I'm all out of love...

Gentlemen, tired of the movies slanted towards the double x chromosomes your female counterparts have been dragging you too? Me too. Redemption is on hand. This weekend, Guy Pearce is a cop, hunting down the most vicious family since the Tanners from Full House (I stand by my theory that this family was the most evil entity ever...twins who pretend to be one kid? A ventriloquist with a woodchuck? KIMMY GIBBLER?!??!?!) in Animal Kingdom. But wait, ladies, it has Guy Pearce, who's absolutely dreamy (and he's sporting a mustache). Something for everyone! Except your kids, take them to our other studio to watch Mao's Last Dancer. Wait, that does mean we have something for everyone.

This has the feel of another movie we showed a couple of months back, Un Prophete, another gritty gangster movie, that was phenomenal but sparsely attended. I take full blame, but this time it's on you if you miss this gem. The reviews in Relish from the Winston-Salem Journal and Mark Burger in Yes! Weekly agree with me. Don't be left by yourself on the wrong side of the street. See this movie. Preview below:



Air Supply in the previews...another win for both males and females.

Annual pilgrimage to Toronto...

So I have been back from my annual expedition to the Toronto International Film Festival (okay it was only the second time, but I hope to make it yearly) a little over a week and now that I have caught up on most of my emails and cleared my head...I'm ready to get my thoughts down in a blog.

My mom accompanied me for part of the trip and Jigar joined me for a couple of days towards the end. I saw some really remarkable films and had a whirlwind time this year. I was able to meet some other industry folks and do a bit of networking for a/perture. I enjoyed every single minute!

Here are my thoughts in list form, same categories as last year:

Longest time spent in line: 1.5 hours for Dhobi Ghat. Dhobi Ghat is Aamir Khan’s new film and if you don’t know who Aamir Khan is think Tom Cruise on the Indian subcontinent. A mad frenzy of devoted fans greeted Mr. Khan on his arrival…it was pure chaos. My in-laws were super-impressed.

Buckets of popcorn consumed: more than last year….in fact some of it tasted like it was leftover from last year.

Coolest Q&As: there were actually a lot more at this year’s festival. Directors and cast were more available and were totally stoked to talk about their films. Here were some highlights:

1.) Tom Hooper, director of The King’s Speech, who brought along Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush…What can I say, The King’s Speech is my pick to win the Best Picture Oscar, so just imagine how excited the audience was and how engaging the talent was as a result.

2.) Stephen Frears, director of Tamara Drewe, who brought along Gemma Arterton and Dominic Cooper. Stephen Frears is perhaps the funniest man alive. He had the audience in stitches. I fantasize about Mr. Frears coming to attend a q&a at a/perture when we open Tamara Drewe.

3.) Never Let Me Go - Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, author Kazuo Ishiguro, screenwriter Alex Garland (author of a great little book called The Beach) and director Mark Romanek were all in attendance. The film was simply beautiful. I have to admit that I didn’t read the novel, but judging by the audience reaction they really thought the adaptation lived up.

Biggest surprise hit: Dirty Girl – honestly I could just sit and watch this loveable film over and over again. Juno Temple (you may remember her from Atonement) and newcomer Jeremy Dozier play unlikely friends in this quirky love story/comedy/salute to the Midwest in the eighties. Director Abe Sylvia is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Celebrity sightings: So we lucked out this year and got hooked up with an invite to a Fox Searchlight party honoring some of their films…here is just a sampling of who we were in the same room with: Vincent Cassel(swoon), Danny Boyle, Maria Bello, Michael Sheen, Minnie Driver, Tony Goldwyn, Hillary Swank, Andrew Garfield (who you can check out soon in Never Let Me Go).

Best photo-op: my mom at the Fox Searchlight party…don’t we look like celebs

New favorite song: I actually have two favorite soundtracks this year…Submarine, featuring music by Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys & It’s Kind of a Funny Story with some great songs from Broken Social Scene

Number of visits to Starbucks for coffee: at least a dozen

Number of visits to Starbucks for free wifi: none because my iphone was telling me Toronto had “free wifi”…not true…should have stuck with Starbucks

World Premieres: Black Swan…. pretty amazing being there with Darren Aronofsky, Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel (swoon again). It didn’t matter that we were sitting up practically in the sky watching the film.

Films I hope to bring to a/perture: (click on title for link to film's website)

1.) The King’s Speech – finger’s crossed that it stays in the arthouse circuit!!!

2.) Made in Dagenham – this is just genuinely a fun and uplifting film based on a true story – and I am totally calling Sally Hawkins to be nominated for Best Actress…her performance was pitch-perfect.

3.) Tamara Drewe – don’t really have to hope since we already have it booked for November…did I mention this is an ensemble piece with a great supporting cast?

4.) Dirty Girl – William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam are also cast-members.

5.) Beautiful Boy – Maria Bello and Michael Sheen give riveting performances as two grieving parents. The film is by first time director Shawn Ku and at the q&a Maria Bello said that he was honestly the best director she had ever worked with. We saw Shawn Ku on his way out at the airport and he was super nice and humble and just impressed me even more…

6.) SUPER - Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page play superheroes in this dark “live-action” comedy…sold? The animation in the title sequence is a bonus and is brought to you by some of the folks responsible for Yo Gabba Gabba…thank you so much to IFC films for picking up this gem.

7.) Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer – this documentary by director Alex Gibney is insightful, engaging, humorous and above all timely.

8.) 127 Hours – based on the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston, the man who was forced to self-amputate his arm. Director Danny Boyle and James Franco, who plays Ralston, hold nothing back.

9.) Black Swan – how could I pass up the opportunity (if I am lucky enough) to bring a Darren Aronofsky film to a/perture? Barbara Hershey (star of one of the best films ever made - Hoosiers) is superb in the role of Natalie Portman's mother.

10.) Rabbit Hole – how could I pass up the opportunity (if I am lucky enough) to bring a John Cameron Mitchell film to a/perture? Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are perfectly cast and have great on-screen chemistry. This film is nothing like Hedwig and the Angry Inch… which really goes to show you how talented Mitchell is.

11.) Life, Above All – this film was just nominated to represent South Africa in the Foreign Language Oscar race. I predict it makes the short-list at least. It takes a real and honest look at how AIDS affects one family in rural South Africa.

12.) It’s Kind of a Funny Story – opening October 8!!!! starring Jigar's man-crush Zach Galifinakis.

13.) Never Let Me Go – opening October 15!!!

Film I will never in a million years bring to a/perture: Julia’s Eyes

Films with the most buzz that I wish I could have seen: Inside Job, Heartbeats, Barney’s Version, Of God’s and Men, Incendies and Blue Valentine... just to name a few...

Proof that Jigar was in attendance....Benihana in Toronto...where Jigar took me for my birthday dinner...

History 101

After four weeks, we will be saying so long to Get Low. We are thrilled to say that Get Low has been our biggest hit so far - thanks to all of you who came to see the film! (Actually, if you happen to read this blog tomorrow, you still have one more chance to see it - LAST CALL Thursday 9/23 @ 5:40).

On the other hand, if you are ready for something new, here we go (opening Friday, September 24):

If you have ever dreamed of becoming a spy, were a die-hard Alias fan, or are a history buff, FAREWELL (l'affaire Farewell) should be right up your alley. Farewell is the formerly top-secret true story of two men, a Frenchman and a KGB colonel, who smuggled Soviet secrets to the West and helped, as the film's foreword phrases it, put an end “to a world dominated by two opposing powers.” Todd McCarthy (Variety) said about the film, "Astonishing…like any good thriller, this is the story of deceptions within deceptions. It’s juicy, fascinating stuff." If you need further evidence check out Lawrence Toppman's review in The Charlotte Observer. Are you intrigued? (trying to throw as much spy lingo in here as I can), check out the trailer below:

Farewell will only be screening thru September 30, so don't miss it..but please leave your night-vision goggles at home.

On the other screen we are showing another side of history with MAO'S LAST DANCER - a drama based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin. At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he fell in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet. Mao's Last Dancer is also RATED PG, so moms and dads it is truly a family-friendly film. It screened at RiverRun this past year to rave reviews and Mark Burger agrees in this week's Yes!Weekly review. Check out the trailer below and then save a spot on your calendar to come see the film:

So there you go...hope you're ready for your history lesson.

Green can mean free, too!

Quick - what's more awesome than free movies? Free movies with a little bit of conscience! We were lucky to be approached by Go Expo, happening this Saturday, September 25th at the Benton Convention Center, to program some educating entertainment. Curator Lawren Desai has picked four films that should entertain and give you a little something to think about. No Impact Man and So Right, So Smart will screen at a/perture at 10 a.m., and The Greening of Southie and The End of Suburbia will be showing on the green screen at the Go Expo at 3 p.m. in the upper level of the convention center. More information about all the screenings can be found on the movie portion of Go Expo website, and the trailers are below!

No Impact Man

So Right, So Smart (shown at RiverRun!)

The Greening of Southie

The End of Suburbia

Don't miss out! Did I mention it's all free!

Rock the Docs and the Block

If there's anything I've learned from my almost three year old son, it's that whining, kicking, and screaming can eventually get you what you want. So after a year of repeatedly holding my breath until my face turns blue, Lawren finally agreed to let me accompany her to Toronto for a portion of the trip. Baby steps. I'll work on the whole time next year.

She's been MIA for awhile, but we'll both be back in time for a full slate of movies at a/perture this weekend, as well as our previously mentioned shorts during Rock the Block with Chris Paul. People are loving Get Low and Cairo Time, so if you've missed out don't let these escape without catching them. To bring back the rarer than rare quadruple feature, we've got two documentaries coming in, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child and Winnebago Man. Both films about interesting people, The Radiant Child is about artist Basquiat, as told by friend Tamara Davis, and Winnebago Man is about reluctant internet sensation Jack Rebney.

Some of you may recognize the Basquiat film, as it has played at a/perture, but as part of the RiverRun International Film Festival. Mary Dalton, head of the Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University, saw the film then and wrote this review. Local critic Matthew Lucas, who writes for the Davidson County paper The Dispatch, as well as on his own blog (which I highly recommend checking out on a regular basis - he sees A LOT of films), had both docs on his not so mainstream top 10 movies of the summer list. Stephen Holden of the New York Times seems to share in both of our local critic's enjoyment, in his Winnebago review here and his Basquiat review here. As the trailers below confirm, sometimes the truth can be more interesting than fiction.

I should pack now, eh?

Insert joke about time here

After a week of holdovers, Lisbeth Salander must make haste and get ready to kick a hornet's nest, so we bring in Cairo Time to move in next to Get Low. Almost every review I read had to make mention of making time to see Cairo Time, and while true, the cheesiness overpowered my normally sharp wit, resulting in a less than stellar subject. Please forgive me.

Let's focus on the more important thing, the movie, the actors, and the scenery. Like our recent smash I Am Love, the geography and scenery are more than an afterthought, and is almost another character in the story. Bring in Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and Lawren's new crush Alexander Siddig and you just have to make time to see this movie. Drats, I did it too. Here's a review from someone who was able to eschew the cliche, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post. And the trailer as well.

rtb w a/ptr

So one of the great things about our location on 4th Street is that we get to be front and center for this year's annual ROCK THE BLOCK on September 18. Because we want to celebrate with all the other 29,995 attendees, we are opening up our doors (for a small entrance fee of $1 for adults and $0.50 for kids) and screening two very special shorts, running continuously ...all..day..long (okay maybe just from 11am to 5pm). We hope to get some new folks in the door and provide a respite from all the craziness happening out on the street. Here's the scoop on the films:

short #1: Way Home - a film by Erick Oh

Way Home is a story featuring a fly, a dung beetle, and a farmer. Enough said...this film is animated, kid-friendly and 9 minutes long. To check out the trailer please visit Erick's cool website.

short #2 - Un Certain Regard a film by Geraldine Maillet and produced by Winston-Salem's very own Iana Dontcheva!!!

Un Certain Regard can be summarized in the following way: summertime. a city park. a man locks eyes with a mysterious woman. a seduction game begins, both comic and dramatic. This film is 7 minutes long and though more for adults it is definitely kid-appropriate.

Considering this is the extent of our participation last year,

we've come a long way and we are very excited to be in business for this annual event. Our regular films will pick back up after 5pm on 9/18 so you really could spend all day downtown at RTB if you wanted to. Who knows maybe we can even convince Chris Paul to come check out a flick?

See you on Sept 18!