Planning to venture out to a moving picture theater this week?
Here is our run-down of the films that peak our curiosity the most.
Spring Breakers (2013)
This is the new film from director Harmony Korine. I’ve been a huge fan of his work ever since I saw ‘Kids‘ so my hopes for this are high. If you have no idea who Harmony is, that’s fine. You might get a kick out of seeing Selena Gomez very far from her comfort zone or James Franco’s complete character transformation. The above featurette is worth a watch to get a sense of where Harmony is coming from with this film. Showtimes: IMDb.com
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
This is a classic, but somehow I have only seen it once on TCM, missing the first 20 minutes or so. I have been itching to see it again ever since. It’s currently playing at Central Cinema so that means you can also drink beer, cocktails and eat a pizza while you enjoy the film. Sounds pretty good to me! Showtimes:
7pm at Central Cinema
Stoker (2013)
It’s directed by the guy that did the original ‘Old Boy‘, and they used DJ Shadow on the trailer. Sold. Showtimes: IMDb.com
Lore (2012)
It’s been a few weeks now that I have procrastinated about whether to see this at Harvard Exit or not. It looks like a good escapist foreign film. Maybe this weekend I should finally do it. Showtimes: IMDb
Ginger & Rosa (2012)
Not completely sold on this. The trailer may not be doing it justice. Still curious though, and good cast! Showtimes: IMDb
The Film Noir Cycle about to happen at the Seattle Art Museum is not just another series of film screenings. It is an event which this year celebrates it’s 35th anniversary. That makes it the longest running series of it’s kind in the world!
Earlier this week the Seattle Times ran a great piece by Moira Macdonald (which I encourage you to read).
In Moira’s article we learn about longtime SAM film curator Greg Olson who started the series back in 1977.
He screens all the films in 35mm, bucking today’s trend of moving more and more into digital projection.
Hollywood studios will lend him prints they usually don’t share with normal theaters and Greg has even borrowed prints from the likes of Martin Scorsese and other private collectors in order to bring us the very best in Noir, screened in the same format as all those years ago.
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in ‘Double Indemnity’ (1944).
The series consists of 9 films. Kicking off on September 27th with Billy Wilder’s ‘Double Indemnity’ (1944) and taking us all the way up to a more contemporary noir in the Coen brother’s ‘Fargo’ (1996) on December 6th.
For opening night Top Pot Doughnuts will provide a feast of black and white doughnuts immediately following the screening and SAM’s Taste Restaurant will be custom mixing a new cocktail for each film in the series, available only on the night of each screening.
For noir lovers, this is heaven.
I consider myself a noir lover but not an aficionado, which means there is more than one film here which I have not seen before. Looking forward to this!
The full roster:
September 27: Double Indemnity
October 4: Mildred Pierce
October 18: Sorry, Wrong Number
October 25: Criss Cross
November 1: In a Lonely Place
November 8: The Big Heat
November 15: Female on the Beach
November 29: The Killers
December 6: Fargo
