Awesome. Thank you. I saw “My Old Ass” At the Parkway Cinema in Oakland last night. It felt so good to settle in with a truly big screen and no distractions. It’s like a sacred space. It gives me permission to focus in a way that’s become rare.
I loved it, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. The boy is so gentle and winsome. I love the scene where he does that silly thing in the water that all kids with long hair do at some point: turn it into a curtain before their faces and then lift up and set on head, forming a kind of roll. This is the kind of detail I love in great art and film. These little things we barely think of that are kind of weird and weirdly universal. And therefore poignant and important and good.
The film is a rejection of cynicism, especially about our youth. It made me feel good about humanity. These are not experiences I have enough at the movie theater.
In the UK, post-Lockdown, I think it is getting harder to see a wider variety of movies depending on where you live, and with shrinking household budgets, that cinema has become a treat, an event again. It can be hard to see anything beyond big budget movies and you can end up paying a lot for a not great experience. I'm still trying to catch the Outrun, but being challenged by the showing times not fitting in with my work times/finishing at work times. It's frustrating that some really powerful movies seem to have a short release run in some places, and trying to find world cinema is a bit of a treasure hunt of its own. However, in the UK, we have National Cinema Day where discounted tickets are offered and a wider range of movies - so max out on those £4 tickets! As you stress, I will (where I can) go to independent cinemas to support them and enjoy the much nicer experience. It's also worth looking out for deals - the days when tickets are cheaper (i.e. £5 days), the 'off-peak' times and enjoy those 'serendipity' moments where the movie times work with with everything! Cinema at 10am? Yes please?!! Cinema definitely isn't dead as the wonderful run of independent movies is currently demonstrating, but some local cinema chains don't make it easy to see the films you want to when you want to! Pre-COVID, it was possible to see world cinema (i.e. non-English language films) more frequently, now they are still present - but the big releases only seem to turn up locally on one day at a very late showing. Or I have to travel elsewhere to see them (and still be awake!) But the more we all go to the movies, the more cinemas there will be to choose from!
Hi Susan, I know your pain. When I lived in Oxfordshire, the choices could be few and I had to travel 45 minutes to see a film - but I grew up having to do the same, to see a great "art" film, so I never minded that. You should do some research into microcinemas in the UK. It is one of the fastest growing markets for them, and many of them use memberships that drive costs down considerably. I find not enough people know they're lurking in unexpected locations.
Oh, the problem is definitely me. Aided by my extremely introverted better half who really doesn’t like to go out. Mostly we watch shows on PBS, Britbox, and Acorn. A few years ago, we both agreed we just couldn’t watch another superhero (Marvel/DC) movie. But we do get to the movies a few times a year. He took some time off this summer, where we went in the middle of a weekday to see “Young Woman and the Sea” (we met at a Masters swim meet) and that worked out really well. So maybe we’ll get back to going with some regularity once he finally retires next year. Thank you for all the trailers, though it might take a little time to go through them all! 😃
There are so many wonderful films in there, ones I've already seen. I'm staggered by the variety of what's being offered to us these days. I wish people were making more money off them, like they used to, but complaining about that is largely beyond my pay grade, as I like to say.
I totally agree, Cole! I live an hour north of Brisbane and more than willingly drive the distance to an indie theatre there almost weekly.
It's an old building with tradition cinema lighting and curtains, chalk art on blackboards out front advertising the latest films, and they regularly screen obscure throwbacks and host filmmaker Q&As.
The best bit? Tickets are only $14 when you're a member and all the patrons are respectable film buffs. Oh, and there's a 24/7 coffee shop across the road that makes best damn lattes I've ever had.
Also, I'm very keen for Heretic and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu!
This description could be mine about Mount Vic Flicks. These venues exist. They just need to be supported. If you love cinema, you have to care for it. It's not a one-sided relationship, nor has it ever been.
There are moments across my life at the movies that I'll never forget - one favorite, the entire theatre cracked up laughing when Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone discovered that the Doobie Brothers band had broken up and we all sympathized with him and recalled our own sense of loss. Watching Kelly's Heroes in an on campus theatre with a bunch of fraternity boys in the row behind me, but as a proud "independent" I gained a new appreciation for them when I heard one of them say, "Damn, that's a Tiger!" with the proper mix of respect and apprehension! I'm glad that post-pandemic, I can still get to the number of theatres near me here in the DC suburbs in Virginia. At least a half a dozen can be reached by subway, and our favorite is a reasonable car drive away. I often find myself getting a private screening at a later morning or early afternoon weekday showing. But I still relish the moments of being one with an entire crowd of people as we follow what's happening on the screen at the front of the room.
Yes to absolutely everything you wrote here, Robert. I find the cinema the closest thing to church (which I long ago abandoned). A room full of people concentrating on a single thing, laughing, crying, screaming, being moved as one. It's an unbelievably powerful experience.
Cole, this piece is a refreshing and passionate defence of cinema. I appreciated how you flipped the narrative and highlighted the vibrancy and diversity of films beyond Hollywood’s mainstream. Your anecdotes, especially about Mount Vic Flicks, and the stats from Forbes were well-placed to show why the experience of going to the cinema is worth fighting for.
Yes! As a visual artist, I’ve been hearing the same cynical, tired and boring phrase said by critics ever since I went to art school. The phrase “painting is dead” is tossed around in some nihilistic circles; I see this cliched phrase as as a way to reject any attempt at creativity, sincerity, and artistic evolution. At this claim I tend to roll my eyes; art is not dead! As long as we breathe air, we make art. That’s just how it goes.
My 1st job in hs was at an indie art house theater that showed classic films on projectors: Blade Runner the original, Rocky Horror, Best in show, It’s a Wonderful Life. Before opening previews, our cinema intro reel had a phrase “the language of cinema is universal” repeated in dozens of languages. That feeling when the lights go dim and the film starts, there’s no replacement. Movies are alive and well. For ages, people will need the stories in film to make sense of life, to come together, to see the world through a lens of empathy, meaning, and adventure. I love this ode to the immortal nature of the arts. Thank you for this one; I agree art is alive and it will never die in my book.
Thanks for your response and your article. I am an art for art's sake person. It has no value to me to know anything about the art/ entertainment other than that I like it and want to see it again. If I think someone else would like it, I rec it to them, but I'm not invested in the outcome. They do the same for me and we have some great discussions. Some of the things I watch are educational, some funny, some enlightening, some moving. Whatever I need for the moment I'm in. That's what my viewing and listening experiences are. Obviously, you have an analytical perspective, which is your thing. Whatever does it for you!
I live in a small town where we have a tiny cinema/movie theater. It usually shows either Pilish productions, which would never be shown on Netflix, or some indie films (well, with the exception of "Oppenheimer"). I love going there because I can have two-three hours of rest from worrying about my mother, who suffers from severe vascular dementia. Thank you for this post and thd trailers. One that especially has caught my eye is Conclave, but I think the other movies are also fabulous. I do hope our cinema shows at least a few of them. I agree with you -- cinema isn't dead. (I'm sorry for my English; I'm trying to improve my writing, but it's difficult when I have other things to take care of). Kinc regards, Paulinz from Zgierz, Poland.
Your English is excellent, Paulina, no apologies necessary. I'm very sorry to hear about your mother's condition; both of my parents have died, so I empathize with this terrible time in your life. But you cite here another of the amazing aspects of cinema that it's very hard to recreate at home -- which is to be transported away from the troubles of your life to someplace else. It's a two-hour break from who you are, giving your brain permission to be somewhere else entirely. It's hugely valuable to our mental health, I think.
Thank you for your kind words. enjoy your posts here on the Substack a lot, although I usually don't know what to write in the comments :) Again, all the best from my Tony town. P.
I have that AMC movie pass thing, which prompts me to see up to 3 films a week. Usually, I’ll see one or two because I generally don’t have time for a third during the weekdays.
But AMC doesn’t really showcase movies that tend not to make money. A film will come and go within a week or two. If it’s not filling the theater, it’s gone. We just got an independent cinema here about a year ago and it’s far more curated and interesting. The films there are classics and foreign films and independents as well as some of the films that come and go fast from AMC. They also host live shows there with music and performances as well as talks with independent filmmakers and writers. They just did a screening of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Penn Gillette , who is a huge fan of the classic film, opened it with a short talk and then stayed to watch the film with a packed house. AMC should start thinking smaller like this because I think it’s the future of cinema.
Every big theater needs to dedicate a screen to this kind of curation. It's investment in the health of your audience, in a way. You help make them into better ticketbuyers, in a manner. Otherwise, when you don't give them the exact cinematic experience they expect, they get angry and don't come back as much. They need a broader appetite, and they've been told for too long to just be content with one kind of meal.
There is also the issue of AMC and other large theaters not taking care of their facilities. The seats are broken and bathroom stalls either broken or unsanitary. That’s also a huge turnoff.
It's a heartbreaking exercise to look at photos of the movie houses you paid relative pennies to go see a film in back in 1940 or 1950 or even, in many cases, 1960 and then compare them to the average American movie theater and what you get charged to see a film in one. There's as much passion for the experience there as going to Wal-Mart provides shoppers.
I have to tell you, as an avid former moviegoer, I had to find another venue when covid struck, the theaters closed and my movie partner died. One thing I found that I liked is streaming Aussie tv dramas, which have terrific character development, good stories and keep you waiting for the inevitable shocking death of a main character (probably one you have grown to iove). I still watch and love movies too. This is what happened to radio when tv became the medium.
Then cable TV gave way to streaming, but radio and tv are still there, just like movie houses. Truthfully, I don't enjoy going to movie houses alone anymore. Life took a permanent detour from that, but opened up a lot of other ways to enjoy what I love. Thanks for the article.
My problem with TV -- which I love -- is it's largely a lonely experience, and I think cinema is the opposite of it. Don't get me wrong, I watch TV, too; I'm also thrilled you have anything that helps you vacate your daily life for an hour or two. But I need to be with other people these days and I need to talk about TV with people, which is a much different experience than it was twenty, even ten years ago. No reason for you to read this article I'm about to share, but I have a big problem with how streaming has fractured our culture, which might explain some of my frustration with the home experience these days. https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/guys-i-think-peak-tv-helped-break
Hi Tim, I've now mentioned this three or four times. This is the final warning. My Substack is not for your self-promotion. You don't even subscribe to it, but regularly use it to share links to your work. If you do it again, rather than just engage for engagement's sake, I will block you.
Awesome. Thank you. I saw “My Old Ass” At the Parkway Cinema in Oakland last night. It felt so good to settle in with a truly big screen and no distractions. It’s like a sacred space. It gives me permission to focus in a way that’s become rare.
That film is my favorite of the year at the moment. I'm glad you headed out to see it on the big screen.
I loved it, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. The boy is so gentle and winsome. I love the scene where he does that silly thing in the water that all kids with long hair do at some point: turn it into a curtain before their faces and then lift up and set on head, forming a kind of roll. This is the kind of detail I love in great art and film. These little things we barely think of that are kind of weird and weirdly universal. And therefore poignant and important and good.
The film is a rejection of cynicism, especially about our youth. It made me feel good about humanity. These are not experiences I have enough at the movie theater.
Oh yes. I like that. You are so right. He’s like an Alyosha figure (The Brothers Karamazov). We need much more of this. The cynicism is toxic.
In the UK, post-Lockdown, I think it is getting harder to see a wider variety of movies depending on where you live, and with shrinking household budgets, that cinema has become a treat, an event again. It can be hard to see anything beyond big budget movies and you can end up paying a lot for a not great experience. I'm still trying to catch the Outrun, but being challenged by the showing times not fitting in with my work times/finishing at work times. It's frustrating that some really powerful movies seem to have a short release run in some places, and trying to find world cinema is a bit of a treasure hunt of its own. However, in the UK, we have National Cinema Day where discounted tickets are offered and a wider range of movies - so max out on those £4 tickets! As you stress, I will (where I can) go to independent cinemas to support them and enjoy the much nicer experience. It's also worth looking out for deals - the days when tickets are cheaper (i.e. £5 days), the 'off-peak' times and enjoy those 'serendipity' moments where the movie times work with with everything! Cinema at 10am? Yes please?!! Cinema definitely isn't dead as the wonderful run of independent movies is currently demonstrating, but some local cinema chains don't make it easy to see the films you want to when you want to! Pre-COVID, it was possible to see world cinema (i.e. non-English language films) more frequently, now they are still present - but the big releases only seem to turn up locally on one day at a very late showing. Or I have to travel elsewhere to see them (and still be awake!) But the more we all go to the movies, the more cinemas there will be to choose from!
Hi Susan, I know your pain. When I lived in Oxfordshire, the choices could be few and I had to travel 45 minutes to see a film - but I grew up having to do the same, to see a great "art" film, so I never minded that. You should do some research into microcinemas in the UK. It is one of the fastest growing markets for them, and many of them use memberships that drive costs down considerably. I find not enough people know they're lurking in unexpected locations.
Hi thanks, I didn't know microcinemas were a thing =) What a great idea =)
Oh, the problem is definitely me. Aided by my extremely introverted better half who really doesn’t like to go out. Mostly we watch shows on PBS, Britbox, and Acorn. A few years ago, we both agreed we just couldn’t watch another superhero (Marvel/DC) movie. But we do get to the movies a few times a year. He took some time off this summer, where we went in the middle of a weekday to see “Young Woman and the Sea” (we met at a Masters swim meet) and that worked out really well. So maybe we’ll get back to going with some regularity once he finally retires next year. Thank you for all the trailers, though it might take a little time to go through them all! 😃
There are so many wonderful films in there, ones I've already seen. I'm staggered by the variety of what's being offered to us these days. I wish people were making more money off them, like they used to, but complaining about that is largely beyond my pay grade, as I like to say.
I totally agree, Cole! I live an hour north of Brisbane and more than willingly drive the distance to an indie theatre there almost weekly.
It's an old building with tradition cinema lighting and curtains, chalk art on blackboards out front advertising the latest films, and they regularly screen obscure throwbacks and host filmmaker Q&As.
The best bit? Tickets are only $14 when you're a member and all the patrons are respectable film buffs. Oh, and there's a 24/7 coffee shop across the road that makes best damn lattes I've ever had.
Also, I'm very keen for Heretic and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu!
This description could be mine about Mount Vic Flicks. These venues exist. They just need to be supported. If you love cinema, you have to care for it. It's not a one-sided relationship, nor has it ever been.
There are moments across my life at the movies that I'll never forget - one favorite, the entire theatre cracked up laughing when Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone discovered that the Doobie Brothers band had broken up and we all sympathized with him and recalled our own sense of loss. Watching Kelly's Heroes in an on campus theatre with a bunch of fraternity boys in the row behind me, but as a proud "independent" I gained a new appreciation for them when I heard one of them say, "Damn, that's a Tiger!" with the proper mix of respect and apprehension! I'm glad that post-pandemic, I can still get to the number of theatres near me here in the DC suburbs in Virginia. At least a half a dozen can be reached by subway, and our favorite is a reasonable car drive away. I often find myself getting a private screening at a later morning or early afternoon weekday showing. But I still relish the moments of being one with an entire crowd of people as we follow what's happening on the screen at the front of the room.
Yes to absolutely everything you wrote here, Robert. I find the cinema the closest thing to church (which I long ago abandoned). A room full of people concentrating on a single thing, laughing, crying, screaming, being moved as one. It's an unbelievably powerful experience.
Cole, this piece is a refreshing and passionate defence of cinema. I appreciated how you flipped the narrative and highlighted the vibrancy and diversity of films beyond Hollywood’s mainstream. Your anecdotes, especially about Mount Vic Flicks, and the stats from Forbes were well-placed to show why the experience of going to the cinema is worth fighting for.
Thanks, Jon, I appreciate the note.
Yes! As a visual artist, I’ve been hearing the same cynical, tired and boring phrase said by critics ever since I went to art school. The phrase “painting is dead” is tossed around in some nihilistic circles; I see this cliched phrase as as a way to reject any attempt at creativity, sincerity, and artistic evolution. At this claim I tend to roll my eyes; art is not dead! As long as we breathe air, we make art. That’s just how it goes.
My 1st job in hs was at an indie art house theater that showed classic films on projectors: Blade Runner the original, Rocky Horror, Best in show, It’s a Wonderful Life. Before opening previews, our cinema intro reel had a phrase “the language of cinema is universal” repeated in dozens of languages. That feeling when the lights go dim and the film starts, there’s no replacement. Movies are alive and well. For ages, people will need the stories in film to make sense of life, to come together, to see the world through a lens of empathy, meaning, and adventure. I love this ode to the immortal nature of the arts. Thank you for this one; I agree art is alive and it will never die in my book.
"I see this cliched phrase as as a way to reject any attempt at creativity, sincerity, and artistic evolution." This is very often the case, I agree.
Thanks for your response and your article. I am an art for art's sake person. It has no value to me to know anything about the art/ entertainment other than that I like it and want to see it again. If I think someone else would like it, I rec it to them, but I'm not invested in the outcome. They do the same for me and we have some great discussions. Some of the things I watch are educational, some funny, some enlightening, some moving. Whatever I need for the moment I'm in. That's what my viewing and listening experiences are. Obviously, you have an analytical perspective, which is your thing. Whatever does it for you!
I live in a small town where we have a tiny cinema/movie theater. It usually shows either Pilish productions, which would never be shown on Netflix, or some indie films (well, with the exception of "Oppenheimer"). I love going there because I can have two-three hours of rest from worrying about my mother, who suffers from severe vascular dementia. Thank you for this post and thd trailers. One that especially has caught my eye is Conclave, but I think the other movies are also fabulous. I do hope our cinema shows at least a few of them. I agree with you -- cinema isn't dead. (I'm sorry for my English; I'm trying to improve my writing, but it's difficult when I have other things to take care of). Kinc regards, Paulinz from Zgierz, Poland.
Your English is excellent, Paulina, no apologies necessary. I'm very sorry to hear about your mother's condition; both of my parents have died, so I empathize with this terrible time in your life. But you cite here another of the amazing aspects of cinema that it's very hard to recreate at home -- which is to be transported away from the troubles of your life to someplace else. It's a two-hour break from who you are, giving your brain permission to be somewhere else entirely. It's hugely valuable to our mental health, I think.
Thank you for your kind words. enjoy your posts here on the Substack a lot, although I usually don't know what to write in the comments :) Again, all the best from my Tony town. P.
*tiny
I have that AMC movie pass thing, which prompts me to see up to 3 films a week. Usually, I’ll see one or two because I generally don’t have time for a third during the weekdays.
But AMC doesn’t really showcase movies that tend not to make money. A film will come and go within a week or two. If it’s not filling the theater, it’s gone. We just got an independent cinema here about a year ago and it’s far more curated and interesting. The films there are classics and foreign films and independents as well as some of the films that come and go fast from AMC. They also host live shows there with music and performances as well as talks with independent filmmakers and writers. They just did a screening of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Penn Gillette , who is a huge fan of the classic film, opened it with a short talk and then stayed to watch the film with a packed house. AMC should start thinking smaller like this because I think it’s the future of cinema.
Every big theater needs to dedicate a screen to this kind of curation. It's investment in the health of your audience, in a way. You help make them into better ticketbuyers, in a manner. Otherwise, when you don't give them the exact cinematic experience they expect, they get angry and don't come back as much. They need a broader appetite, and they've been told for too long to just be content with one kind of meal.
There is also the issue of AMC and other large theaters not taking care of their facilities. The seats are broken and bathroom stalls either broken or unsanitary. That’s also a huge turnoff.
It's a heartbreaking exercise to look at photos of the movie houses you paid relative pennies to go see a film in back in 1940 or 1950 or even, in many cases, 1960 and then compare them to the average American movie theater and what you get charged to see a film in one. There's as much passion for the experience there as going to Wal-Mart provides shoppers.
I have to tell you, as an avid former moviegoer, I had to find another venue when covid struck, the theaters closed and my movie partner died. One thing I found that I liked is streaming Aussie tv dramas, which have terrific character development, good stories and keep you waiting for the inevitable shocking death of a main character (probably one you have grown to iove). I still watch and love movies too. This is what happened to radio when tv became the medium.
Then cable TV gave way to streaming, but radio and tv are still there, just like movie houses. Truthfully, I don't enjoy going to movie houses alone anymore. Life took a permanent detour from that, but opened up a lot of other ways to enjoy what I love. Thanks for the article.
My problem with TV -- which I love -- is it's largely a lonely experience, and I think cinema is the opposite of it. Don't get me wrong, I watch TV, too; I'm also thrilled you have anything that helps you vacate your daily life for an hour or two. But I need to be with other people these days and I need to talk about TV with people, which is a much different experience than it was twenty, even ten years ago. No reason for you to read this article I'm about to share, but I have a big problem with how streaming has fractured our culture, which might explain some of my frustration with the home experience these days. https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/guys-i-think-peak-tv-helped-break
I just enjoyed terrifier 3.
In the theater with an audience.
The chainsaw up the butt scene looked fake
https://marlowe1.substack.com/p/job-chapter-22
Hi Tim, I've now mentioned this three or four times. This is the final warning. My Substack is not for your self-promotion. You don't even subscribe to it, but regularly use it to share links to your work. If you do it again, rather than just engage for engagement's sake, I will block you.