Films This Week 7/23/21

by Gary Palmucci | 23rd July 2021 | Gary's Corner

Hello everyone. No new additions this week to our film lineup of virtual cinema titles. However, I have included below links to three trenchant pieces of journalism about the current raging debate on our state of movie watching as theatres and film festivals finally, fitfully start to rev their engines. Depending on your internet-carrier situation, one or two of these may require subscriptions to the linked publications.

My friend and veteran film critic and journalist Todd McCarthy — joined by a colleague — reviews both the “vibe” and many provocative films unveiled in this year’s Cannes Film Festival and despite some initial misgivings, finds the event to have been a surprising triumph. Many of the films discussed will be heading to U.S. festivals and cinemas in the next six to nine months, and New Plaza hopes to be in the business of presenting some of them to you.

Tony Scott of the NY Times takes a deep dive into the ever-evolving “tug of war” for our attention between reopening cinemas and the ubiquitous streaming services, and speculates that the way we choose and consume movies post-pandemic may be subtly altering in ways we’re only beginning to comprehend.

And in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, a film professor logs compelling evidence on how those streaming services (and their corporate sponsors) may be changing the ways films are being made and marketed to viewers that can’t help but be disturbing to any serious moviegoer.

Your reaction to these articles may well be the same as mine was -— to pull up a film from your ‘to watch” list (be it from New Plaza or another source) and immerse yourself, perhaps with family or a partner, as a reminder how inspired cinema, regardless of those “market forces,” can re-invigorate our daily lives.

Gary Palmucci, Film Curator
New Plaza Cinema