Gary's Corner
Films this week 12/13 to 12/19/2024
Gary’s Corner
by Gary Palmucci | 13th December 2024 | Gary's Corner, Uncategorized
The two additions to New Plaza Cinema’s abbreviated weekend schedule (we’re closed on Friday night for CUNY holiday events) are both NY Times Critic’s Picks.
The Latvian animated film Flow (repping that country in this year’s international-film Oscar competition) continues our occasional looks at work in that genre from around the globe – Robot Dreams, Aurora’s Sunrise, Memoir of a Snail…in this family-friendly feature, we follow a lovable cat, a dog and a capybara (aka a rodent) fleeing the aftermath of a flood of biblical proportions. Without a word of dialogue, this unlikely trio finds a route to survival. NYT reviewer Calum Marsh wrote:
“It sounds saccharine, but the filmmakers largely avoid the sort of whimsy and sentimentality that might plague, say, a Disney movie with the same premise. The animals act like real animals, not like cartoons or humans, and that restraint gives their adventure an authenticity that, in moments of both delight and peril, makes the emotion that much more powerful.”
On a very different note, writer-director Paul Schrader was one of the first filmmakers to appear at a New Plaza Q&A, way back in 2018. In his latest film Oh, Canada, adapted from a Russell Banks novel- the writer’s earlier Affliction was the source of one of Schrader’s best pictures- a terminally-ill documentarian (Richard Gere) tries to square accounts in his life as it starts to slip away. The NYT’s Alissa Wilkinson observed:
“The themes running through much of Schrader’s work, especially lately, revolve around redemption — the messiness of it, the possibility of it, the impossibility of it. The man who wrote Taxi Driver has, in his 70s, given us First Reformed and Master Gardener (both of which we screened), movies about solitary men wrestling with the task of living in a world that humanity has wrecked, and the dread of discovering oneself personally unforgivable for one’s place in it.”
Gere and Schrader collaborated memorably some decades ago in American Gigolo, bringing another frame of reference to an already-compelling drama, with its stellar supporting cast including Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman and NPC friend Michael Imperioli. Screening just once, on Saturday, this will definitely encore next weekend.
Our holdovers include Saoirse Ronan in Steve McQueen’s Blitz, the mournful political-foment doc Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, which has sold out each of its shows here to date (you’ve been advised) and our long-running, 80s downtown-art-scene chronicle Make Me Famous, whose tickets are also selling briskly. Its hard-working producer-director team, Brian Vincent and Heather Spore,will join us after Sunday’s 5 pm show for a Q&A. They are already well into shooting their next doc, on James Dean- an icon who’s ripe for a 21 st century re-examination.
On Sunday December 29, Brian- along with film historian Foster Hirsch and Nikki Ray, daughter of legendary director Nicholas Ray- will join us after a screening of the latter’s 1955 classic Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo.
This will be just one of several vintage titles we’ll be offering during seventeen continuous days of operation, from December 20 through January 5, including Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in Charade, Hepburn and Tracy in their underrated, NYC/Christmas-situated Desk Set, and Ingmar Bergman’s full-length Fanny and Alexander.
There’ll also be several current features and documentaries in the mix, climaxing with a run of the new, epic French rendition of The Count of Monte Cristo – whose trailer we’ve been running non-stop – starting on January 2.
Films This Week 3/19/21
Hello everyone. This week's Oscar nominations announcement finds us with three "anointed" films on our virtual schedule, all multiple nominees. Minari surpassed nearly everyone's expectations with six nods, including best picture, director, actor, supporting actress, original screenplay and score. Collective from Romania matched the landmark feat of Honeyland (one of New Plaza's most popular "theatrical" films) scoring nominations in both the international film and documentary feature categories. And the Danish dark comedy Another Round scored the most unexpected nomination of all — best director for veteran Thomas Vinterberg as well as best international film. Many New Plaza viewers may recall Vinterberg's acclaimed 1998 The...
New Films 3/12/21
Hello everyone. We’re adding two new documentaries this week. In Still Life in Łódź, filmmaker Sławomir Grunberg (Emmy winner for his work on PBS’ P.O.V.) chronicles — via a mix of historical footage, animation and modern day reminiscence — how a single painting was a symbol of both the wrenching tragedy and subsequent regeneration of a Polish city that was a center of Jewish life for three decades. Please scroll down for a special event on Sunday, March 14 that is open to all ticket holders. Many viewers will recall the recent, charming Turkish doc Kedi about street cats in Istanbul...now that teeming city’s itinerant dogs have their day in Stray, a Critics’ Pick by the NY Times’ Jeannette Catsoulis: “As simple as its title...
New Films 3/05/21
Hello everyone. In response to Minari's Golden Globe win for "Best Foreign Language Film" and director Lee Isaac Chung's poignant acceptance speech, distributor A24 is giving us yet another chance to catch the movie this weekend, with multiple showtimes being offered Friday-Sunday. We're also adding two documentaries this week. In The People Vs. Agent Orange, filmmakers Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna make a compelling case for the tragic legacy, and ongoing use-and-abuse, of the notorious chemical introduced during the Vietnam War, and still haunting lives and landscapes across the globe. Coincidentally, Jane Fonda also made a rousing appearance on the Sunday night "Golden Globes." Distributor Kino Repertory and restoration...
New Films 02/26/21
Hello everyone. In response to popular demand, distributor A24 Films — a long time friend of New Plaza Cinema — has extended the run of Oscar contender Minari through this weekend. Here's a final chance to see this moving drama in a special engagement, part of whose proceeds will benefit New Plaza. As reported last week, today we're adding one more title from the Oscar short list, Denmark's Another Round starring Mads Mikkelsen, chosen in the "best international film" category. Director Thomas Vinterburg's films such as The Celebration and The Hunt have won major prizes at Cannes. In his latest, per the NY Times' reviewer "four Danish men, all schoolteachers, embark on a pseudoscientific quest: to see if drinking daily will...
Films 2/19/21
Hello everyone. As most of you may know, there was good news earlier this week from distributor A24 on their special, pre-video-on-demand Virtual Cinema engagement of Minari. After their initial ticket allocation for the February 12-25 run quickly sold out, A24 — a company whose films New Plaza has frequently played (e.g. First Reformed, 8th Grade, Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Farewell) — stepped up and released a new batch of tickets which, as of today, are still available for daily performances from February 19-25. From what I'm reading and hearing from our fellow art houses around the country, Minari has been coming on strong with audiences and local critics as a potential Oscar contender, with special attention...
New Films 2/12/21
Hello everyone. We've had many requests for ticketing updates on the film Minari, which as of Thursday night was "sold out" for the first ten days of its February 12-25 run. Tickets are still available for the final four days: Monday-Thursday February 22-25. Distributor A 24 has indicated they will announce on Monday, February 15th whether additional tickets and showtimes will be made available for the remaining, currently "sold out" dates as well as the possibility of the run being extended a third week. As soon as we know, we will "blast" an update. This is "Oscar short list" announcement week in numerous categories, and this weekend New Plaza will feature two titles each from the "best international film" category -...
New Films 02/05/21
Hello everyone. Our three new films arriving today include: M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity - You may've perused our previous notes on this new documentary on the legendary Dutch graphic artist. We'll be hosting the NYC theatrical premiere along with dozens of cutting-edge art houses around the U.S. Here again is the trailer. Two of Us (aka Deux) - France's official submission for best international film in this year's Oscar race (and a Golden Globe nominee this week) stars Barbara Sukowa (Lola, Hannah Arendt) and Martine Chevalier as two long time lovers whose bond is suddenly tested by unforeseen events. Here is the trailer. Heartworn Highways - This restoration of the seminal 1976 country music doc features...
Films 1/30/21
Hello everyone. This week is relatively quiet as we prepare for a wave of new movies next Friday and beyond on our Virtual Cinema site. The distributor of Nasrin, the documentary we recently featured on valiant Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh (narrated by Oscar winner Olivia Colman), asked us to put the film back in rotation for a couple of weeks and we happily agreed. I'm familiar with Nasrin from her appearance in Jafar Panahi's one of a kind 2015 film Taxi, which I heartily recommend here as an online "double feature." Films arriving next week include: M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity - You may have perused our previous notes on this new documentary about the legendary graphic artist. We'll be hosting the NYC...
Films This Week 1/22/21
Hello everyone. We've had an uptick in support for the various films added to our Virtual Cinema this month, including last week's three NY Times Critics Picks: Some Kind of Heaven, Acasa My Home, and My Little Sister, for which we are grateful. One of February's new titles, the documentary M.C Escher: Journey to Infinity has, according to our art house colleagues around the country, been stirring a lot of advance audience interest. New Plaza's Feb 5 premiere will be an NYC Virtual Cinema exclusive. Here again is the film's trailer. More announcements coming next week! Gary Palmucci, Film CuratorNew Plaza Cinema
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You can reach him at films@newplazacinema.org