This Weekend at the Cinema: "The Congress" is NOT About Washington, DC

Greetings to our blog readers in Iceland, Japan and planet Mars!

Girl Power! Today, we feature three films starring women, which are either opening or are still showing at various theatres, cinemas and drive-ins in our mid-Atlantic portion of the United States.

We start off with the lovely Star Lite Drive-In in Christiansburg, Va (near Blacksburg) where they are screening "Lucy" at 8:45 pm and 10:30 pm this weekend; Scarlett Johansson once again delivers.

In Washington, DC, an indy film called "The Congress" is opening at the West End Cinema, but the film about an aging actress who decides to maintain her beauty by capturing herself digitally has nothing to with the U.S. Congress. Robin Wright who is in the Netflix series "House of Cards," which is actually about the U.S. Congress, stars in the film.

At the same venue, "Life of Crime" based on the Elmore Leonard novel "Switch" begins its run; the film features Jennifer Anniston and Tim Robbins. Curiously enough, it is also showing at the Tower Theatre out west in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The historic Byrd Theatre in downtown Richmond, Va., which usually shows second-run features is showing "Maleficent" with Angelina Jolie (is she the one married to Brad Pitt? Just kidding!). The cinema is also showing "Tammy" and "How to Train Your Dragon 2."

The Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., is showing "Life After Beth" which just one screening at 9:15 p.m. throughout the week; the same venue is opening "Calvary," an Irish film about a Catholic priest, this weekend, a film that is also showing at many arthouses, including the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC, and a/perture in Winston-Salem, Va., which is also screening "Alive Inside," a documentary explaining how music can dwelve into our souls and transmit healing powers. We suspect that the new age group of yesteryear Tangerine Dream is better able to perform this task than the speed metal band of yesteryear Anthrax???!!!!

http://www.starlitedrive.info

http://www.byrdtheatre.com

http://www.aperture.com

http://www.westendcinema.com

http://www.grandintheatre.com

Top 10 Left-Wing Films of All Time

We are running an accompanying entry on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" entitled the Top 10 Right-Wing Films of all time.

This list is basically totally random, though not entirely pointless.

My friend Jason Garnett, who is NOT a right-wing extremist, professing his admiration of the ultra-conservative film "Red Dawn," which makes our other list.

He is opening a new venture entitled The Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va., with a screening of "The Big Lebowski" on March 27. To my knowledge that film does not have a political bias, but the John Goodman character is reportedly based on the director of "Red Dawn" whose name escapes me (where is the IMDB when you need it???).

I did see two films on this list, the Brazilian film "Motorcycle Diaries" and the Michael Moore doc "Fahrenheit 911" at Jason's former house of worship the Grandin Theatre, also in Roanoke, which was kind enough to screen "Gremlins" for my 40th birthday last night. Perhaps, it's just me, but I sensed the 1984 adventure film had some Cold War overtones........yeah, I guess I do read too much into things. The Grandin is currently showing films like "Crazy Heart," "Shutter Island" and "Valentine's Day," none of which are subversive but you can never too sure about romantic comedies.

Ironically, one film listed here the original 1968 version of "Planet of the Apes" is considered a liberal film for its environmental message even though it stars the late ultra-conservative actor Charlton Heston.

Here is a list of our favorite films which are definitely to the left of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.):


1. Medium Cool
2. Salt of the Earth
3. Battle of Algiers
4. Easy Rider
5. Motorcycle Diaries
6. Joe (pictured)
7. Tout Va Bien!
8. Harlan County USA (pictured)
9. Hearts and Minds
10. Planet of the Apes (1968-pictured)/Fahrenheit 9-11

Amazingly enough the socialist propaganda film "I Am Cuba" did not make the final cut!

Movies of Our Youth_ (11 of 12) "Ghostbusters"

My good friend Jason Garnett is screening the 1984 comedy classic "Ghostbusters" at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., on the eve of Halloween with a midnight show on Friday, Oct. 30.

We'll forgive the kitschy title song by Ray Parker Jr.


PS_ There is a related Harvey Comics image on our sister "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" (check our links below).

Quote of the Week- Michael Moore

Filmmaker/author/liberal political activist Michael Moore currently has a new film out called "Capitalism: A Love Story." It is curently playing at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., The Carousel Luxury Cinemas in Greensboro, NC, and the Galaxy Cinema in Cary, NC (Raleigh), among many other places.

I personally met Moore at the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville a few years ago. Regardless of what you think of his political views (most of us, including partisan Democrats like me are to the right of him), you got to love his entertaining approach to making documentaries. I personally think "Fahrenheit 9-11" is his best film.

Here is today's quote from him:

"Clinton was a pretty good president for a Republican."

Special Screenings_ "The Big Lebowski" and "The Dark Crystal"

One my favorite things to do on my blogs is to promote special movie screenings whenever I get notice of them. Since I reside in a fictional town in North Carolina, I generally promote screenings in the Tarheel State, but since I proudly hail from Roanoke, Va., I also like to mention film screenings at the historic Grandin Theatre which almost makes my hometown seem hip.

We start with a special screening of "Death Race 2000," a '70s cult film that was recently remade into a bad Vin Diesel vehicle, that will take place at the Colony Theatre in Raleigh on Wed., Aug. 12 at 8:00. The admission fee is five bucks (whoops! I forgot to check that for the other films).

Just down I-40 in Greensboro, my friend Joe Scott is putting together a special screening of "The Big Lebowski" which kicks off the Mixed Tape series sponsored by UNC-Greensboro's college radio station WUAG 103.1 FM, which features a movie show hosted by Scott. The best bowling movie ever made (apologies to those who somehow favor "Kingpin") will show on Wed., Aug. 26 @ 7:30 p.m. Afterward, there will be a bowl-a-thon @ Brunswick Triad Lanes on 21 Oak Branch Road, where White Russians will be served! Jeff Bridges and John Goodman would be proud.....

And, lastly, The Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., the cinema where I originally saw "Lebowski" when it first came out is showing a midnight screening of "The Dark Crystal" at midnight on the nights of Aug. 28 and Aug. 29. This movie was made in 1982 when I was 12 years old! Incidentally, that was the same year that "Tron," another cult classic with Bridges came out. Supposedly, a sequel to that film is coming out next year. Are they actually remaking "Clash of the Titans" too?

Anyway, if you need directions to any of these venues go to Mapquest (or the official web sites of these places), and hopefully you won't get freaking lost!

Special Screening_ Army of Darkness

This very weekend my good friend Jason Garnett is bringing Sam Raimi's cult classic "Army of Darkness" to the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., for two midnight screenings on Friday and Saturday.

Garnett has done an excellent job managing the oldest cinema in the Star City for several years now.

Amazingly enough, I have (somehow) never seen this film!

Movie Theatre of the Week: The Grandin, Roanoke, Va.

Today we start a new series in which we will profile a historic cinema in the United States every week or so. I hope to profile at least one cinema from every state plus Washington, DC.

I begin with the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va. The only reason I have not been going to movies there since the 1930s* when it initially opened is because I was not around in the 1930s.

The first movie I saw there was a revival of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in 1984 when I was 14 years old, which means that Jason Garnett, the current manager of the Grandin and a good friend of mine, was 8 years old at the time!

On Dec. 20, The Grandin will screen John Waters' 1981 cult film "Polyester" in smell-o-vision. There will NOT be a seance to bring Waters' frequent star Divine back to life, but the first 200** folks who come in will get smell-o-vision cards.

The Grandin is also one of the six or seven reasons why my hometown is more socially progressive and hip than Provo, Utah, though I've heard arch conservatives Republicans go there just to eat the popcorn.

Perhaps, they will come by on Dec. 20 expecting to see "It's a Wonderful Life."

Hmmm.........in that case, a seance, even one for Jimmy Stewart, would be a very bad idea.

*-I believe that is the right decade the theatre opened

**-I believe 200 is the right number

See our entry about the North Theatre in Danville, Va. on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."