Denver Cinema Club

• Read the description below carefully
• Also read our Advance Screenings page

We have a number of seats for a free advance screening of The Choral, a historical drama starring Ralph Fiennes. Active members of the club--those who attend our regular events--will get priority for the seats. When you RSVP, you will be added to the wait list, and I will move people from the wait list to the "going" list by hand. Please RSVP only if you are sure you can attend.

The studio reps have asked for our guest list by 9:00 AM on Tuesday morning, January 13. If you are on the "going" list on Tuesday morning, we will expect you at the movie on Wednesday evening. Again, please RSVP only if you are sure you can attend.

Arrive by 6:30 for the 7:00 screening. Skip the line if there is one, and check in with the studio reps. They will check your name off their list and direct you to your seat. (They usually seat everyone in the club together, but not always.) Don't be late! If you arrive after 6:30, you could lose your reserved seat.

• Watch the trailer for the film.
• See its page at Rotten Tomatoes.

I will not be there, so I don't have anything planned for after the movie. If you would like to meet with other members, use the comments below to coordinate. Postino is a block away, and there are other restaurants nearby.

-- Mike

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THE CHORAL
In Denver theaters January 16th
Synopsis: 1916. As war rages on the Western Front, the Choral Society in Ramsden, Yorkshire has lost most of its men to the army. The Choral’s ambitious committee, determined to press ahead, decides to recruit local young males to swell their ranks. They must also engage a new chorus master, and despite their suspicions that he has something to hide, their best bet seems to be Dr. Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) – driven, uncompromising, and recently returned from a career in Germany. As conscription papers start to arrive, the whole community discovers that the best response to the chaos that is laying waste to their lives is to make music together.

January just feels so Mike Leigh. I will not be taking questions. Watch at home, discuss in person.

I had another director in mind, but we just had the Spirit of Thanksgiving deep dive and had a lively discussion about the complexities presented in Another Year. So what a great way to start the year of cinema with several Mike Leigh joints, who's one of my fave directors. His breadth of work highlights the ugliness and the joys and everything in between of life, particularly that of working class Britain in such a precise, complicated way. They may sound simple in the beginning, but by the end credits roll, they're anything but. We're gonna look at a couple of his earlier works as well as a late 2000s gem.

Let's deep dive!

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Films to watch:

• High Hopes (1988):
  Synopsis - The life of a working class couple living in London and their complicated relationships with other members of the family.
  Stream: Criterion Channel, YouTube
• Life is Sweet (1990):
  Synopsis - A shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters go about their lives in a working-class London suburb.
  Stream: Apple TV, Criterion Channel
• Happy-Go-Lucky (2008):
  Synopsis - A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
  Stream: Kanopy, Hoopla

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Please keep your RSVP updated and preferably not on the day of! If you have issues finding any of these films, please let me know and I'll get you together. Happy watching!

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Resources:

• Mike Leigh's profile on They Shoot Pictures, Don't They
• Mike Leigh on every single film of his MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!!!!!
• Interview with the cast and director about Life is Sweet
• Interview with Mike Leigh on High Hopes
• DP/30 with Sally Hawkins and Mike Leigh for Happy Go Lucky
• Interview with Mike Leigh on Happy Go Lucky
• Mike Leigh being completely over this Hollywood Roundtable

January the worst of movie months, we are up against Oscar Constipation and the dumping of crappy movies they wouldn't dare release at any other time. Luckily there are some revivals well worth your time, Brick being one of them, High School Noir by RIan Johnson at the beginning of his career, starring a dewy Joseph Gordon Leavitt.

You have preserved in your own lifetime, sir, a way of life that was dead before you were born. –Harold the butler in Elaine May’s “A New Leaf” (1971)
You will forgive me for reaching back 35 years for a quotation to open this review of “Brick,” since the movie itself is inspired by hard-boiled crime novels written by Dashiell Hammett between 1929 and 1934. What is unexpected, and daring, is that “Brick” transposes the attitudes and dialogue of classic detective fiction to a modern Southern California high school. These are contemporary characters who say things like, “I got all five senses and I slept last night. That puts me six up on the lot of you.” Or, “Act smarter than you look, and drop it.”
“Brick” is a movie reportedly made with great determination and not much money by Rian Johnson, who did the editing on his Macintosh (less impressive than it sounds, since desktop machines are now often used even on big-budget movies). What is impressive is his absolute commitment to his idea of the movie’s style. He relates to the classic crime novels and movies, he notes the way their mannered dialogue and behavior elevates the characters into archetypes, and he uses the strategy to make his teenagers into hard-boiled guys and dolls. The actors enter into the spirit; we never catch them winking. (Roger Ebert)

Tickets available on the Fandango and Regal websites as well as the box office.

4 hours free validated parking in the lot under the Pavilions, entrance on Welton just north of 15th st.

We can head to local venue after if folks are interested!