And we’re back! It’s been along layoff since James and I had a chance to sit down and record a new podcast, and thanks to the wonders of memory, in this episode you’ll hear exactly why this is so. We also talk briefly about the Oscars, more specifically on the In Memorium montage that honors those who have lost their life in the past year, and we note some of the most obvious snubs from this montage, including the man we devote this episode to, writer/director Dan O’Bannon.
O’Bannon isn’t a household name, but his contributions to the Alien franchise and zombie lore alone make him as influential as anyone you are likely to find working in genre films. But then, the Academy isn’t fond of genre films, so why should they be fond of Dan O’Bannon?
So in this episode James and I tackle five of his films as our own way of honoring a man who has made movie watching just so damn enjoyable for us over the years. You may not know who he is, but you’ll be hard pressed to avoid his influences in modern film. He was an incredible talent, and film making is a lesser medium with his loss, and a whole lot less fun. But hopefully you’ll take the time to try out some of his films and finally see just what you’ve been missing.
Just in time for the upcoming Oscars, shocking I know, several theatres here in the Twin Cities have decided to host some movie marathons of films nominated for this year’s Oscars, from Live Action and Animated short films, to Documentary to every Best Picture nominee, you can find them somewhere in the Cities this weekend and next.
Live Action and Animated Short Films The Lagoon Cinema
Animated – 2:50 & 7:15 (Daily)
Live Action – 5:10 & 9:30 (Daily)
Matinee $7 | General $9
Twin Cities Gold Film Festival Woodbury 10 Theatre
The Most Dangerous Man in America – Sat @ 7:00 (Twin Cities Premiere)
Food Inc – Fri @ 1:00 | Sat @ 5:00 | Sun @ 3:00
Burma VJ – Fri @ 3:00 & 9:00 | Sat @ 3:00 | Sun @ 1:00
Which Way Home – Fri @ 7:00 | Sat @ 9:00 | Sun @ 5:00 (Twin Cities Premiere)
The Cove – Fri @ 5:00 | Sat @ 1:00 | Sun @ 7:00
Tickets $6 | Festival Pass $25
Best Picture Marathon Day 1 (Feb 27th)
AMC Eden Prairie 18
10:30 – Avatar
1:45 – Up
3:45 – A Serious Man
6:30 – Precious
8:45 – District 9
AMC Arbor Lakes 16 & AMC Rosedale 14
10:30 – Avatar
1:45 – Up in the Air
4:00 – Precious
6:45 – The Blind Side
9:15 – Inglourious Basterds
Day 2 (March 6)
AMC Eden Prairie 18
10:30 – An Education
12:45 – The Hurt Locker
3:25 – Up in the Air
6:00 – The Blind Side
8:30 – Inglourious Basterds
AMC Arbor Lakes 16 & AMC Rosedale 14
10:30 – Up
12:45 – A Serious Man
2:45 – The Hurt Locker
6:00 – An Education
8:00 – District 9
Its been sometime since I’ve been able to post a recent Coming Soon list so you’ll notice that a vast majority of the movies listed are labeled new additions. With the sheer number of new additions I didn’t have the time to go through and check out trailers and reviews for some of them but I did try to label as many of those as I could as recommended. The Red Riding trilogy coming in March is certainly one that I have an eye on, as I’ve heard excellent things about it.
Of course the movie I’m most excited about on the whole sheet is the one being re-released this weekend at The Uptown, that being Rashomon, the breakout International hit for my favorite director, Akira Kurosawa. If you haven’t had the chance to see it yet, now is the perfect time to swing by The Uptown and watch one of the greatest films ever made.
*** – Denotes recommended viewing
All dates subject to change
2/12 Rashomon (Restored Print) Uptown***
2/12 Creation Edina
2/19 North Face Uptown ***
2/19 Oscar Nominated Shorts Lagoon ***
2/19 District B13: Ultimatum Lagoon
2/26 44 Inch Chest Lagoon***
2/26 Saint John of Las Vegas Lagoon***
3/05 The Ghost Writer Lagoon (tentative)
3/12 A Prophet Uptown
3/12 Red Riding: 1974 Lagoon (NEW)***
3/12 Red Riding: 1980 Lagoon (NEW)***
3/12 Red Riding: 1983 Lagoon (NEW)***
3/12 A Town Called Panic Lagoon ***
3/12 The Art of the Steal Edina
3/12 The Yellow Handkerchief Edina (NEW)
3/19 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Uptown (NEW)
3/19 Mother Lagoon (NEW)***
3/19 The Runaways Lagoon (NEW)
3/19 Fish Tank Lagoon ***
3/26 Terribly Happy Lagoon (NEW)
3/26 Chloe Edina (NEW)
3/26 City Island Edina (NEW)
4/02 Police, Adjective Lagoon
4/09 The Most Dangerous Man in America Lagoon (NEW)***
4/09 The Greatest Edina (NEW)
4/16 Sweetgrass Lagoon (NEW)
4/23 The Square Lagoon ***
4/30 Warlords Lagoon ***
5/07 Mid-August Lunch Lagoon (NEW)
5/14 The Good, The Bad, and The Weird Lagoon (NEW)
While most people know the Hugo Awards as a literary award for the top science fiction and fantasy works of the past year they also hand out awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form & Short Form. The Long Form award typically is for the best film with occasional audio books garnering recognition as well, while the short form is typically dominated by television shows. Like most awards, the Hugo’s are voted upon by the members of Worldcon, which is dominated by science fiction and fantasy authors and creators. In conjunction with the Nebula Awards, the Hugo represents the highest honor for science fiction and fantasy creators.
This year marked a landmark group of possible winners for the Long Form category. Nominees included Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hellboy 2 and METAtropolis (an audio book). One of the more interesting aspects of the Hugo Award voting system is that they not only publish the voting results (you paying attention Oscars) but they also employ run off voting making for some interesting results. As for the actual winners, you might be surprised to learn that Wall-E beat out The Dark Knight to win the 2009 Hugo Award.
Even more exciting was the winner of the Short Form Award, that being the online mini series Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, which beat out episodes of Doctor Who, Battlestar Gallactica and Lost to take the award. That’s one heck of a feat for a web series to knock off the three biggest science fiction television shows currently going.
For those of us who dig the minutia, the voting results are after the break.
While mainstream theaters are being deluged with mediocre films, here in Minneapolis we have a few Independent films being released that look very interesting. First off is Frederico Fellini’sAmarcord, which is getting an exclusive re-release at the Lagoon. And while I’ve heard it is fantastic, the film I am even more interested in viewing is Everlasting Moments, the Swedish film perhaps best known for being submitted for Oscar consideration over Let the Right One In.
DVD releases are a bit drier as the mainstream films are almost universally awful, so the weight of the week falls upon the foreign film releases. Of course the big name release is Slumdog Millionaire, but make sure to keep an eye out for the French thriller Tell No One and the Spanish time travelling genre film TimeCrimes.
And we’re back! It’s been along layoff since James and I had a chance to sit down and record a new podcast, and thanks to the wonders of memory, in this episode you’ll hear exactly why this is so. We also talk briefly about the Oscars, more specifically on the In Memorium montage that honors those who have lost their life in the past year, and we note some of the most obvious snubs from this montage, including the man we devote this episode to, writer/director Dan O’Bannon.
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