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

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)

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)

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

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!

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.

Goldfinger - May Movie

Thursday, May 26, 2011
7:30 pm

Capitol City Bar & Grill
3149. S. Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, IL