This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Cate Marquis, Jim Batts and Tom Stockman talk movies. We’ll discuss the weekend box office and review KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES, JACK REACHER NEVER GO BACK, A MAN CALLED OVE, and OUIJA ORIGINS OF EVIL. We’ll talk about all the movie-related events going on in St. Louis and we’ll pay tribute to the late director Ted V. Mikels.
Here’s this week’s show. Have a listen:
The 1920 silent film WITHIN OUR GATES screens as part of The St. Louis International Film Festival Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7:30pm at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium. The film will be accompanied by Stace England and the Screen Syndicate, who play an album of songs inspired by Oscar Micheaux, writer-director of WITHIN OUR GATES. The screening is sponsored by Renee Hirshfield. Ticket information can be found HERE
As part of the 25th-anniversary celebration, The St. Louis International Film Festival reprises a special event from our 2009 edition by screening “Within Our Gates,” writer-director Oscar Micheaux’s impassioned response to D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation.” The film shines a revealing light on the racism of U.S. society, provocatively including scenes of lynching and attempted rape. Micheaux was a pioneering African-American filmmaker and novelist whose career stretched from the silent era through the 1940s. “Within Our Gates,” one of the oldest surviving “race” films, was thought lost until a print was discovered in Spain in 1990 and restored by the Library of Congress in 1992. This screening features a new restoration that offers an even more faithful approximation of the film as originally released. SLIFF has again invited Cairo, Ill.’s Stace England & the Salt Kings to play the original score the group created for the 2009 presentation. The band will also offer a few selections from its album “The Amazing Oscar Micheaux,” whose songs were inspired by the filmmaker’s life and work.
Screen Syndicate is a side project of Southern Illinois-based Americana band Stace England and the Salt Kings. The band has performed at numerous film festivals in the U.S. and Europe — appearing three times at SLIFF in the past — with shows about and Cairo, Ill. And the show about pioneering African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux once before in 2009.
Stace England hails from southern Illinois and found his creative footing in Chicago during the early ’90s with House Afire, one of the first country/roots bands in what was to become a very vibrant alt-country scene. England returned to southern Illinois and recorded a project of aggressive folk material under the name Tecumseh, releasing the well-received “Bearings” in 1995. His next musical adventure was with the alt/slasher/country-rock outfit Jubilee Songbirds, which released the eclectic “Birds of North America” (Western Front) in 1997. England released his first solo record, “Peach Blossom Special” (Relay) in 1999, and a power pop CD in 2003, “Lovey Dovey ALL the Time” (Gnashville Sounds).
England’s concept/historical album “Greetings From Cairo, Illinois” traced Cairo’s history from 1858 to the present through the Civil War, lynchings, the blues years, civil rights struggles and spectacular decline. England was joined on the CD by other top musicians. With 2007’s “Salt Sex Slaves” England, along with his band The Salt Kingstackled another bizarre slice of unknown US history weaving true stories of brutal salt production, slave breeding, kidnapped free blacks and murder in a supposed Free State, and the Land of Lincoln.
Stace England and the Screen Syndicate
With 2010’s “The Amazing Oscar Micheaux” England and the Salt Kings set their sights on the life story of Oscar Micheaux, born in Metropolis, Illinois. Micheaux formed his own film company and wrote, filmed, produced and directed the sprawling epic, THE HOMESTEADER in 1919. It was a sensation in Chicago and other cities. Then, in a direct challenge to D.W. Griffith’s racially charged Birth of a Nation Micheaux released his masterpiece, WITHIN OUR GATES in 1920, a film thought lost for almost 60 years until a copy was finally discovered.
“I shot him 6 times! I shot him in the heart-but… HE’S NOT HUMAN!”
HALLOWEEN II screens Midnights this weekend (October 28th and 29th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse film series.
Three years after the original HALLOWEEN, the powers that be behind the original wanted another film. With John Carpenter off doing other projects, first time full length film director Rick Rosenthal took over while John Carpenter and Debra Hill both returned to write this sequel. They sought out the idea to have the film continue exactly where the original film left off. While this story is hardly as groundbreaking as the first film, Rosenthal, Hill and Carpenter still delivered a good, scary film. A twist in this sequel was that we found out that Michael Myers had another sister, and her name was Laurie Strode. Some fans even to this day question the logic behind this twist, but considering the powers that be behind the cameras wanted a sequel, I think this plot device works out rather nicely. HALLOWEEN II hits the ground running and throws us back into the action right where the first film left off to deal with the fallout of what’s just happened: masked serial killer Michael Myers is still on the loose and the injured Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is rushed to hospital as psychiatrist Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) desperately searches the streets of Haddonfield, Illinois for the murderer.
Like many sequels, it doesn’t have quite the freshness of the original, but keep in mind HALLOWEEN II came after a few of the spiritual successors of HALLOWEEN had already been released, such as FRIDAY THE 13th (1980). There’s less of the understated menace of the original; where the first film kept to the shadows, the sequel shows more explicit gore and violence. Whether this is simply a reflection of the larger budget facilitating better makeup effects, or a pandering to the new slasher demographic is unclear. The hospital setting (Haddonfield Memorial Hospital) is a fairly common horror movie location, whether a psychiatric hospital, ground zero for a zombie outbreak, or the lair of a mad scientist. It’s even revisited in later Halloween movies. It’s not a bad choice, but it’s unoriginal compared to the previous film’s deconstruction of idyllic suburbia. Hospitals can be creepy with little creative effort, naturally playing on our fears of injury and mortality, and providing Michael with more inventive weapons such as syringes and intravenous drips. Aside from Laurie, the only other patient we see is a young trick-or- treater in the Emergency Room. He has a razor blade lodged in his mouth, an early excuse for some wince-inducing gore which reminds us that it’s still Halloween night and plays on the unsettling urban legend of dangerous objects hidden in Halloween confectionery. The ludicrously small night staff number just one doctor, one security guard, two paramedics, and three nurses. This cast become the new set of victims for Michael. Unlike many slasher films, they are not hedonistic teenagers, and based on their jobs, they should be intelligent and responsible members of the community.
They do demonstrate typical horror movie naivety: the security guard is bumbling, and the doctor is a drunk. Some of their behavior; a nurse and a paramedic slacking off and having sex in a therapeutic hot tub for example, is exactly the kind of reckless teenage abandonment which draws a serial killer in this kind of film. Sure enough, Michael is right around the corner to deliver some post-coital homicide.
Even though Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence are back, their characters don’t have a huge amount to do. This is a shame as their characters and performances are among the best in the series. While all the above has been happening, Laurie’s been lying helplessly under sedation, and Dr. Loomis has been running around town with the sheriff following red herrings.
TICKETS ARE $7 AND YOU CAN BUY THEM ONLINE VIA MOOLAH’S WEBSITE.
THE PSYCHOTRONIC PRE-SHOW STARTS AROUND 11:30P WITH THE FILM STARTING AT MIDNIGHT.
A Facebook invite for Friday’s show can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/1641667752798799/
A Facebook invite for Saturday’s show can be found HERE
“They rode them down, Lara. Women and children, begging for bread. There will be no more ‘peaceful’ demonstrations.”
David Lean’s DOCTOR ZHIVAGO screens Wednesday October 19th at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in ‘The Loop’) as the last installment (for now) of their new ‘Classics in the Loop’ film series. The movie starts at 7pm and admission is $7. It will be on The Tivoli’s big screen.
The most successful of David Lean’s films in terms of box office, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) provides us a picturesque view into the upheaval of the Bolshevik Revolution as well as the lives left in its wake. But unlike other popular Lean films, this one would have us believe it’s a romance about anything else. The political and military conflict serves as the backdrop rather than the driving force of the film. Omar Sharif plays an idealistic doctor/poet orphaned at an early age and we pick up with his story as he is about to begin a general practice in Moscow just before WWI. He is from the upper class yet doesn’t seem politically active and initially doesn’t take a stance either for or against the Bolsheviks. But we know he’s a good man as one night he goes out into the cold and tries to care for some Bolshevik demonstrators who have been run down into the street by a cavalry detachment. We see a kindness in this man when indifference might have been more expected from someone from his class. One Christmas Eve, he witnesses a most beautiful woman walk into a fancy gathering and shoot her lover. The woman, played handsomely by Julie Christie, becomes the object of his desires for the balance of the film.
DOCTOR ZHIVAGOmoves along from one elaborate setting to the next through the span of the next several years. After WWI and the revolution, there is the Russian Civil War to deal with, and one thing after another seems to keep Sharif and Christie apart. So much so, that you wonder where the romance is in this supposed romantic picture. Both are married and have children with other people, and end up sharing little screen time together. One is reminded of the perils of having a romance set during a time of war. DR ZHIVAGO is quite beautiful to look at. It also paints a frightening portrait of life in Russia during these times. Hard to imagine Czarist rule was any less just than Bolshevik rule. The sets look real enough. There are many fine performances. Rod Steiger steals every scene he’s in, even if we don’t often have a clue who’s side he’s on. Look for Klaus Kinski in an earlier role as a rabble-rouser on a train. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO runs 3 hours and 17 minutes but it’s a stimulating and rewarding film experience and I highly recommend heading over to the Tivoli Wednesday night and seeing it there on the big screen.
It was a wild one at the Tivoli Theater in St. Louis Friday night! The temperature was in the mid-’50s and fans of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW lined up along Delmar a couple of hours in advance for the annual street party that precedes the midnight screenings of the venerable cult classic . We Are Movie Geeks was there to snap pics and help get the sold out audience riled up.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW will be showing again next weekend (Oct. 28th and 29th) but those may be sold out as well. Check with the Tivoli before you head down there. . The Tivoli encourages folks to attend in costume, but does not allow outside props, but they do sell an essential ‘prop bag’ for only three dollars. The bag contains rice, toilet paper, Glow Sticks, Time Warp Fliers, Rubber Gloves, Noisemakers, Confetti, and everything you’ll need even if you’re a ROCKY HORROR ‘Virgin’ experiencing the fun for the first time.
And the official THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW fan site is HERE
Here’s some of the pics We Are Movie Geeks snapped Friday night! See if you can spot anyone you know.
In theaters on December 9, 2016 from Paladin and available on Digital HD is director Matthew Ross’ FRANK & LOLA.
Check out the new poster and trailer now.
Frank&Lola Trailer from Paladin on Vimeo.
Set in Las Vegas and Paris, two of the world’s most glamorous cities, FRANK & LOLA is a psychosexual noir romance about love and sex, obsession and betrayal, revenge and redemption. Matthew Ross’s debut feature stars Michael Shannon as Frank, an up-and-coming chef, and Imogen Poots as Lola, an aspiring fashion designer, who find one another at a point when each is at a defining moment in life. Their affair is sudden, passionate, and seemingly everything Frank has always wanted. But, his happiness proves short-lived when a man from Lola’s past, a past that is full of secrets, turns up on the scene, forcing Frank to question whether he can trust Lola—or himself.
Also features Michael Nyqvist, Justin Long, Emmanuelle Devos and Rosanna Arquette.
FRANK & LOLA is also available on Digital HD and On Demand December 9, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
One of America’s foremost filmmakers, Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff) directs a remarkable ensemble cast led by Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Laura Dern in this stirring look at three women striving to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer (Dern) who finds herself contending with both office sexism and a hostage situation; a wife and mother (Williams) whose determination to build her dream home puts her at odds with the men in her life; and a young law student (Stewart) who forms an ambiguous bond with a lonely ranch hand (radiant newcomer Lily Gladstone). As their stories intersect in subtle but powerful ways, a portrait emerges of flawed, but strong-willed individuals in the process of defining themselves.
CERTAIN WOMEN opens in St. Louis on October 28th at Plaza Frontenac.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of CERTAIN WOMEN on OCTOBER 26 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the Following:
Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Laura Dern – which actresses have received Academy Award nominations?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
Visit the official site:: http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/certain-women
A brand new trailer has arrived for Focus Features’ NOCTURNAL ANIMALS.
Starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, director Tom Ford’s haunting romantic thriller opens in select theaters on November 18th and expands to theaters nationwide December 9th.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 Venice International Film Festival. From writer/director Tom Ford comes a haunting romantic thriller of shocking intimacy and gripping tension that explores the thin lines between love and cruelty, and revenge and redemption. Academy Award nominees Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal star as a divorced couple discovering dark truths about each other and themselves in NOCTURNAL ANIMALS.
Visit the official site: www.focusfeatures.com/nocturnalanimals
Hello, what have we here?
Lucasfilm announced today that Donald Glover, an acclaimed actor, award-winning writer, and Grammy-nominated artist, will be playing the part of Lando Calrissian in the still-untitled Han Solo Star Wars film, helmed by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Glover will join Alden Ehrenreich — previously cast as Han Solo — in bringing two iconic Star Wars characters back to the big screen, but at a time in their lives previously unexplored. This new film depicts Lando in his formative years as a scoundrel on the rise in the galaxy’s underworld — years before the events involving Han, Leia, and Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and his rise to Rebel hero in Return of the Jedi.
“We’re so lucky to have an artist as talented as Donald join us,” said Lord and Miller. “These are big shoes to fill, and an even bigger cape, and this one fits him perfectly, which will save us money on alterations. Also, we’d like to publicly apologize to Donald for ruining Comic-Con for him forever.”
Glover is best known for creating and starring in the critically acclaimed FX series Atlanta (which had the highest premiere numbers for any basic cable comedy show since 2013), as well as for starring in four seasons of the show Community, and for his Grammy-nominated album Because the Internet, performed under the name Childish Gambino. In addition, Glover appeared in the Academy Award-nominated The Martian, and will be seen in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The untitled Han Solo movie is set for release in 2018.
Photo Credit: DreamWorks Animation.
From the creators of Shrek comes the most smart, funny, irreverent animated comedy of the year, DreamWorks’ TROLLS.
This holiday season, enter a colorful, wondrous world populated by hilariously unforgettable characters and discover the story of the overly optimistic Trolls, with a constant song on their lips, and the comically pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have trolls in their stomach.
Utilizing music to further the film’s narrative, the TROLLS soundtrack is produced by Justin Timberlake and features five original songs including songs by Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Anna Kendrick and Gwen Stefani, in addition to a number of classic hits from the ‘60s through the ‘80s.
TROLLS OPENS IN ST. LOUIS ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4th.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win FOUR (4) seats to the advance screening of TROLLS on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 at 10:30AM in the St. Louis area.
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
Visit the official site: http://www.dreamworks.com/
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