This weekend is quite busy in terms of new releases in Minneapolis. The latest installment of the relatively successful, “found-footage” series, Paranormal Activity 4 will be opening at the St. Anthony Main. The series has gotten progressively worse with each new movie and the trend is seemingly going to hold true with the newest film. The Landmark Lagoon will be bringing the brand new documentary How to Survive a Plague to the cities. It’s a documentary about two coalitions that were dedicated to making AIDS a manageable disease and has gotten exceptionally good reviews. The Uptown theater will also be bringing a new documentary to town. The Other Dream Team is possibly the only true story that brings together the Lithuanian basketball team, The Grateful Dead, and an independence movement.
Pepito’s Parkway Theater has a packed weekend completely dedicated to the Rolling Stones. Stonesfest kicks off with the premiere of Charlie Is My Darling on Friday at 7 and 9pm and then will have various concert films throughout Saturday and Sunday. More information about all the screenings can be found here.
If you head over to the Trylon this weekend you can catch the 3rd installment of their Woody Allen series. This week will feature Love and Death (1975) and The Front (1976). Both of the screenings will be on 35mm, all the more reason to visit the Trylon sometime this weekend.
If you missed Brute Heart performing a live score over The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) at the Walker this summer, you now have a chance to see an encore performance at the Cedar Cultural Center on Friday. The doors open at 7pm and MAKR will be providing some pre-show tunes until 8pm, when the main event starts.
The Walker will be continuing their Cinema of Urgency series on Friday with a screening of Material (2009) by Thomas Heise at 7:30pm.
Finally, you can catch Ted at the Coffman Union on the UMN-Twin Cities campus both Friday and Saturday at 7 and 10pm.
-Alex
After an unusually busy weekend for the Trylon Microcinema, they will be returning to their regular programming this week. Monday and Tuesday evenings will feature Kuroneko (1968) as part of their Japanese Horror Classics series. Wednesday will be the monthly return of The Defenders at 7pm, with local comic artist Zander Cannon choosing the mystery film for this edition. Thursday brings the special, jazz focoused, event An Evening With Bob DeFlores.
Monday at Grumpy’s means a double feature of terribly fun movies starting at 8pm. This week will bring Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987) for your enjoyment.
Heralded as the best film of the summer by some, you still have a chance to catch Beasts of the Southern Wild at the Riverview before it leaves theaters for good.
And for those interested in meeting some of the more active members of the Minneapolis film community look no further than the Cinema Lounge at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater. The even takes place this Wednesday and starts at 7pm.
The Walker Art Center is teaming up with the Film Society and the UMN-Twin Cities to present the Cinema of Urgency series. On Wednesday the Walker will be screening Condition (Die Lage) at 7:30pm. Thursday brings Das Haus to the University (325 Nicholson Hall) at 1pm and Fatherland (Vaterland) to the St. Anthony Main at 7pm. Director Thomas Heis will be present at all three screenings.
The Walker will also be continuing Part 5 of The Story of Film: An Odyssey running from October 16-21. On Thursday at 7:30pm there will be a screening of short films by Stan Brakhage, possibly one of the largest names in experimental cinema of all time. The screening will be part of their series entitled The Renegades: American Avant-Garde Film, 1960-1973.
And don’t forget to catch some of the Twin Cities Film Fest, currently in full-force.
Despite being the weekend, when most new movies premiere, we only have two brand new film coming to Minneapolis. Ben Affleck’s latest feature, Argo, tells the tale of the CIA’s attempt to save six American citizens caught in Iran at the height of the revolution in the 1970s. Affleck has proved that he’s more than competent as a director with his previous two films and Argo has been getting positive reviews so far, so it’s definitely worth checking out. Opening at the Uptown is The Paperboy. This film starring Zac Efron has fared less positive reviews as of yet, with isn’t surprising given his previous efforts.
The Trylon is continuing their Woody Allen retrospective this weekend with two of his best comedies, Sleeper (1973) and Bananas (1971). They’re also hosting a slew of films for the Sound Unseen Film Festival including: Cartoon College, The Crumbles, The History of Future Folk, Beware of Mr. Baker, Radio Unnameable, and Charles Bradley: Soul of America. You can find more information about the festival here.
The Walker has a single screening this Saturday at 7:30pm. Serious Games I-IV is a series of shorts documenting the US military’s games designed to “prepare for combat and post-traumatic stress disorder.” There will also be a post-screening discussion.
While not strictly a film related event, the Parkway will be screening and episode of The Walking Dead this Sunday at 6:30pm. The episode in question is Seed, the opening episode of Season Three. The event is free to attend, but you must be over the age of 21.
And last, but certainly not least, is the Twin Cities Film Fest. Running from October 12-20th. More information about the festival and the films screening can be found at their website.
With no new films opening this week, we’ll start out at the Trylon. It’s a jam-packed week for this tiny cinema, mostly due to the Sound Unseen Film Festival. Both Monday and Tuesday at 7pm and 9pm you can catch Onibaba (1964) as part of their Japanese Horror series. Wednesday kicks off the Sound Unseen Film Festival with the opening movie, An Affair of the Heart at 7pm. Unfortunately, this documentary about the legendary Bruce Springfield has already sold out. This will be followed by Bad Brains: A Band in D.C. at 9pm, about the incredibly influential, still-performing, hardcore punk band. This screening is sold out as well. Thursday brings two more screenings as part of the festival; both of which still have tickets available. At 7pm is The Source, a documentary about one of the more popular utopia movements of the ’70s and the reformation of the their band after so many years. One of the directors and an original Source Family member will be in attendance. At 9pm is XXX All Ages XXX: The Boston Hardcore Story. This documentary explores the many different aspects of the hardcore community in Boston from 1981-1984. Both the director and executive producer will be present at the screening.
Grumpy’s Downtown location will be continuing their horror themed Drinky Drive-In this month with a double feature of Suspiria (1977) and The Beyond (1981), starting at 8pm. As usual all MN beers and wines will be 1/2 off until 11pm.
The Walker will also be having a double feature of their own on Wednesday. Slightly more serious, the two films will be The Battle of Algiers (1966) and Gillo Pontecorvo’s Return to Algiers (1992). A post-screening discussion will be led by Professor John Mowitt, Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota.
Finally there will be a free screening of the newly rebooted comic book film series, The Amazing Spiderman, this Thursday at 7pm in the Coffman Memorial Union Theatre. Directed by the neighboring Wisconsinite Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield, both have been green-lit for the sequel set to come out in 2014.
New to the cities this weekend are the horror anthology V/H/S at the Lagoon, which was a hit at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and Taken 2 at the St. Anthony Main. See the first, skip the latter.
The Trylon is dedicating its single screen to Woody Allen by showing his classic film, Manhattan (1979), 6 times between Friday and Sunday. Even if you’ve already seen his famous black and white love letter to New York, it will be worth spending some extra money for the opportunity to see it on 35mm.
The Film Society of Minneapolis/St. Paul is also having quite a busy weekend with their Tribute to Milos Forman. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) will be shown at 7pm on Friday, while Valmont (1989) and Amadeus (1984) will be screened on Saturday at 4:30pm and 7:30pm, respectively. All three screenings are free, but donations are suggested.
If you’re Seeking a Friend For the End of the World, look no further than the Parkway Theater. This apocalyptic comedy featuring Steve Carrell and Kiera Knightly opens on Saturday at the Parkway.
Meanwhile the Alliance Francaise is kicking off a kids’ series of films this Sunday with La Guerre des Boutons (War of the Buttons) at 3pm. The series is intended for children, but adults are more than welcome to come and it’s free for everyone.
MCAD is getting in on the film love this Saturday with their Co-Kisser Poetry Film Festival, featuring “films that are inspired by poetry, based on poetry, and about poetry and poets.” The festival starts at 1pm and is free and open to the public.
Finally, the Walker Art Center will be presenting a series of newsreels made by Jem Cohen during the Occupy protests in 2011. The screening is entitled Gravity Hill Newsreels: Occupy Wall Street, takes place on Friday at 7:30pm, and lasts 66 minutes.
