I love going to a movie at a drive-in theatre:  it’s one of my top ten summertime things to do.  This is partly due to a bit of a nostalgia factor – my mom would occasionally bundle my sisters and I up in the car when we were kids and take us to see movie at the drive-in, and we were allowed to wear our pyjamas, which was awesome.  But it’s also because I am both incredibly snarky and unfailingly polite, which is something that can cause a great deal of inner turmoil at a conventional movie theatre:  my inner snark demands that I point out, with glee, all of the ridiculousness and inaccuracies in every summer blockbuster that I see.  However, my inner Miss Manners demands that I hold myself back lest I ruin the movie-going experience of my fellow cinephiles.  The drive-in, therefore, is the perfect place to go see a ridiculous, inaccurate (but still fun, don’t get me wrong!) summer blockbuster:  I can be as snarky as I want, in the comfort of my own car, and only the (equally snarky) friends who are with me need to hear it.  Thank you, drive in movie theatres, for being the solution to very trivial problems!

If you’ve never been to a drive-in theatre (and I’m always surprised at how many people haven’t!) you should go.  There are a few good drive-ins around LA to choose from.  Last week, I caught Pirates 4 at the Mission Tiki Drive-In near Pomona, which has a fabulously decked-out retro tiki snack bar.  There’s also the Vineland Drive-In in City of Industry.  Devil’s Night Drive In takes place once a month in Downtown LA, on the 2^nd floor roof parking lot at 240 W. 4^th Street, and they have carhops to serve you food!

Sadly, most of the other drive-ins in LA county are shuttered (the LA county page on Roadsidepeek.com is almost like a tragic graveyard of abandoned drive in sites) but there are a few left somewhat further afield – Riverside has both the Rubidoux and the Van Buren.  And the Southern California Drive-In Movie Society is doing what they can to keep people interested and drive-ins open.

Photo by Kenneth Adam.

My buddy Hank Rosenfeld has a piece airing tonight at 8 on KPPC.

He’s talking about Hollywood screenwriter Irv Brecher and I’m guessing a lot of this stuff is from his great book, The Wicked Wit of the West.

You should check it out -

(Main page for “The Story” is here.)

((ooh, so linky! I’m actually writing a post NOT from my phone ~))

Tod Browning's Freaks

This weekend is one of those times in Los Angeles when movie buffs wish they could clone themselves several times over. Seriously it almost hurts to be a cinefile when the options are so rich and you can only sit in one theater at a time. First of all, beginning tonight, the Aero has a Tod Browning retrospective, which runs through Saturday. Saturday night–be still my heart–is a double feature of Freaks and Devil Doll. (That offering, in and of itself, would be enough to merit a blog post.) I admit I’ve never even seen Devil Doll (though any movie with an X song named after it has, frankly, got to be good), but before the days of Netflix, I used to have a roommate who owned only two movies–Freaks and Sid and Nancy, so I’ve seen Freaks a ridiculous number of times, and I’ll probably head to the Aero Saturday to see it again. It’s that good. But that’s only a small part of the big screen amazingness this weekend. Read the rest of this entry →

REDRUM

Cinespia. Classic films, under the stars, on the hallowed grounds of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It is an experience that is unrivaled in a city that is chock-full of things to do.

So why the reruns?

for our tenth season, cinespia will be bringing back some of our favorite movies from past seasons

Checking the schedule so far, I’ve already seen two of the films at cinespia in the past 5 years, and a third has been shown by the LA Conservancy at a recent Last Remaining Seats. So what gives?

I know that many of cinespia’s patrons are returning customers. And some of those patrons probably go to LRS as well. (Can we cross-check our screening calendars, please?) With such a short season and so many films from which to choose, I find this baffling. Especially in Hollywood. And especially when cinespia asks fans to make screening suggestions on their own Facebook page.

I’m still going to go. It’s still my favorite thing on Earth. But, I am very, very disappointed.

Vertigo? Again?

This weekend, the LA 3-D Club (Stereo Club of Southern California) is hosting the 8th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival at the Downtown Independent Theater. The festivities begin at 1pm on Saturday with two blocks of short film competitions, followed by an evening feature screening. On Sunday, you can attend free 3-D demos and presentations and see local student 3-D films. The festival wraps up with an award ceremony and screening, followed by a rooftop reception.

If you buy a pass to the festival, you could be the lucky winner of a FujiFilm FinePix REAL 3D W3 digital camera. A Festival Pass is $30 and gets you into all screenings and events during the weekend and enters you into a drawing to be held at the awards ceremony on Sunday night.

Come out and support a great local organization, a fantastic independent theater and see some amazing indie 3-D films and music videos from all over the world.

The 8th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival
May 14th and 15th, 2011
Downtown Independent Theater
251 S. Main Street, Los Angeles 90012

[Sorry, too angry to dig for a CC photo]

I realize the world will end anyway on May 21st, but The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that Grauman’s Chinese Theater is being sold and we should Expect Some Changes once their deal closes on May 20th.

Bull SHIT, sez me!

There’s a Facebook page to save it but everybody knows what that’s worth.

I’m not completely clear if they’re only getting the Mann Chinese 6 at Hollywood and Highland, or if the rumor that the developers are “considering turning the theater, which has 1,152 seats, into a nightclub,” is anything more than that, but still.

Really? The Chinese Theater? It’s not IT enough for you?

The Chinese is on all the historic registries, but developers (and Samaha in particular) are notorious for moving forward with their nefarious agendas and hoping no one will notice until it’s too late (Yes I Mean You out there bulldozing Johnnie’s Broiler).

Let’s not let this get swept under the rug, Angelenos!

One of the great things about living in LA is the wonderful variety of high- to low-brow movie theaters and special screenings that take place constantly. Coming up beginning next week, Angelenos have an opportunity to catch what could possibly be the only US theater run ever for Love Exposure, a four-hour Japanese movie that Cinefamily describes in the following manner:

Ask yourself this question: when was the last time a movie really mattered to you, and shattered your world? Every so often, a film comes screaming out of the ether that magically reveals a larger truth about this thing we stumble through called life, and the latest cinematic salve is the unforgettable, uncategorizable, unmissable Love Exposure, the brand-new behemoth from Sion Sono (Suicide Club, Strange Circus) that gleefully tackles life’s biggest issues: love, death, sex, revenge, religion and up-skirt panty photography.

I had the privilege of joining some friends for recent Cinefamily screenings of Stake Land and Rammbock, and hearing Cinefamily head programmer Hadrian Belove promote it before each of those screenings has helped me overcome any apprehensions I might have had about sitting through a four-hour movie. The way he describes it, when the 237 minutes has elapsed the main feeling that will remain is a longing for even more.

There will only be seven screenings of this movie here in LA, once daily from next Friday the 13th to the following Thursday the 19th, so if you’re short on kung-fu up-skirt in your life you should get your tickets ASAP. (The youtube trailer is available by following that link.)

Mara Hobel and Fay Dunaway in Mommie Dearest

Yes, this Sunday is Mother’s Day, or as some of us like to think of it, Avoid Brunch Restaurants As If Your Life Depended On It Day. My fellow bloggers have helped you figure out where to shop for your momma and where to take her out. I’m here to let the dysfunctional family set know the Egyptian Theater has planned a Sunday evening just for us. In the programming equivalent of scheduling My Bloody Valentine on February 14th, the Egyptian is screening Mommie Dearest at 7:30 Sunday night. You’ll never look at a wire hanger the same again. See you there.

This homemade ad appeared on the wall of my building’s mail room today. It’s for a “Small Entertainment Center : Holds a 32′ TV”. My first thought upon reading the ad was, “wow, if that’s the size of the tv that goes on a small entertainment center, I’d love to see the tv that sits on the large entertainment center.” My second thought was, “this is another Los Angeles ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ moment, only in reverse.”

Wizard of Oz photo from the Cinespia website

That’s right–it’s almost time to drink wine and watch movies in the graveyard.

Cinespia’s tenth season at Hollywood Forever Cemetery starts May 14th. Yes, that’s several weeks from now, but they want to know right away what you’d like to see. So now’s your chance to put in a request. Head on over to their Facebook page and chime in or fill in the webform on their site. Right now, Goonies and Heathers seem to front runners just based on my quick scan of their page. My personal dream season includes Rebel Without A Cause, Repo Man, and Double Indemnity to name a few. (I would have said Night of the Living Dead, but that screened last year.)

If you want to keep posted on what’s coming up, join their mailing list. If you’ve somehow never been to a screening, it’s pretty fun, though Cinespia is one of many LA treats that’s become a victim of its own success. It’s really crowded and parking is a hellish ordeal. Do like I do and cultivate your relationship with friends in the area so you can park in their driveway–or bike.

And what about you guys? What would you like to see at Hollywood Forever this summer?

Ladies and gentlemen… it’s Judgement Day! Skynet went online 2 days ago and today it becomes self-aware and well, that’s that I guess. Fortunately we have some footage of what happens to our fair city in the coming holocaust. Enjoy :-)

Click to watch LA go boom...

It includes:

– the reality show celebrity/mom telling her little kids about the “lady with a face like plastic”;

– the actor from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”;

– the music producer-looking guy with the very long grey pouffy hair and dark sunglasses (yeah, that guy);

– the flight attendant asking you if you’re a particular actor, and then threatening to check the passenger manifest when you say “no”; and

– the Lady with the Face like Plastic.  It really was, and I guess I’m really back home.

Break out your old BMX  and pedal on over to the Hammer for a fun evening of bike culture.  Artist Lisa Anne Auerbach is hosting the bike related fun.  Along with vegan munchies, bicycle portraits and balloon races (honest I didn’t make up the last one) there will be a showing of the classic BMX bike movie from 1986-RAD.

DEETS Thursday April 14, 2011, Hammer Museum 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90024. There will be monitored parking.

Tip o’ the hat to reader Gabriele who saw this and thought of all the bike riders here.

Seriously, if you don’t have plans tonight already, this is an epic evening for LA, cinematically speaking. One of the best things about our city is that you can pretty much catch anything on the big screen, and today is testimony to that. 

First, it’s the kick off night for the Egyptian’s 13th annual Noir City festival. As in the past, most of the stuff in the series isn’t available on DVD. There are 13 double features running tonight through 20 April. Tonight’s double bill, new prints of High Wall and Strangers in the Night, focuses on WWII vets who return home to a world plenty sinister and dangerous in its own right. It’s a lot easier to figure out who the enemy is when he’s wearing a scary uniform, you know?  Read the rest of this entry →