MeetUp at the movies

The Brattle Theater in Cambridge opened the window to revivals and foreign films for me.    I vaguely remember seeing some sort of Bogart movie series.  It was decades ago.  And I think that the Brattle was where I first saw Ingmar Bergman films.  Although it may have been at a theater in Northampton.  It certainly wasn’t at any movie theater in Spokane, where my family lived.

My interest in revival series has waned, but I still love foreign films and, these days, some independent movies.   A few months ago, I joined an art house movie MeetUp group to go to movies once a month at Laemmle’s in Pasadena.   Happily it is a democratic system; instead of the MeetUp leader picking the film, everyone who want to attend votes on which movie to see. 

Ah, democracy is a great thing!  Because of majority rule, I’ve now gone to two movies that never in a million years would I have planned to see.  Two months ago “[500] Days of Summer” won the vote.  A quick review:  it is basically a funny look at young love, obsession, selling out, and architecture in Los Angeles.  The editing is brilliant!  In fact, without the editing, the movie would be a much less interesting film.   I suspect women will like it more than men will.

The next month the movie that won the MeetUp vote was “In the Loop”, which has seemingly vanished from local theaters.  It is a laugh out loud hilarious political satire.  Well, “laugh out loud” if you can stand the F-word language in every scene.   As you watch it you will begin to recognize the characters.  That foul-mouthed Press Secretary for the British Prime Minister–gee, could that be based on Rahm Emanuel?  The peace loving U.S. General–Colin Powell, is that you?   What the movie is about: a lead-up to a war.  Which war is not specified.   If you can find this movie, go see it!

Before MeetUp democracy, I simply picked movies and among the ones I’ve seen recently and recommend is “The Hurt Locker”.    I kept thinking as I watched it: “This is this generation’s, this war’s ‘Platoon’.  Only ‘Platoon’ was much more horrifying.”   The difference between the two movies has a lot to do with the differences between the wars, war locations and a volunteer vs. drafted military.   Around Tinseltown there is Oscar nomination talk for “The Hurt Locker”.