Results tagged “midnightmovie”

Craig Wedren is the former front man for the sorely missed D.C. band Shudder to Think, a group that seemed to intuitively grasp all the overlooked possibilities of the late-80s/early 90s post-punk landscape and render them into a sound that was at once startling, bizarre and irresistibly catchy. Since the band’s end ten years ago, Wedren has made a career as composer of soundtracks for movies such as Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter, while still writing his own songs, which appeared on his 2005 solo record Lapland. But an impromptu reunion between Wedren and two other Shudder to Think band mates last September has fans clamoring for more; and those at Bowery Ballroom tonight will likely get it. The sold out "Barack Rock" show will be hosted by the comedy group Stella; the lineup consists of OK Go, Craig Wedren, Nathan Larson, Nina Persson, and Joan As Police Woman. As Wedren told us in the interview, the concert was scheduled tonight for the express purpose of reminding people to vote in the Super Tuesday primaries tomorrow.

EVENTS: Both Open House NY and The New Yorker Festival are upon us. You can check out more of OHNY's event here, and The New Yorker Festival here. Some picks:

THEATER: With his zany imagination and distinctive bass-baritone voice, Joseph Keckler (myspace) has been generating buzz throughout the gooey honeycomb of the downtown performance art cabaret scene. Tonight he sprinkles his particular blend of whimsical catnip at Dixon Place with Cat Lady, in which a man re-enacts an ordinary day with his mother, who runs a community theater with cat actors out of her home. “Past lives are recalled, songs are sung, and finally a trip to the vet's is made in this comedic and dark exploration of the relationship between art and trauma.” Part of the HOT! Festival. – John Del Signore

Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center

(directed by Julia Loktev)

New York mid-December always smells vaguely of pine and peppermint, despite our recent springtime temperatures. Bring that cozy holiday feeling with you into the cineplex for a couple of new feel-good holiday movies.

Yeesh, there sure are a lot of new movies out this weekend. Choose wisely and you will be well rewarded.

One of the best movies to watch around this time is ET, with some Reece's Pieces of course. Above is the trailer, from 1982. Pretty dry, really, we imagine if the trailer was made now it would have an angle more like this one. Ah, trailer spoofs. The best trailer spoof turning a scary movie in to the exact opposite has got to be The Shining one that came out a while ago, watch here if you haven't already.

We've reached the midpoint of this year's 44th annual New York Film Festival but there's still plenty of stellar cinema to come. Here's a few flicks Gothamist has caught that we've loved.

wherein Paul Giamatti discovers someone mysterious in the pool of the apartment complex he manages. The trailers want it to be both a horror story and an eerie children's fable, but it doesn't seem like it could really be both simultaneously.

based on the 1981 cult classic horror flick by Sam Raimi. It'll be directed by Bond and Hinton Battle, who also choreographed the show. Tying in with the Midnight Movie plot of a group of friends visiting a wooded cabin and unleashing untold evil, they'll be offering performances starting at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Also if you're really into the guts and gore aspect of hack 'em up horror, be sure to ask to sit in the first few rows identified as the "Splatter Zone." No news yet whether the evil book will get a tap dance solo. Previews begin October 1 with the opening November 1 at New World Stages.

EVENT: Help raise some money for the good fight with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Time's Up! Two long time allies are coming together to raise money and awareness for the environment. RMO is NYC's punk rock radical marching band and will lead the evening of music that includes Monkeyshine 9, Heavy Creatures, Quick Release and Phil Not Bombs. Also featuring DJ Suggested D's dance floor madness and the infamous blender bike.

This week the box office juggernaut that is the new , there's still tons of repertory to take in instead this weekend.

With the Golden Globes happening this past weekend, everybody catching up on big winners were that Kate Beckinsale looks awesome in leather, and somehow this guy convinced her to marry him.

Don't get confused – today is Friday. Gothamist has been a bit under the weather, hence our little weekend movie preview showing up today rather than on its usual Thursday. And while we all anxiously count down the minutes until Monday's Golden Globes, there are a lot of great movie options available without even considering all the 2005 films hoping to take home a prize.

Ah January. That lovely first month of the year which big Hollywood uses as its annual dumping ground. The Awards eligibility period is over, and now is the time to catch-up on all those films being talked about that came out at the same time over the past few weeks. Still, New Yorkers are lucky as we retain many filmgoing options. Sure you can check-out the latest video game adaptation from hackmeister Uwe Boll, but if you heard about last year's which we're sure somebody will find funny.

Here we go: it's a huge weekend for year-end Oscar-bait and questions abound. Will audiences flock to see the "forbidden" love of ? (No.) Is it any good? (It's OK.) Will people be turned off by the heavy (and occasionally heavy-handed) allusions to Christian imagery? (Possibly, but we were moved more by Aslan's humiliation and sacrifice than Jesus' in Mel Gibson's biblical slasher film)

There's only one major wide release this weekend, and although it stars an Oscar winner, we can pretty much guarantee Paramount isn't expecting any year-end kudos for . In fact, it looks like the studio is hoping to slyly score a big opening weekend on the draws of Charlize Theron in skintight rubber and fans of the old MTV animated series because they aren't letting critics anywhere near it -- apparently no press screenings have been or will be held.

The holiday movie season is officially upon us. In fact, it started yesterday. We already spent more than enough time mentioning some little musical that will likely see its box office hopes dashed by the continuing dominance of screenwriter Stephen Gaghan. We caught it Monday and were incredibly disappointed (not to mention bored and annoyed) mostly due to the constant proselytizing and exposition which lacks any nuance. A phenomenal cast performs more than admirably even if few of them are given much in the way of actual definitive character in order to fulfill their small role in this overly-complex story.

The holidays are upon us. Tomorrow sees the release of two of the more eagerly awaited films of the season, and we haven't even hit Thanksgiving yet! We've been hearing fantastic things about the Johnny Cash biopic ; Phoenix sings all the songs himself. We're not really sure whether that's a plus or not, though, no matter how well he sings.

Now that we're into November, awards season kicks off in earnest with big new releases such as

Once again, movie lovers have plenty to rejoice about over the next week. Three international heavyweights have new releases and we're not including Jodie Foster going crazy on an airplane in that equation. One of New York's most important production companies gets saluted at MoMA plus there's this little thing starting at Lincoln Center tomorrow night which should dominate much of the city's film landscape for the coming fortnight just as it does this week's .

seem enticing. But as is often the case, the city's alternative houses really steal the show this week.

(available to rent on DVD via Netflix, no less), most people prefer that sensation of wanting to hide behind their seat in the movie theater at the end of October.

, and Gothamist heartily approves.

The other Times Talk panel I went to was "Films that Deserve a Second Look" - films that New York Times film critics Stephen Holden, Elvis Mitchell, and A.O. Scott felt audiences missed the first time around. Many of the films they mentioned were victim to just being dumped by their distributors because they were not easily marketable as a teen comedy or date movie. Another problem is that films live and die in one weekend, whether a would-be blockbuster or arthouse film...word of mouth buzz no longer works as well as it used to and the fascination with box office grosses is not helping any. While most films were recent, there were some older films, and by master directors, proving not everyone gets a fair shake based on name alone. There were a few funny questions - one person asked what actors did not deserve to be on screen. A.O. Scott said, "You want us killed, don't you?" before Stephen Holden remarked about the difference between being a good actor and a movie star (some people have that charisma and may not be a good actor, but are movie stars; some of the finest actors don't have that charisma and thus are not stars). Sartorial gossip: Stephen Holden looked like everyone's kind of cranky uncle, in a polo shirt, sport jacket, khakis, and New Balance sneakers; A.O. Scott looked the rumpled academic, white shirt, sport jacket, wrinkled khakis with the cuffs rolled up and brown shoes; Elvis Mitchell looked like a mod rocker in a Prada suit and black boots. Here are the movies they picked - all I wish is that more people, outside of major cities, would be able to hear about these films and watch them.