Thursday, April 3, 2014

Cinema Showdown: Patriotic Superheroes and Leather-Clad Antiheroes Edition

Posted By on Thu, Apr 3, 2014 at 10:30 AM

I’m not much of a comic book movie guy, but I know a lot of you are. Hell, rumor has it Tucson Weekly Online Editor Henry Barajas sleeps with a worn VHS copy of Tim Burton’s Batman under his pillow. That’s dedication, and I can respect that. Speaking of dedication, are you gung-ho enough to whoop up some patriotic fervor and rally behind your boy Captain America? Prove your worth when Cinemark Park Place and Cinemark El Con present The Captain America Double Feature tonight at 5:30 p.m. It starts off with 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger and wraps up with the premiere of this year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. For more information on this red, white and ass-kickin’ blue event, hit up cinemark.com for more information.

The good folks over at Exploded View are rolling out three globe-trotting events this week. Our first stop is in the copper mines of eastern Nevada, where experimental video artist Lucy West documented the production of raw materials to China, where copper becomes electrical wire. The resulting documentary is called China Town, and it’s playing tonight at 7:30 p.m. West will be on hand to present the film, and admission is $5. Our second stop is on Sunday, April 6, for the North African Film Fest: Women of the Maghreb. Starting at 12:30 p.m., this festival features several short and full-length films, plus a few speakers from the UA Center for Middle Eastern & North Africa studies. On Wednesday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m., our last stop is in gritty, sexy Berlin for Now I Want To Laugh, a selection of 16mm films and other performances from Berlin-based experimental filmmakers Anja Dornieden and Juan David González Monroy. Admission is $5. For information on all these events, visit explodedviewgallery.org or call 366-1573.

Over at the Loft Cinema, the month-long Wes Anderson retrospective comes to a halt tonight with his sophomore film, the 1998 classic Rushmore. I’ve always said Rushmore is a perfect gem of a movie, and upon a recent viewing, I stand by my declaration. Not only is it my favorite Anderson film, but it’s also my favorite post-slapstick Bill Murray film (Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers is a close second). Jason Schwartzman plays Max, an extra curriculum overachiever and an academic slacker at a fancy prep school. Murray plays Mr. Blume, a sad sack of a millionaire who once went to the same institution. Both of them fall in love with a 1st grade teacher and vie for her affection through brilliant montages set to primo British Invasion-era The Kinks and The Who. If you haven’t seen it in a while, it’s worth another viewing. If it’s your first time, you’re in for a treat. Extra bonus: it’s in 35mm! It starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are regular admission.

On Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5, the Loft presents the finest post-apocalyptic film ever made, 1982’s The Road Warrior. The second film in the Mad Max trilogy (soon to be a quartet), The Road Warrior finds leather-clad antihero Max protecting a peaceful band of wasteland settlers from an ultra-violent gang of punk rockers, leather-daddy bikers and their leader: the terrifying Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah, The Lord Humongous. This film is meant to be seen on the big screen; not only is it a visual feast, but you just gotta hear that cranked-up sound of motors revving and tires squealing. The Road Warrior is part of the Late Night Cult Classics series, and both screenings are at 10 p.m. Tickets are regular admission. For more info on other special events this week at the Loft, visit loftcinema.com or call 795-0844.

Tags: , , , , ,