Friday, April 17, 2020

Next Week in Virtual Tickets: Films sort of playing Boston 17 April 2020 - 23 April 2020

I used to write these Thursday evening and then leave them to post Friday morning, but now it's a lunchtime thing because (I suspect) the movie theater people aren't necessarily experts at running streaming services and are kind of making this up as they go along. But aren't we all?

  • The Coolidge Corner Theatre is the closest to having things moving relatively smoothly, this week adding documentary The Booksellers and former Goethe-Institut presentation Balloon (which had an interrupted theatrical run at the Kendall) to "The Best of CatVideoFest", The Times of Bill Cunningham, Saint Frances, Bacurau, and Fantastic Fungi.

    It's not on the theater's page, but the After Midnight Crew will be hosting a Q&A with Greg Sestero about his Best F(r)iends movies on Saturday night at 9pm. This Week's Coolidge Education seminar ha Monica Castillo delivering a pre-viewing introduction to The Hitch-Hiker on Tuesday and leading an online discussion on Thursday.
  • West Newton Cinema adds Nikolaus Geyrhalter's documentary Earth to their streaming offerings; it visits a number of large excavation locations to view them as a sort of direct chipping away at the planet. The Roads Not Taken, Best of CatVideoFest, Once Were Brothers, Slay the Dragon, and The Whistlers continue.
  • The Brattle Theatre would have been hosting a premiere for Other Music this weekend, but instead, the documentary on the famed New York City record shop is getting a virtual-screening-room release, and the Brattle is the local beneficiary if you follow their link. To tie in, this week's virtual repertory series is "Music Matters", a week of music-related films that they have played at some point. The recommendations are Shut Up and Play the Hits on Friday, We Are the Best! & Linda Linda Linda on Saturday, 20,000 Days on Earth on Sunday, Inside Llewyn Davis on Monday, Let's Get Lost on Tuesday, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll & A Band Called Death on Wednesday, and (fittingly) The Last Waltz on Thursday.

    "Y'Know, For the Kids!" is scaling down to making recommendations four days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday); this week's selections have included Darby O'Gill and the Little People and Modern Times. #BreakYourAlgorithm continues to post Wednesday and Thursday, highlighting Bunny and the Bull and Starstruck this week.
  • Emerson's Bright Lights at Home selections are once again both on Netflix, with professor Kristin Lieb discussing Miss Americana at 7pm on Tuesday and director Rachel Mason talking about her film Circus of Books on Thursday. Remember to watch the films ahead of the usual 7pm start time and then join the discussion on Zoom.
  • So far, no turnover on what's offered at The Somerville Theatre's virtual cinema - The Whistlers, Once Were Brothers, and The Roads Not Taken. The same goes for the virtual cinema of the The Capitol, still showing The Whistlers, Once Were Brothers, and Slay the Dragon. The Capitol has the Popcorn Pop-Up this weekend, with pre-ordered popcorn, candy, and ice cream ready for pickup Saturday afternoon
  • GlobeDocs has another lunchtime seminar planned for Monday - go to the event page, watch short film "In Love With You", and RSVP for the discussion.


I'm mildly surprised to see that there's actually been some turnover before I got to seeing films in the virtual rooms, so I'll try and be a little more conscientious about catching The Booksellers, The Roads Not Taken, and maybe Earth sooner rather than later, while also trying to get things down off my shelf at a good clip.

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