Pick of the Week:
Revolutions Happen Like Refrains in a Song (1987) Oliver (1983). Directed by Nick Deocampo.
Both documentaries play at the Clinton from Church of Film on June 26th. Nick Deocampo is a Filipino filmmaker, advocate, historian and pioneer of queer cinema. Revolutions Happen Like Refrains in a Song tackles the anti-Marcos revolution. Oliver (one of Deocampo’s most famous films) is about a drag performer who has a famous “Spider-man” routine. These are both pretty short and there will be other work by Deocampo screened!
Also Playing:
Moonlight (2016). Directed by Barry Jenkins. Starring Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner.
Playing at the Clinton on June 25th is Barry Jenkins’s gorgeous coming of age film that won a bunch of awards. Jenkins manages a wonderful magic trick of getting three actors to inhabit a character over three different periods of his life. Wonderful supporting performances from Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe. Absolutely lives up to the hype.
This Week:
The Hollywood is playing a bunch of movies in 70mm this week. There’s no shortage of people who will tell you why 70mm is special but think of it as bigger, brighter, and better than ever. Not sure if these will be sold out by the time this gets to you, but worth checking out.
The Searchers on June 22nd and 23rd: one of the best westerns ever made.
2001: A Space Odyssey on June 21 and 22nd: the movie that Stanley Kubrick got to make after faking the moon landing
Spartacus on June 23rd: the gladiator movie Ralph Cifaretto didn’t like because of the haircuts!
The Linguini Incident plays at the Hollywood on June 24th. I honestly thought this was one of those fake 30 Rock movies. It features two of my great interests: David Bowie and Italian food. Also, Rosanna Arquette—a secret third interest of mine. Bowie and Arquette are restaurant workers who plan to rob the very restaurant they work at. That doesn’t seem like a very good idea.
Time of the Heathen plays at the Hollywood on June 25th. Another lost movie that looks fantastic—this is about a drifter framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
1984 - The Year in Videos plays at the Hollywood on June 26th—a compilation of music videos from 1984—the dawn of the MTV generation.
D.E.B.S. plays at the Hollywood on June 27th. This is about a paramilitary organization that recruits sexy ladies via SAT scores and is a queer classic. The director went on to write for True Blood and The L Word. It’s a fun film!
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert plays again at the Clinton on June 21st if you missed it!
Hedwig and the Angry Inch plays at the Clinton on June 22nd. It’s John Cameron Mitchell’s classic rock opera! I’ve never seen this with a group of people and I’m sure it’s a nice time.
Lost in Translation plays at the Clinton on June 27th with a live score from Frank Legarza. I’m not a great fan of this movie but lots of people are!
New rep films at the Academy:
The original Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory opens, about the famous industrialist and child murderer Willy Wonka. One of Gene Wilder’s most iconic roles.
But I’m a Cheerleader opens for a run in case you missed it.
Run Lola Run continues at Cinema 21.
To Die For plays at Cinema 21 on June 22nd. Nicole Kidman seduces a high school student to murder her husband and hijinks ensue.
The Favourite plays at Cinema 21 on June 22 which is about Queen Anne and duck racing. It’s funnier and better than Poor Things.
Ghost in the Shell 2 screens at Cinema 21 on June 23rd and 26th. You can see it dubbed on the 24th if you have strong feelings about dubbing vs subbing and if you’re a switch you can see it both ways!
Cinemagic is playing a bunch of films for a revenge series, including:
Blue Ruin: about a drifter seeking revenge.
Hard Target: John Woo’s US debut starring Jean Claude Van Damme kicking dudes in a “Most Dangerous Game” riff. His character’s name is Chance Boudreaux which might be my favorite name ever.
I Saw the Devil: a man plots revenge on a serial killer with some famous twists and turns.
Lady Snowblood: in which a lady uses swords and kung-fu to get revenge. One of the big movies Tarantino ripped off.
The Princess Bride: in which Columbo tells his annoying grandson a story. The movie is good but the book is so fucking funny and you should read it.
The Revenant: in which Leonardo DiCaprio fights a bear. Does he give up after the bear turns 26? Maybe, you’ll have to watch to find out!
Robot Dreams opens at Living Room Theater this week. This is a delightful and autumnal looking movie about a lonely dog living in New York who builds a robot friend. Don’t read the synopsis—you’ll have the movie ruined!
Passages (2023). Directed by Ira Sachs. Starring Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos.
Rogowski plays a bored and arrogant filmmaker who self-destructs getting into petty arguments with his husband, and biking around Paris in a daze. Both Adèle Exarchopoulos and Ben Whishaw’s characters get caught in Franz’s messy crosshairs. A wonderful film about making bad choices.
As Bilge Ebiri wrote: “Rogowski’s character is a total narcissist — a needy, callous, pathetic, selfish chaos agent — but go figure, he’s also quite irresistible. We’re drawn to this man despite the emotional devastation he wreaks, maybe because we sense something of ourselves in him. His destructive immaturity is captivating and relatable.”
Rentable in the usual places and streaming on MUBI (which I think is too expensive to buy but maybe you can find a promo?)
If you like what you read I appreciate any tips! The tip jar is open. With your support I can finally pay off my student loans and change my name to Chance Boudreaux.