual emergence as a countercultural icon and tireless force for good in the world.<br />
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Some people take acid and make great art, others take acid and go certifiably insane. After falling in with Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters, Hugh Romney took acid and soon discovered he could get even higher by helping those who need it the most. And for the last four decades he's done exactly that.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3x7kgd0ALFfXGmDfC3T5zBMj2MW38PBb1J6qTAKLbXRD1UJwMG28P4iuX9s9hw-9Zh4i78xIjL7MJMN0o-RtYZxsn7PbN4dO6XWYPvNWAQn1ghCjer8gijM6iv0HzUU0porJNc8I0dc/s1600/wavy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3x7kgd0ALFfXGmDfC3T5zBMj2MW38PBb1J6qTAKLbXRD1UJwMG28P4iuX9s9hw-9Zh4i78xIjL7MJMN0o-RtYZxsn7PbN4dO6XWYPvNWAQn1ghCjer8gijM6iv0HzUU0porJNc8I0dc/s1600/wavy.jpg" /></a></div><br />
From sharing a room with Bob Dylan, to helping feed the masses at Woodstock, to crossing the Khyber Pass on the roof of a bus on the way to feed flood-ravaged people in Bangladesh, to his current status as countercultural elder statesman and hippie Dumbledore at his own performing arts camp for kids, Wavy Gravy's story is a rambling psychedelic epic like no other. <br />
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And after being at the crossroads of some of the most pivotal events of his generation, the man himself remains quite humble and down to earth, with a seemingly unassailable optimism that's increasingly rare in this cynical age.<br />
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Esrick does a great job in maintaining just the right distance from her subject and sketching her portrait from many different sources. Featuring lots of archival footage and interviews with family and friends ranging from Jackson Browne, Ram Dass and Buffy Sainte-Marie, as well as Wavy Gravy himself, the film is fascinating viewing for all students of the Sixties, and those devoted to putting their good where it does the most.<br />
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Review by Dave Paiz, Loft Cinema Facilities Manager and host of "Bat Country Radio" Saturdays from 2-4 a.m. on 91.3 FM KXCI.<br />
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<i>SAINT MISBEHAVIN': THE WAVY GRAVY MOVIE</i> plays Tuesday, May 17th at 7:30PM at The Loft Cinema.The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-56819669318674676962011-05-13T12:57:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:02:41.663-07:00STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Christian RamirezChristian Ramirez has been a staple at The Loft for almost five years now. In order to pursue her lifelong passion for art, she'll be leaving our employ. We wish her only the best, and her departure is only bearable because we know we'll see her around soon and often as a customer and a friend. Here are her parting words:<br />
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<b>Name</b>: Christian Ramirez <br />
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<b>LOFT Staff position</b>: Floor Staff, but more specifically Box Office Queen. <br />
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<b>I worked at THE LOFT from</b>: September 1st, 2006 - May 13th, 2011 [RIP] <br />
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<b>I grew up in</b>: Tucson!<br />
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<b>My birthday is</b>: August 31, 1987. </div><div> <br />
<b>When I am not at THE LOFT I</b>: Like to spend time with my fat cat Mulder, re-watch X-files episodes, taste delicious beers, make potato tacos, watch movies [duh], and make pictures. </div><div> <br />
<b>I worked at THE LOFT because</b>: It's one of the places that makes Tucson a great place to live. Great films, great beer, great people, and great popcorn. </div><div> <br />
<b>A few of my favorite films are</b>: The Three Amigos, Amelie, Rushmore, Magnolia, Die Hard 2, The 400 Blows, Blazing Saddles, The Royal Tenenbaums, Selena, Chinatown, The Graduate, Raging Bull, The Big Lebowski, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, To Kill A Mockingbird, anything with Nicolas Cage... </div><div> <br />
<b>My favorite directors are</b>: Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Werner Herzog, Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joon-Ho Bong, Wes Anderson. </div><div> <br />
<b>My favorite LOFT experience was…</b>: There have been so many - Watching the sunrise with Danny and Dan at Scream-o-Rama, planting the patio flowers with Tim, The Great Oil Spill of 2010, Anthony singing, Dale's muppet laugh that can be heard anywhere in the building, Pedro drawing up plans of attack, Having Whole Foods adventure with Alyson, Listening to Coast to Coast with Pants, Watching Dave chase after people riding bicycles across the patio, Never losing to Evan at cards, Talking hockey with Kyle, and of course all conversations with Dorothy. </div><div> <br />
<b>My favorite thing about the Loft is…</b>: The staff, I have the best co-workers which makes leaving the Loft incredibly hard. </div><div><br />
<b>To my adoring fans</b>: I have loved working at The Loft, and am sad to leave BUT will now be able to enjoy the awesome programing we have from inside the Main theater! It's been great getting to know our members, the community that The Loft has built is pretty spectacular so to anyone who hasn't joined, do it! It's a magical place that everyone in Tucson should support. It's independent establishments such as this that make Tucson unique, and a very special place to live. <br />
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Oh! And to anyone who is afraid that they'll never see my beautiful face, don't fret! I am working at another wonderful Tucson non-profit where I will convince you to become a member, <a href="http://www.moca-tucson.org/">Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson</a>! <br />
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<b>To get in touch with me on the inter-webs visit</b>: <a href="http://chriiiistian.tumblr.com/">chriiiistian.tumblr.com</a><br />
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</div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-90794794301050048232011-03-25T16:48:00.000-07:002011-03-25T16:48:48.908-07:00The Loft's Favorite Movie Aliens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/831/831290/aliens-ripley-queen-ft_1193711384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/831/831290/aliens-ripley-queen-ft_1193711384.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aside from being a radical feminist text, James Cameron's <i>Aliens</i> is also a badass movie about the titular subject--acid-bleeding, Ringwraith-shrieking beings from outer space. Since we'll be playing the film this Friday and Saturday as part of our Cult Classics series presented by Bookmans, we got to thinking about our favorite on-screen extra terrestrials. Here we go:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dale Meyers, Projectionist</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Mothman, <i>The Mothman Prophecies</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Christian Ramirez, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/88002/560/370" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://chicago.metromix.com/content_image/full/88002/560/370" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gonzo, <i>Muppets in Space</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I mean, who can't relate to being called a 'whatever' and have aliens talk to you through your cereal? It's a pretty universal story, really."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Amy Harclerode, Development Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toplessrobot.com/Michael%20Jackson%20&%20E.T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.toplessrobot.com/Michael%20Jackson%20&%20E.T.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;">E.T., <i>E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b>Steven Soloway, Office Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.jinni.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/jeff-bridges-starman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://blog.jinni.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/jeff-bridges-starman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jeff Bridges as Starman, <i>Starman</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tim Keene, Floor Staff</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/roy-batty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/roy-batty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Roy Batty, <i>Blade Runner</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Because he holds the longings I feel. The anger, the sorrow, the resignation and the beauty."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b>J.J. Giddings, Operations Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i40.tinypic.com/25qaagx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://i40.tinypic.com/25qaagx.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Boy Who Actually Saw a Woman's Breast, <i>The American Astronaut</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dave Paiz, Facilities Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/03/the-thing-spider-head-legs-and-eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/03/the-thing-spider-head-legs-and-eyes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Thing, <i>John Carpenter's The Thing</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>"</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">You can't see it coming, it doesn't waste time laying eggs, it can hide anywhere, imitate anything and turn your head into one of those disgustingly horrifying crab-spider type-things - game over, man."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Alyson Hill, Projectionist</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/HGC-04170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/HGC-04170.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Zaphod Beeblebrox, <i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Pedro Robles, Assistant Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/36375-martian_mars_attacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/36375-martian_mars_attacks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1. The Aliens, <i>Mars Attacks</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">One can't hate an alien race that would put Sarah Jessica Parker's head on the body of a chihuahua. Not to mention their great technology & unique Achilles heel."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chucksanimeshrine.com/animeblog/uploaded_images/lilo_stitch-740933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://www.chucksanimeshrine.com/animeblog/uploaded_images/lilo_stitch-740933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">2. Stitch, <i>Lilo & Stitch</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Engineered to be a destructive force, one can't help but wonder why they made him so damn cute. If I was lucky enough to befriend this alien, we'd have one hell of a night on the town."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b>Kyle Canfield, General Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I feel as if this should really be broken into two categories... dangerous aliens and peaceful aliens. Because how does one truly compare a Predator to an Ewok."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs452.snc3/25898_1331165232462_1030939413_30899421_1186813_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs452.snc3/25898_1331165232462_1030939413_30899421_1186813_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Favorite Peaceful Alien: Puckmarin, <i>The Flight of the Navigator</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQZ88Eo_9Lj_OGnmHdmxUb6tDGKv-Jk24W749jUbNsW8WknBtKA12mUkTigrFj-tyA0mjV0MoCCOAmY6u9fc0dgZly-Q23FMEk_tqM1DfGTZseBM-xy-ALRSr0oWne_Wx7m0DyEZ71uQ/s1600/mars-attacks-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQZ88Eo_9Lj_OGnmHdmxUb6tDGKv-Jk24W749jUbNsW8WknBtKA12mUkTigrFj-tyA0mjV0MoCCOAmY6u9fc0dgZly-Q23FMEk_tqM1DfGTZseBM-xy-ALRSr0oWne_Wx7m0DyEZ71uQ/s320/mars-attacks-original.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Favorite Dangerous Alien: The Aliens, <i>Mars Attacks</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I think the reason for these choices is because life is best when it's humorous. And even when life is most tragic, I would still prefer being stuck in a situation that can make me laugh, rather than soil my pants at some Face-Hugger Alien coming after me without Ripley around."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Zach Breneman, Business Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDN-xynWBIhIbLBYWdlfRYnMljS6rEkOiOHv4TWTRJlf6T5AFb&t=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDN-xynWBIhIbLBYWdlfRYnMljS6rEkOiOHv4TWTRJlf6T5AFb&t=1" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mac, <i>Mac & Me</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"In this instance, substitute "worst" for favorite. When I was a kid, I truly loved these freakish E.T. rip-offs, and only when I was slightly older did I realize why I'd get a sudden Big Mac craving any time this movie was on. Most blatant product placement this side of <i>Wayne's World</i>, only here it's not a joke."</div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-70706572457752614982011-03-23T16:50:00.000-07:002011-03-23T17:31:02.317-07:00The Loft's Favorite South Korean Films<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkBnUt_B2SZKdQmaR4t3ilXJXE1FcJQTAjd1my3gJJbtJ5vlzdxZGy4v-clUBuHITwIrkDkGNgBJOHKr9_Dd0Zx1Id4VhC-rNOI1QClMvuz_n8iAgQZIeBdf_4b43QzIbjUiNf1F13WQ/s1600/secret_sunshine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkBnUt_B2SZKdQmaR4t3ilXJXE1FcJQTAjd1my3gJJbtJ5vlzdxZGy4v-clUBuHITwIrkDkGNgBJOHKr9_Dd0Zx1Id4VhC-rNOI1QClMvuz_n8iAgQZIeBdf_4b43QzIbjUiNf1F13WQ/s320/secret_sunshine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tonight marks the beginning of a very unofficial, ad hoc, miniature South Korean film festival at The Loft. We'll be playing three recent South Korean films in the span of a week and a half--<i>Secret Sunshine</i> tonight at 7:30, <i>The Housemaid</i>, starting Friday, March 25th, and <i>I Saw the Devil</i>, starting Friday, April 1st. The three films are about as different as three films could be, but they reflect the recent trend of excellent films coming out of South Korea, whether they be the arty, austere films of Kim Ki-Duk (<i>Breath</i>, <i>Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall... and Spring</i>), the polished exploitation of Park Chan-wook (<i>Oldboy, Thirst</i>), or the wrenching dramas of Lee Chang-dong (<i>Peppermint Candy</i>, <i>Secret Sunshine</i>). We got to thinking about all of the great films that have come out of this one country over the past decade, and came up with a list of our top five favorites. Here it is:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>5. The Good, the Bad, the Weird</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A seriously fun movie, Kim Jee-woon (<i>A Tale of Two Sisters</i>, <i>I Saw the Devil</i>) tackles yet another genre: the adventure Western. Hollywood could learn a lesson or two from this great-looking, slick, fun film.</div><br />
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</center><center style="text-align: left;"><b>4. Mother</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></center><center style="text-align: left;">The Loft's 5th-favorite film of 2010, <i>Mother </i>is basically a Korean Hitchcock film. Unspoken tensions, suspense, and mystery are all there, along with a dark sense of humor that constantly catches you off-guard.</center><br />
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</center><center style="text-align: left;"><b>3. Oldboy</b> </center><center style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></center><center style="text-align: left;">Winner of the Jury Prize under Quentin Tarantino's Cannes Jury, this is the prototypical Korean revenge film (of which there are many). What puts this one above the rest is the intense, relentless performance by Choi Min-Sik (<i>I Saw the Devil</i>) as the beleaguered Oh Dae-Su, and some truly remarkable set pieces.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</center><center style="text-align: left;"><b>2. The Host</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></center><center style="text-align: left;">The best monster movie in years is also a great film about family, the influence of media, and flatulence. Kong Hang-So (<i>Secret Sunshine</i>, <i>Thirst</i>), the South Korean everyman, stars as the incompetent Park Gang-Du. Worth seeing if only to prove that great CGI should always be secondary to story.</center><br />
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</center><center style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Memories of Murder</b></center><center style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></center><center style="text-align: left;">A flat-out masterpiece of modern cinema, this film sucks you in from the very first moment and won't let you go until the end, by which point the tragedy and humor of a country cop and a city cop trying to catch a serial killer together have overtaken your thought processes. A true must-watch, it's also the third film on this list from Bong Joon-Ho (<i>Mother</i>, <i>The Host</i>), and the third starring Kang Hang-So (<i>The Good, the Bad, the Weird</i>, <i>The Host</i>). They are the Scorsese-DeNiro of South Korea. Here's hoping they never stop making films together.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</center><center style="text-align: left;"><i>Secret Sunshine</i> plays Wednesday, March 23rd at 7:30. </center><br />
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<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="265" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m5Ziy_QuSK8" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><center><i></i></center><i><br />
</i></center><center style="text-align: left;"><i>The Housemaid</i> opens Friday, March 25th.</center><center><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><i>I Saw the Devil</i> opens Friday, April 1. </div></center><center><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><i>Oldboy</i> screens as part of the Cult Classics series Friday, April 22nd and Saturday, April 23rd at 10:00 pm.</div></center><br />
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<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YLn1y9v6yno" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe></center>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-91173459229219844512011-02-28T09:09:00.000-08:002011-02-28T09:09:25.830-08:00PHIL OCHS: THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE - Staff review by Dave Paiz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4_ytTNoBCNqkVFQ7pqxhz2QD6DItkNrk8dHTWYo_Fft2Y81nIb5UdtodsUS49B4gtN5SAn9bf1O7EhYKu8S4lhctDwEUFGlMTDu3P-WeaE6sjU3oaQXlpHb9zKkU8WYyzRWUg0NJAk0/s1600/tumblr_lemhw4bdEi1qa036mo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ4_ytTNoBCNqkVFQ7pqxhz2QD6DItkNrk8dHTWYo_Fft2Y81nIb5UdtodsUS49B4gtN5SAn9bf1O7EhYKu8S4lhctDwEUFGlMTDu3P-WeaE6sjU3oaQXlpHb9zKkU8WYyzRWUg0NJAk0/s320/tumblr_lemhw4bdEi1qa036mo1_500.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>By now it's safe to say that there are probably tribes in the Amazon who know who Bob Dylan is, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many people here in the states who've even heard of Phil Ochs. I thought I'd seen just about everything there was to see about the music and sociopolitical upheavals of the '60's, but Kenneth Bowser's new documentary <i>Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune</i> revealed that I was woefully oblivious to a fairly substantial chunk of what went down at the time.<br />
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The world can often be a bitterly cruel and maddening place for idealists. And like many of his generation, Phil Ochs was an idealist who believed that music had the power to change the world. After emerging from the turbulence of the 1960's as one of America's most passionate voices for social change, Ochs spent his all-too-brief life writing and performing music that challenged the injustices and foundational myths of the day.<br />
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Maligned by Dylan as more of a reporter than a folk singer, Ochs wrote songs about segregation, racism and war in stark, unflinchingly confrontational terms that differed sharply from Dylan's metaphorical ramblings about watchtowers and answers blowing in the wind. From the anti-war anthem <i>"I Ain't Marchin' Anymore"</i> to his cynical ode to Left-wing hypocrisy <i>"Love Me, I'm A Liberal" </i>- Ochs was fearless in confronting absurdity, regardless of which end of the political spectrum it came from.<br />
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Through interviews with family, friends and contemporaries ranging from Tom Hayden, Joan Baez, Christopher Hitchens and Jello Biafra, as well as interview and performance footage from Ochs himself, the tragic arc of Och's life is traced against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the Kennedy and King assassinations, and the Chicago riots of 1968. The picture that emerges is that of a man torn between his desire for fame, and his desire to bring about social change.<br />
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Eschewing commercialism in favor of charity and benefit work, Ochs was a tireless advocate for unions, the working class and others who were confronting social injustice, and organized countless charity concerts in support of various causes. Along the way he continued to expand his musical horizons and inadvertently planted the seeds for what would eventually become the world music genre. Through protests, demonstrations, absurdist political theater, and the formation of a new political party, Ochs repeatedly threw himself headlong into the teeth of the establishment and was gradually ground down in the process. Over time, the horrors of a seemingly endless war, and the violent deaths of his generation's most inspiring leaders sent him into an emotional tailspin that he never fully recovered from. <br />
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An identity primarily defined in opposition to something eventually devours itself when there is nothing left to oppose. Once the Vietnam War was over, Och's focus turned inward, and he soon buckled under the combined weight of his steadily worsening manic depression, and the guilt and regret he carried regarding his wife and child. By the time he took his own life at the age of 35, Och's passionate idealism had tragically given way to bitterness, alcoholism and madness. A deeply moving and lovingly rendered portrait of a true rebel voice whose influence still resonates today, Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is both a cautionary tale and an inspiring call to arms for those who continue to confront injustice wherever it rears its ugly head.<br />
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<i>Review by Dave Paiz, Loft Cinema Facilities Manager and host of "Bat Country Radio" Saturdays from 2-4 a.m. on 91.3 FM KXCI.</i><br />
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<b><i>PHIL OCHS: THERE BUT FOR FORTUNE plays Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:30PM at The Loft Cinema.</i></b>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-75833787979902304222011-02-18T16:44:00.000-08:002011-02-18T17:00:17.596-08:00The One Film We Could Watch Every Day for a Year81 days ago, a guy named Lawrence decided to start a <a href="http://lawrenceandjulieandjulia.blogspot.com/">blog</a> about a singular cinematic project: he is watching the film <i>Julie and Julia</i> every day for a year. We floated this idea around The Loft and came up with the following films that we could, if forced, conceivably watch for 365 consecutive days.<br />
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<b>Alyson Hill, Projectionist</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ttcritic.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/election.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://ttcritic.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/election.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>RUSHMORE / ELECTION</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">I'll have to go with <i>Rushmore</i>, since I basically did that when I was 15, and <i>Election</i>, because it will never not be funny.</span></b></div><b><br />
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<b>Amy Harclerode, Development Director</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>SISTER ACT 2: BACK IN THE HABIT</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Don't judge me.</div><b><br />
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<b>Anthony Cutrone, Floor Staff:</b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>COMMANDO</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">My 10 Reasons why:<br />
1. Best opening title sequence ever.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">2. Arnold!</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">3. Best one-liners [<i class="fine">Matrix has thrown a pipe through Bennett</i>]<br />
<b>Matrix</b>: "Let off some steam, Bennett."</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">4. David Patrick Kelly.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">5. Body count: 81.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">6. "We Fight for Love" by Power Station.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">7. Sherman Oaks Galleria Mall.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">8. It's just as good on Telemundo.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">9. James Horner's score.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">10. Bill Paxton's cameo.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Christian Ramirez, Floor Staff:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>RUSHMORE</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I'd totally watch <i>Rushmore</i> every day for a year. I've pretty much already done that in my old house, I'd just leave it in my DVD player and just let it run whenever I was at home and needed background noise. The dialogue is so witty, and even though I've seen the movie so many times it's still hilarious. I'm also totally in love with Max Fischer, Mr. Littlejeans, and Bill Murray can do anything and I'll happily watch it. Also- it easily one has of the best soundtracks ever. Basically, it's great.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Dan Steen, Assistant Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>GROUNDHOG DAY</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Groundhog Day</i>, because that's basically what the movie is about. It would be repetition within repetition! Although I might be forced to turn down the volume during the Sonny and Cher alarm clock scenes.<br />
Also, the <i>Grumpy Old Men</i> movies and <i>Christmas Vacation</i>, as they have already proven themselves to be nearly infinitely watchable.</span><br />
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</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;">Daniel Terry, Assistant Manager</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>YOUNG GUNS</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I saw it 3 or 4 times in the theater and when it finally hit HBO I taped it and DID watch it everyday for at least 6 months. I don't know what it is about that flick but I never get bored of it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><b>EXCALIBUR</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>Largely due to the fact that I must have watched it at least 20 or 30 days in a row back in the early '80s when it first hit cable, John Boorman's <i>Excalibur</i> is numero uno among a tiny handful of flicks I think I could watch every day for a year and not get sick of. It's a truly epic adaptation of the classic tale of Love, Betrayal, Forgiveness and Redemption. Tons of bloody, bone-crushing action too. Great music and a great cast that includes a scorchingly fetching Helen Mirren as the sorceress Morgana. The last twenty minutes of this one sends me scrambling for the Kleenex every time I see it. 365 days straight of that might get a bit much. In that case, maybe I should've said <i>Jaws</i>, <i>The Blues Brothers</i> or <i>The Big Lebowski</i>. Oh well, too late. Damn.<br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Evan Salazar, Floor Staff</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>SHERLOCK JR.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This was a much tougher question than I initially gave it credit for. While my favorite film is ANNIE HALL, the idea of watching it for a whole year sounds like the most grating experience imaginable. I love Woody, but watching Woody be Woody for a year... that sounds like a bit too much. I decided my criteria would be that it would have to be relatively short, funny, and the jokes have enough replay value to at least illicit a "I recognize this joke as humorous even though I am not laughing or smiling" response in my head by the 100th viewing. So, with that in my mind, my choice is Buster Keaton's SHERLOCK Jr. First of all, it's 45 minutes. Perfect. Also, Keaton can just look at anything with no discernible expression on his face and I laugh. Thinking about it, if I had to watch SHERLOCK JR. every day of the year, it would probably put me in a perpetual great mood. How can that classic stone face not make your worst day just a bit better?</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>J.J. Giddings, Operations Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlpA20lG-Fd7tSxaF2QPdK_8r08e-EgqkpjE8MCNkPeScxvszmfjA0207AsnnEL_MXsMD5cvFHKuwmKete2wlp1bVVwo-0dtknaGg_VWxkYH3-DSisYwhBljFJLodYvwfYOSbJH4OgOM/s1600/city_of_lost_children_054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlpA20lG-Fd7tSxaF2QPdK_8r08e-EgqkpjE8MCNkPeScxvszmfjA0207AsnnEL_MXsMD5cvFHKuwmKete2wlp1bVVwo-0dtknaGg_VWxkYH3-DSisYwhBljFJLodYvwfYOSbJH4OgOM/s320/city_of_lost_children_054.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>CITY OF LOST CHILDREN</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Always fun to watch, and since there's no plot that I can follow, I probably wouldn't get bored by the story after 365 viewings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Jeff Yanc, Program Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.leftlion.co.uk/images/1/image/gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://www.leftlion.co.uk/images/1/image/gun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>BLOOD OF A POET</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"></span></b></div>A surrealist French film from the ‘30s about the hell of being an artist might not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but this film is absolutely amazing. Any film I’d watch every day for a year would have to be non-narrative, otherwise the plot would drive me crazy. Luckily, BLOOD OF A POET is both non-narrative AND crazy. This film is beautiful and bizarre and endlessly fascinating, and it seems to mean something different every time I see it. Cocteau was a genius when it came to whipping up hypnotic strangeness. Watching this movie is a bit like falling asleep and having a really sweaty, opium-soaked dream, then waking up and freaking out because you suspect you’re probably still dreaming. This was a major influence on such great weirdo filmmakers as David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky, but it’s really unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s over 80 years old, and the special effects are still confounding. And it’s only 55 minutes long!<b><br />
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<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"></span></b></span></b></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="display: inline !important; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><b><span style="line-height: 20px;">Kyle Canfield, General Manager</span></b></b></div><br />
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</span></b></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.niaskywalk.com/willow/images/ww/IMBD-WILLOW005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://www.niaskywalk.com/willow/images/ww/IMBD-WILLOW005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>WILLOW</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div>Because in a world with only one movie to watch, I want something fun, a little intense with a lot of imagination and something that will make me laugh, then cry, then smile and remind me of nothing of the real world that has lost every movie except one... and I think it would probably piss George Lucas off, at least a little.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Luanne Withee, Membership Director</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTYGf9dpUpZJKAljh6H9yVHeZyZ8DtwkcKo53Wqwh331pxAfVMn&t=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTYGf9dpUpZJKAljh6H9yVHeZyZ8DtwkcKo53Wqwh331pxAfVMn&t=1" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>NEW YORK, NEW YORK</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Liza is fantastic and I have always loved DeNiro. To top it off Scorsese directs! This film is sumptuous & stunning to look at - the sets, costumes and cinematography are terrific. But what really makes it so watchable for me is the MUSIC! The score by Kander & Ebb and all the great nostalgic songs and big band numbers makes this one of my favorite films of all time! This film is a real homage to the big, splashy Technicolor musicals of the 1930’s & 40’s and I LOVE it!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Pedro Robles, Assistant Manager</span></b></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></b></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images/robocop23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images/robocop23.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><b>ROBOCOP / RAISING ARIZONA</b></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><b><br />
</b></b></span></div>1. <i>Robocop</i>: There are so many things going on in this Reagan-era action / sci-fi movie. This film is thick with social satire, existential questions and, my personal favorite, over-the-top on-screen violence. What else can you ask for? Verhoeven's best American film. <br />
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2. <i>Raising Arizona</i>: A film of nostalgia for me. I could watch this Coen brother crafted fever dream any day, everyday. The pace of it is so fast, it feels like a 35 minute short film. It's brand of comedy helped shape the person I am today.<br />
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</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Peggy Johnson, Executive Director</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGDf7NihknVC9rA3BlME08rGcfKoDCsyGBoCPM9xic0WbhFcJV-mZDV7dU2XJ9Weu3kdHlJ8gOria1_EXUNews7dPWerRAFw0RF_XrDeubVPHC4olCytTB6ewlOELifmRbYKrw47M257C/s1600/Stranger+Than+Paradise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGDf7NihknVC9rA3BlME08rGcfKoDCsyGBoCPM9xic0WbhFcJV-mZDV7dU2XJ9Weu3kdHlJ8gOria1_EXUNews7dPWerRAFw0RF_XrDeubVPHC4olCytTB6ewlOELifmRbYKrw47M257C/s320/Stranger+Than+Paradise.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>STRANGER THAN PARADISE</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The film I could watch every day for a year is <i>Stranger Than Paradise</i>. While I'm somewhat opposed to the concept of watching the same film over and over since there are so many wonderful films to discover, if I had to choose it would be this. I think that the only film I could see that often would have to offer an experience very close to listening to music with little emphasis on plot. <i>Stranger Than Paradise</i> is like listening to jazz, with quirky riffs and a rhythm that fits my life.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Peggy Springer, Office Specialist</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0133ecdf37e3970b-500wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0133ecdf37e3970b-500wi" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>HOWL</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div>Being a lover of poetry, I also love poetry in film/on film. The format of "Howl" is such that the title poem is recreated (almost) documentary-style, as well as in animation. The courtroom trial of whether or not the work should be censored, along with James Franco's wonderful portrayal of Allen Ginsberg, along with the idea that every word in the film was actually spoken by the people speaking them in the film makes me feel like I'm watching some sort of American History channel about poetry. (Franco) Ginsberg says at the end of the trial/end of the film that the point of the poem "Howl" is frankness--say what's on your mind. Express yourself. I could watch this movie and listen to this movie everyday.<br />
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</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Steven Soloway, Office Manager</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://superpupsays.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345161d669e2012875e13d88970c-800wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://superpupsays.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345161d669e2012875e13d88970c-800wi" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>SWING TIME</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After having seen the 1936 Astaire-Rogers musical SWING TIME at least a dozen times, I could easily commit to watching it every day for an entire year. Stunning visuals coupled with a tuneful Jerome Kern score, not to mention the gravity defying dance sequences, make this film a perennial favorite of mine.<b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b>Tim Keene, Floor Staff</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Big_Sleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Big_Sleep.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>THE BIG SLEEP</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Humphrey Bogart.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Zach Breneman, Business Manager</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ctcmr.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/dr-strangelove-war-room.jpg?w=650" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://ctcmr.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/dr-strangelove-war-room.jpg?w=650" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>DR. STRANGELOVE or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Much like <i>The Big Lebowski</i>, this movie gets funnier every time I watch it. I'm sure there's some kind of bell curve there, and I may regret such a dialogue-heavy movie about 45 days in, but for now, I can't picture not enjoying the hell out of Peter Sellers and the rest of the brilliant cast.</div>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-46902814694581425772011-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:002011-02-12T18:36:47.435-08:00THE ILLUSIONIST / Staff review by Evan Salazar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfExDl_5TO5DF8kx8BPktvn7s8hQW26UKrmBbLjS2V8MrRUAWhrT0dVH9VKgLdySgC4Y3w0Ez_V4zBaedDfUoQUa7xdglQbaa8RHzVj1gDakGsAqgwSiHCpA-pYwddFVWcD8-B2DbVoQ/s1600/2010theillusionist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfExDl_5TO5DF8kx8BPktvn7s8hQW26UKrmBbLjS2V8MrRUAWhrT0dVH9VKgLdySgC4Y3w0Ez_V4zBaedDfUoQUa7xdglQbaa8RHzVj1gDakGsAqgwSiHCpA-pYwddFVWcD8-B2DbVoQ/s320/2010theillusionist.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>Melancholy and poignancy are never more potent than when found in animation; in fact, the presentation of those ideas in an animated feature is almost a subversion of the art form. We are trained to believe animation is child’s fare: simple, routine, loud, and without a dash of subtly. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_0" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">Bugs Bunny</span> isn’t the most restrained of creations. Although the rules of animation don’t say that melancholy can’t exist in two dimensions, their inclusion is perhaps disquieting, or odd. Those are the precise reasons that poignancy is that much more palpable and resolute when presented in animation: it feels as if it shouldn’t be there, and its addition is disarming and emotionally penetrative. Look at Pixar’s UP for instance: what do most people talk about when they mention the movie? The first ten minutes of it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>And if ever there were an award for a film that breaks hearts in the most tender of ways, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_1" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">Sylvain Chomet</span>’s THE ILLUSIONIST would win, hands down. It is the new quintessential example of emotional animation: its elegantly somber and beautiful score, its understated and lovingly-crafted mannerisms it assigns to each character, and its solemn, muted color palette that physically awakens forlorn sighs – they all culminate in an almost Stendhalian daze of pure emotion. The film invites you to reflect along with it, and it asks you with gentleness and care. By the film’s end you feel as if you are the eponymous Illusionist, wondering how the world started turning so fast when you were just getting the hang of its rotation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>The story is simple and delicate, based upon an unproduced screenplay by French cinema legend <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_2" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">Jacques Tati</span> (best known for his films M. HULOT’S HOLIDAY, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_3" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">MON ONCLE</span>, and PLAYTIME) and concerns an illusionist based upon Tati himself who even goes by Tati’s original surname, Tatischeff. Tatischeff is an old-school magician, pulling rabbits out of his hat and revealing coins from behind little boys’ ears.<span> </span>He goes from club to party to pub performing for anyone willing to look, and even for those who don’t. While staying in a small Scottish village, Tatischeff meets a young woman who truly believes that magic is real and that Tatischeff can make things materialize from thin air. She follows him to Edinburgh where they live in a hotel populated by eccentrics and strike up a loving, father-and-daughter relationship. The original screenplay by Tati is allegedly an apology to his daughter Sofia whom he spent much of his life away from (although this is a debated issue since Tati was also father to an illegitimate daughter who claims the film is meant to be an apology to her) and this invites a sad, desperate reading of the relationship between the illusionist and the girl he befriends: Tatischeff finds in the girl someone who still believes in him and someone he can look after, someone to give him meaning and purpose. But as I mentioned before, this film has something less life affirming and more melancholic in mind. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span>I don’t mean to paint this film as completely sorrowful and bleak – it’s not. The film had me laughing throughout, whether it was from the Scottish drunk’s incoherent mumblings or the acrobatics’ flamboyant jumping to and fro or Tatischeff’s look of pure befuddlement throughout. The film’s humor is subtle, quiet, and sweet-hearted (although there are some darkly hilarious parts I wouldn’t dare spoil). The film is mostly dialogue free, and its humor comes from the silent interactions between each character – fans of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_4" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">silent cinema</span> like Chaplin, Keaton, and Arbuckle will be in for a modern treat. Its silence also adds to its depth: as anyone who has seen Chaplin’s classic film CITY LIGHTS knows, emotion that is gained so deftly from silent cinema is the most rewarding emotion of all. Its heart surpasses the need for words and connects with you on the most human and immediate of levels. THE ILLUSIONIST’s humor and feeling are skillfully reached through almost-complete silence – it makes you embarrassed for modern films that so badly want to go for your heart with a barrage of words when just a facial expression will do. It doesn’t hurt that the score, written by Chomet, is wonderfully tranquil and sincere. At times it echoes <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_5">Vince Guaraldi</span>’s score for A <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1297563932_6">CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS</span>, and no, I promise that is not hyperbole. It’s that good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span>THE ILLUSIONIST has massive heart, but be warned: it is intent on breaking yours. However, you’ll be glad you experienced the film – a film which is unlike so much of what we get today in movie theaters. It is quiet, kind, funny, unassuming, and painfully honest. It’s an achievement in itself that it even got made, and made with such panache for that matter. And lastly, as a huge fan and supporter of all things animated, I feel obligated to tell you that you will be doing yourself a huge favor by seeing this film’s beautiful animation projected on the big screen in 35mm. Nothing beats seeing hand drawn animation on the big screen, and nothing beats the melancholy of a fantastically realized animated film. Absolutely nothing. </span><br />
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By Evan Salazar, full-time student, part-time Floor Staffer, all-around cineaste extraordinaire. <span><br />
</span>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-15220782641283389282011-02-11T09:37:00.000-08:002011-02-11T09:38:31.162-08:00STRANGE POWERS: Staff review by Dave Paiz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaQP1TnD_GfP272bL9jMiWxjJhiTKDKqTjogBB3aXzV92XDqkWzsamp_4x2SGjHH5VK12YkbSDo1KC468ilx066VrFbkRIVSzB8SA4497EDXdvZSJfGPOyKIIh7DgKsDShcUq8DjsnjE/s1600/strange_powers_379x562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaQP1TnD_GfP272bL9jMiWxjJhiTKDKqTjogBB3aXzV92XDqkWzsamp_4x2SGjHH5VK12YkbSDo1KC468ilx066VrFbkRIVSzB8SA4497EDXdvZSJfGPOyKIIh7DgKsDShcUq8DjsnjE/s320/strange_powers_379x562.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />
Those with a willingness to defy convention and elevate substance over style are rarely rewarded in American society. This is especially true as it pertains to music. How Stephin Merritt has managed to find success in the face of such depressingly bleak realities is the subject of Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields - a new documentary from Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara.<br />
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The Magnetic Fields first emerged in the late '80's, during the seismic shift that marked the end of the hair metal era, and the musical renaissance that produced bands like Jane's Addiction, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Unlike the distortion-drenched, guitar-heavy grunge that dominated the airwaves at the time, The Magnetic Fields' minimalist synth-pop failed to garner much attention outside the realm of college radio. Despite such daunting odds, Merritt and The Magnetic Fields have quietly persevered, and, over the past two decades, become something of a minor cult phenomenon who now include the likes of Peter Gabriel, Neil Gaiman and Sarah Silverman among their biggest fans.<br />
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The film focuses on Merritt, longtime collaborator/bandmate/manager Claudia Gonson, and the symbiotic, if not codependent dynamic that lies at the heart of The Magnetic Fields' distinctive sound. Together with cellist Sam Davos and guitarist John Woo, Merritt and Gonson weave a meticulously crafted and constantly evolving web of sound around Merritt's deeply poetic and often cynical odes to love, heartbreak, and loss.<br />
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Unlike most music documentaries that reveal their subjects in great detail, and perhaps due to Merritt's guarded, reclusive nature, Strange Powers takes a more scattered, indirect approach in delineating what makes Merritt tick. Through scenes ranging from his cramped apartment in New York City where the Magnetic Fields have recorded much of their music, to the neighborhood gay bar where Merritt channels his lyrical muse, it's quite clear that he is a very private man who prefers to let his music do the talking, rather than engage in cheerfully pithy discussions about his creative process.<br />
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In an age increasingly defined by an endless array of plastic pop stars devoid of much substance or depth, Stephin Merritt is one of the few who has chosen the narrow path less traveled by. Strange Powers should appeal not only to longtime fans of The Magnetic Fields, but to music fans in general, and creative spirits everywhere who dream of marching to the beat of their own inner drum.<br />
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<i>Review by Dave Paiz, Loft Cinema Facilities Manager and host of "Bat Country Radio" Saturdays from 2-4 a.m. on 91.3 FM KXCI.</i><br />
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<i>STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRITT AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS plays Friday, February 11th and Saturday, February 12th at 10:00PM at The Loft Cinema.</i>The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-75286597362782365892011-02-04T14:49:00.000-08:002011-02-04T14:49:40.763-08:00MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY #1 (PART TWO) / Staff review by Evan Salazar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI0khwox_WUWQ2DtCE-cNQ_IhIgXqXJqbUPMhkJ5REtd4WDLhLbN_2Viom_eDTsubAPWKyQiGRPbHDyiab6sG4CYgJ5f-oMWCIogvKK15EbGAdyocTVTGfcAkC-tqRxb_g625yA8EecE/s1600/Mesrine+Public+Enemy+No.+1+%25282008%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="206" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI0khwox_WUWQ2DtCE-cNQ_IhIgXqXJqbUPMhkJ5REtd4WDLhLbN_2Viom_eDTsubAPWKyQiGRPbHDyiab6sG4CYgJ5f-oMWCIogvKK15EbGAdyocTVTGfcAkC-tqRxb_g625yA8EecE/s320/Mesrine+Public+Enemy+No.+1+%25282008%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A recent trend in foreign films is to allow those who are historically usually considered “the bad guys” to tell their side of the story. THE BAADER-MEINHOF COMPLEX, CARLOS, and CHE have all been critically-acclaimed films about revolutionaries, terrorists, and depending on who you ask, just plain ol’ thugs. The films sometimes walk the fence between giving any definite opinion on their subjects, but the films do not deny that these people had strong ideas and statements. Maybe the idea got away from them, or maybe it was fully realized. Regardless, it’s hard to deny that the groups or people these films focus on stood for something.<br />
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Enter Jacques Mesrine (played by the fiery Vincent Cassel), the titular subject of PUBLIC ENEMY #1, a continuation of the MESRINE saga from KILLER INSTINCT. Jacques Mesrine was not a revolutionary, but he certainly wanted to be one. His crimes were not backed by any sort of ideology and the film suggests this was his one insecurity. Mesrine kidnaps a French billionaire and claims that the Palestinian Liberation Front is holding him hostage. “I’m not even Jewish!” the hostage yells back. Frustrated, Mesrine barks ransom orders at the man and storms out. His bluff has been called. Yes, Mesrine was a master of escaping prison and robbing banks, but an intellectual and a radical he was not.<br />
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Mesrine was not an anarchist nor a nihilist, but his actions were anarchic and nihilistic. Coming off the high from escaping back to France, Mesrine trolls its streets, firing haphazardly and making up the plan as he goes. The film explores Mesrine’s insatiable need for destruction and respect; “Who is this Pinochet?” Mesrine, reading a newspaper, yells at a prison guard. “Why is he on the front page and I’m not?” So angered by this, Mesrine decides to write a book about his criminal life -- whatever he can do to be relevant and acknowledged.<br />
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Meatier than the one before it, PUBLIC ENEMY #1 shines the light more intensely on Mesrine the person as opposed to Mesrine the criminal. He doesn’t have the smarts of fellow thug Francois (played by French cinema mainstay Mathieu Amalric, who has been popping up in practically every French film brought over to America, from THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY to A CHRISTMAS TALE), or the radical idealism of friend Charlie (played by Gerard Lanvin). Mesrine is a criminal in a rapidly progressing world, where idealism is winning out over gratuitous cruelty.<br />
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But don’t mistake these philosophical musings for being all the film is about. At 133 minutes, the film spends just as much time in the midst of car chases, gunshots, and jailbreaks. One would most likely call this an action film before they’d call it a drama. Mesrine, now a bit plumper and sporting a mullet, is still a menace; the film opens with a spectacular botched robbery that sets the bar high for the action sequences to come. Action junkies will not be disappointed. The photography is also immaculate: the camera swoops cleanly and coherently through the madness, capturing it all in bloody detail. The film is visually rich, playing with multiple styles and locations that all cohere to create a visceral, gritty mise-en-scene. It is razor sharp and exact.<br />
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Looked at as a four-and-a-half-hour epic, MESRINE is a story of dreams that are, inevitably, bigger than the man – no matter how big the man is. Mesrine’s shadow loomed large: he had beautiful women, charisma, and the fear of France in the palm of his hand. But as man is wont to do, he squandered it. The filmmakers, however, did not squander the rich material mined from Jacques Mesrine’s life. They have created a pair of films that are assured, tenacious, and exciting as all hell. Mesrine would have been happy to be paid the honor.<br />
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By Evan Salazar, full-time student, part-time Floor Staffer, all-around cineaste extraordinaire.The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1776624859882827514.post-19931572892994423792011-02-03T14:49:00.000-08:002011-02-03T14:49:38.957-08:00MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT (PART ONE) / Staff review by Evan Salazar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHW74zovbDuecCT-b28ucVp_aOn5OcFECamVC2tDUVp_C4wUUYwfQOiuF00lr9BOczfij3h8hH99tr4GXdux81MQA4ZN__6cgvRNJ2mJItD_bNilPYURSwHGNvScsuVa__-mHY1Naf5o/s1600/Mesrine_Killer_Instinct_28418_Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHW74zovbDuecCT-b28ucVp_aOn5OcFECamVC2tDUVp_C4wUUYwfQOiuF00lr9BOczfij3h8hH99tr4GXdux81MQA4ZN__6cgvRNJ2mJItD_bNilPYURSwHGNvScsuVa__-mHY1Naf5o/s320/Mesrine_Killer_Instinct_28418_Medium.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Paced like a freight train, MESRINE PART 1: KILLER INSTINCT (based on the book by the eponymous criminal) is proof that not all French films are existential navel-gazing or romantic strolls down the Champs-Elysees. From its Brian De Palma-esque split-screen opening credits to its sex-and-guns fixation to its boorish, arrogant lead in famed French criminal Jacques Mesrine (played by Vincent Cassel), KILLER INSTINCT is ostensibly the most “American” French movie you are likely to see this year – and that is no way a bad thing. Director Jean-Francois Richet has crafted a rich, engrossing, and exceptionally well-constructed gangster film, and he has made it better than any American has in a long, long time. He hasn’t done this through some sort of subversion of the genre, however: it’s just that KILLER INSTINCT soaks the screen with blood with such ferocity, paints its title character so lovingly, and relishes in its wonderful source material so giddily that calling it a “gangster film” almost feels like one is delegitimizing it. And while the argument of “art vs. genre” films is one that opens up too many cans of worms, KILLER INSTINCT finds itself nestled just fine between both worlds.<br />
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KILLER INSTINCT tells the story of infamous French criminal Jacques Mesrine, a former French soldier who didn’t know where to put the aggression he learned in the armed forces after the Algerian War. So, after meeting up with an old friend, Mesrine starts to live a life of crime – prostitutes, gambling, bank robbery, and even murder. He falls in and out of love, goes in and out of prison, and his reign of crime spans continents. KILLER INSTINCT follows our anti-hero along the first half of his odyssey through crime, and the film is quick, sharp, and doesn’t waste a second telling the story. So much happens in the almost two hour running time that the film is kinetically hypnotic. <br />
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And despite being spread over two movies, it is expected that some details are skipped over or completely dismissed. This does not hurt the film, however: the story we are presented with is fleshed out and has a bite sharper than most 90 minute films. That is saying a lot considering even a few minutes of un-needed material can bog a movie down. KILLER INSTRICT, on the other hand, is bursting at the seams – but it doesn’t completely break the seal. There’s just enough there.<br />
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The film is clearly working in broad strokes; this is not a character study. That’s not to say that Cassel’s performance as Mesrine isn’t bombastic or charismatic or whatever other word you’d like to use to say how simply fantastic he is, though. Cassel makes Mesrine into a larger-than-life character: he explodes with rage, whether he is sticking a gun into his wife’s mouth or crippling a man who talked to a bartender with the wrong tone. With these sorts of films, as well, one has to be careful when portraying a real-life character as nefarious as Mesrine. Does the film condone his actions? Condemn them? Does it matter? I believe KILLER INSTINCT finds a nice grey for it, portraying Mesrine as a troubled man, uncouth and vile… and yet also appearing decidedly human. His charisma is undeniable; his anger is ugly and childlike. Cassel didn’t win Best Actor at the Cesar Awards (The French equivalent of the Oscars) for nothing.<br />
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With his moustache, greased back hair, and penchant for wanton violence, Mesrine owns the screen in every frame of this high-octane, full-fledged crime epic. Let it be known, though: KILLER INSTINCT only works okay as a stand-alone film. The story’s conclusion, found in the film PUBLIC ENEMY #1, is needed to give KILLER INSTINCT its proper weight. Sure, KILLER INSTINCT works fine as a stand-alone action film, but the depth the material so deserves is truly found in PUBLIC ENEMY #1. This is not to say that PUBLIC ENEMY #1 is a more nuanced film, but rather that the first film is only half the story. PUBLIC ENEMY #1 is not a sequel: it is a continuation. All that aside, KILLER INSTINCT is a punch in the gut that is so self-assured, it knows you’ll be sticking around for part two, anyhow.<br />
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And you thought French films were all just Audrey Tautou and je t’aime this and je t’aime that.<br />
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By Evan Salazar, full-time student, part-time Floor Staffer, all-around cineaste extraordinaire.The Loft Cinemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03514419411942760879noreply@blogger.com0