DEAR READERS

DEAR READERS,

You may have noticed that I have bit a bit sparse lately on some of the new releases that have it your local multiplex. You may have checked in for my thoughts on the likes of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, The Nut Job, I, Frankenstein, or even Labor Day. I do love me some Kate Winslet, so tonight I will be seeing Labor Day . A review of that will be coming soon. George Clooney's latest,The Monuments Men, opens this weekend. Hopefully, I can check that one off the list as well. The January/February months at the theater tend to be a bit polarizing as the studios tend to slip in their duds hoping they disappear amongst all of the Oscar-bait movies that people are flocking to before the big day. Many of the latest new releases I juggle with as I decide if it is worth the time and money on a movie that I know I will most likely dislike. I may even pass on them despite getting passes for an advanced screening. Even though some of those reviews are the most fun to write, I would rather write about a movie that I loved.

     

I work two jobs and have a family, so my movie going time has been a bit limited. When I do have the opportunity to sit down on the couch, I have been catching up on the Oscar nominated documentaries and foreign films. I have been and will continue posting reviews of those as I see them. I have also started a new feature here called My Criterion Collection where I delve into the superior titles that The Criterion Collection has to offer. Stay tuned as I introduce a different title or two each month. If you follow me on Twitter (@PaulMcGuire83), you may have noticed that I haven’t been a complete stranger to going to the theater. I have been spending time at the Trylon Microcinema lately to catch some of their programming. Take-Up Productions is a wonderful local non-profit company that hosts weekly series highlighting different directors, themes, actors/actresses at a variety of art-house theaters in Minneapolis. I have been a fan of their programming for years now. Right now at the Trylon, they are showing various films from the David Lynch canon on the weekends and showcasing a young Sissy Spacek on Mondays and Tuesdays. Just this past week, I caught Eraserhead and Badlands, both in 35mm, for the first time. I highly recommend Badlands if you haven’t seen it. Terrence Malick’s first film was stunning.

  

While I keep my blog a mix of new releases and vintage titles, I find myself going back to those old classics instead of wasting my time seeing the junk (I, Frankenstein) at theaters. There may be some titles that I do want to see and time slips by. C'est La Vie. There's always the dollar theater. 

Thanks for reading,

 PAUL