Words and Pictures Next Film for the Film Club

What's more important - words or pictures? This is the question asked in the film we will be seeing next Sunday, Feb. 8, 3:00. The film stars Clive Owen as a flamboyant English teacher and Juliette Binoche as the stoic art teacher. I think we know who thinks pictures are more important. Both teach at an upscale prep school where a high-spirited courtship begins. Juliette finds herself enjoying the battle. The true war, however is against their own demons, as the two troubled souls struggle for connection. 




Ellen Ternan

Ellen Ternan

I don't know about you, but I was very intrigued about the movie we saw last week - The Invisible Woman and I wanted to know more. So I looked up Ellen Ternan on Wikipedia and found a bit more information plus lots of reference material. If you want to delve into this interesting story, here's the link.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Ternan




Jewish Film Festival

Don't forget the Jewish Film Festival - Feb. 5 - 15. Here's the link with more information. Hopefully you picked up one of the programs at our last film showing, but if not, click on this link for the schedule:

http://www.sdcjc.org/sdjff/


Fun Movie Factoids

If you like movie trivia, you might be interested in the following:


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/274qHG/JhMbvcXo:1RTM_t$j/inktank.fi/82-mind-blowing-movies-facts-you-probably-didnt-know/

Time to Purchase Seasons Pass

It's time once again to purchase season passes for the upcoming season. Passes can be purchased at the Mission Marketplace Theater Box office.

• See all ten films (listing of films below) for just $55, a savings of $35 off the regular price.

• Tickets and passes are available only from the theater box office.

• Tickets for individual films may be purchased on their show dates at the theater’s regular price

OR present your valid North County Film Club membership card for a $1 discount.

(The membership card costs only $5 for the entire 2015 year).

• North County Film Club memberships are available only from the North County Film Club.

• Each showing begins at 3:00 pm on its scheduled date.

At the Carmike Mission Marketplace Theater

431 College Blvd., Oceanside.


Film for Sunday, January 11, 2015

 

Our season starts off with a bang with Jon Favreau's Chef. You'll enjoy this film about food, about fun, about finding your dream. With an all star cast from Scarlett Johansson to Dustin Hoffman, you'll be delighted with the comedy, the ups and downs of the food business, and all the mouth-watering shots of fine food.

The other films in this upcoming season are:

Jan. 25 - The Invisible Woman

Feb. 8 - Words and Pictures

March 1 - Belle

March 15 - Stories We Tell

March 29 - The Lunch Box

April 12 - Love is Strange

April 26 - Magic in the Moonlight

May 17 - The Other Son

June 14 - Fanie Fourie's Lobola

Popcorn or no Popcorn

Jim Hamilton sent me this interesting article about how theaters really make their money:

Movie theaters only stay in business thanks to our popcorn and soda addiction. A previous Curio quoted a movie exec as saying that "cup holders are the most important movie innovation since sound." The explanation for this goes back to a 1948 Supreme Court case, United States v. Paramount Pictures. Until then, eight major Hollywood movie studios controlled nearly every movie theater in the US. The "Big Eight" decided where and when movies ran, forced theaters to book "blocks" of movies in advance, and set all ticket prices. Though this practice was ruled a clear monopoly by the Supreme Court in 1930, and again in 1938, the ruling was never enforced because of the Great Depression and the shadow of WWII. Finally in 1948, the Court ordered the Hollywood studios to divest their theater ownership and cease all anti-competitive practices. But the studios still controlled the movies, and negotiated favorable contracts, which still exist today. For example, during the first weeks of a movie’s run, the studio receives almost all ticket revenues. Towards the end of the run--when audiences are thin--the theater keeps most of the sales. So on average, the theater gets only a few dollars out of every $10 - $12 ticket. Over the years this arrangement has incentivized studios to make blockbuster movies that open with a bang. Since theaters have little room to negotiate, they commonly lose money on ticket sales alone. Hence ridiculously priced popcorn and soda, which carries a profit margin of over 90% and constitutes almost all of their profits. Yet another reason to love online streaming--or learn something instead! 

I think we all know that theaters charge way too much for anything from the refreshment stand. But maybe we should pay the high prices so that we keep our theaters going. Do we want them to be a thing of the past? Buying the high priced refreshments can be considered our charity du jour. I wonder if there's a tax deduction for that!

A fun film-related item from Twisted Sifter

http://twistedsifter.com/2014/11/austin-light-illustrates-movie-titles-with-one-letter-removed/

 

Bring Your Hankies

At our last film, I overheard a woman in the audience telling her friend to be sure to bring a hankie for the showing of Unfinished Song, our next film club selection. So be forewarned.

This film stars Terence Stamp as Arthur, a curmudgeonly old man who leads a dull life and likes it that way. But his wife (Vanessa Redgrave) wants him to join her singing group. Arthur gives in and discovers that music revitalizes his passion for new adventures. The film teaches us that life should be celebrated at an age.

The film will be showing Sunday, November 23 at the Carmike theater in Oceanside. Hope to see you all there.

Liverpool

I don't know about you, but after seeing Terence Davies film, I wanted to know more about Liverpool. His film was beautiful and poetic, but I didn't feel I had a good idea of what Liverpool is really like. So I found this little video on Youtube which shows Liverpool in a slightly different light:

 

Rosewater

If you get a chance to see this fantastic film written and directed by John Stewart, by all means go. It's a really interesting film about an Iranian journalist who works for Newsweek magazine. He gets caught up in the aftermath of the Iranian elections and winds up in prison - convicted of being a spy. The acting of Gael Garcia Bernal is worth the price of admission.

In Memoriam

I can't think of a film by Mike Nichols that I haven't liked. Of course, The Graduate is probably everyone's favorite and the one he's most remembered for. But let's not forget his other films: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Carnal Knowledge, Silkwood, Working Girl, Catch 22, Heartburn, Postcards from the Edge, and The Birdcage. On Broadway he directed Annie and Spamalot, The Odd Couple and Plaza Suite. He won an emmy for the HBO miniseries Angels in America.

And remember his brilliant comedy act with Elaine May?

We will miss this very talented Renaissance man.

Of Time and the City

It looks like we're in for a treat on Sunday, the 9th. The acclaimed film  Of Time and the City by Terence Davies is our next film club selection. This documentary about Davies hometown, Liverpool has been called a masterpiece. Here's the trailer just to give you an idea:




I'm really looking forward to this film. Hope to see you all there.


Another Film from Chile

If you enjoyed Gloria, you might be interested in other films from Chile. Here's one that sounds interesting. It's called Bonsai - a love story with a literary back drop. I haven't seen it so you can't blame me if it's not good. But it seems a lot of good films are coming out of Chile and it's a good thing to support their efforts.




In Memoriam

He wasn't a film star, but a lot of us in San Diego county will fondly remember Larry Himmel. He was a fixture on KFMB. He was only 68 and died way too young. 






 

Gloria is the next film club selection

Next Sunday, October 19, the film Gloria will be shown. This film from Chile promises to be quite entertaining. It's a about a mature woman trying to find the perfect relationship. The film starts at 3:00 pm. Hope to see you there.





The San Diego Asian Film Festival

Mark you calendars. The San Diego Asian Film Festival is coming November 6-15. Lots of interesting films will be previewed. Click this link for the complete program:

http://festival.sdaff.org/2014/


In Memoriam
We all remember Jan Hooks from Saturday Night Live. Her imitation of Tammy Faye Baker was the best. You probably have your favorite character. She was only 57 when she died. Way too young.

Don't Forget to Vote

It's time to start voting for the films for next season. You've been sent an email of the dramas (there are tons to look at and consider). You can either email your choices to ncfilmclub.com or bring your list to the film this Sunday. Watch for emails that will include nominations for documentaries and comedies. Be sure to vote. Speaking of the film this Sunday, you're in for a treat.

Barbara

The upcoming film Barbara,  is a tale about a female doctor in East Germany trying to defect to West Berlin.  The German film will be shown at the Carmike Theater (formerly Digiplex) in Oceanside at 3:00 pm, Oct. 5. Here's the trailer:

 


The Red Shoes

There are so many dramas to choose from. Only a few will be in next season's lineup. I noticed that someone had nominated The Red Shoes, a classic film from 1948. For some reason vintage films don't often make the vote. But guess what? as luck would have it, The Red Shoes will be shown on TCM this Sunday at 5:00 pm. You can just barely make it after you see Barbara. You might want to DVR it for later viewing.

Kensington Video 

Another sad tale about the demise of a beloved community establishment. The Kensington Video after 30 years in business will be closing February, 2015. There will soon be no bookstores or video stores. What's this world coming to?

Read this article about the Kensington Video in San Diego.

Instructions Not Included

This Sunday, September 21 the North County Film Club will be presenting the film Instructions Not Included, the highest grossing Mexican film ever released in the U.S.

This Chaplinesque mixture of laughter, pathos and tears is written and directed by its star, Eugenio Derbez, one of Mexico's most prominent and beloved television stars.

The story follows unexpected twists in the life of its protagonist Valentin, a ladies man with bigtime daddy issues whose life is upended when one of his conquests drops a baby he's sired off on his doorstep.  Deciding to raise the child, he goes to America and through a series of comic incidents finds professional fulfillment as a stuntman and personal happiness as a father until the mother's return and a custody hearing threatens the arrangement.

The film is at the Carmike (formerly Digiplex) Mission Marketplace theater in Oceanside at College and Highway 76.  It begins at 3pm.  Please join us and stay for a Q&A afterwords.


Hope to see you there.

Don't forget to send in your nominations for next season's films. Email your selections to ncfilmclub.com or bring them with you Sunday. This Sunday, Sept. 21 is the deadline for nominations.


In Memoriam - Joan Rivers