This October is going to be a great month for films!
One of this year’s most talked-about and praised films—Christopher Nolen’s Oppenheimer—is playing at both the ByTowne and the Mayfair. I don’t usually make this kind of prediction, especially for a film I haven’t yet seen, but I believe this film will become a classic that folks will be watching—and discussing—for decades. I can hardly wait to see it!
The Mayfair is still showing the new British film Scrapper. It won the Grand Jury Prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The Guardian’s reviewer Peter Bradshaw called it an “impressively tender portrait of a girl’s precarious life.” It’s about Georgie, a spunky 12-year old who has convinced the Social Services folks that her “Uncle Winston Churchill” is taking care of her after her mother’s recent death. Georgie is somehow coping, making money by stealing bikes and larking about with her best friend Ali. Then her dad Jason shows up, but he’s just as immature.
Another newly released film that looks intriguing is She Came to Me. It stars the oh-so-versatile Peter Dinklage, the superb Marisa Tomei, and a delightfully bizarre role for Anne Hathaway. The plot centres around Dinklage, a successful opera composer with writer’s block. He can’t think of a plot for his new opera until he meets a tugboat captain (Tomei) who is addicted to romance and has been prosecuted for stalking. His wife, meanwhile, is a psychoanalyst with a fetish for cleaning. Every time I watch the trailer, I smile.
Two veteran European directors have gifted us with films, and the ByTowne is showing all of them.
First up is a pair of short films from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar—Strange Way of Life and The Human Voice. Strange Way of Life stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal who meet again after 25 years apart. The second film stars the exquisite Tilda Swinton in Almodóvar’s first film in English. It’s based on the play La Voix Humaine by Jean Cocteau, and is about a woman who is waiting next to the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up, but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn’t understand that his master has abandoned him. A Metacritic “must see”.
The other is from Italian director Nanni Moretti—A Brighter Tomorrow (Il sol dell’avvenire). It’s about a film shoot in which everything seems to be going wrong. As usual with Moretti’s films, it stars him in a semi-autobiographical role as the director. His marriage is on the rocks, his co-producer is on the verge of bankruptcy, no one seems to understand his script, and he might have to sell/sell out to Netflix. Can he find a way to a brighter tomorrow?
Talking Heads is one band that was never accused of selling out. If you’d like to see their famous concert film Stop Making Sense, you have your chance to see this 4K remastered film at the ByTowne. Pauline Kael described is as “close to perfection”.
October is the spookiest month of the year, and both cinemas are outdoing themselves with scary offerings.
The “Boo Towne” is continuing its ”Friedkin Remembered” series with what’s arguably William Friedkin’s most in/famous film—The Exorcist. It’s a 4K remaster of the film that garnered a Metacritic “must see” score and delivered “pure cinematic terror” (Variety). The ByTowne has also programmed two classic horror films: Francis Ford Coppola’s elegant Bram Stoker’s Dracula and a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see the 1920 The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari. There’s even live musical accompaniment. This German Expressionist masterpiece was the first feature-length horror film, and it still can bring chills to the viewer.
The Mayfair has three famous horror movies which have often been imitated but arguably never equalled. There’s Brian de Palma’s excellent adaptation of an early Stephen King novel, Carrie, starring the always-terrific Sissie Spacek. Tobe Hooper’s 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre took the trope of a bunch of teenagers terrorized by a serial killer to gruesome heights (or should I say, depths). A Metacritic “must see”. Wes Craven’s 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street twisted this trope, because the killer exists in their dreams—though he’s capable of killing each of them.
The Mayfair also has something super fun for the kiddies! It’s (take a deep breath!) their Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat-Cereal Cartoon Party, Volume 29–Halloween Month Edition! which ”features THREE HOURS of classic cartoons (including fun retro commercial breaks), PLUS an epic SUGARY CEREAL BUFFET!” (the Mayfair’s capitalizations, not mine.)
There’s more silly fun for everyone at the ByTowne: Laurel and Hardy Day, with four classic short films from one of the funniest duos ever to grace the silver screen. With live piano accompaniment.
You’re sure to enjoy yourselves with all this magic in the dark in October! More to come in the second half of the month… check back with Apt613 soon!
Dates, times and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. The ByTowne publishes their calendar at least 3 weeks in advance. Dates, times and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca. The Mayfair announces firm dates on Mondays, so check their website for the latest info.
