Something old, something new at the ByTowne and the Mayfair in the second half of June. I’ll start with the new films…
Sinners has made quite a splash this year. Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) as the director and Michael B. Jordan playing twin Stack and Smoke, there’s talk of Oscars in its future. It’s 1932, and the brothers are fleeing their troubled past in gangland Chicago, determined to set up a juke joint in their hometown in Mississippi. But there’s something evil waiting for them there.
This audacious mash-up of historical drama, musical, and vampire horror has garnered a Metacritic must-see rating. And the reviewer in Original Cin wrote, “Sinners… needs no more than a one-word review: Stunning. Magical also works. So does unforgettable.” See it at the ByTowne.
One reviewer said The Life of Chuck “is a balm for your soul.” As I wrote in my last Magic in the Dark, this life-affirming, genre-bending story by Stephen King may be the author at his most sentimental and uncynical. And it was the 2024 TIFF People’s Choice winner; this award is often a precursor to one or more Oscars. Continuing at the ByTowne.
Jane Austen’s novels have been successfully mined in several romcoms, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is the latest. As I wrote recently (1) (2), the film is about an Austen-obsessed young woman torn between two attractive men at an Austen-themed writers’ retreat. At the Mayfair.
Turning to the films from the vault…
Robert Altman’s drama Nashville is considered his masterpiece. I agree that it’s one of them—the others being M.A.S.H., McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and The Player. But none of these (not even The Player) match the deft interweaving of so many stories as Nashville. It’s Altman’s microcosm of America in its bicentennial year. If I outlined the stories or listed all the actors who play the twenty-four main characters or listed all the awards it won, my Apt613 editor would have a conniption.
Like Nashville, there’s music in the next three films, and dancing in two.
Norman McLaren’s animated films for the NFB were–and still are–creative marvels. In 2014, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) commissioned the avant-garde musicians Absolutely Free to accompany some of McLaren’s short films in live performances. Absolutely Free has since reinterpreted their compositions. The result is the film/performance special event Norman McLaren Shorts with Live Score by Absolutely Free at the ByTowne. A not-to-be-missed opportunity.
Dance can transform a person’s life. Look no further than Shall We Dance?, a charming story about a Japanese businessman who stumbles into taking ballroom dance lessons. You can find more details about the film in my last article. Continuing at the ByTowne.
Is there a better high school musical than Grease? Probably not! Want to sing along? Sing your heart out with Danny (that great dancer, John Travolta), Sandy (Olivia Newton-John, the heart-throb singer with the golden voice) and the gang. Not sure of the words? They’ll be on the screen. Sock hop attire is encouraged. And it’s all at the ByTowne.
Speaking of high schools, one of the classic high school comedies, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, is playing at the ByTowne in their slumber party series (so you can wear your PJs). Amy Heckerling’s 1982 chronicle of a year in the life of a bunch of teenagers at a Southern California high school is a template for numerous future teen comedies. The Austin Chronicle said, “The panoply of teen types and turmoils is dead-on accurate.”
Another film in the ByTowne’s Golden Age series, East of Eden, is also about turbulent youth, but this one’s set in 1917 California and is a melodrama based on a John Steinbeck novel. In his second film after Rebel Without a Cause, James Dean burns up the screen as a volatile young man competing–unsuccessfully–with his older brother for his deeply religious father’s approval. At the same time, he’s reconnecting with his estranged mother, who runs a brothel. And he and his brother’s girlfriend are falling in love with each other.
Alien, the mother of all modern science fiction horror films, returns as the director’s cut at the ByTowne. Ridley Scott has included alternate scenes in this Metacritic must-see. I predict even more scares in this version than in the 1979 original, though the terrifying glimpses of the alien need no enhancements. But the first thing I think of when I think of Alien is Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, the first truly iconic female action hero.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is back at the Mayfair, hosted by the Absent Friends Shadow Cast. It’s the 50th anniversary of this cult film extraordinaire—can you believe it!?! The Mayfair’s blurb says: “Feel free to dress up as your favourite character, bring props and items to be thrown in the air (newspapers, toast, toilet paper, playing cards…), call back at the screen, and dance in the aisles.” Should be a night to remember!
Something for everyone, so see a film. Or two. Or three.
Dates, times, and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. You can also buy tickets at the box office. The ByTowne publishes its calendar several weeks in advance. Dates, times, and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca. The Mayfair finalizes its upcoming films’ schedule weekly, which they post online and advertise via email. Both provide information about future weeks’ films. You can buy tickets via their weekly email and at the box office.
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