Saturday, July 30, 2011

Double Feature Blogathon: Port Cineaste Grand Re-Opening


As part of Go, See, Talk's new exciting blogathon I decided to dig out the old dream of re-opening the Fremantle Port Cineaste as a cinema instead of the amateur dramatics that goes on there at the moment.

The dream is to have a place that will serve great coffee in the foyer and screen old DVD's too, a boutique bar for those who like a beer or wine with their movie, perhaps an outside screen for summer season and truly delicious baked goods all year round.


Alas I heard about this blogathon a little too late to give it my full attention so I've come up with a schedule that should suit Fremantle (and possibly cheated a little too) in less time than I would have liked.

Back To Work Mondays for something a little more upbeat, something fun and perhaps farcical to make Mondays a day to look forward to instead of dreaded.

Noting like the combination of Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon to lighten the mood, sit back, sip some champagne perhaps and enjoy Lemmon and MacLaine in The Apartment and follow it up with the wonderful any day of the week Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot.

Tight Arse Tuesdays is a Perth tradition if not the rest of Australia and is a great night for all those couples looking for a cheap date. Something for him, something for her and maybe some free pizza thrown in (whilst stocks last.)

I may be thinking with my financial brain here but is there a bigger girlie movie than Pretty Woman? Perhaps putting baby in the corner but I'm not sure. Julia and Richard, yuk to both of them, Jason Alexander is great in it though! And after sitting through Pretty Woman the guy deserves some good old fashioned man time, Scorsese's finest and bloodiest (?) Goodfellas.

Monster Movie Wednesday may well turn in to Disaster Movie Wednesday as there is a finite demand for nothing but Godzilla movies but the suggestion was made and Leah said she'd definitely want to go to there (as Liz Lemon might say,) free dinosaur origami with every ticket purchased.

Mega Shark is a truly laughable movie, totally undeserving of cinematic play but can you imagine seeing the plane getting eaten by a shark on a giant screen. Cool. And Leah loves Godzilla, I don't know why.

Punky Brewsterdactyl

Cult Thursday is the place to come for your fix of all the hippest flicks, the skinniest black ties, the most spoons to throw and all those movies that I generally like to blog about (spoons only available during screenings of The Room.) I read Cult Thursday and think Tofurkey, perhaps a name change might be needed?

Alex Cox and Gregg Araki, like two peas in a pod. Repo Man is beyond awesome and heavily influenced Araki who then influenced Cox with his own pieces of wonder such as The Doom Generation. I wanted to have a Ben Wheatley double feature but I've reviewed both of his films recently (here and here) so that can wait for a later week in my cinemas existence.

Sci-Friday I couldn't resist, you can use it, I know it's probably the best pun ever (thank you Archer.) Aside from Alex at Film Forager I'm not sure who else would turn up to watch classic sci-fi but I intend to mix and match, one vintage, one modern every week. Sci-Friday is sponsored by Elizabeth's Bookshop Fremantle, providing awesome vintage science fiction for as little as $1.

Anytime you pass up the opportunity to use the incredible artwork from Metropolis you're passing up looking at something wonderful. How amazing would it be to see this at the cinema? And to follow up with the finest piece of science fiction cinema in recent memory, Moon, which I'm certain Hels at a whole load of blah will agree with me on.

Matinee Saturday a last minute cheat because I realised I'd neglected an entire revenue stream, the kids. Specialising in great movies for all the family but probably not Disney as it will cost a lot! Free activity bags and 'Let's Make Movies' workshops for the kids whilst the adults get drunk in the bar.


Family films aren't all animated, I really loved Shorts, it was so silly and so much fun and featured the line "your canyon needs more doom." I know I said no Disney but I almost picked Brave Little Toaster in the last blogathon because it holds such fond memories for me, it finally gets it's turn. And shout out to the blogger who created this fun re-imagining of the poster - El Guapon and La Flaca.

Film Noir Saturday Night was going to be classic cinema night but again my own particular interests take more importance here. A style and mood of film making more impressive than any other providing hundreds of incredible films largely forgotten and influencing countless modern films. Spotlights on full, providing ample shadows to hide in with your dames.

Something old, something new perhaps. One of my favourites of the genre combining everything that is great of the classic period, The Maltese Falcon. Bogie, Lorre, Greenstreet, to see the three of them on the big screen where they belong, what a rush. Directed by John Huston and written by pulp writer extraordinaire Dashiell Hammett, the only thing that comes close is the pairing of Wilder and Chandler on Double Indemnity. Paired with a riotous blast of a movie, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, in which even Val Kilmer is great. So much fun paying homage and taking off all the classic noir cliche's but still remaining very much it's own wonderful movie.

Sunday Session is another Perth tradition, this chilled out cinema version will be bringing all you laid back cinema goers the very best in World Cinema with the bar open from midday, cheesy chips optional.

An incredibly tough choice for opening weekend of the Sunday Session, but in the end I plumped for combining two of my absolute favourite films of all time. Godard's incredible debut A Bout De Souffle is super cool thanks to Seberg and Belmondo. Then Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's Last Life In The Universe is just so melancholy and beautiful and touching, a perfect Sunday night movie.

That was fun, can I count on wonderful readers to keep my business alive or is my schedule not up your alley? Don't forget to blah below.

28 comments:

  1. so, i seem to have ignored the one rule applied to this - triple feature sunday. lets add the wonderful (and most importantly short) Tony Takitani.

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  2. This is the second time I see metropolis...I am curious now!! was it that good.

    If I don't read the explanation, I would raise my eyebrow on the connection between Pretty woman and good fellas.

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  3. haha, i hope you read the explanation otherwise you're right, it looks crazy. it's what custard might call steak and cheese night. my entire week was going to be one of those. metropolis really is that good. not only is it a major influence on the entire 90 years of film that came afterwards but it stands up as a great film worth watching now. thanks for stopping by novroz, it's always nice to see a enw face.

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  4. Great list, your right, spooky how we came up with a couple of the same movies.

    @ Novroz, Metropolis is a must see.

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  5. at least we have taken the opportunity to share different items from the huge selection of brilliant metropolis artwork andy

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  6. Excellent choices! Love Monday, Friday & Saturday night, in particular.

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  7. Never thought I would say this but I would totally go to Monster Wednesday just to see Mega Shark on the big screen. Who would have thought that film would end up being better than the Godzilla remake?

    While I enjoy Repo Man, I do not think I could sit through The Doom Generation again. The last half of that film disturbed the heck out of me.

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  8. Very nice week, and I really dig your themes! I'm not going to lie though, I always disagree with people labeling THE APARTMENT as a straight-up comedy. It has some very funny moments, of course, but there are parts of it that make me cry every time. I adore the film completely but wouldn't use it to "lighten the mood" because it makes me so sad! Can't go wrong with SOME LIKE IT HOT though.

    Thanks for the shoutout in your sci-fi section! I love both of these films, and have actually seen METROPOLIS in a theater (last year when they released the restored version in some cities). Amazing to see it on a big screen, truly. And MOON is so excellent.

    I would definitely support your theater. I would probably be there for all the Cult, Sci-Fi, and World Cinema days, as well as plenty of the Noir and Back to Work Mondays!

    I really need to re-watch LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, which I remember loving but can't actually remember many details about.

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  9. @alex- i'm sorry, i forgot, the apartment is one of those movies i remember the jolly stuff from and only ever remember the less comedic when i'm watching it.

    i'm extremely jealous of you seeing metropolis at a cinema. that kind of thing just never happens in perth.

    see you in the queue for our movie themed gingerbread men.

    @cs - i'm not sure why leah likes godzilla, i didn't enjoy it either but as part of her life savings went in to reopening the cinema i had to let her have a say.

    i know what you mean about doom generation, i couldn;t find a great poster for nowhere though so in my rush i took doom generation instead!

    @alex ramon - thanks for stopping by, new faces are fun. there's something about film noir on a big screen in a dark cinema isn't there. heaven.

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  10. There are a lot of theaters local to me that do specials on Tuesdays. $4 tickets (as opposed to $8 or more) are VERY appealing these days, although it means I have to hit a gross little theater instead of something nicer.

    Great list. I'd be there, especially for the DANGER ZONE! Friday.

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  11. alan - you have no idea how cheap $8 is to my ears. even with my membership card the cheapest ticket at my local arthouse is $11. back in england we had the unlimited card which was 12GBP per month (i think) which meant we could go to the cinema as much as we liked all year. them's were the days. i saw so many terrible movies that way.

    yeah i had a million ideas and it seems a lot of them were had by other bloggers too so instead i went with something for everyone. thanks for the support. how did you feel about the second series of archer by the way?

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  12. Love this. Love how you added the idea of re-opening an old cinema. So many more theaters in the States need to serve beer.

    Wednesday would be so awful, but so awesome. I'm there. And even though I'm not an immense fan of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I like Saturday too. That's a good idea.

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  13. nicholas - thanks for stopping by. just think of the awesome origami monsters you could collect by being a regular visitor to monster movie wednesday. that should soften the blow. i'm interested to know what you didn't like about kiss kiss bang bang.

    i have 2 anecdotes to share about local cinemas currently in existence. for now i will mention the fact that the cinema i am a member of has a bar yet i have never bought beer there. it's odd because the idea appeals greatly.

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  14. Adore your Saturday night - one of the greatest classic noirs ever made followed by a brilliant take down/homage to the genre.

    I'd also love to get in on the sci-fi double feature on Friday. MOON is great, and I've actually never METROPLIS (I'm spitting that I recently missed the chance to see it projected on the big screen here in Melbourne)

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  15. tom - as if i needed another reason to feel inadequate about my home town, why is it ok to play classic films in melbourne and sydney but not in perth?

    thanks for stopping by. i never really thought about film noir being as popular as it seems to be. i think the best nights of the week are the ones where you could easily pick 10 different pairings without thinking. BIG SLEEP/BRICK, RUNNING MAN/GAMER for example. man i need to open a cinema.

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  16. WOW look how busy you are Toby!!!

    Great list matey, I wish I had bothered to get off my fat arse and do this meme/blogathon.

    I love Tight Arsed Tuesdays!! Free Pizza I am IN!!

    Hope you are well my friend

    C

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  17. Um, I think the question needs to be why don't you like Godzilla?
    And I am clearly an authority on the matter because I am watching Titanic as we speak.

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  18. custard - so glad you could make a visit to my little cinema. tight arse tuedays works everywhere in perth. all kinds of stuff extra cheap. you'll love it when you move here :p

    leah - godzilla sucks. everyone says so. but minds they are a changing on titanic, it's slowly turning in to a better movie in peoples heads. just ask custard.

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  19. Toby, mate I would move my lot out there at the drop of a hat!!! I really would. But you just have no call for my skills!! HAHA Not that I have any!

    Also don't bring me into this Titanic debate....I hate the film (sorry mate)

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  20. seriously custard? i thought that would be right up your street! in all honesty i have been thinking about spending another 3 hours of my life watching that boat sink just to see if its as bad as i remember. but 3 hours is a lot of life to give up on it twice.

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  21. You have been featured in a follow up to Double Feature Theatre, take a look here

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  22. I'm in with Custard. It took less time for the boat to sink than it takes to watch the movie. I've managed to make it through two-thirds, and I had to be liquored up to make that happen.

    24 GBP/month to see all the movies you wanted? I might have taken them up on the offer and just seen EVERYTHING. That's like 30 USD? Something in that neighborhood? Bloody hell, it's been too long since I've had to exchange currency and the last time it was USD to Rands, at 1:9... nothing cost me any money, especially if I charged it.

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  23. alan - 12gbp per month each so yeah 24gbp for the two of us to see everything that got released that year. whilst there was a lot of awful movies (2012) there was a lot of great stuff too (Merry Gentleman) 12 GBP = 19USD right now. so yeah it was an absolute bargain and the best thing we did in a year of living in england.

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  24. What a great way to start the week with The Apartment and Some Like it Hot! I think I'll be there for film noir Saturday too.

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  25. dan - i very much appreciate that, it was a spur of the moment replacement for action monday and it's certainly captured the community imagination. how about double indemnity/sunset boulevard for a full on classic noir night?

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  26. Interesting, Metropolis/Moon, very epic followed by simple but effective sci-fi. I'm impressed:)

    And man, it's been decades since I saw The Brave Little Toaster...way to pull that out of left field:P Thanks for being part of this!

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  27. Love the idea of cult movie Thursdays. I would be there every week. :)

    Also, Film Noir Saturday is pretty awesome. Great choices all around.

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  28. marc - much like star wars did, moon should really turn sci-fi on it's head and everyone could make powerful thoughtful simple movies about what it is to be human.

    eric - i see you had your own cult cinema night, i'm sure your double feature could guest star here! thanks for stoppping by.

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