40/40 Day 8 Report

We started off the evening with the classic Hitchcock trailer to Psycho, since it merely teases and doesn't give too much away, and ended with a brief glimpse of the ending to the unnecessary shot-for-shot remake of a few years back.

I enjoy the opportunity to watch a film like Psycho with folks who have never seen it before, or who only have recollections of the shower scene. It still holds up 50 years after it's release, and is among Hitchcock's finest. And while there's a lot about the film that I've always loved, I think with each viewing I become more and more fond of Vera Miles' performance.

On Deck: Get ready for a double-dose of Elmore Leonard, featuring Out of Sight and Quentin Tarantino's best film, Jackie Brown.

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:
Days Completed: 8
Movies Watched: 15

Number of unique attendees: 15
Total Attendance (cumulative number of attendees for all movies): 83

40/40 Day 7 Report

Wow. Just got back from a trip through the stargate, and am ready to dream of monoliths.

 

I think a full appreciation of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is dependent on familiarity with the Arthur C. Clarke novel, as the film and book were developed in parallel through a collaboration between the two men. Which is not to say the film is not successful on its visual merits alone; I think it's an amazing cinematic experience. But I do think it's fair to say that the viewer is not given all (dare I say enough) pieces of the puzzle to fully understand the implications of the story being told.

 

Like many a David Lynch film, if you're willing to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the ride, there's much on display to appreciate. If you're uncomfortable when everything isn't spelled out or explained for you, best skip this one and catch the next M. Night Shamalyan flick.

 

On Deck: We check in to the Bates Motel for a one night stay to enjoy Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:

Days Completed: 7

Movies Watched: 14

Number of unique attendees: 14
Total Attendance (cumulative number of attendees for all movies): 77

P.S. Yes, I've finally got my days synced up. I was originally counting movie nights, but the 30 days includes our Sunday days off, so I figured I should be counting those too.

40/40 Day 5 Report

What can I say. The 40 Years, 40 Movies series is like a hand picked box of chocolates - every one is a favorite!

I've seen John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 dozens of times, and I find it just as entertaining today as I did the first time I saw it. When I watch it, I'll admit I'm more inclined to see the traces of Night of the Living Dead than Rio Bravo, but those are obviously there, too. 

 

 

Darwin Joston, Austin Stoker, Laurie Zimmer (above) and Tony Burton lead a great cast, playing off each other perfectly. Stoker and Burton are more likely to be familiar to film fans, and it's a shame Joston and Zimmer didn't have more opportunities to shine after this. They share great chemistry in this film. 

 

I think it's Carpenter's first great film (of many), and on some days, it's a contender for my favorite if his. One other note - folks who enjoy mocking John Carpenter's film scores will find little to enjoy here, but for those of us who appreciate his work love it.

 

On Deck: We take a trip back in time, all the way to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:

Days Completed: 6

Movies Watched: 13

Number of unique attendees: 13
Total Attendance (cumulative number of attendees for all movies): 73

40/40 Day 4 Report

It's an exciting thing to revisit a classic film like An American Werewolf in London on the big screen. Hands down my favorite John Landis film (followed closely by The Blues Brothers), it's a great mix of horror and humor. Griffin Dunne is particularly great as the rotting corpse of Jack Goodman.

It shouldn't have taken us this long to get this programmed, but on the bright side, it made for another great night in The Slaughtered Lamb!

On Deck: 40 Years, 40 Movies continues with John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13.

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:

Days Completed: 4

Movies Watched: 12

Number of unique attendees: 13
Total Attendance (cumulative number of attendees for all movies): 69

40/40 Day 3 Report

Laughter filled The Slaughtered Lamb tonight as we screened the oldest film and first comedy in the series, the Marx Brothers classic A Night at the Opera. With so many classic set pieces spread across a number of excellent films, it's hard to pick just one to try and represent them all, but between the reading of the contract, the packed stateroom, and re-arranged hotel room sequences, I decided to go with this one as it remains a personal favorite.

 

After watching it on the big screen, I'm further convinced that a Marx Brothers marathon should make it into our Wednesday night lineups one of these days. I might even be able to convince the regulars, if we zip through the non-Chico and non-Harpo musical numbers...

 

On Deck: After two years running, The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema finally premieres our namesake in An American Werewolf in London, as the 40 Years, 40 Movies series continues!

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:

Days Completed: 3

Movies Watched: 11

Number of unique attendees: 13
Total Attendance (cumulative number of attendees for all movies): 65

40/40 Day 2 Report

After a good night's rest we launched into the Adventures of Indiana Jones at noon today. There was general agreement that starting with Temple of Doom was a good idea, and we treated folks to the 1947 sequence of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles that starred Harrison Ford between The Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We had another great turnout throughout the day made up of a mix of survivors from yesterday's Star Wars event as well as folks making their first stop in the Slaughtered Lamb in 2010.

Raiders of the Lost Ark has been my all-time favorite film since 1981, and whenever you put Harrison Ford in the fedora you know you're in for a good time.

Vonna catered another amazing menu (which will be missed on the weeknights) including chicken enchiladas for lunch and beef barley soup for dinner, and Michael even brought some Eggplant Parmesan for everyone to enjoy.

On Deck: We're closed Sunday, and will return on Monday with The Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera, as the 40 Years, 40 Movies series continues!

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:

Days Completed: 2

Movies Watched: 10

Number of unique attendees: 13
Total Attendance (cumulative number of attendees for all movies): 60

40/40 Day 1 Report

We survived Day 1.

Three brave souls made it all the way from the opening crawl of The Phantom Menace at 9am to the end credits of Return of the Jedi, some 15 hours later - one of whom who had never seen ANY of the Star Wars films before (Impressive - MOST impressive, Bill!).

We also had a couple of other folks who caught a number of the screenings throughout the day. Mom had never seen the prequel trilogy, and managed to experience all three of those back-to-back.

I always dreamed of having a home theater that would allow me to experience my favorite films in as close to a public theater presentation as possible, and watching a Star Destroyer fill a 104" wide screen is about as close as one could reasonably expect. What makes it even better is experiencing it with friends.

All in all, the day was a grand success, and exactly what I was hoping for out of the 40/40 series. And this is only the beginning.

On deck: The Adventures of Indiana Jones!

40 Years/40 Movies Series Tally:

Days Completed: 1

Movies Watched: 6

Number of unique attendees: 6