(Sorry I’m late with this today, but occassionally I have to devote at least part of my day at my real job to actually working at said job…also, I have an Olympics hangover from staying up late to watch Lysacek kick that smug Russian’s butt: USA, USA, USA! This week’s Movie column will be brisk and to the point, like Mary Poppins at a broom convention…)
Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island opens today at numerous theaters in the area. Judging by the commercials it’s going to be big, luridly bright and irritatingly full of CGI spookery and Leonardo DiCaprio in full ham mode. Part of me is excited to see Scorsese go all Gothy and Ghosty on us, but part of me is worried that it might be a bit over the top and not in a good way…more like a pot of gumbo that has boiled over and ruined the top of the stove. The good news is, the cast is excellent: Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Max von Sydow with a score by Robbie Robertson. Rumor has it there is a big Twist in the film that you can see a mile off, but don’t be a putz and tell me what it is…especially if it involves seeing “dead people”. It’s rated R, so keep the kids at home.
We’ve all seen it many, many times either in its original run, or on DVD or on stage in Re-bar but is it really possible to get enough of Hedwig and the Angry Inch? (NO! The answer is always a big, fat NO!!) All you Hedophiles can get your fix this weekend at The Egyptian. Our favorite German Trannie Rock Star will turn up her “Midnight Radio” while satisfying her need for a “Sugar Daddy” before she can discover “The Origin of Love” at midnight screenings both tonight and Saturday. If you know a Hedwig virgin, then drag them to their deflowering…they will thank you later. (also, I’m aware that this is not a picture of the fabulous movie Hedwig, John Cameron Mitchell, but our local prodigy Nick Garrison in a stage production, but I couldn’t find an image from the movie that we haven’t seen a thousand times before…)
Also opening tonight, the dark, dank streets of Film Noir are highlighted at SIFF’s 4th Annual Noir City Film Festival curated by “Czar of Noir” Eddie Muller. A couple of these films are available on dvd but the majority of them are not and the only place you can see these classic black and white thrillers is on the SIFF screen at Seattle Center. All films are double features and the screenings start tonite with Andre de Toth’s Pitfall. For more info, go to the SIFF website. The series runs through next Thursday, February 29th.
Finally, for lovers of big, bad, Hollywood movies there’s Central Cinema’s screening of The Bodyguard starring a young, virile Kevin Costner back when he was King of the Hollywood Hills and a pre-crack is whack Whitney Houston when she still had a career and a voice that didn’t sound like she’d inhaled a case and a half of 8 balls…It’s all part of Jason Miller’s Bad Movie Art series at the Cinema and it plays one night only, Monday February 22nd at 7pm. For more info go to the website.
That’s it for this week…I’ll be back Monday with a report on a fun video event…Save me an aisle seat unless you’re a trenchcoated old perv who wants to molest me.
-Michael Strangeways
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
