FilmWeek LAist 89.3 | Southern California Public Radio

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Amy Nicholson and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

“Summer Camp” Wide Release

“Jim Henson: Idea Man” Streaming on Disney+

“In A Violent Nature” Wide Release

“The Dead Don’t Hurt” In Select Theaters

“Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara” Landmark Pasadena Playhouse [Pasadena] , Laemmle Royal [Sawtelle],  Laemmle Town Center 5 [Encino]

“Backspot” Alamo Drafthouse [DTLA]| Available On VOD Platforms

“Ezra” In Select Theaters

“The Young Wife” Available On VOD

“What You Wish For” In Select Theaters | Available On VOD

From his puppeteering days to viewers of a local D.C. TV station to global audiences theatrically, if you weren’t able to remember Jim Henson’s face you certainly recognized his zany muppets. A new documentary from Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard, titled “Jim Henson: Idea Man,” chronologically goes through Henson’s life’s work and how closely tied his loved ones were to projects like “Sesame Street” and his 1986 feature “Labyrinth.” For this week’s FilmWeek feature, Larry talks to Howard about his new documentary and how he looked to capture Henson’s life by talking to those closest to him still living.

 

‘Jim Henson: Idea Man’ is now available to stream on Disney+.

 

 

Revival House says goodbye for now with a look at one of the biggest programming groups in town, the American Cinematheque. 

 

Celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, screening 1500 movies a year in three iconic theaters across Los Angeles, the American Cinematheque has a movie for everybody, every night of the week. In this episode, How To LA producer Victoria Alejandro jumps into the history of these movie theaters and this programming group to shine a light on a little L.A. moviegoing history and spotlight the future of the American Cinematheque in this city.

 

Check out our deep dive into the Egyptian Theatre's history and reopening here:  https://omny.fm/shows/howtola/revival-house-the-egyptian-theater-redux

 

Guests: Professor and historian Ross Melnick, American Cinematheque artistic director Grant Moninger, Programmers Imani Davis and Cindy Flores, Senior Film Programmer Chris Lemaire

A new book by film historians James Ursini and Alain Silver titled “From the Moment They Met It Was Murder: Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir” gets into one of Hollywood’s most influential works, the true crime drama “Double Indemnity.” Ursini and Silver helped chronicle the film’s origins, from the 1927 “crime of the century” it's based on and the motifs that would eventually inspire generations. What better way to reboot our FilmWeek screening series than to talk about this iconic Hollywood throwback with authors who understand and one of our beloved critics? For this week’s feature, Larry returns with our live screening series, joined by LAist film critic Claudia Puig and book authors Ursini and Silver.

 

 

 

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Wade Major, Tim Cogshell, and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” Wide Release

“The Garfield Movie” Wide Release

“Hit Man”   Laemmle Monica Film Center [Santa Monica] | Laemmle Glendale [Glendale] | Streaming on Netflix June 7

“Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle” Wide Release

“The Beach Boys” Streaming on Disney+

“Queen of the Deuce” Streaming on Amazon and Apple TV+

“Atlas” Streaming on Netflix

“Taking Venice” Laemmle Royal [Sawtelle] | Laemmle Town Center [Encino]

“Sight” Wide Release 

Roger Corman, the “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors early breaks, has died. He was 98. Corman died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, according to a statement released Saturday by his wife and daughters. This follows a life that started with many B-horror movies, such as the 1960 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” and helping kickstart the careers of Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson. Some of Corman’s work, including interviews with these film legends associated with Corman, was displayed in the 2011 documentary “Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel.”

 

For this week’s FilmWeek feature, we talk to filmmaker Alex Stapleton, director of “Corman’s World” and LAist film critic Wade Major, about Corman’s legacy and why his loss meant so much to the film community.