Out of the Past: The Week In Film

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) Dir. Michael Curtiz – US
Lottery Ticket (2010) Dir. Erik White – US
The Accidental Tourist (1988) Dir. Lawrence Kasdan - US

Of Interest:
Small Town Gay Bar (2006) Dir. Malcolm Ingram – US
Barry Munday (2010) Dir. Chris D’Arienzo – US
Suspect (1987) Dir. Peter Yates – US
The Last Emperor (1987) Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci – Italy/China/UK/France

Recommended:
Love Me or Leave Me (1955) Dir. Charles Vidor – US
American Violet (2008) Dir. Tim Disney – US
Dreamgirls (2006) Dir. Bill Condon – US
Alamar (2009) Dir. Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio - Mexico

Essential Cinema:
Let’s Do It Again (1975) Dir. Sidney Poitier - US
Give Me Your Hand (2008) Dir. Pascal-Alex Vincent - France

Theatrical Screenings:
Season of the Witch (2011) Dir. Dominic Sena – US 2/10
The King’s Speech (2010) Dir. Tom Hooper – UK 7/10

Valentine's Day Movie Night 2011: Fugacious Follies of Love - The Grass Is Always Greener

You are invited to the Bell Robinson household’s 2011 Valentine’s Day Movie Night Double Feature -- Fugacious Follies of Love: The Grass Is Always Greener. Last year’s theme was Bad Romance and we featured Leave Her To Heaven (1945) and Boxing Helena (1993). This year’s theme sees two very different soul sucking women and the men that act in “self defense” for the preservation of life, liberty, and love…..but what exactly is love? And how do you know when your love is based on access to what’s between someone’s legs, which becomes an issue when a prettier package comes along after you’re, umm, committed in some way? What happens when Liz Taylor sets her lavender lamps on your easy virtue? The grass is always greener when the sun doesn't shine on it......

This Valentine’s Day, our film selections highlight the very transitory nature of what some people call love. Our first feature is the 1951 classic, A Place In The Sun. Directed by George Stevens, the film is based on Theodore Dreiser’s classic novel (based on a true story), An American Tragedy (a 1931 film version by auteur Josef Von Sternberg came first, starring Sylvia Sidney). Starring Elizabeth Taylor in her first film role that truly divorced her from child-star status (she was 17 at the time) and Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters in Oscar nominated performances, A Place In the Sun is a classic tale of ill-fated young love, indiscretion, and, yes, murder!

Our second feature is an Australian horror film from 2009 (which was on my top 35 list for that year) called The Loved Ones. This is the feature debut of Sean Byrne and features an amazingly wicked performance from Robin McLeavy. While it didn’t make it stateside, this is a refreshingly entertaining horror film that mixes Pretty In Pink with Carrie and Misery.

For last year’s Valentine’s Day, we ordered pizza and asked everyone to contribute for the pizza. We would like to do the same this year. Please take a moment to look at the Papa John’s pizza menu and let me know by Wednesday, February 9th if you would like to contribute and what flavor you yearn for. I will get back to you with the amount after I submit the order.

Additionally, for thematic purposes, we will be serving the following:

Appetizer: Pregnant Girlfriends (stuffed mushrooms).

Dessert: I’m Going To Make You Love Me Cake

Drinks: Elizabeth Taylor’s Poison
Sinking Shelleys

And the intermission game will be titled “Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry,” an interactive game to be played in pairs where each group acts out a scene from a famous film!


The Date: 2/13/10, Sunday
The fun begins at 5PM, Pizza should arrive around 7, and estimated completion would be 9-10ish.

“I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience.” – Shelley Winters

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

Cess Pool Cinema:
Eclipse (2010) Dir. David Slade – US

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
A Breath of Scandal (1960) Dir. Michael Curtiz – US
Case 39 (2010) Dir. Christian Alvart – US
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (2010) Dir. Edgar Wright – US
Inside Daisy Clover (1965) Dir. Robert Mulligan – US

Of Interest:
Romancing the Stone (1984) Dir. Robert Zemeckis – US
Friday (1995) Dir. F. Gary Gray – US

Essential Cinema:
No Way To Treat a Lady (1968) Dir. Jack Smight - US
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) Dir. Charles Jarrot – UK

Theatrical Screenings:
All Good Things (2010) Dir. Andrew Jarecki – US 7/10
Somewhere (2010) Dir. Sofia Coppola – US 8/10

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

Cess Pool Cinema:
Locked Up (2004) Dir. Jorg Andreas – Germany

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
Wolfen (1981) Dir. Michael Wadleigh – US
Black Orchid (1953) Dir. Charles Saunders – UK

Of Interest:
Absence of Malice (1981) Dir. Sydney Pollack – US
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Dir. Alfred Hitchcock – UK

Essential Cinema:
First Monday In October (1981) Dir. Ronald Neame – US
Amer (2009) Dir. Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani – Belgium/France
The Mirror (1975) Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky – Russia
Pinky (1949) Dir. Elia Kazan - US
Heading South (2005) Dir. Laurent Cantet – France/Canada
The Great Dictator (1940) Dir. Charles Chaplin – US

Re-watched Goodies:
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Dir. Howard Hawks

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
By Hook or By Crook (2001) Dir. Dodge & Silas Howard – US

Of Interest:
Boys on the Side (1995) Dir. Herbert Ross – US

Recommended:
Enchanted April (1992) Dir. Mike Newell – UK
Big Eden (2000) Dir. Thomas Bezucha – US
Time After Time (1979) Dir. Nicholas Myer – UK
Experiment In Terror (1962) Dir. Blake Edwards – UK
The Go-Between (1970) Dir. Joseph Losey – UK
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) Dir. Henry Koster – US

Essential Cinema:
Holiday Heart (2000) Dir. Robert Townsend – US
10 Rillington Place (1971) Dir. Richard Fleischer – UK
The Pumpkin Eater (1964) Dir. Jack Clayton – UK
1984 (1984) Dir. Michael Radford – UK

Theatrical Screenings:
The Fighter (2010) Dir. David O. Russell – US 7/10
True Grit (2010) Dir. Coen Bros. – US 10/10

Re-watched Goodies:
A Christmas Story (1983) Dir. Bob Clark – US
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Dir. Ron Howard – US
Bringing Down the House (2003) Dir. Adam Shankman – US

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

Cess Pool Cinema:
Vipers (2008) Dir. Bill Corcoran – US

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) Dir. Ron Underwood – US

Of Interest:
Beautiful (2009) Dir. Dean O’Flaherty – Australia
Dick Tracy (1990) Dir. Warren Beatty – US

Recommended:
Man With The Movie Camera (1929) Dir. Dziga Vertov – Soviet Union
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) Dir. Robert Siodmak – US
The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008) Dir. Joshia Safdie – US
Noise (2007) Dir. Matthew Saville – Australia

Essential Cinema:
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977) Dir. Nancy Adair, Andrew Brown & Rob Epstein – US
Pickpocket (1959) Dir. Robert Bresson – France
A Very Long Engagement (2004) Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet – France
Europa (1991) Dir. Lars Von Trier – Denmark
Wings of Desire (1987) Dir. Wim Wenders – West Germany

Theatrical Screenings:
The Tempest (2010) Dir. Julie Taymor – US 7/10

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
Shiver (2008) Dir. Isidro Ortiz – US
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010) Dir. Jon Tureltaub - US

Of Interest:
Johns (1996) Dir. Scott Silver - US

Recommended:
The Return of Frank James (1940) Dir. Fritz Lang - US
Sombre (1998) Dir. Philippe Grandrieux - France

Guilty Pleasure Cinema:
Coma (1978) Dir. Michael Crichton – US

Essential Cinema:
Desert Hearts (1985) Dir. Donna Deitch – US
The Girl on the Bridge (1999) Dir. Patrice Leconte - France
The Magician (1958) Dir. Ingmar Bergman – Sweden
Parting Glances (1986) Dir. Bill Sherwood - US

Theatrical Screenings:
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) Dir. Jalmari Helander – Finland 9/10
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) Dir. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa – US 9/10

Rewatched Goodies:
Carrie (1976) Dir. Brian De Palma – US
My Son My Son What Have Ye Done (2009) Dir. Werner Herzog - US