Instant Netflix

It’s only mid-February but Carolina Cinemas has announced their March line-up.

First up: Advance tickets have gone on sale for ActionFest 2012. They are $75.

“Priority entry to ActionFest screenings, panels, and parties, as well as the Awards Ceremony and the Stunt Show. Admission is on a first come, first serve basis until venue reaches full capacity. Badge holders will be seated before single ticket holders.”

ActionFest 2012 will be held April 12-15 at Carolina Cinemas. None of the films have been announced yet. The fabulous Gina (Haywire, American Gladiator) Carano will be receiving an award for Best Female Action Star.

The Thursday Horror Picture Show continues going strong in the Carolina Cinemas lounge. It is FREE and the main feature starts at 8 with a serial starting at 730. This week starts episode 1 of The Lost City (1935). Arrive early for good seating but not too early as I’m particular about where I sit.

2/16 – Mr. Vampire (1985) – I have never even heard of this film by Ricku Lau but judging from the year and that it is from Hong Kong, my guess is that it will be a mix of martial arts, slapstick, and general weirdness.

2/23 – The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – Definitely not one of his best films but I’m always down for watching Vincent Price (or in this case listening to him).

3/1 – Dracula’s Daughter (1936)

3/8 – The Last Circus (2011)

3/15 – Bride of Chucky (1998)

3/22 – Q, The Winged Serpent (1982)

3/29 – The Cat and the Canary (1927)

The Asheville Film Society shows FREE films every Tuesday night in the Carolina Cinemas lounge.

2/21 – The Seventh Seal (1957)

2/28 – The Docks of New York (1928)

3/6 – Hair (1979)

3/13 – The Good Fairy (1935)

3/20 – The Boys in the Band (1970)

3/27 – Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)

The Asheville Film Society is also putting on a showing of Academy Award nominee Bullhead on 2/22 at 730. This showing is FREE for members and membership is only $10 for a year. Membership gets you FREE popcorn refills at Carolina Cinemas, special showings like this one and a dollar off ticket prices at Carolina Cinemas.

Well time again for my monthly pitch for Carolina Cinemas. I’ve always wanted to go to the famous Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas but my favorite Asheville movie theater is no slouch when it comes to special screenings.

Every Thursday night at 8 is the Thursday Horror Picture Show in the cinema lounge. Arrive early though as the serial starts at 740 (currently finishing up Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars – not sure what the new one will be). Admission is FREE though it’s certainly appreciated if you pick up some snacks or even a meal at concessions. My wife adores the Blue Cheese Chips – fresh fried potato chips covered in bacon, chives, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing. They’ve just announced February’s line-up.

1/26 Scanners (1981) – Timed to celebrate Cronenberg’s latest release A Dangerous Method. Ironically I will be missing Scanners which I love in favor of seeing a screening of A Dangerous Method for Asheville Film Society Members.

2/2 Murders in the Zoo (1933) – with Lionel Atwill and Randolph Scott. I’ve never seen this one so I’m looking forward to it.

2/9 Phantom of the Paradise (1974) – This camp classic from Brian De Palma was played last year – I’m not sure why Ken and Justin are bringing it back.

2/16 Mr. Vampire (1985) – I have never even heard of this film by Ricku Lau but judging from the year and that it is from Hong Kong, my guess is that it will be a mix of martial arts, slapstick, and general weirdness.

2/23 The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – Definitely not one of his best films but I’m always down for watching Vincent Price (or in this case listening to him).

The Asheville Film Society is certainly one of the best bargains in the Asheville area. Membership is only $10 for a year and you get $1 off all admissions at Carolina Cinemas Asheville as well as FREE popcorn refills of any size. They also have a number of other perks with several partners – $1 off any pizza at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company, $5 off a subscription plan at Orbit DVD, and 10% off used vinyl, CDs and DVDs at Harvest Records.

A Dangerous Method (2011) – Rated R for sexual content and brief language.

“In this David Cronenberg-helmed biopic, Viggo Mortensen stars as Sigmund Freud, whose relationship with fellow psychology luminary Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) is tested when Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), one of the first female psychoanalysts, enters their lives. This World War I-set drama also stars Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross, a disciple of Freud, and Sarah Gadon, who plays Jung’s psychoanalyst wife.”

The Asheville Film Society is presenting a FREE showing of A Dangerous Method for MEMBERS ONLY Wednesday 1/25 at 7:30. So for just a single quarter more than the price of an evening ticket, you can get a yearly membership and go see A Dangerous Method for free before it opens in Asheville this weekend.

The Asheville Film Society also presents a FREE movie every Tuesday night at 8 in the Carolina Cinema Lounge. The Tuesday movie is FREE for all – you do not need a membership to see it. They just announced their February line-up:

1/24 Tommy (1975, Ken Russell)

1/31 Lisztomania (1975, Ken Russell)

2/7 Excalibur (1981, John Boorman)

2/14 History is Made at Night (1937, Frank Borzage)

2/21 The Seventh Seal (1957, Ingmar Bergman)

2/28 The Docks of New York (1928, Josef von Sternberg)

Last Friday, to celebrate the release of the acclaimed silent movie The Artist, Carolina Cinemas Asheville played a marathon of silent movies in their Cinema Lounge. Normally I love when Carolina Cinemas runs a marathon of movies but the only silent movie I had ever watched in its entirety was Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie (1974). I love older movies but the thought of a movie without dialogue or sound effects sounded boring.

Once I realized it was outside my comfort zone, I decided I would give it a shot. I had the whole day off and was going to Carolina Cinemas anyway that day because I had a FREE ticket to see Underworld Awakening (from a Blu-Ray purchase) and they were doing an ActionFest promotion for the 7:50 showing of Haywire.

The first film was The Mark of Zorro (1920) starring Douglas Fairbanks. I got to see all of this. It was quaint and mildly enjoyable for the first two acts but the third act had all kinds of derring-do and stunts from Douglas Fairbanks and was a lot more fun. I watched the beginning of Beyond the Rocks (1922) with Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino. I was struck not only by how attractive Rudolph Valentino was but also by how I didn’t find Gloria Swanson attractive at all. I guess standards do change over the years – certainly I hate the frizzy hair look of the late 70s/early 80s. After Underworld Awakening, I caught Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) starring John Gilbert. Like Zorro, this was a swashbuckler but it was somewhat light on the action and was interesting but nothing I’d watch again.

This was followed by It (1927) starring Clara Bow. It is currently available on instant Netflix.

“This 1927 silent film features Clara Bow as Betty Lou, a sweet and sassy clerk at a department store who decides she has found Mr. Right when she meets the store’s owner (Antonio Moreno). One thing: She must convince him that she’s Ms. Right, too. As Betty Lou strives to catch his attention, she also tries to help her roommate, who has recently become a mother.This classic silver-screen tale is inspired by a short story written by Elinor Glyn.”

This was easily the most frustrating of the movies I saw. I say frustrating because someone came up and sat in the back row and proceeded to clack something repeatedly (balls?). This annoyance was superceded by the gentleman who came in later and sat near me with his wife and mother (a guess). He proceeded to make up his own dialogue for the film (in a loud voice naturally) and asked if I wanted to as well. After telling him that I was there to watch the film, the two women accompanying him whispered to him and they left (yay!).

The film was absolutely fascinating in its depiction of the era. Not only was the depiction of a department store fascinating but so was the apartment living – Betty Lou shares a tiny apartment with a single mom who almost loses her child because of her unemployment. Clara Bow did indeed have “It” and commanded her scenes.

I had only one more silent movie to sit through. So far I had found all of them to be mildly entertaining (rude patrons aside) historical curiosities. Safety Last (1923) starring Harold Lloyd was my final film and it blew me away. I was chuckling through most of the film and laughed out loud at several of the gags. This movie is incredibly visually inventive and features a climax where Harold Lloyd has to scale a 16-story building. I will definitely be looking to see more of Harold Lloyd’s films when I have time.

While none of Harold Lloyd’s films are on instant Netflix, It with Clara Bow is available as are several of Douglas Fairbanks’ films: The Thief of Baghdad (1924), The Iron Mask (1929), and The Black Pirate (1926).

I like Shakespeare and always have since my mother took me to see Hamlet oh so many years ago. I find his themes to be intricate and his wordsmithery (okay maybe that is not a word but it should be) fabulous. I never cared much for his comedies but enjoyed his tragedies and the few histories I had seen. My wife never cared much for Shakespeare and thought him to be the most overrated playwright ever. Both of our opinions lasted until a few years ago.

Now we both adore the Bard. Every weekend we go to see FREE Shakespeare in Montford Park in Asheville. Yes this is a plug for The Montford Park Players. Every summer they put on FREE Shakespeare plays at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre in Asheville. They run every weekend all summer and each play runs four weeks.

This year the first play was a double feature of Double Falsehood and Comedy of Errors. It was brilliantly staged by director Jason Williams and choreographer Kristi DeVille as a Bollywood musical. Currently we are two weeks into director Scott Keel”s adaptation of All”s Well that Ends Well. He has adapted this as though it were a Jane Austen novel. The acting, costuming, sets, and music are all superb.

The above picture is where I play the drum in the enemy ambush scene from All”s Well (two audience members are chosen at random to help with the drumming in that scene). My wife and I enjoyed the play so much that we went to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings performances. If you ever go – bring a picnic dinner and something to drink (alcohol is permitted).

This leads of course to my theme of the week which is Shakespeare on Instant Netflix.