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This week, the long-awaited Los Angeles expansion of the Alamo Drafthouse has finally opened downtown, just in time to present 35mm screenings of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Outfest 2019 is in full swing, with an amazingly broad slate of features; and Shakedown, a noir which isn’t often screened, plays on 16mm at the Bootleg Theater.
Outfest 2019
Runs through July 28 at the TCL Chinese 6 + Additional TheatersThe last days of the amazingly huge Outfest are coming up, and fortunately the festival still has a number of debuts planned, including Vita & Virginia, (featuring Elizabeth Debicki as Virginia Woolf), the trans vampire tale Bit, and several documentaries, including the Judy Garland-focused Sid & Judy; You Don’t Nomi, which explores the legacy of the film Showgirls; and For They Know Not What They Do, which follows four families as they learn to accept their LGBTQ children. If the 200-feature lineup seems daunting, check out The Advocate’s guide to essential Outfest programming. DCP | INFO Alamo Drafthouse “Sneak Peek”
Ongoing into August at the Alamo Drafthouse DTLAAfter years of development, the Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse chain has finally opened in Los Angeles and is running in “sneak peek” mode with a few food and drink bargains. The downtown spot — situated in The Bloc development at 700 S Flower St., formerly the site of Macy’s Plaza — has 12 screens and will feature a mixture of first-run, event, and repertory programming. Alamo is already running a 35mm print of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and starting on July 26 will begin a week-long engagement of Fast Color (above), which had a too-limited first run in theaters earlier this year. In August, the Terror Tuesday series will feature a 4K restoration of Chopping Mall, as well as Night of the Comet, the original 1974 Black Christmas, and Roberta Findlay’s Tenement, while the Kids Camp series will feature low-price tickets for family-oriented screenings of Paddington 2 and The Iron Giant. PHENOMENA (1985)dir. Dario ArgentoJuly 26, 10:00 PM at the Dynasty Typewriter at the HayworthJennifer Connelly stars as a young woman who gets involved with a criminal investigation thanks to her ability to communicate with insects. Director Dario Argento applies many of the hallmarks of his giallo films to a story that plays out as much like an off-kilter fairy tale as it does a crime thriller, with squirm-inducing sequences that take advantage of the insect-oriented plot. THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967)dir. Roman PolanskiJuly 29, 7:30 PM at the Arclight Culver City and Arclight PasadenaLos Angeles theaters have run a lot of programming in anticipation of Quentin Tarantino’s new movie, but most of the films in question haven’t actually featured one central figure: Sharon Tate. That’s because Tate didn’t make many movies. Among the few is this wacky and weird horror comedy directed by and starring her future husband, Roman Polanski. The director is disgraced as a convicted rapist who fled the U.S. to avoid his sentence; this film, however, has a notable place in the history of Hollywood, and is specifically important to the story that is revived in Tarantino’s movie. Also plays the Hollywood Arclight on August 5. SHAKEDOWN (1950)dir. Joseph PevneyJuly 28, 6:30 PM at the Bootleg TheaterMedia meets the mob in a hard-boiled noir in which a shell-shocked and morally compromised photographer (played by The Naked City’s Howard Duff) becomes a star shooter for a San Francisco paper after he starts posing and directing his crime scene photos. Then he gets into real trouble when he begins to use his work to help out a local crime boss. Plays with the short film Autumn Fire, from 1931. Vimeo Staff Picks with Live Director CommentaryJuly 30, 7:30 PM at the Downtown IndependentIt’s right there in the title. Short films, for many viewers, are often seen online, especially through the efforts of companies like Vimeo. This is a chance to see a set of recent Vimeo staff picks on the big screen, with live commentary from the filmmakers. The selection includes David Lewandowski’s Late for Meeting and Time for Sushi; Sean Buckelew’s Lovestreams; Patrick Bresnan’s The Rabbit Hunt; Jeron Braxton’s Octane; and Anna Kerrigan’s Hot Seat. FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984)dir. Joseph ZitoJuly 27, 7:30 PM at the Ahrya Fine ArtsSlasher films regularly trade in pretty basic shocks — which was especially true as the genre wound deep into sequel territory — and the Friday the 13th films are perfect examples. But this entry stands out thanks to an unusually effective climax powered by Corey Feldman’s eerie performance and the work of effects maestro Tom Savini. Director Joseph Zito and actors Judie Aronson, Camilla More and Carey More will be in attendance. |
