Welcome to the temporary egg crate for the Logan Square International Film Series, a grassroots organization devoted to developing community around free (donations only) showings of mind-opening and/or -blowing foreign film. Catch up with what's new in the posts below, and don't forget to "Subscribe to posts" below to keep you automatically up-to-date with weekly film offerings, biennial fudge freshness status updates, and other announcements as requested.
Our 2012 season begins in May and will run weekly on Wednesdays at 8pm this year. Keep your eye out for occasional pop-up screenings, and keep submitting your screening suggestions for themes and films for the 2012 season!
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posted May 18, 2012 6:05 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated May 18, 2012 9:36 PM
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Logan
Square International Film Series kicks off its season with a month
tracing the lineage of BLADE RUNNER and beyond. Get ready to pick the
final film of this month's series when you show up this coming
Wednesday, May 23, for Ridley Scott's...
BLADE RUNNER
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As Roger Ebert himself tells us:
"Scott has resisted the temptation to go back and replace analog
special effects with new GCI work[...]and has kept Douglas Turnbull's virtuoso original special effects,
while enhancing, restoring, cleaning and scrubbing both visuals and
sound so the film reflects a higher technical standard than ever
before. It looks so great, you're tempted to say the hell with the
story, let's just watch it.
But the story benefits, too, by seeming more to inhabit its world than be laid on top of i t. [...] I have been assured that my problems in the past with BLADE RUNNER
represent a failure of my own taste and imagination, but if the film
was perfect, why has Sir Ridley continued to tinker with it, and now
released his fifth version? I guess he's only... human." (Read the complete review here.)
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NOTE: FILM ON WEDNESDAY AT 8PM! OUTSIDE!
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted May 11, 2012 2:00 PM by Peter Kaplan
Logan
Square International Film Series kicks off its season with a month
tracing the lineage of BLADE RUNNER and beyond. Get ready to pick the
final film of this month's series when you show up this coming
Wednesday, May 16, for JEAN-LUC GODARD's...
A L P H A V I L L E
James Travers of filmsdefrance.com tells us:
" Even the most fervent admirers of the
work of Jean-Luc Godard have to admit that ALPHAVILLE presents something
of a challenge. On the face of it, this is among the most accessible
and rewarding of Godard’s films, a stylish tongue-in-cheek homage to the
American B-movie which marries film noir thriller and sci-fi fantasy
whilst glibly quoting from Capitale de la douleur, Paul Éluard’s
anthology of surrealist poetry. It’s mad, it’s confusing, but strangely
it’s fun, like an enjoyably weird mystery tour through a deranged mind.
Watch the film a second or a third time, and it becomes apparent that
there is far more to ALPHAVILLE than immediately meets the eye. Far
from the being the most lucid of Godard’s films, it is actually one of
his most complex and most multi-layered - a labyrinthine,
brain-stretching puzzle which admits any number of interpretations, none
of which is entirely complete or convincing. If you think you
understand this, the most ambiguous and devious of Jean-Luc Godard’s
films, you are probably deluding yourself. ALPHAVILLE is an enigma,
even more so than the man who created it." (Read the complete review here.)
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted May 4, 2012 6:34 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated May 4, 2012 6:57 PM
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Logan Square International Film Series kicks off its season with a month tracing the lineage of BLADE RUNNER and beyond. Get ready to pick the final film of this month's series when you show up this coming Wednesday, May 9, for JEAN COCTEAU'S...
O R P H É E
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The one and only Roger Ebert has written:
" ORPHEUS
shows Cocteau's taste for magic and enchantment; he uses simple but
dramatic special effects and trick shots to show his characters passing
into the world of death by stepping through mirrors, and when he wants a
character to spring back to life, he simply runs the film backward. He
weaves his effects so lightly into the story that after a time they
aren't tricks at all, but simply the conditions of his mythical world...
"Seeing ORPHEUS
today is like glimpsing a cinematic realm that has passed completely
from the scene. Films are rarely made for purely artistic reasons,
experiments are discouraged, and stars as big as Marais are not cast in
eccentric remakes of Greek myths. The story in Cocteau's hands becomes
unexpectedly complex; we see that it is not simply about love, death and
jealousy, but also about how art can seduce the artist away from
ordinary human concerns, so that after Orpheus astonishingly returns
from the land of death, he is more concerned with the nonsensical radio
transmissions than with his wife who loves him." (Read the complete review here.)
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NOTE: FILM ON WEDNESDAY AT 8PM! OUTSIDE!
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted Oct 21, 2011 4:35 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Oct 21, 2011 4:52 PM
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Logan Square International Film Series ends its season with a bang this TUESDAY night, October 25, at 8:00pm, with a killer of a double-feature. At 8pm it's a kids' made-for-TV animation of a Ray Bradbury classic, and then at 9:30, well, we do what we at LoSqIFS do best. It's
THE HALLOWEEN TREE & TETSUO THE IRON MAN
THE HALLOWEEN TREE has gone almost unnoticed on the web, but microjoe at amazon.com says:
"First let me warn you, this is a little too spooky for kids 7 and under.
But it won both an Emmy Award, and an award from the Film Advisory
Board. The film is based on a story by Ray Bradbury, and he narrates the
movie. The movie is very different than the book, but than what movie
isn't? The scary Moundshroud character keeps you guessing as to
whether his intents are good or evil. He is wonderfully voiced by
Leonard Nimoy, and if you have never heard him voice animated films, not
only is he really good but you can't tell it is him!
[...]
"This movie is bigger in story than it seems, and my wife has watched
this tape about 6 times. The animation is good, very fluid, good
character design. The movie will keep you guessing until the end.
Suspenseful, imaginative, and educational without looking like it is
trying to be.
[...]
"I cannot believe this
movie is still not on DVD. It is for rare gems like this that so many of
us have kept our VCR players. We still watch this at least once a year.
Hang onto your VHS copy, who knows how long we will have to wait."
As for TETSUO, Tom Mes of midnighteye.com tells us...
"At the end of the 80s, when mainstream Japanese cinema was dead in the water and the decade's one original filmmaker, Sogo Ishii, was going through a creative crisis, along came a grainy, black & white 16 mm film that wiped the floor with anything made in Japan for several years.
"Shinya Tsukamoto's TETSUO was a relentlessly energetic film made at a time when the energy had all but disappeared from Japanese film. The culmination of a decade's worth of short filmmaking and the crowning achievement on the activities of a private, experimental theatre group, TETSUO had all the characteristics of unbridled zeal and amateur enthusiasm, and all the signs of true filmmaking talent.
"Revolving around the transformation of people into grotesque hybrids of flesh and metal, Tetsuo is above all an overwhelming audiovisual experience, set to a brain-pounding score by Chu Ishikawa and complemented by suitably exaggerated sound effects [...] At the center of it all, actors move as if they were performers in a modern dance piece, belying the participants' origins in experimental theatre."
NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
8pm: THE HALLOWEEN TREE
9:30pm: TETSUO THE IRON MAN
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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83% audience RT!
FB event page:
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posted Oct 13, 2011 11:07 AM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Oct 14, 2011 12:36 PM
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Logan Square International Film Series continues its month of international genre-bending horror this TUESDAY night, October 18, at 8:00pm, with our first-ever Jan Svankmajer screening. Ever been frustrated with the limits of Tim Burton's macabre stop-motion world? Well, meet the master, in his 100%RT effort:
As Jonathan Burrello tells us...
"Watching ALICE is like watching a tapeworm do the limbo, it’s disgusting but at the same time immensely unique and sort of funny. Svankmajer is a master of textures (and none of them smooth or soft). He likes the dirt and pine needles strewn about the floor and the coming of the maggots when the meat turns rancid. These are fascinating subjects that he explores in many of his works. Svankmajer seems to like to give every minuscule object a history and past. Every nick in the chair, every bit of mold in the drain, every stain on the wall, or gnawed bit of turnip tells a story and makes the atmosphere alive and dense in an almost too vivid and unsettling way. He is a filmmaker you will either love or hate. His visuals are potent. His comedy is dark and strange. His sound effects are abrasive and tinny. And his take on ALICE might be the most original.
"If you don’t like uncooked steaks scuttling across a shelf or for bread to sprout nails when you try to bite it or if the thought of a mouse pounding spikes into your head and building a fire in your hair bothers you, then perhaps this movie isn’t for you. If you don’t like the taste of sawdust, ink, or fruit jams filled with tacks then maybe you should watch something else. If dark, enclosed, cold spaces full of bony creatures lurking in the corners aren’t your cup of tea then I suggest you do something else with your time. HOWEVER, if you are bold and adventurous and willing to experience a different type of filmmaking then I hesitate not to recommend this brilliantly bent masterpiece of the surreal. For tickets to live in the wet and warped mind of Jan Svankmajer for an hour and a half find a copy of ALICE (1988). You’ll never forget where he takes you. Consider yourself warned. Now go with my blessing."
NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted Oct 13, 2011 11:03 AM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Oct 13, 2011 11:29 AM
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Logan Square International Film Series continues its month of international arthouse horror this TUESDAY night, October 11, at 8:00pm, with a double-bill screening of these Spanish megahits. Seen QUARANTINE? Well, before there was QUARANTINE, there were the Spanish films from which it was adapted:
Which is better, the American remake or the Spanish original? You decide.
NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
(film starts when the sun sets, rain or shine)
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted Oct 2, 2011 9:32 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Oct 13, 2011 11:05 AM
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Logan Square International Film Series kicks off its month of international arthouse horror this TUESDAY night, October 4, at 8:00pm, with our screening of this Japanese megahit. Seen THE RING? Well, before there was THE RING, there was the Japanese film from which it was adapted:
Which is better, the American remake or the Japanese original? The critics are split, so it's up to you to decide.
"Adapted from the popular novel written by Koji Suzuki,
Nakata's high-concept popcorn movie was a box-office smash when released
on a double bill with Joji Iida's SPIRAL[...] in February of 1998, rapidly becoming the top grossing
horror of all time at the domestic box office and setting in motion a
torrent of terrors that included SHIKOKU and TOMIE.[...]
"With nothing in the way of gore or nudity and an
unobtrusively even editing style, Ring evokes the innate uncanniness of
its central premise over the short, sharp shocks one usually associates
with modern horrors, and sports some incredibly effective moments, all
laid down to an electronic soundtrack of onomatopoeic groans and whirs.
You can feel the goosebumps during Sadako's manifestation through the
cathode ray tube. Given the sheer artificiality of the film's central
concept, not to mention the odd hole in the convoluted and occasionally
lackadaisical plotting, it's all down to Nakata's subtle handling of
such impressive set pieces that the film works as well as it does.
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NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
(film starts when the sun sets, rain or shine)
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted Sep 23, 2011 10:12 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Oct 2, 2011 10:03 PM
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Logan Square International Film Series rounds off its month of every kind of comeback film this TUESDAY night, September 27, at 8:00pm, with our screening of Mickey Rourke's comeback playing the ultimate comeback role. It's Darren Aronofsky's 2002 smash
So, how did Mickey Rourke end up so low that he needed a comeback? Well.....
As for the film, the great Roger Ebert tells us:
"I cared as deeply about Randy the Ram as any movie character I've seen this year. I cared about Mickey Rourke, too. The way this role and this film unfold, that almost amounts to the same thing. Rourke may not win the Oscar for best actor. But it would make me feel good to see him up there. It really would.
Note: THE WRESTLER is one of the year's best films. It wasn't on my 'best films' list for complicated and boring reasons."
NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
(film starts when the sun sets, rain or shine)
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted Sep 16, 2011 2:13 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Sep 23, 2011 10:39 PM
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Logan Square International Film Series continues its month of every kind of comeback film this TUESDAY night, September 20, at 8:00pm, with our screening of director Roman Polanski's comeback as "a filmmaker who matters" (David Ansen, Newsweek). It's his 2002 masterpiece
So, how did Roman Polanski end up so low that he needed a comeback? Well.....
As for the brilliant film and its tour de force performance by Adrien Brody:
"One of Mr. Brody's most appealing features -- from KING OF THE HILL
10 years ago through such varied and underseen pictures as RESTAURANT, SUMMER OF SAM, and BREAD AND ROSES more recently
-- is his quick-witted, almost smart-alecky cockiness. His Szpilman, in
the first section of THE PIANIST, has the gait of a self-satisfied
dandy and the smug smile of a man who takes charm and good fortune as
his birthright. As he plays piano in a broadcast studio, an explosion
rattles the building. He ducks, wipes some plaster off his sleeve, and
keeps playing." - A.O. Scott, New York Times
NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
(film starts when the sun sets, rain or shine)
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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posted Sep 9, 2011 1:44 PM by Peter Kaplan
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updated Sep 16, 2011 2:34 PM
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Logan Square International Film Series continues its month of every kind of comeback film this TUESDAY night, September 13, at 8:00pm, with our screening of Katharine Hepburn's smashing comeback in one of Hollywood's wittiest and sparklingest classics. It's George Cukor's 1940 screwball romcom
So, what's the story on Katharine Hepburn needing a comeback? Well...
"Hoping to create a film vehicle for herself which would erase the label of 'box office poison' that the Independent Theatre Owners of America had put on her after a number of commercial failures (including the classic BRINGING UP BABY), Hepburn happily accepted the film rights to the play from Howard Hughes who had bought them for her. She then convinced MGM's Louis B. Mayer to buy them from her for only $250,000 in return for Hepburn having veto over producer, director, screenwriter and cast." - Wikipedia
As for the brilliant film itself:
"Director George Cukor, in his romantic element, proves just what a peerless entertainer he was. [Cary] Grant may be just [Cary] Grant - debonair, dashing and dry as sawdust - yet he perfectly dovetails with a cast which teeters on the cusp of perfection [...] It is Stewart, however, who walks away effortlessly with the picture (and an Oscar) [...] The overriding message may well be cringeworthy - we're all the same yet somehow different! - but THE PHILADELPHIA STORY boasts qualities other movies merely dream of: prestige wit and drop dead glamour.
"Excellent casting, a great storyline and a sharp script mean that this remains a classic of the genre and one of Katharine Hepburn's best roles." - Jake Hamilton, Empire Online
NOTE: FILM ON TUESDAY! AT NEW LOCATION!
(film starts when the sun sets, rain or shine)
All are welcome -- just fill out the form above to make a reservation. No ticket price, donations only. Hope
to see you there: 2579 N. Milwaukee, in Logan Square proper, between the halves of Logan Boulevard. (Free street parking in the NE quadrant of Logan Square!)
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