season's greetings by starlite

what to our wondering eyes did appear tonight? starlite cinema series' christmas program, that's what!

we had a lot better weather this time around than we did last year. summer can be rough but it certainly is a nice trade off to be able to comfortably do these outdoor shows this late into december. in anticipation of st. nick's arrival, tonight we screened jalmari helander's rare exports: a christmas tale (2010) and the pair of shorts from 2003 and 2005 that spawned the feature. appropriately, lauren made ginger snaps with which to keep an army of homicidal father christmases at bay so we made it out alive and full of cookies. at starlite we keep things merry and bright year-round.

we will be back in late january to redeem a rain check from last year. in the time that we have been doing this we have had to cancel one show and shorten another, leaving us with a short list of films that we had to abandon. last january we had to cancel the program that included, among other things, norman z. mcleod's it's a gift (1934), a problem we are going to happily rectify next month.

what better way to ensure a great year than to begin it with the great man himself, w.c. fields? this is one of - maybe tops on the list - my all-time favorite comedies. it is relentlessly funny, filled with gags and bits of business that fields had honed to a razor's edge over a lifetime on the vaudeville circuit. he paid attention to language in a way that no comedian has done before or since and every aside and oath muttered under his breath is a victory for literate, beleaguered everymen, everywhere. combine that with an unerring instinct for physical comedy and you can't miss. if you like to laugh this is one you shouldn't miss. our program will begin at 7 p.m. on saturday, 1.21.12. here is the facebook event page if you would like to rsvp via that. if facebook is not an option, just let me know and i will get you the details. it would be great to have you there to kick off 2012 with us. upcoming screenings in the new year are going to include a return to france (of course) for valentine's day and spring is going to see our first two part program that spans march and april with one of my favorite cinematic gumshoes. lots of good times ahead. come and see.