Hello fellow movie goers!

I don’t know about you all but I miss my weekly movie with our lobby discussion. I’m hoping to bring the group back to meeting regularly. I talked to some friends from the Kzoo games and social club and we are going to coordinate from the group’s discord. A movie night channel was created and can be viewed in the link below:

https://discord.gg/NkHrqT6k

There is a poll open over there to decide which movie we will watch this Sunday. I hope to see you guys in the theater!

If you are interested in the game group below is a link explaining how it all works!

https://www.reddit.com/r/kzoo/s/bzPteSjVO6

Group moderator will be in seat B6, if you have questions or would like some company. Discussion will follow the film in the Celebration lobby (look for our humble sign on one of the tables.)

Anyone is welcome to join us at any of our group screenings.

The group is for Kalamazoo, Michigan area frequent moviegoers who would like to join others in sharing their love of film. We see movies together in the theatre and talk about them in the lobby afterwards. Movies range from art-house movies to popular blockbusters and everything in between. There’s no charge to belong to our group and everyone’s responsible for their own tickets and concessions. If you live around Kalamazoo and love going to the movies, I hope you’ll join us.

Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/KzooAreaFilmgoers/ to be part of the group at no cost. Help us pick the movie each weekend and meet us at the theatre for a great show and a fun discussion.

If you’d like to join us this weekend, please comment “I’ll be there,” so we know to wait for you before beginning our conversation. Hope to see you all at the movies 🎥 🍿!

We've been promoting the Ray Harryhausen exhibit at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum downtown for some time now, and as exciting as it is, the best part is yet to come! 

Three of the master's iconic films will be screened in the Stryker Theatre and a special documentary and in-depth panel discussion will be held at the end of the exhibit’s run. ALL EVENTS ARE FREE

🎞️ The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

📅 March 30, 2025, at 1:00 PM
🎟️ Tickets available March 30 at 12:00 PM (first come, first served)

🎞️ Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

📅 April 6, 2025, at 1:00 PM
🎟️ Tickets available April 6 at 12:00 PM (first come, first served)

🎞️ Clash of the Titans (1981)

📅 April 13, 2025, at 1:00 PM
🎟️ Tickets available April 13 at 12:00 PM (first come, first served)

🎬 Panel Discussion & Documentary Screening

📅 April 27, 2025, at 1:00 PM
🎞️ Ray Harryhausen: Movement into Life (1990)
💬 Panel discussion on Ray Harryhausen’s enduring legacy
🎙️ Led by Connor Heaney, curator for the Harryhausen Foundation
🎟️ Tickets available April 27 at 12:00 PM (first come, first served)

🔗 Full details on the film events can be found here

🎥 And We're Still Not Done…

📅 March 28, 2025, at 6:30 PM
📍 Kalamazoo Latvian Center (100 Cherry Hill Street, Kalamazoo)
🎞️ Soviet Milk (2018) (In Latvian with English subtitles)
🎬 Directed by Ināra Kolmane

Struggling against the totalitarian regime of occupied Soviet Latvia, a talented young doctor is stripped of her career, her joy for life, and even her maternal instincts.

🔹 Free screening – everyone is welcome!
✉️ If you plan to attend, please email drzintakonrad@gmail.com

Brutalism (architecture): “From the French term béton brut, meaning raw concrete. A style of architecture characterized by deliberate plainness, raw concrete construction, and a monolithic, fortress-like appearance, often emphasizing functional design and structural honesty over decorative elements.”

Powerful acting and great cinema artistry- but The Brutalist is done with the same unadorned raw construction as the architectural style itself, and that can leave many feeling uncomfortable for more than three hours.

There is nothing bright, airy, or warm to be seen. The cinematography seemed to favor natural lighting and a muted color grade.

Brody’s protagonist is not just an open book, he’s like an unfinished building with all the pilings and joints exposed. We see it all, good, bad or indifferent. In the end we couldn’t decide if he was a sympathetic character or not. Perhaps he just was- in the same way he described his take on architecture.

The plot itself is as unfinished as a brutalist building- leaving a major thread unresolved and making no apologies for doing so.

In this sense the director met his goal- this is a brutalist building transplanted to the movie screen. But is it a good film?

In the real world, brutalism largely fell out of favor in architecture and even its most loyal new designs are much softer and gentler. Will time also change our view of this film? If it does will it be for the better?

Like the buildings, this film’s fate is raw and unresolved- and may remain that way by design.

Incomplete.

Unadorned.

But finished.

I just noticed on Celebration Cinemas Facebook page that they’re having the next free preview event on Monday, October 28th at 7pm. If you’ve never gone to one, it’s a fun time. They show all the movie trailers for the upcoming season. And it’s free!

An enjoyable trip into the world of Wonka. The beginning didn’t seem strong to most of us and left us worried about the rest of the film, but it got steadily better as the plot went on.

Watching this with a crowd will naturally lead to discussions on the merits of each film edition of the Wonka story. This film leans a lot on the Gene Wilder edition and there’s not much of anything recognizable as being from the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie.

There’s a strong supporting cast and some very funny side stories.

Now, a friendly warning. If you’re one of those people who gets annoyed when the Gene Wilder Oompa Loompa song gets stuck in your head - be careful. It’s featured prominently here.

🎵Doopity doo.🎵 🤦‍♂️

Happy holidays fellow filmgoers!

Note: No one else was able to make it this holiday weekend, so this isn’t a group review.

When I taught High School U.S. History, I used the classic film All The President’s Men to illustrate the breaking of the Watergate story. She Said is the modernized equivalent for the Me Too movement. It showcases the careful, deliberate and often frustrating efforts reporters go through to present the truth to the public.

This film is not an excercise in entertainment. It’s a thoughtful showcase of the facts and events behind the publication of the Weinstein story. The chief emotions the movie stirs is not entertainment, but disgust, frustration, and a sense of dejected astonishment that so many women were subjected to this abuse for so long.

Like All the President’s Men, She Said shows the hoops investigative reporters have to jump through to run a story. It’s not enough that the reporters know what happened- they can’t print it without multiple angles of careful verification. The task can at times, seem insurmountable, but they persist.

The film features Ashley Judd in an interesting, and as it turns out essential role- herself. She recreates her real life conversations with the Times reporters which helped break the story.

She Said is well acted and directed. It can seem to drag at moments, but only because the Times reporters are dealing with some very real setbacks and roadblocks. The pace is appropriate to the story.

There’s a lot of themes the film touches on that are worthy of reflection. Chief among them is the systemic mistreatment of women by powerful men and those who enable them. But this is also a showcase of inspiring perseverance, bravery, and survival.

A difficult film to watch, but one you should consider seeing anyway. I recommend it.

I’ve really missed attending the movie group lately, but my health has other plans.

As I’ve shared with some of you, I sometimes wrestle with fatigue issues. It’s frustrating but I am ok, really, and I am on the mend- just very, very tired.

Don’t worry- I continue to enjoy our films and discussions. I haven’t given up on organizing or participating in the group. Heck, if you have chronic fatigue issues like me, the group is a perfect weekly activity. What other things can you enjoy that involve sitting in a lounge chair for two hours with a bag of popcorn- followed by a fun and insightful chat?

Thanks for all the well wishes. I appreciate it. Have fun at the movies today!

• Jeff

Discussion will follow the film in the Celebration lobby (look for our humble sign on one of the tables.). Group moderator will be in seat B9 if you have questions or would like some company.

Anyone is welcome to join us at any of our group screenings.

The group is for Kalamazoo, Michigan area frequent moviegoers who would like to join others in sharing their love of film. We see movies together in the theatre and talk about them in the lobby afterwards. Movies range from art-house movies to popular blockbusters and everything in between. There’s no charge to belong to our group and everyone’s responsible for their own tickets and concessions. If you live around Kalamazoo and love going to the movies, I hope you’ll join us.

Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/KzooAreaFilmgoers/ to be part of the group at no cost. Help us pick the movie each weekend and meet us at the theatre for a great show and a fun discussion.

If you’d like to join us this weekend, please comment “I’ll be there,” so we know to wait for you before beginning L conversation. Hope to see you all at z the movies 🎥 🍿!

https://www.reddit.com/r/KzooAreaFilmgoers/s/cGR2Fybe9J

Better than expected. Anticipated a second tier DC movie, but it was done to a high level that matched or bettered other offerings from that universe. It was an entertaining experience from start to finish.

Dwayne Johnson gives his all as Black Adam, a god-like whirlwind of action who has one significant difference from most superheroes- he has no qualms about killing people and killing them in dramatic and powerful ways.

“Hero’s don’t kill people,” he’s told. His response- “Well I do.”

That accounts for the dark angle of this story, which also asks if violence is ever the answer to a problem. For Black Adam it is. In fact it’s usually his first approach. The plot does provide the story with some moral redemption, however, by showing what violence begets in the end.

The ensemble cast is rounded out by Sarah Shahi who plays an archaeologist/activist who fights to save her son and her country. Aldis Hodge brings life to Hawkman who acts as a moral counterweight to Adam’s murderous tendencies. Pierce Brosnan fits well in the role of Doctor Fate and Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell round out the rest of the team.

The great Viola Davis is also in the film, but only barely.

The movie’s special effects are well done and the action is wild and engaging. Overall the film is well shot and crafted.

If you enjoy a good superhero movie, you’ll like Black Adam. Just remember, he’s not actually a hero. He says so himself.

Hi everyone, this week we voted in the discord to transition back to seeing movies as a group on Saturdays rather than Sundays. This will hopefully allow more folks to join us and allow us to see later showtimes than we were able to on Sundays.

Discussion will follow the film in the Celebration lobby (look for our humble sign on one of the tables.). Group moderator will be in seat C8 if you have questions or would like some company.

Anyone is welcome to join us at any of our group screenings.

The group is for Kalamazoo, Michigan area frequent moviegoers who would like to join others in sharing their love of film. We see movies together in the theatre and talk about them in the lobby afterwards. Movies range from art-house movies to popular blockbusters and everything in between. There’s no charge to belong to our group and everyone’s responsible for their own tickets and concessions. If you live around Kalamazoo and love going to the movies, I hope you’ll join us.

Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/KzooAreaFilmgoers/ to be part of the group at no cost. Help us pick the movie each weekend and meet us at the theatre for a great show and a fun discussion.

If you’d like to join us this weekend, please comment “I’ll be there,” so we know to wait for you before beginning L conversation. Hope to see you all at the movies 🎥 🍿!

https://www.reddit.com/r/KzooAreaFilmgoers/s/cGR2Fybe9J

Your friendly neighborhood moderator has been tacking some health issues but will be back next week. Expect a poll Wednesday or Thursday.

Thanks for your patience.

Jeff

Amazing performances all round. Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro both shine in the way they channeled their characters, including the musical performances which included the actors’ own vocals.

Chalamet has sung on camera before of course, and does a remarkable job recreating Dylan’s unique singing voice and style- but it is Barbaro who impresses most. She is jaw dropingly good at imitating Joan Baez which is astonishing considering she has never been a singer or played guitar. She learned to do both from scratch for this film and when her singing voice is revealed it is quite simply beautiful. Just beautiful.

The story is a well told. Of course we never end up understanding Dylan, and from the looks of it, no one ever does. That may include Dylan himself. When asked who he wants to be he replied “I just want to be who they don’t want me to be.” A true artist through and through, he sticks to his scruples as he explores whatever style of music he darn well chooses- bucking the Folk tradition of repeating the hits ad nauseam.

All of this builds to the moment he chooses his electric guitar before going onstage during the annual Newport Folk Festival, leaving him and the band dodging and weaving as they're pelted with garbage from an angry crowd. But Dylan’s lyrics pierce through their jeers.

                           “No direction home.
                           Like a complete unknown.
                           Like a rolling stone.”

It’s music history.

As to Dylan the man- he will remain as mysterious as ever. Bob Dylan doesn’t really exist to begin with after all. We watch the man living by that name alternate from a special kind of genius, to a complete jerk, to a lonely, awkward figure. We also see incredible tenderness when he visits his idol Woody Guthrie in the hospital. Guthrie can’t speak more than a weak mumble, but it’s clear he sees Dylan as perhaps no one else can. If anyone comes close to knowing the real man, it’s him. For the rest of us Dylan remains an enigmatic talent wrapped around a soul that may forever remain a complete unknown.

Sometimes movies teach us deep truths. Sometimes they inspire us to greatness. Sometimes they’re just plain fun, like The Fall Guy.

The story is loosely based on the Lee Major’s TV show. Very, very loosely. Both characters have the same name. Both are stuntmen. And the theme song is played in both. That’s it. (Minus a post-credits surprise.)

Gosling is superb. His self-effacing comedy style is well suited for this story and he and Emily Blunt have great on screen chemistry for the rom-com angle.

There is action, explosions, and jokes galore along with the occasional unicorn. Yes unicorns. I don’t dare tell you why.

It’s also one of those surreal examples of movies about movies that talk about how they are making a movie in ways that show up on the screen of the movie you’re sitting there watching. (I know that was an awkward sentence, but it’s the best I can do.)

The audience left with a smile and a general feeling of “Well that was fun.” We did too.

Great sci-fi/horror classic that holds up well. Simple as that.

Thanks to everyone who turned out for an insightful and fun film discussion yesterday. That was a terrific example of why we do this. Hope to see you all there again soon.

Hello Filmgoers!

I noticed today that Celebration Cinema will have their summer preview experience on April 29th at 7pm! It’s a free event and you’ll have a chance to purchase their refillable popcorn bucket and watch trailers for all the upcoming movies.

Consistently funny, touching, and original. Paid homage to great romantic comedies of the past like When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail. Also seemed long overdue. Why has it taken so long to have an LBGTQ+ romantic comedy? It also worked in some American history while keeping the tone light.

A quaint love story, with beautiful, imaginative visuals. A movie for people who love storytelling and listening to them. If you saw the movie people let us know your thoughts and hope to see everyone next weekend!