A rabbit in the hole

So today we add another tearjerker to the lineup for Studio 2...it should be the last one for a bit, so come with your hanky if you're headed to that side of a/perture. When I left the theater after seeing Rabbit Hole, I had a similar feeling as to when I watched Terms of Endearment years ago. The subject matter may be sad, but the film is sprinkled with humor and a "light at the end of the tunnel" kind-of-feeling. Rabbit Hole is directed by John Cameron Mitchell and if you are familiar with his biggest hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch, it's really nothing like it. It's a very personal film. John Cameron Mitchell was attracted to the project because at age 14 he lost his 10 year old brother to a heart problem and he says, "It was a sudden, unexpected event. It defined a family forever and recovering from it was something we're still doing."

Nicole Kidman not only stars in the film but she produced it as well (and she was deservedly rewarded with a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role). Another tidbit, the film is based on a very successful Broadway play written by David Lindsay-Abaire who also penned the script. Nicole read a review of the play (which happened to produce a Tony Award for star Cynthia Nixon in 2006) and her interest was immediately piqued.

Check out the trailer below and the review from Yes! Weekly.

We've also begun to weave in some amazing StoryLine recordings into our pre-show reel, so come early and listen to a local pair's inspired story of a friendship which grew out of loss.

2011 Oscar Wild Arse Guesses

It's that special night again. When Lawren proves she's a better pontificator of all things gambling related when she destroys me in the 4th annual Lawren vs Jigar Oscar Predictions. Being 0-3 in this event, I've resigned myself to defeat, but Lawren claims this has been the hardest year for her predicting, which I think is just lines so that when she does get them all right she looks even smarter. Check out our picks below, and let us know how you do versus us.




But wait, there's a late entrant into the fray! Our picks have all been proven wrong by Iron Mike.

Oscar Talk with Mike Tyson & Leonard Maltin from Mike Tyson

The Pigeon Whisperer, opening at a/perture on April 31st.

Biutiful..pronounced Beeeuteeful

With only a few days left until the Academy Awards, we hope you've got your ballots ready! (we'll be putting our predictions down and hope to publish them over the weekend) In keeping with our long stretch of showing nominated films, we are pleased to add Biutiful to the mix. Biutiful has garnered a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film as well as one for Best Actor for Javier Bardem's stellar performance. Biutiful is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu whose previous films include Babel, 21 Grams and one of my favorites Amores Perros. Check out the trailer below...

Our most famous local cinephile, Dale Pollock, believes Biutiful is one of the best films of the year, so check out his Movie A Day Blog to learn why. You can also check out the review in Relish.

The Shorter Oscar Fare

So it's time to roll out the red carpet again and celebrate this year's Oscar nominated films - no not the feature films we have pretty much been celebrating all year long, but the other ones...the really small gems. This Saturday, February 19 and next Saturday, February 26 we welcome back the Oscar nominated shorts - both Live Action and Animated.

As said best by our heroes at THE Alamo Drafthouse Cinema...."Just because they're short doesn't make them any less entertaining, important or meaningful. In fact, one could argue that the short film format actually makes the art of filmmaking a greater challenge, considering the microscopic budgets and the narrative limitations of time. James Cameron had 300 million dollars and 10 years to make AVATAR - these wee gems of the cinema are labors of love, not box office returns. Join us for the rare opportunity to watch the best short films of 2010 the way they were meant to be seen, on the BIG screen!"

So here is the schedule and a brief synopsis of the films:

LIVE ACTION SHORTS - 2/19 and 2/26 at 10:00am (yes, two screenings only!!)

THE CONFESSION; United Kingdom; Oscar Nominee: Tanel Toom. Quiet and sincere, 9-year-old Sam is worried about making his first confession at church. As his conscience is clear, he therefore cannot hope for any relief from the experience. He and his friend Jacob decide to remedy that situation, but their initially innocent prank turns unexpectedly tragic. (26 min.)

THE CRUSH; Ireland; Oscar Nominee: Michael Creagh. An 8-year-old schoolboy is so besotted with his teacher that he challenges her boyfriend to a duel to the death. (15 min.)

GOD OF LOVE; USA; Oscar Nominee: Luke Matheny. Lounge-singing darts champion Raymond Goodfellow finds his prayers are answered -- literally -- when he receives a mysterious package of passion-inducing darts. The catch is that the one woman he loves -- Kelly, a drummer in his band -- is already in love with Ray's best friend Fozzie, the guitarist in the band. But when Ray uses the darts in a loony scheme to resolve this strange romantic triangle, he learns a surprising lesson about unrequited love and discovers his own place in the universe. Romance is in the air in this bohemian charmer. (18 min.)

NA WEWE; Belgium; Oscar Nominee: Ivan Goldschmidt. 1994: There is civil war in Burundi, a small country of Central Africa directly bordering Rwanda. A near genocidal confrontation opposes rebels mainly composed of ethnic Hutus and a national army with a majority of Tutsis. This short film relates a sadly frequent episode of this fratricidal conflict: the attack by rebels of a minivan carrying ordinary citizens. A Kalashnikov bursts out. The bus stops, the passengers get off. An order is barked: "Hutus to the left, Tutsis to the right!" The sorting out begins. But who is a Hutu, who is a Tutsi? This story is entirely based on real people and situations. It was written by a person who has lived in the beauty of Burundi and suffered its horrors. With emotion, suspense and humor it exposes the absurdity of ethnic and racial strife. "NA WEWE" (pronounce "Na wayway") means "You too" in Kirundi. (19 min.)

WISH 143; United Kingdom; Oscar Nominees: Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite. A fifteen-year-old boy with only months to live is granted one wish from the Dreamscape Charity. But David doesn't want to go to Disneyland or meet Gary Neville; what he really wants is an hour alone with a naked woman. (24 min.)

ANIMATED SHORTS - 2/19 and 2/26 at 10:15am and 12:15pm (yes, 4 screenings only!!!) So grab breakfast on the way and bring your kids!

DAY & NIGHT; USA; Oscar Nominee: Teddy Newton. When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities - and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world - the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective. (6 min.)

THE GRUFFALO; United Kingdom & Germany; Oscar Nominees: Max Lang and Jakob Schuh. The magical tale of a mouse who takes a walk through the woods in search of a nut. Encountering three predators who all wish to eat him - a fox, an owl and a snake - the plucky mouse has to use his wits to survive, creating an imaginary monster who then turns out to be all too real. The voice cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, James Corden, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt, Rob Brydon and Robbie Coltrane. (27 min.)

LET'S POLLUTE; USA; Oscar Nominee: Geefwee Boedoe. In the spirit of 50's & 60's educational films, 'Let's Pollute' is a modern satire on how pollution is our heritage and keeps our economy growing strong, while instructing us how to be better polluters for a better blighted tomorrow. (6 min.)

THE LOST THING; Australia & United Kingdom; Oscar Nominees: Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan. A boy discovers a bizarre looking creature while out collecting bottle tops at the beach. Realising it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but is met with indifference from everyone else, who barely notice its presence, each unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to their day to day lives. For reasons he does not explain, the boy empathizes with the creature, and sets out to find a 'place' for it. (15 min.)

MADAGASCAR, CARNET DE VOYAGE (MADAGASCAR, A JOURNEY DIARY); France; Oscar Nominee: Bastien Dubois. A visual travel journal demonstrating the importance of dance, death, and traditional customs present and vibrant in the Malagasy society. (11 min.)

Additional films in the theatrical program (Not among the nominated)

URS (Moritz Mayerhofer, 10 min.)

THE COW THAT WANTED TO BE A HAMBURGER (Bill Plympton, 6 min.)

For all you parents out there here is a link to the official website and trailers for each of the animated films to find out whether they are appropriate for your child (the shorts are not "officially" rated). According to the official facebook page, the Animated films are deemed KID FRIENDLY while the Live Action are not!

Blue is the new pink to Cupid

As I sat down to write this blog, probably one of the most appropriate commercials flashed up on the screen - Unstoppable. If there was ever a film that I would classify as a train wreck, like the movie about a runaway train aforementioned, Blue Valentine would be it. However, I can promise you that not many films will feel as real to you as this one, unlike the made up holiday coming up this Monday (that comment will cost me an extra dozen roses, thanks for nothing Hallmark). Michelle Williams (rightfully nominated for an Oscar) and Ryan Gosling (unrightfully snubbed for an Oscar) are a couple whose routine has made them forget what brought them together in the first place. However, this movie isn't Just Go With It where Adam Sandler probably realizes he loves his somehow plain looking Jennifer Aniston assistant instead of the ridiculously hot Brooklyn Decker (that one cost me a box of chocolates) that he's created a web of lies for. Blue Valentine is about a romance ending and how they got there. Check out the review that was in Relish this week:

Sounds like a real winner for Valentine's Day weekend, right? I'm actually going to argue that it is, as I told my wonderful and lovely wife after watching. For me, it was seeing some of the little things I was doing (intentionally or not) that mimic'd Gosling's character contributing to driving his girl away that helped me realize what I shouldn't be doing. And I think it works the same way for the ladies, so while depressing to a degree, it makes you realize what you should be doing to prove your love to the person you care about the most, and isn't that what February 14th should really be about? Wow, if that last little bit didn't make up for my anti-Valentine's day comments and discussion of another woman's hotness, I don't know what will. We'll score it back at even now. Check out the trailer and see what you think:

And in our tradition (does two times really make it a ritual??) of screening unconventional romantic movies on V-Day, we're using our strictly platonic partnership with RiverRun, the cineclub to show Oscar nominated documentary Waste Land at 8 pm on Monday. Check out their blog for some more info and go ahead and get your tickets, because every restaurant is already booked. Seriously, you're too late. I've been calling everywhere. Can someone get me a table somewhere? I guess I'm in the doghouse again. Rats.

And icing on the cake...we have blueberry lemonade cakeballs!

What happened to the other 120?

So I've been gone for a little bit, and I apologize, but the reasons are threefold. First, The King's Speech has been doing all the talking for me. Sellouts left and right + more Oscar nominations than 80s samples on a Girl Talk album = too busy to write. Second, to really honor the film that opened last week that I haven't promoted enough, I wanted to come up with 127 reasons to see 127 Hours (Curator's editing note - no one wanted to read all of these, so I've got the top 7). And finally, I wanted to make sure no one passed out during its first week (SUCCESS!!).

127 - Who doesn't like Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later, Millions, and the movie that made it cool to be an Indian trivia nerd like me, Slumdog Millionaire)

76 - If you don't believe me that it's good, check out the reviews from Mark Burger at Yes! Weekly and in Relish (both gave it 3 and 1/2 stars)

69 - (Editor's note: Yes, my husband is still very immature) Hey, that scene with Mr. Franco and those two ladies jumping into the water looks vaguely familiar...

....that's me at the Homestead Crater in Midway, Utah where they just coincidentally filmed a part of 127 Hours.

29 - The good people at Great Outdoor Provision Company are being totally awesome by giving you a 10% discount on one regularly priced hiking or camping item just by showing your receipt from 127 Hours at a/perture!

26 - Sure, you know how it ends, but didn't the bazillion other people that went to see Titanic? And besides, James Franco is way cuter and funnier than Leo (blogger's note: that last sentence was added by Lawren)

19 - Did you see our facebook posts proving how cool James Franco is? His Grandmother and The Daily Show agree.

1 - All kidding aside, it is an incredibly told and acted real life story, that actually made me come out of the theater not only more appreciative of what Aron Ralston had to go through, but more thankful of everything I have. So ignore the stuff about how gross it is and how you won't be able to watch it.

Preview:

Myrtle's Speech

Not that writing blog posts isn't fun, but it becomes really really fun when it involves getting the chance to talk to someone intimately involved in the production of a film. Hence, today I am really really excited to sit down at my laptop because we were lucky enough to have the amazing and awesomely gracious Jennifer Ehle answer a few questions!!!!!

For those of you who may not know, Jennifer Ehle was raised in Winston-Salem and stars as "Myrtle Logue" in our current hit THE KING'S SPEECH.

She also happens to be a two-time Tony Award-winning actress!!! She performs both on the stage and in film. Jennifer is probably best known for her starring role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 mini-series "Pride and Prejudice" in which she starred alongside Colin Firth. She has starred in such films as Wilde, Sunshine, Paradise Road, Michael Clayton and Pride and Glory. Her two Tony Awards came for her performances in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing (2000) and The Coast of Utopia (2006/2007).

Here's what we threw at Jennifer:

1.) So how did you come by your role as "Myrtle Logue" in The King's Speech? Did you seek out the role or did it just sort of fall in your lap?

My wonderful agent in London, Sally Long-Innis, set up a meeting for me with both Tom Hooper, the director of The King's Speech, and the casting director. We all had a nice chat. Tom thought about it for a few days and then I was told that Myrtle was mine.

2.) In The King's Speech, your character is Australian and in your career so far you have played a lot of British characters, so you seem to be amazingly at ease with accents, does that just come naturally or is it due to your training? Why do you think you gravitate to non-American roles?

I don't think it's so much to do with gravitating to non- American roles as to just being lucky enough to be offered parts with such varied backgrounds. I did live in London for 12 years and was fortunate enough to make a living there playing English characters.

3.) What was it like to be reunited on screen with your Pride and Prejudice co-star Colin Firth all these years later? The one scene that you have with him (and costars Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter in the Logue dining room) is perhaps my favorite in the entire film. What was it like filming that scene? Was it as fun to film as it seems?

It was wonderful to work with Colin again, he is such a brilliant actor. I had never worked with Helena or Geoffrey before but had known them both a little bit for a long time and adore them. Helena, Geoffrey and Colin were all very funny together and lovely and welcoming to me so there was a lot of laughter I remember. The day we shot the scene of Myrtle arriving home and finding The Windsors in her sitting room I was 'wearing' my baby in a carrier, and she fell asleep while we were rehearsing. No one batted an eyelid, it was very sweet.

4.) What do you think that you have taken with you into your acting roles from growing up in Winston-Salem?

I feel very fortunate to have grown up in Winston-Salem, in a city that values the arts and artists so highly.

5.) When you come back to town to visit your parents where is the one place (restaurant, store, etc) you just have to visit?

Whenever I come back to Winston to visit I try to get to Reynolda Gardens to have a wander and a lemonade (easy on the sugar) from the soda shop. I used to spend a lot of time at Maria's shop, formerly at The Stratford Center, and I miss it now; but I do see Maria herself (my Godmother) when I am home! Also my third grade teacher from Whitaker School, Nancy Truluck, and I try to get together, too.

Just another reason to come see THE KING'S SPEECH!

New Year, New Films

So we are excited to welcome a handful of new films this weekend...and we know it's going to be a crazy madhouse around here with our first film...THE KING'S SPEECH. I can honestly say that this film is one of the best, if not the best of the year. I usually leave the reviews to the critics, but I was so impressed by this film that I just have to take this opportunity to gush. THE KING'S SPEECH has everything that makes a movie great...a good story, a sense of humor, drama, a stellar cast....and on and on....

Burger pretty much gushes just as much as I do in his Yes!Weekly review.

Our next film is a documentary on the Drive By Truckers. THE SECRET TO A HAPPY ENDING documents the Drive-By Truckers and their congregation of fans as they explore tales of human weakness and redemption. Filmmaker Barr Weissman followed the band during three critical years of touring and recording — years in which the band struggles to overcome the trauma of divorce and survives a near breakup. SECRET combines band interviews, behind-the-scenes footage on the road and in the studio, along with legendary live performances. Reflective of the band’s roots in Alabama and Georgia, the film explores the changing American South — its tangled past and strange beauty. THE SECRET TO A HAPPY ENDING is only here for one showing Saturday, 1/15 @ 10:30pm and tickets are going fast! We will have some giveaways and a drawing for an autographed poster.

On Sunday, January 16 at 8pm we will be screening ZEITGEIST:MOVING FORWARD. Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, by director Peter Joseph, is a feature length documentary work which will present a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. Here is a link to a great article in the NY Times about the Zeitgeist movement and director Peter Joseph.



It's going to be a super-sized weekend!

Best of 2010 - Part 2

I've already posted my best of 2010 film list, but 2010 has been full of so many other special memories that I just couldn't stop there. Below is my Best of Everything Else List (in random order):

1.) CAKEBALLS!!!!

2.) RiverRun

3.) The fact that Genevieve likes to dress up for anything

4.) Our Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.... tattoos

5.) The special screenings we have had for non-profits and the community including: Indestructible, The Thin Man, Citizen Architect, 8: The Mormon Proposition, Crude...just to name a few

6.) Our LOST season finale showing and the best costume winner!

7.) The bulletin board of questions (with the most popular one yet...favorite soundtrack)

8.) All the great press we have received over the past year. Thank you to Winston-Salem Journal, relish, Yes!Weekly, 88.5 WFDD, skirt! and on and on.

9.) A special q&a with Peter Brunette following The White Ribbon...Rest in Peace dear Peter.

10.) Finally being able to screen Stone and invite Angus MacLachlan in to answer a few questions

2010 will be a year to remember with all of the "extra" things we've been able to do. To get a little sentimental though some of my best memories will continue to be the private times I spend with my son at a/perture.

Bring it on 2011!

Best of 2010 - Part 1

Happy New Year! As we welcome in 2011, I thought it would be fitting to rank my "best of" 2010 films. I do love making lists. So below are my favorite films that found a home at a/perture last year:

10.) A Town Called Panic – the first film that graced our screens. How could we not love a stop-motion animated movie about Cowboy, Horse and Indian?

9.) Exit Through the Gift Shop – whether it was “real” or not, we loved this documentary about Banksy and the street art scene.

8.) A Single Man – a beautifully photographic film by director Tom Ford and starring the charming and oh so handsome Colin Firth

7.) Waiting for “Superman” – the much-lauded doc about the state of America’s public education system brought in the teachers. We loved the discussions it generated.

6.) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – we screened the entire trilogy, but the first one was the standout. It was so good we forgot that it was subtitled.

5.) Winter’s Bone – the debut film from director Debra Granik may have been a bit gloomy, but the superb acting by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence was a ray of sunshine.

4.) The Secret in Their Eyes – too bad we couldn’t get more people to come see the 2010 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film. The Academy was spot-on about the pure genius of this Argentine murder mystery.

3.) Inside Job – the inspired doc about the 2008 financial crisis really got patrons' blood boiling.

2.) The Social Network – the critics’ darling, we were so happy to have a week’s worth of screenings at a/perture. Really, where would we be without our 3,441 facebook fans?

1.) Black Swan – this Natalie Portman/Darren Aronofsky demented ballerina thriller is still breaking attendance records.

Honorable mention: A Prophet (Jigar's favorite), Marwencol and I Am Love

It really was a stellar year and 2011 is shaping up to be just as spectacular! We've created a special f/irst anniversary poster and you can pick up your copy for only $3.50. Help support a/perture and decorate your office cubicle, dorm or man cave.