We still love you too Joe Camel

It's that most wonderful time of the year. I hope all our readers are ready for the holiday, and excited to spend time with friends, family, and the like. Our son has had me calling Santa nonstop, but not to ask for more presents, for some reason to take them back. Maybe it's the start of a new tradition, where we do the returning before Christmas. I know a semi-lost tradition for Lawren's family was going to the movies on Christmas day, so if you're looking for a new one of your own to start, I can't think of a better place to go than a cute little arthouse on 4th street in downtown Winston-Salem. We're excited to be open for the holidays, still sharing the beautiful chaos that is Black Swan and opening the film I Love You Phillip Morris.

Before the town of Joe Camel gets bent out of shape, this isn't a documentary about the Marlboro man, although the lead character may have his cool and gumption. I Love You Phillip Morris is the improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic conman's journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping from the Texas prison system on four separate occasions - all in the name of love. Jim Carrey is the conman who falls for Phillip Morris, played by Ewan McGregor. To put a pretty little bow on the Christmas theme, the movie was written and directed by John Requa and Glen Ficara, who became famous for Bad Santa.

Part of the entertainment from watching this film is knowing there was a guy out there who did in fact do this. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone agrees in his review, calling the movie "all over the place. But it's also outrageously funny." Check out the trailer below:

Just your typical love story, right? We're skipping our normal 12pm shows on Saturday so everyone can enjoy present unwrapping in peace, but it's a normal day after that. If it's not a white Christmas, at least come to a/perture for a black and white Christmas!

Happy holidays everyone!

Like this (thumbs up)

If there's one thing I'm actually given credit for (still on rare occasions), it's my impeccable timing. Once again, I'm delivering here for you when we open The Social Network this Friday. Now this is a movie that has been out there for a little bit, and it's safe to say a few people saw it back then, but it's the last movie Lawren and I went to see at a place not called a/perture cinema. So when we were given the chance to show it, we jumped on it. And what happens after we announce it? Six golden globe nominations, including best drama, best actor and supporting actor, best director, and best screenplay. Oh, and Mark Zuckerberg is now Time's "Person of the Year." All because we booked the film. Christmas we'll put the theory to the test when we open Carrot Top's new movie...crap, my wittiness has been absconded just by typing the evil red head's name.

Wait a second, he looks a little like Jesse Eisenberg, no? The hair at least. Few people know this, but Carrot Top invented Myspace. That explains a lot.

So everyone knows that The Social Network is Ben Mezrich's adaptation of the story of how Facebook was founded. So is it all completely factually accurate? Probably not. Is it a great film? Absolutely. And it features a score from Trent Reznor (also a Golden Globe nominee - when did anybody think they would read that?). Here's the trailer:

Few things are creepier than a chorus of kids singing Radiohead. Now go become our fan on FACEBOOK!

Bring on the SWAN

With the tame and family-friendly UNCSA production of The Nutcracker having just excited after another crowd-pleasing run, it's time to bring on Darren Aronofsky's interpretation of Swan Lake, otherwise known as (dum, dum, dum)... BLACK SWAN!!!

Many of you have been waiting patiently for this film and we are so excited that our release date was bumped forward a couple of days and will be hitting our screen this FRIDAY (12/17). It is worthy of the wait as evidenced by the numerous Golden Globe nominations it picked up early this morning...

BEST PICTURE

BEST ACTRESS - NATALIE PORTMAN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MILA KUNIS

BEST DIRECTOR

Not to mention AFI picked BLACK SWAN as one of the ten best films of 2010! In case you have missed all of the buzz and the increase in TV trailers over the past week (since the film blew the pants of NY and LA), here is a brief synopsis:

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Check out the trailer below:

Another bonus, for those of you out of school or taking a holiday vacation, we've added in a matinee to our schedule for Monday thru Thursday of next week (12/20-12/23) AND we will be open both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Check out our website for our holiday showtimes!

Tamara who? Tamara DREWE!

Get ready for a romp in the British countryside! Along with the seriously dramatic Client 9 and Fair Game, we will be screening Stephen Frears' riotous new comedy Tamara Drewe. Tamara Drewe is based on the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, a famous cartoonist across the pond.

Tamara Drewe is a witty modern take on the romantic English pastoral of Tom Hardy, but the present-day English countryside—stocked with pompous writers, rich weekenders, bourgeois bohemians, a horny rock star, and a great many Buff Orpington chickens and Belted Galloway cows—is a much funnier place. When Tamara Drewe sashays back to the bucolic village of her youth, life for the locals is thrown upside down. Tamara—once an ugly duckling—has been transformed into a devastating beauty (with help from plastic surgery). As infatuations, jealousies, love affairs and career ambitions collide among the inhabitants of the neighboring farmsteads, Tamara sets a contemporary comedy of manners into play using the oldest magic in the book—sex appeal. Having seen this film a few months ago in Toronto, it really is quite amusing. For more insight into director Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette, The Queen, High Fidelity) and his take on Tamara Drewe and filmmaking in general check out this interview in FilmIndependent.

Trailer below:

We're continuing our fired up streak...

It seems like we've been on a string of movies that tell a good story, but leave you a little angry afterwards. Waiting for Superman, Inside Job, Fair Game, and now we can add Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. Documentary specialist Alex Gibney, who gave us Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Oscar winner Taxi to the Dark Side has hit another home run here. Opening Friday for an abbreviated term, just like Spitzer's stint as governor, we'll have to say goodbye to this one on Sunday. We've timed the run to coincide with the amount of time call girl Ashley Dupre was actually relevant. Obviously Mr. Spitzer has no one to blame but himself for his problems, but Gibney's story makes some observations that are a little more than just fishy. This movie is on the short list for the Best Documentary Oscar, and Amy Biancolli's review in the San Francisco Chronicle makes me think Gibney could get his third nomination. Check out the trailer below.

Are movie titles really fair game?

Wow. If you could only see through your computer screen and truly picture the excitement as I write about the next movie coming to a/perture. How often do you get a movie that is so socially relevant and buzzed about like Fair Game? Throw on top of that the film is celebrating its 15 year anniversary of proving that Cindy Crawford was just a pretty face and Billy Baldwin had more up his sleeve than Sliver....wait a second, Lawren's trying to tell me something. What do you mean there are two movies called Fair Game? Isn't there some sort of rule that once a movie reaches a certain level of awesomeness, no one else can use that name? I'm working on a script right now, then. My movie is going to be called Star Wars. I can almost hear George Lucas's lawyers stampeding across the central United States to ring my doorbell right now.

Well, putting that minor embarrassing confusion aside, it does appear that the 2010 version of Fair Game is actually more socially relevant, given the hubub around this whole WikiLeaks thing, and a far superior movie (2010 - 80%, 1995 - 13% on Rotten Tomatoes...ouch). Naomi Watts plays outed CIA operative Valerie Plame, revealed by officials looking to discredit her husband Joe Wilson (not the "YOU LIE" one, but a former diplomat) played by Sean Penn. Yeah, I guess that cast is better than Baldwin-Crawford. Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post is a fan of how the story is told, more of a look at the toll Valerie's work takes on their marriage and home life instead of a blow 'em up spy affair, that director Doug Liman is more well known for (The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith). In her own words..."Quality-starved audiences should flock to it, if only to ensure more of them get made." Methinks Ms. Hornaday would not have said the same about the previous one. Trailer below:

Hornet's Nests

So we've recovered from over-stuffing ourselves with turkey and are now knee deep in The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. This is the last film in the Millennium trilogy and I'll admit it is somewhat bittersweet. We have had such a great time showing all three of the "Girl" films. These films are like the Indiana Jones series for arthouses. If you've joined us for the first two films, please make time to come see this last one (at least as of now, maybe a fourth book will materialize one of these days). If you haven't seen the first two yet, you still have time to stop by a redbox. It will be showing through Thursday, December 9. Here is a brief synopsis of the film:

In this last installment, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge – against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Check out this great interview from Charlie Rose with lead Noomi Rapace:

And Mark Burger from Yes! Weekly says you won't be disappointed in how the film series wraps up.

S..T..O..N..E

For a town geographically removed from movie making hubs New York and LA, Winston-Salem has its fair share of connections to the industry. In our short time being open we’ve been lucky enough to screen movies like Wesley, Burzynski, and Get Low for full theatrical runs. But if you’ve been to a/perture chances are you’ve shared an armrest with the person responsible for scribing the film we’re opening tomorrow. Angus MacLachlan gets to show his latest work Stone in his hometown and we’re proud to be the ones showing it.

Normally I’d try to arrange some sort of cutesy Q&A for the blog, but Angus has already done us one better and offered to take your questions himself, this Friday at 8pm and again on Saturday at 5:30pm! Here’s where I’ll offer my advice on interviewing, whether you want to hear it or not. The most important thing (besides seeing the movie) is doing your homework. I’ve cliff notes’ed some recent articles and reviews below for your benefit. After reading that last sentence, my third piece of advice would be to not try to make nouns verbs when asking a question. Tickets are already going fast for these showings, but if you can’t make it to one of the Q&A sessions, you owe it to yourself to see this movie anyway. Who knows, next time you come see a movie you might have to step over Angus to get to your favorite seat, and what better time to ask him where his talent comes from to be able to write two scripts that have helped some leading ladies become even more relevant in the film world (Amy Adams for Junebug and Milla Jovovich in Stone). Never mind the whole working with DeNiro and Ed Norton thing. Trailer and links below:

Mark Burger interview and review

Tim Clodfelter interview

Roger Moore interview in today's Relish!

the film that cost over $20,000,000,000,000 to make

Seems as though it’s time for Jack to set sail, while the waiting continues for the ten of you who haven’t seen Waiting for Superman to do so. In all seriousness, we’re thrilled at the reaction the movie has been getting, and hope it has helped spur some interesting discourse about the education system, both about what is going right and what we can work on improving. Along those same lines, we have another documentary about another crisis, which I might argue is just as important for people to see and understand.

Inside Job tells the story of the financial crisis that has impacted each and every one of us, and explores the root causes. And I have the chance to say something I’ll probably never get to say again – we’re opening a movie starring Matt Damon! Okay, he just narrates, and I can neither confirm nor deny he breaks out a “How bout dem apples?” in a heavy Boston accent. Everybody has heard of the evils of credit default swaps and derivatives, but after seeing the movie, you can understand what you’ve been cursing for the past three years (your curator, with an MBA, can be included in that group, as she had her aha moment after seeing this film). Critics are in agreement that it’s educational and won’t put you to bed like that Intro to Accounting class did back in college. Mark Burger from Yes!Weekly thinks it may be the scariest movie all year and our local Relish says "You may think you don't want to see this. But you should."

Also, a friendly reminder that our run of movies for 6 Days in November sponsored by Suntrust starts up on Tuesday. Here’s a refresher of the schedule.

Tuesday, November 16 - OBJECTIFIED - 8pm - all tickets $10

Wednesday, November 17 - A New Dance for America - 3pm - all tickets $6.50

Thursday, November 18 - Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan - 3pm - all tickets $6.50

Friday, November 19 - Visual Acoustics - 3pm - all tickets $6.50

Saturday, November 20 - Patty: This is My Normal - 5pm - free

Sunday, November 21 - Movies by Movers - 8pm - all tickets $5

More big news coming soon…

Once, Twice, Three times a naming

Is there anything cooler than a three named actor? Once you enter that pantheon, there is no escape. Nobody calls James Earl Jones "Jimmy" or "Earl". You have to say all three names. Billy Bob Thornton. Thomas Haden Church. Mary Louise Parker. Neil Patrick Harris. Phillip Michael Thomas aka Tubbs. I defy you to just say one of those names in-between each period alone. That last guy made it work with three first names. Friday we invite in the other trifecta'd Phillip. Mr. Seymour Hoffman. Mr. Phillip Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman. It just doesn't work!

Adding "Director" to his list of achievements along with damn fine actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman's film Jack Goes Boating tells the story of Jack, the limo driver, as he pursues a relationship with Connie (played by Amy Ryan). Equal parts quirky, awkward, and real, the story becomes that much more believable because of the talent of the actors. Ty Burr of the Boston Globe says in his review "To appreciate Jack Goes Boating, you have to be a fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the indie-rock band Grizzly Bear (whose songs are all over the soundtrack), or warmhearted, working-class dramas like the 1955 Oscar winner Marty." I say if you don't like all three of those, you're not really American. Take that post election world. Enjoy the trailer, then come on down and enjoy the movie this Friday.