Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Permanent Hiatus?

Howdy, movie geeks! Just thought I'd drop a note and confirm that Micah and I have decided to take an indefinite break from screening films for MGC. To be honest, I think we're both a little burned out and have come to terms with the fact that it's been losing steam for the past six months. We want to sincerely thank everyone who has shown a genuine interest and attended whenever possible.

We've been at it for a long while now, and drawing more interest from a larger crowd remains as challenging as ever. Getting people to come out for a viewing was like pulling teeth sometimes. I know what you're probably saying: "Dude, you picked five movies, let people vote, and showed a film once a month. How taxing can this process be?" A fine point! It's just that we're becoming more busy with other avenues of life and have gotten our fill from MGC.

Just the same, if someone else would like to run with the idea and continue to show films, in whatever format or arena that may be, please do so. Thanks again for your support over the years. We had a blast!

All the Best,

Bart & Micah


Thursday, October 20, 2011

Rope - October 27


Rope - 1948

October 27, 2011

7:00
Charley's Club
204 S. 6th Street., Springfield, IL

Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley and as a consequence decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet and their old schoolteacher Rupert from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect. (IMDB.com)

Monday, October 17, 2011

October Films - Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Here are the nominations for the October movie:

The Lady Vanishes
Travellers on a trans-European train are delayed for a night due to bad weather in a small fictional country called Mandrika. The passengers cram into the small village hotel where socialite Iris Henderson meets an old governess called Miss Froy. Shortly after the journey restarts, Miss Froy disappears. (IMDB.com)

The Wrong Man
The true story of Manny Balestrero, a musician unjustly accused of armed robbery. In classic Hitchcock form, Balestrero vehemently protests his innocence but acts thoroughly guilty, leading a host of policemen and witnesses to finger him as the thief. The trial goes badly for Manny, but life is worse for his wife, Rose, who falls apart under the strain of his ordeal. (IMDB.com)

Rope
Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime. (IMDB.com)

The Lodger (Silent Film)
A serial killer known as "The Avenger" is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting's daughter is a blonde model and is seeing one of the detectives assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger. (IMDB.com)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Note: This is not the James Stewart version. This film stars Peter Lorre. While holidaying in Switzerland, Lawrence and his wife Jill are asked by a dying friend, Louis Bernard, to get information hidden in his room to the British Consulate. They get the information, but when they deny having it, their daughter Betty is kidnapped. It turns out that Louis was a Foreign Office spy and the information has to do with the assassination of a foreign dignitary. Having managed to trace his daughter's kidnappers back to London, Lawrence learns that the assassination will take place during a concert at the Albert Hall. It is left to Jill, however, to stop the assassination. (IMDB.com)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Movie Geeks Club is Back... And Better!




We're Back!

Actually, Movie Geeks Club was back last month with a soft opening at the new location. Movies will still be shown once a month but will now be shown at Charley's Club which is located in the basement of Cafe Andiamo. The movies will show on the last Thursday of the month and begin at 7:00 pm so if you would like to eat some dinner at Cafe Andiamo, arrive early. Drinks will be available for purchase.

Another change will be that Bart Rodgers (drakebuckley@gmail.com) will now take the lead in Movie Geeks Club. Bart has been a die-hard movie lover, loyal member and my co-leader since John Anderson left. I will continue to assist him.

It will be a wonderful change. I attended the soft opening last month and it is a great little venue. It's very comfortable, relaxed, the staff is wonderful and I LOVE being downtown.

Movie Geeks Club
Charley's Club (Basement of Cafe Andiamo)
204 S. 6th Street
Springfield, IL


Thursday, September 29, 2011
7:00 PM


And now to the nominees for September...

Remembering John Cazale

The Godfather

The Conversation

The Godfather II

Dog Day Afternoon

The Deer Hunter

Hope to see you soon!

Micah

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The End of Movie Geeks Club

Unfortunately, I have to announce the end of Movie Geeks Club.

Here is what happened:

For the previous 4 1/2 years, we have partnered with Capital City Bar & Gill to bring you a movie once a month while at the same time bring in a couple hundred dollars in business for them on a night that otherwise would not have that extra business. It worked well. There were some months that I wished we had brought more people in but as long as they weren't losing money, it worked. I always viewed them as a restaurant who opened up their extra dining room for us. It probably stretched the waitresses a bit thin at times but I never worried as long as people were eating food, buying drinks and leaving tips.

Last month, the Capital City Bar and Grill had a change of ownership/management. We had heard about a change coming at the May MGC. Last week, at the June movie, it was clear that there had been a communication break down during the transition because the new manager didn't know about us. After we explained what we are and that we had been bringing in customers one night a month to watch a movie for the past 4 1/2 years, I thought we would be able to continue the partnership.

I was informed today by the new manager that he would begin charging us between $125 and $150 a night, depending on the length of the movie. As you know, we have never charged admission because we wanted this to be a free and unique experience for Springfield. We could also never charge because of licensing laws (of which we were always in the gray area on that anyway). And while I loved the Movie Geeks Club, I can't justify paying out of my own pocket while marketing business for Capital City Bar and Grill to continue this.

This is not a "call to action" but feel free to contact them if you are disappointed. In the end, it is his business decision and there isn't anything we can do.

Thank you to all who have attended throughout the years. We have shown some great films and I have met many wonderful people. I was really looking forward to our next movie because it would have been our 50th film.

Finally, even though I am announcing the end, if there is another venue out there that we can use in the future, we may continue. Unfortunately, this was a unique situation where a bar can make money and we could offer Springfield a unique opportunity to enjoy a free night (minus the food and drink) out watching a great film.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Color By Picture

Blue Velvet

An innocent man (Kyle MacLachlan) gets mixed up in a small-town murder mystery involving a kinky nightclub chanteuse (Isabella Rossellini) and a kidnapper (Dennis Hopper) with a penchant for snorting helium in this moodily surreal mystery from writer-director David Lynch. One of the most critically acclaimed movies of the 1980s, the film inspired a generation of independent filmmakers by taking a dark look at the lives of everyday Americans.


A Clockwork Orange

In this Stanley Kubrick classic based on Anthony Burgess's novel, teenage miscreant Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) wanders aimlessly amid a bleak, futuristic urban landscape, drinking drugged milk and listening to Beethoven with his fellow "droogs." But he also spends his time stealing, raping and beating innocent people in nihilistic orgies of violence, all in an attempt to get his nightly kicks.


The Purple Rose of Cairo

Stuck in a dead-end job and saddled with an abusive husband, Cecilia (Mia Farrow) depends on the movies for her escape. She sees one picture, The Purple Rose of Cairo, so often that the film's star (Jeff Daniels) walks off the screen and into her life … and promptly falls in love with her. Writer-director Woody Allen's touching romantic comedy bagged a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay and was nominated for a host of foreign and critics' awards.


How Green Was My Valley

Recounted via the memories of the Morgan family's youngest son (Roddy McDowall), director John Ford's gentle masterpiece (which won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director) chronicles 50 years in the lives of a close-knit clan of Welsh coal miners. As the years pass, the Morgans try to survive unionization, a lengthy strike and a mining accident; meanwhile, their hometown and its venerable traditions slowly disintegrate.


The Pink Panther

Arriving at a posh resort with her precious "Panther" -- a large, priceless diamond with the image of a leaping feline inside -- sexy princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale) meets the debonair Sir Charles (David Niven), who happens to be a professional thief. Enter the ever-incompetent Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers), the clumsiest inspector ever to trip over a case. Can he stop Charles's attempts to relieve the princess of her diamond?


The White Ribbon

A year before World War I, a series of strange and brutal pranks threaten to shatter a northern German town's orderly existence. But the residents' response may have even more disturbing implications for the future. Celebrated Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke helms this Golden Globe-winning, sumptuously photographed black-and-white drama that stars Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Tukur and Theo Trebs.









Friday, May 20, 2011

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation presents "Comedians & Spirituality in Cinema"

The Movie Geeks Club has been kindly invited to the May film series at the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation. They are featuring four movies on consecutive Wednesdays throughout May exploring "Comedians & Spirituality in Cinema".

The films featured are:

May 4: Robin Williams, "The Fisher King"
May 11: Ricky Gervais, "The Invention of Lying"
May 18: Bill Maher, "Religulous"
May 25: Steve Carrell, "Evan Almighty"

This series (as all monthly films) are free, and we serve popcorn, chips & salsa and other snacks. They usually have soda, but it's BYOB.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Battle of the Bonds - May Film






Who is your favorite Bond?



Sean Connery
Goldfinger

The Bank of England has discovered that someone is stockpiling vast quantities of gold and suspects international bullion dealer Auric Goldfinger of being involved. The Bank requests that British agent James Bond be sent to investigate. Bond soon uncovers an audacious plan to commit "the crime of the century" and bring economic chaos to the West.(IMBD.com)

David Niven
Casino Royale (1966)

After the death of M, Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH and Le Chiffre, Bond thinks up the ultimate plan. That every agent will be named James Bond. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle, especially when the ultimate villain turns out to be Bonds nephew, Jimmy Bond. (IMDB.com)


George Lazenby
On Her Majesty's Secret Service

James Bond woos a mob boss's daughter and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps that involves beautiful women from around the world.(IMDB.com)

Roger Moore
Live and Let Die

Several British agents have been murdered and James Bond is sent to New York, to investigate these mysterious deaths. Mr. Big comes to his knowledge, who is self-producing heroin. Along his journeys he meets Tee Hee who has a claw for a hand, Baron Samedi the voodoo master and Solitaire and her tarot cards. Bond must travel deep inside New York, through marshy grass and on water as he completes his mission. (IMBD.com)

Timothy Dalton
The Living Daylights

James Bond 007's mission is to firstly, organise the defection of a top Soviet general. When the general is re-captured, Bond heads off to find why an ally of General Koskov was sent to murder him. Bond's mission continues to take him to Afghanistan, where he must confront an arms dealer known as Brad Whitaker. Everything eventually reveals its self to Bond. (IMDB.com)

Pierce Brosnan
GoldenEye

James Bond has a mission to recover the 'Goldeneye' access key. A Russian computer programmer called Natalya Siminova survives a murder spree by Xenia Onatopp and General Ourumov. Bond must work with Natalya to find this key and uncovers a sinister secret. His fellow agent, Alec Trevelyan who was believed to have been shot and killed 9 years ago re-surfaces. Bond soon realizes that Trevelyan is behind everything. Bond must now battle his former friend, in order to stop him from destroying London with the Goldeneye satellite. (IMDB.com)

Daniel Craig
Casino Royale (2006)

James Bond goes on his first ever mission as a 00. Le Chiffre is a banker to the world's terrorists. He is participating in a poker game at Montenegro, where he must win back his money, in order to stay safe among the terrorist market. The boss of MI6, known simply as M sends Bond, along with Vesper Lynd to attend this game and prevent Le Chiffre from winning. Bond, using help from Felix Leiter, Mathis and having Vesper pose as his wife, enters the most important poker game in his already dangerous career. But if Bond defeats Le Chiffre, will he and Vesper Lynd remain safe? (IMDB.com)

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Pride of the Yankees - April Movie

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Capital City Bar and Grill
7:30 pm

The Pride of the Yankees Biopic traces the life of Lou Gehrig, famous baseball player who played in 2130 consecutive games before falling at age 37 to ALS, a deadly nerve disease which now bears his name. Gehrig is followed from his childhood in New York until his famous 'Luckiest Man' speech at his farewell day in 1939.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Please note:

Due to another scheduling conflict with our venue, April's selection will be shown on Tuesday, 4/26. We apologize for the switching back and forth as of late, but this could not be avoided. It seems that Thursdays work best for most movie geeks, so we'll aim to move May's showing back to the last Thursday of the month. Thanks for your cooperation!

Springtime: Best of Baseball



Field of Dreams Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. When the voices continue, Ray seeks out a reclusive author to help him understand the meaning of the messages and the purpose for his field.

The Natural An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.

Bull Durham Veteran minor-league catcher Crash Davis is assigned to the Class A Durham Bulls to handle the team's star rookie, wild pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh. Team groupie Annie Savoy romances both players, creating a comic triangle.

The Pride of the Yankees Biopic traces the life of Lou Gehrig, famous baseball player who played in 2130 consecutive games before falling at age 37 to ALS, a deadly nerve disease which now bears his name. Gehrig is followed from his childhood in New York until his famous 'Luckiest Man' speech at his farewell day in 1939.

Major League The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Straight Story - Thursday, March 31 - 7:30 pm

The Straight Story
Alvin Straight is a very old man with a quiet life in a small country town. When his brother gets seriously sick, he decides to put away their differences and visit him after many, many years. So, alone, he begins a long journey through hundreds of miles, just to see again his brother, even if it's the last thing he will ever do... Based on a real story.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Movie Geeks Club - Last Thursdays of the Month

Movie Geeks Club has now moved to the last Thursday of each month.

THANKS!

March Film Nominations - Biography

Amadeus
Antonio Salieri believes that Mozart's music is divine. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. But he can't understand why God favored Mozart, such a vulgar creature, to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is set to take revenge.

Downfall
As the Russians advance through Berlin in the spring of 1945, Adolf Hitler and his remaining military and secretarial staff shelter in his large bunker complex in the centre of the city. His mood swings between completely unjustified optimism that his forces will still break through, and rage against the incompetence and betrayal of his military commanders. Reality does finally start to break through and the Fuhrer and the others in the bunker start to make their final personal preparations for the inevitable.

Bonnie and Clyde
A bored small-town girl and a small-time bank robber leave in their wake a string of violent robberies and newspaper headlines that catch the imagination of the Depression-struck Mid-West in this take on the legendary crime spree of these archetypal lovers on the run.

Raging Bull
When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he's a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he's a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Though LaMotta wants his family's love, something always seems to come between them. Perhaps it's his violent bouts of paranoia and jealousy. This kind of rage helped make him a champ, but in real life, he winds up in the ring alone.

The Straight Story
Alvin Straight is a very old man with a quiet life in a small country town. When his brother gets seriously sick, he decides to put away their differences and visit him after many, many years. So, alone, he begins a long journey through hundreds of miles, just to see again his brother, even if it's the last thing he will ever do... Based on a real story.

Monday, February 21, 2011

His Girl Friday - This Thursday



This is a reminder that Movie Geeks Club is on Thursday (February 24) this month. The doors open at 7:00 pm and the movie begins at 7:30 pm.

Hope to see you there!

HIS GIRL FRIDAY

The second screen version of the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, His Girl Friday changed hard-driving newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson from a man to a woman, transforming the story into a scintillating battle of the sexes. Rosalind Russell plays Hildy, about to foresake journalism for marriage to cloddish Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). Cary Grant plays Walter Burns, Hildy's editor and ex-husband, who feigns happiness about her impending marriage as a ploy to win her back. The ace up Walter's sleeve is a late-breaking news story concerning the impending execution of anarchist Earl Williams (John Qualen), a blatant example of political chicanery that Hildy can't pass up. The story gets hotter when Williams escapes and is hidden from the cops by Hildy and Walter--right in the prison pressroom. His Girl Friday may well be the fastest comedy of the 1930s, with kaleidoscope action, instantaneous plot twists, and overlapping dialogue. (IMDB.com)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Season for Valentines: Classic Cheeky Romance

PLEASE NOTE: Due to conflicting schedules, the movie selection for February will be shown on Thursday, 2/24 instead of Tuesday, 2/22. Same time, same place. So please...make your vote count, come on out, and don't pretend you're not all hopeless romantics!!


THE LADY EVE

Returning from a year up the Amazon studying snakes, the rich but unsophisticated Charles Pike meets con-artist Jean Harrington on a ship. They fall in love, but a misunderstanding causes them to split on bad terms. To get back at him, Jean disguises herself as an English lady, and comes back to tease and torment him.

The Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film. It is about a mismatched couple who meet on a luxury liner, written by Preston Sturges based on a story by Monckton Hoffe, and directed by Sturges, his third directorial effort, after The Great McGinty and Christmas in July. The film stars Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck and features Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest and Eric Blore.



CITY LIGHTS

Charles_Chaplin was deep into production of his silent City Lights when Hollywood was overwhelmed by the talkie revolution. After months of anguished contemplation, Chaplin decided to finish the film as it began--in silence, save for a musical score and an occasional sound effect. Once again cast as the Little Tramp, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of a blind flower girl (Virginia_Cherrill), who through a series of coincidences has gotten the impression that the shabby tramp is a millionaire. A second storyline begins when the tramp rescues a genuine millionaire (Harry_Myers) from committing suicide. When drunk, the millionaire expansively treats the tramp as a friend and equal; when sober, he doesn't even recognize him. The two plots come together when the tramp attempts to raise enough money for the blind girl to have an eye operation. Highlights include an extended boxing sequence pitting scrawny Chaplin against muscle-bound Hank_Mann, and the poignant final scene in which the now-sighted flower girl sees her impoverished benefactor for the first time. Chaplin's decision to release the silent City Lights three years into the talkie era was partially vindicated when more than one critic singled out this "comedy in pantomime" as the best picture of 1931. Hal Erickson, Rovi



HAROLD AND MAUDE

A 1971 American comedy film directed by Hal Ashby. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold (played by Bud Cort). Harold drifts away from the life that his detached mother prescribes for him, and develops a relationship with an old woman named Maude (played by Ruth Gordon).




HIS GIRL FRIDAY

The second screen version of the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, His Girl Friday changed hard-driving newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson from a man to a woman, transforming the story into a scintillating battle of the sexes. Rosalind Russell plays Hildy, about to foresake journalism for marriage to cloddish Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). Cary Grant plays Walter Burns, Hildy's editor and ex-husband, who feigns happiness about her impending marriage as a ploy to win her back. The ace up Walter's sleeve is a late-breaking news story concerning the impending execution of anarchist Earl Williams (John Qualen), a blatant example of political chicanery that Hildy can't pass up. The story gets hotter when Williams escapes and is hidden from the cops by Hildy and Walter--right in the prison pressroom. His Girl Friday may well be the fastest comedy of the 1930s, with kaleidoscope action, instantaneous plot twists, and overlapping dialogue.



BALL OF FIRE

Ball of Fire is a delightful retelling (by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett) of the "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" legend -- though strictly for grownups. Gary Cooper is the youngest of eight bookish professors authoring an encyclopedia. They find a perfect "research associate" in the curvaceous form of stripteaser Barbara Stanwyck, who (chastely) hides on the professors' domicile to escape her gangster boyfriend (Dana Andrews). As Stanwyck interprets various slang expression, she and the professors grow quite fond of one another; she brings out their sentimental sides, while they revive her essential decency. Naturally, Cooper is the one most smitten, though he hides his true feelings until the inevitable clinch.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Foreign Films

I've Loved You So Long (2008)

After fifteen years in prison for murdering her son Pierre, the former medical doctor Juliette Fontaine travels to Lorraine to live on probation with her younger sister Léa and her family. The bitter, introspective and reclusive Juliette has spent her sentence without any visitors and totally forgotten by her family and now she has problems interacting with her brother-in-law Luc and her nieces. She has to visit every other week her probation officer Captain Fauré and seeks a job to rebuild her life. As days go by, Juliette gets closer to the family of her sister and befriends Luc and Léa's friends, specially Lea's colleague Michel. She slowly changes her behavior until the day Léa discovers the truth about the death of Pierre. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil



The Counterfeiters (2007)

The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He lives a mischievous life of cards, booze, and women in Berlin during the Nazi-era. Suddenly his luck runs dry when arrested by Superintendent Friedrich Herzog. Immediately thrown into the Mauthausen concentration camp, Salomon exhibits exceptional skills there and is soon transferred to the upgraded camp of Sachsenhausen. Upon his arrival, he once again comes face to face with Herzog, who is there on a secret mission. Hand-picked for his unique skill, Salomon and a group of professionals are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Bernhard. The team, which also includes detainee Adolf Burger, is given luxury barracks for their assistance. But while Salomon attempts to weaken the economy of Germany's allied opponents, Adolf refuses to use his skills for Nazi profit and would like to do something to stop Operation Bernhard's aid to the war effort. Faced with a moral dilemma, Salomon must decide whether his actions, which could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners, are ultimately the right ones. Written by Sony Pictures Classics



Talk To Her (2002)

After a chance encounter at a theater, two men, Benigno and Marco, meet at a private clinic where Benigno works. Lydia, Marco's girlfriend and a bullfighter by profession, has been gored and is in a coma. It so happens that Benigno is looking after another woman in a coma, Alicia, a young ballet student. The lives of the four characters will flow in all directions, past, present and future, dragging all of them towards an unsuspected destiny. Written by Anonymous



Waltz With Bashir (2008)

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there's a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can't remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images. Written by intlpress@aol.com



The Secret In Their Eyes (2010)

The retired justice officer Benjamín Espósito decides to write a novel based on the Morales Case of twenty-five years ago and has difficulties to find the right beginning. He visits his former chief Irene Menéndez-Hastings in the tribunal to show his draft. In the 70's, Benjamín has an unrequited love for his new-hired chief Irene that belongs to an upper-class. Benjamin is assigned to investigate the murder of Liliana Coloto, a beautiful woman recently married with Ricardo Morales that had been brutally raped and murdered. Benjamin and his alcoholic partner Pablo Sandoval feel touched with the grief of Ricardo and go further in their investigation. Benjamin observes that a man named Isidoro Gómez is staring Liliana in many pictures and he becomes the prime-suspect. Meanwhile the tension between Ricardo and Irene increases along the days but Ricardo does not understand the signs of her eyes. Twenty five years later, Ricardo is still haunted by his love for Irene and for the unsatisfactory resolution of the Morales Case. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

October Film Nominations

The Descent
After a tragic accident, six friends reunite for a caving expedition. Their adventure soon goes horribly wrong when a collapse traps them deep underground and they find themselves pursued by bloodthirsty creatures. As their friendships deteriorate, they find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive the creatures and each other. (IMDB.com)

Suspiria
A young American dancer travels to Europe to join a famous ballet school. As she arrives, the camera turns to another young woman, who appears to be fleeing from the school. She returns to her apartment where she is gruesomely murdered by a hideous creature. Meanwhile, the young American is trying to settle in at the ballet school, but hears strange noises and is troubled by bizarre occurrences. She eventually discovers that the school is merely a front for a much more sinister organization. (IMDB.com)

Peeping Tom
As a boy, Mark Lewis was subjected to bizarre experiments by his scientist-father, who wanted to study and record the effects of fear on the nervous system. Now grown up, both of his parents dead, Mark works by day as a focus-puller for a London movie studio. He moonlights by taking girlie pictures above a news agent's shop. But Mark has also taken up a horrifying hobby: He murders women while using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror. One evening, Mark meets and befriends Helen Stephens, a young woman who rents one of the rooms in his house. Does Helen represent some kind of possible redemption for Mark - or is she unknowingly running the risk of becoming one of his victims? (IMDB.com)

Feast
In a remote bar, costumers are advised by a newcomer to seal the place since hungry monsters will attack them in a couple of minutes. The man is immediately devoured and the clients organize a strategy to defend the place under siege of deadly creatures. (IMDB.com)

Frailty
Fenton Meeks, comes forth to tell the FBI that his brother Adam may be the serial killer who calls himself God's Hands, who the FBI has been searching for. The film uses flashbacks to show Meeks' childhood with a father who believed he was on a mission from God to destroy demons that inhabit human bodies. Fenton saw his dad as evil, while Adam saw him as a hero. (IMDB.com)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

September Film - Call Northside 777

Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Doors open 7:00. Films starts at 7:30.
Capital City Bar and Grill
Springfield, IL

Call Northside 777

When a woman places an ad in the Chicago Times offering a $5,000 reward for information that will exonerate her son, the newspaper assigns report P.J. McNeal to look into case. He learns that 11 years earlier, Frank Wiecek was convicted of killing an on duty police officer in a speakeasy and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. McNeal is quite skeptical as to his innocence and only slowly comes to realize that there was a miscarriage of justice. The real question is whether he can find evidence that would convince the pardon board and obtain Wiecek's release. (IMDB.com)