Next Week in Virtual Tickets: Films sort of playing Boston 5 June 2020 - 11 June 2020

Over here, we've got local independent theaters doing what they can to amplify the message of Black Lives Matter, and over there, we've got a couple of the big studios saying that some things planned for a summer release just aren't going to get one because of the pandemic, so watch them at home. Which pretty much covers June 2020.

• Though putting most of their repertory recommendations on hold during the protests, The Brattle Theatre is one of several places opening Shirley in their virtual screening rooms, featuring Elisabeth Moss as writer Shirley Jackson, on the brink of writing her best-known work, being driven to distraction by the young newlyweds who have just moved in. It's director Jospehine Decker's first theatrical work from someone else's script and with a different cinematographer, and it will be interesting to see what the result of that is. They also hold over Joan of Arc, Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, Lucky Grandma, The Ghost of Peter Sellers, and Fourteen.
• The Coolidge Corner Theatre gets not just Shirley but Abel Ferrara's Tommaso, featuring Willem Dafoe as an American expatriate with a young wife and daughter, in recovery from from addiction and struggling to maintain his grip. Dafoe will also join Coolidge Director of Special Programming Mark Anastasio for a livestreamed conversation on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. In addition to those two, they continue virtual runs of Lucky Grandma, The Painter and the Thief, Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy, Driveways, and Straight Up.
  
  The virtual screening room also contains several documentaries brought for those seeking a deeper understanding behind the protests, including Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, I Am Not Your Negro, and Whose Streets? from Friday and Parkland Rising from Saturday.
  
  There are also two other deeper dives (beyond the one with Dafoe) scheduled for this week, with John Hodgman discussing Grey Gardens on Tuesday night, while critic Alissa Wilkinson leads the weekling Coolidge Education seminar on Thursday, focusing on The Age of Innocence
• Their friends at The Somerville Theatre has a popcorn pop-up on Saturday, with snacks and fountain drinks available for pickup if you call ahead. They also open Shirley, along with I Am Not Your Negro, Whose Streets, and Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, in their virtual cinema, along with Military Wives, The Ghost of Peter Sellers, Alice, Pahokee, The Whistlers, and Once Were Brothers. The documentaries aren't technically part of Magnolia's "some of our favorite docs" program, which adds Hail Satan? (with a Q&A on Wednesday) to Blackfish, RBG and Life Itself still available.
  
  The Capitol's ice cream shop remains open for phone orders and curbside pickup daily from 1pm to 8pm, including traditional popcorn and candy. They also have the Magnolia BLM and "fovirte" docs in their virtual cinema, along with The Cordillera of Dreams, The Painter and the Thief, Heimat Is a Space in Time, Spaceship Earth, Dying for Gold, The Whistlers, Once Were Brothers, and Slay the Dragon.
• The Regent Theatre also opens Parkland Rising, on Saturday, while also continuing as a streaming option for Reggae Boyz, WBCN and the American Revolution, Dosed and Fantastic Fungi. For those that miss the blocks of adventure-sport films that sometimes play there, they are also presenting a Ciclismo Classico "Best of the Fest" program on Wednesday evening. It's free, but those that tune in might want kick something over to their GoFundMe campaign.
• The West Newton Cinema continues their own campaign, aiming to do some work on the place while also paying the mortgage. Their virtual cinema page is a bit behind, but will likely soon add Hail Satan? to links for Blackfish, Life Itself, RBG, Military Wives, Once Were Brothers, Slay the Dragon, and The Whistlers.
• The Showcase Cinemas has their second drive-in show of the summer in the parking lot of their Foxboro location, with Onward playing Friday night and tickets/snacks on sale via their smartphone app. They also continue to serve as a portal for Military Wives, The Mindfulness Movement, Fantastic Fungi, Capone, and Scoob!.
• Two movies originally planned for theatrical play open online without cutting theaters in today, as well. The King of Staten Island is a collaboration between director Judd Apatow and comedian Pete Davidson, and is available via the usual VOD channels. Artemis Fowl, an adaptation of the Eion Colfer young-adult novels directed by Kenneth Branagh, finally reaches the end of being pushed back because of scheduling issues including but not limited to the Twentieth Century Fox acquisition, debuting on Disney+.
• And though I never made it there, I'm still sad that Cinema Salem will apparently not be re-opening; I purchaser never materialized and the owner is moving on. Hopefully someone else will take over the space, although I'm guessing they'd have to outfit it with seats, projectors, etc., themselves and wouldn't be able to use the same name.

Another week of clearing the shelves a bit, one hopes, along with getting stuff off the DVR.