Film Reviews & Previews
LOST & FOUND Q&A’s with filmmaker Liam O. Mochain and star Norma Sheahan following the 7:10 pm show on Friday, 4/19 and Saturday, 4/20 and after the 1:10 pm show on Sunday, 4/21. Friday’s Q&A will be moderated by Nathaniel Bell, film critic, LA Weekly.
BARDO BLUES Q&A’s with filmmaker Marcia Kimpton after the 5:30 pm and 7:40 pm shows on Friday, 5/3; with star Natalie Sperl after the 7:40 pm show on Saturday, 5/4 and Sunday, 5/5 and with star Stephen McClintic following the 7:40 pm show Monday, 5/6 through Wednesday, 5/8.
https://vimeo.com/327778660
John Bailey, the great cinematographer and the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will introduce the 7:30 pm show of I AM CUBA on Friday, 4/12.
The sui generis actress (and photographer, real estate developer, author, and singer) Diane Keaton has a new movie coming out on May 10 called Poms, providing us with a nice excuse to screen five of her best films in our Throwback Thursday series.
From Annie Hall and Looking for Mr. Goodbar in 1977, to Reds in 1981, Baby Boom in 1987 and The First Wives Club in 1996, Ms. Keaton, born Diane Hall here in L.A. in 1946, is funny and charming, haunting and heartbreaking, exuding an intelligence and wit, a je ne sais quoi unlike any other performer.
We’ll screen one of these movies each Thursday in May at the NoHo 7. It’s by necessity a brief look at her 50-year career, leaving out gems like Manhattan (’79), Shoot the Moon (’82), Mrs. Soffel (’84), Marvin’s Room (’96), Something’s Gotta Give (’03) and of course The Godfather movies (’72, ’74 and ’90), but la-di-da.
Our Throwback Thursday series screens every Thursday evening at our NoHo 7 theater. Doors open at 7pm, trivia starts at 7:30, and movies begin at 7:40pm. More details at www.laemmle.com/tbt!
Looking for Mr. Goodbar, May 2: A schoolteacher begins cruising bars for romance, sex and escape from her repressive home life, seeking out progressively more risky one night stands. Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Tuesday Weld, and William Atherton star. Format: Blu-ray.
Annie Hall, May 9: Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the one-of-a-kind aspiring actress-singer Annie Hall. The cast includes Keaton, Woody Allen, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon, and Christopher Walken. Format: DCP.
Reds, May 16: This historical drama directed by Warren Beatty follows on the life and career of John Reed, the journalist and writer who chronicled the Russian Revolution in his book Ten Days That Shook the World, and his tempestuous relationship with feminist writer Louise Bryant, played by Diane Keaton. Jack Nicholson co-stars as Eugene O’Neill. Format: Blu-ray.
Baby Boom, May 23: The life of super-yuppie J.C. is thrown into turmoil when she learns that her long-lost cousin has died and given her custody of her 14-month-old baby daughter. Co-starring Harold Ramis and Sam Shepard. Written by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer. Format: Blu-ray.
The First Wives Club, May 30: Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women. Starring Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton. Format: Blu-ray.
Saturday April 13th 1:50 PM
Theme: Where do we go from here? A conversation around reentry and recidivism
An open and honest conversation about the justice system.
Conversation w/ Elyssa Caplan (Clean Slate Staff Attorney for Bet Tzedek), & Director Stephanie Wang-Breal, & Esther Suh (Co-founder & Director of Dwelle Collaborative)
Sat April 13th 7:10 PM
Theme: The War on Sex Work
In recent years, the conversation surrounding the rights of sex workers has developed in new and exciting ways. With sex workers such as the stockholm escorts speaking out about the need for better protections for people working in the adult industry, this talk provides a unique opportunity to hear about what the future holds for sex work. More people are accepting of the fact that sex work is one of the oldest known professions and with the digital age taking over, it has led to the increase in popularity of sites like OnlyFans and EhoCams.com – sites which allow sex workers to work online without risk of harm.
Conversation w/ Siouxsie Q (Secretary of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, author of Truth, Justice, and the American Whore, Creator and host of Ill Repute! and The WhoreCast) & Director Stephanie Wang-Breal, & Lauren Levitt (PhD candidate in Communication at the University of Southern California and a member of the Sex Worker Outreach Project – Los Angeles)
Sunday April 14th 7:10pm
Theme: Blowin Up the Bechdel Test
Is representation of women in fiction improving? Or are old habits proving difficult to beat?
Conversation w/ Melissa Verdugo (Manager of Programs at Women in Film) & Director Stephanie Wang-Breal
WILLIAM director Tim Disney will participate in a Q&A following the 7:10 pm show on Saturday, 4/13 .
THE LAST writer/director Jeffrey Lipsky and star Rebecca Schull will participate in Q&A’s following the 4 pm and 7:10 pm shows on Friday, 4/26 at the Royal and after the 4 pm and 7 pm shows on Saturday, 4/27 at the Town Center.
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present screenings of the raucous comedy, THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB, on the 45th anniversary of its US release as part of the popular monthly Abroad program. The French farce, directed by Gerard Oury, will screen April 17 at three Laemmle venues: Royal, Town Center, and Playhouse.
This madcap movie draws upon time-honored comedy tropes of frantic disguises and mistaken identities. The story, written by Oury, Daniele Thomsom, Josy Eisenberg, and Roberto de Leonardis, involves the return of beloved Rabbi Jacob (Marcel Dalio) from the United States after thirty years to his hometown in France. He is waylaid at the Paris airport by a bigoted French businessman, Victor Pivert (Louis de Funes) and an Arab rebel leader fleeing the police and assassins. Pivert and the Arab then impersonate Rabbi Jacob and his companion in their escape. Other characters, including Pivert’s daughter (Miou-Miou), jealous wife , and Jewish driver, join the pursuit in a hodgepodge of plot twists and slapstick shenanigans culminating in a chaotic, fun climax.
The movie is a showcase for Louis de Funes, a popular French comic actor of the era, who topped French moviegoing polls several times in the 60s and 70s. With his high-energy acting style and wide range of facial expressions and tics, he was known in Europe as “the man with forty faces per minute,” but remains relatively unknown to American audiences. Filmmaker Gerard Oury, who had a long career in France, co-wrote a film there in 1958 that Barbra Streisand later adapted as the basis for her 1996 movie, The Mirror Has Two Faces.
Leonard Maltin found THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB to be “Often quite funny, with echoes of silent-screen humor.” The National Board of Review proclaimed it, “The funniest picture of the year,” with kudos to Louis de Funes as “in a class with Woody Allen. The best slapstick in years.” The Hollywood Foreign Press endorsed the acclaim with a Golden Globe nomination that year for Best Foreign Film.
THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB screens on Wednesday, April 17 at 7pm in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA. Click here for tickets.