FRIDAY NIGHT Tweet Along: "The Shadow" - 1994! JOIN US

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?  The Shadow!  He's perfectly aware that the weed of crime bears bitter fruit, and he's here to clean up New York City!  Alongside his network of trusted assistants, The Shadow lives a dual life as Lamont Cranston, millionaire playboy - but at night, hunts the wicked men of the city!

Location:  Twitter
Day:  04/10/2020
Time:  8:00 Central
Watch on Amazon Streaming:  https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Alec-Baldwin/dp/B002CSR45W
Our Twitter Hashtag:  #bitterfruit

Sign up in the comments so we know who is coming!

It's 1994!  Marvel was still making straight-to-TV and video movies in the mid-90's, DC was pumping out increasingly iffy Batmans, and studio heads were greenlighting the costumed heroes of their youths.  In an era before X-Men, Spider-Man and Iron Man reset what we thought of as superhero entertainment, we got some pretty interesting stuff!

Starring Alec Baldwin, Penelope Ann Miller, John Lone, Ian McKellan, Jonathan Winters, Tim Curry, Peter Boyle - and more! 

It's a Post-Batman splurge into the pulp world that spawned the very idea of comic book superheroes!  Delve into the 1990's grappling with early 20th century takes on Eastern Mysticism!  Watch Alec Baldwin try not to be handsome!  Behold: Penelope Ann Miller!

I had forgotten Taylor Dayne had a single supporting the film! Here's the video - which contains scenes from the film and Ms. Dayne herself.

Noir City Austin - Day 3 "Nightfall" (1957) & "Murder By Contract" (1958)

First, I forgot to mention that on Day 2, the TCM Backlot Austin Chapter met up at Noir City and grabbed a picture, and you'll see me awkwardly standing in the back.  Thanks to Jane, et al, for organizing.

Next: Upfront, I'll tell you, I only saw two of the four films on Day 3 of Noir City Austin.  This is not due to film programming, venue or any of that. I just had stuff I needed to go do as the coming week of work/life is set to be  busy one.  So, I was able to see the first two films shown on Sunday.

Noir City Austin continued exploring the 1950's, and by the late 1950's, the differences in style of dress, attitude and film-making choices between the first film shown on Friday night from '49 and by the time we hit boom-time/ post-Korea America in '57, a lot has shifted.  Hell, men aren't even wearing hats as a required feature.

Noir City Austin - Day 2: "City That Never Sleeps" (1953) & "Private Hell 36" (1954)

Watched:  05/18/2019
Format:  Noir City Austin at Alamo Ritz
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1950's

Long ago I had purchased tickets to see a baseball game in the evening, so I was only scheduled to see two films for Noir City Austin, Day 2.

The theme for 2019 was a follow up on 2018, which was Noir in the 1940's, year-by-year.  This 10 film cycle was tracing noir as we left the 1940's and how and why the films changed as we hit the 1950's as cultural issues crept into the films and television competed with the big screen and informed the lives of characters on screen.  And, by the mid-to-late 1950's, began influencing how movies were shot so they'd work on the television sets of the era as Hollywood looked to cash in on the secondary income stream.

Noir City Austin - Day 1 - "Trapped" (1949) and "The Turning Point" (1952)

Viewed:  05/17/2019
Format:  Noir City Austin at Alamo Ritz
Viewing:  First for both
Decade:  1940's/ 1950's

Eddie Muller is back in Bat City for Noir City Austin, our annual showing of films I'd never find on my own, and always can't believe the gold Muller is able to surface.   Muller isn't just host of TCM's Noir Alley weekly dose of crime, implied sex and moral gray areas - he's also head of the Film Noir Foundation.  Proceeds from the festival and merch sales go back to the FNF, who, in turn use the money to rescue films from obscurity and eventual loss.

Monster Watch: Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

Watched:  03/07/2019
Format:  Alamo S. Lamar
Viewing:  Unknown
Decade:  1950's

This evening the Alamo S. Lamar and Birth.Movies.Death's Scott Wampler hosted a screening of Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) along with a Q&A and book-signing with Mallory O'Meara, a film maker who just released a non-fiction book about Milicent Patrick, the original designer of The Creature entitled The Lady From the Black Lagoon.

Tickets Purchased - Man of Steel is GO for Midnight Screening

I have purchased 3 tickets for the midnight screening of Man of Steel for The Alamo Ritz.

If you are interested in joining us here in Austin, I'll be with JuanD and KevinW (and owing a lot of apologies to Jamie).

There is likely to be a secondary screening on Saturday, so if you want in on that, give me a holler.

If you're up for being a REAL Superman fan and making the midnight show, we'll be there!

To join us, get your tickets here.

It's Summer Film Series Time

It is true that in about a month we're going on hiatus from blogging.  But that doesn't mean we're heading into cryogenic storage for the summer (although, given the spiking temps here this week, that might be preferable).

Of course, there's one little picture coming out which might have us a bit distracted.

this movie also features bonus reasons for viewing

Paramount Summer Schedule

I spent the morning going over the Paramount Summer Film Series schedule, and it's really terrific.  I'm kind of bummed that I'm out of town for work for many good films, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

If you're in Austin, we can't recommend enough the Paramount Summer Series as a great way to beat the heat.  Really, the Paramount, the Alamo Ritz and Barton Springs are the Holy Trifecta of avoiding boredom and sweat during the long summer months for me here in Austin.

The Paramount Summer Film Series schedule

If you're in Austin, and you want to join me for a movie, check out our calendar up there in the horizontal menu bar.  

Our calendar

Stanwyck is incognito in Double Indemnity

I'm very excited that the new programmer has included a series throughout the summer called Film Noir 101.  While it's mostly showing movies I've seen more than once, it's a start, and fills a gap that's been in the summer line-up the past few years.  

Oddly, there's no sci-fi line-up, and I expect there'll be a remedy to that next year when the stalwarts complain.

Forbidden Planet - May 25th at Noon at The Ritz

It's no lie that I love the 1956 film Forbidden Planet.

Incredible FX, a weirdo story based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, a killer soundtrack and Robbie the Robot?  That's not even mentioning Leslie Nielsen in a straight role as a proto-Captain Kirk.

If you're in Austin, I'm going to try to be down at the Ritz at 12:00 noon to catch this thing.  A great, otherworldy sci-fi classic!

Here for details

And, btw, this poster hangs in my stairwell, so I look at this image each and every time I come down the stairs.

We saw Birdemic 2 in Austin (and it was awesome!)

This evening Jamie and I drove up to the Alamo LakeCreek to catch the second installment in your favorite franchise and mine, Birdemic II: The Resurrection.

Two feet inside the door of the theater I spied my favorite director, and...

you people have no idea how excited I was here

James Nguyen does not pass up the chance to get his picture taken with a good looking dame:

Jamie and The Master of the Romantic Thriller

The movie stars...  well, an absolutely startling amount of the cast from the first Birdemic film.  Kudos to Nguyen for getting the band back together.

I've seen Birdemic: Shock and Terror somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 times, I own the BluRay, and I bought Damien Carter's single "Hangin' Out With My Family" on iTunes.  I'm a fan.

Birdemic 2 in Austin! Join us!

I have secured my ticket for Birdemic 2: The Resurrection for when it makes its Austin debut on April 18th, 2013.

If you would like to join me, I'll be at Lakecreek Alamo on April 18th in seats 5509 and 5510.

Buy your tickets now and do not miss out on this unique experience! 

Birdemic 2!

Join Us: Miller's Crossing at The Drafthouse Ritz

If you knew me in college you knew two things about me:

• I was probably up for getting some tacos
• I never got over that first viewing of Miller's Crossing

The movie comes to The Alamo Ritz on March 28th.  Simon, Paul and I have our tickets, and we expect you'll be joining us (we're seats 7 - 10 on row 21 for reserved seating).

Put on your fedora or mink coat and come on out and join us to see the movie that sort of set me on the path of being into movies with guys in hats and a lifetime fascination with women in gowns who talk fast and maybe carry a gun.

Thursday: Eddie Muller on Turner Classic - Talking Noir

Noir fans are exceedingly lucky to have a few key figures playing ringmaster for the genre mostly out of pure love for the genre.

Eddie Muller is known in some circles as The Czar of Noir.  He's written a few books on the topic.  I read and loved, Dark City, myself.  He also hosts and manages not just the San Francisco based Noir City festival (now in its 11th year), but he also hosts other noir festivals around the country.  

I first became aware of Eddie when I went to The Alamo Ritz to see The Prowler in a print restored with proceeds earned for the Film Noir Foundation at Noir City.  He's spent decades tracking down the films and some of the stars, now mostly forgotten except by the noir audience, and out of that - he's an excellent story teller, warm host for interviews and a really decent guy.

My pal Jenifer (@J__Swift) knows Eddie a bit, and so she introduced me at Noir City X.  Eddie was exceedingly kind to a dopey guy from Texas, making sure we got a tour of the Hammett apartment on Pike Street, and we agreed that the cinnamon laced bourbon they were serving was more than a little iffy.

Anyway, on Thursday, Eddie is guest hosting at Turner Classic with Robert Osbourne.  

Eddie isn't going to trot out the crowd pleasers, necessarily.  We've already all seen Gilda and Laura.  But he will uncover gems you might not otherwise ever see, and which have special qualities or performances you don't see anywhere else.

Of the films, Eddie selected four and the fifth was chosen by TCM as a special nod to Eddie and his restoration efforts for the film.

• Cry Danger
• 99 River Street
• Tomorrow is Another Day
• The Breaking Point
• The Prowler

I've got my DVR set, and I'm looking forward to seeing the films on this list I've not caught before.  Very much looking forward to the intros we'll see.

Get Out the Vote!

Hey, Americans!

It's DEMOCRACY TIME!

I've already early voted (thanks, local grocery store, for hosting), but if you haven't voted yet, get out there and have your say!

No matter who wins this election, let us hope that our president somehow doesn't have to just spend four years as the chewtoy for people who make their living making us hate each other rather than, you know, helping.

And try not to get into unnecessary, unwinnable arguments with people who matter.

By late Tuesday night we'll (probably) know the results, so take a breath, remain calm, and be glad that your government is not being dictated at swordpoint as it pretty much was everywhere on Earth for most of humanity's history.

How great is it that we don't just shrug and get along with our lot in lives, but expect ideas can be represented in a person and in a government?  That the extremism that took over our country was the idea that the people should get to have a voice?

I am a deeply cynical voter, but that's because my dream of a Mr. Smith going to Washington is dead and buried - and I've come to accept that no matter how smart or clever, a person is really just a person, and reality catches up with all of us sooner or later.  But I believe in the process, and I hope for the best with every vote I cast.

Also, locally, vote Prop 3.  Prop 4 doesn't make any sense.

Octoberama! Sundays with The Bride!

Here's a bevy of posters used to promote screenings of The Bride.

FYI - you can see The Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein on the the BIG SCREEN on October 24th!

Get tickets now at Fathom Events. These are two of my favorite films of all time. If you're in Austin and want to go, let me know!

So, Friday Marshall and I went to see David Byrne and St. Vincent

It is not a secret that I am a fan of the work of musician/ artist David Byrne.  I think I've written before about becoming a Talking Heads fan, and I have a hard time believing that over the years I haven't mentioned that I have avidly followed Byrne's career since the band dissolved and continue to be a fan.

I missed Byrne when he came through and played ACL Fest about two years ago with Brian Eno, but I've seen Byrne play a few times over the years, and I have a couple of concerts on DVD.  The man puts on a good show (ie: we recommend).

However, I knew far less about St. Vincent other than that in 2009, when I posted on Amanda Palmer, Marshall suggested I check her out.  Unfortunately, when I attempted to learn more about St. Vincent, I accidentally bought an album by someone else who also goes by the name of St. Vincent, and I never circled back to buying the St. Vincent I intended to listen to in the first place.

Signal Event: Anyone Want to Catch a Frankenstein Double-Bill on October 24th?

Holy cats, people.

On October 24th, Fathom Events will be showing both of the James Whale directed Frankenstein movies at cinemas all across the country.

Basically, the movie theater will show a high-resolution digital copy of the movie in full cinematic sound, etc...  and you sit in your theater seat and eat popcorn and whatnot and know you're sharing the same experience with people all across the country.

So, a double-bill?  Well, yes.

Reminder: Register to VOTE (in the U.S. of A.)

It's National Voter Registration Day!

No matter your political stripe, if you live in the U.S., you've had your 18th birthday, and you aren't in prison, it's time to put on your Civic Duty pants and get to the polls.

Seriously, people.  For most of humanity's history, "democracy" hasn't really been an option.  It's been mostly thugs assuring you that the state or some deity has instilled them with magical wisdom and to question that wisdom is a pretty good reason to cut off your head before you become a problem child.

Not so in America!  Here, we just yell at each other in all caps in the comment sections of newspaper articles or post disagreeable comments to one another's facebook walls.

We may forego the right to private political opinions at seemingly every juncture, but in Rome you had to publicly cast your vote.  Which sometimes ended very badly for the guy getting beaten up or murdered as he left the polling location.  That @#$% was CRAZY.

So.  The election is coming.  Time is short.  You have to be registered a full month ahead of the election, which is November 6th, by the way.

So get registered.

Amanda Palmer at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, Texas

Wednesday evening I hit Stubb's BBQ here in sunny Austin, Texas with Jason's finance, Amy, to see Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra.

Much has been made of Palmer in recent months as she released yet another album not just independent of any label, but by asking her fanbase for about $100,000 via Kickstarter and came up with $1.2 million.  As Palmer mounted her tour, her usual routine of recruiting local talent to help out in what's always a pretty raucous stage show, was met with a sudden and vociferous bit of controversy.  Apparently a lot of musicians who were in no way involved got mad that Palmer was asking for volunteers, and, anyway...  it got ugly.

Keep in mind, Palmer is far from the only artist who has folks sit in, includes local marching bands, choirs, whatever...  But because these were horn and string musicians, somehow it became a big deal.  Anyhow, it all ends happily with Palmer shuffling her budget, not doing a music video or something, and coughing up cash so people would get the @#$% over it.

I tend to think of rock and roll as having far less whining associated than what folks were tossing Palmer's way, and as many people I personally know (this is Austin) who play for free all the time, I couldn't really wrap my head around it.  It's a rock and roll show, and, no, you're not going to convince me otherwise when it comes to Palmer somehow undermining the payment of musicians when she's inviting collaboration with locals.  You psycho.

By the way, while you're getting mad at Amanda Palmer, you can download the new album for whatever you can or feel like paying.  Here you go.

Fast forward to today, and Palmer's album, Theater is Evil, has debuted on the Billboard top 200 at position #10.  Not bad for a record by an artist that has no TV coverage, no label support and has never had it's featured artist on American Idol.

You'll have to forgive me re: the pictures.  I was using my iPhone.  I'm a lousy photographer to begin with, and the stage lighting and the limitations of the iPhone's digital zoom capability were wreaking a bit of havoc. For fun, though, let's pretend this was all intentional and I'm just a really un-self-aware but hilariously lousy artist.

The Weekend in Signal Watch (and the week ahead)

If I didn't do all that much this weekend, give me a break.  It's been a long six weeks or so, and Sunday night my air conditioner quit.  Again.

Me and the service company are going to have words.

1. I read Grant Morrison's SuperGods
2. Jamie and I trekked to see Moonrise Kingdom
3. I continue to watch Crank movies
4. And I tried to prep you guys a bit for the release of Dark Knight Rises

The big news out of San Diego as I saw it:

MonkeyBrain Comics - The Time in Nigh

Coming soon (July 2, 2012) from the fine minds behind MonkeyBrain Books.