Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jan 7th at 5:50pm for Children of Men at the AMC Loews Boston Common 19 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Children of Men” envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world’s youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and warring nationalistic sects, “Children of Men” follows an unlikely champion of Earth’s survival: Theo (Owen), a disillusioned ex-activist turned bureaucrat, who is forced to face his own demons and protect the planet’s last remaining hope.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jan 14th at 7:15pm for Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

On November 18, 1978, over 900 members of Peoples Temple died in the largest mass suicide/murder in history. What drew so many people across racial and class lines to the Peoples Temple? And how could such a diverse group be convinced to commit suicide? Using never-before-seen archival footage and survivor interviews, director Stanley Nelson and writer Marcia Smith tell the story of the people who followed preacher Jim Jones from Indiana to California and finally to the remote jungles of Guyana, South America, in a misbegotten quest to build an ideal society and rid the world of injustice.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jan 21st at 7:30 for Letters from Iwo Jima at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jan 28th at 7:50pm for Smokin’ Aces at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Sleazy entertainer Buddy ‘‘Aces’’ Israel (Jeremy Piven) incurs the wrath of crime boss Primo Sparazza when he agrees to testify against the Las Vegas mob. Two FBI agents (Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta) have the difficult task of protecting him from a motley assortment of bounty hunters, hit men and nefarious vixens who are converging on his Lake Tahoe encampment to rub him out and collect a hefty reward.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Feb 4th at 7:05pm for The Painted Veil at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Audra wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A 1920s love story about an English couple—Walter (Edward Norton), a middle-class doctor and Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class woman—who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with a local playboy (Liev Schreiber). After uncovering Kitty’s infidelity, Walter accepts a job in a Chinese village ravaged by a deadly epidemic and takes her along. The journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them new purpose in a remote and dangerous place. Written by Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia), based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by John Curran (We Don’t Live Here Anymore).”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Feb 11th at 7:05pm for Hannibal Rising at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“In Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, a young Hannibal watches as his parents violently die, leaving his cherished young sister in his care. This horrific moment will soon pale in comparison to the atrocities he is forced to witness and perhaps survive as a result of. Alone and without any means of support, he is forced to live in a Soviet orphanage that once served as his familyÂ’s beloved home. He flees to Paris to find his uncle has died but his beautiful and mysterious Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) welcomes him. Showing a cunning aptitude for science, he is accepted into medical school, which serves to hone his skills and provide the tools to exact justice on the war criminals that haunt him day and night. This quest will ignite an insatiable lust within a serial killer who was not born, but made.”

Back in late 2002, when Max started recruiting people in other cities to replicate his successful San Francisco Sunday Night Film Club, several people jumped at the opportunity. In addition to the Boston chapter, which we all know and love, chapters were started in several other cities (LA, Salt Lake, and Washington D.C., to name a few). Unfortunately, none of the other chapters seemed to reach critical mass and died off after a bit… Sadly, even the original SF chapter passed away when Max moved to the other side of the country.

Recently, however, we were contacted by some people in Washington D.C. who were interested in bringing the chapter in that city out of suspended animation. After some discussion and technical setup, that chapter is ready to go, and will be “officially” meeting for the first time this Sunday! So if you know anybody in D.C. who might be interested, tell them to go check the club’s site over at http://dc.sundaynightfilmclub.com/!

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Feb 18th at 7:00pm for An Unreasonable Man at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

A look at the career of consumer advocate Ralph Nader from wannabe presidential candidate to public pariah. Once upon a time not a long ago, Nader was one of the most admired Americans and the leader of the modern Consumer Movement. Without ever holding public office, Nader built a legislative record over the last thirty years rivaling that of any contemporary president. Many things we take for granted including seat belts, airbags, product labeling are largely due to the efforts of Ralph Nader and his citizen groups. Yet today, when most people hear the name “Ralph Nader,” they think of the man who split the vote in the 2000 election gave the country George W. Bush. As a result, despite his impeccable reputation, Nader has become a pariah even among former friends and allies. How did this happen? AN UNREASONABLE MAN traces the life and career Nader, one the most unique, important and controversial political figures of our time.

As is traditional for the Boston Sunday Night Film Club, we will be taking this Sunday off to give everyone a chance to catch the Academy Awards! We will return Sunday, March 4th with David Fincher’s new film Zodiac, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Mar 4th at 7:00pm for Zodiac at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. Investigators (Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards) and reporters (Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey) become obsessed with learning the killer’s identity and bringing him to justice. Meanwhile, Zodiac claims victim after victim and taunts the authorities with cryptic messages, cyphers and menacing phone calls.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Mar 11th at 5:40pm for 300 at the AMC Loews Boston Common 19 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

This might be a popular film, so it’s probably a good idea to pre-order tickets over at Fandango.

“In 480 B.C. a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes, and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), king of the Greek city state of Sparta, leads his badly outnumbered warriors against the massive Persian army. Though certain death awaits the Spartans, their sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against their common enemy. Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) and Lynn Varley.”

This announcement is a bit earlier than your usual SNFC fare, but you need to act quickly, so I figured the sooner the better!

The Brattle Theatre is running a “super cop” film festival called the Hot Fuzztival, in honor of the upcoming release of Hot Fuzz (the new comedy from the creators of Shaun of the Dead). The highlight of the festival is a preview screening of Hot Fuzz on Sunday, March 25th, one month before it is released here in the states. Creators Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg will be in person.

The trick is, in order to get a pass to this screening, you need to buy a ticket to one of the other films in the Hot Fuzztival in advance. If you bring a print out of the order to the box office on or after March 16th, you will get a free pass to see Hot Fuzz. While this is a little unorthodox, it’s the only way to get a pass for the screening. More details can be found at the Hot Fuzztival Page.

Obviously, I am telling you all this for a reason. The SNFC film for Sunday, March 25th, will be Hot Fuzz. If you are interested, you should jump through these hoops and get yourself a ticket!

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Mar 18th at 7:05pm for The Host at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“The talk of the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival, the newest thriller from director/co-writer Bong Joon-ho (Memories of Murder) utilizes state-of-the-art special effects to tell a tale that’s equal parts creature-feature thrill ride, comedy and poignant human drama. The idyllic landscape of the Han River suddenly turns to bedlam as a terrifying creature climbs out of the water and grabs Hyun-seo (Ko A-sung) from her father Gang-du (Song Kang-ho). The government announces that the creature is the host of an unidentified virus. Despite fearing the worst, Gang-du makes plans to infiltrate the forbidden zone to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the beast.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Mar 25th at 5:30pm for Hot Fuzz at the Brattle Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag outside of theatre after the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

There are some special things to be aware of regarding this weeks film:

1. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, both on the mailing list and the club webpage, this is a special free screening. If you don’t already have a pass to get into the screening, more information on how to get one is available from the Brattle Theatre as well as the SNFC homepage.

2. A screening pass does not guarantee you a seat in the theatre, and seating is first-come, first-served. This is a “hot ticket”, so it would be wise to arrive quite early.

3. I won’t be saving a place in line for anyone, that wouldn’t be fair to the people who showed up early. No exceptions.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a line.

“Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright - the makers of Shaun of the Dead - are back together for a fabulously funny and fast-paced action-comedy. Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a top London cop who’s so good that he makes his fellow officers look bad. Banished to a sleepy, seemingly crime-free village Angel soon finds himself up to his badge in bodies, though he has a hard time convincing his new colleagues that they’re dealing with murder. The style of a Hollywood action-thriller is crossed with the sensibility of the team’s enduringly popular TV series Spaced, creating a sharp, surprising and endlessly entertaining comedy. - notes from the ICA, London”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Apr 1st at 6:00pm for Les Ordres at the Harvard Film Archive . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“In October 1970 the Canadian government passed an ordinance which suspended the civil rights of the Québec people in order to infiltrate the actions of the FLQ, the left-wing separatist group responsible for a series of bombings. Michel BraultÂ’s impassioned docudrama reenactment was a crowning achievement in the directorÂ’s prolific career.”

Join the Boston Sunday
Night Film Club this Sunday, April 8th at 8:00pm for “Grindhouse” at the Regal Fenway
Stadium 13.

This is a double-feature and will run about 3 hours. Because of the length of this film combined with the available showtimes, the club is going to be a little different this week, as we will be meeting for food and drink BEFORE we venture over to the Fenway 13 Theatre for the film. Meet us at Boston Beer Works (61 Brookline Ave. - Opposite Fenway Park) at 6pm, look for Sean wearing a nametag outside the restaurant. We will get a table based on the headcount at 6pm, but if you need to show up later we can hopefully get a second table and float between them.

Purchasing tickets in advance is strongly suggested, as this is likely going to be a popular show. It is in one of the larger theatres at Fenway (#13), but at a minimum you might want to buy tickets before coming to the restaurant, if you don’t order them ahead of time online…

“Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez join forces to offer a cinematic tribute to the blood-soaked exploitation epics of yesteryear with this hyper-violent coupling of two 60-minute features punctuated by a collection of outrageous trailers. In “Death Proof” – director Tarantino’s take on the slasher films of the 1970s and ’80s – Kurt Russell stars as an engine-revving psychopath who prefers to take out his victims hit-and-run style. Rodriguez’s segment – entitled “Planet Terror” – details the violent struggle between a ravenous army of zombie-like humanoids who have taken over a planet not so different from our own, and the remaining survivors who refuse to go down without a fight. Its tantalizing title borrowed from the term frequently used to describe the seedy, 1970s-era inner-city movie theaters that screened excessive, low-budget independent films containing copious amounts of violence and nudity as a means of offering counter-programming to the decidedly more restrained big-budget studio films, Grindhouse takes its love for these unabashedly sleazy efforts one step further by offering an intermission which showcases a jaw-dropping collection of fake exploitation trailers.” ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

For the longest time I’ve been trying to figure out a way to use SMS (Text Messaging) to get in contact with club members for a number of reasons. Some examples:

• The theatre lobby is crowded and you might have trouble spotting me
• Perhaps the show is sold out and I want to warn people
• I might be running late

I’m going to be experimenting with Twitter to accomplish this goal. Once you create a twitter account, you can add boston_snfc to your ‘follow’ list. If you then verify your phone you can receive these updates directly on your cell phone. It’s somewhat complicated and completely nerdy, but I’m hoping that it’s just another way to improve club communication…

I’ll also add anyone I see “following” the club account as a friend, so you can use Twitter’s direct text capability to contact me directly if you, say, can’t find anyone from the club.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Apr 15th at 5:45pm for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theatres at the Somerville Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

Mayor Menino asked area theatres not to show this film, so clearly it has to be the movie pick this week.

“New Jersey residents, Meatwad, an innocent wad of meat, Frylock, a wise box of fries, and Master Shake, a selfish milkshake, spend their care free days like most roommates, getting on each others nerves, figuring out how to pay the bills and having strange, incomprehensible adventures with a handful of bumbling aliens and monsters. Mostly they just enjoy hanging out with Carl Brutananadilewski, a lazy slob of a neighbor with a sweet above-ground pool. This tranquil idyllic suburban life is upended however, when the Insanoflex, an immortal piece of exercise equipment threatens the balance of galactic peace, and it is up to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force to save the day. Or themselves, whichever is the easiest. The peril escalates when Plutonians, Olgethorpe and Emory, team up with the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past to seize control of this sinister and deadly device. Also along for the ride are a talking piece of watermelon, Neil Peart from the band Rush, Mooninites, Ignignokt and Err, and MC Pee Pants. Facing their greatest crisis to date the true origins of the Aqua Teens will be exposed and a long lost Aqua Teen will be revealed. People of Boston beware! Co-Directed by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Apr 22nd at 6:30pm for Black Book (Zwartboek) at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Set during the end of WWII, Black Book is the story of a Dutch Jewish girl who narrowly survives the war in Holland. She joins the resistance to find out who betrayed her family after all of them were killed in an attempt to reach the liberated south.” Written by Clockwork Pictures

The fine people of the Coolidge Corner Theater asked me to let you guys know about the Independent Film Festival of Boston.  The 5th Annual Festival kicks off this Wednesday with “Fay Grim” at the Somerville Theatre.   Then, from Thursday the 26th through Tuesday May 1st, over 110 screenings will be spread across the Coolidge Corner, Somerville, and Brattle.  Independent cinema and our local independent theatres need your support, and the IFF allows you to do both, so please check out http://iffboston.org/ for schedules and more information!

Some of the films I plan on checking out myself are The King of Kong, Fido, Black Sheep, and The Ten, among others…  Since it’s my neighborhood theatre, I’ll probably be mostly sticking to the Coolidge..  If you’re interested in attending one of these (or any other) screening in the festival, visit the club webpage and leave some comments…  Its a great way (hopefully) to find others to go to screenings with..  Finally, if you are planning on attending a screening, it’s always a good idea to buy tickets in advance, as some of these screenings will be hot tickets!

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Apr 29th at 5:45pm for Monster Camp at the Somerville Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

NOTE: This film is part of the Independent Film Festival of Boston 2007. As such, it may sell out, so it’s best to buy tickets early from iffboston.org.

“A rare and fascinating glimpse into the world of live-action role playing, or LARPing, a real-life version of World of Warcraft where gamer sterotypes are simultaneously shattered and confirmed. The film examines the lives of die-hard gamers at NERO Seattle, one of 50 franchises worldwide that abides by similar principles, rules, and ideologies. For 48 consecutive hours, software engineers, department store managers, and high school students transform themselves into warriors, sorcerers, dwarves, and lizard people to inhabit a world of fantasy, chivalry, and imagination.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, May 6th at 7:00pm for Spider-man 3 at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

Note: This is likely going to be a popular show, so buying tickets early is a good idea!

“A strange black entity from another world bonds with Peter Parker and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, May 13th at 8:00pm for 28 Weeks Later at the Somerville Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

Update: I screwed up picking the movie this week, so please note the theatre and showtime have been changed.

“Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of the British Isles, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes to plan.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, May 20th at 6:45pm for Sleuth at the Brattle Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

One of the most surprising and satisfying mystery films of the 70s, SLEUTH pits the formidable Olivier against the upstart Michael Caine in a battle of wits. Olivier plays Andrew Wyke, the aging husband of a woman who is the lover of Milo Tindle (Caine). Wyke invites Tindle to his country home and proposes a scheme to bilk the insurance companyÂ… but what are his real motives?

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, May 27th at 6:50pm for Waitress at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Audra wearing a gray Rolling Stones shirt in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Jenna is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jun 3rd at 7:15pm for Severance at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“When a weapons multi-national Palisade Defence reward their European sales division with a team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe, comedy blends with horror as the team fight first amongst themselves, and later for survival against a group of war-crazed killers intent on revenge.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jun 10th at 7:35pm for Ocean’s Thirteen at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Michael wearing a red t-shirt in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“When Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) makes the mistake of building a hotel with one of Las VegasÂ’ most hated businessmen, Willy Banks (Al Pacino), he gets cut out of the deal and ends up in the hospital after a heart attack. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) tries to help his old friend out by giving Banks a chance to restore ReubenÂ’s share of the hotel, but Banks dismisses him without any regard. Six months later, with BanksÂ’ investment thriving as the richest hotel in the city and the ultimate spot for high rollers, Ocean and his crew decide to bring him down. With the help of their former nemesis, casino owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who is also out to settle the score against Banks, his fierce rival, they scheme to find a way to bankrupt Banks on his casinoÂ’s opening night. This time, they are not in it for the money, but rather for revenge.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jun 17th at 7:20pm for Crazy Love at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Filmmaker Dan Klores tells the astonishing story of the obsessive roller-coaster relationship of Burt and Linda Pugach, which shocked the nation during the summer of 1959. Burt, a 32-year-old married attorney, and Linda, a beautiful, single 20-year-old girl living in the Bronx, had a whirlwind romance, which culminated in a violent and psychologically complex set of actions that landed the pair’s saga on the cover of endless newspapers and magazines. With the cooperation of the principles, Burt, now 79, and Linda, 68, Klores examines the human psyche and the concepts of love, obsession, insanity, hope and forgiveness.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jun 24th at 7:30pm for 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Filmmaker Rick Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Contains rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jul 1st at 7:30pm for Sicko at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

Warning: Theatres are expecting big turnouts for this film over the weekend. I don’t know if a late Sunday screening will sell out, but you still might wish to purchase tickets early.

“Sicko deals with the problems of the American for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Its main message is that government-run health care is a better model than the present US health-care system because the present system is designed to maximize profit by minimizing the care delivered to patients.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jul 8th at 7pm for Frownland at the Harvard Film Archive . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“No matter what their flaws, the main characters in mainstream movies are almost always appealing in some way. If they are nebbishes, their klutziness is endearing. (Look at the work of Woody Allen.) If they are lonely, their alienation is grand and alluring. (Look at the work of Orson Welles.) If they are evil, their villainy is sexy and rakish. (Look at the work of Christopher Walken.) Ronald Bronstein strips away the Hollywood idealizations and asks us to spend time with genuinely unromantic characters leading genuinely unromantic lives. He creates characters we donÂ’t want to see ourselves as, characters we refuse to identify with. There is much lip service paid to the importance of depictions of “otherness” in film; Frownland reveals that the concept of otherness as redemptive and transformative is a romantic myth. He gives us otherness we want to cross the street to avoid; otherness without sentimentality. Or is he just giving us ourselves with our self–deluded idealizations removed?”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jul 15th at 7:10pm for Talk to Me at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“The true life story of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene Jr. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C., vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. It was the place and time for Petey to fully express himself - sometimes to outrageous effect - and “tell it like it is.” With the support of his irrepressible and tempestuous girlfriend Vernell, the newly minted ex-con talks his way into an on-air radio gig. He forges a friendship and a partnership with fellow prison inmate Milo’s brother Dewey Hughes. From the first wild morning on the air, Petey relies on the more straight-laced Dewey to run interference at WOL-AM, where Dewey is the program director. At the station, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing even the established popularity of his fellow disc jockeys, Nighthawk and Sunny Jim. Combining biting humor with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for station owner E.G. Sonderling. Petey was determined to make not just himself but his community heard during an exciting and turbulent period in American history. As Petey’s voice, humor, and spirit surge across the airwaves with the vitality of the era, listeners tune in to hear not only incredible music but also a man speaking directly to them about race and power in America like few people ever have. Through the years, Petey’s “The truth just is” style — on - and off-air - would redefine both Petey and Dewey, and empower each to become the man he would most like to be.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jul 22nd at 7:25pm for Interview at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Self-destructive journalist Pierre Peders (director Steve Buscemi) is no stranger to violence and inhumanity. Having made his name as a war reporter, he has seen some of the most horrifying sights imaginable. So he feels that his current puff-piece assignment, an interview with pop diva, TV and movie star Katya (Sienna Miller) is beneath his dignity. The two meet in a restaurant and, instantly, it’s a collision of two worlds—Pierre’s serious political focus and Katya’s superficial world of celebrity. Their confrontation evolves into a passionate verbal chess game spiked with wit, intrigue and sexual tension, capped with a riveting twist ending.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Jul 29th at 7:00pm for The Simpsons Movie at the AMC Loews Harvard Square 5 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“When Homer mistakenly pollutes the river with toxic waste from the power plant, he loses his job and forces evacuation from Springfield, possibly forever.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Aug 5th at 7:25pm for The Ten at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Masters of comedy David Wain (“Wet Hot American Summer”) and Ken Marino team up behind the scenes and in front of the camera to create THE TEN: a lively, smart, and irreverent film about breaking all the rules. Directed by Wain and written by Wain and Marino, THE TEN presents a series of interconnected comic sketches designed to reinterpret – and reinvent – the Ten Commandments, making them “meaningful” (and funny) to a young, hip, audience of contemporary sinners. With each story told in a different style, but containing overlapping characters and themes, the film is a grand burlesque boasting an all-star cast that puts the sin back in cinema.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Aug 12th at 5:30pm for Summercamp! at the Brattle Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

This beguiling, joyful documentary follows a group of young campers, aged between 6 and 15, during their stay at Swift Nature Camp. SUMMERCAMP! captures that extraordinary three week period where, removed from their everyday lives, kids can really, truly be themselves. Camp is a place where kids can be kids, where their home and school lives momentarily fade into the background as they go through the highs and lows of adolescent rituals: sing-alongs, talent shows, homesickness, counselor mutinyÂ… and first love.

ItÂ’s clear that directors Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price worked hard to gain the confidence of these children and teens as they record not only the public fights and friendships but also the private hardships and secret conversations of kids who frequently must deal with situations beyond their years. Beesley and Price submerge themselves into the curious camp subculture, capturing a diverse array of adolescents from all economic and social backgrounds.

We guarantee that, by the end of the film and after seeing life through their non-calloused eyes, you will have fallen in love with at least one of these precocious and innocently charming subjects. Our personal favorite is the heartbreakingly sweet loner, Holly, who obsesses over chickadees and other pocketable friends. Featuring music by The Flaming Lips, this endearing film explores the agony and ecstasy of life in the unique and temporary communities of summer camps.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Aug 19th at 8pm for The Omega Man at the Brattle Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

Notice: Sean might be crunched for time before the movie, so if you can’t find him ahead of the movie, look for him outside of the theatre afterwards.

In the aftermath of a bacteriological war, the future of mankind hangs in the balance. Only a chosen few have survived the mutating effects of germ warfare unharmed. A small enclave of healthy, stalwart resistors has formed a camp where, for the moment, they live peacefully. The other human survivors are terribly disfigured mutants who walk the earth at night in search of prey.

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Aug 26th at 5pm for Rocket Science at the AMC Loews Harvard Square 5. Look for Corinna carrying a blue handbag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A teenager tackles the mysteries of life, love and public speaking in Rocket Science, a wry comedy of adolescent angst by Jeffrey Blitz, director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Spellbound. Making his feature narrative debut, Blitz leaves behind the conventions and cliches of coming-of-age tales to instead conjure a world where everyone, regardless of age, is befuddled by desire and the longing for human connection. Mixing humor with a compassionate regard for his characters and their idiosyncrasies, Blitz creates a film about the little insights that can emerge from, and ultimately eclipse, the agonies and disappointments of youth.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Sep 2nd at 6:10pm for Halloween (2007) at the AMC Loews Boston Common 19 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, is mistakenly released from the mental institution (where he was committed as a 10 year old) and he immediately returns to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. Anyone who crosses his path is in mortal danger.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Sep 9th at 7pm for 3:10 to Yuma (2007) at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who’s awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Sep 16th at 6:45pm for In the Valley of Elah at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Audra wearing a gray “who’s your spydaddy” shirt in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A career officer (Jones) and his wife (Sarandon) work with a police detective (Theron) to uncover the truth behind their son’s disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.”

Greetings from Spain! I wasn´t able to arrange a pinch-hitter this week from thousands of miles away, so the SNFC will be taking the week off. See you on September 30th!

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Sep 30th at 7:10pm for The Rape of Europa at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“THE RAPE OF EUROPA is a feature documentary film that takes the audience on an epic journey through seven countries and into a violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back, mounting a miraculous campaign that would rescue and return the millions of art works displaced by the war. Joan Allen narrates this breathtaking chronicle about the battle over the very survival of centuries of western culture.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Oct 7th at 7:30pm for Driving to Zigzagland at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . Look for Corinna wearing red sneakers in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A chronicle of a day in the life of a Palestinian cab driver in Los Angeles, Driving To Zigzigland, portrays the social struggle of the Arab immigrant in post-9/11 America. A film audition typecasts Bashar to play an Al Qaeda terrorist role. Bashar has twenty-four hours to make enough money to pay his bills. For the remaining hours left until tomorrow, an unceasing flow of passengers ride in his taxi and give the Arab cabbie the run-around on issues that deal with suicide bombers, George Bush, Rai music and world geography. All the while, BasharÂ’s nostalgia for Ramallah poses the question of whether or not the American Dream is an idea really worth fighting for. Shot in Los Angeles and Palestine, based on true stories.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Oct 14th at 6pm for Lust, Caution at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Dan wearing black shiny coat with John Jenkins Academy on the back in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“The new film from Ang Lee, the Academy Award-winning director of “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” A startling erotic espionage thriller about the fate of an ordinary woman’s heart, it is based on the short story by revered Chinese author Eileen Chang. Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei). As a freshman at university, she meets fellow student Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom) Kuang has started a drama society to shore up patriotism. As the theater troupe’s new leading lady, Wong realizes that she has found her calling, able to move and inspire audiences – and Kuang. He convenes a core group of students to carry out a radical and ambitious plan to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). Each student has a part to play; Wong will be Mrs. Mak, who will gain Yee’s trust by befriending his wife (Joan Chen) and then draw the man into an affair. Wong transforms herself utterly inside and out, and soon finds herself swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue. In Mandarin with English subtitles, 2h37m”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Oct 21st at 7:05pm for 30 Days of Night at the AMC Boston Common 19 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“In the far Northern Hemisphere, the small town of Barrow, Alaska, experiences a solid month of darkness every year. Though most of the residents head south for the winter, some townspeople remain behind. However, those that stay regret their decision when, one year, hungry vampires descend on Barrow to feed. Sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett), his wife (Melissa George) and a dwindling band of survivors must try to last until dawn breaks over Barrow’s monthlong twilight.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Oct 28th at 7:45pm for Elizabeth - The Golden Age at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Dan wearing a Type O Negative T-shirt in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Reprising the roles they originated in seven-time Academy Award-nominated Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush return for a gripping historical thriller laced with treachery and romance–The Golden Age. Joining them in the epic is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh, a dashing seafarer and newfound temptation for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth I (Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett) facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla)–with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada–determined to restore England to Catholicism.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Nov 4th at 5:30pm for American Gangster at the AMC Harvard Square 5 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) earns his living as a chauffeur to one of Harlem’s leading mobsters. After his boss dies, Frank uses his own ingenuity and strict business code to rise up as one of the inner city’s most powerful crime bosses. Meanwhile, veteran cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) senses a change in organized crime’s power structure, and looks for ways to bring his opponent to justice.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Nov 11th at 7:15pm for No Country for Old Men at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

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The mesmerizing new thriller from Academy Award winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, based on the acclaimed novel by Pulitzer Prize winning American master Cormac McCarthy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. The story begins when Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law–in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) – can contain. As Moss tries to evade his pursuers–in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives (Javier Bardem) – the film simultaneously strips down the American crime drama and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily contemporary as this morningÂ’s headline”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Nov 18th at 7:30pm for Blade Runner - The Final Cut at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“Ridley Scott’s legendary adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? gave us a startling vision of a noir-ishly dystopic future, in which the line between human and non-human has worn perilously thin. Scott’s masterpiece not only anticipated our future but designed it: Much of our world today appears, well, just so Blade Runner. To commemorate its 25th anniversary, Scott has gone back, corrected a few details and fashioned a version that he feels is closest to what he had originally intended. One of the greatest American films of the Eighties has just gotten even better. - from the New York Film Festival”

The Sunday Night Film Club will be taking this Thanksgiving Weekend off. We will see you again on December 2nd!

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Dec 2nd at 6:45pm for I’m Not There at the Kendall Square Cinema . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“This highly anticipated biographical film about legendary singer and songwriter Bob Dylan follows six distinct characters, depicting different stages of Dylan’s life, embodying a different aspect of his life story and music. Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin all take turns playing Dylan, and Julianne Moore and Charlotte Gainsbourg appear as two of the women in his life. Lyrical, poetic and highly stylized, it’s the first biographical feature project to secure the approval of the music legend. Directed and co-written by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Velvet Goldmine).”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Dec 9th at 7:20pm for The Golden Compass at the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A young girl ventures into a perilous parallel universe to rescue her best friend and fight the forces of darkness in director Chris Weitz’s adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman’s best-selling fantasy trilogy. Screen newcomer Dakota Blue Richards stars as young heroine Lyra Belacqua, Casino Royale star Daniel Craig appears as Lyra’s ruthless adventurer uncle, Lord Asriel, and Nicole Kidman assumes the glamorous guise of the villainous Mrs. Coulter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide”

CANCELLED!

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Dec 16th at 5:00pm for Juno at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“From Jason Reitman, director of previous Coolidge hit THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, comes this equally sharp and touchingly off-beat comedy starring Ellen Page (HARD CANDY) as Juno MacGuff, a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Michael Cera). With the help of her hot best friend Leah, Juno finds her unborn child a “perfect” set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt. Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs.”

Due to inclement weather, tonight’s gathering at the Coolidge Corner Theatre has been cancelled. Stay warm and safe! -sean

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Dec 23rd at 5:00pm for Juno at the Coolidge Corner Theatre . Look for Audra wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“From Jason Reitman, director of previous Coolidge hit THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, comes this equally sharp and touchingly off-beat comedy starring Ellen Page (HARD CANDY) as Juno MacGuff, a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Michael Cera). With the help of her hot best friend Leah, Juno finds her unborn child a “perfect” set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt. Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs.”

Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, Dec 30th at 5:15pm for Charlie Wilson’s War at the Somerville Theatre . Look for Audra wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.

“A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.”