Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing: August 29-September 11

Hey there film buffs, Brian here. It has been a wild month preparing for the opening of the Community Theater in Catskill as well as Upstate Midtown here in Kingston. After months and months of work, the finish line on both projects is in sight, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Before we get into the list, if you’ll indulge me: we’re having a very special Launch Party Fundraiser at the Community on Wednesday, September 10, starting at 5pm. There will be a screening of Singin’ in the Rain which Bel talks about below, some special live performances, food and drink, a party with a great DJ, and more. Tickets are for sale here. Community is a nonprofit theater project, and fundraising events like these are going to help us bring you an exciting mix of first run and repertory screenings, as well as live events. We’re going to have some movies you’re not going to see anywhere else in the Hudson Valley, and some really fun stuff we’re planning that I can’t wait to share with you. Buy a ticket, support our endeavors, and in turn you get to have a fun night out on the town and see a true Hollywood classic on the big screen. Everybody wins! Okay, without further ado…

Steven Spielberg’s JAWS
Orpheum Theatre, Saugerties – Opens Friday, August 29, 4:30pm

What can you even say about Jaws that hasn’t been said a million times over by anybody who’s anybody in the movie world? These are the kinds of movies that I struggle to write about the most because if you haven’t been convinced to watch it yet, how am I going to get you to? These are the “everyone has to see this movie” classics that can be the hardest to find time to watch. If you love movies you’ve definitely had some variation on the conversation “why watch this out when I know I can watch it on streaming/download it/rent it from Amazon for $3.99 anytime I want” and Jaws falls into the category of movies so huge, so ubiquitous, I think it ends up losing the “watch it in a theatre” argument. But, here’s the thing. Spielberg makes movies for the movie theatre, that’s kinda part of his whole thing (along with his peers in that particular generation of American filmmakers). Jaws is a spectacle film, it’s a revelation. It’s over the top and deeply commercial, yes, but it’s also grounded in its artistry and in its intensely human facets. Jaws isn’t just about the big shark y’all. This is the movie that represents a huge shift in the landscape of cinema as we know it today; it heralds the blockbuster era without sacrificing the director's voice and identity. It’s so, so important in the grand scheme of cinema, and maybe you don’t care as much as I do but I bet you do care about having a damn good time watching a movie, and I can guarantee you will watching Jaws. (1975, 124min)

Kinji Fukasaku’s BATTLE ROYALE
Rosendale Theatre, Rosendale – Wednesday, September 3, 7:30pm

I’m very glad to be back in the saddle writing these newsletters and equally excited to once again be able to tell you guys about the amazing programming Rob is doing over at Rosendale Theatre. We missed the last WTF Wednesday screening but they’re still going and this month is a kicker. Famously the movie that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill duology, Battle Royale is a violence fueled, frenetic masterpiece that inspires awe and disgust in equal parts. This is the precursor to the teen dystopian craze of the 2010s turned up way past eleven. It’s funny to look back on it now after the era of The Hunger Games and its many lookalikes. The premise feels disturbingly familiar – put a bunch of teenagers on an island with exploding collars and ask them to fight to the death. The last one standing wins but at what cost etc etc. Fukasaku’s work stands out in its brutality, humor, and frankness. The violence is vivid, almost slasher-like in its gratuity and gore, but its humor and humanity stand strong underneath. It’s no surprise this film is one of the most controversial cult classics of the last two decades, and well worth the watch. This has always existed in my mind as an annals of the internet, grab a copy from your friend’s USB drive type of film, and I’m delighted that it’s being presented in a theatre setting. (2000, 113min)

Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER and Mamoru Oshii’s GHOST IN THE SHELL
Hi-Way Drive-In, Coxsackie – opens Friday, September 5, sunset

I feel like every weekend that we’ve got a double feature at Hi-Way I tell you guys it's the weekend I’m most excited about but I swear to god, I really am this excited everytime. We programmed these films way back in late Spring and it feels like a nice little treat every week that we get to prepare for a new one. This pair definitely feels pretty special to my 15-year-old self who was skipping class to read a low res .pdf of Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto and hacking into my highschool’s website to mess with the source code. Oh, the early internet days. Blade Runner was pretty formative for me, and was probably the first time I really understood what sci-fi could do beyond being slick, and entertaining, and good for selling merch to nerds (myself included). Though my tastes have grown and changed since I first saw it, Ridley Scott’s adaptation still remains one of my favorite films of the 80s, and I’m not too chicken to admit how much it remains an important part of my sensibilities when it comes to films. Gritty neo-noir with Harrison Ford? I mean, c’mon. On the flipside, we have the masterpiece anime Ghost in the Shell (not the Scarlett Johansson one just to make sure we’re all on the same page). I love 90s anime, and though I tend more towards Satoshi Kon’s work when I’m in the mood, it’s undeniable that Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell opened my eyes to what the medium could achieve. It’s a visual masterpiece, and I think that anime has always understood how to do sci-fi best because it’s not caught by the bounds of realism. The sheer detail of the animation and backgrounds conveys so much information, and helps to develop a rich universe for this story to take place. I especially love this pairing because it really does feel like two sides of the same coin, and watching them together is fodder for some fantastic, speculative conversations, especially in this moment of LLM’s masquerading as true A.I.. These are the worlds they want us to think we’re living in, and it’s worth thinking about how we’re not, or what it would look like if we were. (1982, 117min; 1995, 83min)

Drew Goddard’s THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Rough Draft, Kingston – Monday, September 8, 8:00pm

Just to put it out there right away, I’ve never been much of a fan of Joss Whedon. His quippy dialogue and faux-feminist leanings wore thin for me really quickly as a teenager, and maybe it’s because I never gave Buffy a shot but I just never really got his whole thing. That said, I do get it when it comes to this movie, and Whedon’s mark is pretty indelible here. Directed by Buffy alum Drew Goddard, you feel its lineage pretty immediately, from the character-writing to the archetypes. But, despite all the reasons I ostensibly wouldn’t like this movie, I absolutely love it. I’m a sucker for metacommentary (as I’m sure I’ve said on here a million times) and Goddard takes the Wes Craven style of tongue-in-cheek meta-horror to a whole new level. This film is also a treasure trove for horror fans. It’s as referential as you can get without becoming derivative, and its clever, sci-fi adjacent premise helps it stand out. Plus, it basically opens as a near direct Evil Dead remake, which will never not charm me. The next few months at Rough Draft are all going to be horror and horror adjacent films to ring in the change in seasons (and of course, Halloween) and I think this is a pretty perfect start. (2012, 95min)

Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
Community Theater, Catskill – Wednesday, September 10, 5:00pm

Guys, I can’t believe it’s finally happening. I’ve been aware of the Community Theater project since the beginning of this year, and am so excited we finally get to start sharing it with all of you. September 10th is going to be the big kick-off fundraising screening and I’m over the moon that we’re able to show one of my favorite movies of all time, Singin’ in the Rain. Community Theater has been around since the 1920s and I think it feels particularly apt to be showing such a landmark film from the Theater’s history. Singin’ in the Rain is my platonic ideal for the Hollywood musical. Co-directed and choreographed by one of the film’s stars, Gene Kelly, it’s so representative of this early era of cinema. Made in the 1950s and set in the 1920s, it’s an early self-reflection on the history of cinema up until that point. The transition from black and white to color, from silent to talkies, all wrapped up in one of the greatest musicals ever made. It pretty much hits all the bases (particularly to my taste). This film still feels like lightning in a bottle, so imbued with joy for the medium and what it can do. Plus, it showcases some of the great performers of the era. I can’t really imagine a better film to reopen a historic theater with than one that is so acutely a love letter to movies themselves. Hopefully we’ll see you all there. (1952, 103min)