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

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