This Week's Schedule of Films at The Senator

Here's what's coming up this weekend and next week at The Senator. Please note that the schedule may be subject to change, so please call the day you plan to attend. 410-435-8338.

TONIGHT, Friday, June 5th:

Yellow Submarine 6:00 PM
One-Eyed Horse 7:45 PM
Carnival of Souls 9:30 PM

Saturday, June 6th:

Yellow Submarine 6:00 PM
Replay (AKA 21 Eyes) 7:45 PM
Carnival of Souls 9:30 PM

Sunday, June 7th:

One-Eyed Horse 4:15 PM
Yellow Submarine 6:00 PM
Replay (AKA 21 Eyes) 7:45 PM

Monday, June 8th through Wednesday, June 10th:

Carnival of Souls 7:45 PM


Movie descriptions:

Carnival of Souls

A Herk Harvey Film
Carnival of Souls
- The Director's Cut -
(1962 - 84min)

After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.

Replay

Do you see what I see?

From Director Lee Bonner
Replay
(AKA 21 Eyes)
(2003)

Starring:
Fisher Stevens, Michael Buscemi, Rebecca Mader, Nestor Serrano & Chance Kelly

The viewer becomes the eyes of two detectives who never appear on camera as they unravel a mystery on a video screen.

One-Eyed Horse

From Director Wayne Shipley
One-Eyed Horse
(2008 - 98min)

Starring:
Mark Redfield, Michael Hagan, Jennifer Rouse, Kelly Potchak, Richard Cutting & Jason Brown

Hadley Missouri 1887. Justin Gatewood has recently been released from prison for attempting to kill an old adversary, William Curry. Twenty-five years earlier, Gatewood and his brother were Confederate prisoners-of-war, and the death of Gatewood's brother under the watch of (then) Union Officer Curry has consumed Gatewood and fueled his desire for revenge.

Yellow Submarine

The Beatles' Beloved Psychedelic Animated Feature Accompanied by The Senator's
State-of-the-Art Sound

The Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred in his Yellow Submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music hating Blue Meanies.

Admission $5 for each show.

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones at The Senator this weekend!

Oh yeah!

YELLOW SUBMARINE

CONTINUING THROUGH SUNDAY MAY 17th!

The Beatles' Beloved Psychedelic Animated Feature Accompanied by The Senator's State-of-the-Art Sound

(1968 - G - 90min)

Monday, May 11th through Thursday, May 14th:
7:30pm

Friday, May 15th:
5:30, 7:30 & 9:30pm.

Saturday, May 16th through Sunday, May 17th:
3:30, 5:30, 7:30 & 9:30pm.

Admission $5 for everyone [cash only].
The Senator seats 900 and ample tickets will be available at showtime.

The Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred in his Yellow Submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music hating Blue Meanies.

THE ROLLING STONES - ROCK & ROLL CIRCUS

(1968 - 70min)

Friday, May 15th through Sunday, May 17th at 11:00 pm.

Admission $5 for everyone [cash only].

Originally filmed in December 1968, the special was filmed over two nights and featured not only the Rolling Stones but The Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithful and an all-star jam featuring John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell.

Woohoo! Yellow Submarine on the big screen!

OK. I just had to get that little scream of pure JOY out of my system. In case you can't tell, The Beatles' Yellow Submarine is one of my favorite films of all time. I've seen this one so many times I can just about recite all the bad jokes, but I don't care. Can't wait to see this on the big screen with The Senator's amazing sound system!

Yellow Submarine plays at 1:00 PM this Saturday and Sunday ONLY, so don't miss it!

Also, I'm looking forward to seeing The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring the late, great Paul Newman. I've never seen this one, but I love the tag line:

I want peace - and I don't care who I kill to get it!

The film will be shown with a rare 35mm I.B. Technicolor print, which means the color is gorgeously preserved. Yay!

Friday, May 8th: 5:00 & 7:30pm.

Saturday, May 9th through Sunday, May 10th: 2:30, 5:00 & 7:30pm.
Monday, May 11th through Thursday, May 14th: 5:00 & 7:30pm.

Admission $5 for everyone [cash only].

A no account outlaw establishes his own particular brand of law an order and builds a town on the edges of civilization in this farcical western.

I also want to personally remember and thank Mr. Paul Newman by starting me on a lifetime of drinking early, by offering me a beer when I was 10. (He was joking. I don't want to start any bad rumors here. The offer never came through.)

Also playing this weekend:

Horror Hotel
AKA The City of the Dead

Starring Christopher Lee

Presented with a rare original 35mm print.

Friday & Saturday evenings (5/8 - 5/9) at 10:00pm.
Admission $5 for everyone [cash only].

A young coed uses her winter vacation to research a paper on witchcraft in New England.

WJZ: Baltimore 3rd Graders Head to the Movies for Education

WJZ Baltimore has a report about 3rd graders heading to The Senator Theatre for edu-tainment. Be sure and check out the video!

http://wjz.com/seenon/senator.theatre.class.2.954063.html

Capricious Gods of the Senator’s Fate

Sarcasm is the last refuge of the frustrated citizen, and I’m afraid after a bit of up-front apology, this may devolve into a sarcastic post. I hope my friend and City Councilman Bill Henry will forgive me for my frustration, but it seems we differ, which I believe he already knows. Bill, if you’re reading this, it’s nothing personal. I know your job isn’t easy.

I gather that the fate of the Senator Theatre is already being decided behind closed doors by a mysterious steering committee, without seeking direct public input at this time. I understand they’ll seek public input after the future non-profit is formed, if that is the outcome. That outcome may not be guaranteed.

Bill Henry assures me that it is his job to represent all the various stakeholders in the 4th district, and that he cares deeply about the outcome not just as a councilman, but as a resident. I’m sure that’s true. He also assures me the unknown (to me, at least) members of the steering committee have the best interests of the community in mind. I guess we simply differ on the level of public involvement that should be there from the start.

Sometimes, you just have to trust the capricious gods of fate. I have little more to say at this time about the unknown future of the Senator, which may or may not be being decided right now by an unnamed committee in an undisclosed location. After all, without public meetings, I have limited information.

There are approximately four things I think I know for sure, though the situation is evolving:

1. Our intrepid City Councilman is on the case.


2. Some of the people I personally would consider key stakeholders, including leaders of some of the nearby neighborhood associations and the Senator’s devoted advocate and current owner, Tom Kiefaber, have apparently not been invited to be on the committee. (I suspected this last part, and Bill confirmed it.)


3. The public hasn’t been asked to give input, although we can certainly give indirect input through our city officials.


4. Whatever organization evolves from this, their mission, whatever it is exactly, won’t be easy. It’s abundantly clear there are huge challenges to making the Senator self-supporting.

Maybe I’ll just let the Senator speak for itself now.













The wise words of the Grateful Dead come to mind:

Abraham and Isaac sitting on a fence,
You’d get right to work if you had any sense,
You know the one thing we need is a left hand monkey wrench.

But then, I never knew quite what that meant. Something about the cruel whims of capricious gods, no doubt.

Thank you, Tom, for all your sacrifices and hard work.

11th hour angels, now is your cue. Frank Capra, if you’re sitting up there by God’s right or left hand, make this a good one.

Cool Mini-Documentary about the Senator Theatre

It occurs to me that, in case anyone outside of Baltimore is reading this blog, I probably haven't adequately described the Senator Theatre or why I'm so passionate about preserving it. I found a mini-documentary on YouTube by justingladden, which helps give a sense of why the theatre is so special.





Built in 1939 in the Art Deco style, the Senator is one of the most intact examples of the classic old movie palaces. It has been run by the family of current owner Tom Kiefaber for its entire existence, and it will have its 70th anniversary this year. Unlike many other theaters of similar vintage, it has never fallen into a degraded status, been closed, become a porn theater, or been used as anything other than a movie theater showing first run movies and hosting community events. It is in nearly pristine historical condition, although it could undoubtedly use a lick of paint here and there, a little restoration, and an HD digital projector of its own.

Over the years, the Senator has held fundraisers for many community non-profits, hosted educational events, and premiered many movies. The colorful painted blocks in the sidewalk in front of the theater attest to many of the special events that have been held, often with Hollywood directors and stars in attendance, and recall many of the movies that have been shown.

The theater hearkens back to the day when movie-going was really a special experience and the theaters themselves were works of art. When you enter the circular lobby with its murals and its colorful floor design, you know you've arrived at an exciting destination. In fact, after visiting many neighborhoods and homes for sale in Baltimore when I was first moving here, it was the proximity of the Senator and my first visit there to see The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton, which really told me that this particular neighborhood was uniquely interesting, as I fell in love with the Senator immediately.

Save the Senator Theatre

I was just at the Senator Theatre in North Baltimore for an emergency community meeting about the plans to convert the historic 1939 Art Deco theatre into a nonprofit, community owned arts venue. The situation appears to be this: the plans are stalled because the theatre is in imminent danger of closing, and the staff has all it can handle to just keep the theatre operating at this time. The current owner, Tom Kiefaber, who has striven for 20 years to keep the theatre open and provide entertainment and a community gathering place, cannot turn the theatre into a nonprofit if he can’t clear the theatre’s debts first.

The positive side to all this is, there is a great feeling that the community can expand the theatre’s role as a real place of community building. Many potential uses were mentioned, including a place for schools to show educational films related to their curriculums, a place for local filmmakers to showcase their work, and a place for live performances of many kinds.

There is a plan in the works for local bands to stage a fundraiser for the theatre, although those plans are not finalized. Some lawyers have made offers of free legal help for the theatre’s efforts to transition to a nonprofit as well.

I am new to the area, so I don’t have the fond memories of the history of the place that many members of the community have. I haven’t been there for the annual showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” during the holidays, for instance, or the many fundraisers for community nonprofits.

Several members of the community who were at the meeting mentioned in particular that the recent gathering at the Senator to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama was an outstanding example of the kind of community-building function that the Senator Theatre can serve, and currently serves --- bringing neighbors together in a spirit of celebration to witness a historically important event, and to gather food donations for the needy at the same time. The standing-room only event truly was a special moment for this community.

The recent national and international economic crisis has put the Senator’s survival in grave jeopardy. The failure of the theatre would also endanger the businesses in the surrounding area, which have a symbiotic relationship with the theatre, the prosperity of each contributing to the prosperity of the others. It would also negatively affect the community psychologically and in terms of home values. With support from local and state government for the goal of turning the Senator into a nonprofit, the theatre need not close. It is clear there is broad support within the community for the theatre. The question is really whether government leaders will come to the table to discuss how the conversion into a nonprofit can become a reality.

I ask elected representatives in the Baltimore area to come together and help save the Senator and the positive impact it has on the economy and the quality of life in North Baltimore.

Tom Kiefaber told us at the meeting that it is not a question of raising a specific dollar amount, but a question of getting enough institutional support behind the project for it to move forward. That said, he did also say that he would be grateful for any angels who wish to come forward. When he said it, I pictured angels all around him.

Residents of the Baltimore area can help keep the Senator in business by going to movies there, of course. The next film shown will be Defiance, starting Friday. Check the theatre’s web site for times. Let’s pack the house!

John Cusack put my review of War, Inc. on his MySpace blog

I'm so stoked. John Cusack cross-posted my review of his movie War, Inc. from Progressive Blue to his MySpace blog after I sent him the link in a comment. Thanks, John. Just for that, I'm crossposting this like crazy.

Here's the review:

The Flicks Files: War, Inc. (2008)

The best new movie I've seen all year went almost straight to video after playing in a pathetically small number of theaters for a very short time. (Has anybody else noticed that Hollywood has been putting out some real crap this year? I'm not sure this corporate conglomeratization thing is working real well for them.)

The only new movie I've really cared about seeing this year was War, Inc., the bitterly biting satire of Halliburton-style war profiteering, which stars John Cusack, was directed by Joshua Seftel, and written by Mark Leyner & Jeremy Pikser & John Cusack. As might be expected by anyone who has become as cynical as I am in this land of the corporate controlled press, the movie struggled for distribution and promotion for a brief weekend or two in May, then was quickly swept under the red carpet. This, despite an all-star cast that includes Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Ben Kingsley, and Dan Aykroyd.

Of course, we wouldn't want to jump to conclusions about the reason the movie "flopped." Maybe it was censored. Maybe it just sucked. At least, that latter explanation was one I was willing to entertain up until the point where I finally saw the movie this afternoon. No, it was censored. And that really pisses me off.

This movie has a great cast and a hilariously absurdist script. It's been said, probably in what little marketing there was of this movie, that it's the spiritual twin to Grosse Pointe Blank, but after seeing it, I felt like it was more a modern day Dr. Strangelove. There was a time in America, and it was not so long ago, when this movie would have been shown widely in the theaters, boycotted by some right-wing groups, and would have generated a storm of controversy in the press. In 2008, you hardly heard it whispered about. And that is much more scary.

Full disclosure here. I wanted this movie to succeed, artistically, even if not at the box office. The issue it discusses is of critical importance. Besides that, I really like John Cusack. I have liked him ever since my sister and I first cracked up laughing during a preview of Better Off Dead when we were in high school. I like him much more now that he's become an outspoken progressive blogger.

I've blogged about this movie before seeing it, which is pretty unusual for me, and I announced ahead of time that I would review it. Yesterday, knowing that I would probably get the DVD in the mail today, I was a little stressed out hoping that my honesty would not force me to give it a bad review. Fortunately, honesty intact, I can say that I loved it.

John Cusack's character in the movie, Hauser, is a corporate hitman for Tamerlane, a fictional Halliburton kind of company. He's sent to do an assassination in a fictional Middle Eastern country called Turaqistan, during the first American war completely outsourced to a private corporation. The movie opens with him doing a shot of pure hot sauce before a hit. This is one tough dude.

To pull off the assassination, he has to pose as the organizer for an American trade show showcasing the benefits of American corporate culture to a Turaqi audience. An inquisitive reporter for The Nation (Marisa Tomei) gets in his way. You get the feeling he might kill her, if he didn't start falling for her. As part of his trade show organizing cover job, he also has to babysit a bratty, oversexed Turaqi pop star (Hilary Duff). Fortunately, his hyper and perky yet menacing secretary (Joan Cusack) is there to help him do his job. It doesn't take too long before we start realizing that Hauser has some growing moral questions about his work.

Forget realism. If you're looking for an intellectual, balanced critique of American policy, you're not going to find it here. This movie makes its point by taking everything to an absurd, yet all too believable extreme. This is a sharp and cutting picture of the ridiculousness of extreme corporatization, where you can have a clandestine meeting in an undisclosed location hidden underneath a Popeye's restaurant.

The improbable relationships between Cusack's hitman, Tomei's progressive journalist, and Duff's pop star were risky. Initially I thought they were not going to work, because they just seemed way too unlikely, but in a few quiet human moments that were a haven in the madness of this movie, those relationships came together and actually became even touching. Hauser seems at times a little too nice to be a hitman, but at those moments, the character has a soul that you wish you could see evident in some of the members of the Bush administration. His capacity to question what he is doing ultimately makes him a sympathetic character.

The people who made this movie took a big risk to make an important point. Progressives will love it for its frank presentation of the huge problem America has with corporations that lobby our government so that they can make money through killing other people. Conservatives will no doubt screech loudly that John Cusack hates America.

At least, that's what I imagine will happen if the movie manages to be seen on DVD by enough people to even become a subject of discussion. See the movie, then go out and show it to others. This movie is a teaching opportunity, as Democratic congressional candidate Alan Grayson recognized while running in Florida's 8th District. Spread the word.

War, Inc. is rated R for some bad language, a little sexy stuff, and some pretty graphic violence. Given the subject matter, the violence makes sense, but be forewarned.

Watch the trailer:



War, Inc. receives the coveted Edge of My Seat rating in the black cat rating system, the highest rating possible.

Flicks Files Flash: "The Godfather" Restored

Monday night, I was invited to a special premiere showing of the newly restored version of Francis Ford Coppola's classic film The Godfather at the Senator Theatre in Baltimore, one of five "historic presentation" theaters in the country chosen to showcase the restored versions of this film and The Godfather, Part II.



At the request of director Francis Ford Coppola, the 1972 film has been restored in what sounds like a meticulous and painstaking process by film preservation expert Robert A. Harris.

Paramount delivered the film’s surviving elements — original camera negative, YCM separation masters, intermediate separation masters and thousands of feet of miscellaneous elements — to Pro-Tek Preservation Services in Burbank, where an inspection confirmed that radical surgery was required. Held together with tape, the original negative was filthy and riddled with scratches, rips and tears, some of which broke into the image area; in some sections, parts of the image had actually been torn away.

According to Senator owner Tom Kiefaber, Harris was very impressed with the Senator on a previous visit, when the theater showed his restoration of Lawrence of Arabia, and it was Harris who suggested that the Senator be one of the theaters allowed to show this new restoration of The Godfather.

The two Godfather films begin showing at the Senator on Friday, October 10, but I got invited to the free private screening Monday night, because I am on the Senator's mailing list. If you live in the Baltimore area, this should be reason enough for you to go to the Senator's website and sign up to be on their mailing list yourself.

I feel a little silly reviewing this film, because it is routinely listed among the best American films ever made, and probably there is nothing I can say about it that hasn't been said before. The Godfather came out when I was very young, and I've been hearing people talk about it for at least the last 30 years. Usually what they say is it's exceedingly good or exceedingly violent, or both.

I, however, had never seen it, and that was for one reason only --- I don't like violence. I'm not a puritan about it, and I don't always succeed in avoiding violent movies. America has an obsession with violence, and much as I hate it, it's part of our culture. I sometimes end up seeing movies I know are violent if the subject interests me for other reasons, if I like the actors or the director, if the violence is cartoonish and bloodless, or if the movie gets so much praise that it must be a real work of art. The Godfather falls into that last category, so when I got a chance to see the restored version on the big screen, I decided to put aside my natural revulsion to the subject and go see it.

This is the story of an organized crime family, the Corleone family, and their various disagreements and vendettas against other Italian mob families. In it, an attempted hit against Vitto Corleone, the Godfather, begins a series of violent repercussions and revenge. These are guys you don't cross, and if you do, bad things happen to you.

Having heard this movie built up for 30 years or more, it's hard for it to live up to the reputation. In my opinion, this is neither the best movie, nor the most violent that I've seen. But I do have to agree somewhat with the general verdict --- this is a very fine movie. What makes it great is the writing, the characterizations, the compelling performances, and the chilling difference between the tenderness the members of the Corleone family show each other and the way they turn into absolute monsters when handling their "business."

Marlon Brando was superb as the Godfather, Vitto Corleone; Al Pacino was likewise as his innocent-looking young son Michael, who becomes ever more corrupt as the film progresses. Pacino is so young in this film that it took me about half the movie to realize who the actor was. And was that a very young Diane Keaton as Michael's girlfriend Kay? (Yes, it was, but again, it took me a long time to recognize her.)

I'll confess there was one major thing I didn't get about this movie, which kept nagging me throughout. What did the members of these crime families think they were gaining by all this violence? Power, maybe. Wealth, maybe, except they seemed to have little time to enjoy it, and all of their houses looked like funeral parlors. Nobody in the movie seemed to be enjoying life, so where was the benefit of this lifestyle? I just didn't get why these people considered their lifestyle one worth pursuing. Really, they seemed like ugly, mean little people living ugly, mean little lives. Perhaps that was the point.

Ultimately, I think these questions are criticisms of our society, and not of the film. What do we gain by our obsession with violence? Money? It sure doesn't look like it these days. Power? Again, I would question that. Are we enjoying life? Is this making us better? I don't think so.

The special engagement of The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II starts Friday. The movies will play for one week only. The Godfather will play at 12:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and The Godfather, Part II will play at 4:00 p.m. You can see one movie or both for the admission price. If you want to catch the restored prints of these movies on the big screen, now's the time.



In any case, if you live in the Baltimore area, please sign up for the listserv and support the Senator Theatre. It's one of the few classic old movie theaters left, it's beautiful and architecturally unique, and it deserves to be preserved.

The Godfather receives the Pass the Popcorn rating in the black cat rating system, indicating it’s well worth watching.