July Film Club #2

 Our second film for the month of July is Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special.

Midnight Special is a 2016 American science fiction film written and directed by Jeff Nichols. The film stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Martell, and Sam Shepard. It is Nichols' fourth full-length film and his first studio production. Michael Shannon plays a father who escapes with his son from both the government and a cult after they discover that his son has special powers.

The film received positive critical reception, and currently holds a fresh rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Brian Tallerico, writing for Rogerebert.com, gave the film 4/4 stars saying this in his review, "Jeff Nichols' brilliant Midnight Special weaves relatable themes of parental responsibility and faith in that which is traditionally unexplainable into a sci-fi road movie. Midnight Special respects your intelligence, letting you come to its themes emotionally instead of narratively. It is a breathtaking display of visual storytelling, confidently rendered by someone who understands the power of cinema. It is images from the film that pass through my mind most-flames falling from the sky, a father carrying his child, the shaking of grass as something is about to happen, and the jaw-dropping finale. Nichols is the rare filmmaker who understands that this is what we take away from the best films, and the powerful way that art reflects that which transcends words."

We will be meeting Thursday, Jul 28th at 5:30pm

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB07DFgELn4

Hope to see you there!

July Film Club #1

 Alright, thanks to everyone who came out for Predestination. I thought it was a good way to kickoff our Sci-Fi series, because good sci-fi should make you think (even if it may end up hurting your head a bit). For the month of July, we will have 2 films, and we will be meeting Thursday, Jul 7th and Thursday, Jul 28th.

Our first film for July is District 9.

District 9 is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson. The film stars Sharlto Copely, Jason Cope, and David James, and was adapted from Blomkamp's 2006 short film Alive in Joburg. The film is partially presented in a found footage format by featuring fictional interviews, news footage, and video from surveillance cameras. The story, which explores themes of humanity, xenophobia and social segregation, begins in an alternate 1982, when an alien spaceship appears over Johannesburg, South Africa.

It currently holds a positive rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars saying this is his review, "District 9 does a lot of things right, including giving us aliens to remind us not everyone who comes in a spaceship need be angelic, octopod, or stainless steel. They are certainly alien, all right. It is also a seamless merger of the mockumentary and special effects. And there's a hard parable here about the alienation and treatment of refugees."

We will be meeting Thursday, Jul 7th at 5:30pm

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLUwOcR5pk

Hope to see you there!

June Film Club

 Ok, to kick off our Summer Series I've decided to show Predestination. 

Predestination is a 2014 Australian science fiction action thriller written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, and Noah Taylor, and is based on the 1959 short story "All You Zombies" by Robert A. Heinlein. A temporal agent (Ethan Hawke) embarks on a final time traveling assignment to prevent an elusive criminal from launching an attack that kills thousands of people.

The film currently holds a fresh rating of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Peter Sobczynski, writing for Rogerebert.com gave the film 3.5/4 stars saying this in his review, "It is an impressive job that the Australian writing-directing team of brothers Peter and Michael Spierig have done in bringing Heinlein's story, which he claims to have written in a day, to life. Sticking fairly close to the source material for the most part, they have figured out a way of recounting it in a way that is straightforward enough for most attentive viewers to follow and yet complex enough to inspire them to want to go back and watch it again."

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

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxG-YfedrfU

Hope to see you there!

Summer Series

 Hello everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this crazy hot weather and staying hydrated. Thank you to everyone who came out for Licorice Pizza, we had a great turnout. Those of you who have been attending Film Club for some time will be familiar with how the summer usually plays out. In years past we have done a Summer Series, where I pick some sort of theme and find movies that fit it. We've done the films of specific filmmakers such as Werner Herzog and Christopher Nolan, as well as genres like Neo Noir and Shakespeare adaptations. Generally, we watch two movies a month over the course of June, July, and August. Unfortunately, since things have been a bit hectic and I may be gone the 23rd for jury duty, we will be watching only ONE movie for June. July and August will both have TWO. So, without further ado, here is what the summer will look like:

Summer Series: Sci-Fi

 June 30 @ 5:30pm- Predestination

July 7 @ 5:30pm- District 9

July 28 @ 5:30pm- Midnight Special

Aug 4 @ 5:00pm- Minority Report

Aug 25 @ 5:00pm- Dune

(note the start times for our August films are earlier to accommodate lengthier runtimes)

I will make a normal post for each film, just like any other month, with more information about what we will be watching each night. So, keep an eye on your email or stop by the library for a booklet.

Hope to see you there!

May Film Club

 Hey everybody! How about those days of summer we had? Who needs spring?! No matter how much I lament the lack of actual spring, the warm weather is a welcome sight. Thank you to everyone who made it out for Hail, Caesar!

For the month of may, I've decided to show a film I missed in theaters and one of our fellow members suggested. We will be watching Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza.

Licorice Pizza is a 2021 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in their film debuts, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper and Benny Safdie. Set in 1973, the film follows the development of a young couple's relationship. The film received critical acclaim and received 3 Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It currently holds a fresh rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and Christy Lemire, writing for Rogerebert.com, gave it 4/4 stars saying this in her review, "Paul Thomas Anderson's golden, shimmering vision of the 1970s San Fernando Valley in Licorice Pizza is so dreamy, so full of possibility, it's as if it couldn't actually have existed. With its lengthy, magic-hour walk-and-talks and its sense of adventure around every corner and down every block, it's a place where anything could happen as day turns in to night."

We will be meeting Thursday, May 26th at 5:30pm SHARP! (It's 2hrs 13min, so we'll be tight with time).

Here's the trailer:

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

Hope to see you there!

April Film Club

 Hello everyone! It's April! It finally looks like we might be moving away from winter! (Huzzah!)

Ok, down to business. Thank to you everyone who came out for Belfast, great group, great discussion as always. For the month of April, I generally just show one of my favorite movies because it's my birthday month, and that's how I roll. So, for this month, I've decided to show Hail, Caesar! by the Coen Brothers.

Hail, Caesar! is a 2016 comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum with Michael Gambon as the narrator. It is a fictional story that follows the real-life fixer Eddie Mannix (Brolin) working in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, trying to discover what happened to a star actor during the filming of a biblical epic.

Hail, Caesar! received positive reviews from critics. It currently has an 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Glenn Kenny, writing for Rogerebert.com, gave the film 4/4 stars saying this in his review, "The Coen's three previous films were pretty heavy stuff, this new film is an exhilarating switch up: A comic fable that's both deftly clever and irrepressibly goofy. It is also, from stem to stern, the sweetest and sunniest film the Coens have ever made."

We will be meeting Thursday, April 28th at 5:30pm

Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMqeoW3XRa0

Hope to see you there!

March Film Club

 Hello everyone! Spring is trying its best to get here and honestly, it can't come soon enough. In Film Club tradition, I like to show some kind of Irish film for the month of March, for St. Patrick's Day. I wasn't quite sure what to show until one of our fellow members made a suggestion that I had completely forgot about: Kenneth Branagh's Belfast.

Belfast is a 2021 British coming of age drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film stars Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds, Colin Morgan and newcomer Jude Hill.  The film, which Branagh has described as his "most personal film", follows a young boy's childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the beginning of The Troubles in 1969. The film holds an 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it has been nominated for 7 Academy Awards and Cristy Lemire, writing for Rogerebert.com, gave the film 3/4 stars saying this in her review, "Belfast is unquestionably Kenneth Branagh's most personal film to date, but it's also sure to have universal resonance. It depicts a violent, tumultuous time in Northern Ireland, but it does so through the innocent, exuberant eyes of a nine-year-old boy. Within the steady hum of the threat Buddy and his family face is an impossible decision: Do they stay in this neighborhood where they've lived their whole lives, where everyone knows everyone, or do they move somewhere safer and start over? Long before the dedication that plays in front of the closing credits, we can feel Branagh's wistful heart on his sleeve."

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

Here's a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja3PPOnJQ2k

Hope to see you there!