Join us tonight for a screening of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the 2005 neo-noir/black comedy film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.
As always, we'll meet at Capital City Bar and Grill. Doors will open at 7:00, and the movie will start at 7:30.
Don't worry. There's no need to vote tonight. Due to the tie-vote last month, we'll be screening Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry next month.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Animated Short
I found this animated short today, and I found it pretty entertaining. Thought I'd share. This is nice work for a student filmmaker. Cool stuff.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Vote is In
It's a tie. 16 votes for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and 16 votes for The Trouble With Harry. For the first time ever, we've had a dead tie for movie of the month. Although Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was the leader going into last night, the number of in-house votes for The Trouble With Harry brought the two to a neck-and-neck tie for June movie.
At first Micah and I discussed just selecting one of the two movies and making a decision. After considering everyone's comments, however, we decided that it was important to show both films. On both sides, people really wanted to see these two movies.
So, we decided to show both movies. We flipped a coin to decide which movie would screen first, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was the winner. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang will be our official June movie, with a screening on June 24, and The Trouble With Harry will be our official July movie, with a screening on July 29.
The trailer for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Harry's trailer is a few posts down.
At first Micah and I discussed just selecting one of the two movies and making a decision. After considering everyone's comments, however, we decided that it was important to show both films. On both sides, people really wanted to see these two movies.
So, we decided to show both movies. We flipped a coin to decide which movie would screen first, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was the winner. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang will be our official June movie, with a screening on June 24, and The Trouble With Harry will be our official July movie, with a screening on July 29.
The trailer for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Harry's trailer is a few posts down.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Movie Geeks Club Tonight: Subtitle Alert
Don't forget to come out tonight and catch The Seventh Seal on the big screen at Capital City Bar and Grill. As always, the doors will open at 7:00, and the movie will start at 7:30. Drinking can commence whenever you feel like it. I'm looking forward to tonight's movie. I've never seen The Seventh Seal, so I'm excited to add a new classic to my "watched-movies" list. The copy we secured is from Lincoln Library. I've cleaned the disc, and it looks to be in pretty good shape. I didn't watch the whole thing, but I did pop it into my player here at home and scanned through to see if the disc would give me any problems. It didn't. Fingers are crossed that we'll have another incident-free night tonight.
It's a pretty crappy night tonight, which always makes for a nice night to sit inside with some drinks and a great movie.
Hope to see you there.
WARNING to all of you subtitle haters: this one has subtitles. Better bring your reading glasses.
Friday, May 2, 2008
I'm Pulling for Harry
I'm not going to lie, Movie Geeks. I'm not going to pretend. I am pulling for The Trouble with Harry for next month's screening. The other four films are all great choices, as well, and I hope that everyone casts their vote with the same conviction that I do.
The Trouble with Harry is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Hitchcock's films, and I think Harry is one of his most unique. For a change, Hitchcock finds a way to make audiences tense in a lighthearted and humorous way. So often known for the darkness of Psycho or the bun-clenching tension of Rear Window or the philosophical musings of Rope, Hitchcock presents a totally different vision of the world in Harry. He presents a utopia where villagers are at peace with the nature of things, the cycle of life. He presents a picture of people who are willing to help out those who are in need. He presents a simple place and simple people. He still manages to dig at the darker elements that make human beings human beings, but he does so subtly.
Not only is Harry a funny picture, it's also a beautifully shot picture. In Technicolor, the sweeping landscape around a small Vermont village in autumn is almost dreamlike. It's the kind of place that you know could never really exist, but secretly you wish it did and you could go there and be a part of life there. A simpler life.
Another reason I like Harry is that a lot of people haven't seen it. Even pretty well-rounded Hitchcock fans I know tend to miss this one somehow. And then when they see it, they're always surprised that it's taken them so long. So, I've cast my vote for Harry. Now, I must wait to see how the rest of you will decide to vote.
The Original Film Trailer: I'm always amazed at how different trailers used to be.
The Trouble with Harry is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Hitchcock's films, and I think Harry is one of his most unique. For a change, Hitchcock finds a way to make audiences tense in a lighthearted and humorous way. So often known for the darkness of Psycho or the bun-clenching tension of Rear Window or the philosophical musings of Rope, Hitchcock presents a totally different vision of the world in Harry. He presents a utopia where villagers are at peace with the nature of things, the cycle of life. He presents a picture of people who are willing to help out those who are in need. He presents a simple place and simple people. He still manages to dig at the darker elements that make human beings human beings, but he does so subtly.
Not only is Harry a funny picture, it's also a beautifully shot picture. In Technicolor, the sweeping landscape around a small Vermont village in autumn is almost dreamlike. It's the kind of place that you know could never really exist, but secretly you wish it did and you could go there and be a part of life there. A simpler life.
Another reason I like Harry is that a lot of people haven't seen it. Even pretty well-rounded Hitchcock fans I know tend to miss this one somehow. And then when they see it, they're always surprised that it's taken them so long. So, I've cast my vote for Harry. Now, I must wait to see how the rest of you will decide to vote.
The Original Film Trailer: I'm always amazed at how different trailers used to be.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
June Movie Geeks Club Nominees
John and I have finally compiled our list for next month's MGC nominees. We wanted to go in a different direction this month. The past couple movies have been great but the subject matter was kind of depressing. As you can see, there is no real theme here. These are all very different films so choose your mood. They are all certain to be great.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer
The Trouble with Harry directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Mulholland Dr. written and directed by David Lynch
Pan's Labyrinth written and directed by Guillermo del Toro
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels written and directed by Guy Ritchie
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer
The Trouble with Harry directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Mulholland Dr. written and directed by David Lynch
Pan's Labyrinth written and directed by Guillermo del Toro
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels written and directed by Guy Ritchie
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Last Night's Movie Geeks
We had a great turnout last night for Movie Geeks Club. Most of our regulars were in the house, and we had several new faces. Thanks for coming out, folks.
We screened Roman Polanski's The Pianist last night, and by the time it was over, everyone in the house was thoroughly depressed and feeling guilty about the burgers they'd consumed while watching the Szpilman family split an overpriced caramel 6 ways. This is really an incredible film. It really does a good job of placing the viewer into the life of Szpilman during his struggle for survival during World War II. A very moving film.
The voting was finished last night for the May Movie Geeks selection, and the winner is: The Seventh Seal. Regarded as a masterpiece of cinema, Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal follows the journey of a Medieval knight (Max von Sydow) across a bleak and plague-ridden landscape. Along the way, he encounters many facets of Medieval life during the plague, particularly how people of the time faced impending death and the lengths they would go to in order to keep death from coming for them. The film is probably best known for its scene in which Block, the knight, has to play a game of chess against Death, with his fate to be decided by the outcome of the game. This scene has been parodied on numerous occasions, most notably in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, in which Bill and Ted defeat Death at Battleship, Clue, electric football and Twister.
Micah and I are still kicking around some ideas for the nominations for the June movie. We were thinking about feature-length documentaries. We'd come up with a list of five and you could vote on the one you'd like to see. We've not yet screened a documentary, and I thought it might be a nice change of pace. Another thought is that we've seen a couple of long, slowly paced films, and maybe we'd like to do something a little more fast-paced and intense for the warm weather month of June. Thoughts, Movie Geeks?
We screened Roman Polanski's The Pianist last night, and by the time it was over, everyone in the house was thoroughly depressed and feeling guilty about the burgers they'd consumed while watching the Szpilman family split an overpriced caramel 6 ways. This is really an incredible film. It really does a good job of placing the viewer into the life of Szpilman during his struggle for survival during World War II. A very moving film.
The voting was finished last night for the May Movie Geeks selection, and the winner is: The Seventh Seal. Regarded as a masterpiece of cinema, Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal follows the journey of a Medieval knight (Max von Sydow) across a bleak and plague-ridden landscape. Along the way, he encounters many facets of Medieval life during the plague, particularly how people of the time faced impending death and the lengths they would go to in order to keep death from coming for them. The film is probably best known for its scene in which Block, the knight, has to play a game of chess against Death, with his fate to be decided by the outcome of the game. This scene has been parodied on numerous occasions, most notably in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, in which Bill and Ted defeat Death at Battleship, Clue, electric football and Twister.
Micah and I are still kicking around some ideas for the nominations for the June movie. We were thinking about feature-length documentaries. We'd come up with a list of five and you could vote on the one you'd like to see. We've not yet screened a documentary, and I thought it might be a nice change of pace. Another thought is that we've seen a couple of long, slowly paced films, and maybe we'd like to do something a little more fast-paced and intense for the warm weather month of June. Thoughts, Movie Geeks?
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