Movies
AT BRIGHTON FESTIVAL, A REAL-LIFE EXHIBIT OF THE ART OF COLLABORATION
The third in a series looking at the similarities between Long Beach and Brighton, England. Both are home to many artists, a happy circumstance that Brighton annually leverages into a month of major arts festivals that reach into every part of the community. Could Long Beach do the same?
LONG BEACH’S ARTS & CULTURE SCENE—COULD IT USE SOME “BRIGHTON-ING?”
GreaterLongBeach.com contributor Victoria Bryan---born-and-raised in Great Britain, a 27-year resident of Long Beach---begins a month-long series of reports from the annual arts festivals in Brighton, wherein she wonders: could something like this happen here?
HOW TO PICK AN OSCAR-NIGHT FIGHT: WHINE ON ABOUT ‘BRIDESMAIDS,” “POTTER”
If you wanna be starting something at the Cinematheque Oscar Party, don't stop pointing out that doubling the candidates for Best PIcture was supposed to improve the chances for "other" kinds of films. But only 9 films were nominated, and none were of the "other" kind. Above, it appears Oscar just isn't wild about Harry, either.
SOMEDAY, NOT HAVING AN LB CINEMATHEQUE MEMBERSHIP CARD WILL MAKE YOU LOOK STUPID
[Editor's note: GreaterLongBeach.com is the media sponsor of Long Beach Cinematheque's membership drive.] Please don’t misread the tone or the implications of the big doings and the big discounts that are featured during the Long Beach Cinematheque’s month-long membership drive. That would be a big mistake. For example, as the membership drive passes its halfway [...]
HAROLD & MAUDE: JOIN THE LOVEFEST (AND LB CINEMATHEQUE) ON FEB 14
When young, rich and death-obsessed Harold meets lively septuagenarian Maude---at a funeral---he is changed forever ... and so are we. "Harold and Maude" makes its annual Valentine's Day appearance at the Art Theatre in support of the Long Beach Cinematheque membership drive.
FEATURED SHOWS AT THE ART THEATRE FOR DECEMBER
FEATURED SHOWS AT THE ART FOR DECEMBER [Published as a courtesy by GreaterLongBeach.com] • THURS 12/1 9:15pm: THE SWELL SEASON – new rock documentary The world fell in love with Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová when their songwriting collaboration in the film Once culminated in a jubilant Oscar win. But behind the scenes, where Glen [...]
THE HORROR: LONG BEACH COMIC CON RETURNS … AND ITS NOT ALONE
In an expansion that fits with its yearly appearance around Halloween, the Long Beach Comic Con has added an element of horror---lots of them, actually. Now it's being called "Long Beach Comic & Horror Con," proving yet again what we've always said about the people who attend this convention: they love comics ... and horror.
ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE: KNOW YOUR ENEMY–WATCH ZOMBIE FLICKS
The best odds of survival against any enemy or scourge---from the Mongols to the Magyars to that damn Dancing Baby---are rooted in learning as much as possible about the adversary. When facing an attack of zombies, that means watching lots of movies. For more tips, search: Zombie Survival Guide
LONG BEACH FILM FESTIVAL HOPES TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET IN 2013
Two years before they hope to roll out the red carpet, the Long Beach Cinematheque and the Long Beach Film Foundation have announced their collaboration on what just may be the first-ever Long Beach Film Festival, which would unquestionably fill one of the most-unseemly holes in the city’s arts-and-culture menu.
THE MAN WHO SAVED THE ART … UNTIL THE MAN WHO SAVED THE ART
In the uncertain days before the row was retro, the most-constant sight on 4th Street was the Art Theatre box office, which glowed as reassuringly as a lighthouse. Inside was Howard Linn, the frail, bald man who for years nurtured the faded-glory movie house until its ultimate rescuer came along.
HAVE A GREATER WEEKEND: PIRATES INVADE, CLOWNS COMMUTE AND WORKS FIRE
It’s hard to say how pirates---thieving, violent and anti-social---have come to be perceived as Teddy Bears of the High Seas, but it’s easy to see how they are staying that way. The Pirate Invasion of Belmont Pier Saturday and Sunday includes Captain Jack Sparrow’s Kids’ Treasure Hunt, belly and fire dancers, a pirate costume contest, a pirate parade, sword fights and a movie.
HAVE A GREATER WEEKEND: BODY SLAMS, BIXBY PARK, MAN MEAT & POETRY
Spend a Saturday in Bixby Park, where locals have been doing exactly that for more than a century, and in the process help ensure that this recreational gem will be polished preserved for future generations. Friends of Bixby Park is presenting this carnival as a fundraiser.
‘WATCH THIS BOOK’: FREE SERIES STARTS SATURDAY WITH ‘TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD’
Sure, everybody always says they liked the book more than the movie, but sometimes the movie is so perfectly cast and executed that you can never read the book again without imagining the characters as anyone else but the movie actors and the scenes as anything but the Hollywood sets.
LOGAN CROW INTERVIEWS DIRECTOR OF ‘SEARCHING FOR ELLIOTT SMITH’
There's this one-dimensional view of Elliott Smith as being constantly depressed. He did suffer from depression, but he was also extremely funny, gracious, intelligent and childlike at times. There was also a strong rebellious streak. In the long run, it worsened his health, but the rebelliousness also meant he was intent on sticking up for people who didn't have a voice.
JONATHAN CHAUSER: FROM LBCC TO PHONE MONKEY TO FILMMAKER
Long Beach filmmaker Jonathan Chauser says "Reservoir Dogs" inspired his dark comedy, "Phone Monkeys," in which a shy mama’s boy with creative pursuits languishes at a soul-sucking telemarketing job until he is pushed too far. But we don't think anybody's ear gets razored off.
DAVID LYNCH FILM FEST AT ART THEATRE: BROUGHT TO YOU BY A VERY WEIRD KID
It's 1986, and a 10-year-old boy is jumping up and down because his favorite filmmaker has just come out with a new movie. His father drives him out to the Del Amo Mall. They settle into their seats. The lights go down. The film is "Blue Velvet." The boy is me.
WATCH HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGEST NIGHT AT LONG BEACH’S BIGGEST OSCAR PARTY
The biggest Oscar Party in Greater Long Beach this Sunday? In terms of square footage, it’s hard to enlarge uponthe bash Long Beach Cinematheque is throwing at Yankee Doodles. That ol’ sports bar is positively geographic!
HAROLD & MAUDE: A LOVE STORY FOR YOUNG, OLD–AND APPARENTLY, EVER
For anyone who’s seen "Harold and Maude," its popularity at this time of year should come as no surprise. For those who have yet to experience the story---how young, rich and death-obsessed Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral---here’s what I can tell you: it's perfect.
HAILEE STEINFELD WOULD BE A DOLL AS KATNISS “HUNGER GAMES” EVERDEEN
Movie-casting people, please don’t screw this up. Katniss Everdeen of "The Hunger Games" is is grappling with all the questions and insecurities of young adulthood: Which boy do I like? Why is my mom so lame? Is the flaming arrow more deadly than the poison-tipped one?
IF YOU’VE SEEN “OLD BOY,” SHUT YOUR MOUTH—OR GO TO HELL!
There’s a special bungalow in Hell reserved for people who spoil movies---and a special circumstance that makes the punishment even worse for revealing plot twists in certain films ... such as "Old Boy," which screens at Mondo Celluloid Friday at midnight at The Art. Don't say you weren't warned.
MONDO CELLULOID SCREENS SCHWARZENEGGER’S ‘COMMANDO’ TONIGHT—WHY?
As I watched last week’s news reports bidding farewell to Governor Schwarzenegger, I was still shaking my head with a “What the hell?” Whether you think he did a good job, a bad job, or something in the middle, the reality of “Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger” is still surreal, the punchline of a joke aimed at America’s obsession with media and artifice.
BEYOND GREATER: MUST-READ STORY WE DIDN’T WRITE–DEATH OF ‘DISNEY DREAM’
Economic equality seemed within reach in 1956, at least for the vast middle class. The sense that the American promise of social and economic mobility was attainable to anyone who sought it permeates Robbins Barstow's home movie, “Disneyland Dream,” from start to finish.
MOVIE SING-ALONGS AND POETRY BOXES: CAN YOU IMAGINE ANYTHING VERSE?
Participatory art can be wonderful---although I enjoy it most when the participants are really good artists.
Dicier are situations like those this weekend in Bixby Knolls and on Fourth Street’s Retro Row, where everyol’body is being invited to compose poems and/or sing classic operettas by Rogers & Hammerstein.
‘RIDING BIKES WITH THE DUTCH’ TONIGHT AT THE ART THEATRE: IS IT BETTER THAN KOBE-HATING?
The timing of Michael Bauch’s documentary film, “Riding Bikes With The Dutch,” couldn’t have been better—unless you count the fact that tonight’s 7 o’clock encore screening at the Art Theatre coincides with Game 4 of NBA finals between the Lakers and Boston Celtics. I do. But a promise is a promise, and I invited my [...]
‘UP IN SMOKE” AT ART THEATRE TONIGHT: HELP DISTRICT WEEKLY’S UNPAID FREELANCERS WITH A HAZY TRIP DOWN MEMORY LAME
How did 420—otherwise translated as April 20 or 4/20…or more to the point, today—become known internationally as the day to celebrate the healing/relaxing/inspiring/cotton-mouthing/squinty-eying/Snoop-Dogging characteristics of cannabis? Why do we so anxiously await Fatty Tuesday? Contrary to many myths, 420 has nothing to do with police code for pot-smoking, the number of active chemicals in marijuana, Hitler’s [...]
PRESENTING: THE DO-GOODER VIDEO AWARDS
A friend of a friend of mine who works in fundraising at the nonprofit, The Wooden Floor, sent this to me. Great award idea, wonderful videos. Check out the one from the Wooden Floor, and vote if you’re so inclined. The winning nonprofit receives $2500 in program support. http://www.youtube.com/user/nonprofitvideoawards
