Featured Film:

King Hu and Noir City at the SIFF Uptown and Egyptian

Sneaking into the Uptown for a mere one show apiece on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are two of the greatest Chinese language films of all-time. King Hu‘s Dragon Gate Inn perfected the wuxia genre in 1968. It’s a propulsive, meticulous action film that set the standard for the next 50 years of martial arts film, inspiring remakes and homages from Ang Lee, Tsai Ming-liang and Tsui Hark (who has remade it at least twice). Hu followed it up three years later with A Touch of Zen, which not only improved on the action, but transformed the generic material into a abstract exploration of transcendence and faith. There is likely to be no film on Seattle Screens this year that will benefit more from being seen on the big screen.
In an embarrassment of riches, SIFF is also presenting Eddie Muller’s traveling Noir City festival all this week at the Egyptian. Structured as a series of old-style double features (prestige A-picture along with a shorter, cheaper B-movie), highlights include: I Wake Up Screaming, This Gun for Hire, The 7th Victim, Scarlet Street, My Name is Julia Ross, The Dark Corner, The Reckless Moment and Gun Crazy. All 18 films in the series are playing on 35mm.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Brad Silberling, 2004) Weds Only

Central Cinema:

The Neverending Story (Wolfgang Petersen, 1984) Fri-Tues
Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001) Fri-Tues

SIFF Egyptian:

Noir City 2016: Film Noir From A to B Fri-Thurs Full Program 35mm

Century Federal Way:

Kabali (Pa. Ranjith) Fri-Thurs In Tamil with subtitles & Telugu without subtitles, check showtimes
Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho) Fri-Thurs
Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffer, 1968) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Swiss Army Man (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs
Genius (Michael Grandage) Fri-Thurs
Our Kind of Traitor (Susanna White) Fri-Thurs
Dough (John Goldschmidt) Fri-Thurs
The Confirmation (Bob Nelson) Tues Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Land and Shade (César Augusto Acevedo) Fri-Thurs
The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale  Sat & Sun Only
Cinememory: Negotiating the Past Through Film Tues Only Video

Landmark Guild 45th:

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross) Fri-Thurs
Café Society (Woody Allen) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross) Fri-Thurs
Café Society (Woody Allen) Fri-Thurs
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
Kabali (Pa. Ranjith) Fri-Thurs In Tamil with subtitles & Telugu without subtitles, check showtimes
Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffer, 1968) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

One Night Only (Matt Wu) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Cold War 2 (Longman Leung & Sunny Luk) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Swiss Army Man (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Northwest Film Forum:

Legend (Ridley Scott, 1985) Sat Only Live Soundtrack
Selections from Pioneers of African-American Cinema Weds Only Members Only
The Devils (Ken Russell, 1971) Sat Only Live Soundtrack

AMC Pacific Place:

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross) Fri-Thurs
For a Few Bullets (Anzi Pan) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Café Society (Woody Allen) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Arsenic & Old Lace (Frank Capra, 1944) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Life, Animated (Roger Ross Williams) Fri-Thurs
Tickled (David Farrier & Dylan Reeve) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady) Fri-Thurs
Tikkun (Avishai Sivan) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Swiss Army Man (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs
The Measure of a Man (Stéphane Brizé) Fri-Thurs
Eat that Question (Thorsten Schütte) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

A Touch of Zen (King Hu, 1971) Fri-Sun Our Podcast
Dragon Gate Inn (King Hu, 1968) Fri-Sun Our Review
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs
Beta Test (Nicholas Gyeney) Fri-Sun
48 Hour Film Project Mon-Weds

Varsity Theatre:

Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffer, 1968) Weds Only

In Wide Release:

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (Jake Szymanski) Our Review

Featured Film:

David Lynch and Cary Grant at the Seattle Art Museum

I suppose Fire Walk with Me and The Philadelphia Story go together too well for it to be entirely a coincidence that they’re playing on consecutive nights this week at the Art Museum. One is a nightmarish vision of an insular, thoroughly misogynistic  community, packed with quirky, lunatic performances, featuring a healthy amount of substance abuse and a deeply self-deluded father’s seriously messed-up relationship with his daughter. The other is the big screen prequel to a celebrated television series. Hearthfires and holocausts indeed. We talked about Fire Walk with Me earlier this year on the first episode of The Frances Farmer Show.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer) Fri-Thurs
The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999) Weds Only

Central Cinema:

The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987) Fri-Tues
Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, 1982) Fri-Tues

SIFF Egyptian:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs

Century Federal Way:

Fight Club (David Fincher 1999) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Therapy for a Vampire (David Ruhm) Fri-Thurs
Older than Ireland (Alex Fegan) Fri-Thurs
Genius (Michael Grandage) Fri-Thurs
Our Kind of Traitor (Susanna White) Fri-Thurs
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985) Sat Only
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Tues Only
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones, 1975) Weds Only Quote-Along

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Lucha Mexico (Alex Hammond & Ian Markiewicz) Fri-Thurs
Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971) Fri & Sat Only
Eric Ostrowski: Avenue of the Dead Tues Only 16mm, Video, Live Sounds
Industrial Musicals Thurs Only

Landmark Guild 45th:

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross) Fri-Thurs
Our Kind of Traitor (Susanna White) Fri-Thurs
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (Hemanth Rao) Fri-Thurs
Fight Club (David Fincher 1999) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Cold War 2 (Longman Leung & Sunny Luk) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Right Now, Wrong Then (Hong Sangsoo) Fri-Sun Our Review 
Sixty Six (Lewis Klahr) Fri Only Filmmaker in Attendance
#Comments Sat Only Filmmaker in Attendance
B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West Berlin 1979-1989 (Jörg A. Hoppe, Klaus Maeck & Heiko Lange) Weds Only
White Star (Roland Klick, 1983) Weds & Thurs Only
Decoder (Muscha, 1984) Thurs Only
Actress (Robert Greene, 2014) Thurs Only Director in Attendance Our Review

AMC Loews Oak Tree:

Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

Captain Fantastic (Matt Ross) Fri-Thurs
So Young 2: Never Gone (Zhou Tuo Ru) Fri-Thurs
When Larry Met Larry (Wen Zhang) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Our Kind of Traitor (Susanna White) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992) Weds Only Our Podcast
The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Life, Animated (Roger Ross Williams) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

NUTS! (Penny Lane) Fri-Sun

Sundance Cinemas:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs
Seoul Searching (Benson Lee) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Zero Days (Alex Gibney) Fri-Thurs
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt (Ada Ushpiz) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Life, Animated (Roger Ross Williams) Fri-Thurs
The Kind Words (Hamilim Hatovot Fri-Thurs
NUTS! (Penny Lane) Mon-Thurs

Varsity Theatre:

Wiener-Dog (Todd Solondz) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (Jake Szymanski) Our Review 
Swiss Army Man (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) Our Review

Featured Film:

Singin’ in the Rain at the Lincoln Square and the Cinemark Federal Way

There’s other good stuff out there this week: Ponyo, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Love & Friendship, Jaws, A Cat in the Brain, The Wailing, Messiah of Evil and the premiere of Right Now, Wrong Then on Thursday. But Singin’ in the Rain is the only movie out this week that has a legitimate claim to being the Best Movie of All-Time. It’s playing as part of Cinemark’s Classics series, which means digital presentation, Sunday and Wednesday only. But it doesn’t matter. It’s the most watchable movie ever made, regardless of how many times you’ve seen it or what format it’s presented in. If you haven’t seen it (what!), you have no excuse. I’ve seen it dozens of times, including a mere two weeks ago, on the couch with a sick four-year old. And we’ll probably go to see it again this weekend.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009) Weds Only

The Big Picture:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Weds
Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Weds Our Review

Central Cinema:

Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) Fri-Tues
Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki, 2008) Fri-Tues Original Language Tues Only
Waterworld (Kevin Reynolds, 1995) Weds Only
Harry and the Hendersons (William Dear, 1987) Thurs Only

SIFF Egyptian:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs

Century Federal Way:

Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
Older than Ireland (Alex Fegan) Fri-Thurs
Chasing Niagara (Rush Sturges) Mon Only
Viva (Paddy Breathnach) Tues Only
First Girl I Loved (Kerem Sanga) Weds Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

A Cat in the Brain (Lucio Fulci, 1990) Fri & Sat Only
Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously (Patrick Meaney) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Guild 45th:

Les Cowboys (Thomas Bidegain) Fri-Thurs
Tickled (David Farrier & Dylan Reeve) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (Hemanth Rao) Fri-Thurs
Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Cold War 2 (Longman Leung & Sunny Luk) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Foolish Plans (Jiang Tao) Fri-Thurs
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Three Wise Cousins (Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

PALMS Fri & Sat Only
Above & Below (Nicolas Steiner) Weds Only Director in Attendance
Messiah of Evil (William Huyck, 1973) Weds & Thurs Only 35mm
Right Now, Wrong Then (Hong Sangsoo) Starts Thurs Our Review

AMC Loews Oak Tree:

Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs
Cell (Tod Williams) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Sultan (Ali Abbas Zafar) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

My Favorite Wife (Garson Kanin, 1940) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Wiener-Dog (Todd Solondz) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Tues, Thurs
Czech That Film Festival 2016 Fri-Sun Full Program 
Farewell My Queen (Benoît Jacquot) Weds Only

Sundance Cinemas:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi) Fri-Thurs
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs
From Afar (Lorenzo Vigas) Fri-Thurs
Zero Days (Alex Gibney) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer) Fri-Thurs
Unlocking the Cage (Chris Hegedus &  DA Pennebaker) Fri-Thurs
The Wailing (Na Hong-Jin) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (Jake Szymanski) Our Review 
Swiss Army Man (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) Our Review

Featured Film:

Mountains May Depart at the SIFF Film Center

We didn’t do a poll of our favorite films of 2016 so far, rather just a listing of individual ballots. But if we did, Jia Zhangke’s epic melodrama would have won easily. A story of a love triangle and a family told in three separate sections (1999, 2014, 2025). In the first, Zhao Tao plays the center of a love triangle with a rich man and a poor man. In the second, she’s come to regret her choice as she reconnects with her young son, now living with his father and step-mother in Shanghai. In the third, the boy, now a young man living in Australia, has forgotten both his homeland and his mother, and embarks on a precarious affair with his teacher, Sylvia Chang. We covered it extensively at last year’s Vancouver Film Festival, with reviews by me and Neil Bahadur and discussion of the film on the VIFF Wrap-Up episode of The George Sanders Show.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Central Cinema:

Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986) Fri-Sun, Tues
Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1986) Fri-Sun, Tues-Weds
Coffy (Jack Hill, 1973) Weds Only Our Podcast 
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995) Thurs Only

SIFF Egyptian:

The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Century Federal Way:

Sardaarji 2 (Rohit Jugraj Chauhan) Fri-Thurs

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
Dough (John Goldschmidt) Tues Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Belladonna of Sadness (Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973) Sat, Tues & Weds Only Our Review 
Lady Snowblood (Toshiya Fujita, 1973) Fri-Sun, Tues & Thurs Our Review 
Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (Toshiya Fujita, 1974) Fri-Sun, Weds
SexWorld (Anthony Spinelli, 1977) Thurs Only

Landmark Guild 45th:

Dheepan (Jacques Audiard) Fri-Thurs
Weiner (Josh Kriegman) Fri-Thurs
Tickled (David Farrier & Dylan Reeve) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Rojulu Marayi (Murali Krishna Mudidani) Fri-Thurs
Gentleman (Mohan Krishna Indraganti) Fri-Thurs

Regal Meridian:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Three Wise Cousins (Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

And When I Die, I Won’t Stay Dead (Billy Woodberry) Fri & Sat Only
PALMS Starts Thurs

AMC Loews Oak Tree:

The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn) Fri-Thurs Our Review

AMC Pacific Place:

No One’s Life is Easy (Kim Jae-yung) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Seattle Art Museum:

Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Wiener-Dog (Todd Solondz) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Mountains May Depart (Jia Zhangke) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
An Evening with Steve De Jarnatt: Miracle Mile and Cherry 2000 Weds Only

Sundance Cinemas:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs
Buddymoon (Alex Simmons) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

Swiss Army Man (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) Our Review 

Featured Film:

Everything, I guess

Each week in this space I pick a movie or series to highlight one of the necessary film events of the week on Seattle Screens, but this week it’s simply impossible to choose. There is an embarrassment of greatness in theatres this week, more than I’ve seen in the year and a half history of this website. The Northwest Film Forum not only has Kaili Blues, one of the very best films of 2015, an audacious debt from Chinese director Bi Gan, and Touki Bouki, a classic of African cinema, but also a 35mm print of John Cassavetes’s The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. SIFF not only has a mini-retrospective of some of Brian De Palma’s greatest films to accompany their presentation of the new documentary about him, but they’re also playing the greatest Shakespeare film ever made, Orson Welles’s Chimes at Midnight. The Grand Illusion is bringing back Belladonna of Sadness, The Grand has a two nights only show of King Hu’s Dragon Gate Inn, the Central Cinema is playing ET and Aliens and, oh yeah, the Pacific Place has the premiere of Johnnie To’s latest Three. And there’s more: from Raman Raghav 2.0 to Willy Wonka to last year’s Palme d’Or winning Dheepan to continuing runs of The Lobster and Love & Friendship. My best advice to you is to take the week off work and just watch some movies.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Proof of Innocence (Kwon Jong-kwan) Fri-Thurs

Central Cinema:

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982) Fri-Mon
Aliens (James Cameron, 1986) Fri-Mon

Century Federal Way:

Udta Punjab (Abhishek Chaubey) Fri-Thurs
Sardaarji 2 (Rohit Jugraj Chauhan) Fri-Thurs
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 1971) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
Dragon Gate Inn (King Hu, 1967) Fri & Sat Only Our Review 
Hockney (Randall Wright) Tues Only
We the People 2.0 (Leila Conners) Weds Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Belladonna of Sadness (Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Lady Battle Cop (Akihisa Okamoto, 1990) Sat Only VHS
Convergence and Cacophony: Experimental Documents from Dustin Zemel Tues Only
Re-Sounding: Imagining Within and Beyond the Sonic Sphere Weds Only

Landmark Guild 45th:

Dheepan (Jacques Audiard) Fri-Thurs
Weiner (Josh Kriegman) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Oka Manasu (Ramaraju Gottimukkala) Fri-Thurs
Raman Raghav 2.0 (Anurag Kashyap) Fri-Thurs
Te3n (Ribhu Dasgupta) Fri-Thurs
Udta Punjab (Abhishek Chaubey) Fri-Thurs
Gentleman (Mohan Krishna Indraganti) Fri-Thurs
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 1971) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Genius (Michael Grandage) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Touki Bouki (Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1973) Fri-Sun
Kaili Blues (Bi Gan) Fri-Sun
School’s Out Screening of Best of Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2016 Sun Only
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes, 1976) Weds Only 35mm
And When I Die, I Won’t Stay Dead (Billy Woodberry) Starts Weds
Eurovision: Iconic Song Performances Thurs Only

AMC Pacific Place:

Three (Johnnie To) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Paramount Theatre:

Why Be Good? (William A. Seiter, 1929) Mon Only

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Seven Gables:

Genius (Michael Grandage) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Obsessions: Classic De Palma Fri-Thurs Full Program Discounted Admission

Sundance Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
The Duel (Kieran Darcy-Smith) Fri-Thurs
The Idol (Hany Abu-Assad) Fri-Thurs
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, 1965) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
De Palma (Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Music of Strangers (Morgan Neville) Fri-Thurs
The Dog Film Festival Sun Only

Varsity Theatre:

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 1971) Weds Only

Featured Film:

Sunset Song at the SIFF Uptown

After helping launch the Seattle International Film Festival a mere four weeks ago, Terence Davies adaptation of the classic Scots novel is back for a week-long run at the Uptown. It’s a gorgeous inversion of Hollywood women’s melodrama. Sure, his heroine Chris Guthrie (Agyness Deyn) suffers considerably, but where the Golden Age classics trafficked in schadenfreude at the sufferings of their independent women, Davies finds absolution in Chris’s determined resistance to the patriarchal psychoses that possess first her father then her husband. An Old World rebuke to American solipsism: tomorrow is not another day–only the land endures. Our full review.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Wailing (Na Hong-jin) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Central Cinema:

Bound (The Wachowskis, 1996) Fri-Mon
Xanadu (Robert Greenwald, 1980) Fri-Tues

SIFF Egyptian:

Twist of Pride Film Festival Fri-Sun Full Program
Out & In: Pride Comedy Showcase with Nico Santos Tues Only
Peaches Christ’s “Whatever Happened to Bianca Del Rio?” Thurs Only

Century Federal Way:

Udta Punjab (Abhishek Chaubey) Fri-Thurs

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
I am Thalente (Natalie Johns) Tues Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

The Other Side (Roberto Minervi) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Guild 45th:

Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
Weiner (Josh Kriegman) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
A…Aa (Trivikram Srinivas) Fri-Thurs
Te3n (Ribhu Dasgupta) Fri-Thurs
Udta Punjab (Abhishek Chaubey) Fri-Thurs
Gentleman (Mohan Krishna Indraganti) Fri-Thurs

Regal Meridian:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Genius (Michael Grandage) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (Jeremy Coon & Tim Skousen, 2015/Eric Zala, 1989) Fri-Sun Double Feature
The Long Haul (Amy Enser) Sat Only Live, Interactive Performance
Touki Bouki (Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1973) Starts Weds
Kaili Blues (Bi Gan) Starts Thurs
Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959) Thurs Only

AMC Oak Tree:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review

AMC Pacific Place:

Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs

Paramount Theatre:

The Flapper (Alan Crosland, 1920) Mon Only

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Housefull 3 (Sajid-Farhad) Fri-Thurs
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Seven Gables:

Genius (Michael Grandage) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Honeyglue (James Bird, 2014) Fri-Thurs Filmmakers in Attendance Fri & Sat

Sundance Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Chevalier (Athina Rachel Tsangari) Fri-Thurs
Clown (Jon Watts) Fri-Thurs
Gurukulam (Jillian Elizabeth & Neil Dalal) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Sunset Song (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Last King (Nils Gaup) Fri-Thurs
Best of SIFF 2016 Fri-Thurs Full Program

Featured Film:

Ali at the Century Federal Way and the AMC Southcenter

There’s still a full weekend of SIFF left to go, but sneaking onto a couple of multiplex screens this weekend is Michael Mann’s 2001 biopic about The Greatest, Muhammed Ali, starring Will Smith and featuring some of Mann’s first tentative forays into the digital video that would dominate his future filmmaking. The first thirty minutes or so are some of the best work of Mann’s career (and that’s saying something), using musical live performance footage (Sam Cooke and more) to weave together disparate spaces, emotions and unconnected actions. It’s an episodic narrative, focusing on key points in Ali’s career over ten years, from the first Liston fight to Zaire and his complex relationship with the Nation of Islam (Mario van Peebles is really good as Malcolm X, as is Jon Voight as Howard Cosell: and by the way, what a pair of friends for a guy to have!). I don’t know that anyone but Mann would make Ali this brooding, this soulful. And certainly no one else could make the end of an Ali biopic feel exactly like the end of Last of the Mohicans and Miami Vice and Blackhat. Ali is also playing at the Regal in Lakewood, and The Grand Cinema in Tacoma is playing the 2013 documentary The Trials of Muhammed Ali on Monday.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
The Wailing (Na Hong-jin) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Central Cinema:

The Last Unicorn (Rankin & Bass, 1982) Fri-Sun, Tues Q & A Tuesday
Space Jam (Joe Pytka, 1996) Fri-Sun, Thurs
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (DA Pennebaker, 1973) Thurs Only

SIFF Egyptian:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Century Federal Way:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
The Wailing (Na Hong-jin) Fri-Thurs
Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984) Sun & Weds Only
Ali (Michael Mann, 2001) Sat & Sun Only

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
The Trials of Muhammed Ali (Bill Siegel, 2013) Mon Only
Pele: Birth of a Legend (Jeff & Michael Zimbalist) Tues Only
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959 Weds Only
Time to Choose (Charles Ferguson) Weds Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

The Ones Below (David Farr) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Guild 45th:

Time to Choose (Charles Ferguson) Fri-Thurs Q & A Friday
Weiner (Josh Kriegman) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
A…Aa (Trivikram Srinivas) Fri-Thurs
Te3n (Ribhu Dasgupta) Fri-Thurs

Regal Meridian:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Viktoria (Maya Vitkova) Fri-Sun 
Work in Progress: The Long Haul (Amy Enser) Mon Only
Anna Nicole Smith: To the Limit (Raymond Martino, 1995) Thurs Only

AMC Oak Tree:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review

AMC Pacific Place:

Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Sun Full Program

Paramount Theatre:

Chicago (Frank Urson, 1927) Mon Only

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Housefull 3 (Sajid-Farhad) Fri-Thurs
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Love Me Tomorrow (Gino Santos) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Seven Gables:

Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
Iggy Pop: Live in Basel 2015 (Roli Barlocher) Thurs Only

SIFF Film Center:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

AMC Southcenter:

Ali (Michael Mann, 2001) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Maggie’s Plan (Rebecca Miller) Fri-Thurs
Chevalier (Athina Rachel Tsangari) Fri-Thurs
Blackway (Daniel Alfredson) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Featured Film:

The Seattle International Film Festival, Week Three

The third week of SIFF features archival gems from King Hu (the masterpiece Dragon Gate Inn) and the Film Noir Foundation (Argentine thriller Los tallos amargos (The Bitter Stems), along with new films from Jia Zhangke, Sylvia Chang, Johnnie To, Herman Yau, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and José Luis Guerín. The capper is a presentation of Buster Keaton’s greatest film, The General, accompanied by a new score from the incomparable Joe Hisaishi. Check out our Week Three Preview, along with our continuing coverage and the Mid-Festival Report episode of The Frances Farmer Show.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
The Wailing (Na Hong-jin) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Central Cinema:

¡Three Amigos! (John Landis, 1986) Fri-Mon
9 to 5 (Colin Higgins, 1980) Fri-Mon
Purple Rain (Albert Magnoli, 1984) Tues-Thurs Sing-along Our Podcast

SIFF Egyptian:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Century Federal Way:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
The Wailing (Na Hong-jin) Fri-Thurs

AMC Gateway:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
Maya Angelou and Still I Rise (Bob Hercules & Rita Coburn Whack) Tues Only
SOMM: Into the Bottle (Jason Wise) Thurs Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

T-Rex (Zackary Canepari & Drea Cooper) Fri-Thurs
The Case of the Three-Sided Dream (Adam Kahan, 2014) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Guild 45th:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
Weiner (Josh Kriegman) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program
A…Aa (Trivikram Srinivas) Fri-Thurs
Housefull 3 (Sajid-Farhad) Fri-Thurs

Regal Meridian:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Destiny (Fritz Lang, 1921) Fri-Sun 
Sweet Bean (Naomi Kawase) Fri-Sun
The Song Collector (Erik Koto) Sun Only Director and Subject in Attendance
Nightmare on Elm Street 2 (Jack Sholder, 1985) Thurs Only

AMC Oak Tree:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

The Final Master (Xu Haofeng) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Housefull 3 (Sajid-Farhad) Fri-Thurs
Love Me Tomorrow (Gino Santos) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Seven Gables:

Dark Horse (Louise Osmond) Fri-Thurs
As I AM: The Life and Time$ of DJ AM (Kevin Kerslake) Weds Only

SIFF Film Center:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

AMC Southcenter:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Ma Ma (Julio Medem) Fri-Thurs
Almost Holy (Steve Hoover) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Featured Film:

The Seattle International Film Festival, Week Two

The second week of SIFF brings new films from Sammo Hung and Sylvia Chang, old films from China and Ernst Lubitsch, documentaries from Werner Herzog, Yo-Yo Ma, Kirsten Johnson and the makers of Streetwise, and Sion Sono being Sion Sono. Check out our Week Two Preview, along with our continuing coverage and a Festival Midpoint episode of The Frances Farmer Show coming early next week.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Central Cinema:

Predator (John McTiernan, 1987) Fri-Sun, Tues
Spaceballs (Mel Brooks, 1987) Fri-Sun, Tues
Dune (David Lynch, 1984) Thurs Only

SIFF Egyptian:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Century Federal Way:

Saadey CM Saab (Vipin Parashar) Fri-Thurs

AMC Gateway:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Grand Cinema:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
High-Rise (Ben Wheatley) Fri-Thurs
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
Colliding Dreams (Joseph Dorman & Oren Rudavsky) Tues Only
Track 01: Local Music Video Showcase (Various) Weds & Thurs Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

High-Rise (Ben Wheatley) Sat, Mon-Thurs
The Case of the Three-Sided Dream (Adam Kahan, 2014) Fri-Thurs
Her Sister’s Secret (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1946) Sun Only 35mm

Landmark Guild 45th:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program
Idhu Namma Aalu (Pandiraj) Fri-Thurs
Brahmotsavam (Srikanth Addala) Fri-Thurs

Regal Meridian:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940) Fri Only 35mm
Silver Ochre: Who Are US 2016 Sat Only
Destiny (Fritz Lang, 1921) Starts Weds
Raiders! and The Adaptation – Double Feature Thurs Only Directors in Attendance
Sweet Bean (Naomi Kawase) Starts Thurs

AMC Oak Tree:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Kaptaan (Mandeep Kumar) Fri-Thurs
This Time (Nuel C. Naval) Fri-Thurs
Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

AMC Southcenter:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) Fri-Thurs
Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Varsity Theatre:

Pelé: Birth of a Legend (Jeff & Michael Zimbalist) Fri-Thurs

Featured Film:

The Seattle International Film Festival, Week One

The first week of SIFF promises a plethora of interesting cinema, from well-known auteurs like Terence Davies and Whit Stillman, to more obscure finds from Thailand, Japan, China and the wilds of Portland, and established classics from Orson Welles and Douglas Sirk. We previewed the festival on the last episode of The Frances Farmer Show and here we take a closer look at Week One.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Drop Dead Gorgeous (Michael Patrick Jann, 1999) Fri-Tues
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999) Fri-Tues

SIFF Egyptian:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Century Federal Way:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Lassie Come Home (Fred M. Wilcox, 1943) Sat Only Free
How to Let Go of the World: and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change (Josh Fox) Sat Only Director in Attendance
White Lies (Dana Rotberg) Tues Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

High-Rise (Ben Wheatley) Fri-Thurs
VHS Über Alles presents Hawkeye (Gordon Chung, 1988) Fri Only VHS
The First Legion (Douglas Sirk, 1951) Sun Only 35mm

Landmark Guild 45th:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
It’s So Easy and Other Lies (Christopher Duddy) Thurs Only

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program
24 (Vikram Kumar) Fri-Thurs In Tamil
Brahmotsavam (Srikanth Addala) Fri-Thurs
Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986) Sun & Weds Only

Majestic Bay:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Regal Meridian:

The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 

Northwest Film Forum:

Belladonna of Sadness (Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Men in War (Anthony Mann, 1957) Fri Only 35mm
Moomins on the Riviera (Xavier Picard & Hanna Hemilä, 2014) Sat & Sun Only In English

AMC Pacific Place:

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino) Fri-Thurs
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Kaptaan (Mandeep Kumar) Fri-Thurs
This Time (Nuel C. Naval) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud (Claude Sautet, 1996) Thurs Only

SIFF Film Center:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Sundance Cinemas:

Tale of Tales (Mateo Gerrone) Fri-Thurs
The Family Fang (Jason Bateman) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival Fri-Thurs Full Program

Varsity Theatre:

Manhattan Night (Brian DeCubellis) Fri-Thurs
How to Let Go of the World: and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change (Josh Fox) Fri-Thurs Q&A Friday

In Wide Release:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Our Review Our Other Review