Mining the catacombs of the obvious and not-so-obvious film choices that the Twin Cities has to offer, I was able to come up with back-to-back silent films, an interesting stop-motion animation and a Bollywood action bomb:

Thursday, July 30 @ The Heights – The Patsy (1928)

Nothing matches the grandeur of a special screening at The Heights Theater in Columbia Heights. Even though my head is usually bobbing up and down in an attempt capitalize on any momentum possible to pedal up those last 500 feet of the Central Avenue hill, the sparkly lights of the marquee and iconic vertical sign are the only carrot needed for a sad donkey like me.

I no more than sat down, front and center, before Karl Eilers elevated the mighty Wurlitzer organ for a little pre-show jamming. Almost all special screenings are preceded by putting the theater organ into use, and this night was no different. It’s worth noting, however, that Eilers was not only here for the pre-show entertainment, but also to play the live accompaniment to the film.

Silent films are hardly my era of expertise—by a long shot—but fortunately Tom Letness, owner of The Heights, introduced the film providing some background for neophytes like myself as well as trivia for the seasoned fans. Most notable about Marion Davies, star of The Patsy, was her affiliation with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Not only was her career overshadowed by her private life, but also it was Hearst that pushed her away from comedies, her forte, toward more dramatic roles.

Although I don’t think I have seen any other film that Marion Davies has been in, it is hard to imagine her being any better than she is in The Patsy. Davies exudes the physical talent demanded from silent pictures with the ability to change the dynamic of an entire scene with a look or a gesture. She plays Pat Harrington, the ill-favored daughter in a socialite family. But that doesn’t stop her from mooning over her sister’s boyfriend, the square and handsome Tony. When her sister ditches Tony for playboy Billy Caldwell, Pat sees her chance. Pat’s irrepressible silliness and indirect communication results in madcap rom-com mayhem.

In what is one of the funniest scenes in the film, Pat tries to revive a drunken Billy Caldwell by imitating the portraits of silent film stars she sees hanging on the wall. In what is obviously an inside joke to audience members familiar with the actresses, Davies, in turn, does the brilliant physical caricatures of Mae Murry, Lillian Gish and Pola Negri. I’m not even that familiar with these actresses and I found it to be a hoot.

Directed by the ever-prolific King Vidor, The Patsy is also notable for the the boost to the career of blacklisted vaudeville actress Marie Dressler staring as the oppressive matriarch. Dressler was reportedly on the verge of suicide when offered the role, and she went on to make a huge comeback until her death in 1934.

Friday, July 31 @ The Trylon – Seven Chances (1925)

Planning in advance pays off, especially when it comes to the grand opening of the Twin Cities newest (and only?) microcinema. Entering the third and last weekend of the grand opening Buster Keaton series, there was nary a free ticket in sight. At approximately 50 seats, the deserved media attention that The Trylon received meant turning many people away from these special screenings.

With The Trylon’s series and two DVDs to supplement, I have seen more Buster Keaton in July than I have my entire life. But isn’t that the beauty of having screens programmed by visionary curators?  And I don’t care how nice your home theater is, watching these on 35mm accompanied by a live score is as good as you are going to get.

The band line-up this weekend for the Dreamland Faces was accordion, piano, percussion and clarinet/oboe. The band has been utterly amazing, and although I think their score for The Navigator was my favorite, Seven Chances definitely tested their mettle. One of the most energetic films in the series, Seven Chances could be called Run Buster Run due to the fact that he is literally running for the last 20 minutes of the film. It’s exhausting (and exhilarating) for the viewer and I’m sure the band was feeling it as well.

Jimmy Shannon (Keaton) is a partner in a failing brokerage firm and, unless he can figure something out, he is on the road to ruin. Suddenly he learns that he has inherited seven million dollars (the equivalent of 85 million today according to the inflation calculator) on one condition: he must marry by 7:00pm. When his sweetheart Mary says no, Jimmy reluctantly agrees to try to find someone else. In a desperate attempt to find a bride, his partner places an ad in the newspaper, resulting in 700 angry brides hot on Jimmy’s tale.

A short film entitled Goat preceded Seven Chances. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Buster gets mistaken for the hardened criminal ‘Dead Shot Dan.’ There is a really great scene in Goat where a train come speeding towards the camera from a distance that results in a close-up of Buster, who is of coarse sitting on the front of the train, as casual as can be.

Saturday, August 3 @ Cinema Revolution

Saturday marked my overdue visit to the new space of the newly dubbed Cinema Revolution Society. Nestled in the lobby of Intermedia Arts on Lyndale, CRS is still a video store, but, as the name implies, aims to be much more. Part of the mission of the new Cinema Revolution Society was made evident by their series of films, all by local filmmakers, earlier this summer. Owner John Koch, a filmmaker himself, has ambitions not only to unite the film community through CRS, but also to help it blossom. John and I had shared such idealistic notions before and it seems as though we both still believe in them.

The video store portion of the Cinema Revolution Society is very much open for business. The store is still filled to the gills with some of the best titles available and a large section for local films. Perched above the lobby of Intermedia Arts, the place was bustling with Fringe Fest folks. I’m excited to see how the Cinema Revolution Society will evolve and hope to be a part of it.

@ The Lagoon – $9.99 (2008)

In the Loop and $9.99 were films that came out this weekend that I wanted to see: $9.99 happened to be the better choice time-wise; In the Loop will have to wait. It was a very quiet afternoon at the Lagoon with very few people joining me for the first show of the day.

An Australian-Israeli stop animation film, $9.99 is unique right out of the gate. Based on the dark and delicate short stories of Etgar Keret (co-director of Jellyfish), the film takes a half dozen people who live in the same apartment building and puts them under a microscope for 78 minutes. At the heart of the film is the Peck family: the father Jim is a trapped salary man still searching for why his wife left him; adult son Lenny is a smooth-talking repo man; and other son Dave is an unemployed 28-year-old still living at home who finds the meaning of life in a book that costs $9.99.

At times unexpectedly charming and at other times disturbingly surreal, $9.99 benefits from its style and the five star voice cast (including Anthony LaPaglia and Geoffrey Rush.) These characters verge on cliché (the stoner who can’t commit, the widower suffering from loneliness, the father who doesn’t understand his son), but with their modeled, lumpy weirdness, they are transported out of the world where clichés exist. I have a nostalgic soft spot for stop-motion animation. It’s got a physicality that magically exists in another dimension, and this holds true with $9.99.

The story that resonated the most was probably the one that was the least profound. Zach is a young boy who pines after a soccer action figure that is prominently displayed in the toy store window. His father—feeling that this is his chance to teach his son a valuable lesson—gives Zach a piggy bank and says he will give him 50 cents every time he finishes his glass of milk in order to save for the action figure. Although disappointed, Zach goes along with the plan and ends up growing fond of the absurdly cute piggy bank. (I don’t think you could find a piggy bank that looked so damn cute!) When it comes time to break the bank open, Zach can’t do it and resolves to set his pig free. The gesture is sweet and simple and totally moving.

Slingin’ popcorn at The Trylon

Yes, the truth comes out: not only am I a patron of the Trylon but a highly skilled volunteer able to add $1, $1.50 and $2 in any possible combination. I just dare any of you to order six sodas, five popcorns and nine candies from me and see if I can add it up.

Those of us at the Trylon Saturday night, both audience and staff alike, were able to celebrate twelve sold out shows for the series. The Keaton series sadly came to a close, but The Trylon has a full slate of weekend scheduling for September, October, and November. Look for me behind the candy counter!

Sunday, August 2 – Luck (2009)

Is everyone aware that we have a first run Bollywood movie theater in town? In a dilapidated strip mall in Brooklyn Center stands the independently owned Brookdale 8, serving up Indian hits and misses ever weekend along side bargain second run features. On almost any given day, I would much rather take my chances with an unknown Bollywood film than an overrated Hollywood film, but you have both options at the Brookdale 8 and you can get samosas, popcorn and a coke.

Like spinning the wheel of fortune, I chose to go see Luck (Azma), an action film promising less over-the-top song and dance and more over-the-top style. When I got there I realized that maybe it wasn’t the best choice, because, well, I was the only one watching it.

If you combined the plot of M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable with the French thriller 13 Tzameti and gave it the look of Johnny To’s Running Out of Time, you would have something very close to Luck. Part of the interesting aspects of the average Bollywood film is that it can be such an amazing pastiche styles and references. Unabashed borrowing is not the same as blatant copying when you are able to come up with a whole that is original. Luck might be original, but it boarders on completely inane as it throws caution and logic into the wind. An air-tight plot is not something I am normally concerned about, but this film was so loose at connecting the dots that it became comedic.

Musa is a high roller, obsessed with his own innate luck and the potential luck of others. Always outfitted in an airy kurta, a plush velvety sports coat and a fancy horseshoe necklace, Musa runs an extremely profitable gambling ring that rides on other’s fate. Always on the prowl for people who seem to be supernaturally lucky, he manipulates them in participating in games of chance where the general public places bets on individuals and their survival. Enter Ram, who is financially down on his luck and is desperate to find a way out. He agrees, under pressure, to participate in this game with 15 other hapless individuals.

Luck clocks in at about 2 ½ hours, and is relatively entertaining and painless unless you have a low tolerance for implausible drama and superficial characters. If you edited the film down to all the shots of people looking cool and walking in slow motion, I bet you would still have a film over an hour. Yes, there is a romance and, yes, there are plenty of musical interludes that are supposed to earn the characters some sympathy, but it simply doesn’t happen. In the end, Luck was a dud. From the look of the line when I emerge from the theater, I should have gone to the movie after .

Tags: Brookdale 8, Cinema Revolution, Lagoon, popcorn, The Heights, Trylon Microcinema

This post was written by Kathie Smith, Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 12:40 am and is filed under Diversionary Tactics, Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.