Author: Sean Gilman

James Stewart Movies at the Grand Illusion Cinema

~ Sean Gilman ~ 1 Comment

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After failing to win the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (he lost to Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which is a very good performance in a fine film, but come on), James Stewart was rewarded by the Academy the very next year for The Philadelphia Story, in which he plays third lead to Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in George Cukor’s monumental screwball. He might better have won for Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner, released earlier that same year, in which he co-starred with Margaret Sullavan as a pair of feuding store clerks who don’t know they’re pen pals in love. Both films are playing this week at the Grand Illusion, on 35mm (the GI continues to be the last great bastion of repertory-on-film in the Seattle area).

Continue reading “James Stewart Movies at the Grand Illusion Cinema” →

Friday, January 16 through Thursday, January 22

~ Sean Gilman ~ Leave a comment

Featured Film:

James Stewart Movies at the Grand Illusion Cinema
Two of Stewart’s very best films, both from 1940, George Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story, with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant and Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner with Margaret Sullavan and Frank Morgan play in 35mm throughout the week. Our Preview.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Better Off Dead (Savage Steve Holland, 1985) Fri-Tues
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) Fri-Tues
The Long Night (Tim Matsui) Sun Only
Madonna vs. Prince vs. Whitney Sing-Along Thurs Only

SIFF Cinema Egyptian:

Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) Fri & Sat Midnight

Century Federal Way:

Ode to My Father (Yoon Je-kyoon) Fri-Thurs

Grand Cinema:

Keep On Keeping’ On (Alan Hicks) Tues Only
King Kong (Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933) Weds Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940) Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed
The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940) Sat, Sun, Tues, Thurs
The Search for General Tso (Ian Cheney) Fri-Thurs
Saturday Secret Matinee (The Sprocket Society) Sat only
Rock Out With Your VCR Out (Scarecrow Video) Sat only

Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas:

Ai (Shankar) Fri-Thurs in Tamil and Telugu

Northwest Film Forum:

A Tale of Winter (Eric Rohmer, 1992) Fri-Sun
My Last Year with the Nuns (Bret Fetter) Fri-Mon
The Harvard Exits Sun Only
Steamboat Bill, Jr (Buster Keaton & Charles Reisner, 1928) Thurs Only

AMC Pacific Place:

The Taking of Tiger Mountain (Tsui Hark) Fri-Thurs Our Review
20 Once Again (Leste Chen) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

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

Seattle Art Museum:

The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables Theatre:

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (Mary Dore) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Nordic Lights Film Festival  Program Details

Sundance Cinemas Seattle:

Appropriate Behavior (Desiree Akhavan) Fri-Thurs
Loitering with Intent (Adam Rapp) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) Fri-Thurs

The Taking of Tiger Mountain (Tsui Hark, 2014)

~ Sean Gilman ~ 4 Comments

Look deep into the movie listings this January, past the big name awards fodder, the PT Andersons and the Rob Marshalls, the biopics and social problem films, and you’ll find, in limited release, the latest picture from one of the most influential and important directors of the past 40 years, Tsui Hark, whose name remains so unknown in the US he’s as likely to be identified by his personal name as his family name (for the record: he is Mr. Tsui, not Mr. Hark; pronounced “Choy – Hok”). As director, producer, writer and even actor, Tsui has played a prominent role in every stage of Hong Kong cinema since the mid-1970s, from the New Wave through “heroic bloodshed” and the wuxia revival of the 80s and early 90s; from the pre-Handover exodus to Hollywood to the present-day integration with the Mainland and the proliferation of digital technology. With at least a dozen classics spanning just as many genres, Tsui stands among the most accomplished directors in film history, Hong Kong or otherwise. Continue reading “The Taking of Tiger Mountain (Tsui Hark, 2014)” →