August 2010
FILM
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns '
Plaza Classic Film Festival — The El Paso Community Foundation will host its 3rd annual classic and “semi-classic” movie in The Plaza’s Main Theatre, Philanthropy Theatre and outdoor Festival Plaza Aug. 5-15. Billed as the “world’s largest classic film festival,” movies of all genres will be presented from the golden age of cinema to more recent favorites. Special film talks with celebrities and scholars, live music events are also planned. Age 13 and older only admitted for all R-rated films. Individual tickets available through Ticketmaster. All-festival pass: $150. Information: 533-4020 or plazaclassic.com.
Special guests for the festival include actress Debby Reynolds (who was born in El Paso), film historian Nick Clooney (father of George Clooney) and director Peter Bogdanovich.
Special events:
• “Plaza Days” Open House events are 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 5-6, and 11 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, Aug. 10 and Aug. 12, featuring organ music on the full hour and the Western Skies Light Show and cartoon on the half hour. Admission is free.
• The opening night film is the 60th anniversary showing of “Sunset Blvd” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, in the Kendle Kidd Performance Hall with guests actress Nancy Olson Livingston and film historian Nick Clooney. Admission: $20.
• “The Good, The Bad, The Indie v06” showcase of El Paso area shorts at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5. Screenings are preceded by a live concert; artists to be announced. Admission is free.
• A free talk and book signing of “El Paso’s Historic Movie Palaces” with author Cynthia Haines is 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6, in the Philanthropy Theatre.
• A screening of the 1952 musical “Singin’ In The Rain” with special guests Debbie Reynolds and Nick Cloony is 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, preceded by a free film talk at 6 p.m. in the Camino Real Dome Bar, 101 S. El Paso. Tickets: $10.
A reception for Debbie Reynolds follows at 9:30 p.m.; location to be determined. Tickets: $15.
• The screening of the restored silent film classic, Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” is 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, in Kendle Kidd Performance Hall, with special live musical accompaniment by The Alloy Orchestra. Tickets: $8. A film talk precedes the screening at 6 p.m. in the Dome Bar.
• Art House for Kids” showing are 1:30 p.m. Aug. 10 and 12, in the Kendle Kidd Performance Hall. Tuesday’s presentation is “Amazing Animation,” and Thursday’s is “Amazing Shorts.” Tickets: $2.
• Pecha Kucha Night is 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, at Dome Bar featuring a gathering of creative individuals to share their work and ideas in a casual environment. Admission is free.
• “Picture Show: A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich” is 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, in the Philanthropy Theatre. Tickets: $10 (free for festival passholders).
In conjunction with the event, Bogdanovich will introduce the screening of his film “The Last Picture Show” (Rated R) at 8 p.m. in the Kendle Kidd Performance Hall. A free film talk precedes the screening at 6 p.m. in Dome Bar.
Kendle Kidd Performance Hall (main theatre) films:
• The African Queen (– 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6, preceded by a free film talk at the Dome Bar. $8.
• Saturday Night Fever — 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6 (Rated R). Tickets: $6
• The Paleface — 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug 7. Tickets: $4
• The Absent-Minded Professor — 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, with special guest Nancy Olson Livingston. Tickets: $4.
• Picnic — 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. World Premiere of Sony’s restoration. Tickets: $4.
• Easy Rider — 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug 7 (Rated R). Tickets: $6
• The Bridge on the River Kwai — 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8. World premiere of Sony’s restoration. Tickets: $8.
• All About Eve — 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 9. Tickets: $4.
• Leave Her to Heaven — 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9. Tickets: $4.
• Pillow Talk — 3:30 p.m. Monday, Aug 9. Tickets: $4.
• Charade — 7 p.m. Monday, Aug 9. Tickets: $8. Free film talk at 6 p.m. at the Dome Bar.
• The Time Machine — 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10; 50th anniversary screening. Tickets: $4.
• Forbidden Planet — 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug 10. Tickets: $4.
• Vámonos con Pancho Villa! — 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug 10. Tickets: $8.
• Island of Lost Souls — 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11. Tickets: $4.
• Cat People — 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11. Tickets: $4.
• The Godfather (Rated R) — 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug 11, with free film talk at 5:30 p.m. in Dome Bar. Tickets: $8.
• Tarzan the Ape Man — 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug 12. Tickets: $4.
• Tarzan and His Mate — 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12. Tickets: $4.
• Jaws — 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12; 35th anniversary presentation with a free film talk at 5:30 p.m. in Dome Bar. Tickets: $8.
• Murder, My Sweet — 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 13. Tickets: $4.
• The Lady from Shanghai — 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13. Tickets: $4.
• Touch of Evil — 3:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, with introduction by special guest Peter Bogdanovich. Tickets: $4.
• Psycho — 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, introduced by special guest Peter Bogdanovich; 50th anniversary presentation with free film talk at 6 p.m. in Dome Bar. Tickets: $8.
• The Shining — 10 p.m. Friday, Aug 13. Tickets: $6.
• The Magnificent Seven — 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug 14; 50th anniversary. Tickets: $4.
• The Red Shoes — 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug 14. Tickets: $4.
• Gold Diggers of 1935 — 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug 14. Tickets: $4.
• Breathless (À bout de souffle) — 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug 14; 50th anniversary presentation. Tickets: $6.
• Sleeping Beauty — 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug 15. Tickets: $6.
• The General — 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15. Buster Keaton silent film with live organ accompaniment by Walt Strony. Tickets: $8.
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid — 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15. Tickets: $8.
Philanthropy Theatre films (admission is $2):
• Dr. No — 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6.
• Heavy Metal — 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6 (Rated R).
• A Fistful of Dollars – 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug 7.
• Yojimbo — 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug 7.
• Cléo from 5 to 7 — 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug 7.
• Youth of the Beast — 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13.
• The Sentimental Engine Slayer — 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 8.
• Citizen Kane — 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8.
• Stagecoach — 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8.
• Que viva Mexico — 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8.
• Fly Away Home — 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug 9.
• Howl’s Moving Castle — 4 p.m. Monday, Aug 9.
• Wild Strawberries — 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug 9.
• Swiss Family Robinson — 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug 10.
• Rashômon— 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug 10; 60th anniversary celebration, with a free film talk at 6 p.m. at the Dome Bar.
• The Bellboy — 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11.
• The Nutty Professor — 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11.
• The Dry Land (Rated R) — 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, with appearance by El Paso native, director Ryan Piers Williams. Donation: $10.
• For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism — 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, with the documentary’s director and film critic Gerald Peary.
• Eyes Without a Face — 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12; 50th anniversary presentation.
• The Never-Ending Story — 1:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13.
• Explorers — 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13.
• The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu) — 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug 13.
• Ilegales – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug 14.
• The Big Lebowski (Rated R) — 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug 14.
• Best of The Dallas Video Fest — 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, with special guest presenter Bart Weiss.
• Seven Samurai — 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug 15.
Arts Festival Plaza free outdoor movies are 9 p.m. preceded by live music at 8 p.m.:
• Friday, Aug. 6 — Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie” with The Lusitania in concert
• Saturday, Aug. 7 — “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Live performer to be announced.
• Friday, Aug. 13 — “Airplane” with Black Coyote in concert.
• Saturday, Aug. 14 — to be announced.
‘An Inconvenient Truth’ — The Al Gore’s global warming documentary is 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, as part of the “Hot Topic Wednesday” film series at Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. Admission is free. Information: 532-7273.
Queer Cinema — Frontera Pride Film Festival and Rio Grande Adelante will host the film series 7 to 9 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at Fellini Film Cafe, 220 Cincinnati. Viewing is free with $7 food purchase. Information: 929-9282 or rgadelante.org.
• Aug. 10 — “The Closet,” directed by Francis Veber.
• Aug. 24 — “Everyone,” directed by Bill Marchant.
Roll the Film at the Park — El Paso Parks and Recreation Department will host free movies this summer at 8:30 p.m. selected Wednesdays, at various local parks.
Films/location:
• Aug. 11 — Carolina Park, 563 N. Carolina
• Aug. 18 – Galatzan Park, 650 Wallenberg.
Texas Film Round-Up — Texas Archive of the Moving Image will bring its traveling media show to El Paso 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14-15, in the Plaza Theatre, in conjunction with the Plaza Classic Film Festival. Area residents can bring their Texas-related films and videos to the Texas Film Round-Up table to sign up for free digitization services. The program is open to any Texas-related films including home movies, amateur films, local television productions, advertisements, industrial films, government films and more. Service is free. Information: (512) 485-3073 or texasfilmroundup.org.
A selection of films representing Texas history and culture, chosen from those contributed during the event, will be added to TAMI video library in early 2011.
Pax Christi Film Series — The series presents the overview of the scourge of nuclear weapons and their existence from the 1940s to today with “Hiroshima: Repentance and Renewal,” 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug 15, at Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services’ Mother Teresa Center, 2400 E. Yandell (between Piedras and Cotton). Hosted by Pax Christi El Paso and the Peace & Justice Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. Admission is free, donations welcome. Information: 497-0384.
Combining archival materials, quotes, and interviews with and footage of peace activists, the film uses the annual Hiroshima Day events at Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico to provide information about nuclear weapons and action suggestions.
Holocaust Museum Cinema Sundays — El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center, 715 Oregon, hosts free showings of Holocaust, genocide and racism-related films at 2 p.m. the last Sunday of the month. Age 18 and younger not permitted without parent or guardian. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Information: 351-0048, ext. 24 or maribel@elpasoholocaustmuseum.org. Web: elpasoholocaustmuseum.org.
Movies in the Canyon — Free movies will be shown selected nights August and September at the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater. Concessions available (no food or beverages may be brought in). For schedule and other information, go to moviesinthecanyon.com.
‘A Day at the Movies’ — The Jewish Federation of El Paso and the Inter-American Jewish Studies Program present recent Jewish films 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 5, at the Rubin Center on the UTEP campus. Cost is $20 ($14 members, UTEP students) for all day, or $12 ($8 members, students) for one feature plus shorts. Advance discount available. Reservations recommended: 584-4437 for jewishelpaso.org.
• 10:30 a.m. “Divan” (all ages)
• 12:15 p.m. — “180 Degrees of Jerusalem” (teens and older)
• 1 p.m. — “Nora’s Will” (preteens and older)
Fountain Theatre — 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 1/2 block south of the plaza in Mesilla. The historic theater, operated by the Mesilla Valley Film Society, features films at 7:30 p.m. nightly, plus 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Foreign language films include subtitles. Admission: $7 ($6 seniors and students with ID; all seats for matinees; $5 society members and children); $5 on Wednesday. Information, schedule: (575) 524-8287 or mesillavalleyfilm.org.
• July 30-Aug. 5 — “Harry Brown.” Harry Brown (Michael Caine) is an old man with a dying wife, who lives in a London housing estate controlled by a drug gang. When his best friend is killed by gangs, Harry takes the law into his own hands. Rated R.
• Aug. 6-12 — “The Secret in Their Eyes,” Winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Ricardo Darin is Benjamin, a criminal-court investigator who is tormented by the unsolved 1974 rape and murder of a young bride. Rated R.
• Aug. 13-19 — “Please Give.” Catherine Keener plays Kate, a New Yorker who runs a furniture store with her husband, Alex (Oliver Platt). “We buy from the children of dead people” he notes. Kate feels guilt because of the thriving business, her daughter, her roving husband and her neighbor Andra, an old lady whose death will mean that Kate and Alex can annex her apartment. Rated R.
• Aug. 20-26 — “Ondine.” Fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrell) is a recovering alcoholic with a young, wheelchair-bound daughter. Life is tough until the day he raises his nets and discovers a woman trapped inside, clinging for life. The arrival of Ondine (Alicia Bachleda) brings romance and a rejuvenated trade as schools of fish swim into his nets. Rated PG-13.
• Aug. 27-Sept 2 — “The Wind Journeys.” The film tells the story of an aging accordion player and the young musician he’s reluctantly allowed to accompany on his trek north. Rating equivalent to PG-13.
CinéMatinee Film Series — Films with western, rural or New Mexico themes (as well as other special selections) are shown at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Fountain Theatre, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 1/2 block south of the plaza in Mesilla. Admission: $4 ($1 for Mesilla Valley Film Society members), unless otherwise listed. Information: (575) 524-8287 (leave message) or mesillavalleyfilm.org.
• Aug. 7 – “Red Rock West.” Nicholas Cage is a poor but honest drifter who arrives, nearly broke, in the small Western town of Red Rock. He walks into the local saloon, and is mistaken by the owner (J.T. Walsh) for the professional killer from Texas that Walsh has hired to murder his wife (Laura Flynn Boyle).
• Aug. 14 — ”Redskin.” New Mexico had only been a state for 17 years when Paramount sent a crew to Acoma Pueblo, outside Albuquerque, to film this silent picture. Richard Dix plays a Navajo who was abducted and sent to a government boarding school as a child. His partial assimilation into white society leaves him neither Indian nor white, just “Redskin.”
• Aug. 21 — “One Man’s Hero.” The true story of John Riley and the San Patricio Regiment on the battlefields of the Mexican-American war. Half of the soldiers in the U.S. Army in the 1840s were Irish, having fled famine in their homeland for the promise of American citizenship.
• Aug. 28 — “The Spanish Room.” Made in New Mexico. A feature length documentary about Yjastros: The American Flamenco Repertory Company, based out of the National Institute of Flamenco in Albuquerque.
Special guest filmmaker Chris Roybal will be present for the screening.
New Mexico Museum of Space History — Alamogordo, N.M. The museum’s Tombaugh IMAX Dome Theater presents:
• “Hubble” (11 a.m., noon and 2, 4 and 5 p.m.). Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, audiences will blast off alongside the Atlantis STS-125 crew, witness some of the most challenging spacewalks ever performed, and experience firsthand Hubble’s awe-inspiring imagery, from the heart of the Orion Nebula and our Milky Way to the edge of the observable universe.
• “9 Planets and Counting” (1 and 3 p.m.). Learn amazing facts about planets, moons and stars in the solar system and discover whether Pluto is really a planet or not. Featured with planetarium show.
Tickets: $6 ($5.50 for seniors and military; $4.50 ages 4-12). Ages 3 and under free for all shows. Planetarium show is $3.50. Information: (877) 333-6589 or (575) 437-2840 or nmspacemuseum.org.
Jay’s Film Forecast — Film historian Jay Duncan prepared this list of top monthly “Coming Attractions” for movie fans, listed by studio and release date. Release dates are subject to change.
Aug. 6:
• Flipped (Warner Bros.) — Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe, Rebecca De Mornay. Directed by Rob Reiner.
• Mao’s Last Dancer (ATO Pictures) — Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan. Directed by Bruce Beresford.
• Middle Men (Paramount Vantage) — Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht. Directed by George Gallo.
• The Other Guys (Columbia) — Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton. Directed by Adam McKay.
• Step Up 3-D (Disney Studios) — Sharni Vinson, Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani. Directed by Jon Chu.
• Twelve (Hannover House) — Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin. Directed by Joel Schumacher.
Aug. 12:
• Eat Pray Love (Columbia) — Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Viola Davis. Directed by Ryan Murphy.
• The Expendables (Lionsgate) — Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li. Directed by Stallone.
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Universal) — Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin. Directed by Edgar Wright.
• Tales From Earthsea (Touchstone) — Animated. Voices of Timothy Dalton, Mariska Hargitay, Willem Dafoe. Directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, son of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
Aug. 20:
• Lottery Ticket (Warner Bros.) — Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton. Directed by Erik White.
• Nanny McPhee Returns (Universal) — Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Gyllenhaal. Directed by Susanna White. (Sequel to 2005 film)
• Piranha 3-D (Dimension Films) — Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O’Connell, Richard Dreyfuss. Directed by Alexandre Aja. (Remake of 1978 original directed by Joe Dante)
• The Switch (Miramax) — Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Juliette Lewis. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speak.
• Vampires Suck (20th Century-Fox) — Ken Jeong, Anneliese van der Pol, Matt Lanter. Directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.
Aug. 27:
• Centurion (Magnet Releasing) — Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko. Directed by Neil Marshall.
• Going the Distance (Warner Bros.) — Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Ron Livingston. Directed by Nanette Burnstein.
• The Last Exorcism (Lionsgate) — Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthim. Directed by Daniel Stamm.
• Takers (Screen Gems) — Matt Dillon, Idris Elba, Paul Walker. Directed by John Luessenhop.
DVD Releases
Aug. 3:
• Diary of A Wimpy Kid / PG
• Kick-Ass / R
Aug. 10:
• Date Night / PG-13
• Death at a Funeral / R
• The Joneses / R
Aug. 24:
• City Island / PG-13
• The Back-up Plan / PG-13
Aug. 31:
• Harry Brown / R
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