In the last few years B movies have stepped out of the cinematic shadows and into the limelight as legitimate, critically valid films. From John Wick to Green Room and, recently, Get Out, cinematic fare once considered schlock is now being taken seriously. Hollywood has been turning out low-budget commercial fare since its Golden Age — though there are many terrible B movies, there are also plenty of cinematic gems in the genre. Ross Meyer is the local cinephile who uncovers and curates these lost treasures for a weekly movie celebration known as Late Shift at the Grindhouse, coming up on its third anniversary this month. The Wednesday night series is the culmination of Meyer’s lifelong passion for film.
Bijou Theatre
Posted inArts & Entertainment
UI film grad wins back-to-back Grand Jury prizes
The hard work and vision of a UI film grad seems to paying off, as Jesse Kreitzer and his now award-winning short film Black Canaries has been garnering awards from coast to coast. At the 12th annual Holly Shorts Film Festival in Los Angeles last week, Black Canaries took home the Grand Jury prizes for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
The Yes Men bring anarchy, comedy and political activism to Iowa City
Film Screening and Q&A: The Yes Men Are Revolting FilmScene (via The Bijou Theatre) — Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. (Free) Using humorous deceptions to get their political points across, the Yes Men have regularly made headlines since they joined forces in 1999. Today, Mike Bonanno and his partner in crime, Andy Bichlbaum, bring […]
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Homemade Horror: Filmscene and Bijou to host a night of amateur fright films
This Sunday at 6 p.m, FilmScene is hosting “Homemade Horror,” the second installment of the Bijou Open Screen fall series. Prizes will be given to those who…
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Talking Movies: Rust & Bone
The spirit of our age walks on prosthetic limbs. Of course, humanity has always been fascinated by amputees. But whereas prosthetics were once a sign of creepiness, from Captain Ahab to Captain Hook, now they’re attached to sympathetic heroes. Think of Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic “Blade Runner,” sadly on trial for murdering his model-girlfriend; or […]
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The Oscars: Where will you be watching?
The Oscars are set to air on ABC at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday, and Iowa City film aficionados have a couple of opportunities to make a night of it.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Talking Movies: In Memory of Chris Marker (1921-2012)
The origin myth of cinema is that when the Lumière brothers gave the first public screening of their 50-second documentary The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station in 1896, the audience screamed and ran to the back of the theater in fear of the image of the oncoming locomotive. As hexing as the […]
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Talking Movies: Movie Time – FilmScene’s Fall Programming Lineup Gets Underway
Once upon a time our downtown was lit by the Astro, the Englert, and the Campus Theaters. One by one they faded. Only the Bijou, our solitary star, still flickers. A leviathan named Marcus took over. But after a long period in which darkness reigned, we’re on the verge of a new era for the […]
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Iowa City Weekender: October 13-15
In this week’s Weekender, we bridge the gap between print and online journalism, say goodbye to a local band, encourage local political engagement and learn that you can say City three times while referring to City Hall. It’s as action packed as a teen soap!
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: July 21-23
Fashion Photography and Pop Music await you this weekend. Don’t move too fast though. It’s still sort of hot outside.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 28-31
Halloween’s an important holiday. There are a lot of things to do. Here are some things that The Weekender thinks you’d be into.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Talking Movies: Well Spoke’n
I’ve now seen Vittorio De Sica’s masterpiece The Bicycle Thief twice in my life. I’m not sure how many more times I’ll be able to bear it. It’s too real; reality is too heartbreaking; and, as T.S. Eliot drily observes, “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”
