Charlotte Wells’ beautifully observed feature debut Aftersun struck a particular chord with me (substitute Mexico for Turkey). Unlike this movie, though, my daughter and I remain very much involved in each other’s lives, and we enjoyed watching this together recently.
Judging from the heartfelt reaction of our diverse NewScreen audience, it seems that it’s not necessary for this particular chord to be struck in order to enjoy Aftersun. It’s a gentle movie, and not much happens. Or does it?
What a lovely way to start 2023! Thanks for coming, peeps.
Vicky Krieps’ portrayal of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (also the queen of Hungary) was delightful. Part true, part imagined, the spirit of “Sissy” (as she was known at the time) lives on in Maria Kreutzer’s anachronistic celebration of a free-spirited woman in the nineteenth century. A happy ending, and a new beginning.
So… the freshly-baked banana bread tradition almost took a hit tonight, as I was a bit behind schedule with my preparations (what a shocker, no?), but I decided that, although it might be rude to bake in front of the early guests, the loaf must go on. It turns out that I could almost bake this thing in my sleep, and… aprez-movie… happy guests.
I misbehaved a bit.
I’m pretty sure I’ve watched this more than 20 times by this point, but who’s counting?
Thanks to those who attended. I hope to see more of you in the near future. Stay tuned ))
Well… that was fun! There’s nothing like busting out in song and dance to take the rough edge off, even if that means taking the rough edge off of an unmitigated piece of cheese.
Thanks to all who came out tonight, and to all who continue to make this very special night, well… very special. See you in September for a new season!
I sat on the fence for quite a while about this one. I was all excited to show it, and then Putin’s “Special Operation” to fuck Ukraine got underway, and I had second thoughts. Yes, the director is from Finland, but the film takes place on a Russian train, and was partly financed with Russian money. Anyway, as time passed, I softened my stance. Putin didn’t make the movie, after all. Compartment No. 6 is a heart-warming movie, very very real, and made a great NewScreen presentation. We needed a bit of a lift… I’ve been hitting people with some pretty heavy stuff for a few weeks prior!
Tonight was another pretty heavy dose of blood and guts (actually less guts than our previous feature), but Robert Eggers showed us one more time that he is a visionary director, and doesn’t lose his cool when handed $90 M to make a flick. That’s a lot of dough!
Eggers delighted audiences with his creepy first feature film The Witch, introducing us to the very large-eyed Anya Taylor-Joy (always amazing to watch). Apparently she asked to be cast in The Northman, after Eggers had briefly been “unfaithful” to her when he cast Valariia Karaman as the mermaid in The Lighthouse… maybe it was a nudity issue? She got naked this time. Just saying.
Anyway, this was a thrilling movie to watch, and even the fossilized Nicole Kidman gave good character. I wonder whether his next movie will be called The (something)?
Since it seems that no one bothers to read this blog, I won’t spend much time writing it.
You Won’t Be Alone is, simply put, one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen in years. So good I showed it twice. Thanks to all the lucky ones who came to see it.
Ti West’s X was, of course, a delightful blood-bath! The girl from Southwark, London (Mia Gipsy Mello da Silva Goth) pulled off a flawless accent in the role of a coke-snorting, exotic dancer, intent upon making it big in the movies. Well, in real life she has. Always wonderful to watch. Even LaBoeuf can’t seem to get her out from under his skin!
We started our evening with a little, bloody appetizer from Purity Ring: Begin Again. Tasty
Emma Seligman’s debut feature, Shiva Baby, made us cringe tonight… in the way that we like to cringe. Although it’s not a horror movie, it almost could be, with new plot twists coming hard and fast, spiraling ever downward with every glass of wine Danielle (Rachel Sennott – excellent) knocks back, and every staccato note of Ariel Marx’s haunting score. The cast is all solid, but Dianna Agron brought another level of tension, with her knockout performance as Kim, a Westchester blonde “Shiksa” entrepreneur (she’s actually Jewish btw). Perfect.
Our short tonight was the vintage I Fink U Freaky, by Die Antwoord. Dark stuff all night!
I went out on a bit of a limb tonight with this one. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn opens with what used to be called a sex tape, the existence of which provides the premise for the rest of the movie. I stayed hunkered down behind my bar, worried that my guests could be offended or embarrassed by the three and a half minutes of hard core action on screen. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about. It seems that people are pretty familiar with this kind of thing! The pacing of Radu Jude’s movie is perfect (one IMDB contributor, not wanting to give anything away, described it as a roller coaster ride) and kept our audience suspended in delight.
It felt like old times here tonight. We had a couple of fresh-off-the-boat newbies (always great to welcome), and Ellen insisted that the lazy bartender make popcorn for her to distribute. lol
Our short feature was Emma Allen’s Ruby a fast moving stop motion self portrait