Claremont 5 Archives - Page 5 of 36

Time’s running out to see the “perfect” ‘Petite Maman’ on the big screen.

May 11, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

French filmmaker Céline Sciamma’s follow up to the powerful Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the much different but equally beautiful and uniquely emotional Petite Maman. The protagonist is eight-year-old Nelly, who accompanies her parents to her mother’s childhood home after the death of the grandmother. As Nelly explores the house and nearby woods, she meets a neighbor her own age building a treehouse. What follows is a tender tale of childhood grief, memory and connection.

As of Friday we’ll be playing Petite Maman at seven of our eight locations, but unfortunately the engagements may have to be brief. Please read some of the effusive praise of this lovely film and consider enjoying and supporting it as intended, theatrically:

“There isn’t a false note or superfluous image in Petite Maman, which runs a just-right 72 minutes. It’s perfect.” ~ Manohla Dargis, New York Times

“It’s a perfect creation in miniature, one that doesn’t have a wasted frame but that also never feels like it’s in a rush.” ~ Alison Willmore, New York Magazine/Vulture

“We forget a lot of things when we grow up. This film is a wonderful reminder.” ~ Odie Henderson, RogerEbert.com

“Poetry on screen can’t be constructed, or willed into existence. Under the right circumstances, though, it can be allowed. Ms. Sciamma, whose previous feature was the passionate and extravagant Portrait of a Lady on Fire, has created those circumstances.” ~ Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

“No less than the condition of childhood itself, the movie opens up a world of possibilities, all of them beautiful and beguiling — and over all too soon.” ~ Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEitzGOK1Rg

PETITE MAMAN – Laemmle Theatres (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEitzGOK1Rg)

Searing, prescient French abortion drama ‘Happening’ arrives just in time.

May 11, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Opening just as the expected but still shocking news broke that the Republican appointees to the Supreme Court are ready to begin clawing back women’s rights within a few weeks, Happening could not be more timely or galvanizing. As Mark Olsen wrote recently in the L.A. Times, “Happening is set in 1963 and yet it suddenly feels like a possible window into the future. Directed by Audrey Diwan, who co-wrote the adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel of the same name, the film follows a young French college student Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) as she attempts to get an abortion after discovering she is pregnant. Though abortion became legal in France in 1975, in 1963 it very much was not, with potential prison time for the woman, whoever performed the procedure and anyone who helped. Isolated from her friends and family, Anne becomes increasingly driven as the weeks pass by to find a solution to her problem — anything that will allow her to continue on with her life as she planned and fulfill her goal to become a writer…In an emailed statement, Diwan responded to the recent news [from SCOTUS], writing, “The purpose of art is also to bring to light some hidden truths. We all know, time has proven it, that when abortion becomes illegal, women who feel the need for it find other solutions. And not safe ones. I think that those who want to intervene in the abortion debate, whether for or against, should at least know clearly what a clandestine abortion is. We cannot talk about what we don’t know. And I include myself here: before reading Happening, I participated in this conversation for a long time without knowing … I was wrong. We should all know, this must not stay silent.'”

Happening was a critical, commercial and cultural phenomenon in its native France, where it opened in the autumn. The New York Times recently published a piece headlined “In France, a Film Has Women Sharing Their Stories of Abortion: Following the release of Happening, about an illegal abortion in 1963, the country’s contemporary stigma around the procedure is facing scrutiny.” The lede: “Happening, Audrey Diwan’s film about a 1960s back-street abortion in France, isn’t for the fainthearted. In fact, audience members have fainted at several screenings, including at the Venice Film Festival last September, where it won the Golden Lion. ‘It’s often men who say the experience took them to the limit of what they could bear,” Diwan said in a recent interview, “because they had never imagined what it might be like.’…Happening, which aims for a sense of immediacy onscreen, has led artists and activists to speak up about the taboo they feel still surrounds the procedure. ‘There is this constructed social shame that women are meant to feel, Diwan said, ‘and the sense that if we talk about it, we take the risk of calling into question this right, which in the end is never assured.’ In response to Happening, last December, the French feminist magazine Causette devoted a cover story to testimonies from 13 celebrities, under the title: “Yes, I Had An Abortion.” The author Pauline Harmange, who rose to international prominence last year with her debut book “I Hate Men,” also published an essay in March about her own experience, “Avortée” (“Aborted”).”

Some of the abundant praise for Happening:

“Magnificently written, directed, shot and performed, it reminds you that cinema can be such a powerful medium of empathy.” – Zhuo-Ning Su, Awards Daily

“It’s hard to think of a film more necessary in the current moment.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

“Deftly adapted by director Audrey Diwan from a novella, Happening is a period piece, but it’s acted and shot with a shivery immediacy.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph UK

We open Happening at the Claremont, Newhall, Playhouse and Town Center this Friday, May 13 and at the Monica Film Center, Glendale and NoHo on May 20.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZlxhX9F25M

HAPPENING – Laemmle Theatres (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZlxhX9F25M)

“You will not want to be anywhere else.” Iranian comic drama ‘Hit the Road’ delights, opens Friday at the Royal & Town Center, May 13 at the Claremont.

May 4, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Panah Panahi, son and collaborator of embattled Iranian master Jafar Panahi, makes a striking feature debut with this charming, sharp-witted, and deeply moving comic drama. Hit the Road takes the tradition of the Iranian road-trip movie and adds unexpected twists and turns. It follows a family of four – two middle-aged parents and their sons, one a taciturn adult, the other an ebullient six-year-old – as they drive across the Iranian countryside. Over the course of the trip, they bond over memories of the past, grapple with fears of the unknown, and fuss over their sick dog. Unspoken tensions arise and the film builds emotional momentum as it slowly reveals the furtive purpose for their journey. The result is a humanist drama that offers an authentic, raw, and deeply sincere observation of an Iranian family preparing to part with one of their own.

Winner of Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival and an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight), New York Film Festival, and AFI Fest, Hit the Road began earning accolades the minute it premiered last year:

“Critic’s Pick! From the first jokey moments of Hit the Road until its heartbreaking end you will not want to be anywhere else.” – A.O. Scott, New York Times

“A love story, a tragicomedy, and a triumph. Panahi films the drama with aesthetic audacity to match his psychological subtlety… unites intimate conflicts and vast landscapes in framings as wry as they are rhapsodic.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“Sharp and endearing. A warm and realistic comedy, with flashes of the fantastic. Introduces an exciting filmmaker whose journey is just beginning.” — Jacob Oller, Paste

“A stunningly assured road movie.“ – Leigh Singer, Sight & Sound

“A worthy descendant—both stylistic and biological—of Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, Hit the Road maps its own journey: playful, bittersweet and wholly surprising.“ – Dylan Kai Dempsey, Ioncinema

“An intimate, frequently funny, poignant and deeply moving piece of work… damned near to being a masterpiece – if it isn’t simply one already.” – John Bleasdale, Cinevue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdgWGUX4b5M

HIT THE ROAD – Laemmle Theatres (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdgWGUX4b5M)

Virtual Q&A with the CHARLOTTE filmmakers this Sunday, April 24.

April 22, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

CHARLOTTE co-directors Tahir Rana and Éric Warin, screenwriter David Bezmozgis and producer Julia Rosenberg will participate in a virtual Q&A on Sunday, April 24. Johanna Schneller of the Globe & Mail will moderate. Click here or scan the QR code below to register.

Nicolas Cage Comedy ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ – Special Advance Screenings

April 13, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Nicolas Cage stars as… Nick Cage in the action-comedy THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous super-fan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.

We open MASSIVE TALENT on April 22 at the Claremont, Glendale, Newhall, NoHo and Playhouse but are first hosting special advance screenings this Saturday night at those theaters.

Here’s a clip from the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWkdYnAvg0g

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022 Movie) Official Clip “Oh My God” – Nicolas Cage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWkdYnAvg0g)

Praise for THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT:

“The filmmakers pull from every corner of Cage’s filmography to craft something transcendent. – Marya E. Gates, RogerEbert.com

“There’s something for everyone in THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. It’s one of the funniest movies of the year.” – Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail

“Tom Gormican’s nostalgic adventure trip THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT is a true love letter to every facet of Cage’s past and a tantalizing roadmap to his future.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

Regular engagements start April 22 but you can see Cage’s acclaimed comedy first this Saturday night. This is just a sampling of the strong critical response that greeted the film at the South by Southwest Film Festival last month in Austin. As of this writing, MASSIVE TALENT has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It is yet another highlight in the career of sui generis Oscar-winning actor Nick Cage. Even as he was making millions (and, apparently, spending even more) while starring in a series of action movies, he has always made sure to deliver terrific performances in some highly original films. His performance in MASSIVE TALENT reconnects us with the exciting actor from such diverse modern classics as WILD AT HEART, RAISING ARIZONA, MOONSTRUCK, ADAPTATION, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD and PIG.

Click here to read this amazing Reddit AMA Cage did last weekend.

One of the first terrific Hollywood films of the year, MASSIVE TALENT is a non-superhero, non-blockbuster film and so something of an experiment to see if there is still an audience for this kind of movie. If we want these types of idiosyncratic films to be released theatrically in the years ahead, we need to demonstrate that there is an audience for these films, and we need to do it now! Real movies are meant to be seen in a theatre. But comedies truly benefit from the shared experience. And right now, it feels like we could all use a good laugh to distract us for at least a couple of hours from the news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNuRgxtoSIo

THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT – Laemmle Theatres (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNuRgxtoSIo)

“If you want movie studios to make movies that are good, interesting and original, you need to go see them.” Washington Post on ‘Everything Everywhere,’ ‘Massive Talent’ and ‘The Northman.’

April 13, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Washington Post columnist Sonny Bunch recently published a compelling piece headlined “If you want original movies to survive, get to a theater this April” about returning to movie theatres. Laemmle Theatres has been open for just over a year at this point. If you aren’t going to the movies as frequently as you did before the pandemic, you are contributing to trends in distribution that may be irreversible. Bunch’s piece speaks to this better than we can, which is why we’re sharing it. We understand that we have all been through a very traumatic time. It has been tragic and frightening. But we aren’t where we were when the pandemic started. We have effective vaccines and booster shots and plentiful masks that provide an amazing level (granted, not 100%) of protection. Test & Treat is rolling out so that you can get access for treatments that will minimize illness. And theatres are set up with better ventilation systems to more effectively circulate and filter air inside auditoriums. You can safely return to moviegoing. So, nu?

From the Post: “Are you sick of comic book movies and other franchises? This month, you actually have a chance to do something about it. A trio of big, original new releases comes to theaters this month. Go see one — or all of them. If these movies fail, our theatrical future will be nothing but the disappointing Morbius and its ilk. And movie lovers who have defaulted to home entertainment even after coronavirus vaccines, rapid tests and high-quality masks have become widely available will have only themselves to blame.

“Going wide this Friday is Everything Everywhere All at Once, the heart-rending and mind-bending new picture from the directorial duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels. The writer-director duo, aided by stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, have concocted a masterpiece that manages the tricky balance of feeling sui generis and yet familiar. Here we have a movie about a mother (Yeoh) trying to connect emotionally with her daughter (Hsu) and stave off divorce from her husband (Quan) while saving her business from the taxwoman (Curtis) — this is the familiar — all while careening through the multiverse in an effort to ward off a villain filled with nihilistic, creation-destroying malaise who leads a cult that worships an evil everything bagel.

“Everything Everywhere is an earnest — some cynics will suggest saccharine — movie about families, about the difficulty of watching your kids grow up and change into something you’re not, about the love needed to keep generations together. That earnestness is leavened by what can only be described as a supreme, gut-busting silliness, including, among other wild visuals, people who have hot dogs for fingers and a raccoon puppeteering a Benihana-type chef in the style of Ratatouille.

“Given its visual imagination, emotional range and striking originality, this is exactly the kind of movie that ought to be seen on the biggest screen available with as many people as possible. The communal reaction to Everything Everywhere All at Once is part of its greatness.

“I haven’t seen The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent or The Northman yet, as they’re both opening April 22, so I can’t recommend them in quite the same way. But they are the sort of movie that should be able to succeed — or at least have a chance at succeeding — in a healthy cinematic environment.

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a star-driven, high-concept comedy: Nicolas Cage stars as “Nick Cage,” a former A-lister suffering from some money woes who decides to get his finances in order by attending the birthday party of a wealthy criminal. Unbearable Weight is larded up with massive amounts of talent: In addition to Cage, the film stars fan favorites, including Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz and Neil Patrick Harris.

“Earning nothing but positives reviews from critics at South by Southwest, the film is primed to take advantage of Cage’s much-praised performance in the criminally under-rewarded Pig and will likely make a nice companion piece with Keith Phipps’s excellent book about the actor’s varied body of work, Age of Cage. Most importantly, it’s the sort of star-driven mid-budget comedy that needs to attract eyeballs if theaters hope to rely on anything other than super-powered freaks to sell popcorn.

“Then there’s The Northman. In some ways, this is the hardest sell for audiences. I loved director Robert Eggers’s The Witch — it’s one of the 10 best movies of the 2010s — and The Lighthouse was a perfect lockdown movie released a few months too early. Audiences have been less enamored of his films than critics: The Witch earned a C-minus from CinemaScore, and neither really took off at the box office.

“But Eggers’s vision is compelling, his style is unique, and someone somewhere has decided it’s worth investing $90 million on a historical epic set in the icy Nordic wastes that stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke and Bjork, and reportedly culminates in a nude swordfight atop an active volcano. To say that this is one of my most anticipated films of the year is to put it mildly; we don’t get too many movies like this anymore.”

Read the rest of piece here.

Rejuvenate your spirit with Spring 2022 Culture Vulture films.

April 6, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

We began our weekly Culture Vulture series in 2014 to showcase the best films from and about the world of dance, opera, plays, musicals, fine art and more. We screen them every Monday at 7:30 PM at the Playhouse 7, Royal, Newhall, Claremont 5, and Glendale. Can’t make it on Mondays? No problem! Catch discounted encore presentations Tuesdays at 1 PM. Our schedule through May:

April 11-12: The beautifully crafted Easter in Art explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Shot on location in Jerusalem, United States and throughout Europe, the film explores the different ways artists have depicted the Easter story through the ages and thus depicts the history of us all.

April 18-19: Raphael: The Young Prodigy tells the story of the Italian Renaissance artist, starting from his extraordinary portraits of women – the Mother, the Friend, the Secret Lover and the Client. From portraits of his mother, who died when the painter was only eight, to the female admirers who helped him on his road to success, Raphael was able to portray an ideal of celestial beauty and focus his gaze more on the psychology of his subjects than on their physical forms, so that their personalities emerge in a striking manner.

April 25-26: In Black Flowers, five Holocaust survivors choose art as a vehicle for healing the wounds of their past. An undeniable bond is visible between the horrors they experienced and the artistic expression they find. The necessity of optimism is eminent in the personalities of these survivors. Screening with Commandment 613, in which Rabbi Kevin Hale joyfully practices the sacred craft of Torah restoration, bringing new life to scrolls saved in Czechoslovakia during the Shoah. Black Flowers filmmaker Tammy Federman will participate in Q&As following the April 25th screening at the Royal and the matinee screening at the Playhouse on the 26th.

May 2-3: Gallant Indies features 30 dancers of hip-hop, krump, break-dancing, and voguing. It’s a first for the Director Clément Cogitore, the choreographer Bintou Dembélé, and the Paris’ Opera Bastille. By bringing together urban dance and opera singing, they reinvent Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque masterpiece, Les Indes Galantes. From rehearsals to public performances, it is a human adventure and a meeting of political realities that we follow: can a new generation of artists storm the Bastille today?

May 9-10: 42nd Street – The Musical ~ One of Broadway’s classics, this production of 42nd Street is the largest-ever production of the breathtaking musical. Set in 1933, it tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway. Filmed in 2018 at London’s Theatre Royal and directed by the original author of the show, Mark Bramble, this eye-watering extravaganza is full of crowd-pleasing tap dances, popular musical theatre standards (“Lullaby of Broadway,” “We’re in the Money,” “42nd Street” and more), and dazzling ensemble production numbers.

May 16-17: To mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, Tutankhamun: The Last Exhibition offers audiences an extraordinary opportunity to meet the Pharaoh, with exclusive coverage of how 150 of his treasures were moved to become part of the biggest international exhibition ever dedicated to him. Explore a continuous dialogue of cross-references between the ancient past when the Pharaoh was alive, the more recent times which saw the discovery of his tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, and the present day with exhibitions and studies dedicated to Ancient Egypt.

May 23-24: Alain Resnais: Five Short Films ~ Five newly restored early short film masterpieces from the legendary filmmaker. Resnais would go on to make his mark in feature films, including the Oscar-nominated Hiroshima Mon Amour, but these early-career shorts demonstrate an already keenly developed eye. The films are a remarkable compendium of the stylistic elements found in his features, and represent an important contribution to the distinguished French documentary tradition.

Laemmle Oscar Contest, plus Kevin Costner’s Best Director Oscar Presentation.

March 30, 2022 by Jordan Deglise Moore

Welp, that’s a wrap for the 2022 Oscars and our contest. Laemmle moviegoers were able to foresee the Academy’s choices very accurately with two exceptions: they went for the more conventional Best Picture nominee with CODA over The Power of the Dog and the artier choice with Best Animated Short nominee Windshield Wiper over the family-friendly Robin Robin. The Power of the Dog was in a tight race for Best Adapted Screenplay with eventual winner CODA. Best Original Screenplay split somewhat evenly between Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza and eventual winner Kenneth Branagh for Belfast.

See the full results in cool pie charts at laemmle.com/oscars. We’ll announce our winners on this page on Thursday, March 31.

The sad, shocking incident during the ceremony overshadowed everything but one thing worth taking a second look at is Kevin Costner‘s presentation of the Best Director Oscar. It was probably the best presentation of the evening. He has won the award himself, of course, 30 years ago for Dances with Wolves. He spoke movingly and deliberately about the experience of seeing movies in theaters and how seeing How the West was Won at the Cinerama Dome inspired him to become an actor and filmmaker. The in-person audience giggles at first, but by the end you could hear a pin drop. Here’s a transcription and video:

You know, about a half-mile from here, I saw my first full-length adult movie. I know what you’re thinking, but I was seven years old and I was away from my parents and wanted to have some fun. It was a cowboy movie called How the West Was Won. And what I witnessed that afternoon in the Cinerama Dome was perfect. The curtain, when we still had them, opened to a film almost four hours long. It had an intermission where the score continued, subtly signaling at one point that the second half was about to start. I don’t know where everyone went, but I wasn’t going to move an inch. I decided that I would not give up my magic seat. I was determined that I would not miss a minute. And as I sat in that dark that afternoon 60 years ago, all I really knew was that I was in careful hands. Little did I know that three directors would be responsible for that epic moment in my life. They fired my imagination, and they captured my heart. That’s what can happen when you direct a movie. You can change a mind. You can change the trajectory of a life, of a career. You can capture a heart. But you can’t do it alone. And directors, tonight’s directors all know the possibilities. They know what’s at stake. It’s why they give their precious time. It’s why they choose to fight through the long days, and the longer nights, and the endless questions, and the inevitable second guessing that comes from those who would do it differently if given half a chance. These five directors have all managed to stay the course. They have all held the line and masterfully given us the gift of a single vision, and for that we honor them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y52t3CVKeyc&t=167s

Kevin Costner Speech introducing Achievement in Directing – Oscar's Academy Awards 2022 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y52t3CVKeyc&t=167s)