Sunday Night Film Club – Boston

Don’t let the films of Danny Boyle fool you. The director of edgy hits like SHALLOW GRAVE, TRAINSPOTTING and 28 DAYS LATER isn’t really a cynic, and this enchanting and supremely charming family (yes – family!) fantasy proves it. Starting anew after the death of their mother, 9-year-old Anthony and 7-year-old Damian move to suburban Manchester with their dad. It is a time of readjustment, and while Anthony is ever practical, Damian uses his imagination to create an array of companions – the Catholic Saints, whom only he can see and hear. When one day a sack of stolen cash falls to him from the sky (or so it seems), Damian decides to donate the money to the poor and help his mother gain her sainthood in the afterlife. His actions lead to high comedy, with the right touch of genuine sincerity, in Danny Boyle’s first family classic.

“Sin City” is infested with criminals, crooked cops and sexy dames, some searching for vengeance, some for redemption and others, both. The film incorporates storylines from three of Miller’s graphic novels including ‘Sin City,’ which launched the long-running, critically acclaimed series, as well as ‘That Yellow Bastard’ and ‘The Big Fat Kill.’ Where Hartigan, a cop with a bum ticker and a vow to protect stripper Nancy (Jessica Alba).. Mickey Rourke as Marv, the outcast misanthrope on a mission to avenge the death of his one true love, Goldie (Jaime King), and Clive Owen as Dwight, the clandestine love of Shelley (Brittany Murphy), who spends his nights defending Gail (Rosario Dawson) and her Old Towne girls (Devon Aoki and Alexis Bledel) from Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro), a dirty cop with a penchant for violence.

Two friends wonder if there might be more between them when their lives both take a left turn in this romantic comedy. Terry (Joan Allen) is a middle-aged housewife and mother of four teenaged daughters and gets the shock of her life when her husband, without a word of warning, leaves them behind to move to Sweden with his secretary. Going through a bender of depression and alcohol, Terry finds herself commiserating with Denny (Kevin Costner), a former baseball star turned unenthusiastic radio personality who was her husband’s best friend and a frequent presence at the house. With both Terry and Denny feeling down in the dumps about recent events in their lives, the two find themselves drawn to one another, and while Terry fights the notion of a new romance, her daughters — Andy (Erika Christensen), Hadley (Alicia Witt), Emily (Keri Russell), and Lavender (Evan Rachel Wood) — have different ideas. The Upside of Anger was written and directed by Mike Binder, who also plays a supporting role as the producer of Denny’s radio show. – Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

If you’ve been itching to see Kevin Costner play another Baseball player, than this is the movie for you! – Sean Graham

Based on the life and career of boxer Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull focuses on Jake’s rage and violence that makes him virtually unstoppable in the ring. The same anger also drives Jake to beat his wife and his brother Joey, and sends Jake down a self-destructive spiral of paranoia and rage.

Looks like an alien, sings like a diva – Klaus Nomi was one of 1980’s most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences. He was a performer with a look so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he instead became one of the first prominent artists to die of AIDS. But the reaction Nomi provoked was so strong, that he is still unforgettable even 20 years after his death.

THE NOMI SONG is a story of love of music and love of performing at a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something (anything) simply because they wanted to make the most of the limited time they felt they were given on this earth. It’s a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him, loved him, felt pity for him or betrayed by him, yet above all, were inspired by him.

Nomi constructed his own myth out of elements so completely wrong, yet so deliberate, that it all seemed oddly possible. He was an alien amongst the outcasts, a tortured soul who also radiated optimism at a time when optimism was officially out of fashion. He was as much a genuine talent as he was the engine of his own destruction. His appeal is not easy to explain in words. He has to be seen (and heard) to be believed.

“Estranged siblings, still mourning the recent loss of their parents, struggle with daily life in Los Angeles, when a werewolf attack unites them and a stranger, who then must fight for survival against the beast and its curse.”

“The close-up of the tear-stained face of Marie Falconetti in Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the most famous images in all of cinema. Based on authentic records of the eighteen-month-long trial of the fifteenth-century warrior-saint in Orlians, the film brings a rigorous formal style, exquisite cinematography, and striking architectural sets to bear on the moral questions that surround Joan, her judges, and her ultimate fate. Falconetti had never appeared in films before and would never act again, but her performance here is ranked among the greatest creations of cinema.”

“Inside Deep Throat examines the unanticipated lasting cultural impact generated by Deep Throat, a sexually explicit film first shown in a midtown Manhattan adult theatre in 1972 that quickly became the flashpoint for an unprecedented social and political firestorm. Generally considered the most profitable film of all time (produced for less than $25,000 but earning countless millions), the barely one-hour movie became compulsory viewing for millions of ordinary Americans and celebrities, as an individual’s fascination or repulsion identified his or her place in the cultural shifts of the time. Written and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (Party Monster, The Eyes of Tammy Faye)”