weekend minneapolis movie guide: feb 25

In addition to the conclusion of Take-Up's Bette Davis series and the Q&A screening of The Kids Grow Up tonight at St Anthony, there's a whole host of good movie experiences for you this weekend.

Tomorrow night at the Fitzgerald you can see Stormy Weather, the Lena Horne vehicle featuring many Harlem renaissance players.  The event's complete with discussion, music, and free popcorn.  Tix are $15.

Also this Saturday, you can head to the Walker to see Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then by musician/filmmaker Brent Green, who will be present at the screening.  The film features stop-motion animation and a "crazyquilt house" built as a plea to God.  I'm sold.

This Sunday includes a pair of screenings slightly off the beaten path, at least with regards to the normal venues we feature here.  We got a 2pm showing of The Breakfast Club at Loring for their "Mimosa Movies"series.  If that's too light for you, we got another matinee showing for you, this time at the MIA: the 1928 Carl Dreyer masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc.  I hope you like close-ups, cause this film basically invented them (sort of a joke, but not really).

More to come on all these gems.  In the meantime, here's what's playing elsewhere:

St Anthony:

127 Hours (R) runtime 1 hr 33 mins	Fri: (4:25), 7:20 Sun - Thu: (4:25), 7:20
Black Swan (R) runtime 1 hr 43 mins	Fri: (1:45), 9:45 Sat: (1:45 PM) Sun: (1:45), 9:45 Mon - Thu: 9:45 PM
The Fighter (R) runtime 1 hr 54 mins	Fri - Sun: (1:35), (4:15), 7:05, 9:40 Mon - Thu: (4:15), 7:05, 9:40
Hall Pass (R) runtime 1 hr 45 mins	Fri - Sun: (1:55), (4:20), 7:10, 9:50 Mon - Thu: (4:20), 7:10, 9:50
The kids grow up (NR) runtime 1 hr 30 mins	Fri: (2:00), (4:30), 7:15, 9:30 Sat: (2:00), 7:15, 9:30 Sun: (2:00), (4:30), 7:15, 9:30 Mon: (4:30), 7:15, 9:30 Tue: (4:30), 9:30 Wed: (4:30), 7:15, 9:30 Thu: (4:30), 9:30
The King's Speech (R) runtime 1 hr 58 mins	Fri - Sun: (1:40), (4:10), 7:00, 9:35 Mon - Thu: (4:10), 7:00, 9:35

The Heights:

Friday February 25	"THE KINGS SPEECH" (R)   4:15 PM, 7:10 PM, 9:40 PM
Saturday February 26	"THE KINGS SPEECH" (R)   1:25 PM, 4:15 PM, 7:10 PM, 9:40 PM
Sunday February 27	"THE KINGS SPEECH" (R)   1:25 PM, 4:15 PM, 7:10 PM

Riverview:

• Gulliver's Travels
  11:15AM
• Tangled
  1:00PM
  5:00PM
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  2:50PM
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
  7:00PM
• I Love You Phillip :Morris
  9:35PM

Parkway:

Somewhere (R)

Feb 18, 2011 - Mar 3, 2011

Fri: 5:20, 7:15, 9:10
Sat: 3:25, 5:20, 7:15, 9:10
Sun: 3:25, 5:20, 7:15
Mon - Thu: 5:40, 7:35

Landmark:

• EDINA CINEMA
  (651) 649-4416
• Another Year  
  (2:00 5:00) 7:50
• The King's Speech  
  (1:45 3:00 5:40) 7:00 8:30 9:30
• Barney's Version  
  (2:15 5:15) 8:15
• Rabbit Hole  
  (4:45)

• UPTOWN THEATRE
  (612) 825-6006
• Repo Man  
  12:15
• Even the Rain  
  (2:25 4:50) 7:20 9:45
  Dolby Digital, No Passes

• LAGOON CINEMA
  (612) 825-6006
• Biutiful  
  (2:00 5:10) 8:20
  Dolby Digital
• The Illusionist  
  (2:20) 7:10
  Dolby Digital
• Blue Valentine  
  (2:30) 7:30
  Dolby Digital
• The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2011: Animated  
  (2:10) 7:20
  Dolby Digital
• The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2011: Live Action  
  (4:50) 9:15
  Dolby Digital
• The Housemaid  
  (5:00) 9:50
  Dolby Digital
• True Grit  
  (4:45) 9:30
  Dolby Digital
• Cedar Rapids  
  (2:25 4:40) 7:00 9:20
  Dolby Digital

friday night showing at st anthony w/director: The Kids Grow Up

IFP-MN and the Film Society have teamed up to bring you a hot, fresh doc, complete with lively discussion.  The Kids Grow Up, the story of a father's daughter growing up before the camera, will be showing this Friday night, with father/director Doug Block present to field all your questions.

Director Doug Block Present Fri Feb 25 @ 7:15 pm

Documentary filmmaker Doug Block (51 Birch Street) has captured much of his daughter Lucy’s life – and their relationship – on camera. Now his only child is 17 and preparing to leave home for college. Lucy’s imminent departure is the springboard for The Kids Grow Up, a funny and poignant look at modern-day parenting, marriage and the looming empty nest.

weekend bette davis series at trylon: The Letter

I've never seen this one, but you gotta like your odds when it's a William Wyler film.  Also, it says it's a "hyper-sexualized mystery."  Two great selling points right there.  More importantly, this is the last film in the Bette Davis series, so get your fix now before the Henry Mancini series rolls into town:

BUY TICKETS

No One Tells Bette Davis What to Do The Letter The Trylon Fri Feb 25 7:00 8:50 Sat Feb 26 7:00 8:50 Sun Feb 27 5:10 7:00  (1940, William Wyler, 35mm, 95m) Late at night, on a Malaysian rubber plantation, Leslie Crosbie (Davis) empties a revolver into her lover, and appears no more disturbed than if she'd just taken out the trash. After that, The Letter warps into a hyper-sexualized mystery that is unlike any other Davis film. "Full of juicy ooze," writes David Thomson.

thursday weerasethakul film at walker: Syndromes & A Century

More film love for Apichatpong Weerasethakul at the Walker this week, as they screen his 2006 work Syndromes and a Century this Thursday night at 7:30.  Despite it being around for five years, the film has never screened in Minneapolis.  They're showing it for free, maybe as a way to make up for the long wait.

Never before screened in Minneapolis, Syndromes and a Century was voted the Best Film of the Decade in a recent Toronto International Film Festival poll. Inspired by the life of the director’s physician parents, the story is split into two sections—one set in a rural clinic, the other in an urban hospital. In each, the action and characters are repeated in an exploration of love and entangled human relationships. This transcendent film of gentle beauty was praised as “profoundly mysterious, erotic, funny, gentle, playful, utterly distinctive" (Guardian). 2006, in Thai with English subtitles, 35mm, 105 minutes.

If you marveled at the gorgeous jungle scenery in Uncle Boonmee, then you're going to love the stunning visual treatment of these hospitals:



If I were a braver film critic I'd whip up a little review of this film, but my confidence is lacking for the moment (and probably will be for many years with regards to Weerasethakul's films).  I'll just say it's not as provocative as Uncle Boonmee (the Thai government might disagree), and a little less accessible.  for those who did see Uncle Boonmee, you might understand that that's saying something.

thursday heights screening: simon & garfunkel doc

The Heights will have two showings of the Simon & Garfunkel documentary The Harmony Game, this Thursday night.  I'm having trouble finding any information about this film other than what I find on its IMDB page.  It looks like a self-released movie, with no trailer or website for me to find anywhere.  Basically what I'm saying is, this might be the best chance you have to see this movie:

"THE HARMONY GAME: THE MAKING OF BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER"  

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2011. 7:15, 9:00

ALL SEATS $10.00

Advance tickets available

THE HARMONY GAME tells the story behind Simon and Garfunkel’s last studio album – Bridge Over Troubled Water – which has its legacy shrouded in rock n’ roll mythology with legendary tales of inspiration, innovation and separation.  Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel share the journey in their own words and reflect back on its impact 40 years later.  Also featured in the documentary are several of the duo’s collaborators from the period:  Roy Halee (co-producer/engineer), Hal Blaine (drums), Joe Osborn (bass guitar), Jimmie Haskell (arranager), Mort Lewis (manager), and actor Charles Grodin, director of Songs Of America.

THE HARMONY GAME includes several scenes and clips from the controversial CBS television special Songs Of America, the candid, behind-the-scenes look at Simon & Garfunkel at work on Bridge Over Troubled Water, which aired in November 1969 and has not been available on VHS or DVD ever since.  A rarely seen time-capsule of Simon & Garfunkel’s writing process and of the late-1960s, THE HARMONY GAME is a must see event about the making of a classic. 

wednesday trash film screening: Happiness of the Katakuris

There's good cinema, and then there's great cinema (there may or may not be more options, but I have yet to experience it).  With that said, Trash Film Debauchery screenings are a real treat.  Check out their latest offering:

BUY TICKETS

Trash Film Debauchery Happiness of the Katakuris The Trylon Wed Feb 23 7:30  (2001, Takashi Miike, DVD, 113m) The Katakuris are a family full of failures. They decide to open a bed and breakfast called "White Lover's Inn" but somehow each of their guests end up dead. Worried about the future of their B&B, they agree to keep the deaths a secret and bury the bodies in the back yard which eventually results in a zombie problem. There are some hilarious song and dance numbers, weird claymation sequences, a British naval officer who claims to be the nephew of Queen Elizabeth but looks suspiciously Japanese, and an erupting volcano. Directed by acclaimed Japanese shock-master, Takashi Miike. Guaranteed to entertain!

So all of you out there complaining about the dearth of zombie musicals can officially quit whining.

wednesday night mn historical society screening: History of Hip

Sorry for the lateness of this post; I was only just alerted to it by the good people at Secrets of the City.  It appears that the MN Historical Society and TC MediaNow will be presenting gems from 70's and 80's local news broadcasts at the History Center tonight for free.  This looks to be good, folks:

History of Hip: Your 5 O'Clock Friends

Minnesota History Center, St. Paul MN

Dates: Feb. 22, 2011

Time: 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Fee: Free

Take an affectionate look back at the local news of our childhoods. Local newscasts have a way of turning up in blooper videos and parody comedy sketches: the corny jokes, the fake camaraderie of the "news teams" and the maudlin human interest stories can be endearing, if somewhat formulaic. Tom Oszman and Jack Stahlmann of TCMedianow.com present an evening that that explores those classic tropes when they were still new(s) and reflects on the careers of local TV greats like Stan Turner and Don Shelby with rare clips, outtake reels and commercials that evoke the media culture of the Twin Cities in the '70s and '80s, when local affiliates still ruled the early evening airways.

History of Hip explores the mysterious factors that confer hipness on an artist or a fad, and trace the origins of creative genres that still register with artists, audiences, and tastemakers today. Snacks provided. For more information visithttp://www.minnesotahistorycenter.org/hip. 

trylon premiere tuesdays: Samson And Delilah (last chance)

The second and final screening of Cannes standout Samson And Delilah is taking place tonight at the Trylon, as part of their Trylon Premiere Tuesdays series.  Last week I said I'd be there, but that didn't happen.  This week I'm saying I will be there, and that's a fact.  So come watch some good cinema with me tonight at the late screening- I'll share my popcorn with you:

BUY TICKETS

Trylon Premiere Tuesdays Samson and Delilah The Trylon Tue Feb 22 7:00 9:00  (2009, Warwick Thornton, BD, 101m) In the middle of nowhere Australia, Samson and Delilah, two Aboriginal teens, try to make sense of their mundane and oppressive existence. An intimate and brave coming-of-age story, Samson and Delilah is a simple yet beautifully told story of fragile youth. Winner of the Camera d’Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

local library screening tonight: Precious Waters

Remember that controversial boundary waters film making headlines last fall?  No, not Troubled Waters.  I'm talking about Precious Waters.  Maybe "making headlines" wasn't entirely accurate, but the Strib did write a little bit about the subject.  In any case, TC Daily directed my attention to this short doc screening at the St Anthony Park Branch Library tonight at 6:30 for free:

“Precious Waters” was produced by the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, a non-profit organization that works to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and its ecosystem. It was written, directed and edited by award-winning filmmaker John Whitehead. The film features a broad array of voices discussing the industry’s track record of failed predictions, toxic pollution, and taxpayer liability for industrial messes. Learn more about individuals featured in the film.

The Friends has identified sulfide mining as a significant threat to the long-term preservation of the Boundary Waters and the surrounding region. The short film is intended to raise public awareness about the risks of this new form of mining, and to spur informed public discussion and involvement in decisions about its future in Minnesota. The film will be shown around the state and is expected to serve as a conversation-starter for Minnesotans of all types.

I tried to find the trailer, but all I got was the movie in its entirety:

Precious Waters: Minnesota's Sulfide Mining Controversy from Precious Waters on Vimeo.

monday night bogart film at the heights: Key Largo

John Huston is more famous for directing works like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the original film noir, The Maltese Falcon, but don't sleep on this thriller.  Bogart and Bacall may have had the marquee, but it was Claire Trevor who won the oscar for best supporting actress.  Check out Key Largo at The Heights tonight at 7:30.

BUY TICKETS

Hard Boiled Bogart Noir Key Largo The Heights Mon Feb 21 7:30  (1948, John Huston, 35mm, 100m) This time, John Huston takes the reins, as Bogart and Bacall strut their stuff in this decidedly bleak drama. In the Keys to visit an old war buddy, Bogart's Frank McCloud is forced to match wits with a vicious gangster (Edward G. Robinson), who is holding his pal's hotel hostage.