Author: Tom Stockman

Win Passes To The Advance Screening of WHITE BOY RICK In St. Louis


Following its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival at the end August, the Yann Demange-directed upcoming crime drama WHITE BOY RICK featuring Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Jonathan Majors, Yg, Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie opens in theaters everywhere September 14th.


But lucky St. Louisans  can see it in advance! We Are Movie Geeks is giving away passes for an advance screening on September 11th. 

For a pair of tickets, all you have to do is add you name and email in our comments section below.NO PURCHASE REQUIRED. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is often overbooked to assure a full house.


Set in 1980s Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, WHITE BOY RICK is based on the moving true story of a blue-collar father and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr., who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison.

Hiyao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY Screens Midnights This Weekend at The Tivoli

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“Once you do something, you never forget. Even if you can’t remember.“

Hiyao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY screens this Friday and Saturday nights (September 7th and 8th) at midnight at the Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at the Tivoli’  Midnight series.

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People call Hiyao Miyazaki the Japanese Disney and SPIRITED AWAY is considered one of his very best, if not his masterpiece. The film starts like a fairly typical take on Alice in Wonderland or Narnia. A girl is bought into a fantasy world and has to find her way back. But Miyazaki takes it even further. His heroine, ten year old Chihiro is a typically modern girl, upset about moving into a new home and afraid of new changes in her life. But after her parents take a detour into a strange tunnel she finds herself trapped and worst of all, her parents have been turned into pigs.

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Miyazaki’s fantasy vision is quite simply jaw dropping. Strange creatures, some drawn from Japanese mythology, others just from Miyazaki’s mind, populate this world (and the bathhouse where Chihiro has to work.) There are images that stay in your mind long after the end credits have rolled: an endless landscape of water, the cherry blossom fields, a massive stink monster and an ocean-skimming ghost train.

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Miyazaki’s films for Ghibli Studios have always found an audience in the U.S. and whenever one is shown at The Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at The Tivoli Midnight series, it draws enthusiastic crowds. This weekend you’ll have the chance to see SPIRITED AWAY when it returns to the big screen as part of The Tivoli’s Reel Late at The Tivoli midnight series.

The screenings are  Friday and Saturday nights (September 7th and 8th) at midnight.
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The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!

A facebook invite for this event can be found HERE

https://www.facebook.com/events/556486734503556/

The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm

Here’s the Reel Late at the Tivoli Line-up for now:

Sept 14-15: THE WITCH

Reel Late at the Tivoli takes place every Friday and Saturday night and We Are Movie Geeks own Tom Stockman (that’s me!) is there on Fridays with custom trivia questions about the films and always has DVDs, posters, and other cool stuff to give away. Ticket prices are $8. We hope to see everyone late at night in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned here at We Are Movie Geeks for more updates on the Midnight series!

RAISING ARIZONA at Urban Chestnut September 5th – ‘Strange Brew’


“Give me that baby, you warthog from hell!”


Webster University’s Award-Winning Strange Brew Film Series has moved! The new location is Urban Chestnut in the Grove (4465 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis 63110). This month’s film is RAISING ARIZONA. It’s this Wednesday, September 5th. The movie starts at 8pm and admission is $5.


Joel and Ethan Coen followed up their noir breakthrough, BLOOD SIMPLE with an entirely different but no less satisfying, RAISING ARIZONA , which plays out like a somewhat broad and inherently silly farce, but with a drop of sweetness and caring for its nincompoop characters underneath that elevates it to another level.


Nicolas Cage stars as H.I. (aka, “Hi”) McDonnough, a longtime two-bit criminal who gets nabbed heisting so often, he eventually gets to know and romance the booking police officer, Edwina (aka, “Ed” – Holly Hunter), who has snapped his many mug shots over the years.  The couple on both sides of the law end up marrying, and the two move together out to a trailer in the desert brush, as Hi tries to make a legitimate buck and prepare for raising a family.  That is, until it is discovered that Ed is unable to have children (“Her insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase”), and with Hi’s criminal record, adoption is far out of the question.  Ed is despondent, to the point where, when it is highly publicized that a man named Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson), the wealthy owner of a chain of unfinished-furniture stores, has just fathered quintuplets, she and Hi decide that a man who has more children than he can handle could surely do without one.  They hatch a scheme to steal an Arizona baby, but find that caring for a child is more than they bargained for, especially when there are so many bad influences around.


The sweetness at the core of RAISING ARIZONA stems mostly from how folks on the fringes of society can still desire desperately for normalcy, and a way to be a good person, good husband, good father or mother, for the sake and sacrifice of another.  The affection for the characters is somewhat counterintuitive, as an exaggeratedly scruffy Nicolas Cage intentionally exhibits little emotion throughout, with face perpetually fixed in a hangdog expression of a life that has completely worn him down.  Contrasting him well is Holly Hunter, who is all spitfire and nerves that make her look like she’s bursting with emotions trying to get out, and the catalyst that spurs Hi to try to be a good person, even if what they end up doing is very, very wrong.  The banjo-tinged, yodel-infused score by Carter Burwell, his second of many for the Coens, perfectly punctuates not only the rustic feel of this back-country tale, but it is especially effective at embodying the underlying warmth of what runs most of the time as an outlandish and action-oriented farce.


A Facebook invite for the screening can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/2152547018300192/

The movie starts at 8pm and admission is $5. There will be food to order and plenty of pints of Urban Chestnut’s famous home-brewed beer.

SEARCHING – Review

SEARCHING is a high-concept thriller presented with a unique sort of found footage gimmick. The entire film unfolds exclusively on screens:  Skype, broadcast TV news shows, Facebook, YouTube videos, Videocast, instant messaging, Google searching, etc. Yes, we’ve seen this before (the UNFRIENDED franchise and OPEN WINDOWS), but it’s done well here and mostly works as a compelling mystery told through the modern technology and social media devices we use every day.

SEARCHING opens with a series of google calendar entries and videos sadly chronicling the death of a young wife and mom from cancer (shades of the opening of UP). A few years later the dad David (John Cho) and daughter Margot (Michelle La), now 16, enjoy a close relationship, texting each other several times a day and keeping a date to watch The Voice together. Late one night, Margot calls David in the middle of the night, and the following day he retrieves her missed calls, but can’t reach her.  Detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing), a sympathetic single parent herself, is assigned to the missing person case, but when the investigation stalls, David cracks into his daughter’s laptop to help put the puzzle pieces together through cyberspace. Rummaging through her texts and favorite sites, he finds a disturbing side of a daughter he never knew. She’d been skipping her piano lessons and using that money mysteriously. We learn the seemingly straight-laced Margot was more unstable and deeply affected by her mom’s death than David realized.

SEARCHING timely gimmick makes for narrative limits, but also helps ground the movie in a mostly believable premise that keeps you guessing. It’s impressive how committed the movie, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, is to its all-screens format, even down to its soundtrack. If there were inorganic elements, I didn’t spot them. I did spot some implausible twists and plot points though (the girl is missing from an suburban lake for just five days and she’s not only declared officially dead, but they have a funeral for her!), but to its credit, the story is engrossing, the audience does want to see how the (admittedly trashy) mystery plays out, and the father-daughter dynamic at the film’s center seems real.  John Cho gives a strong central performance as the grieving dad and Joseph Lee is good as his shady brother. The weak link is Messing, whose stiff performance can’t be blamed on the ridiculous way she’s tied into the story’s twists. SEARCHING is a flawed but surprisingly decent flick, and the unique on-screen framework gives the narrative a little extra punch.

3 1/2 of 5 Stars

 

 

The Ready Room Presents CASABLANCA: AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE at the Mahler Ballroom in St. Louis September 28th


The Ready Room is excited to announce they’re teaming up with Talent Plus and the Mahler Ballroom (4915 Washington Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108) to present a series of events the likes of which have never been seen before in St. Louis. Tickets can be purchased HERE


Join them at the Mahler Ballroom and step into the world of Casablanca. Ben Nordstrom has written and directed immersive theatre pieces which will bring attendees into the film and Ryan Marquez will be performing his own stylized adaptations of music from the film. 


This is going to be a swanky cocktail party, with unforgettable programming, and an impeccable venue. AND the first drink is free!


I there was ever a film deserved to be considered a classic then CASABLANCA is it, Even if you haven’t seen it before you’ll recognize much of the dialogue; it is probably the most quoted, and misquoted, film of all time. Humphrey Bogart is excellent in this career defining role as bar owner Rick Blaine who has come into possession of two “letters of transit” which guarantee the holders unhindered passage out of Casablanca. He has these as Ugarte (Peter Lorre), the man who asked him to look after them, was captured by the Vichy French police before he could get them back. Ugarte had been planning to sell the documents to Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a Czech nationalist who is fleeing from Nazi occupied Europe to the United States via neutral Portugal. Things are complicated by the fact that Laszlo’s wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) had a relationship with Rick before the fall of Paris and he never really got over her.

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Right up until the end we don’t know what Rick will do, perhaps he will let Victor and Ilsa have the letters, perhaps he will let Victor have them on condition that Ilsa stays with him or perhaps he will betray Victor and leave Casablanca himself with Ilsa. Bogart isn’t the only great performance; Ingrid Bergman is fantastic as Ilsa, there is a real chemistry between her and Bogart, Claude Rains is great as the French policeman who’s loyalty is likely to change depending on who he thinks is likely to be the most use to him and Paul Henreid’s restrained performance as Victor Laszlo is faultless too.

Hip Hop Week! PLANET B BOY and GRAFFITI LIMBO Screening Tonight at Webster University


PLANET B BOY and GRAFFITI LIMBO both screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood)  TONIGHT August 30th. The program starts at 7:30.

It’s Hip Hop Week at Webster University!

Their purpose is to educate people in the culture of Hip Hop by using elements such as art, music, film and dance. Hip Hop Week will not only educate but inspire and entertain the community by bringing musicians, artists, educators and designers together for a multi day event in St. Louis, Mo.


Planet B Boy – directed by Benson Lee, 2007 – 95 minutes

Jumping continents and crossing cultures, Planet B-Boy looks at the history of breakdancing and its vibrant resurgence in urban cultures around the world.

Preceded by: Graffiti Limbo – directed by Brent Jaimes, 1996 – 45 minutes


Graffiti Limbo offers unique insight into what may be the ultimate expression of public art. Graffiti is a vibrant combination of art and urban dissent that  emerged from the streets and inspired artists such as Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. It is one of the few art forms where artists face arrest and even death as they create their art. For some, however, it is a form of vandalism that causes millions of dollars in property damage and is used by gangs to mark turf in inner cities.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.

WAMG Giveaway – Win TRENCH 11 on DVD – Available on VOD and DVD on September 4th


RLJE Films will release the horror film TRENCH 11 on Digital, VOD, and DVD on September 4, 2018.  Directed by Leo Scherman (Never Forget) who co-wrote the film with Matthew Booi (“Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan”), TRENCH 11 stars Rossif Sutherland (River), Robert Stadlober (Enemy of the Gates), and Charlie Carrick (The Devout). TRENCH 11 will be available on DVD for an SRP of $27.97.


Now you can own the TRENCH 11 DVD. We Are Movie Geeks has 1 copy to give away. All you have to do is answer this question: What is your favorite horror/war hybrid (mine is SHOCK WAVES). It’s so easy!


In TRENCH 11, a highly contagious biological weapon, created by German forces in WWI, is discovered by Allied troops as they explore an abandoned underground bunker. Realizing they need to contain and destroy the threat, their mission becomes a fight for survival when one of their own is infected by the deadly parasite and begins to violently attack them. The soldiers now need to not only save themselves, but must stop the outbreak before it spreads to the rest of the world.


The film has been an official selection at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Morbido Film Fest and Cinepocolypse, among others.

BLOODY SPEAR AT MOUNT FUJI Available on Blu-ray September 4th from Arrow Academy


Tomu Uchida’s BLOODY SPEAR AT MOUNT FUJI (1955) will be available on Blu-ray September 4th from Arrow Academy


Praised by Japanese film critics and much admired by his contemporaries Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu, Tomu Uchida nonetheless remains a little-known in the west. His 1955 masterpiece Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is an excellent entry point for the newcomer. Set during the Edo period, Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is a tragicomic road movie of sorts, following a samurai, his two servants – including spear-carrier Genpachi (Chiezô Kataoka) – and the various people they meet on their journey, including a policeman in pursuit of a thief, a young child and a woman who is to be sold into prostitution. Winner of a prestigious Blue Ribbon Award for supporting actor – and Kurosawa regular – Daisuke Katô, Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is a film deserving of much wider international recognition.

Bonus Materials

  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
  • Original uncompressed mono audio
  • Optional newly translated English subtitles
  • Brand-new audio commentary by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, recorded exclusively for this release
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic and filmmaker James Oliver

BLOOD SIMPLE Screens TONIGHT at Webster University


“If you point a gun at someone, you’d better make sure you shoot him, and if you shoot him you’d better make sure he’s dead, because if he isn’t then he’s gonna get up and try to kill you.”


BLOOD SIMPLE screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood)  TONIGHT August 29th. The movie starts at 7:30.

The Coen Brothers’ startling debut, BLOOD SIMPLE is about a murder that is anything but simple.1984 is when it all began for Joel and Ethan Coen and it’s the kind of thing they still do well to this day. The story centers around seemingly normal people getting in way over their heads with dangerous crime. There are dozens of prolific directors who could have made this story into a pedestrian crime thriller, but it always helps when the story idea comes from the person who directs a movie. That way they have more incentive to make the film watchable and more freedom to add their personal touches. BLOOD SIMPLE works on many levels, and it would have been easy to see that these two were bound for great things.


The story deals with a seemingly prosperous nightclub owner who hires a scummy private eye to prove is wife is having an affair with one of his bartenders. Dan Hedaya paints this businessman as a jealous and brooding type, but also a man who will openly hit on women who come into his club. Not being able to stomach his wife’s affair, he hires the same detective to murder them for a fee of ten thousand dollars. That hardly seems like a big enough fee to entice a man to kill two people. Especially when a crime like this would seem very easy to solve. But this detective, played with dripping scumminess by M. Emmet Walsh, agrees. Somewhere along the line, he decides that it would probably be easier to commit just one murder. To give away any more plot would be foolish and unnecessary. Just sit back and watch the film and allow the details to soak in…


BLOOD SIMPLE is barely over 90 minutes, but it never feels rushed. The direction allows these characters to come to their own conclusions and try to figure things out on their own. There is not much time wasted on needless exposition or explanations. Things happen. People react to them in terms of what they think must be the reason why. And most of the time they are dead wrong. And the film shows us just how hard it might be to kill someone if you aren’t used to doing it.


BLOOD SIMPLE has a great cast. Dan Hedaya is shady while remaining essentially sympathetic as the bar owner; John Getz and Frances McDormand are very good as the paranoid lovers; while M. Emmett Walsh is best of all as the amoral private eye. Also of particular note is the music by Carter Burwell. The central moody theme is particularly wonderful. In summary, it’s a superb crime-thriller, plotted expertly with a deadly precision. BLOOD SIMPLE is one of the great films from the 80’s. so don’t miss your chance to experience it Wednesday night on the big screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.

THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (2017) Available on DVD September 11th


Lionsgate is proud to announce The Watcher in the Woods, starring Academy Award® winner Anjelica Huston, arriving on DVD September 11.

The thrilling reimagining of the ’80s cult classic film comes home when Lifetime’sThe Watcher in the Woods arrives on DVD September 11 from Lionsgate. Starring Academy Award® winner Anjelica Huston (Best Supporting Actress, Prizzi’s Honor, 1985) and executive produced by Melissa Joan Hart (TV’s “Melissa & Joey”), the film tells the tale of a family that rents a countryside manor for the summer and encounters the dark past hidden by the townspeople. The Watcher in the Woods DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $14.98.

When Jan Carstairs and her family rent a manor in the idyllic British countryside, the owner, Mrs. Aylwood, notices that Jan bears a striking resemblance to her daughter, Karen, who disappeared over twenty years ago. Mrs. Aylwood warns Jan to stay out of the surrounding woods, and when strange occurrences unnerve the family, Jan suspects they are linked to what happened to Karen. As Jan begins to unravel the truth, she and her little sister, Ellie, may not be able to escape The Watcher in the Woods.

 

CAST

Anjelica Huston                       The Addams Family, The Royal Tenenbaums

Tallulah Evans                        Son of Rambow, Penelope

Nicholas Galitzine                   High Strung, Handsome Devil, The Beat Beneath My Feet

Dixie Egerickx                         TV’s “Genius”

and Rufus Wright                    Quantum of Solace, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Spy Game