July is an edgy month at the Castro Theatre, coming out of the big, bold LGBTQ film festival and heading into a full slate of films at the San Francisco Jewish Film Fest. Castro film programmer Keith Arnold and the gang will help you forget the drought and our City by the Bay's ever-changing weather.
Inforum Fight Club novelist Chuck Palahniuk and Lidia Yuknavitch present A Night of [Verbal] Mayhem. Further info at: commonwealthclub.org. (7/9)
9 to 5 The big-screen debut of country-music artist Dolly Parton fuels this lunatic political comedy, where three secretaries (Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) gang up on their clueless, misbehaving, sexist boss (Dabney Coleman, then at the height of his powers as the white sexist pig you loved to hate).
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas I was a freshly out-of-the-closet Houston talk-show host when local-TV personality Marvin Zindler launched a crusade to shut down one of Texas' most sacred institutions, the hetero "cat houses." Dolly Parton is the dedicated Madam who fights prudes and power-hungry politicos to keep the world's oldest profession in business in the Lone Star State. Charles Durning's tap-dancing governor dukes it out with Dom DeLuise's decency-squad leader in 114 minutes of film comedy as silly as it gets. The only thing that could top these goofy proceedings would be a recording of Zindler's infamous Ch. 13 TV sign-off, "Marvin Zindler, Eyewitness News!" And he wore a rug on the air. Go figure! (both 7/10)
Scary Cow 26th Short Film Festival Scary Cow is a community-based film co-op that encourages everyone to find the short film that lurks within. The Cow's organizers brag that they've given over a quarter-of-a-million bucks back to aspiring short-form filmmakers. Info: scarycow.com (7/11)
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. This 1953 gem finds young Tommy Rettig (the TV kid who kept Lassie company) having a musical nightmare involving his whacked-out piano teacher (Hans Conreid), who plans to kidnap 1,000 kids to play tunes of his choosing. Sort of a lunatic precursor to Dr. Seuss.
Gentleman Prefer Blondes Screwball comedy director Howard Hawks gets an early shot at showcasing the comedy and carnal skills of a 23-year-old Marilyn Monroe, opposite a very smart and sassy Jane Russell.
Niagara Rhymes with Viagra. This 1953 Henry Hathaway-directed melodrama allowed Marilyn to demonstrate her range, this time as a hard-hearted wife (to a frightened Joseph Cotton) who's up to murder and deceit against the backdrop of the world's most famous waterfall. (all three, 7/12)
Blade Runner �" The Final Cut Whether this is the cruelest cut of all is up to you as Harrison Ford returns as the stoic android hunter in Ridley Scott's ultimate dystopian fantasy adventure. For those totally over our current drought, Scott and company showcase a bleak LA where it's always raining. (7/13-14)
The Maltese Falcon Humphrey Bogart was never better than in his first signature turn as private dick Sam Spade, who gets to match wits with a gaggle of really suspicious characters on the trail of a mysterious black bird statue said to be worth millions. With Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet doing their scene-stealing best.
In a Lonely Place Another side of Bogart's protean talents is on display as he plays a screenwriter heading over an emotional cliff with an assist from aspiring starlet Gloria Grahame. Nicholas Ray (of Jimmy Dean fame) helms this deliciously sordid Tinseltown tale. (both 7/15)
Horror of Dracula This 1958 film was one of my first exposures to a cinema blood-fest as my 14-year-old self had to decide when to look away from Long Beach, Long Island's Laurel Theater's big screen and when to just head for the lobby until it was safe to cop a peek. This early Hammer Films production is a sublime example of the art behind real horror movies that weren't merely exploitation rip-offs. The only thing amiss here is that the film's not running at Midnight.
The Wicker Man Christopher Lee often cited this 1973 film as one of his personal faves. Here Lee matches wits with Edward Woodward's (Breaker Morant) Christian policeman. Ingrid Pitt and Britt Eckland add some carnal ghoulish licks. (both 7/16)
Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) Mel Gibson displays his talent for post-apocalyptic swashbuckling nuttiness in the original franchise's highpoint.
The Hitcher Further down the same mad road: see where your parental units found their cheapest date-night thrills. (both 7/17)
Sing-along Annie Rest your vocal chords for this one. Don't hold back, kids at heart have no vanity. (7/18-19)
Short Cuts Robert Altman topped his own greatest-hits tape (1975's Nashville) with this 22-performer ensemble treatment of the short fiction of Raymond Carver. With, among others, Jack Lemmon, Tom Waits, Julianne Moore, Robert Downey Jr., and Frances McDormand.
Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino has never been more on top of his game than in this darkly funny shoot-em-up that gave Samuel L. Jackson an insanely bizarre platform from which to shine. Uma Thurman is the sexy damsel brought back from the dead by a drug-addled young dealer with attitude (Eric Stoltz). Bruce Willis is a nervy, crooked boxer, and Christopher Walken tells one of the dirtiest shaggy-dog stories you can imagine. Tarantino manages to coax huge belly laughs from material that is thoroughly repellent but cosmically hilarious. The top of the mountain is Jackson's charismatically demented preaching riffs. I guess this is the flick that comes to mind if you ever have to talk some lunatic out of a mass-murder killing spree. (both 7/18)
The Lady Vanishes Alfred Hitchcock traps a sprightly ensemble aboard a European express train. Look for a suspiciously queer-acting male couple and a delightful old female spy (Dame May Witty). The hetero lovers in this one are a screen-debuting and very dashing Michael Redgrave and a pouty, moody Margaret Lockwood.
The 39 Steps Another Hitch late-1930s thriller that now seems terribly prescient about Europe's plunge into Fascist terror. Robert Donat is an impudent bachelor who gets on the trail of spies when a beautiful dame gets a knife in her back while staying in his London flat. Features many of the thriller tropes that Hitch would so cleverly restage in North by Northwest. (both 7/19)
Contempt Jean-Luc Godard was still at the top of his auteur game in this 1963 filmmakers-parody-themselves farce. A nervous screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) is caught between an obstinant European director (Fritz Lang, essentially playing himself) and a crudely commercial Hollywood producer (Jack Palance).
Mulholland Drive The brilliantly eccentric David Lynch attempts another weirder-than-weird tale. While not up to his genius-level work in 1986's Blue Velvet, this one reminds you of Lynch's grip on the dark side of human nature. (both 7/21)
Dusty and Sweets McGee Floyd Mutrux, creator of American Hot Wax, plunges into a hard-core dope-addicts-and-rock-n-roll scene in LA, then just recovering from the murderous rampages of the Manson family.
Inherent Vice Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood) showcases a scary-true Joaquin Phoenix as the hero of the first screen treatment of a Thomas Pynchon novel. With Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro and Martin Short. (both 7/22)