To this day, Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) is regarded as the greatest mime ever. He may well be the only performer to have attained superstar status in that realm of performance art. Yet before reaching fame on an international scale, he distinguished himself as a hero in the French Resistance…
DVD PICK OF THE WEEK
*Editor’s note: The subject’s last name and location have been omitted from this article to protect their privacy and safety.
My favorite place to take my partner on a date is a/perture cinema. But since COVID-19 shut down the city, I brought a/perture cinema to my date, instead. On April 3, I saw on a/perture’s website that the movie Extra Ordinary had opened, and since the poster looked cute, I clicked on it. I w…
GREENSBORO, NC (April 2, 2020) – Creative Greensboro, the City’s office of arts and culture, and nonprofit ArtsGreensboro, are working together to promote streaming programs, virtual tours, and other interactive online activities that local artists, creative professionals, and arts and cultu…
1. From April 3-5, don't even get out of bed or move off the couch, because a/perture cinema has added three new movies to its virtual cinema! According to the newsletter, some of the titles include: Extra Ordinary ("Rose, a mostly sweet and lonely Irish driving instructor, must use her sup…
In 2019, 1.24 billion movie tickets were sold in the U.S. and Canada—that’s more than all major professional sports combined. Going to the movies remains the most affordable and convenient out-of-home entertainment option.
PICK OF THE WEEK
RIVERRUN RECOMMENDS
RIVERRUN RECOMMENDS: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché on TCM March 24 An audience favorite at the 2019 RiverRun International Film Festival, this engaging documentary examines Alice Guy-Blaché, one of the most under-recognized yet important filmmakers in the history of cinema. Beginning in the late 19th century, she was the only female filmmaker […]
BURBANK, Calif. (March 11, 2020)—The Walt Disney Studios has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson’s previously announced Beatles documentary. The film will showcase the warmth, camaraderie and humor of the making of the legendary band’s studio album, “Let It Be,” and their final live concert as a group, the iconic rooftop […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT DVD PICK OF THE WEEK THE BEAST AND THE MAGIC SWORD (Mondo Macabro/CAV Distributing): International horror icon Paul Naschy goes East in this 1983 fantasy/shocker (originally titled La bestia y la espada magica) that brings his signature werewolf character Waldemar Daninsky (“El Hombre Lobo”) to Japan, in an effort to cure […]
Even before its release, The Hunt aroused considerable controversy. Its initial release date last Sept. 27 was understandably postponed following a spate of shootings in the United States, and its basic storyline – liberals hunting conservatives – piqued the ire of many, including the president, despite the fact that no one had seen even a […]
RiverRun International Film Festival is committed to the health and safety of our attendees, volunteers, staff, and community. The widespread health concern about COVID-19 is a reminder of the global nature of our daily lives and interactions. Given the latest news and the request to not convene groups over 100, we must announce the cancellation […]
Writer/director Carlo Mirabella-Davis makes an auspicious feature debut with Swallow, a film that operates on – and succeeds on – numerous levels. It’s a psychological drama, a character study, a subtle social satire, a queasy thriller, and an allegory on addiction and female empowerment. Th…
With the 2020 RiverRun International Film Festival on the horizon, another local film organization – the Triad Film Collective – will also be celebrating cinema, as it presents its second annual short film showcase on March 12 at Marketplace Cinemas in Winston-Salem.
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT DVD PICK OF THE WEEK THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (Scream Factory/Shout! Factory): Released stateside as The Devil’s Bride – because distributor Twentieth Century Fox feared audiences would think it was a Western (!) – this 1968 adaptation of Denis Wheatley’s 1934 novel remains perhaps the best screen version of Wheatley’s work, […]
The Downtown Arts District Association (DADA) is enlisting the aid of Mr. Darcy & Miss Bennett for a fabulous evening of classic film, wine, sweets & a fundraiser. The event will be held Fri., Mar. 20 at The ARTC Theatre on 7th Street. Doors at 7pm. Our feature film is the classic “Pride and Prejudice” […]
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Kaleideum will welcome “wizards, muggles, and pranksters” of all ages for a magical night with an April Fool’s twistat Kaleideum North on Sat., Mar. 28 from 6 to 8:30 pm. Event guests will participate in a wide variety of activities, including watching a Live Science“Potions” presentation, meeting a “snake of extraordinary size,” sampling butterbeer, […]
GREENSBORO, NC — This year’s UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series invites you to a conversation with one of Hollywood’s most respected actors – an Academy Award winner whose roles have become cultural landmarks; a night of dance with a troupe known for its bold and visceral choreography rooted in Cuban tradition; an evening with one of the […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT DVD PICK OF THE WEEK TEOREMA (The Criterion Collection): Never a filmmaker to avoid controversy – right to the end – Pier Paolo Pasolini’s award-winning 1968 meditation on morality and religion was castigated by the Vatican, and the subsequent notoriety served only to raise Pasolini’s profile, which was likely his intent. […]
Well-made but ultimately unsatisfying, Disappearance at Clifton Hill (originally titled simply Clifton Hill) has all the earmarks of a murder/mystery and psychological thriller but is unable to bring the elements together in a compelling manner. The potential is there, the pay-off is not. Set in the titular region of Niagara Falls, the story focuses on […]
March Madness takes on a whole new meaning this year, as the 22nd annual RiverRun International Film Festival opens March 26, unleashing 173 films – 77 features and 96 shorts – from 42 different countries to screening venues in Winston-Salem in Greensboro. If the NCAA tournament wasn’t enough, RiverRun’s adding its trademark brand of big-screen […]
(Yadkinville, NC) – RiverRun International Film Festival and PBS Indie Lens partner with the Willingham Theater to present a FREE screening of the documentary, Bedlam, which takes a look into the national mental health crisis. This documentary screening will take place on March 12 at 7pm in the Willingham Theater. A post-film discussion will take […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT PICK OF THE WEEK COLOR OUT OF SPACE (RLJE Films): Having spent the better part of 25 years in directorial purgatory following his dismissal from the ill-starred 1996 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau, filmmaker Richard Stanley makes a fairly triumphant comeback with this award-winning adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1927 […]
Rooted in fact, Incitement marks director Yaron Zilberman’s first feature since the 2012 ensemble drama A Late Quartet and is clearly a project born out of passion, although its tone is methodical and its pacing meticulous. The principal character is Yigal Amir (Yehuda Nahari Halevi), the Israeli law student who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s prime […]
He won’t turn 16 until April, but Kaleab Kurtz is well on his way to becoming a show-biz veteran. He’s already completed the short films By Day’s End, Surviving Generation B: Belittled (and its follow-up, Surviving Generation B: Last Role), and Pool Ghouls, appearing as a cannibal in the post-apocalyptic web series The 31, and […]
Winston-Salem, NC — SECCA and a/perture cinema are proud to partner and present a new cult film series guaranteed to delight, frighten, and fascinate – come tremble and glee at the odd pleasures of SCREEN ODDITIES. Curated by Alex Brown, Alex Muller, and Gray Gordon, this series will offer a new cult selection every month […]
Appropriately timed for a Valentine’s Day release, The Photograph is much in the Nicholas Sparks spirit, which for some makes it irresistible and for others, eminently resistible. With attractive leads in LaKeith Stanfield and Issa Rae and a gently appealing rhythm-and-blues soundtrack, there’s no doubt that love is in the air. He plays Michael Block, […]
https://www.popculturepodcast.com/podcast/2020-video-game-preview Synopsis: This one is for all the gamers out there! We cover everything from The Last of Us 2, Marvel Avengers, Pistol Whip, Halo Infinite, Resident Evil 3, Final Fantasy VII are just a few of the games we cover on our latest episode of Zero Dark Nerdy. VR Games, PC games, Playstation 4 and […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT PICK OF THE WEEK ULZANA’S RAID (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): The third big-screen pairing of Burt Lancaster and director Robert Aldrich yielded this taut, thought-provoking 1972 Western that was mostly overlooked in its day but has since grown considerably – and deservedly – in stature. Alan Sharp’s strong screenplay, loosely on […]
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem prizes its teachers as much as its students, and late last month announced six faculty members who would receive Excellence in Teaching Awards for 2019-2020. “UNCSA educators are passionate about translating their expertise and talents into creating the conditions that best encourage the full […]
TRIAD JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 2020 GREENSBORO, NC…The annual Triad Jewish Film Festival features six thought provoking and engaging films from around the world. The six films will run from Feb. 27 – Mar. 8 and will be shown at Well-Spring Theatre, 4100 Well Spring Drive in Greensboro. Tickets are $11 in advance, $12 at the […]
(Yadkinville, NC) – The RiverRun International Film Festival, in conjunction with the PBS Indie Lens Series, partner with the Willingham Theater to present a FREE screening of the documentary Always in Seaso. This film showcases descendants of the victims and perpetrators of lynching who are working together to heal a violent history. Blending observational footage […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT DVD PICK OF THE WEEK MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Scream Factory/Shout! Factory): During the slasher era, holidays were fair game (Black Christmas, Halloween, New Year’s Evil, et al), and the romantic day named for St. Valentine turned plenty bloody in this Canadian-made 1981 shocker given a big release by Paramount Pictures, which […]
To coin a sports term, the much-acclaimed (and no less divisive) filmmaker Terrence Malick has, with his latest film, A Hidden Life, “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.” This is a wonderful film, beautiful and inspiring, and had the running time been two hours or thereabouts, it would have ranked among Malick’s best films, […]
As the Academy Awards were being handed out in Hollywood Sunday night, the AMC Classic 10 theater in Winston-Salem was showing its last film. After almost 27 years, the multiplex on Reynolda Road closed its doors for good. When the credits ended, and the screen went black, it did so forever. When I came to […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT PICK OF THE WEEK THE GREAT McGINTY (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): Screenwriter Preston Sturges reportedly offered his script for The Great McGinty (1940) for $10 – with the proviso that he make his directorial debut. The studio accepted, and the end result is a classic screwball comedy that won Sturges the […]
After the dismal double whammy of Underwater and The Turning, 2020 didn’t appear to be shaping up as a banner year for horror and science-fiction. With Gretel & Hansel, the genre regains some respectability. The film is not entirely successful, but it’s evident that screenwriter Rob Hayes and particularly director Osgood Perkins are in there, […]
On Friday, the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) will open its doors to the public to attend its annual “Best of 2018-’19 Screening” event. It’s a chance to experience and enjoy the work of these talented young filmmakers – and it’s free of charge. Topping the […]
Featured photo by Ciara Kelley “You ask yourself whether there is authenticity in the voice of the person you are listening to,” said Danny Glover at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center on Saturday, Feb. 1. The actor and activist told YES! Weekly that he recognized that quality the first time, he spoke to Bernie Sanders, which […]
Last week, Michael R. Miller, chair of the UNCSA School of Filmmaking editing faculty, discussed his early life and his decision to join the school in 2015. This week, he generously shares some memories of his adventures in the screen trade. Miller’s mentor was Paul Hirsch, the Oscar-winning editor of Star Wars (1977), who recently […]
The January doldrums continue with The Turning, an atmospheric but half-baked adaptation of the classic 1898 Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw. Not helping matters any is that the earlier screen adaptation, Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961), is considered a classic in its medium. If nothing else, the stature of The Innocents just went […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT DVD PICK OF THE WEEK FAIL SAFE (The Criterion Collection): Producer/director Sidney Lumet’s 1964 adaptation of the best-selling 1962 novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler was overshadowed that year by Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, with both films having been distributed by Columbia Pictures. (Guess which film the studio put its […]
The first movie I saw at a/perture cinema was the 2017 Darren Aronofsky film, Mother! I was still new to the Triad, and quite honestly, I was lonely, heartbroken, and I felt like a loser going to that movie alone. After the film, I remembered feeling that loneliness pass. It was, in a way, very […]
Leawood, Kan. (January 28, 2020) – AMC Theatres is thrilled to present an elevated movie-going experience to movie lovers in the Winston-Salem area with the completed renovations at AMC Hanes 12. Following a six-month refurbishment project, the theatre now features many of AMC’s most popular amenities like AMC Signature recliners, better food and drink options, […]
Michael R. Miller has worked with some remarkable filmmakers on some remarkable films: Woody Allen (Manhattan, Stardust Memories), Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull), Brian De Palma (Blow Out), Paul Schrader (Patty Hearst), Herbert Ross (Boys on the Side), Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World), and the Coen Brothers (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing). Since 2015, Miller’s been […]
Despite the holiday blockbusters and awards contenders still playing multiplexes, January has long been considered a dumping ground for new films, almost as if the studios were unloading their trash come the new year. For a quintessential example of this theorem, one need look no further, and no lower than Underwater, a soggy sci-fi shocker […]
MARK BURGER’S VIDEO VAULT DVD PICK OF THE WEEK PROPHECY (Scream Factory/Shout! Factory): Great directors don’t always make great movies, such as this 1979 ecological shocker helmed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May, The Train), this critic’s favorite filmmaker. The Environmental Protection Agency sends intrepid physician Robert Foxworth and wife Talia […]
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