Author: Sean Gilman

Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) Fri-Tues
True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993) Fri-Tues
The Room (Tommy Wiseau, 2003) Thurs Only

C’est si bon (Kim Hyun-seok) Fri-Thurs
Giant (George Stevens, 1956) Sun Only

The Cinerama:

Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) Sat Only
Guys and Dolls (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1955) Sat Only
Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) Sat Only

Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) Weds Only

Landmark Guild 45th Theatre:

R100 (Hitoshi Matsumoto, 2013) Fri-Thurs Our Preview.
VHSex Sat Only
Saturday Secret Matinee (The Sprocket Society) Sat only

Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas:

Roy (Vikramjit Singh) Fri-Thurs
Temper (Puri Jagannadh) Fri-Thurs
Giant (George Stevens, 1956) Sun Only

Regal Meridian:

Somewhere Only We Know (Xu Jinglei) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Seattle Asian-American Film Festival Program Details
Fort McMoney Thurs Only

AMC Loews Oak Tree:

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Fri-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts Fri-Thurs

Scarecrow Video Screening Lounge:

Spare Parts (Sean McNamera) Fri-Thurs

Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001) Fri Only
Lady Snowblood (Toshiya Fujita, 1973) Sat Only
It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934) Sun Only
Eastern Europe/Russian Experimental Animation Mon Only
Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002) Tues Only
Go Fish (Rose Troche, 1994) Weds Only
Batman: The Movie (Leslie H. Martinson, 1966) Thurs Only

Seattle Art Museum:

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Elio Petri, 1970) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Fri-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts Fri-Thurs

Monk with a Camera (Tina Mascara & Guido Santi, 2013) Fri-Mon
The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland) Fri, Sun-Weds
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010) Sat Only Teens Only
Dear White People (Justin Simien) Mon Only
Citizenfour (Laura Poitras) Tues & Thurs Only
Inside the Mind of Leonardo Da Vinci (Julian Jones) Thurs Only in 2D

Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh) Fri-Thurs
Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako) Fri-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts Fri-Thurs
Hits (David Cross) Fri-Thurs

Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) Fri-Thurs Our Preview.
Citizenfour (Laura Poitras) Fri-Thurs
Inside the Mind of Leonardo Da Vinci 3D (Julian Jones) Fri-Weds
Harold & Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971) Fri-Sun Only
You Can’t Take it With You (Frank Capra, 1938) Tues Only
5Point Film on the Road Thurs Only

Seattle Screen Valentine Scene

February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

Valentine’s Day hits Seattle screens weird this weekend, with off-kilter romances old and new taking over theatres all across the city. Here they are in alphabetical order:

The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland, 2014) at SIFF Film Center: I haven’t seen this yet, but it was our friend Matt’s favorite movie of 2014. It’s an homage to the European softcore art-porn films of the 1970s. So I assume it’s pretty romantic with great music and some nifty dissolves.

Giant (George Stevens, 1956) at Cinemark theatres in Federal Way and Bellevue: James Dean makes a fortune in oil to impress Elizabeth Taylor, spends his super-wealthy life in misery when she still prefers Rock Hudson, apparently because she can’t understand a word Dean says because he’s always mumbling.

Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) at the Cinerama: Vivien Leigh’s feisty Southern Belle falls for the one man she can’t dominate (Clark Gable), submits to him (sort of), then sabotages their romance with all the incandescent fire of an orange only achievable in Technicolor.

Guys and Dolls (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1955) at the Cinerama: Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando gamble on whether or not Brando can sleep with Jean Simmons (or “take her to Cuba” as they say). He gets her drunk, they go to Cuba. Also there’s gambling. And music. And everyone talks funny.

Harold & Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971) at the SIFF Uptown: Suicidal teenager falls for batty old lady. A favorite of every girl I went to high school with.

It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934) at Scarecrow Video: Paparrazzo Clark Gable stalks runaway heiress Claudette Colbert, destroys the undershirt industry with his daring chest.

Lady Snowblood (Toshiba Fujita, 1973) at Scarecrow Video: Meiko Kaji revenges herself on the people who raped her mother and killed her family. It is snowy and there is blood. Like all Valentine’s Days.

Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) at the Central Cinema: Ewan McGregor invents the mashup and falls tragically in love with Nicole Kidman’s tubercular prostitute and then Kurt Cobain rolls over in his grave.

R100 (Hitoshi Matsumoto, 2013) at the Grand Illusion: Mike saw this movie and wrote about it. I assume the “R100” rating means it’s fun for all ages.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010) at the SIFF Uptown: A video game universe teaches bassist Michael Cera the key lesson about relationships: the other person is irrelevant, the important thing is to know that you are awesome.

Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) at the Cinerama: Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis dress in drag to escape mobsters. Curtis pretends to be Cary Grant to sleep with Marilyn Monroe. Lemmon hooks up with Joe E. Brown. Marilyn Monroe is pretty.

True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993) at the Central Cinema: Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are so cool falling in love over a Sonny Chiba triple feature, coffee and pie. Then they travel across the country to make a fortune selling stolen cocaine. As we all do.

Friday, February 6th – Thursday, February 12th

February 6, 2015February 13, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

Featured Film:

Two Days, One Night at the SIFF Cinema Uptown

The latest film from the acclaimed Belgian directorial team Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne continues this week at the SIFF Uptown. Featuring a crushingly beautiful, Oscar-nominated performance from Marion Cotillard. Our Preview.

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Playing This Week:

Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron, 1993) Fri-Tues Our Preview.
Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002) Fri-Tues

SIFF Cinema Egyptian:

SFFSFF: The Dark Side Fri Midnight
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) Sat Midnight

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Blake Edwards) Sun Only

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Fri-Mon, Wed-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts Fri-Mon, Wed-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts Tues Only
Aftermass: Bicycling in a Post-Critical Mass Portland (Joe Biel) Thurs Only

Landmark Guild 45th Theatre:

The Babadook (Jennifer Kent) Fri-Thurs
Enter the Dangerous Mind (Youssef Delara and Victor Teran) Fri & Sat
Saturday Secret Matinee (The Sprocket Society) Sat only
My Last Year With the Nuns (Bret Fetzer) Sun-Tues

Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2015 Program Details
Involuntary (Ruben Östlund, 2008) Fri Only – 35mm
Play (Ruben Östlund, 2011) Sat-Sun Only – 35mm
Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund, 2014) Sun Only
Concerning Violence (Göran Hugo Olsson, 2014) Sun-Weds

Scarecrow Video Screening Lounge:

The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin (Wenn V. Deramas) Fri-Thurs

Moonwalker (Jerry Kramer et al, 1988) Sat Only
Hecho en México (Duncan Bridgeman, 2012) Sun Only
Hairspray (John Waters, 1988) Mon Only
Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1988) Tues Only
Rock & Rule (Clive A. Smith, 1983) Weds Only
The Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson, 1951) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Fri-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts Fri-Thurs

Human Capital (Paolo Virzi) Fri-Sun
The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland) Fri Only
SFFSFF: The Best in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Shorts Sat Only
Actress (Robert Greene) Mon Only Our Preview.

Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh) Fri-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts Fri-Thurs

Continue reading “Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron, 1993)” →

Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) Fri-Thurs Our Preview.
The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland) Fri-Thurs
Escape from New York Live Scoring (John Carpenter, 1981) Fri Only
SFFSFF Encore Sun Only
SFFSFF: 10 Year Retrospective Sun Only
Human Capital (Paolo Virzi) Mon-Thurs
Lost Horizon (Frank Capra, 1937) Tues Only

Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron, 1993)

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

The middle film in the Ephron/Ryan trilogy that defined the romantic comedy from 1988 (When Harry Met Sally…) to 1998 (You’ve Got Mail), is back on the screen this week at the Central Cinema. Meg Ryan plays an affianced journalist (Bill Pullman is her Bellamy) who happens upon a late night talk show where she hears the sad story of recently widowed Tom Hanks and his precocious son. Instantly in love, Ryan struggles for most of the film with the weirdness of her feelings, ultimately leading to a meeting at the top of the Empire State Building.

Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2014)

February 6, 2015March 20, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

Continuing this week at the SIFF Uptown is the latest from neo-realist Belgian masters Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Two Days, One Night, their first foray into movie-stardom thanks to an Oscar-nominated performance from Marion Cotillard (The Dardennes themselves have never been nominated for an Academy Award, though they have accomplished the rare feat of twice winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival). Cotillard plays a factory worker (solar panels) who has just recently and barely recovered from the suicidal depression that caused a prolonged work absence, thus proving to her bosses that the factory will run just fine without her. She’s been laid off because her co-workers were made to vote on whether they’d rather she continue to work or they get their annual bonus. It’s an absurdly blunt premise that the Dardennes, whatever its worth, remain firmly committed to with their meticulous direct-cinema style. After talking her way into a revote as the film begins, the bulk of the movie follows Cotillard visiting each of her coworkers in turn over the weekend to beg them to allow her to keep her job. The fact that the Dardennes manage to make such a didactic and schematic premise watchable at all is a credit to their skill, and a testament to the fine performances of their cast. Cotillard first and foremost is a stunner, her portrait of a woman desperately trying to keep it together on the brink of disaster is easily on par with her exceptional work in 2013’s The Immigrant, which she probably should have been Oscar-nominated for as well. The only other recognizable face in the film is the man who plays her husband, Fabrizio Rongione, who also played the architect in 2014’s La Sapienza (look for Eugène Green’s very fine film to get a US release in the coming months, hopefully it’ll make it to Seattle), but all the performances are wonderful, each new co-worker bringing a wonderfully individualized set of hang-ups, guilts and possibilities of hope.

Two Days, One Night plays Friday through Thursday at the Kirkland Parkplace Cinema.

Actress (Robert Greene, 2014)

February 6, 2015July 14, 2016 ~ Sean Gilman

One of my favorite movies of 2014 is back for one night only this Thursday at the Northwest Film Forum. I caught the movie when it played at the Grand Illusion Cinema a couple of years ago, and here is the review I wrote then on my blog.

I think I “related” to parts of Robert Greene’s non-fiction film in the way so many other people “related” to Boyhood, in that when we join her, stay-at-home mom Brandy Burre is very much looking to reestablish an identity for herself outside the home. This manifests itself as one of the main threads of the film’s story: her preparing to restart her acting career after a several years’ hiatus. That need for a creative outlet, for a definition of self that doesn’t revolve around one’s children (and the guilt inherit in that, a little voice telling you that not devoting yourself 100% to your children makes you a bad parent) is something I imagine every parent experiences, especially for those of us who abandon our careers for full-time parenthood. But also, more obliquely and (thankfully) alien to my own experience, this identity shift for Ms. Burre manifests itself in the collapse of her relationship with her partner Tim. This ultimately becomes the dominant storyline of the film: while Burre looks for jobs and gets her hair done and meets with friends, nothing really happens on the job front, but the relationship story unfolds dramatically in time as Tim gradually moves out of the house and we learn ever so little about what actually happened to break them up (both the proximate events and the emotions that underlay it).

Continue reading “Actress (Robert Greene, 2014)” →

January 30th – February 5th

January 30, 2015February 6, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

Featured Film:

The Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night at the SIFF Cinema Uptown

Beatlemania hits the SIFF Uptown with four “Deconstructions” of classic albums, including Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and The White Album, along with screenings of Richard Lester’s 1964 classic A Hard Day’s Night. Goo-goo-ga-joob. Our Preview.

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Playing This Week:

Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993) Fri-Sat, Mon-Wed
Lost in Translation (Sophia Coppola, 2003) Fri-Wed

SIFF Cinema Egyptian:

Reefer Madness (Louis J. Gasnier, 1936) Fri Midnight
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975) Sat Midnight

Eh Janam Tumhare Lekhe (Harjit Singh) Fri-Thurs
Funny Girl (William Wyler, 1968) Sun Only

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Baby (Neeraj Pandey) Fri-Thurs
Funny Girl (William Wyler, 1968) Sun Only

Food Chains (Sanjay Rawal) Tues Only

Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas:

When Evening Falls on Bucharest, or Metabolism (Corneliu Porumboiu) Fri-Thurs
Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991) Fri & Sat Our Preview.
Saturday Secret Matinee (The Sprocket Society) Sat only

Baby (Neeraj Panday) Fri-Thurs
Funny Girl (William Wyler, 1968) Sun Only

Northwest Film Forum:

Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2015 Program Details
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Ridley Scott, 1982/2007) Mon Only – 35mm
The Guitar Mongoloid (Ruben Östlund, 2004) Thurs Only – 35mm

Scarecrow Video Screening Lounge:

The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin (Wenn V. Deramas) Fri-Thurs

Pariah (Dee Rees, 2011) Sun Only
The Jerk (Carl Reiner, 1979) Mon Only
Corpse Bride (Tim Burton & Mike Johnson, 2005) Tues Only
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) Weds Only
House of the Long Shadows (Pete Walker, 1983) Thurs Only

Seattle Art Museum:

Fellini Satyricon (Federico Fellini, 1969) Thurs Only – 35mm

Landmark Seven Gables:

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Fri-Thurs
Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts Fri-Thurs

Amira & Sam (Sean Mullin) Fri-Thurs
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) Fri-Sun
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (Mary Dore) Fri-Sun
National Gallery (Frederick Wiseman) Mon Only Our Preview.

Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh) Fri-Thurs
Match (Stephen Belber) Fri-Thurs
Paganini: the Devil’s Violinist (Bernard Rose) Fri-Thurs

Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) Fri-Thurs
A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964) Sat-Sun Only Our Preview.
Deconstructing the Beatles Program Details
Frozen Sing-Along (Jennifer Lee, 2013) Sat-Sun Only
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (Mary Dore) Mon-Thurs
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) Mon-Thurs
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) Tues Only

National Gallery

January 30, 2015February 26, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

Following a successful two-week run at the Northwest Film Forum late last year, SIFF is bringing Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary, National Gallery back for one Monday night this week as part of their Recent Raves series. At about three hours long, Gallery is only a medium length Wiseman film, a look at the venerable British art gallery, the paintings within it, the people that run it and the public that visits it. The 85 year old filmmaker is probably more well-known for his examinations of public institutions in films like Welfare (1975), Titicut Follies (1967), At Berkeley (2013) or High School (1968, followed by a sequel in 1994), but he’s also one of cinema’s great chroniclers of art as work. His dance films (Ballet, 1995; La danse, 2009; and Crazy Horse, 2011) are astounding, and, along with 2010’s Boxing Gym, form with National Gallery as expansive a look at the business, craft and sheer effort that goes into the presentation of art to an audience. Like those other films, Gallery is divided into a series of segments highlighting different aspects of the institution: the tour guides explaining a work or an artist; the craftsmen and women building frames, gallery spaces, designing and testing lighting; restorers at work fixing paintings damaged by time; and administrators debating the best ways to persevere the museums brand and grow its audience. The segments are broken up by shorter series of shots, much like the pillow shots of a Yasujiro Ozu film, where we get to look at the paintings and, as interestingly perhaps, the faces of the people as they look at the paintings. 19th Century landscape painter JMW Turner, himself the subject of a fine biopic directed by Mike Leigh starring Timothy Spall, is one of the featured artists. That film, Mr. Turner, is currently playing at the Sundance Cinemas. The pair would make for an excellent, if lengthy, cross-town double feature.

National Gallery plays at the Grand Cinema on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Friday, January 23 – Thursday, January 29

January 22, 2015January 30, 2015 ~ Sean Gilman

Featured Film:

Goodbye to Language 3D at the SIFF Cinema Uptown

A week-long run for the latest from French New Wave icon Jean-Luc Godard, a wild rumination on language, cinema, revolution, nature, Hitler and one magical dog. Our Preview.

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Playing This Week:

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) Fri-Wed
Troll 2 (Claudio Fragasso, 1990) Fri-Wed
The Room (Tommy Wiseau) Thurs Only

SIFF Cinema Egyptian:

The Big Lebowski (The Coen Brothers, 1998) Fri & Sat Midnight

***Ode to My* Father (Yoon Je-kyoon) Fri-Thurs
*How the West Was Won*** (Various) Sun Only

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (Mary Dore) Tues Only

Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas:

Burroughs: The Movie (Howard Brookner, 1983) Fri-Thurs
Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991) Fri, Thurs Our Preview.
Saturday Secret Matinee (The Sprocket Society) Sat only
It’s Gonna Blow (Bill Perrine) Sat-Sun

Baby (Neeraj Panday) Fri-Thurs
Ai (Shankar) Fri-Thurs
How the West Was Won (Various) Sun Only

Northwest Film Forum:

Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2015 Program Details

AMC Pacific Place:

20 Once Again (Leste Chen) Fri-Thurs

My Big Bossing (Joyce Bernal, Marlon Rivera & Tony Reyes) Fri-Thurs

It’s Alive!: Frankenstein On Film Program Details
Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931 and 1935) Double Feature Fri Only
Flesh for Frankenstein (Paul Morissey, 1973) Sat Only
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Charles Barton, 1948) Sun Only
Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974) Sun Only
Rosewater (John Stewart) Mon Only

Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh) Fri-Thurs
Song One (Kate Barker-Froyland) Fri-Thurs