National Theatre Live at the Shakespeare Theatre

C – I love living in the Washington, DC area but having lived previously in London, there’s something I really miss:  Theatre. Yes, we do have wonderful local plays, musicals and opera here, but we often have to rely on touring productions to give us theatre on a grander scale. If you are lucky enough to make it into a local or touring production, chances are you had to fight to get in. Just try getting tickets to a popular show at the Kennedy Center and you know what I mean. In London and New York, you can choose from any number of productions at any given time. Now, these cities have come to us in the form of big screen broadcasts.

I was already aware of The AMC Theatres program The Met Live in HD at AMC Theatres. This gives the viewer an opportunity to see several of the Metropolitan Opera’s productions live, but from the comfort of a reclining movie chair with popcorn in hand. (Popcorn and opera totally work together. Try it.) There are three theatres in the area that do these events: AMC Tyson’s Corner 16, Mazza Gallerie, Hoffman Centre 22.

So, yes, I was aware of the AMC program, but new to me was the National Theatre Live program at the Shakespeare Theatre. It’s not technically a live production — but it’s taped live so it really does feel like you’re there. I saw Shakespeare’s Coriolanus recently, in an innovative production staged at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Starring Tom Hiddleston (you might know him from Thor), they had to get creative with limited space and I think they did quite a spectacular job with it. Because space was so limited, the show sold out for it’s entire run almost immediately, which made it a perfect candidate for National Theatre Live, though technically not from the National Theatre itself.

I loved the production, I loved how the Shakespeare Theatre treated like a live production and the building itself is just a pleasure to hang out in. The only uncomfortable point was at the end as the cast bowed over and over again toward the camera. That kind of stuff works if you’re in the same room with them. It’s super awkward if they can’t hear you clapping.

Shakespeare Theatre
Sidney Harman Hall
610 F Street, NW
Washington, DC  20004

Pulled in by Gravity

Movie synopsis: “Dr. Ryan Stone is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone – tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.”

K- Last night I saw the movie “Gravity” at Tysons Corner IMAX theater in 3D.  If you go see the movie, which I recommend, you must see it in 3D in order to get the whole “experience.”  Not seeing it in IMAX 3D you are missing a lot as the movie is just as much about the scenery – if not more so – than the story.

The visuals of Earth from space, sunsets and stars are amazing. The actors do well in telling the story and with the IMAX, 3D you feel more a part of it. The story itself is intense. The thought of being in space let alone some disaster happening and finding yourself floating away from your vehicle in a little suit depending on oxygen in a container surrounded by dark – except for the faraway stars – pretty nerve-wracking! And yes, there are some discrepancies in the story but hey, it’s a good movie so sit back and enjoy!

C – I saw it at Tyson’s Corner as well, in IMAX 3D which was spectacular. I can’t really put my finger on what, exactly, I liked about the movie as a whole except that it all felt so real — the emotional scenes, in particular. Welling up in the movie theater wearing 3-D glasses really doesn’t work. The tears get trapped in the frames. Something to think about next time I opt for 3D. Sandra Bullock was outstanding. Her work on this movie reminds me of what she did in the movie Crash, not because the roles are similar — they aren’t — but because I hung on every word in both movies. From the very beginning I didn’t think of her as Sandra Bullock, she was another person and her role in Gravity puts her in a completely different category as an actor.

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Before Midnight at Angelika Mosaic Film Center and Café

C – On the grounds of what used to be the Merrifield Multiplex in Fairfax, anchoring the newly developed Mosaic Center and standing directly across from the new and super awesome Super Target, there is a new way to enjoy film. The Angelika Mosaic Film Center & Café opened late last year and it has quickly become the place to be. With only three other locations — two in Texas and one in New York — the Angelika Film Center isn’t a big chain. The concept, according to the website, is a state-of-the-art boutique cinema that exhibits “the highest quality art, independent and specialty films in a cutting edge theatrical environment.” IT IS GORGEOUS. Everything is new, modern and spotless. There’s a café/lounge you can relax in or you can take your meal to-go… right into the theater. They also offer, wine, beer and expresso drinks. At $13 for an adult ticket you might think it’s extraordinarily expensive, however, most other theaters in the area are about $12 for evening shows. If you catch a show before 4pm at Angelika it’s $11, and if you decide on a morning movie it very economical at $6 (M-Th only).

One might think the Angelika is all about the art house films, but Man of Steel, The Great Gatsby and Star Trek Into Darkness are all playing there right now (June 2013). It’s a nice mix that also includes Mud, Quartet and Before Midnight. I chose Before Midnight as I was a fan of the first and second movies Before Sunrise in 1995, and Before Sunset in 2004. These are not my usual kind of movies… talky, talk, talk, blahdy, blah, blah. But they work for me, somehow. Perhaps partly because the characters are my age. I grew up with them and I’ve been so interested to see what happens to them over the years. I was literally the only person in the theater — at 2pm on a Monday — which felt a bit weird, but I got over it as I was absorbed into the long scenes of continuous dialogue. (For some reason, I sat in the pre-assigned seat I chose at the ticket desk. That might be something to analyze later). If you haven’t seen the first two in the series, I’m not sure how Before Midnight would go down for you. If you have seen them and you want to continue the journey with Celine and Jesse, I’d highly recommend a trip to the theater.

Angelika Mosaic
http://www.angelikafilmcenter.com
2911 District Ave
@ Lee Hwy & Gallows Rd
Fairfax , VA 22031

Dirty Wars at E Street Cinema

C – I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know E Street Cinema existed. I mean, I knew it was technically there, I just thought it was a small one-theater operation. Kind of boutique-y and possibly a bit shabby. I was so wrong. There are eight theaters running underground and, according to the website, they screen first-run independent and foreign language films, documentary features and classic revivals. Here’s the best part: there’s beer. There’s also an espresso bar with fresh, locally-baked pastries, cookies and gourmet chocolates. But, I’m all about the beer.

On Saturday, I went to see the DC premiere of Dirty Wars. Written by Jeremy Scahill, the guy who wrote the book on Blackwater, Dirty Wars examines America’s covert war operations. The film is controversial and is worth a watch especially if you want to understand this side of the debate. That said, I felt the film relied too much on dramatic devices and, actually, Scahill himself. At the end of the film, Scahill casually stepped to the front of the theater with a microphone and announced he would be taking questions, comments and, if you wanted to yell at him, that was cool too. I love that. The film was incredibly thought-provoking and it certainly invites discussion no matter what your own views are. Having the writer and, for lack of a better term, star there to respond to audience feedback provided additional context around his thesis. And Washington, DC isn’t the easiest place to stand up and do this. Props to Scahill for having serious cojones.

You’re going to have to trust us… that’s Jeremy Scahill. Someday C will get an iPhone!

DIrty Wars
Now showing at E Street Cinema
555 11th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004

Julian Assange #Underground @FilmfestDC

C – Filmfest DC kicked off last night with the US premiere of Underground: The Julian Assange Story. This is the story of Assange’s early years hacking into US Military websites and accessing top-secret information. The film was decent, the story intriguing, but the bias was clear. Director Robert Connolly looks on Assange as a crusading hero who has been wronged by the establishment. His film reflected that in slow motion, dramatically scored scenes of a SWAT team moving into Assange’s home and taking him into custody. Rachel Griffiths and Anthony Lapaglia were the two big names in the movie and it’s worth a watch as long as you understand whose rearview mirror you are seeing this through.

Big coup for the organizers of FilmFest DC… they got Assange himself on the phone to speak to the audience.  Live from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he talked in circles about transparency and, at times, got things very, very wrong. “Nixon’s reign as secretary of the State Department…”? Yes, he said that. He also spoke in soundbites – “All political theory is bankrupt”, “A mobile phone is a tracking device that also makes calls.” – which is a strategy that has served him well in the press. This is because nothing else he says in between those nuggets makes any sense whatsoever and, honestly, he sounded more like a wackadoo than the hero the film made him out to be.

K: The opening film @FilmfestDC “Underground,” which was about Julian Assange before he became infamous for Wikileaks was an interesting watch. It was a good story but not a documentary. I hadn’t realized that he had been arrested before for hacking into companies and government systems as a teenager but didn’t serve any time. As C said, the story was skewed in Assange’s favour and it made him out to be an activist/journalist who fought for people’s rights through hacking. This didn’t make the movie less interesting although it did “gloss” through many of the events.  All of the actors gave a strong performance and the actor who played Assange as a teenager actually looked like it could have been him at that age.

What made the event and movie more interesting is Assange “dialed-in” to chat with the audience and answer questions. During the Q & A he mentioned that he is going to run for office in Australia – not sure how he’s going to do that from the Embassy of Ecuador.  He’s also writing another book but was unwilling to share what he was writing about. He also told everyone that their lives were fully transparent due to the usage of the Internet, smart phone and other electronic devices. Overall, through the movie and his discussion, I got the feeling that Assange is a narcissist. I just hope he doesn’t hack any more systems because regardless of what he thinks, there are innocent people that he carelessly hurts or even kills when he releases classified or proprietary information to the public. He just doesn’t know or doesn’t want to know it.

Opening night of Filmfest DC

After party at Bar Louie

Pick up a free program or download it from http://www.filmfestdc.org

Filmfest DC
April 11-21, 2013
Various locations throughout DC
http://www.filmfestdc.org