The summertime tradition is taking a break this Friday due to Independence Day celebrations, but on Friday, July 11, WBZ NewsRadio’s annual run of Free Friday Flicks will resume at the Charles River Esplanade’s DCR Hatch Shell (100 David Mugar Way/Storrow Drive, Boston).

This year marks the 23rd year the radio station is offering weekly outdoor movies, most classics appropriate for the entire family to view together, alongside the numerous other people who show up for each screening. Having the Charles River nearby is just a fresh-air bonus.

Another unexpected fun bonus comes courtesy of murky legal issues that prevent WBZ from releasing the titles of the movies that will be shown. As a result, the general public gets clues to decipher instead.

For example, on July 11, the presentation is described with the hint, “‘Bee’ there to watch a sociable insect befriend a human and learn secrets to the honey-making industry.” Sometimes it really helps to be a kid, I guess. Yet, at other times, descriptions like that for the August 22 flick — “Sing along to this ‘greasy’ musical as two teens discover that their summer may not be over” — are all too clear.

If the clues leave you stumped, there is recourse, however — simply call the special hotline number 617-787-7200 for further details, including cancellation news when Mother Nature’s in a bad mood. Then, provided that the show will go on, pack up your family and gear, including chairs or blankets to lounge on and snacks to cure the munchies, and head over to the Esplanade.

The earlier you arrive, the better chance you’ll have of beating the inevitable crowds, reserving a good spot, and still having enough time left over to drop by the WBZ Tent to grab whatever freebies are available before the opening credits roll at sunset, which is approximately 8pm. [More Information]

Post from: The Boston Traveler

I suggest checking out an interesting feature offered at Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre (290 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-734-2500) in conjunction with the Museum of Science and New Scientist magazine, namely the monthly Science on Screen series. Designed to make good use of the abundant scientific talent in the area, thanks to Boston’s uncommon number of top academic institutions, the film series offers movies with a science theme, introduced by real scientists who know their stuff.

On April 21, viewers will have a chance to enjoy the classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense yarn Vertigo, as well as a revealing discussion beforehand with Harvard Medical School professor and practicing psychiatrist Catherine Kimble, MD. Dr. Kimble will talk about vertigo and anxiety and what both entail for sufferers, such as the main character of the film, a former San Francisco police detective and acrophobe (someone with an abnormal fear of heights) portrayed by James Stewart.

Tomorrow’s screening and discussion of Vertigo take place from 7pm to 9:30pm. Tickets purchased online or at the door cost $9.75 each for the general public, with a discount to $7.75 for students, seniors, and members of the Museum of Science. Members of Coolidge Corner Theatre are admitted free of charge.

Need help deciding whether Vertigo is your cup of tea? If so, just take a look at the original trailer for the 1958 double Oscar nominee following the jump.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The festival has enjoyed such success in the past that this year’s roster has been expanded to encompass 96 films that will be featured at over 150 screenings. The focus is on filmmakers whose work — be it long-form movies, documentaries, or short films — presents themes “that are life changing, thought provoking and expose aspects of life in new and revealing manners.”

And, if you think all the festival is about is going to a theater, sitting and watching, and then going home, then think again. In addition to the actual showings, organizers have planned panel discussions, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, and parties, as well. Special guests currently include a number of individuals who work in different areas of entertainment and film, such as Brad Neely, Chris Eigeman, Famke Janssen, Guy Maddin, Harlan Ellison, Harmony Korine, Harry & The Potters, Jay McCarroll, and Mary Stuart Masterson.

The weeklong Independent Film Festival of Boston, also called IFFBoston, runs from Wednesday, April 23, until Tuesday, April 29. There are several options for participating, ranging from purchasing individual tickets for specific films (shown at Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, and Somerville Theatre in Somerville) to buying one of several passes that allow admission to numerous events. Visit the Ticket Website for more information, as well as the websites for the Film Lineup, Music Lineup, Panel Schedule, and surprisingly full Party Schedule.

Continue after the jump to see the trailer for one of the film selections at IFFBoston that I’m personally looking forward to a great deal, director Grant Gee’s comprehensive documentary Joy Division, which is about the influential English band of the same name and its tragic lead singer Ian Curtis.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

At 6pm EST, the Central branch will screen the critically acclaimed 1996 South African drama Tsotsi in Rabb Lecture Hall (700 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston, 617-536-5400). The selection is offered in conjunction with the library’s Choosing to Participate: Facing History and Ourselves exhibit on display through May 18, 2008.

I still remember the first time I saw the movie, which won the 2006 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, because the story was so intense and left such a strong, lasting impression. Its plot is based on South African author Athol Fugard’s novel of the same name, a gripping tale of what life is like for some young men whose existence is confined to the far-reaching slums and violent gangs of Johannesburg, South Africa.

For those who appreciate movies that offer a window into other societies through gripping storytelling, Tsotsi is virtually a guaranteed pleaser. A built-in advantage of the Boston Public Library’s free screening is that if you don’t like the movie, all you lose is a little time.

I’ve been to a few free film screenings at the library’s Copley Square location, and I advise attendees to arrive early for the best chance of getting preferred seats. Although it’s impossible to predict, these events often draw a number of people, especially when highly entertaining and informative movies like Tsotsi are featured. [More Information]

The two-and-a-half-minute trailer for Tsotsi follows after the jump.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The ten-year-old annual event began as an informal affair in 1999, but has since matured and expanded into a full-fledged, more conventionally arranged series of screenings. And, unlike the fare you’ll find at whatever national chain happens to service your community, many of the scheduled works at BUFF will be hosted by the writers, directors, and stars who bring the films to life. If you’ve ever been to a hosted screening before or even watched the extras on a DVD, you probably agree there’s nothing like discovering details about a movie straight from the horse’s mouth.

This Saturday and Sunday, BUFF films and shorts in a variety of genres, ranging from musicals to horror to comedy, will be shown at two venues in Cambridge near Harvard University: Brattle Theatre (40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617-867-6837) and AMC Loews Harvard Square (10 Church Street, Cambridge, 617-864-4581).

Highlights include Saturday’s presentation of the German film-noir crime drama The Road to Nod from writer/director M.A. Littler (AMC Loews Harvard Square, 9:45pm, 100 minutes, Germany, 2007) and Sunday’s Closing Night screening of host and director Tony Krantz’s Otis (Brattle Theatre, 8:30pm, 90 minutes, USA, 2008), a dark serial-killer horror-comedy that premiered at SXSW earlier this month. Otis stars Bostin Christopher in the title role, along with familiar actors like Daniel Stern (Home Alone), Kevin Pollak (Casino), Quincy-born Illeana Douglas (Stir of Echoes), and Cambridge-born Jere Burns (TV’s Help Me Help You).

Tickets to individual movies cost $8 each for the general public and $6 for students and seniors. Moreover, trailers for the two intriguing movies mentioned previously, The Road to Nod and Otis, follow the jump. [More Information]

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Thanks to Hostelling International, Boston will hold its first annual International Women’s Day Film Festival this year to add a three-day, cinematic flair to the usual celebration. The included films were specifically selected to not only exemplify the “extraordinary lives of women around the world” through their struggles and accomplishments, but also to encourage discussion and introspection.

The film festival opens tonight with Denmark’s Sundance World Cinema Prize-winning documentary Enemies of Happiness, which revolves around 27-year-old Malalai Joya’s campaign to gain one of 249 assembly seats in Afghanistan’s male-dominated parliament. It screens at MCLE (10 Winter Place, Boston) at 7pm, following a 6:30pm reception and preceding a discussion with Joya. Suggested donations are $15.

Tomorrow, the festival continues in Cambridge at Gallery 263 (263 Pearl Street, Cambridge) with The Grace Lee Project, a fun and funny exploration of filmmaker Grace Lee’s intriguing project tracking down numerous women who share her name to see how their lives have shattered the stereotype of what society assumes a typical Korean woman is like. Tickets range from $5 to $9 if purchased in advance and $10 at the door.

Saturday, the final day of the festival, features a variety of film shorts at the Boston Public Library (700 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston) in the afternoon, as well as a pair of longer pieces in Cambridge at night. Boston Public Library’s free shorts program begins at 2pm, and it includes the United States’ The Tribe, which is about the Barbie doll and its link to the history of Jewish people; Spain and Senegal’s Binta and the Great Idea, an Academy Award-nominated short film focusing on seven-year-old Binta from Senegal and her fisherman father’s great idea on education; and China’s The Women’s Kingdom, a look at remote southwest China’s Mosuo women, one of the world’s few remaining matriarchal societies.

Two locations host the Cambridge offerings later in the day. The award-winning Mali-United States production This African Life will screen at Gallery 263 (263 Pearl Street, Cambridge) at 5pm. Tickets range from $5 to $9 if purchased in advance and $10 at the door. Through the firsthand experiences of female resident Sokona Keita, the film provides viewers insight into the struggles of women and children in a poor village in West Africa’s Mali.

The final film of the festival is Australia’s My Home — Your War, starting at 7:30pm and presented free at Harvard University’s Carpenter Center (B04, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge). Iraq provides the backdrop as Layla Hassan, an ordinary woman from Baghdad, shares her eye-opening perspective on the Iraq War. A talk and brief discussion with Tahir Albakaa, Iraq’s former Minister of Higher Education and a current visiting scholar at Boston’s Suffolk University, will follow.

For more information on the International Women’s Day Film Festival and purchasing tickets, visit the official website. Interested individuals can also call one central phone number, 617-718-7990 x17, to get information about all of the films scheduled for the event.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Cast member Amy Ryan is up for an Oscar statuette in the supporting actress category, and the movie has already garnered numerous wins and nominations from many other organizations, including Affleck’s victory for Best New Filmmaker at the 2007 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards.

Based on Dorchester native Dennis Lehane’s (Mystic River) crime novel of the same name, Gone Baby Gone stars Affleck’s younger brother Casey Affleck as Boston-based private investigator Patrick Kenzie. When Kenzie is hired by the aunt of a missing child to help interface with locals who won’t cooperate with police, deadly secrets are exposed and tragedy inevitably follows.

The rest of the stellar cast includes Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan, and John Ashton. Although not nominated for his work in his brother’s movie, Casey Affleck did receive a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod this time around for his performance in the also highly praised Brad Pitt feature The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Since I haven’t had the chance to watch Gone Baby Gone yet (although I did just spoil the plot for myself by researching it for this post), I can’t offer any personal judgments right now. I do know the reviews and word of mouth are exceptionally strong for the film, however. So, if you haven’t already seen it and are looking for a flick to catch this weekend in the comfort of your own home, I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend Gone Baby Gone.

Check out the movie’s official website for a trailer, six preview clips, and tons of additional information.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

When Stevens’ parents ask him to return home for their 50th wedding anniversary, the entertainment personality does, and he brings along his ten-year-old son, new wife, and misunderstanding that since he’s a media star now, his family and old neighbors will treat him with due respect. Of course, he’s wrong.

Besides Lawrence, prominent cast members include James Earl Jones as Stevens’ father, Margaret Avery as his mother, and Joy Bryant as his self-involved wife, in addition to Michael Clarke Duncan, Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Nicole Ari Parker, and Mo’Nique.

If the PG-13 film sounds interesting to you and you plan to be in the metro Boston area next Wednesday, the free weekday newspaper BostonNOW has a contest for you. It’s giving 50 randomly selected winners the opportunity to win a two-person pass to an advance screening of Roscoe Jenkins at a local movie theater on February 6.

Just visit www.bostonnow.com/roscoe to enter and then cross your fingers for a little good news. And if you don’t have any luck with that route, the movie’s website also offers the chance to score some free advance tickets, courtesy of the production studio Universal Pictures.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Saturday | January 26

A Conversation with Playwright Douglas Carter Beane

First up on Saturday is “A Conversation with Playwright Douglas Carter Beane.” A Tony Award nominee in 2007 for the Broadway comedy The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane also wrote, among many other things, the screenplay for the 1995 feature film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo.

Beane will discuss his ample work—and presumably take questions from attendees—in the same location where SpeakEasy Stage Company is currently staging The Little Dog Laughed through February 16. The afternoon engagement requires advance registration and will start at 12:30pm at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Calderwood Pavilion (527 Tremont Street, Boston).

Sunday | January 27

Making Movies in Massachusetts

Both events scheduled for Sunday will be hosted at the Institute of Contemporary Art (100 Northern Avenue, Boston). The first, “Making Movies in Massachusetts” from 1:30pm–3pm, will explore the reasons underlying Massachusetts’ present and future popularity as a location for filming movies. Nick Paleologos, the executive director of the Massachusetts Film Office, and producer-director Sam Weisman will lead the registration-required discussion.

A Look at Avenue Q

A half-hour later, at 3:30pm, the 90-minute discussion “A Look at Avenue Q” will begin. It also requires advance registration to gain an inside perspective on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical-comedy Avenue Q, which is about one cash-strapped college graduate’s attempts to acquire fame in the Big Apple. Producer Jeffrey Seller and puppet conceiver and designer (yes, the production uses puppets à la Sesame Street) Rick Lyon share their experiences while leading the talk.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Now that the holiday season is over, my wallet is suffering big time as a result of all the money I spent on gifts and holiday preparations. If you’re also feeling a little exhausted on the financial front, what better way to still keep yourself entertained than to take in a free movie that’s likely to be a big draw at the box office and the awards shows?

Thankfully, the folks at the fine weekly newspaper The Phoenix know a thing or two about how to help Bostonians stay relaxed. Visit the webpage http://thephoenix.com/flix1/ right now and you can enter a giveaway for two screening passes that will get you into an as yet undisclosed Boston theater this Thursday, January 3, to see Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis’ current movie There Will Be Blood in advance of its wide release on Friday.

As is often the case with Englishman Day-Lewis, Blood is a period film, this one loosely based on the 1927 Upton Sinclair novel Oil! and set among aspiring tycoons at the turn of the 20th century. It’s already been nominated for two Golden Globes, one for Best Picture and another for Day-Lewis in the Best Actor category, which strongly hints that seeing the 158-minute epic will be time well spent.

Check out the trailer at the movie’s official website and good luck to all who enter the contest.

Post from: The Boston Traveler