Featured Film:

SPL 2: A Time for Consequences at the Pacific Place

A sequel in name only to the 2005 Donnie Yen/Sammo Hung hit, Soi Cheang’s SPL 2: A Time for Consequences is being released here in North America as Kill Zone 2 by the WellGo organization, opening Friday at the AMC Pacific Place. The two greatest martial arts performers of their generation, Tony Jaa and Wu Jing, team up with Simon Yam to take on an international organ-trafficking ring led by the always-degenerating Louis Koo. With an outlandishly interconnected plot, Cheang, as in his brilliant 2009 film Accident, pushes Milkyway Image’s metaphysics of coincidence beyond the most daring ploys of Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, and what are quite simply the best hand-to-hand combat scenes of the decade, whatever you call it, SPL2 is without a doubt one of the most vital and necessary martial arts films since Jackie Chan and Jet Li went Hollywood. We talked about it on the last episode of The Frances Farmer Show, along with Edward Yang’s classic A Brighter Summer Day.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) Fri-Tues Japanese on Tues Only
The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2077) Fri-Tues

SIFF Egyptian:

High-Rise (Ben Wheatley) Fri-Weds

Century Federal Way:

2 Bol (Vinnil Markan) Fri-Thurs
Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Sweet Bean (Naomi Kawase) Fri-Thurs
Francofonia (Alexander Sokurov) Tues Only Our Review 
Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) Weds Only Our Ancient, Disjointed Musings

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Mad Tiger (Jonathan Yi & Michael Haertlein) Fri-Thurs
The Crime of Doctor Crespi (John H. Auer, 1935) Sat Only 35mm
Bachelor’s Affairs (Alfred L. Werker, 1932) Sun Only 35mm

Landmark Guild 45th:

Harmony (Michael Arias & Takashi Nakamura) Tues (Subtitled) & Weds (Dubbed) Only
The First Monday in May (Andrew Rossi) Fri-Sun, Tues-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

24 (Vikram Kumar) Fri-Thurs In Tamil or Telugu, check showtimes
Azhar (Tony D’Souza) Fri-Thurs
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Phantom of the Theatre (Raymond Yip) Fri-Thurs
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 

Northwest Film Forum:

Spring Night, Summer Night (J.L. Anderson 1967) Fri Only 35mm
I Am Thalente (Natalie Johns) Mon Only
Under the Cherry Moon (Prince, 1986) Thurs Only Live Score

AMC Oak Tree:

Love Addict (Charis Orchard) Fri-Thurs
Finding Mr. Right 2 (Xue Xiaolu) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

SPL 2: A Time for Consequences (Soi Cheang) Fri-Thurs Our Podcast
Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Finding Mr. Right 2 (Xue Xiaolu) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Just the 3 of Us (Cathy Garcia-Molina) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others (Claude Sautet, 1974) Thurs Only

SIFF Film Center:

The Huntington’s Disease Project presented by “We Have a Face” (James Valvano) Sun Only

Sundance Cinemas:

Viva (Paddy Breathnach) Fri-Thurs
The Family Fang (Jason Bateman) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

L’Attesa (Piero Messina) Fri-Thurs
Songs For The Firmament (Chris Mathews, Jr.) Sat Only

Varsity Theatre:

How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town (Jeremy Lalonde) Fri-Thurs
SCUFF – The Seattle College and University Film Festival Sun Only
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986) Weds Only

In Wide Release:

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

Featured Film:

The UCLA Festival of Preservation at the Grand Illusion and the Northwest Film Forum

Even before their Seijun Suzuki series wraps up (with Branded to Kill on Wednesday), the Northwest Film Forum and Grand Illusion have combined to bring yet another welcome series of films to Seattle Screens. Featuring a selection of 35mm prints of films restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The first week features Mary Pickford in My Best Girl, Bela Lugosi in White Zombie and Bing Crosby’s first feature starring role The Big Broadcast. In coming weeks, the two theatres will present John Ford’s atmospheric Eugene O’Neill adaptation The Long Voyage Home, with cinematography by Gregg Toland and Swedish accent by John Wayne, Anthony Mann’s apocalyptic Korean War drama Men in War, J.L. Anderson’s Spring Night, Summer Night, Adolphe Menjou in the fast-paced pre-Code comedy Bachelor’s Affairs and Erich von Stroheim in The Crime of Dr. Crespi.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Mrs. Doubtfire (Chris Columbus, 1993) Fri-Mon
Mommie Dearest (Frank Perry, 1991) Fri-Mon
Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson , 1964) Tues Only Sing-along

Century Federal Way:

Zorawar (Vinnil Markan) Fri-Thurs
Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Sweet Bean (Naomi Kawase) Fri-Thurs
Elstree 1976 (Jon Spira) Tues Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

11 Minutes (Jerzy Skolimowski) Fri-Thurs
Dou kyu sei — Classmates (Shoko Nakajima) Sat & Sun Only
White Zombie (Victor Halperin, 1932) Sat Only 35mm
The Big Broadcast (Frank Tuttle, 1932) Sun Only 35mm

Landmark Guild 45th:

Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
The First Monday in May (Andrew Rossi) Fri-Sun, Tues-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
24 (Vikram Kumar) Fri-Thurs In Tamil or Telugu, check showtimes
1920 London (Tinu Suresh Desai) Fri-Thurs
Supreme (Anil Ravipudi) Fri-Thurs
Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
Phantom of the Theatre (Raymond Yip) Fri-Thurs
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 

Northwest Film Forum:

My Best Girl (Sam Taylor, 1927) Fri Only 35mm
Daisies (Věra Chytilová) Sat Only 35mm, Live Score
Branded to Kill (Seijun Suzuki, 1967) Weds Only Our Suzuki Podcast
Electonomicon – Art Walk Thurs Only Free Event
I Am Thalente (Natalie Johns) Thurs Only

AMC Oak Tree:

Sweet Home (Rafa Martinez) Fri-Thurs
Finding Mr. Right 2 (Xue Xiaolu) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Finding Mr. Right 2 (Xue Xiaolu) Fri-Thurs
MBA Partners (Jang Tae-Yu) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Just the 3 of Us (Cathy Garcia-Molina) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Cesar and Rosalie (Claude Sautet, 1972) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Dough (John Goldschmidt) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Neon Bull (Gabriel Mascaro) Fri-Thurs
Hockney (Randall Wright) Fri-Thurs

AMC Southcenter:

Purple Rain (Albert Magnoli, 1984) Fri-Thurs Our Podcast
Compadres (Enrique Begne) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Family Fang (Jason Bateman) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Men & Chicken (Anders Thomas Jensen) Fri-Thurs
L’Attesa (Piero Messina) Fri-Thurs
The LEGO Movie (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller) Sat Only

Varsity Theatre:

Mothers and Daughters (Paul Duddridge) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

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

Featured Film:

My Golden Days at the Northwest Film Forum

Continuing this week at the Northwest Film Forum is the latest from accomplished French director Arnold Desplechin. A coming-of-age story, it’s a kind of prequel to his 1996 film My Sex Life… or How I Got into an Argument (which I haven’t seen, yet). Mathieu Amalric plays Paul Dedalus, a middle-aged man who recalls three keys passages from his youth: his abusive mother, a teenage trip to Soviet Russia that involved some low-level spy work, and a lengthy examination of his first major love affair. Packed with Desplechin’s trademark eclectic approach to filmmaking, integrating silent movie irises and other long-abandoned techniques into the modern international art house style, with carefully nuanced and shifting characterizations and a slippery point of view, it’s a worthy follow-up to his great 21st century films A Christmas Tale and Kings & Queen.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964) Fri-Tues
Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988) Fri-Tues

Century Federal Way:

Vaisakhi List (Sumeep Kang) Fri-Thurs
A Star is Born (George Cukor, 1954) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

The Invitation (Karyn Kusama) Fri & Sat Only
Touched with Fire (Paul Dalio) Tues Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Too Late (Dennis Hauck) Fri-Sat, Mon-Tues Only 35mm
Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame (Tony Girardin) Fri-Thurs
Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Sun, Weds & Thurs Only
Yumeji (Seijun Suzuki, 1991) Sat Only 35mm Our Suzuki Podcast

Landmark Guild 45th:

Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
The First Monday in May (Andrew Rossi) Fri-Sun, Tues-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Baaghi (Sabbir Khan) Fri-Thurs
A Star is Born (George Cukor, 1954) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Sing Street (John Carney) Fri-Thurs
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 

Northwest Film Forum:

My Golden Days (Arnaud Desplechin) Fri-Thurs
Güeros (Alonzo Ruiz Palacios) Fri Only Director in Attendance
Our Last Tango (German Kral) Fri-Mon Only
Chantal Akerman, From Here (Gustavo Beck & Leonardo Luiz Ferreira, 2012) Sat Only
From the East (Chantal Akerman, 1993) Sun Only
Down There (Chantal Akerman) Mon Only
Project Fukushima (Hikaru Fuji, 2012) Mon Only Q&A, Free Screening
Tokyo Drifter (Seijun Suzuki, 1966) Weds Only Our Suzuki Podcast
Carmen from Kawachi (Seijun Suzuki, 1966) Weds Only 35mm

AMC Pacific Place:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier Fri-Thurs Our Review
Finding Mr. Right 2 (Xue Xiaolu) Fri-Thurs
Pali Road (Jonathan Hua Lang Lim) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Seattle Art Museum:

Max et les ferrailleurs (Claude Sautet, 1971) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Dough (John Goldschmidt) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci) Fri-Sun

AMC Southcenter:

Compadres (Enrique Begne) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Rio I Love You (Various) Fri-Thurs
Term Life (Peter Billingsley) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci) Mon-Thurs
Screenagers (Delaney Ruston) Thurs Only

In Wide Release:

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

Featured Film:

Wim Wenders and Chantal Akerman at SIFF

Following up their co-presentation with the Northwest Film Forum of a weeks-long retrospective of the films of German director Wim Wenders earlier this spring, SIFF this week is playing at the Uptown a condensed version of the series, a kind of Wenders Greatest Hits, with four of his best-known films. Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire and The American Friend are the familiar titles, but the real gem is a second chance at seeing the recently restored five hour Director’s Cut of his 1991 sci-fi epic Until the End of the World. At the same time, the SIFF Film Center is kicking off a two-week series on the late Belgian director Chantal Akerman. They’re playing her final film, No Home Movie, along with a documentary about Akerman called I Don’t Belong Anywhere. next week the Northwest Film Forum continues the series with From the East (D’Est), Down There (Là-bas) and a second documentary, Chantal Akerman, From Here. We talked about Akerman and her film Je, tu, il, elle last fall on The George Sanders Show.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Pretty in Pink (Howard Deutch, 1986) Fri-Tues
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007) Fri-Weds

SIFF Egyptian:

Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) Sat Midnight Only

Century Federal Way:

Sarrainodu (Boyapati Srinu) Fri-Thurs
Vaisakhi List (Sumeep Kang) Fri-Thurs
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Saving Face (Alice Wu, 2004) Sun Only
Rolling Papers (Mitch Dickman) Tues Only
The Hand that Feeds (Robin Blotnick & Rachel Lears) Weds Only Filmmaker Q & A
Red Wolf Revival (Roshan Patel) Thurs Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Too Late (Dennis Hauck) Fri-Thurs 35mm
Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Sat, Mon & Tues Only
VHS Über Alles presents Rocktober Blood (Beverly Sebastian, 1984) Fri Only VHS
Zigeurnerweisen (Seijun Suzuki, 1980) Sat Only 35mm
Kagerô-za (Seijun Suzuki, 1981) Sun Only 35mm Our Suzuki Podcast

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Theri (Atlee Kumar) Fri-Thurs
Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Laal Rang (Syed Ahmed Afzal) Fri-Thurs
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Chongqing Hot Pot (Yang Qing) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 
Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Northwest Film Forum:

My Golden Days (Arnaud Desplechin) Fri-Thurs
As You Like It (Michael Elliott & Ronald Eyre, 1963) Sat Only Free Screening
The Taming of the Shrew (David Richards, 2005) Sun Only
Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 1977) Tues Only 35mm
Tattooed Life (Seijun Suzuki, 1965) Weds Only 35mm
David Domingo: A Super 8 Odyssey Thurs Only Director in Attendance

AMC Pacific Place:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier Fri-Thurs Our Review
New York, New York (Luo Dong) Fri-Thurs
Purple Rain (Albert Magnoli, 1984) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Seattle Art Museum:

Les choses de la vie (Claude Sautet, 1970) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

The First Monday in May (Andrew Rossi) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman) Fri-Sun, Tues & Thurs
I Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman (Marianne Lambert) Fri-Thurs

AMC Southcenter:

Compadres (Enrique Begne) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier Fri-Thurs Our Review
Louder than Bombs (Joachim Trier) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Fireworks Wednesday (Asghar Farhadi, 2006) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Francofonia (Alexander Sokurov) Fri-Thurs Our Review
April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci) Fri-Thurs
The Glamour & The Squalor (Marq Evans) Fri Only
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) Fri & Mon Only
The American Friend (Wim Wenders, 1977) Fri & Weds Only
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1988) Sun, Tues & Weds Only
Until the End of the World (Wim Wenders, 1991) Sun Only Director’s Cut

Varsity Theatre:

Precious Cargo (Max Adams) Fri-Thurs
Sky (Fabienne Berthaud) Fri-Thurs
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) Weds Only

In Wide Release:

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

Featured Film:

Seijun Suzuki at the Grand Illusion and the Northwest Film Forum

Beginning last week, Seattle’s best art house theatres launched an eleven film retrospective of the works of Japanese director Seijun Suzuki, featuring several of his classic 1960s films as well as a handful of later works. Growing out of B-movie cops and gangster pictures in the 1950s, Suzuki by the mid-60s took to abstracting his generic tales with wild flourishes of color and framing, not so much eating away at the conventions of the studio system as Hollywood termites like Samuel Fuller did, but rather outright obliterating conventions of realism, exposing previously unfathomable, ludicrous beauties in the crime melodrama. By the late 60s, his excesses got him banned from the studio system, only to resurface a decade later with his acclaimed Taishō Trilogy. This weekend the Grand Illusion presents two of his 60s films, Gate of Flesh and Fighting Elegy, with all three Taishō films to follow over the next two weeks, all on 35mm. Meanwhile, on Wednesdays from April 27-May 11, the Film Forum is showing 60s classics Tatooed Life, Tokyo Drifter, Carmen from Kawachi, and Branded to Kill. This week on The Frances Farmer Show, we’ll be talking about Suzuki and his Youth of the Beast (which played this past Wednesday at the Film Forum), along with Takeshi Kitano’s 1993 yakuza film Sonatine.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Bridget Jones’s Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001) Fri-Tues
Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004) Fri-Tues

Century Federal Way:

Theri (Atlee Kumar) Fri-Thurs
Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) Sun & Weds Only

Cinerama:

The Hateful Eight (Quentin Tarantino) Fri-Thurs 70mm Our Review

Grand Cinema:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review
Marguerite (Xavier Giannoli) Fri-Thurs
Cambodian Son (Kosal Khiev) Fri Only
Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven) Tues Only Our Review 
Landfill Harmonic (Brad Allgood & Graham Townsley) Thurs Only
A Hologram for the King (Tom Tykwer) Thurs Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Too Late (Dennis Hauck) Fri-Thurs 35mm Director in attendance Fri
Gate of Flesh (Seijun Suzuki, 1964) Sat Only 35mm Intro by Tony Kay
Fighting Elegy (Seijun Suzuki, 1966) Sun Only 35mm Intro by Tony Kay Our Suzuki Podcast
Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Weds Only

Landmark Guild 45th:

Marguerite (Xavier Giannoli) Fri-Thurs
The Empire of Corpses (Ryôtarô Makihara) Tues & Weds Only

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review
Theri (Atlee Kumar) Fri-Thurs
Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs
Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Chongqing Hot Pot (Yang Qing) Fri-Thurs Our Review 
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 
Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs
The Witch (Robert Eggers) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review

Northwest Film Forum:

By Design 2016 Fri-Sun Only Full Program
Heartburn Highways (James Szalapski) Fri Only
Following Kina (Sonia Goldenberg) Sat Only
My Brooklyn (Kelly Anderson, 2013) Mon Only
Hausu (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977) Weds Only 35mm, Live Score
A Space Program (Van Neistat & Tom Sachs) Thurs Only Director in Attendance

AMC Leows Oak Tree:

Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

New York, New York (Luo Dong) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Fri – Thurs Our Podcast 
Fan (Maneesh Sharma) Fri-Thurs
The Witch (Robert Eggers) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Seattle Art Museum:

Stolen Kisses (François Truffaut, 1968) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

The First Monday in May (Andrew Rossi) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Fri-Thurs
A Space Program (Van Neistat) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review
Sold (Jeffrey D. Brown) Fri-Thurs
Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Born to Be Blue (Robert Budreau) Fri-Thurs
The Preppie Connection (Joseph Castelo) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Francofonia (Alexander Sokurov) Fri-Thurs Our Review
April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci) Fri-Thurs
Sync Music Video Festival 2016 Fri Only

Varsity Theatre:

The Adderall Diaries (Pamela Romanowsky) Fri-Thurs
One More Time (When I Live My Life Over Again) (Robert Edwards) Fri-Thurs
Kill Your Friends (Owen Harris) Fri-Thurs
Fastball (Jonathan Hock) Fri-Thurs

Featured Film:

Everybody Wants Some!! at the Sundance and the Lincoln Square

Richard Linklater’s latest film, a sequel in all but name to his 1993 masterpiece dazed and Confused opens this week at the Sundance Cinemas in the U-District and the Cinemark Lincoln Square in Bellevue. The film has dramatically split the staff here, with Mike finding it crude and obnoxious while I think it’s one of Linklater’s very best, a delightful and insightful look at a subculture that, while maintaining a frustratingly dominant position in the culture at large (though less so now than in 1980, when the film is set), is nonetheless often misunderstood. Check it out for yourself and see if it earns those exclamation marks.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Ocean’s Eleven (Stephen Soderbergh, 2001) Fri-Weds
Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) Fri-Weds Our Podcast

Century Federal Way:

Ambarsariya (Mandeep Kumar) Fri-Thurs
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Stanley Kramer, 1963) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Remember (Atom Egoyan) Fri-Thurs
Meet the Patels (Geeta & Ravi Patel, 2014) Sun Only
Internet Cat Video Festival Mon Only
The Wave (Roar Uthaug) Tues Only
Straight Outta Compton (F. Gary Gray) Thurs Only Our Review

Grand Illusion Cinema:

The Invitation (Karyn Kusama) Fri-Thurs
Passport to Darkness (Seijun Suzuki, 1959) Sat Only 35mm
Drone Cinema Film Festival 2016 Sat Only
Positive Force: More Than a Witness (Robin Bell, 2014) Sun Only Director in Attendance
Corn’s-A-Poppin’ (Robert Woodburn, 1956) Tues Only 35mm

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review
Oopiri (Vamsi Paidipally) Fri-Thurs In Telugu
Ki and Ka (R. Balki) Fri-Thurs
Kapoor & Sons – Since 1921 (Shakun Batra) Fri-Thurs
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Stanley Kramer, 1963) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Chongqing Hot Pot (Yang Qing) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Northwest Film Forum:

Notfilm (Ross Litman) Fri-Mon Only
Work in Progress (Adam Sekuler) Fri Only
Bleak Street (Arturo Ripstein) Fri-Sun Only
Youth of the Beast (Seijun Suzuki, 1963) Weds Only 35mm
A Space Program (Van Neistat & Tom Sachs) Thurs Only Director in Attendance

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Kapoor & Sons – Since 1921 (Shakun Batra) Fri-Thurs
Ardaas (Gippy Grewal) Fri-Thurs
Love is Blind (Jason Paul Laxamana) Fri-Thurs

Scarecrow Video:

Framing Pictures Fri Only
Matango (Ishiro Honda, 1963) Sat Only
Hamlet (Franco Zeffirelli, 1990) Sun Only
Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, 2002) Sun Only Our Podcast
April in Paris (David Butler, 1952) Mon Only
Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock, 1944) Tues Only
Jefferson in Paris (James Ivory, 1995) Weds Only
Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964) Thurs Only

Seattle Art Museum:

Classe tous risque (Claude Sautet, 1960) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

Marguerite (Xavier Giannoli) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Fri-Sun
April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci) Sun Only

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Francofonia (Alexander Sokurov) Fri-Thurs Our Review
April and the Extraordinary World (Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci) Fri-Thurs
Storefront Hitchcock (Jonathan Demme, 1998) Thurs Only with Robyn Hitchcock in Person

Sundance Cinemas:

Everybody Wants Some!! (Richard Linklater) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Other Review
Mr. Right (Paco Cabezas) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Born to Be Blue (Robert Budreau) Fri-Thurs

Varsity Theatre:

The Mermaid (Stephen Chow) Fri-Thurs Our Review
One More Time (When I Live My Life Over Again) (Robert Edwards) Fri-Thurs
Kill Your Friends (Owen Harris) Fri-Thurs
Fastball (Jonathan Hock) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

The Witch (Robert Eggers) Our Review
Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen) Our Review
The Revenant (Alejandro González Iñárritu) Our Review
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Our Podcast
Spotlight (Tom McCarthy) Our Review

Featured Film:

Beauty and the Beast at the Grand Illusion

Hard to think of a better way to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the current iteration of the U-District’s venerable Grand Illusion Cinema than with a 35mm print of Jean Cocteau’s classic 1946 fairy tale. Decades ahead of its time in the integration of the surreal and avant-garde into popular filmmaking, Cocteau’s adaptation of the story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont remains, 70 years after its release, a landmark in special effects. Among the greatest works of magic in film history, only scattered moments in movies by the likes of Georges Méliès, Ray Harryhausen and Tsui Hark can even dare to be considered in the same breath.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982) Fri-Weds
Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999) Fri-Weds

SIFF Cinema Egyptian:

Midnight Special (Jeff Nichols) Fri-Thurs

Century Federal Way:

Ambarsariya (Mandeep Kumar) Fri-Thurs
A Clockwork Orange with 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1971 & 1968) Sun & Weds Only Double Feature

Grand Cinema:

Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Fri-Thurs
The Mermaid (Stephen Chow) Fri-Thurs Our Review
The Martian (Ridley Scott) Mon Only Our Review
Boy and the World (Alê Abreu, 2013) Tues & Thurs Only Our Review

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 1946) Fri, Sat & Weds Only 35mm
Baskin (Can Evrenol) Fri-Thurs
Dirty Gertie from Harlem USA with Hot Biskits (Spencer Williams, 1946 & 1929) Sun Only
From Mayerling to Sarajevo (Max Ophuls, 1940) Sun & Mon Only 35mm
Corn’s-A-Poppin’ (Robert Woodburn, 1956) Tues Only 35mm

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Oopiri (Vamsi Paidipally) Fri-Thurs In Telugu
Midnight Special (Jeff Nichols) Fri-Thurs
Ki and Ka (R. Balki) Fri-Thurs
Kapoor & Sons – Since 1921 (Shakun Batra) Fri-Thurs
A Clockwork Orange with 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1971 & 1968) Sun & Weds Only Double Feature

Regal Meridian:

Chongqing Hot Pot (Yang Qing) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Neptune Theatre:

Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922) Weds Only Live Performance

Northwest Film Forum:

2016 Seattle Deaf Film Festival Fri-Sun Only Full Program
They Will Have to Kill Us First (Johanna Schwartz) Mon-Weds Only
Tanya Tagaq discussion with Tracy Rector Tues Only
The Seattle Process with Brett Hamil Thurs Only

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Kapoor & Sons – Since 1921 (Shakun Batra) Fri-Thurs
Ardaas (Gippy Grewal) Fri-Thurs
Love is Blind (Jason Paul Laxamana) Fri-Thurs

Scarecrow Video:

Silent Running (Douglas Trumbull, 1972) Fri Only
The Calamari Wrestler (Minoru Kawasaki, 2004) Sat Only Live Music
Richard III (Richard Loncraine, 1995) Sun Only
Obselidia (Diane Bell, 2010) Sun Only
Butterfly (Doug Wolens, 2000) Mon Only
It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2014) Tues Only
Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophuls, 1948) Weds Only
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) Thurs Only

Seattle Art Museum:

Richard Beymer’s Before the Big Bang Weds Only
A Pig Across Paris (Claude Autant-Lara, 1956) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

City of Gold (Laura Gabbert) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

Take Me to the River (Matt Sobel) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) Fri-Sun Our Podcast
Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Fri-Thurs
The Last Dragon (Michael Schultz, 1985) Fri Only With Taimak in Person
Rescue Dogs (MJ Anderson & Haik Katsikian) Sat & Sun Only
Seattle Jewish Film Festival Mon-Thurs Only Full Program

Sundance Cinemas:

Remember (Atom Egoyan) Fri-Thurs

Varsity Theatre:

Ip Man 3 (Wilson Yip) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Kill Your Friends (Owen Harris) Fri-Thurs
Fastball (Jonathan Hock) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

The Witch (Robert Eggers) Our Review
Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen) Our Review
The Revenant (Alejandro González Iñárritu) Our Review
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Our Podcast
Spotlight (Tom McCarthy) Our Review

Featured Film:

Ran at the SIFF Uptown

Shakespeare is in the air this spring on Seattle Screens. With the First Folio’s arrival at the Seattle Public Library and the upcoming episode of The Frances Farmer Show on Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books and Matías Piñeiro’s The Princess of France, SIFF this week is presenting the latest restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s final masterpiece, his 1985 King Lear adaptation Ran. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as the aged king who unwisely splits his realm among his sons, disinheriting the truly loyal one. A bleak vision of a chaotic universe, colored by brilliant production design, a mournful score by Toru Takemitsu and as much influence from classical Noh drama as Elizabethan theatre, it remains one of the most powerful and original of all Shakespeare films. We discussed it in the second part of our They Shot Pictures podcast series on Akira Kurosawa back in 2013. In conjunction, the SIFF Film Center is playing the great film essayist Chris Marker’s documentary about the making of Ran and Kurosawa himself, A. K. Japanese film scholar Donald Richie wrote that all his life, whenever Kurosawa was asked to pick his favorite from among his own films, he’d always say “the next one.” After 1985, he’d answer, “Ran“.

Playing This Week:

Central Cinema:

The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) Fri-Tues
Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991) Fri-Tues

Century Federal Way:

Ambarsariya (Mandeep Kumar) Fri-Thurs
Spirits Homecoming (Cho Jung-rae) Fri-Thurs
Love Punjab (Rajiv Dhingra) Fri-Thurs
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Stephen Spielberg, 1981) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Fri-Thurs
The Mermaid (Stephen Chow) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Trapped (Dawn Porter) Fri-Thurs
Emelie (Michael Thelin) Fri & Sat Only
Theeb (Naji Abu Nowar) Tues Only
Smoke Signals (Chris Eyre) Weds Only Free Screening

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Requiem for the American Dream (Peter D. Hutchison, Kelly Nyks & Jared P. Scott ) Fri, Mon-Thurs Only Our Review
City of Women (Federico Fellini, 1981) Fri-Thurs
The Sprocket Society presents Saturday Secret Matinees Sat Only
Birthright with Darktown Revue (Oscar Micheaux, 1939 & 1931) Sun Only
UFO Night with Intergalactic Space Busk & Teenagers from Outer Space (Ian Volpi, Tom Graeff, 2016 & 1959) Mon Only Video

Landmark Guild 45th Theatre:

Hello My Name is Doris (Michael Showalter) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Oopiri (Vamsi Paidipally) Fri-Thurs In Telugu
Thozha (Vamsi Paidipally) Fri-Thurs In Tamil
Kapoor & Sons – Since 1921 (Shakun Batra) Fri-Thurs
Hello My Name is Doris (Michael Showalter) Fri-Thurs
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Stephen Spielberg, 1981) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Hello My Name is Doris (Michael Showalter) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Songs My Brother Taught Me (Chloe Zhao) Fri-Sun Only
I Knew Her Well (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965) Fri-Mon Only
Trapped (Dawn Porter) Fri-Thurs
The Lost Arcade (Kurt Vincent) Sun Only
Sex & Broadcasting (Tim K Smith, 2014) Weds Only
Festival of (In)Appropriation (Jaimie Baron, Lauren Berliner & Greg Cohen) Weds Only
Until the End of the World (Wim Wenders, 1991) Thurs Only Director’s Cut

AMC Pacific Place:

The Mermaid (Stephen Chow) Fri-Thurs Our Review

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Kapoor & Sons – Since 1921 (Shakun Batra) Fri-Thurs
Ardaas (Gippy Grewal) Fri-Thurs
Hello My Name is Doris (Michael Showalter) Fri-Thurs
Love is Blind (Jason Paul Laxamana) Fri-Thurs

Scarecrow Video Screening Room:

Sci-Fi Commons Secret Movie Fri Only
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978) Sat Only
Young Cassidy (Jack Cardiff & John Ford, 1965) Sun Only
The Future (Miranda July, 2011) Sun Only
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967) Mon Only
In Cold Blood (Richard Brooks, 1967) Tues Only
Lust for Life (Vincente Minnelli, 1956) Weds Only
3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977) Thurs Only

Seattle Art Museum:

Antoine and Antoinette (Jacques Becker, 1947) Thurs Only

Landmark Seven Gables:

City of Gold (Laura Gabbert) Fri-Thurs

SIFF Film Center:

A.K. (Chris Marker, 1985) Fri-Sun
Aferim! (Radu Jude) Fri-Sun, Tues-Thurs
Cemetery of Splendour (Apichatpong Weerasethakul) Mon Only
Buena Vista Social Club (Wim Wenders, 1999) Weds Only

SIFF Cinema Uptown:

Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) Fri-Thurs Our Podcast
Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Fri-Thurs
Pina (In 3D) (Wim Wenders, 2011) Weds Only

Sundance Cinemas:

Krisha (Trey Edward Shults) Fri-Thurs

Varsity Theatre:

Get a Job (Dylan Kidd) Fri-Thurs
The Confirmation (Bob Nelson) Fri-Thurs
Fastball (Jonathan Hock) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

The Witch (Robert Eggers) Our Review
Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen) Our Review
The Revenant (Alejandro González Iñárritu) Our Review
The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) Our Podcast
Brooklyn (John Crowley) Our Review
Spotlight (Tom McCarthy) Our Review