It’s somewhat of a quieter week film wise, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t great things to catch! Here is your #movienerdreport!
Just a few weekends ago, nearly 30 teams competed in the Cleveland 48 Hour Film Competition. Participants had to create a short film in 48 hours by being given a genre, a line of dialogue that must be used, a character that must be incorporated, and a prop! Now you have the chance to see the results at the Capitol Theatre (1390 W. 65th Street, Cleveland 44103)! Group A will screen on Tuesday at 7 p.m., Group B will screen right after at 9 p.m., and Group C will screen on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Better move quickly as these screenings usually sell out! You might just see your resident movie nerd show up in one of these (hint hint).
Tickets are available here: https://www.clevelandcinemas.com/our-locations/x0fp0-capitol-theatre/
With the wild success of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” Hollywood decided to take a week off from major releases (that will change next weekend when the new “Spiderman” opens) but we do have a few independent films that should interest some of our readers!
First up is the new film from Nicolas Winding Refn, and it is called “Her Private Hell.” The film follows a young actress who is searching for her father in a futuristic, mist-filled metropolis. The film stars Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton and Havana Rose Liu.
The other film that will open at a number of local theaters is “Motor City.” The film tells the story of a blue-collar autoworker who falls for a gangster’s girl, and in retaliation is framed for crimes he did not commit and he decides to get his revenge. This one stars Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster and Shailene Woodley. The gimmick with this film is that it is dialogue free!
Over at the Cleveland Cinematheque (11610 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44106):
Thursday at 6:15 p.m. and Saturday at 9 p.m. they will present a 4K restoration of the Japanese film “All About Lily Chou-Chou.” It is a coming of age tale that looks at teenagers who can escape their troubles through Lily Chou-Chou’s music.
Thursday at 9 p.m. they will continue the Dario Argento series with “Phenomena.” The film stars Jennifer Connelly as a young woman who has abilities to communicate with insects and that ability might be able to help her solve a string of murders.
Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. they will be showing one of the most acclaimed films of the year in “Blue Heron.” It follows the dynamics of an immigrant family who settle in Vancouver and the effect the oldest son’s behavior has on that family dynamic.
Friday at 8:55 p.m. and Saturday at 6:55 p.m. they will present one of the most acclaimed film noir’s in Carol Reed’s “The Third Man.” The film stars Orson Welles and will be presented on 35mm!
Sunday they will continue the Andrzej Wajda series at 3 p.m. with his 1977 film “Man of Marble” and at 7:45 p.m. they will show his 1978 film “Without Anesthesia.”
Sunday at 5:55 p.m. they will present the new film by filmmaker Alex Cox in “Dead Souls.”
Over at The Nightlight Cinema (30 N High Street Akron, OH 44308):
They will be opening the aforementioned “Her Private Hell” but also they will be opening a film that recently caused quite a bit of chatter when it played the Cleveland International Film Festival in “Our Hero, Balthazar.” The film follows a wealthy teenager, eager to impress his crush, who travels to Texas where he feels he can stop an act of extreme violence. It is the feature directorial debut of Oscar Boyson, who produced the Safdie Brothers films “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems.”
They also will be opening the film “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” It tells the story of a professor in revolutionary Iran who gathers her most dedicated students to study banned literature classics.
Saturday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday at 8 p.m. I am excited to say they will be playing a movie I got to work on in Matthew Dilts William’s “Camp Blood Christmas.” This production was filmed in Cleveland and North Canton and the plot revolves around a camp with a notorious past whose owner has the intention of turning it into a Christmas attraction for families. Little do they know, the killer clown from Camp Blood may not be ready to be forgotten.
Sunday at 5 p.m. they will present the film “The Fisherman.” It is about a Ghanaian fisherman who teams with a talking fish and a few companions on an adventure to Accra.
So there you have it for this week, we’ll see you at the movies!
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