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Film
The China Hustle Exposes a Local Tie to a Still-Unfolding Financial Threat
The China Hustle—an engrossing documentary that exposes, as Vanity Fair put it, “the biggest financial scandal you’ve never heard of”—begins with images of high rises and bustling downtowns against the conciliatory words of President Richard Nixon toward America’s then-enemy, the People’s Republic of China. Great, I thought to myself while taking this in, right from […]
![Watch Me Fly [Special Screenings, July 12-19]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/screenings-the-greatest-showman_20th-century-fox-11-348x180.jpg)
Watch Me Fly [Special Screenings, July 12-19]
Andy Irons: Kissed By God. Surfing champ Andy Irons’ struggles with bipolar disorder and opioid addiction are covered in this documentary. The pride of Hawaii has said he hopes his story will dispel myths about two ferocious diseases. Regency Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, (949) 673-8350. Thurs., July 12. Call for show time. […]
Now See This: The Hidden Fortress
@ The Frida Cinema
This week in “awesome film happenings you don’t see everyday,” the 1958 Akira Kurosawa epic The Hidden Fortress is being screened at The Frida Cinema, as part of this month’s hat tip to the influential Japanese director. Credited as one of the films responsible for inspiring George Lucas’ Star Wars, reigning Kurosawa collaborator Toshiro Mifune […]
Now See This: Cinema Paradiso
@ Bowers Museum
The Bowers Museum’s already molto dolce Italian cinema series further sweetens the deal, with an offer that’s too good to resist. Before screening possibly the most subversively romantic movie about film ever, they offer basic Italian language instruction to help you follow the smart, funny dialog of Giuseppe Tornatore’s instant classic and 1988 Academy Award-winner, Cinema […]
Shore Stories are 6 Movies Against Offshore Drilling Showing in Surf City TONIGHT!
Sorry for the late notice on this, but I was putting together Special Screenings and noticed I’d missed one. Shore Stories, which are six short documentaries aimed at building public opposition to offshore drilling, screens at 6:30 TONIGHT in Huntington Beach. Curated by Working Films and allied organizations, the shorts highlight the grassroots resistance taking […]
Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You Is the Best Kind of Interruption for Hollywood
Boots Riley’s directorial feature, Sorry to Bother You, could be the satirical comedy film of this generation—or, at least, it should be. With its bold, original storyline and firebrand comedy chops, it’s a wildly surreal, outlandish romp imbued with radical politics and an awareness of societal struggles such as urban poverty; political movements such as […]
![Yellow Rose of Leisureland [Special Screenings, July 5-12]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/screenings-downsizing_paramount-pictures-4-348x180.jpg)
Yellow Rose of Leisureland [Special Screenings, July 5-12]
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? This documentary takes you to the heart of the late Fred Rogers’ career, which he dedicated to how best to speak with young kids even beyond Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, his PBS children’s show. Regency South Coast Village, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana, (714) 557-5701. Thurs., July 5, 11:45 a.m., […]
![Outdoor Movie Night! [Special Screenings, June 28-July 5]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/screenings-brigadoon_mgm-1-348x180.jpg)
Outdoor Movie Night! [Special Screenings, June 28-July 5]
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? This documentary takes you to the heart of the late Fred Rogers’ career, which he dedicated to how best to speak with young kids, even beyond Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, his PBS children’s show. Regency South Coast Village, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana, (714) 557-5701. Thurs., June 28, 11:45 a.m., […]
Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town is an Inventive Indie
Watching Mackenzie Davis in the low-budget indie Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town had me thinking about Cary Grant in that most Hollywood of classics, Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. That’s not because of the acting by the leads, which is masterful in both, but because Davis spends most of Izzy’s 86-minute runtime sweating up […]
The Year of Spectacular Men Is Un-Spectacular But Still a Feel-Good Watch
Post-graduate malaise, quarter-life crises and relationship woes collide in The Year of Spectacular Men. This drama-comedy explores the life and relationships of its main character, Izzy Klein, and how a year of failed romances and taking chances in life and career moves prove that growing pains continue well into someone’s mid-twenties. The indie film is […]
![We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat [Special Screenings, June 21-28]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/screenings-jaws_universal-pictures-11-348x180.jpg)
We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat [Special Screenings, June 21-28]
Andy Irons: Kissed By God. Surfing champ Andy Irons’ struggles with bipolar disorder and opioid addiction are covered in this documentary. The pride of Hawaii has said he hopes his story will dispel myths about two ferocious diseases. Regency Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, (949) 673-8350. Thurs., June 21. Call for times. $15; […]
![Fly Away and Be Free [Special Screenings, June 14-21]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/screenings-Brothers-of-the-Wind_Terra-Mater-Film-Studio-3-348x180.jpg)
Fly Away and Be Free [Special Screenings, June 14-21]
Ghost Stories. Professor Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman, who also co-directed and co-wrote with Jeremy Dyson) exposes phony psychics and “supernatural” hooey on his television show. His skepticism is put to the test with the cases of an abandoned asylum’s night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) haunted by disturbing visions; an edgy young man (Alex Lawther) involved in […]
![You Can’t Repeat the Past [Special Screenings, June 7-14]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/screenings-the-great-gatsby_warner-bros-17-348x180.jpg)
You Can’t Repeat the Past [Special Screenings, June 7-14]
RGB. Betsy West and Julie Cohen present a revelatory documentary on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who at age 85 finds herself an unlikely pop-culture icon. Directors Cut Cinema at Regency Rancho Niguel, 25471 Rancho Niguel Rd., Laguna Niguel, (949) 831-0446. Thurs., June 7, 11:45 a.m., 2:05, 4:25, 6:45 & 9:05 p.m. $9.50-$12.50; […]
Alex Jouve’s Drinks, Crime and Prohibition Shows How the Wets Won
Early in part one of the two-part Smithsonian Channel special Drinks, Crime and Prohibition, a talking head looks into the camera to say people today believe they know all about the decade-long national ban on alcohol that went into full effect in 1920. But as shown in producer/director Alex Jouve’s excellent television documentary, there were […]
Keep the AC Running for Our Summer 2018 Film Preview!
It’s been a good year so far for movies. And while audiences are plugged into online streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu (and with good reason—have you seen Wild Wild Country yet?!), it can be hard to pay attention to what’s coming to the big screen, too. That’s why I’ve come up with this […]
![Let’s Be Logical About This [Special Screenings, May 31-June 7]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/screenings-star-trek-beyond_paramount-pictures-8-348x180.jpg)
Let’s Be Logical About This [Special Screenings, May 31-June 7]
Boogie Nights. A six-film Directors Series tribute to Paul Thomas Anderson kicks off with his 1997 journey into the porno industry of the late 1970s/early ’80s. An idealistic producer (Burt Reynolds), who aspires to turn dirty films into an art form, recruits a well-hung greenhorn (Mark Wahlberg), who is introduced to an extended “family” of […]
George Costanza vs. Dana Rohrabacher (Featuring Harley Rouda)
I don’t know if Harley Rouda will be one of the two candidates in the 48th Congressional District race to advance beyond the June 5 primary, but the Laguna Beach businessman has so far won Funniest Campaign Advertisement honors. That’s because the Democrat’s campaign just posted “Rouda vs. Rohrabacher Debate: Moderated by Jason Alexander.” Rohrabacher (R-Huntington […]
![Summer Lovin’ [Special Screenings, May 24-31]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/screenings-grease_paramount-6-348x180.jpg)
Summer Lovin’ [Special Screenings, May 24-31]
Kiss the Joy: The Story of Joan Lind Van Blom. Jean Strauss’ documentary is about a flag girl who walked into a Long Beach boathouse to learn how to be a sculler. Even though she had never before been a competitive athlete, Blom rose to the top of U.S. women’s rowing before taking on the […]
Lebowski Fest Brings Saddam, the Real Dude and Logjammin! Car to Fountain Bowl
Saddam, Jesus Quintana’s bowling teammate Liam, Karl Hungus’ convertible, a whole bunch of Dudes and the real-life inspiration for Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski gather at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley Saturday night. That is when and where part two of Lebowski Fest LA, the celebration of all things The Big Lebowski, will be held–and […]
Film Adaptation Breathes New Life Into The Seagull
How do you breathe new life into a play Anton Chekhov wrote in 1895? First, you have it adapted by a relatively young but talented writer. Next, you turn the project over to a hungry director. Finally, you assemble a talented cast of veteran actors and acclaimed newcomers. That strategy was employed for a thoroughly […]
![He Had It Coming [Special Screenings, May 17-24]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/screenings-chicago_miramax-7-348x180.jpg)
He Had It Coming [Special Screenings, May 17-24]
Let the Sunshine In. Claire Denis co-wrote and directed the 2017 rom-dramedy about a divorced Parisian artist and mother (Juliette Binoche) looking for true love. In French with English subtitles. Directors Cut Cinema at Regency Rancho Niguel, 25471 Rancho Niguel Rd., Laguna Niguel, (949) 831-0446. Thurs., May 17, 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:40, 7:15 & 9:30 […]