by the cold starlite

our last installment of the starlite cinema series for 2010 is now history and boy, was it chilly.

our hardy band braved a cold texas evening and were rewarded with the inimitable inventions of buster keaton in sherlock jr. (1924) and fritz lang's proto-science fiction epic, metropolis (1927) in all its restored glory. blankets most definitely came in handy and lauren kept us warm on the inside with her delicious chicken tortilla soup.

thanks to everyone who came out. come august, we'll be thinking fondly of these low temperatures.

the winter program rolls on with two films in january appropriate to the new year. we're going to take a look at two men afforded a chance at a new life and the highs and lows that come with that territory. first up, since it's been on my mind lately, we'll have the w.c. fields classic, it's a gift (1934).

click on that text back there if you'd like to see just what i think is so funny about it. better yet, come spend the evening with us and find out for yourself.

the evening's second shot at redemption will come in the form of ulu grosbard's straight time (1978).

dustin hoffman plays max dembo, a recently paroled thief who is finding it to be tough going on the outside. he is a small-timer through and through, a self-destructive recidivist. his attempts to navigate the straight world aren't exactly what you'd call successful. where the w.c. fields entry would be in the "do" column, this is a concrete example of "don't" when it comes to what to do with your new opportunity. the story is based on the life of career criminal, and notorious hard case, eddie bunker. you may know him as mr. blue from reservoir dogs (1992). hoffman is great in it. this is years before he became a parody of himself. m. emmet walsh and harry dean stanton also contribute their considerable skills. it's one of the most underrated american crime films i can think of and it would be great to watch it with you.

our prospective date is friday 1.21.11 at 7 p.m. i will get back to you soon to confirm that date. hope to see you there.