Films Viewed (June 2009)

The Limits of Control
Moscow, Belgium
Angels and Demons
The Room
Captain Ahab
Black Cat, White Cat
Weekend
Goodbye Solo
The Pornographers
Cinemania
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
Every Little Step
Escape from New York
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Away We Go
Alphaville

Key
The Charles
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
The Rotunda
Other (The Enoch Pratt, Video Americain)
Total: 16 films (9 in theaters)

Notes: First, it should be noted that the Senator, after sneaking in a few more screenings of The Yellow Submarine, has scheduled Rashomon as its last attraction before the theater's auction. The 1950 Kurosawa film is an art house stand-by, but is will be worth seeing again due to a new high-quality digitally restored print. This will be yet another opportunity to say goodbye to the Senator, and one that does not involve Michael Jackson tributes.

The month was filled with highs and lows. Godard blanks have been getting filled in to accompany my reading of Everything is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard. The book is very well written and exhaustively researched. However, in pulling back the curtain, it does take away something from his films, that magic of the small revival house and too much coffee and Breathless unspooling on the screen.

Films like Captain Ahab and a few others made a powerful impact, while others were more of a dutiful cultural observance, a way to make sure I can still make small talk in the fall with my charges. The Rotunda will prove indispensible for this exercise, although to see such scant attendance at the #1 Movie in the World does make one question how long the theater will stay open in its new incarnation.

As always, feel free to ask about any of the films viewed I did not mention. Up next, film exhibition in Baltimore in general.

Film Exhibition in Baltimore (June 2009)

(revised and with links, as an earlier draft was posted without polishing)

First of all, kudos to City Paper's Lee Gardner on his recent article on the state of film distribution and exhibition in America's increasingly On Demand digital marketplace. Worth a read.

The Senator theater will be sold at auction on Tuesday, July 21st. The screenings of The Yellow Submarine have stopped, and the most recent updates have raised the (purely speculative) specter of the theater being turned into a church by a potential buyer. The most recent e-mails have called for volunteers to help re-paint the many iconic commemorative sidewalk blocks outside the theater. Let us hope that the participants have artistic abilities that match their volunteer zeal.

Several years ago, the summer was a slow time for the Charles theater. It seems that this slowness has returned, with the era of the fake indie summer hit award-winner loss-leader coming to an end (the most recent casualty seems to be Paramount Vantage, which appears to be going through a significant shake-up). You combine the reality of the marketplace with the Landmark Harbor East's poaching of anything with any potential for profit, and Away We Go into a particularity slow season for the theater. Recent screenings of the entries for the Baltimore edition of The 48 Hour Film Project were packed-lobby frenetic and a reminder of a different time. Here's hoping that something comes along soon to bring in some business.

For this author, there is a feeling of exhaustion, a dourness about the state of things. It is hard to embrace the changes that seem to be coming at an ever-accelerating rate. The future is unwritten, but it is hard not to see the writing on the wall.

Films Viewed (May 2009)

The Player
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
X-men Origins: Wolverine
La Cicatrice Interieure
Star Trek
Tokyo Sonata
Gacy
Tyson
Kansas City
The Girlfriend Experience
Lymelife
Valkyrie
Hoop Dreams
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Drag Me to Hell

Key
The Charles
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
The Rotunda
Other (DVD, On Demand, cable)
Total: 16 films (10 in theaters)

Notes: This month, I welcome the independent Rotunda to the key. I imagine I will be seeing films there soon enough.

The summer movie season began, which means it's time to go to the Landmark. I was surprised about their recent decision to actually play two smaller films. I figured they didn't have the room with all the blockbusters rolling in.

Quite a mix of high and low this month. I particularly enjoyed Tokyo Sonata, a film which, in my view, captured the angst of recent times note-perfectly (although opinion was divided). It was one of many films the Charles has run for a week or two, hoping that something sticks.

It was surprising to have the opportunity to see Drag Me to Hell at the Charles. I had a lot of fun, as the film hearkens back to when Sam Rami made Sam Rami movies. Still, it was odd not to see it at the mall in 1987.

The Altman retrospective came to an end, and so did the revival series. It seems that instead of "grab bag" stop-gaps, the revival series is taking a break. I hope it is a brief one.

Up next, film exhibition in Baltimore in general (including an auction date for the Senator). Until then...

Film Exhibition in Baltimore (May 2009)

As usual, the Senator dominates the month's news. An article in the Sun newspaper claimed that the City now owns the theater (there is no online link to be found to the article, which I read). The Senator claims that this is not true, and there is an important meeting of some kind going on at the Senator this evening to "set the record straight," as it were. This sad situation is beginning to remind me of the title of a recent Iraq War documentary. In the meantime, continue to enjoy Beatles films, digitally projected, until somebody puts a padlock on the place.

The Rotunda, assumed dead, has returned under new management. One could go there this very evening and see a first-run movie. This new management is not affiliated with the Senator, but the film times and other information is available at the Senator's website for some reason.

The Charles theater hosted the 2009 Maryland Film Festival, which was a successful and enjoyable weekend by all accounts. It was odd not to be caught up in my yearly weekend of cinema immersion, but I am glad to hear that all went well, and hope to be there next year.

Despite this high point, it does seem like the Charles has had trouble finding its next Slumdog Millionaire. This is typical at this time of the year for the theater, but it is always the cause of some hand-wringing, especially since the Landmark Harbor East still finds a way to squeeze in indie crowd-pleasers between screenings of every single popular mainstream Hollywood film. Oh well...

Films Viewed (April 2009)

Everlasting Moments
Thieves Like Us
Conan the Barbarian (w/commentary)
Adventureland
Ladies and Gentleman, the Fabulous Stains
Charade
Dernier Maquis
The K-Swift Story
California Split
Sin Nombre
Frogs
Ann Everton Videos, volume two
Buffalo Bill and the Indians

Key
The Charles
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Other (DVD, This-TV, Video Americain)
Total: 12 features, 1 collection of short films (8 in theaters)

Notes: All in all, a pleasingly diverse month, with some new adventures.

I rented a film for the first time with the sole intention of watching it with commentary. To listen to a seemingly drunk Ah-nold and director John Milius wax poetic about their muscle-bound classic is indeed something to hear.

Against my better instincts I went to the Senator see an old classic long on the list. The place was depressing, drafty, and drab. It could have been my personal opinions coloring the experience, but there is no doubt that someone forgot to turn the heat on.

It was good to catch Dernier Maquis, a fascinating take on the experiences of working class Muslims in France, at the Charles as part of their Cinemateque Francais series. This monthly screening series continues on into June, ending with another film I want to see, Captain Ahab. The Charles also allowed me to see more Altman films, many for the first time, and the sublime Everlasting Moments, which was like a hearty filmic meal, what Berlin Alexanderplatz could have been without all that cold intellectual calculation. What would I do without that place?

I guess I would watch more this-tv. This new digital variant of WBFF is a true 21st century shlockfest, playing anything they can digitze in its vast catalog of holdings. It is odd to see a truly goofy eco-horror flick like Frogs digitally re-mastered and crystal clear, but it also a break from the static of typical cable film channel programming.

Of course, tomorrow begins the 2009 Maryland Film Festival, and this year's schedule looks as top-notch as ever. For the first time since I began attending the festival ten years ago, I am looking at a weekend without the possiblity of attending screenings due to various obligations I cannot break. For recommendations, I would point towards Eric Hatch and Skizz Cyzyk's insider's guides (with trailers), and highly encourage you to get down there and see some movies. Screen one for the Cineaste!

Film Exhibition in Baltimore (April 2009)

Well, needless to say, the Senator's dramatic finale continues to unfold. Unlike a Hollywood drama, no one following this story is going to walk out of the theater with any kind of satisfying resolution. The most recent development is that the auction has been canceled, as Baltimore city works on plans to acquire the theater. In the meantime, the owner continues to show classic films and do what he does best these days. Eventually, it seems that the Senator will be added to Baltimore city's vast collection of vacant properties. Let's hope they do something with this one.

But perhaps to be concerned with such matters is old-fashioned of me. I have spent some time exploring what may be the future for lovers of film recently. One way looks forward and another way looks to the past.

Apparently, there are people on this here Interweb that collect and trade ultra-rare films. In doing so, they allow those who are let into their circles see some of the most sought-after and obscure films out there. Via a friend of a friend, I have been lent such a film, and look forward to viewing it on some bleak afternoon soon. It is both illicit and firmly in the gray area of copyright control, two things I enjoy a great deal. As the vaults get emptied out during DVD's long, languorous swandive, these anonymous traders fill in the blanks. Let's hope they don't keep company with the Pirate Bay gang.

In another development, I stumbled upon a private video library that is trading films on an honor system to those that which to see them. This bodes well for the future. As the video stores slowly die, it is clear that Netflix cannot satisfy all comers. It is a reality that films go in and out of print, some never making it to digital realm at all. As we move into the post-object culture, it is nice to see something analog happening that harkens back to the beginning of the entire concept of the library. Ben Franklin would approve, I think.

And, finally, the entire roster for the 2009 Maryland Film Festival should be up and running. It looks like another great year for the fest, and I look forward to partaking in what the festival has to offer. See you there!

Films Viewed (March 2009)

The International

Another State of Mind

Heavy Traffic

The Big Lebowski

Watchmen

The Class

Brewster McCloud

I Love You, Man

Waltz with Bashir

Rumble Fish

Two Lovers

The Secret of the Grain

42nd Street Forever, Volume Three

The Long Goodbye

Gomorrah

Ghostbusters

Key

The Charles

The Senator/The Rotunda

The Landmark Harbor East

Other (The Zodiac, Some Dude's Personal Library, Video Americain)

Total: 15 features, 1 collection of trailers (12 in theaters/spaces)

Notes: In local news, the Senator's impending 4/20 auction seems more and more like a reality. Despite claims that he would declare bankruptcy and forestall the auction, the owner of the Senator, in his most recent public remarks, appears to have given up the ghost. The Senator is showing a slate of seemingly random classic movies until the auction and selling every conceivable scrap and tittle in a very depressing yard sale/auction taking place in the lobby. Check it out if you want to say goodbye.

In suburban multiplex news, the Muvico Egyptian 24 became the Cinemark Egyptian 24 seemingly overnight. I am doing some reasearch into what this means, if anything. I believe I was mistaken on some things in an earlier draft of this post. My apologies. I did discover this, which does not seem like a promising sign. More later, after some more research.

But isn't the above all fodder for my Film Exhibition in Baltimore posts? True. I did see some movies recently.

The Altman retrospective has rolled on at the Charles, allowing me to see several of his highly-recommended films for the first time. I also had the opportunity to enjoy some highly touted festival films during their brief runs at the Charles. I engaged in a private film lending library for the first time, and am still sitting on a rare film I borrowed from a friend that was downloaded from the Internet. I will write more about these new frontiers in my next post.

It was fun to attend a screening of a fondly-remembered comedy from my childhood at the Zodiac. I hope the practice continues and that the opportunities to see film in Baltimore continue to diversify, despite the economic cold front coming at us from all sides.