 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BALBOA THEATER NEWSLETTER | |||||||||
|
General Admission: $9.00, Senior (60+) or Child (11-): $6.50 WHAT’S IN THE NEWS: Showtimes, Dear Friends, Sex and the City 2, Robin Hood, Remembering Playland at the Beach, New Photos in the Lobby: 100 Hours in the Dark, John Waters Art Show: Rush, Theater Information. | |||||||||
SHOWTIMES - Friday, May 28 - Thursday, June 3, 2010 |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
THEATRE #1 |
THEATRE #2 |
||||||||
SEX AND THE CITY 2 (R) |
REMEMBERING PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH (NR) (separate admission) |
||||||||
SEX AND THE CITY 2 opened today. The Hockey Haven across the street is doing a Cosmo drink special for $5 to enjoy after the show!
DOING THE CANNES CANNES
San Franciscans made their way up the Red Carpet at the just completed Cannes Film Festival.
Though the official Opening Night featured ROBIN HOOD with movie stars ascending the steps to the Grand Palais, the serious opening night started with TOURNEE, a film written, starring and directed by Mathieu Amalric. The film tells of a French producer who takes a group of American New Burlesque performers on a tour of France. One of the stars is the Balboa’s own superstar, Suzanne "Kitten on the Keys" Ramsey. Kitten has performed at many Balboa Birthday Bashes, Thrillville shows, and produced "Sin Pan Alley" during our Paramount Pre-Code series. In the film she sings, plays piano and has some powerful dramatic moments when she often helps the others through some tough experiences. Another local star in the film is Roky Roulette, who performs his unique pogo stick strip tease.
Suzanne tells about her celebrity encounters and how burlesque grew, backstage with the actresses in this video.
ON THE RED CARPET AT CANNES PREMIERE
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe
(L-R) Mimi Le Meaux, Actress Dirty Martini, actor and director Mathieu Amalric, Julie Atlas Muz, actress Kitten on the Keys, actor Roky Roulette and actress Evie Lovelle attends the 'On Tour' Premiere at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2010 in Cannes, France.
PHOTO CALL
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe
Mimi Le Meaux (3L), Mathieu Amalric (5L), Roky Roulette, Kitten On The Keys, Julie Atlas Muz and guests.
AWARD WINNER
AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau
Mathieu Almalric accepts "Best Director Award" with his cast... Kitten on the far right having her moment.
For more photos and a trailer:
Laughing Squid
Zimbio
Broadway World
Documentaries are rarely shown in the Official Selection at Cannes. The chosen few better be damn good. And local filmmaker Charles Ferguson followed up his NO END IN SIGHT with INSIDE JOB, a powerful history and expose of the global financial crisis. Nobody is sacred as the film explains just how we got in the current mess in a way that everyone should come out with a better understanding. People will be talking about this one.
A couple of interviews with Ferguson:
France 24
Wall Street Journal
I am just starting to recover from my trip to the Cannes Film Festival, where I get up for a 7:30 meeting each morning, start seeing films at 8:30 and have usually screened 5 to 6 movies and held several meetings as the clock flies past midnight. I am there to find films for the Telluride Film Festival.
www.telluridefilmfestival.org
After the first few days, writers are complaining that it will be a bad year. I try to remind them that there are still 9 days to go with hundreds of films to choose from. And sure enough, by the end of the festival a full handful of terrific movies have emerged.
Some that I personally liked included Mike Leigh’s often funny and powerfully emotional drama about the lives of several couples, ANOTHER YEAR, with especially strong performances by Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville; Olivier Assayas’ nearly 6 hour, 3-part thriller CARLOS; Bertrand Tavernier’s beautiful historical drama THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIE; Lee Chang-Dong’s emotional drama of an aging woman looking for beauty in an increasingly dark work, POETRY; Patricio Guzman’s fascinating documentary about the stars, time and Chile’s "disappeared" population, NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT; a quirky Swedish comedy, THE SOUND OF NOISE; the fresh French sex comedy THE NAMES OF LOVE; Susanne Bier’s new family drama, IN A BETTER WORLD; and the wonderful comedy based on a graphic novel and directed by Stephen Frears, TAMARA DREWE. An innovative, wordless documentary LE QUATTRO VOLTE was quite the buzz for good reason but may be a tough sell for U.S. distributors to take on.
I saw excellent films from South Korea, Romania, Japan, France, Congo, Chad, and England. Plus some wonderful restorations of classics, especially Marcel L’Herbier’s 1943 screwball farce HAPPY GO LUCKY (AU PETIT BONHEUR) and Mrinal Sen’s KHANDAHAR.
There were disappointments from directors I have liked before and some movies that were just plain boring... the kind when people keep leaving and their seats make a clacking sound.
I am the first to admit that I wasn’t so impressed with the Palme d’Or winner, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s UNCLE BOOMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES. The Thai director, who says we can call him "Joe," makes minimalist films and though I have tried to appreciate them, so far they have not cast a spell on me. But many critics love this film about strange creatures including Ghost Monkeys with LED-red glowing eyes and a woman having sex with a catfish. Many think that Jury President Tim Burton pushed for this to win because of its bizarre imagery. When the film comes to the Bay Area, I will give it another try outside the festival fatigue.
In all, I saw 50 feature length films and several short subjects. Now that I am home, it is time to see even more movies as we prepare for this year’s festival.
If you want to know more, I suggest that you visit my favorite websites for festival coverage:
INDIEWIRE
DAVID HUDSON’S NOTEBOOK ON MUBI
Sincerely,
Gary
The fun, the fashion, the friendship: "Sex and the City 2" brings it all back and more as Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) take another bite out of The Big Apple--and beyond--carrying on with their busy lives and loves in a sequel that truly sparkles. What happens after you say "I do"? Life is everything the ladies ever wished it to be, but it wouldn't be "Sex and the City" if life didn't hold a few more surprises...this time in the form of a glamorous, sun-drenched adventure that whisks the women away from New York to one of the most luxurious, exotic and vivid places on earth, where the party never ends and there's something mysterious around every corner. It's an escape that comes exactly at the right moment for the four friends, who are finding themselves in--and fighting against--the traditional roles of marriage, motherhood and more. After all, sometimes you just have to get away with the girls. "You don't have to be a fan of Sex and the City to appreciate the kitsch humor here. Part TV-series sequel, part Hollywood sendup, SATC 2 is all satire. It's hard to miss that this film is making gentle fun of itself, of the franchise's materialism, even of its own cinematic allusions. A romp through classical Hollywood genres, SATC 2 serves up beautiful vistas straight out of Lawrence of Arabia; its carnivalesque sensibility comes from romantic comedies of remarriage like It Happened One Night, and larks about irreverently adoring couples like The Thin Man's Nick and Nora Charles; and the high glamour, lavish production design and double-entendre-laced dialogue would make old Hollywood proud." "Sex and the City 2 is a champagne cocktail on a runaway train — fizzy, sparkly, giddy-making, and splashing all over the place." "It has the returning cast members in fine comic form, and more cutting-edge humor than the first movie." "It will never be compared to The Godfather, Part II. But it's everything a fan could want in a sequel." "I loved Sex and the City 2, enjoying every single campy, over-the-top moment." Watch CBS video of The Men of Sex and the City 2. Watch interviews with the ladies. (scroll down for entire list) Watch interview with the director. |
Oscar winner Russell Crowe stars as the legendary figure known by generations as Robin Hood, whose exploits have endured in popular mythology and ignited the imagination of those who share his spirit of adventure and righteousness. In 13th century England, Robin and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against the crown that will forever alter the balance of world power. And whether thief or hero, one man from humble beginnings will become an eternal symbol of freedom for his people. Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richards army against the French. Upon Richards death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marian (Oscar winner Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marian and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff. With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more. "Scott's grounding of the piece in real events and intelligible human behavior is never over-solemn, and from beginning to end it's a lot of fun. There are few classier directors than Scott at creating action movies on a truly epic scale." "The entire cast is superb. Crowe's an ideal Robin Hood-born to play the role-he's fully in command but human to the core. He owns it." "A seriously stylish re-telling of the Robin Hood legend... Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett make a great pair of heroes." "Fascinates us with the historic elements, while simultaneously weaving into the fabric, a vibrant, human story that makes us relate and care for the characters. Every minute of the long running time holds; I didn't want the adventure to end." Read article about the film and its director Ridley Scott. |
The full length documentary tells the history of San Francisco's famous 10-acre seaside amusement park, Playland at the Beach. Located next to Ocean Beach, it was torn down in 1972 to make way for a condominium development. Gone now for more than 3 decades, it remains one of the city's lost treasures. Go back in time to see Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, Fun-tier Town, and much, much more, all through the eyes of the people who were there. The first and only documentary ever made about Playland, it features 12 interviews, 20 minutes of archival footage, 187 photographs and original music. The film was written and directed by Tom Wyrsch.
Hockey Haven across the street from the Balboa will be serving Playland drink specials after the show where fans will gather to remember their own experiences at Playland. |
"Wyrsch’s film lovingly re-creates some of the spectacle of this 365-day-a-year carnival with old pictures and film footage plus lots of interviews, many of them with members of a group dedicated to maintaining a museum of Playland relics." "The film is a giddy nostalgia trip for those who remember the place and a pop history lesson for others." "The Playland documentary was better than one could have hoped for. Thank you to all that helped make those memories live forever." "Allows everyone to experience Playland for themselves, if only vicariously. Go back in time to see Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, Fun-tier Town, and much, much more, all through the eyes of the people that were there." "Wyrsch has turned Playland at the Beach into a twilight zone all its own by unearthing historic film footage and photos that vividly re-create the unique look and feel of the seaside attraction." "Conjures the joys of summers past through a season’s pass worth of archival footage and photographs, abetted by a slew of choice interviews." "For those of us who loved Playland, this superb film brings to life again an unforgettable part of our lives. If you never experienced Playland, this wonder-filled look at a vanished part of San Francisco will give you a taste of what was and what must never be forgotten."
Take a look at the first sneak preview’s crowd. Read an interview with George K. Whitney about his family’s operation of Playland. Other articles and home movies on the Western Neighborhoods Site Playland-Not-At-The-Beach is a wonderful museum of fun dedicated to the real thing. WE URGE YOU TO VISIT IT IN PERSON. It is the perfect site for a party unlike any you’ve ever attended. |
The images from the portfolio “100 Hours in the Dark” were shot off the screen while vintage movies were shown at the Telegraph Repertory Movie Theater shortly before it closed. The show will be up at the Balboa starting this weekend. For more information on the artist, please visit her site. |
"Rush" is a brand name for a popular nightclub liquid incense whose effects have been described as being "hit by a percussive thunderbolt." The same can be said for the subjects of Waters’ photographs and sculptures that are embraced, attacked, and pushed to extremes under his transgressive gaze. Nothing is sacred as Waters rewrites and redirects imagery, culled from both the classic and despised in movie history, initiating these source materials into his own personal genre of shabbily elevated "art films". Child stars are given bad habits, a youthful self-portrait is transformed à la Dorian Gray, and even the beloved and deceased of the silver screen find themselves lined up for one more startling close-up. Also on exhibit will be a series of photographs taken from the movie set of Pecker, Waters’ 1998 film of a young unassuming photographer who takes on the art world and its complicated relationship with celebrity. The wonder of Waters’ work is his ability to straddle satire and serious commentary; never once allowing his audience to achieve solid footing in either. Viewers will find themselves privy to Waters’ insider show-biz vocabulary and sharing in his excitement at the humiliation and beauty of life inside the film world. Waters was born in 1946 in Baltimore, MD. His 2009 exhibition Rear Projection was held simultaneously at the Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills. His work has been exhibited at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; the Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; and the Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland. He continues to live and work in Baltimore. Rena Branston Gallery Visit the Rena Branston Gallery website. |
3630 Balboa Street (between 37th and 38th Avenues)
San Francisco 94121
(415) 221-8184
www.BalboaMovies.com
Bike Rack in front of the Balboa
Muni Bus #31 Balboa or #18 46th Ave stop at Balboa & 37th.
Also #5 Fulton and all 38 Geary Street buses stop two (long) blocks from Balboa.
Relatively easy Parking
San Francisco's Favorite Neighborhood Theatre
Voted by the Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, SF Gate's A List
and San Francisco Magazine
General Admission: $9.00
Seniors (60+) and Children (11-) $6.50
Bargain Matinees: All seats $6.50 for shows in ( )
SCHOOL NIGHT - Mondays are School Days and Nights. With proof of being a student, faculty, or staff member, your admission is only $6.50 on Mondays.
On Your Birthday, You Are Our Guest. That’s right. You get in free with proof of your birth date.
And at all other times you can get the "I’d Rather Be At the Balboa" Discount Card. What a deal! 5 tickets to the Balboa for $32.50. That is only $6.50 per show. Good every day and night. And two people can use the card at once. You can go on a date even when you are low on cash with your Balboa Card. A savings of up to $12.50! Makes a perfect gift as well. And every Discount Card comes with a FREE POPCORN!
The Balboa is Wheelchair and Handicapped Accessible.
One of the strengths of the Balboa is our neighborhood. Other than the bank, all the businesses are family owned and operated. The restaurants are especially wonderful. On the outer Balboa strip there are 24 eating establishments by my count. You can eat Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, Italian, American, Mexican, Seafood and Vietnamese cuisines. The foods are fresh, distinctive and all reasonably priced. The media food critics have only discovered a few of them but the locals know a good thing. We encourage you to enjoy a meal at one of these fine eateries while visiting the Balboa. All are within easy walking distance. And please send us reviews and recommendations we can share with our other guests. Send reviews to balboafans (at) yahoo.com . (Change (at) to @. We are trying to avoid spam.)
We love it when you send us a review of a neighborhood restaurant you've enjoyed. We encourage you all to write about your culinary adventures in the Outer Richmond. Check out the Menu Book in our lobby and our COMPLETE RESTAURANT LIST.
Rated R for some strong sexual content and language. 2 hours 26 minutes.
Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content. 2 hours 20 minutes.
82 minutes.
The famous ice cream sandwiches created at Playland, IT’S IT, will be for sale at the Balboa snack bar.
"I laughed at the varied reactions each patron had to the different rides. Wyrsch treats each major attraction with fragile respect, as if their memories might break if we rushed through. As someone who wasn’t even alive when it was open, I found myself nostalgic for something I’d never know…I suspected most of the audience did know. As they featured each ride, collective gasps and chuckles of familiarity took over the theater."
Kate Kline May is a Bay Area photographer and filmmaker whose photographs have been included in a major group show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, a solo show in Tokyo at Zeit Foto Gallery and a solo show at Bank of America World Headquarters, San Francisco. May's film “Alice Underground” won the San Francisco International Film Festival Bay Area Showcase in 1986, and her 1997 documentary “Shakespeare's Children” was honored in major national film festivals and shown on PBS/KQED. Both films are now in the permanent collection of Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley. Her 1972 portfolio “Innocents” is in the permanent collection of photography of the Oakland Museum.