Join the Boston Sunday
Night Film Club this Sunday, October 23rd at 7:00pm for “Good Night, and Good Luck.” at the Loews
Harvard Square. Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Good Night, and Good Luck.” takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950’s America. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television news man Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Permanent Sub-committee on Investigations (Government Operations Committee). With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff - headed by his producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) and Joe Wershba (Robert Downey Jr.) in the CBS newsroom - defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist ‘witch-hunts.’ A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on regardless and their tenacity eventually pays off when McCarthy is brought before the Senate and made powerless as his lies and bullying tactics are finally uncovered.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, October 16th at 4:30pm for “Capote” at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

Just a side note: The Brattle Theatre needs your help!

“In November, 1959, Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and a favorite figure in what is soon to be known as the Jet Set, reads an article on a back page of the New York Times. It tells of the murders of four members of a well-known farm family—the Clutters—in Holcomb, Kansas. Similar stories appear in newspapers almost every day, but something about this one catches Capote’s eye. It presents an opportunity, he believes, to test his long-held theory that, in the hands of the right writer, non-fiction can be compelling as fiction. What impact have the murders had on that tiny town on the wind-swept plains? With that as his subject—for his purpose, it does not matter if the murderers are never caught—he convinces The New Yorker magazine to give him an assignment and he sets out for Kansas. Accompanying him is a friend from his Alabama childhood: Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), who within a few months will win a Pulitzer Prize and achieve fame of her own as the author of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Though his childlike voice, fey mannerisms and unconventional clothes arouse initial hostility in a part of the country that still thinks of itself as part of the Old West, Capote quickly wins the trust of the locals, most notably Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent who is leading the hunt for the killers. Caught in Las Vegas, the killers—Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino)—are returned to Kansas, where they are tried, convicted and sentenced to die. Capote visits them in jail. As he gets to know them, he realizes that what he had thought would be a magazine article has grown into a book, a book that could rank with the greatest in modern literature. His subject is now as profound as any an American writer has ever tackled. It is nothing less than the collision of two Americas: the safe, protected country the Clutters knew and the rootless, amoral country inhabited by their killers. Hidden behind Capote’s often frivolous façade is a writer of towering ambition. But even he wonders if he can write the book—the great book—he believes destiny has handed him. “Sometimes, when I think how good it could be,” he writes a friend, “I can hardly breathe.”

I try not to spam this site or the newsletter much, but this announcement from the Brattle Film Foundation seemed important enough to merit it. If you are in the position to help out this cause, please visit the Brattle’s online donation form.

The Brattle Film Foundation (BFF), the nonprofit organization that programs and operates the Harvard Square’s landmark cinema, the Brattle Theatre, announced the most important fundraising effort in its 52-year history. The PRESERVE THE BRATTLE LEGACY CAMPAIGN is a two-year fundraising effort that is necessary to sustain repertory film programming at the Brattle. The Phase One goal is to raise $400,000 by the end of 2005; the Phase Two goal is to raise another $100,000 by the end of 2006. If BFF is not successful at meeting the goals set by Phase One of the campaign, BFF will be forced to cease operations at the Brattle Theatre, effectively ending the 52-year legacy of repertory film programming at the Brattle. The Brattle Theatre has outlasted most arthouse cinemas in the country. While landmarks like St. Mark’s and Bleeker Street in New York closed their doors long ago, the Brattle has survived. Of the Brattle’s current situation, Creative Director Ned Hinkle had this to say: “Repertory film programming at the Brattle simply cannot survive without significant community support. Our current challenges can only be overcome with the involvement of community members who want to keep the tradition of film programming alive at the Brattle Theatre.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, October 9th at 7:20pm for “MirrorMask” at the Kendall Square Cinema. Look for Sean wearing a nametag and sitting in the little seating area in the lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Famed graphic novelists Neil Gaiman (screenwriter) and Dave McKean (director) combine their talents to create a dazzling, imaginative creation that resembles a cross between Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland, but is entirely original. Helena (Stephanie Leonidas), a 15-year-old girl in a family of circus entertainers, often wishes she could run off and join real life. After a fight with her parents, her mother (Gina McKee) falls dangerously ill and Helena is convinced she is to blame. She dreams she is in a strange, doomed land with opposing queens, bizarre creatures and masked inhabitants, and only she can restore the balance by finding the MirrorMask.”

Join the Boston Sunday
Night Film Club this Sunday, October 2nd at 5:00pm for “Serenity” at the Boston
Common Loews. Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the main lobby on the ground floor about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“The crew of Serenity takes on any job that will pay, even if it’s not exactly legal. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), the captain, was on the losing side of a galactic war, and now all he has is his ship, named Serenity, and his loyal crew: his second in command and most trusted ally, Zoe (Gina Torres), her husband, the pilot, Wash (Alan Tudyk), the mechanic, Kaylee (Jewel Staite), and the muscle, Jayne (Adam Baldwin). When Malcolm takes on two new passengers, a young doctor, Simon Tam (Sean Maher) and his unstable, telepathic sister River (Summer Glau) he gets much more than he bargained for. The two are fugitives from The Alliance, the conglomerate that controls the galaxy. River learned something no one was ever supposed to know… and The Alliance will do anything to make sure no one will. Morena Baccarin, Ron Glass, and Chiwetel Ejiofor also star.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, September 25th at 5:40pm for “A History of Violence” at the Boston Common. Look for Audra wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A stylized thriller from director David Cronenberg, A History of Violence examines how far a man is willing to go in his quest for redemption and to protect his family. Viggo Mortensen stars as Tom, a man who leads a quiet, charmed life with his loving wife and family in a small town. But when an unexpected incident turns bloody and brings unwanted attention to him, Tom is forced to return to his secret past in order to rescue his family from peril.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, September 18th at 4:35pm for The Baxter at the Kendall Square Cinema. Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the little seating area in the lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Actor/screenwriter Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer) pays homage to the classic screwball comedies of the 1950s in his directorial feature debut. He plays Elliot Sherman, the quintessential Baxter—the guy who never gets the girl. Until now. Sherman, an obsessive hypochondriac accountant, can hardly believe that he has landed Caroline (Elizabeth Banks, Seabiscuit). She’s beautiful, sophisticated and on the rebound—perfect. Even so, he’s still in unknown territory, and needs the help and romantic advice of Cecil (Michelle Williams) as he navigates the last two weeks before his wedding. Co-starring Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) and Paul Rudd.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, September 11th at 7:00pm for “Le Monde du Silence (The Silent World)” at the Harvard Film Archive. Look for Sean wearing a nametag and sitting with his crutches in the little seating area in the lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Louis Malle was just 23 when he was asked by author and undersea explorer Cousteau to help make a film that could act as an illustrated companion to his immensely popular book also entitled The Silent World. The film surpassed even the book in its popular impact, garnering an Oscar for Best Documentary and the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. A lyrical meditation on the mysteries of the physical world, and humankind’s tentative steps to explore them, the film follows Cousteau and his crew as they navigate the oceans; the underwater cinematography, much of it shot by Malle himself, is breathtaking, the brilliantly colored coral reefs serving as a stationary counterpoint to the teeming schools of sea life whizzing past them.”

The Boston Sunday Night Film Club is taking Labor Day weekend off, and will return next Sunday, September 11th.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, August 28th at 6:00pm for “The Brothers Grimm” at the Loews Harvard Square. Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Director Terry Gilliam, who brought his magical storytelling talents to such films as Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, sets his sights on the Brothers Grimm, turning their life into a playfully grim fairy tale all its own. Set in early 18th century French-occupied Germany, The Brothers Grimm stars Matt Damon as Will Grimm and Heath Ledger as Jake Grimm, siblings who travel the countryside as snake-oil salesmen, convincing unsuspecting towns that they are haunted and agreeing to get rid of the demons–for a price. In the meantime, they set their tales down in writing, creating a wealth of oddball, offbeat, and frightening characters. But after they are caught by General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) and his sidekick, Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), they are sent to the tiny village of Marbaden to solve the mysterious disappearance of a number of young girls, placing them in the middle of a fantasy world unlike any they’d ever invented. They enlist the help of a peasant woman, Angelika (Lena Headey), and they set off for the evil forest to save the lives of the girls–and themselves. Gilliam has once again built a unique, entertaining land where anything can happen, and he throws in references to such Grimm tales as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the Frog Prince for good measure. The movie also features Mackenzie Crook and Richard Ridings as the Grimms’ cohorts, Monica Bellucci as the Mirror Queen, and Julian Bleach and Bruce McEwan as two of Cavaldi’s henchmen.”