Very Merry Holiday Sing-a-Long Recap

Last night was an absolute winter blast! Congrats to Gabby, who blew away the competition in the holiday sweater parade with her blinking sweater! Holiday cheer was spread through singing and egg nog all night long, and if you missed it, here's what you missed:

1. Holly Jolly Christmas

2. U2 – It’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

3. Alvin and The Chipmunks / Christmas Time

4. Del Rubio Triplets / Winter Wonderland

5. John Denver and The Muppets / 12 Days of Christmas

6. Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby / Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

7. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

8. Bon Jovi / Please Come Home for Christmas

9. The Nightmare Before Christmas/ What's This?

10. Paul McCartney / Wonderful Christmastime

11. John Lennon / Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

12. Oscar the Grouch / I Hate Christmas

13. Adam Sandler / Hanukkah Song

14. Frosty the Snowman

15. David Bowie and Bing Crosby / The Little Drummer Boy

16. Dolly Parton / Silent Night

17. The Grinch / You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

18. South Park / Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo

19. 'Nsync / Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

20. White Christmas

21. Elvis / Blue Christmas

22. Band Aid / Do They Know it’s Christmas Time?

23. Pee-Wee Herman / The Dreidel Song

24. Star Wars Christmas / Happy Life Day

25. Mariah Carey / All I Want for Christmas Is You

26. Charlie Brown / Hark the Herald Angels Sing

27. Run DMC / Christmas in Hollis

28. Wham / Last Christmas

29. Sonny and Cher / Jingle Bells

30. Charo / Feliz Navidad

31. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

32. Nat King Cole / The Christmas Song

33. It’s a Wonderful Life / Auld Lange Syne

34. South Park / Jesus' Birthday

Next up, All the Singin' Ladies:

HOWE GELB & HIS MELTED WIRES!

A benefit for MILES E.L.C. MUSIC AND ART PROGRAMS, featured the Tucson premiere of the acclaimed rockumentary 'SNO ANGEL WINGING IT, and a live performance from musician HOWE GELB and his MELTED WIRES (Thoger Lund/Bass, John Convertino/Drums and Jacob Valenzuela/Trumpet)!

More photos here.

Stuff We Like: Stingray Sam

Cory McAbee, the genius behind The American Astronaut (one of our favorite films of the decade) and The Billy Nayer Show, is giving you a gift: free art! Go to www.stingraysam.com, where you can download the first two episodes of this new six-episode marvel for $0.00. Hopefully you'll get hooked and want to buy the rest; you won't regret it if you do.

If you're still not convinced, here's one of our favorite scenes from The American Astronaut:

November First Friday Shorts Review

by Shipherd Reed, via AZNightbuzz.com

Shout it from the rooftops, sing it in the streets, Max is back with a sly wise-crack and his hosting can’t be beat! At least that was my opinion, and many seemed to share it at intermission. Great appreciation to Mike Sterner for keeping the ship on course while Max was AWOL for two months. He’s just so good at this job. The theater was packed, the joint humming with conversation, the faces lit by smartphones texting. Max stepped to the stage, took the mic, and warmed up the crowd like he never left us. But that’s enough gushing. It was a very entertaining night, the films rocked, and it was a happy reminder that this event has a rare ability to surprise and delight.

Max kicked it off with a ringer, a mock preview titled “Poltergeist Activity” that shows a guy attempting to have sex with his girlfriend in the visual style of the indie horror hit “Paranormal Activity.” Way funny. Then Sarah Haber and Katie Gault kicked off the films in competition with “We Own The Sky” about a daughter who covers for her dad when he blasts off into space in a homemade rocket and the media hounds her for answers. Impressively well made with some strong acting.

Joshua Lamb’s “Snack Attack” followed, a man versus vending machine tale about a guy who takes a really long time to chose which candy bar he wants, and the other dude waiting for him to make a damn choice. It seemed promising, but had no twist or payoff in the end. After that Don Smith’s film, “Whatareyougonnado?,” featured a guy walking around the Princeton campus and musing on life. Rambling yet amusing, but the crowd needed to vent and GONG! no more to do.

An incomprehensible zombie movie came next, followed by another ringer, this one called “We Are Douchebags,” a hilarious mockumentary in which crass dudes stand up for their rights and dignity as douchebags. Catch it on the web. Next in competition came Zach Bloom’s “Mammal Mama,” a marvelously trippy strange primordial kaleidoscopic music video with chant music that I loved. So delightfully different. Mark Hanson’s “Shoes” about a bad date was apparently ingenious but I missed the visual punch line. Lots of other people laughed, however, so I’m getting slow.

Mike Williamson’s music video “Mindtrap” had some cool sfx (again with the kaleidoscopic) and it was followed by Eli Roth’s fabulous faux trailer for the grindhouse horror flick “Thanksgiving” (a ringer, if you’re familiar). See it on the web. As Max quipped “That puts the grim back in pilgrim.”

To keep the slasher vibe going, Josh Zientarski then screened his comic horror flick “The Cutting,” in which four happy campers trash-talk a machete wielding killer even as he chops them up. And to keep the blood flowing, Amber Welsh gave us “I spit your heart out” about two young women who kill a rapist, tear out his heart, and eat it. For a bit more levity, Buck & Steve brought us “A Bit of BS” in which one of three friends thinks that he has turned into a velociraptor, and it was funny. But not as funny as the ringer that followed, “One Dead Mule,” which is an art film version of a mega-store phone order for supplies to survive the apocalypse. Yes, hard to explain and it is ingenious. On the web, check it out.

That was followed by two teenage girls, one in drag, dancing to a “Nasty Bitch” rap song in their video “The Nasty Bitch” and it was weird and entertaining and I’m not sure what it says about the female libido. Stalwart experimentalilst Joe Carmonica and his trusty muse Diana Stapleton screened “Mischief Night at the Central Arts Collective,” which was hard to watch and mercifully roused the GONG! and we moved on. On to Tullar brother John whose James Bond spoof “Last Chance To Kill” featured cool opening titles, a full narrative with story arc, costumes, funny lines, the whole enchilada. The tale followed a pompous secret agent who has his license to kill revoked and trouble ensues. It killed. The crowd loved it. Robert Noble’s music video for the rap song “Hell House” closed the evening, and it worked okay.

So after a night with so many strong films in competition, plus an abundance of exceptional ringers, who took home the prize? John Tullar of course! “Last Chance to Kill” spun the applause meter and the Tullar brothers continue their dominance of 2009. Will they take December’s contest? I’ll see you at the Loft on Friday to find out and Happy Holidays to all!

One for the Road - STAFF ART!

Our resident theater staff photographer, Christian, has a show opening Saturday at T.A.C. Studio. You should go.

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles visits The Loft Cinema!

More photos from the event can be found on our Flickr.

Staff Spotlight: Mike Wilkins

Name: Mike Wilkins, but I’m also known simply as “Pants”. Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell ya.

LOFT Staff position: Projectionist/cashier/popcorn connoisseur

I have worked at THE LOFT since: I believe I first started here sometime in late 1999, so going on a decade now!

I grew up in: I was born and raised right here in T-town

Birthday/Age: Beware the ides of March, because I’ll be out celebrating. I’ll be turning 27 soon, and I’m already feeling it in my joints.

When I am not at THE LOFT I: Well, I like to wander aimlessly through the streets of downtown Tucson and peoplewatch a lot, or play music with my band “butterpump”. I like making claymation shorts too, but it requires a lot of free time I usually don’t have.

I work at THE LOFT because: I’ve always loved the loft in its various locations and reincarnations, and I guess just the fact that we show films you can’t see anywhere else in town keeps me excited. That, and the popcorn.

A few of my favorite films are: American Movie, Alice, The Last Waltz, Come and See, In the Realms of the Unreal, The Swimmer, Raising Arizona, Fantastic Planet, Paths of Glory, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, The Cable Guy, Walk Hard, and Allegro non troppo to name just a few.

My favorite directors are: Werner Herzog, Stanley Kubrick, Jan Svankmejer, and Ben Stiller just for Cable Guy… Genius.

My favorite LOFT experience: I’ve had way too many to talk about here, but one of the funniest was the day that the only people to show up to see “Grateful Dawg” all day was the band “Phish” and their roadies. Go figure.

My favorite thing about the Loft: Aside from all the great films I get to see, it’s the customers and co-workers I really appreciate. I’ve met a lot of really awesome people while working here!

Make up your own question here: What’s your ideal night at the theatre? Well, I like to “Tea Off” with a nice Arnold Palmer, then get some Popcorn with Tapatio mixed in it, and watch whatever awesome new documentary is playing with my wife. Then I’ll probably have a PBR or three. What a night!

To get in touch with me send me an email at: wetbreadmusic@hotmail.com

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Because LOFT STAFF love their jobs, opening are infrequent but when we do have something you can find it posted on our website at: http://www.loftcinema.com/employment

If you would like to join our volunteer team please visit our website: www.loftcinema.com

If you are a LOFT member & would like to be featured in our “spotlight” column please email Luanne@loftaz.com