We’re giving away a DINNER FOR TWO AT CASA ELFO! (yes, that’s Forbidden Zone director/Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo founder Richard Elfman’s L.A. home!), grilled by Grillmeister Elfman himself!!

PLUS – your very own Forbidden Zone DVD, signed by the brothers Elfman, Richard and Danny!

How to enter?  Simply pick up your online pre-sale tickets to MondoCelluloid.com and Long Beach Cinematheque’s December 21st Midnight Holiday Screening of Forbidden Zone, at the Art Theatre of Long Beach! Click here for info and tickets! - http://lbcinema-forbidden-zone.eventbrite.com/

ABOUT THE EVENT

It’s Christmas in the Sixth Dimension! as director Richard Elfman returns to Long Beach with his 1982 manic musical masterpiece Forbidden Zone– just in time for Christmas, and with a few Holiday surprises!

Notable as being the very first Mondo Midnight selection at The Art Theatre of Long Beach, FORBIDDEN ZONE is the inspired brainchild of Richard Elfman, founding member of the legendary Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, who along with writer Matthew Bright (who would later helm the 1996 cult classic Freeway) mixed in everything from Max Fleisher to Cab Calloway to Josephine Baker to unleash a musical unlike any the world had ever seen. Mix in a typically masterful score by Elfman brother Danny (who makes a fan-favorite appearance…), a dancing frog in a tuxedo, a gorilla, an ex-queen(!!?), and a crazed kingdom ruled by the weirdest royal family in celluloid history, and you have the movie that Film Threat called“The Citizen Kane of Underground Movies.”

By popular demand, Cell 63 will be returning with their LIVE SHADOWCAST!  After rocking the Art Theatre in April with the first Forbidden Zone shadowcast ever,  the talented performers of Cell 63 – featuring members of Rocky Horror Picture Show casts from both Long Beach and Los Angeles! - are ready to take the stage once again in the ultimate tribute to Elfman’s wonderfully wicked vision!

And yes – they have some Holiday surprises up their sleeves…

Tickets on sale at the Art Theatre box office, or online by clicking here.

Cinematheque Members – show you card at the Art Theatre box office and save $2 per ticket!

Please help us spread the word – RSVP and Share this event on Facebook!

Thanks to Richard Elfman for putting together this most awesome Holiday present!

Recent critically-acclaimed thrillers A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007) seemed to arrive as a proclamation that the acclaimed director, dubbed both the “Baron of Blood” and the “King of Venereal Horror” by critics, was moving in a new creative direction.  Although each film carried flashes of shocking violence, urgent sex, and characteristically inventive gore, the films were far from the exploding heads of Scanners (1981) and nightmarish sexual imagery of Rabid (1977) and eXistenZ (1999).   Even Cronenberg’s 2011 effort A Dangerous Method, despite having Sigmund Freud as a protagonist and dealing with themes of sexuality and sadomasochism, was surprisingly tame from the man who gave us Debbie Harry and that cigarette in Videodrome (1983), and the frank and often extreme sexuality in back-to-back films Naked Lunch (1991), M. Butterfly (1993), and Crash (1996).   Although the quality of Cronenberg’s works has not diminished – many critics have suggested that his work has improved, often expressing that the director has “matured” with his recent contributions – seasoned fans have wondered if they would ever again see the hyper-stylized, surreal, and ultimately head-scratching worlds of Cronenberg’s famously twisted imagination. The announcement then that Cronenberg would adapt celebrated author Don DeLillo’s 2003 novel Cosmopolis has had genre fans salivating;  moreover, the pairing seemed an overdue match made in Heaven.  DeLillo’s postmodern works are as dark, masterful, and profound as they are staggering in theme, and often challenging in scope and structure.  Who better to take DeLillo on than the man who dared adapt William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch – and actually pulled it off?

From its opening sequence, the film Cosmopolis seems to announce a return-to-style for Cronenberg.   Recalling the automobile-as-fetish of Crash, the film – like the source novel – takes place almost entirely within Packer’s limousine, a veritable command center on wheels featuring extensive technology, an impenetrable bullet-proof shell, and enough room for sex, prostate exams, and more than a few impromptu philosophical conversations about politics, the economy, life and death, and rats.   Recalling eXistenZ and Naked Lunch, the dialogue is delivered in an extremely stylized fashion, with characters expounding on seemingly apocalyptic matters with all the enthusiasm of a dissertation.  Plot?  Simple: billionaire 28-year-old Eric Packer is making his way across town in search of a haircut, as the world – both within and outside him – falls apart.   Like so many of Cronenberg’s greatest works, much of the film’s greatest moments come in the form of ancillary characters, who come in and out of Packer’s life – and limo – in various levels of duress, neurosis, and eccentricity; the problem is, they stick around just long enough to make some small impact to the proceedings, but not enough to truly have made a mark.  And one can argue that this is the point – that it’s in keeping with Packer’s feeling of isolation and increasing misanthropy that the people around him are essentially characters with very little to offer but their opinions – but with such actors as Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton, and the great Mathieu Almaric dropping in, their all-too-brief stays in the film, paired by the fact that most of the film otherwise involves watching Packer sit in his car, leave much to be desired.

Credit Cronenberg, however, with the fact that every actor in this film seems completely game for complementing the style of the film with their performances.  As Packer, Pattinson deftly carries the alternating command, allure, dissatisfaction, menace, disgust, and resignation of his character, essentially going through the motions of a dissociated life while maintaining a sense of self-aware cool. As Packer’s wife Elise, actress Sarah Gadon delivers her dialogue as if she is minutes from a fatal Quaalude overdose, but with a knowing sense of control, particularly over a character who everyone else in the film seems to revere as a cosmopolitan god. And finally, enter the reliable Paul Giamatti in the film’s final act, delivering what is easily the finest performance in the film (though in fairness, he is given the most to work with).  As Benno Levin, a mysterious figure with an intense existential grudge, Giamatti’s completely unstylized and unrestrained portrayal of a man at great odds with the world around him is jarring in its intensity, a ferocious antithesis to the monotone discourse that has come before.  In a film peppered with postmodern cyberpunk psychobabble, Levin’s rage, pain, and nihilism emerge as the only palpable emotions to be found in the film – no doubt Cronenberg’s intent, and well achieved.

If only the journey to this moment hadn’t been a drudging, wearisome, emotionally sterile voyage through a string of seemingly unrelated threads of theory-as-intellectualism conversation, this may have been a great film.   The craft is there, the performers are great, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else taking on this material than Cronenberg, but unfortunately there is simply very little that is compelling about the central character.  Moreover – much like the gloss and gadgetry of Packer’s limo – the many conversations throughout the film may sound like intellectual, mind-bending, big heady stuff, but ultimately much of it sounds like the laughable drivel found on any number of William Gibson-inspired conspiracy websites; or, for that matter, in a lesser DeLillo work.  Still, it’s great to have the master back at play, exploring the interior and the exterior with style, precision, and a flare for absurdity and surrealism – welcome back to Interzone, Mr. Cronenberg.

Holly Golightly is not only one of my favorite characters ever written, but quite possibly one of the most fascinating characters in cinema. Her initial introduction interlaces an element of both casual and formal, as she chomps away at a cheese Danish outside of Tiffany’s in her famous black dress – a clever method of introducing a girl that appears one way, but acts another. Furthermore, one of the best character introductions was written for Ms. Golightly, as we witness her frantically looking for her shoes and locates one of them in a potted plant. This gal was one of the original hot messes in film – I have always loved the approach Blake Edwards took to express this.

I recently revisited this classic for the first time in years and realized there were a lot of unspoken truths woven in between the lines. Although I have yet to read the book, I know for a fact that Blake Edwards’ Holly is watered down in comparison to Capote’s protagonist in his iconic novella. Nevertheless, we come to discover that the once-country-girl-turned-New-York-socialite is a rather complex and unhappy young woman. The main objective she carries into each of her courtships with older, wealthy gentlemen is to marry one of them and live comfortably, an objective that can only pamper a gal materialistically, but never spiritually.

Holly’s vulnerability becomes more and more apparent as she gradually lowers her guard, particularly with Paul. Surpassing her layers, he sees her for what she really is: “a very lonely, very frightened girl.” He further reveals that her lifestyle and superficial ways will never bring her happiness, while she in turn gives him a taste of living carefree, a zest for life. Observing the lessons they teach to one another is both warm and heartbreaking at the same time.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of the first unorthodox romcom’s of its time. It touches base with the subject of loss, rejection, loneliness, and fear – something most hokey love stories seem to either simplify or overlook all together. This movie takes a seemingly materialistic, shallow young girl and exposes her complexities and sadness, and does so unapologetically. Rather bold, particularly for its time.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s screens Thursday, August 26 at Regency Buenaventura,  7:30pm.  Info at http://www.insomniaccinema.com/index.html

Beginning with a scene of a young boy, Daigo, putting an ailing rabbit out of its misery in a gruesome way (hint: there’s a brick involved), Tormented tells the story of Daigo and his older sister Kiriko (Hikari Mitsushima, from Love Exposure).  Unable to speak, Kiriko serves as protector for the troubled Daigo since his mother is nowhere to be found, and their father is more interested in making hand-made pop-up Little Mermaid books than in paying attention to his child.  But when Kiriko takes Daigo to see a 3D horror movie that features a creepy old hospital and a stuffed rabbit, the storyline takes a meta twist, with Daigo somehow pulling the stuffed animal from the film.  When Daigo is then pulled into that same fantasy/nightmare realm by someone in a giant bunny costume, Kiriko goes after him in a creepy, surreal film that plays more like a horror movie hybrid of Labyrinth and Donnie Darko.

And if that particular mixture sounds exciting to you as an individual, there are a number of scenes in Tormented that will have you giddy with unease.  Director of Photography Christopher Doyle (whose diverse cinematography career includes everything from the lavish Hero to the nauseating Dumplings) uses the 3D in some astonishing ways, with a scene of Daigo and Kiriko watching a 3D movie onscreen being one of those brilliant moments you can’t believe no one has done before. Seriously, the late-night festival audience was audibly excited, and knowing this was filmed with a hand-made camera is all the more impressive.  Plus, director Takashi Shimizu’s ability to creep out his audience is on full display, with some truly unnerving scenes involving a giant bunny costume, with audience members unsure if they should laugh or be frightened (my favorite audience reaction).  A third of the way through the film, I was on the verge of dubbing this my favorite new horror film, but then in the second act, as Japanese horror is unfortunately prone to, Tormented has an overly long melodramatic flashback sequence that obliterates the tension.  An attempt to clarify the family’s history in order to set up a dramatic and thought-provoking ending is so tonally different from the brilliant Rabbit Horror 3D concept, it makes this 83-minute film start to drag.  A return to the surreal dreamscapes late in the film is welcomed, but the damage done by the second act makes it difficult to ever truly get the audience back on board.

A flawed film, it’s difficult to suggest Tormented/Rabbit Horror 3D to anyone who doesn’t have a passion for 3D experimentation or Japanese horror.  However, for dedicated film buffs who seek out unusual films, the gorgeous and creepy first act is worth the ticket price alone, and fans of Shimizu’s work will have a few bonus moments of recognition.  Of course, seeing Tormented in 2D is probably pointless, making this a theater-or-bust movie, but if a 3D screening of this pops up in your area, any fellow genre hounds should consider it basically mandatory viewing.

- John Clark, at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

The Walt Disney Studios has announced that Marvel’s The Avengers is expected to cross the $1 Billion threshold at the global box office on May 13, its 19th day in release. This is the first Marvel Studios film and the fifth Walt Disney Studios release to reach this important milestone.

The news comes just a week after Marvel’s The Avengers shattered records with a $207.4 million opening weekend, the biggest domestic debut of all time. The film has now earned an estimated $373.2 million at the domestic box office and $628.9 million internationally. As one of only 12 films in history to gross $1 billion, it joins Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Alice in Wonderland, Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story 3, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Disney’s list of billion-dollar films (click here for full list of billion-dollar films and All Time Worldwide Box Office Records).

“We’re obviously thrilled with the global success of The Avengers,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney’s Chairman and CEO. “It’s a fantastic movie and an extraordinary franchise that will continue with more great stories and compelling characters for years to come.”

Marvel’s The Avengers has set several domestic box office records including the industry’s all-time second weekend record with an estimated $103.2 million, fastest film to reach $200 million (3 days), fastest to $300 million (in a record 9 days), and highest Saturday ($69.5 million) and Sunday ($57 million) totals. In addition, its opening day of $80.8 million is the second-highest single-day gross of all time. Moviegoers gave Marvel’s The Avengers a rare A+ CinemaScore.

Internationally, Marvel’s The Avengers began opening April 25 and is the biggest opening weekend of all time in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Central America, Peru, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, and United Arab Emirates. Marvel’s The Avengers has now opened in all major markets except Japan (August 17).

On May 8, Disney announced that a sequel to Marvel’s The Avengers was in development, following last month’s announcement that a follow-up to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger will be released April 4, 2014. A sequel to last summer’s Thor is scheduled for release November 15, 2013, and the third installment of the hit Iron Man series, which has earned over $1.2 billion worldwide, will arrive in theaters May 3, 2013.

Marvel’s The Avengers is the first Marvel Studios film to be marketed and distributed by The Walt Disney Studios.

In God Bless America, director Bobcat Goldthwait’s follow up to his criminally underseen dark comedy World’s Greatest Dad, that D option suddenly becomes a valid option after its lead, the bitter middle aged Frank (Joel Murray) loses his job and is told he has inoperable brain cancer.  On the verge of sinking into a deep depression while watching late-night television, Frank decides to use the opportunity to rid the world of a rich, snotty, self-entitled reality TV star who throws a fit on camera when her parents buy her the wrong car for her 16th birthday.  But when High School outcast Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) sees Frank murder her hateful classmate, she begs him to let her join him, and the two go on a killing spree targeting “jerks,” developing into a kind of hybrid of Bonnie and Clyde meets Super.

A perversely wicked, yet often insightful dark comedy, God Bless America has cult status written all over it, even though the film is not for everyone and not exactly perfect.  Of course, good cult films tend to be those that are rabidly loved by some and hated by others, and at the small screening I attended, my friend and I were laughing out loud at times, only to realize our neighbors seemed rather put off by the same moments.  Since I’ve always defined a good dark comedy as one that makes you laugh out loud while your neighbor judges you, God Bless America delivers, with plenty of moments that will both incite laughter and offense.  However, it also gets a bit preachy and long-winded at times.  Filled with multiple diatribes from Frank and Roxy about everything that they hate, and containing at least one joke from Goldthwait’s recent stand-up special (or is it the other way around…), God Bless America eventually begins to feel a bit didactic, as if Goldthwait and his characters ran out of things to say three quarters of the way through.  And at least one of the film’s targets, a long, mean-spirited attack on Juno and its director Diablo Cody, seems rather unfounded (something Cody even responded to) – but perhaps that’s just the moment someone else will laugh at while I take offense.

- John Clark, on assignment for Tonight at the Movies

The Avengers is awesome – and in a rare and commendable feat, not just because of the peerless visual extravaganza that it is.  Complementing what might be the most mind-blowing climax since X-wings took on the Death Star in 1977, Whedon’s screenplay – based on a story he developed with Zak Penn – manages to establish and maintain a real gravity to the proceedings, humanizing the adventures of a giant green monster and a man in blue tights in a feat of precise narrative control that Michael Bay can only dream of (assuming he cares about such things).  By the time the aforementioned moment is delivered – a breathtaking sequence where, in a seemingly single take, the camera zooms through a New York mega-battle to catch us up on the whereabouts of all our heroes, whizzing from crumbling building to rooftop fight to street explosion in a sweeping and almost operatic display that left our press audience roaring in applause – all of our heroes have been so well introduced that, despite superhuman powers and the fantastic nature of the proceedings, the stakes feel true and high.

It’s almost as if Whedon anticipated virtually every criticism fans and critics could have thrown his way – most no doubt based on the failures of past comic book adaptations – and deftly deflected them.   Not enough time spent fairly on all the heroes?  Not here – the characters of Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Thor all get their due moments, with Scarlett Johansson’s Romanoff particularly receiving a spotlight that is overdue after an innocuous appearance in Iron Man 2.  Epic climax, but too few action sequences along the way?  Definitely not – The Avengers complements its majestic climax with more than a few exhilarating action sequences, including  enough fights to settle the age-old fanboy “Who would win in a fight?” questions, with iron pitted against hammer, shield pitted against hulk, mighty god pitted against nimble Russian spy.

An argument can even be made that it’s not necessary to have seen any of the previous Marvel films that have showcased these characters to truly enjoy the film.  It helps, no doubt, as many of the back-stories are featured therein – particularly the key story of the film’s villain Loki, established in 2011′s Thor.   But with The Avengers, Whedon makes the genius choice to present a plot that is actually quite simple – malicious god Loki, in bitter resentment that his brother Thor receives all the glory on their homeworld of Asgard, steals the powerful and potentially apocalyptic Tesseract in an attempt to rule the Earth and bring humans to their knees. Military law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D., led by Nick Fury, assembles the Avengers to put a stop to Loki and retrieve the Tesseract. That’s essentially it.  By avoiding the common traps of multiple story-lines and multiple arch-villains (see Spider-Man 3…), The Avengers allows for greater development and exploration of character, as well as some cleverly written and expertly handled self-referential humor, mostly delivered deadpan by Tony Stark.

Layer after layer, there is so much that works about The Avengers that it’s hard not to consider that it might be the Best Comic Book Movie to date, and a shining example that a popcorn movie can still deliver on brains and heart.   An inventive and consistently engaging epic that combines the pomp and glory of Superman, the thrills of The Dark Knight, the heart of Spider-Man, the humor of Iron Man, the spectacle of Thor, and even the hyper-kinetic eye-candy of The Matrix, The Avengers has set the bar tremendously high for those working on bringing comic book movies to the screen.   Even with upcoming releases like The Dark Knight Rises, Men in Black 3, and The Amazing Spider-Man, it is safe to say, coupled with last month’s deliciously wonderful The Cabin in the Woods, that 2012 belongs to Joss Whedon.

Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27 (separate tours each day) - 8:30 am – Noon
Advance Sale Members-Only: Admission: $10

For just $30 you get a one year membership in LAHTF and receive a ticket for the Grauman’s Chinese tour. Join now and save!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Contact Michelle at orangejugglers@charter.net

Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation (www.lahtf.org) & Hollywood Heritage (www.hollywoodheritage.com) in association with the American Cinematheque and Art Deco Society of L.A., invite you to a comprehensive behind-the-scenes documentary tour of Sid Grauman’s masterpiece – the Chinese Theatre – to celebrate its 85th Anniversary.

All About Grauman’s Chinese Theatre will take you on an insider’s tour – backstage, under stage, to Grauman’s office and private boxes, down the stars’ stairway and upstairs to the new Chinese Ballroom bar and restaurant, the renovated Chinese 6 theatres and Grauman’s Gallery, featuring photos of the theatre’s storied history.

Grauman expert, Mark Simon, will share the Sid Grauman story – from the Yukon to Los Angeles.  Theatre historian, Ed Kelsey, will present a PowerPoint history of the Chinese – the planning, construction and operation of the theatre, its elaborate prologues, the Forecourt and its iconic imprint ceremonies, and explain the theatre’s evolution since its grand opening on May 18, 1927. Why has Grauman’s Chinese Theatre survived as the only purpose-built movie palace in the world showing first-run films since its opening day?

ChineseTheatres management will discuss the operation of the theatre and plans for its future.

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation celebrates its 25th Anniversary protecting, preserving, restoring and sustaining the operation of L.A.’s historic theatres. Hollywood Heritage – Hollywood Heritage marks more than 40 years preserving Hollywood’s history and protecting its built environment. Together, these two vital preservation organizations salute Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, a landmark visited by more than 8 million people each year, by offering this extraordinary 85th Anniversary tour.

Visit Bill Counter’s Los Angeles Movie Palaces site for a look at Grauman’s Chinese history here:
http://sites.google.com/site/hollywoodtheatres/chinese

Chinese Theatres has a comprehensive chronological history of the Forecourt imprint ceremonies here: http://www.chinesetheatres.com/imprint-ceremonies.html

Learn about Grauman’s Chinese Theatre’s 85th Anniversary film series, ($.25 admission!) here:
http://www.chinesetheatres.com/events.html

Act Now. Only a limited number of tickets are available for this unique, all-access, up-close tour of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

This is the second ‘Twin Peaks’ exhibit I’ve been fortunate enough to partake in, each time sporting that little red dress with a pinned blue rose. The first took place in February of 2011 at the legendary Clifton’s Cafeteria in Los Angeles, a rather fitting locale that bared a strong resemblance to the Great Northern Hotel (except with more animatronics). Accompanied by Eric Diaz of Geekscape, we waited in line together for what seemed like forever, but found ourselves graciously rewarded with an experience like no other. We crammed our way throughout the entire scape of the crowded restaurant, noting the complimentary cherry pie, doughnuts, and coffee being granted, and even discovered a section of the building was converted into the Black Lodge for the occasion. The restaurant was surrounded with many incredible artworks of all mediums, including pieces from David Lynch and actress Grace Zabriskie themselves. Although the exhibit itself was a brief one, only having ran the course of a weekend, Eric and I felt as if we left with a piece of good ol’ Americana itself – with a venture to the heart of Twin Peaks. I even nabbed myself a souvenir coffee mug!

Fourteen months later, it is happening again…

2012 marks the 20^th anniversary of the film prequel, “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.” To commemorate, a series of artists brought us a multitude of amazing pieces ranging from very stunningly detailed oil paintings of Audrey Horne to sculptures of pies with skulls to some of David Lynch’s very own monoprints for the group exhibition of “Fire Walk With Me” at the metropolitan Copro Gallery in Santa Monica.

Once again being accompanied by Eric, as well as Logan Crow, we were welcomed inside by hypnotic 50’s tunes and a projection of miscellaneous overlapping scenes. Greeted by “The Bang Bang Bar” neon sign and a tower of donuts (and coffee, of course),we began our journey into a world like no other. One major contrast Eric and I noticed from the get-go was the theme in comparison to last year’s: this collection, much like the movie, was much darker. “Bob” was much more prominent in many of the works, giving the exhibit a much more eerie vibe than the previous exhibit.

Nevertheless, the energy and atmosphere of such an event would be difficult to put into words. We encountered many individuals from all walks of life, young and old alike. Some not only came solely for attendance’s sake, but to participate, many of which dressed up as their favorite TP character for the occasion. Many interviews and notable commentary was exchanged amongst the hoard of Lynchian fans, making the experience much more personable than any standard art exhibit.

Don’t miss the opportunity to catch probably one of the most distinctive and innovative visual exposés of everyone’s favorite logging town! And don’t forget to bring a damn fine cup of coffee.