Movies for January 2018: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Disaster Artist

Hugh is hosting in January. Both movies to see are showing locally in theaters now:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

 A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.

Director: Martin McDonagh
Writer: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell

The Disaster Artist (2017)

When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.

Director: James Franco
Writers: Scott Neustadter (screenplay), Michael H. Weber (screenplay), Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell (authors of the book "The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made")
Stars: James Franco, Dave Franco, Ari Graynor

Scores for December 2017 Movies

• The Florida Project (2017): 7.5
• The 400 Blows (1959): 6.7

Films of Merit

• A Special Day (1977) 
• Boogie Nights (1997)
• Coraline (2009)
• Cuba and the Cameraman (2017)
• Frontier (TV series)
• Happyish (TV series)
• Hard Eight (1996)
• Hollywood Party (1934)
• Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)
• Mudbound (2017)
• Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• Spy (2015)
• The Big Sick (2017)

Special Event: Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA - through May 20, 2018 at the Portland Art Museum

Movies for December 2017: The 400 Blows and The Florida Project

Steve is hosting in December and the movies to see are:

The 400 Blows (1959)

Moving story of a young boy who, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.

Director: François Truffaut
Writers: François Truffaut (scenario), Marcel Moussy (adaptation)
Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier

The Florida Project (2017)

Set over one summer, the film follows precocious 6-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World.

Director: Sean Baker

Writers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch

Stars: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe 

Scores from November's Movies

Lucky (2017): 7.63 / 10

Paris, Texas (1984): 6.11 / 10

Films of Merit

• Abstract: The Art of Design (TV series)
• If I Were You (2012)
• Paterson (2016)
• Stranger Things (TV series)

Movies for November 2017: Lucky and Paris, Texas

We have moved this meeting back one week to Wednesday, November 8th. 

Carl has picked the November films, but because he helped Jon by providing the meeting place and food last month, Jon is providing the venue and food this month.

Location is Georgia Lee's home (Jon's mother's!), whose address is 395 NW Brynwood Lane, Portland 97229. A link to the location in Google Maps is here: https://goo.gl/maps/pbJztmzb4HU2

There is sufficient parking available in the driveway and to its sides, but if you want to leave early (this means you, Don!), park in one of the spaces out by the street.

The movies to see are:

Lucky (2017)

The spiritual journey of a ninety-year-old atheist.

Director: John Carroll Lynch

Writers: Logan Sparks, Drago Sumonja

Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Ron Livingston

Paris, Texas (1984)

Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.

Director: Wim Wenders

Writers: L.M. Kit Carson (adaptation), Sam Shepard

Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell 

Scores from October Meeting

• Lolita (1962) 4.7 / 10
• A Clockwork Orange (1971) 5.2 / 10

Films of Merit

• Barry Lyndon (1975)
• Blade Runner - Director's Cut (1982)
• Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
• Five Came Back (TV series)
• Legends of the Fall (1994)
• Master of None (TV series)
• Mitt (2014)
• Spielberg (2017)
• The Deuce (TV series)
• The Dresser (1983)
• The Little Foxes (1941)
• World War II in HD Colour (TV series)

Offers to Check Out

Moviepass.com: Subscription service that gets you into theaters to see as many movies as you want in a month

Filmstruck.com: Streaming service for the Criterion Collection of films

Movies for October 2017: Lolita and A Clockwork Orange

Jon L is hosting in October.

IMPORTANT: We are moving the date for this meeting back to Wednesday, October 11th. The meeting will be held at Carl's house due to Jon's remodeling work.

We will have a special guest for the next meeting, Mario Falsetto, PhD and Professor Emeritus in Film Studies at Concordia University (Montreal).

The movies to see are:

Lolita (1962)

A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a fourteen-year-old nymphet.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Vladimir Nabokov (screenplay and novel)
Stars: James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Writers: Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Anthony Burgess (novel)

Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates

Films of Merit 

• A Hologram for the King (2016)
• Black Mirror (TV series)
• In the Electric Mist (2009)
• Liberal Arts (2012)
• Logan Lucky (2017)
• Lost in America (1985)
• Master of None (TV series)
• Norsemen (TV series)
• Paper Man (2009)
• RV (2006)
• The Big Sick (2017)
• The Bridge (TV series)
• The Glass Castle (2017)

Aggregate Ratings for Last Month's Films

Detroit (2017)  6.14 / 10

Wind River (2017)  7.09 / 10

Movies for September: Wind River and Detroit

Don is hosting in September and the movies to see are:

Wind River (2017)

An FBI agent teams with a town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.

Director: Taylor Sheridan

Writer: Taylor Sheridan

Stars: Kelsey Asbille, Jeremy Renner, Julia Jones 

Detroit (2017)

Amidst the chaos of the Detroit Rebellion, with the city under curfew and as the Michigan National Guard patrolled the streets, three young African American men were murdered at the Algiers Motel.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Writer: Mark Boal

Stars: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith 

Films of Merit

An Idiot Abroad (TV series)

Belle de Jour (1967)

Detectorists (TV series)

Foyle's War (TV series)

Grantchester (TV series)

I'm Sorry (TV series)

The Big Sick (2017)

The Bridge (TV series)

The Hero (2017)

Wallander (TV series)

Special Movie Venue:
Hollywood Forever Cemetery (showing Ghost World on August 26, 2017)

Movies for August 2017: Coming Home and Dunkirk

John C is hosting this month and the movies to see are:

Dunkirk (2017)

Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writer: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, Aneurin Barnard

Coming Home (1978)

A woman whose husband is fighting in Vietnam falls in love with another man who suffered a paralyzing combat injury there.

Director: Hal Ashby

Writers: Waldo Salt (screenplay), Robert C. Jones (screenplay), Nancy Dowd (story), Rudy Wurlitzer (uncredited)

Stars: Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern

Films of Merit

• GLOW (TV series)
• My Fair Lady (1964)
• Ocean's Eleven (2001)
• The Beguiled (2017)
• The Bridge (TV series)
• The Hero (2017)
• Wonder Woman (2017)
• Zabriskie Point (1970)

Movies for July 2017: I, Daniel Blake and I Am Not Your Negro

Bill T is hosting in July and the movies to see are:

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

After having suffered a heart-attack, a 59-year-old carpenter must fight the bureaucratic forces of the system in order to receive Employment and Support Allowance.

Director: Ken Loach

Writer: Paul Laverty (screenplay)

Stars: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Sharon Percy 

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.

Director: Raoul Peck

Writers: James Baldwin (writings), Raoul Peck (scenario)

Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte 

Films of Merit 

• I Love Dick (TV series)
• Master of None (TV series)
• My Cousin Rachel (2017)
• Moby Dick (1956)
• Queen of the Desert (2015)
• Silicon Valley (TV series)
• The Zookeeper's Wife (2017)

• Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer 

Movies for June 14th: Being There (1979) and Going in Style (1979)

Hugh is hosting in June.

IMPORTANT:  Note that we are moving the meeting back one week to Wednesday, June 14th.

The movies to see are:

Being There (1979)

A simple, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful businessman and an insider in Washington politics.

Director: Hal Ashby
Writers: Jerzy Kosinski (novel), Jerzy Kosinski (screenplay)
Stars: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas

Being There is showing on the big screen at the Hollywood Theater on Thursday, May 25th. Click here for details.

Going in Style (1979)

Three friends who are living on the dole decide to organize a bank robbery.

Director: Martin Brest
Writers: Martin Brest (screenplay), Edward Cannon (story by)
Stars: George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg

Films of Merit

• Black Mirror (TV series)
• Bosch (TV series)
• Fargo (TV series)
• Louis C.K. 2017 (2017)
• Outlander (TV series)
• Oregon Shakespeare Festival (TV documentary)
• The Invitation (2015)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
• Woman in Gold (2015)

Movies for May: Winter on Fire and The Overnighters

Joe is hosting in May and the movies to see are:

Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)

A documentary on the unrest in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, as student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.

Director: Evgeny Afineevsky
Writer: Den Tolmor
Stars: Bishop Agapit, Catherine Ashton, Serhii Averchenko 

The Overnighters (2014)

Broken, desperate men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local Pastor risks everything to help them.

Director: Jesse Moss
Writer: Jesse Moss
Stars: Jay Reinke, Keegan Edwards

Films of Merit

• A Life in Pictures (? - no link available)
• A Man of No Importance (1994)
• Ally Long (? - no link available)
• Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005)
• Elle (2016)
• Finding Vivian Maier (2013)
• Going in Style (1979)
• I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
• Kedi (2016)
• Leap Year (2010)
• Running on Empty (1988)
• Tangerine (2015)
• The Last of Sheila (1973)
• Where to Invade Next (2015)

For those visiting LA:  Felix in Hollywood Walking Tour

Moves for April 2017: The Whistleblower and A United Kingdom

Dean is hosting in April and the movies to see are:

The Whistleblower (2010)

A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.

Director: Larysa Kondracki
Writers: Larysa Kondracki, Eilis Kirwan
Stars: Rachel Weisz, Monica Bellucci, Vanessa Redgrave

A United Kingdom (2016)

 The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams, put his kingdom into political and diplomatic turmoil.

Director: Amma Asante
Writers: Guy Hibbert (screenplay), Susan Williams (book)
Stars: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton

Films of Merit

20th Century Women (2016)
Arrival (2016)
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Lion (2016)
Papillon (1973)
The Eagle Huntress (2016)
The King's Choice (2016)
The Saboteurs (The Heavy Water War) mini-series
Victoria (mini-series)

The History and Culture of Africa (PBS)

Movies for March 2017: Fences and Hidden Figures

Bill G is hosting in March and the movies to see are:

Fences (2016)

A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.

Director: Denzel Washington
Writers: August Wilson (screenplay), August Wilson (based upon his play "Fences")
Stars: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson

Hidden Figures (2016)

The story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program.

Director: Theodore Melfi

Writers: Allison Schroeder (screenplay), Theodore Melfi (screenplay), Margot Lee Shetterly (book)

Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe

Films of Merit from our February 2017 meeting

• Arrival (2016)
• Chef’s Table (TV series)
• Command and Control (2016)
• Genius (2016)
• Papa Hemingway in Cuba (2015)
• Remembrance (2011)
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
• The Crown (TV series)
• The Good Girls Revolt (TV series)
• The Young Pope (TV series)
• You Can Count on Me (2000)

Mock's Crest Productions Theater Company produces excellent Gilbert & Sullivan operettas at the University of Portland. Cheap tickets:  https://college.up.edu/pfa/mocks-crest.html

CHANGE!! Movies for February 2017: Manchester By The Sea and Lion

Nic hosting for February. There is a change to what was previously announced.

The movies to see are:

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

An uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Writer: Kenneth Lonergan

Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler

Lion (2016)

A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.

Director: Garth Davis
Writers: Saroo Brierley (adapted from the book "A Long Way Home" by), Luke Davies (screenplay)
Stars: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara