September Film Club

Happy September! Thank you to everyone who made it out to our Summer Series: Directed by Wes Anderson. We had great turnouts and great discussions!

For the month of September, I decided to just randomly pick a film I've never shown before, but that I personally really love, and that choice is Hero.

Hero is a 2002 wuxia film directed, co-written, and produced by Zhang Yimou, and starring Jet Li, Toney Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen and Chen Doaming. The historical background of the film refers to the Warring States Period in ancient China, when China was divided into 7 states. In 227-221 BC, the Qin state was about to unify the other six states, assassins from the six states were sent to assassinate the king of Qin. One of the most famous incidents was Jing Ke's attempted assassination of the King of Qin. The film was first released in China in 2002. At that time, it was the most expensive project and one of the highest-grossing motion pictures in China. Miramax acquired American market distribution rights, but delayed the release of the film for nearly two years. Quentin Tarantino eventually convinced Miramax to open the film in American theatres on Aug 27, 2004.

The film received positive reviews from critics. It became the first Chinese language movie to op the American box-office, where it stayed for two consecutive weeks. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film currently holds a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert awarded it 3.5/4 stars saying this in his review, "Zhang Yimou's Hero is beautiful and beguiling, a martial arts extravaganza defining the styles and lives of its fighters within Chinese tradition. It is also, like Rashomon, a mystery told from more than one point of view; we hear several stories which all could be true, or false. A film like Hero demonstrates how the martial arts genre transcends action and violence and moves into poetry, ballet and philosophy. It is violent only incidentally. What matters is not the manner of death, but the manner of dying: In a society that takes a Zen approach to swordplay and death, one might win by losing. Zhang Yimou...once again creates a visual poem of extraordinary beauty."

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgsddFEe9Oc

We will be meeting Thursday, Sept. 21 at 5:30pm

Hope to see you there!

August Film Club #2

Hello, our second film for August, and final film of our Wes Anderson Director Series will be The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy-drama film written and directed by Wes Anderson. Ralph Fiennes leads a seventeen actor ensemble cast as Monsieur Gustave H. famed concierge of a twentieth century mountainside resort in the fiction Eastern European country of Zubrowka. When Gustave is framed for the murder of a wealthy dowarger (Tilda Swinton), he and his recently befriended protégé Zero (Tony Revolori) embark on a quest for fortune and a priceless Renaissance painting amidst the backdrop of an encroaching fascist regime.

The film currently holds a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Glenn Kenny writing for Rogerebert.com, gave the film 4/4 stars saying this in his review, "As much as The Grand Budapest Hotel takes on the aspect of a cinematic confection, it does so to grapple with the very raw and, yes, real stuff of humanity from an unusual but highly illuminating angle. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a movie about the masks we conjure to suit our aspirations, and the cost of keeping up appearances. "He certainly maintained the illusion with remarkable grace" once character remakrs admiringly of another near the end of the movie. The Grand Budapest Hotel suggests that sometimes, as a species, that's the best we can do. Anderson the illusion maker is more than graceful, he's dazzling, and with this movie he's created an art-refuge that consoles and commiserates. It's an illusion, but it's not a lie."

We will be meeting Thursday, Aug. 31 at 5:30pm

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fg5iWmQjwk

Hope to see you there!

August Film Club #1

Hey everyone, our first film for August is Moonrise Kingdom.

Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 American coming of age comedy drama film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, and introducing Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. Largely set on the fictional island of New Penzance somewhere off the coast of New England, it tells the story of an orphan boy (Gilman) who escapes from a scouting camp to unite with his pen pal and love interest, a girl with aggressive tendencies (Harward). Feeling alienated from their guardians and shunned by their peers, the lovers abscond to an isolated beach. Meanwhile, the island's police captain (Willis) organizes a search party of scouts and family members to locate the runaways.

The film has a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert gave it 3.5/4 stars saying this in his review, "In Anderson's films, there is a sort of resignation to the underlying melancholy of the world; he is the only American director I can think of whose work reflects the Japanese concept 'mono no aware', which describes a wistfulness about the transience of things. Even Sam and Suzy, sharing the experience of a lifetime, seem aware that this will be their last summer for such and adventure. Next year they will be too old for such irresponsibility. The success of Moonrise Kingdom depends on its understated gravity. None of the actors ever play for laughs or put sardonic spins on the material. We don't feel they're kidding. Yes, we know these events are less than likely, and the film's entire world is fantastical. But what happens in a fantasy can be more involving than what happens in life, and thank goodness for that."

We will be meeting Thursday, Aug. 24 at 5:30pm

Here's a trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N8wkVA4_8s

Hope to see you there!

July Film Club #2

 Our second film for the month of July is Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 stop motion animated comedy directed by Wes Anderson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. The project is based on the 1970 children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson star. The plot follows the titular character Mr. Fox (Clooney), as his spree of thefts result in his family, and later his community, being hunted down by three farmers known as Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.

The film currently holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert gave it 3.5/4 stars saying this in his review, "The art design is a large part of the film's appeal. It stays fresh all the way through. Think back to the color palettes of "The Darjeeling Limited" and "The Life Aquatic". The film is based on the famous children's book by Roald Dahl, which like all of his work, has ominous undertones, as if evil can steal in at any moment. These animals aren't catering to anyone in the audience. We get the feeling they're intensely leading their own lives without slowing down for us. Like the hero of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", also based on one of his books, the creatures of Dahl's valley seem to know more than they're letting on; perhaps even secrets we don't much want to know. Children, especially, will find things they don't understand, and things that scare them. Excellent. A good story for children should suggest a hidden dimension, and that dimension of course is the lifetime still ahead of them."

We will be meeting Thursday, July 27 at 5:30 pm

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo

Hope to see you there!

July Film Club #1

Our first film for July is The Darjeeling Limited.

The Darjeeling Limited is a 2007 comedy drama film directed by Wes Anderson, which he co-produced with Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and co-wrote with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who agree to meet in India a year after their father's funeral for a "spiritual journey" aboard a luxury train. The cast also includes Waris Ahluwalia, Amara Karan, Barbet Schroeder, and Anjelica Huston, with Natalie Portman, Camilla Rutherford, Irrfan Khan, and Bill Murray in cameo roles.

The film has a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert gave it 3.5/4 stars saying this in his review, " Anderson uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there. The casting of the brothers is also a good fit. Their personalities jostle one another in a family sort of way; they're replaying old tapes. Then they have unplanned adventures as a result of the obscure medications, and end up off the train and in the "real" India with all of that luggage. But Anderson doesn't have them discover one another, which would be cliché; instead, they burrow more deeply inside their essential natures. I said the movie meanders. It will therefore inspire reviews complaining that it doesn't fly straight as an arrow at its target. But it doesn't have a target, either. Why do we have to be the cops and enforce a narrow range of movie requirements? Anderson is like Dave Brubeck, who I'm listening to right now. He knows every note of the original song, but the fun and genius come in the way he noodles around. And in his movie's cast, especially with Owen Wilson, Anderson takes advantage of champion noodlers."

We will be meeting Thurday, Jul 20 at 5:30pm

Here's a trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2R7O2IlndM

Hope to see you there!

June Film Club #2

 Our second film in our Summer Series is The Royal Tenenbaums.

The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. Ostensibly based on a nonexistent novel, and told with a narrative influenced by the writing of J.D. Salinger, it follows the lives of three gifted siblings who experience great success in youth, and even greater disappointment and failure in adulthood. The children's eccentric father, Royal Tenenbaum (Hackman), leaves them in their adolescent years and returns to them after they have grown, falsely claiming he has a terminal illness. He works on reconciling with his children and ex-wife (Huston). With a variety of influences, including Louis Malle's 1963 film The Fire Within and Orson Welles' 1942 The Magnificent Ambersons, the story involves themes of the dysfunctional family, lost greatness, and redemption. An absurdist and ironic sense of humor pervades the film.

The film was received positively, it currently holds a fresh rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert gave it 3.5/4 stars saying this in his review, "One of the pleasures of the movie is the way it keeps us a little uncertain about how we should be reacting. It's like a guy who seems to be putting you on, and then suddenly reveals himself as sincere, so you're stranded our there with an inappropriate smirk. you can see this quality on screen in a lot of Owen Wilson's roles-in the half-kidding, half-serious way he finds out just how far he can push people. The Royal Tenenbaums is a heart profoundly silly, and loving. It stands in amazement as the Tenebaums and their extended family unveil on strategy after another to get attention, carve out space, and find love.  It doesn't mock their efforts, dysfunctional as they are, because it understands them-and sympathizes."

We will be meeting Thursday, June 29 at 5:30 pm

Here's a trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DNAI9bhBFU&t=25s

Hope to see you there!

June Film Club #1

Our first film of our Wes Anderson Summer Series is Rushmore.

Rushmore is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Wes Anderson about an eccentric teenager named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman in his film debut), his friendship with rich industrialist Herman Blume (Bill Murray), and their shared affection for elementary school teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). The film was co-written by Anderson and Owen Wilson.

The film had a positive reception among film critics. The film helped launch the careers of Wes Anderson and Schwartzman while establishing a "second career" for Murray as a respected actor in independent cinema. It currently holds a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5/4 stars saying this in his review, "Anderson and Wilson are good offbeat filmmakers. They fill the corners of their story with nice touches, like the details of Max's wildly overambitious stage production of "Serpico". But their film seems town between conflicting possibilities: It's structured like a comedy, but there are undertones of darker themes, and I almost wish they'd allowed the plot to lead them into those shadows. The Max Fischer they give us is going to grow up into Benjamin Braddock. But there is an unrealized Max who would have become Charles Foster Kane."

We will be meeting Thursday, June 22nd at 5:30 pm

Here's a trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxCNDpvGyss

Hope to see you there!