Phoenix Cinema – Some shocks and sympathy
The late artist-turned-director David Lynch fills the screen with horror and then with compassion as his work continues to be celebrated in Now It’s Dark, a tribute by the Phoenix Cinema to Lynch.
Before Lynch, however, there is what is described as a a fine and funny adaptation of Jane Austen’s `Sense and Sensibility’. Screening at 22 November at 2pm, it has been hailed for a heart-stopping performance by Kate Winslet and marks the screenwriting skills of Emma Thompson. As with many families, it begins with talk of money, there are wild mix-ups, great scenery, hilarious acting and a ball on the way to the way to marriage.
Twisted mystery combines with satirical Americana in Lynch’s Blue Velvet(1986). Greeted as a shocker with its unveiling of a twisted psychopath (Dennis Hopper), it is noteworthy for its use of innocuous pop ballads. Blue Velvetwill screen at 7pm on 22 November.
On-line fame puts targets on the backs of a band of bank bandits who in the 1990s broadcast their stick-ups. How to Rob a Bank. It shows how getting too smart for one’s own good can bring everything crashing down. Despite the unlikely pair closing in on them, the bandits push past their limits, putting everything on the line for their beliefs and their most ambitious raid.
How to Rob a Bank screens at 7pm on 19 November, 4.30pm on 20 November, 7pm on 21 November, 11am on 22 November and 4.30 on 23 November.
Pan’s Labyrinth has been described as Alice in Wonderlandfor adults. The horrors of reality (a civil war) and fantasy (a mysterious faun) blend into an extraordinary, spellbinding story in this twentieth anniversary showing which shows the intricate detail and craftsmanship that has gone into the restoration of the film.
Grounded performances and a beautifully realised quality make Pan’s Labyrinth not to be missed by cinema lovers. It screens at 4.30 on 19 November 7pm on 20 November, 2pm on 21 November, 4.30 on 22 November and 7pm on 23 November.
A wacky monster with a sweet lesson for children and adults makes for fun with Stitch Head. The grotesque characters are enjoyably bonkers and the settings vividly intense. It is on at 11am on 21 November and 2pm on 23 November.
Johnny Depp pops up as Ebenezer Scrooge, with a cast that includes the magnificent Ian McKellen in Ebenezer,a gothic dark fantasy and black comedy adapted from Charles Dickens’s 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol.Its opening here coincides with its international release. The first viewing is at 2pm on 27 November, then 11am on 28 November and 2pm on 29 November.
Straight Story finds David Lynch with a heart-warming story that he arguably had not attempted in The Elephant Man. This is an adaptation of a true story of Alvin Straight, who is in his seventies and in poor health travels 320ks on a John Deere rider mower from Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his ailing elder brother. Moments of awe and rapture combine with a score of disquieting beauty. This film is on at 2pm on 28 November and 11am on 29 November.
The Age’s Jake Wilson gave three stars to Fatherland. It is the finale of a loose historical trilogy from Polish-British director Pawal Pawlikowski whose “stiff, squared-off black-and-white images are calculated to hold us at a distance…” much as Thomas Mann, the real-life Nobel Prize winner declines to mourn the death of his son by suicide. Wilsons finds this film flatters us by offering an intellectual experience while reassuring us that intellectuals have feelings just like everyone else. Fatherland screens at 2pm on 30 November.
For bookings and to check session times, please go to Phoenix Cinema.
