Sunday, July 31, 2011

running Watch-A-Thon count...

Please support the Unofficial Film School of Boston, the Brattle Theater—Sponsor my 2011 Watch-A-Thon! Thanks!

Note that altho this post is dated 7/31, the day before the starting line of the 'thon, I'll be updating it as I go along.
  1. NORTH BY NORTHWEST @the Brattle, 8/1/11.
  2. MACHETE @the Brattle, 8/1/11.
  3. TABLOID @Kendall Square 8/2/11.
  4. VERTIGO @the Brattle, 8/2/11.
  5. LE QUATTRO VOLTE @the Brattle, 8/3/11.
  6. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES @AMC Harvard Square, 8/5/11.
  7. THESE AMAZING SHADOWS @the Brattle, 8/5/11.
  8. BLAZING SADDLES @the Brattle, 8/5/11.
  9. THE GUARD @Kendall Square, 8/6/11.
  10. ROAD TO NOWHERE @the Harvard film Archive, 8/6/11.
  11. FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH @the Brattle, 8/6/11.
  12. IT'S A GIFT @the Brattle, 8/7/11.
  13. THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED @the Brattle, 8/8/11.
  14. CAPE FEAR @the Brattle, 8/9/11.
  15. ON DANGEROUS GROUND @the Brattle, 8/9/11.
  16. DEATH ON THE NILE @the Brattle, 8/11/11.
  17. 3:10 TO YUMA @the Brattle, 8/13/11.
  18. FINAL DESTINATION 5 @the Somerville, 8/14/11.
  19. SKATETOWN USA @the Brattle, 8/14/11.

For those of you playing along at home, that's 14 Brattle films and 5 non-Brattle flicks, for a final total of 16.5 Watch-A-Thon movie-points. Ayep.

Anyone wanna go to the movies?

Keep on keepin on~

2011 Watch-A-Thon!

Greetings, Programs!

This August 1 thru August 14, I will be participating in the Brattle Theater's Movie Watch-A-Thon fundraiser, and I hope you'll support me in my run!

"What is a Watch-A-Thon?" you may ask (if you've only just met me). Well it's just like other fundraising 'thons you're probably familiar with, except that instead of all that leisurely, scenic walking, or luxurious, relaxing running, participants engage in exhausting, intensive on-your-bum-sitting for two weeks in front of excruciatingly entertaining films. But let's not forget the most important and enjoyable part of the process: YOU graciously and attractively sponsoring my laborious labor!

You can support my Watch-A-Thon run with a contribution per movie-I-see, or by one-time (or two, or three, I won't stop you) donation. I hope you'll help me in this effort to preserve the legacy of repertory film programming at Boston's Unofficial Film School, the non-profit Brattle Theater.

(You can donate online via my FirstGiving page.)

If you're not familiar with the Brattle (or even if you are), the theater is a unique, modest cinema located in Harvard Square, my favorite venue for catching classic, indie, documentary, foreign, cult, and just plain awesome films in the Boston area. No teeth-shattering THX, no stadium seats, but behind the counter there's freshly popped popcorn, real melted butter, and *hey!* beer and wine! And up on the screen are the coolest, smartest, classiest, campiest, funniest, and scariest rectangles of light in Boston. On stage you'll meet directors, authors, actors, and musicians, including the likes of George Romero, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Wes Anderson, Bruce Campbell, Lars Nilsen, Frank Langella, Junot Diaz, James Ellroy, Elliott Gould, Willem Dafoe, MC Frontalot, Kid Koala, and Juliana Hatfield. And in the seats, you'll find people loving and digging them all.

Maybe even YOU! If you haven't already, check it out with me sometime. They've got some excellent programming lined up for the two weeks of the 'thon! =)

It's where my mind was blown when I watched Chow Yun Fat step-and-slide his way down that tea-house stairway railing, two guns a-blazin', partnered with Tony Leung in John Woo's HARD-BOILED! The darkened theater where I first experienced movies like CITIZEN KANE, DONNIE DARKO, and FALLEN ANGELS... Where I can go to see "What's Opera, Doc?" on the big screen, and properly observe my high holy days with screenings of EVIL DEAD 2 for Halloween, CASABLANCA for Thanksgiving, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE for Saturnalia, and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN for Valentine's Day... and where I consistently go to see the best of film's past (BICYCLE THIEVES, LE SAMOURI, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA), present (SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, 13 ASSASSINS), and future (STAKE LAND, UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES).

Thank you for any little something you can give to keep the Brattle's screen lit up, either as a donation or a pledge for my Watch-A-Thon. Help the Brattle...

keep on keepin on~