Living for the Cinema

The time has come for NORTON WEEK!  This is of course referring to the legendary actor Edward Norton who broke out big-time with his first ever on-screen appearance in the '96 legal thriller Primal Fear which garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  Two years later in '98, he delivered two VERY memorable performances in two VERY different movies which both left their marks on any one frequenting the cinema for years to come - these two seminal films came out just about a month apart and they would make a truly BIZARRE double feature. :) 

The first of these was this highly rewatchable poker drama featuring Norton (playing the scheming "rounder" nicknamed "Worm") as part of an extensive cast lead by Matt Damon, also including John Turturro, John Malkovich, Gretchen Mol, Martin Landau, and Famke Janssen.  Twenty-five years ago, the buzz surrounding this film helped kick-start a resurgent poker craze and it was directed by John Dahl (The Last Seduction, Joy Ride).  It's once again time to splash the pot.....

 Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Just under forty years ago, we saw the theatrical release of what many would consider to be one of THE seminal concert movies.  It featured one of the more enduring rock/funk/New Wave bands from that era.....NYC's own Talking Heads lead by innovative front-man David Byrne.  He was also joined on stage by several supremely talented musicians including Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Bernie Worrell among several others.  It was all shot over four shows over four nights performed in southern California as part of their tour to promote their most recent album "Speaking in Tongues" which would also feature what would be their highest selling single, "Burning Down the House."  It was directed by eventual Oscar winner Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) and the final product resulted in one HELL of a show which is about be re-released in the IMAX format.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Back in the fall of '93 when this first came out, this movie felt like a big deal.  This was just a few years after star Macauley Culkin had become a household name after his 1990 starring vehicle Home Alone had taken over the world.  Culkin was the highest paid actor in Hollywood for a short time period, he was everywhere, and in typical fashion....there was already a growing backlash against him. After two Home Alone movies playing Mac's brand of violent sadism but strictly for laughs, this felt like the logical next step of course. 

Because in this movie, he plays disturbed pre-teen Henry living an idyllic life with this family at a large water-front home in Nantucket....or IS he?  Well apparently Henry is homicidal and his visiting young cousin Mark (Elijah Wood) becomes the first to realize this as he witnesses Henry commit all sorts of violent, heinous acts.....including terrorizing his own kid sister (Quinn Culkin) while pulling the wool over his parents, including the sweet-natured Susan played by Wendy Crewson.  And of course, chaos ensues!  Chaos involving young children in this enduring cult classic directed by Joseph Ruben (Sleeping With the Enemy) - don't say you weren't warned!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Back around the era when this came out in the late '80's/early '90's it felt like there was a new heroic teacher drama (Dead Poet's Society, Lean On Me) being released every six months.  This particular inspirational drama was directed by Ramon Menendez and might be one of the best of that group.  It's based upon the true story of Jaime Escalante and his advanced math class at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles.  Escalante was a math whiz and he taught his students not only how to be math whizzes but eventually AP Calculus.  And we follow all of their stories towards clearing this difficult academic hurdle.  Edward James Olmos stars as Professor Escalante alongside Lou Diamond Phillips, Rosanna DeSoto, Andy Garcia, and several other talented young actors.

 Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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What better way to kick off "Back to School" week than with this brand new raunchy teen comedy directed by Emma Seligman who recently gave us Shiva Baby?  The story focuses on two SEEMINGLY dorky (as the movie tells us) lesbian best friends who are both virgins but would prefer to  NOT stay that way as they each have their eyes on two cheerleaders for the school football team.  The two teenagers are played by Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edibri....and the only things standing in their way include the football player boyfriends of said cheerleaders, the nasty principal, and the fact that nobody really likes these girls at their school.  So the obvious solution is.....to start a fight club for girls at the school??  Yes in fact they do and the new fight club is a hit for girls looking to defend themselves....or exact revenge on folks who have hurt them.  And what results is a raucous, funny and surprisingly violent comedy which certainly does NOT pull its punches.....

 Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Thirty years ago this month saw the release of the directorial debut of Robert DeNiro with this touching coming-of-age tale set in the violent world of organized crime in the Bronx in the 1960's.  The story focuses on the young Colagero (played at different points by Francis Capra and Lillo Brancato) who watch grow up from the ages of 9 to 17 as his parents struggle to raise him right.  His father is a bus-driver played by DeNiro and the other major influence in his life becomes the local mob boss Sonny played by Chazz Palminteri who also wrote this film's screenplay which was an adaptation of his own autobiographical stage play of the same name.  Of course Colagero is torn between these two powerful figures in his life as he potentially drawn to a life of crime while also starting to fall for a girl from his local school by Taral Hicks.  And what results is a sometimes violent, often funny, and always touching modern classic - let's head back to the Bronx!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Robert McCall is back....and this time, he has ventured to Italy after having spent most of the previous two films mostly around his hometown of Boston.  McCall is once again played by Denzel Washington in this third (and final) entry of the action film franchise which kicked off in 2014.  This is also the third entry in a row directed by Antoine Fuqua who had previously directed Washington to his last Oscar win for Best Actor for the film Training Day from 2001.  After recovering from a gunshot injury which nearly killed him, McCall now finds himself settling in a lovely small town in Southern Italy.  He's hoping to get past the violence which has marked most of his career in the CIA and his post-CIA career as an....Equalizer.   Unfortunately, the local Italian mafia has other ideas as he notices them threatening his town and its people, many of whom he has now befriended.  So guess what happens next?  Yup the Equalizer starts to.....EQUALIZE once again. ;)  Co-stars include Dakota Fanning, Eugenio Mastrandrea, David Denman, and Gaia Scodellaro. 

 Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Once Upon a Time back in the 1970’s, there was NO bigger star in the world than Burton Leon Reynolds from Lansing, MI.....known to most as Burt Reynolds.  The late great Burt stars as the eponymous Hooper who is considered by many to be "The Greatest Stuntman Alive!"  Hooper LOVES his job and is loving the work on his latest picture - only years of punishment on his body is starting to take its toll so Hooper is starting to wonder how many years he has left in this trade which his girlfriend (Sally Field) is also starting to worry about.  That and a hot new stuntman (Jan Michael Vincent) has emerged  providing some competition.  And what results is a rip-roaring action comedy/drama filled loads of impressive stunts which was directed by stuntman extraordinaire Hal Needham who had also directed Reynolds the year before in the smash hit Smokey & the Bandit.  

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Twenty years ago, the hype was building for the coming fall release of this, hyped up as "The 4th Film from Quentin Tarantino."  Only a strange thing happened on the way towards its release....the director and the studio (Miramax) realized that there was SO much story and so much movie, it had ballooned into an epic of more than four hours! :o So the decision was made to split the movie into two different volumes: Volume 1 came out in October of 2003 and Volume 2 came out six months later in April of 2004.  So it became an extended SAGA of one assassin (Uma Thurman playing "The Bride") waking up out of a coma now seeking revenge against the gang of fellow assassins who tried to murder her.   The other assassins were played by Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, and Darryl Hannah....and they were all lead by Bill played by David Carradine.  And of course, our hero's ultimate goal is to.....KILL BILL. 

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Oscar-winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Splash) helmed this racing drama based upon the real-life rivalry between two Formula One racers in the mid '70's....the Austrian Nikki Lauda (Daniel Bruehl) vs. the British James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth).  Lauda was cold and cerebral while Hunt was brash and impetuous - these styles came through in how they both raced and lived their lives.  Ten years ago when this first came out, it received strong reviews but little awards attention and middling box office.  However since it came out, it has garnered a strong reputation as one of the best sports dramas of recent years along with possibly being THE best film ever devoted to auto racing. 

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/ 

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