June Movie Nominations - War

The new poll is up and the theme is "war". The films selected for June all have a war theme but are all very different and are from different time periods. We could not select the very best of war films because so many of them are epic. We decided to go with relatively shorter films that are also rated very high. Here they are, from Stanley Kubrick to Charlie Chaplin.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Our oldest film nominated. Filmed just 10 years after the end of World War I. This is an English language film (made in America) adapted from a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque. The film follows a group of German schoolboys, talked into enlisting at the beginning of World War 1 by their jingoistic teacher. The story is told entirely through the experiences of the young German recruits and highlights the tragedy of war through the eyes of individuals. As the boys witness death and mutilation all around them, any preconceptions about "the enemy" and the "rights and wrongs" of the conflict disappear, leaving them angry and bewildered. This is highlighted in the scene where Paul mortally wounds a French soldier and then weeps bitterly as he fights to save his life while trapped in a shell crater with the body. The film is not about heroism but about drudgery and futility and the gulf between the concept of war and the actuality. (IMDB.com)

Full Metal Jacket

A two-segment story that follows young men from the start of recruit training in the Marine Corps to the lethal cauldron known as Vietnam. The first segment follows Joker, Pyle and others as they progress through the hell of USMC boot-camp at the hands of the colorful, foul-mouthed Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The second begins in Vietnam, near Hue, at the time of the Tet Offensive. Joker, along with Animal Mother, Rafterman and others, face threats such as ambush, booby traps, and Viet Cong snipers as they move through the city. (IMDB.com)

Letters from Iwo Jima

The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination. (IMDB.com)

M*A*S*H

November, 1951. The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is shaken up by the arrival of Captains "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Duke" Forrest...crack surgeons but lousy soldiers. Joined by renowned chest-cutter "Trapper" John McIntyre, the surgeons set about dealing with the daily carnage of the war by raising hell. From getting rid of the idiotic Major Burns to helping the camp dentist commit "suicide", there's no lengths the Swampmen won't go to to distract themselves from the horrors of war. (IMDB.com)

The Dirty Dozen

In late March 1944 a rebellious US Army Major is "volunteered" to train twelve convicted military criminals for a suicide mission - to parachute to a heavily-guarded Nazi general staff officers' retreat to try and assassinate German officers on leave. To get his unorthodox assignment done the Major must convince Army brass to grant pardons to the men, then try to mold the twelve recidivists into a functioning unit, a task made more daunting by the doubts of a by-the-book General and by the suicidal nature of the mission. (IMDB.com)

The Great Dictator

During the last days of the First World War, a clumsy soldier saves the life of devoted military pilot Schultz. Unfortunately, their flight from the advancing enemy ends in a severe crash with the clumsy soldier losing his memories. After quite some years in the hospital, the amnesia patient gets released and reopens his old barber shop in the Jewish ghetto. But times have changed in the country of Tomania: Dictator Adenoid Hynkel, who accidentally looks very similar to the barber, has laid his merciless grip on the country, and the Jewish people are discriminated against. One day, the barber gets in trouble and is brought before a commanding officer, who turns out to be his old comrade Schultz. So, the ghetto enjoys protection from then on. Meanwhile, Dictator Hynkel develops big plans, he wants to become Dictator of the whole world and needs a scapegoat for the public. Soon, Schultz is being arrested for being too Jewish-friendly, and all Jews except those who managed to flee are transported into Concentration Camps. Hynkel is planning to march into Osterlich to show off against Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria, who already has deployed his troops along the other border of the small country. Meanwhile, Schultz and the barber manage to escape, guised in military uniforms. As luck would have it, Schultz and the barber are picked up by Tomanian forces and the barber is mixed up with Hynkel himself. The small barber now gets the once-in-a-lifetime chance to speak to the people of Osterlich and all of Tomania, who listen eagerly on the radio. (IMDB.com)

Movie Nominations for May - Jim Jarmusch

For May, we decided to enter the world of Jim Jarmusch. Here are the films.

Stranger Than Paradise

This is about a self-styled New York hipster (John Lurie of the Lounge Lizards) who is paid a suprise and quite unwelcome visit by his pretty sixteen-year-old Hungarian cousin. From initial hostility and indifference a strange affection grows between the two exiles. Due to complete boredom they decide to visit their aunt in the wastelands of Cleveland and then proceed to sunny Florida where they lose all their money and unwittingly gain a fortune. With a final ironic twist, they are at the end, back where they began. (IMDB.com)

Down By Law

DJ Zack and pimp Jack end up in prison for being too laid-back to avoid being framed for crimes they didn't commit. They end up sharing a cell with eccentric Italian optimist Roberto, whose limited command of the English language is both entertaining and infuriating -but rather more useful to them is the fact that Roberto knows an escape route. (IMDB.com)

Mystery Train

A Japanese couple obsessed with 1950s America goes to Memphis because the male half of the couple emulates Carl Perkins. Chance encounters link three different stories in the city, with the common thread being the seedy hotel where they are all staying. (IMDB.com)

Dead Man

Dead Man is the story of a young man's journey, both physically and spiritually, into very unfamiliar terrain. William Blake travels to the extreme western frontiers of America sometime in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very odd, outcast Native American, named "Nobody," who believes Blake is actually the dead English poet of the same name. The story, with Nobody's help, leads William Blake through situations that are in turn comical and violent. Contrary to his nature, circumstances transform Blake into a hunted outlaw, a killer, and a man whose physical existence is slowly slipping away. Thrown into a world that is cruel and chaotic, his eyes are opened to the fragility that defines the realm of the living. It is as though he passes through the surface of a mirror, and emerges into a previously-unknown world that exists on the other side. (IMDB.com)

Coffee and Cigarettes

A comic series of short vignettes built on one another to create a cumulative effect, as the characters discuss things as diverse as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the '20s, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide--all the while sitting around sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. As director Jim Jarmusch delves into the normal pace of our world from an extraordinary angle, he shows just how absorbing the obsessions, joys and addictions of life can be, if truly observed. (IMDB.com)

Movie Nominations for April -- Canadian Comedies

For April, we're nominating a variety of Canadian Comedies. Some of these are your run-of-the mill comedies that you think of when you think of Canadian comedies. Others are a little more off the beaten path. Here are the nominees. Cast your vote on the right hand of the page now.

FUBAR: a 2002 mockumentary film, directed by Michael Dowse, based on the lives of two lifelong friends and head-bangers living out their lives, constantly drinking beer. It first debuted at the Sundance Film Festival as an Official Selection of the Festival. Since its release, it has gained critical acclaim and a cult status in North America, but especially within Western Canada.

Strange Brew: a 1983 film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob & Doug McKenzie, played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served as co-directors. Max von Sydow co-stars. The story is loosely based on the Shakespearean play Hamlet, with the McKenzie Brothers taking the roles of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Canadian Bacon: a 1995 comedy/satire, and the only fictional film written, directed and produced by Michael Moore. It was the last film released to star John Candy, although it was filmed before Wagons East!. While not entirely Canadian, this one is close enough for us.

Brain Candy: a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.

Highway 61: a 1991 film by Canadian director Bruce McDonald. An orphaned barber named Pokey Jones in a small town near Thunder Bay, Ontario dreams of becoming a jazz musician. One morning, Jones discovers a frozen corpse in his backyard, and soon meets Jackie Bangs, a tough and mysterious roadie who claims the dead man is her brother. Jackie's real intention is to use the body, a vagrant unknown to anyone in town, to smuggle stolen drugs into the United States. She convinces Pokey to use his parents' car, which hasn't been driven in decades, to drive her to New Orleans to bury her brother. So Jackie and Pokey set out along Highway 61, coffin strapped to the top of the car, and follow Bob Dylan's famous U.S. Highway 61 south through the heart of the United States.

Movie Geeks for March 31: The Proposition

March's screening will feature The Proposition, a 2005 Western directed by John Hillcoat and written by musician/writer Nick Cave. I'm excited to see this film as it's been on my short list for a couple years now. Hillcoat is directing the upcoming film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, so I'm interested in seeing some of his work prior to that. Additionally, I find Nick Cave to be an all-around interesting artist and human being. To see this brainchild of his will be a treat, I'm sure.

Here's the trailer:

Last Night's Turnout Dismal

Last night, the turnout was completely dismal. We had a total of four moviegoers who stuck the whole thing out. There was a couple who came in, but apparently couldn't stand the basketball game on the big screen that played prior to the movie starting at 7:30. They left before the movie got underway. Another lady claimed, "This is not the Werner Herzog I know," threw her hands in the air, and made her best beeline straight for the exit.

That left the four of us.

And it's a shame. Because the film was great. Stroszek. A Herzog classic. As Roger Ebert wrote:

"Stroszek" (1977) is one of the oddest films ever made. It is impossible for the audience to anticipate a single shot or development. We watch with a kind of fascination, because Herzog cuts loose from narrative and follows his characters through the relentless logic of their adventure. Then there is the haunting impact of the performance by Bruno S., who is at every moment playing himself.

A classic of cinema. A film I've long wanted to see. And last night we gave people the opportunity to see it on the big screen. An opportunity you're not likely to find in many places in the Midwest. I just think it's sad that people have an opportunity to see great films (great art), and they don't.

I'm sure people have their reasons, and I understand. People have children. It's cold outside. The economy sucks. We were competing with Barack Obama's speech to Congress. I understand.

That's why I'm going to do an increased job of spreading the word this month. I'm going to work on getting the message out about Movie Geeks. I mean, we've been around for two years now, but I guess people still don't know. Or worse, I fear, don't care.

March Films - Westerns

Here are the list of movies that have been nominated for March. The March films are all Westerns. There is a very diverse group in here so do some research before you vote.

The Searchers

When Ethan Edwards decide to go find the Indians who killed his family, he is joined by his nephew, Martin Pawley. The problem is that Pawley is 1/8th Indian and there's nothing in the world that Edwards hates more than Indians. The journey to find the Indians and Edwards' niece last for years. (IMDB.com)

Once Upon a Time in the West

A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad in this long frontier epic. Mysterious pasts and the strength of loyalties is explored amid lightning fast gun battles and stylish vistas. (IMDB.com)

Westworld

A amusement park for rich vacationers. The park provides its customers a way to live out their fantasies through the use of robots that provide anything they want. Two of the vacationers choose a wild west adventure. However, after a computer breakdown, they find that they are now being stalked by a rogue robot gun-slinger. (IMDB.com)

The Shootest

John Bernard Books, a gunfighter approaching his 58th birthday, finds that he has cancer and two months to live. He takes a room with Bond Rogers and her son, Gillom, to wait until death comes. Of course, his very presence starts off events in the town. The Marshal comes, prepared to die in a shootout, Gillom tries to idolize him, Bond first is disgusted and then pities him. Then, realizing that he will die in great pain, he comes up with an idea to go out with a bang. (IMDB.com)

The Proposition (2005)

Rural Australia in the late nineteenth century: Capt. Stanley and his men capture two of the four Burns brothers, Charlie and Mike. Their gang is held responsible for attacking the Hopkins farm, raping pregnant Mrs. Hopkins and murdering the whole family. Arthur Burns, the eldest brother and the gang's mastermind, remains at large has and has retreated to a mountain hideout. Capt. Stanley's proposition to Charlie is to gain pardon and - more importantly - save his beloved younger brother Mike from the gallows by finding and killing Arthur within nine days. (IMDB.com)

Movie Geeks for February: Stroszek

Werner Herzog's Stroszek. Roger Ebert called it "one of the oddest films ever made" and we're bringing it to the big screen February 24.


Capital City Bar and Grill
Tuesday, February 24.
Doors open at 7:00. Film starts at 7:30.