Japanese Summer: Double Suicide (Japan, 1967)
Nagisa Oshima turns the Japanese lovers’ ritual upside down with this film. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 8:50 p.m. Sunday, March 15.
Three Resurrected Drunkards (Japan, 1968)
This Nagisa Oshima comedy comes off like a Beatles film shot by Godard. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 13.
Pleasures of the Flesh (Japan, 1965)
An imprisoned embezzler blackmails a teacher in this Nagisa Oshima comedy. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7 p.m. Sunday, March 15.
Timecrimes (Spain, 2007)
While spying on a naked girl in the densely wooded area behind his home, middle-aged layabout Hector (Karra Elejalde) is attacked by a sinister apparition whose facial bandages conceal his face. Outrunning his attacker, Hector seeks shelter in a nearby house whose sole resident is a possibly insane scientist (writer-director Nacho Vigalondo) working on a…
Sing a Song of Sex (Japan, 1967
Four Japanese high school boys fantasize about sex in this early Nagisa Oshima film. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 9:10 p.m. Friday, March 13.
Watchmen
Set in 1985 in an alternate United States, where costume-clad heroes used to be as common as the threat of nuclear war that hangs over the world, Watchmen tells the story of a group of banned and retired crime fighters who reluctantly reunite after one of their colleagues — the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), whose…
Last House on the Left
Keep telling yourself, “It’s Only Another Useless Remake … It’s Only Another Useless Remake.” Given the wobbly acting, meat-cleaver editing and a soundtrack with more mood swings than your psycho ex-girlfriend, Wes Craven’s cult 1972 cheapie Last House on the Left might have been interesting with a big-budget makeover. But … no, not really. An…
Miss March
Best friends Eugene (Zach Cregger) and Tucker (Trevor Moore) couldn’t be much different from each other. Ever since they were young, Tucker has been more interested in girls than Eugene. So when Eugene and his high-school sweetheart Cindi (Raquel Alessi) finally agree to sleep together, Tucker tries to help Eugene out by getting him drunk.…
Race to Witch Mountain
Extraterrestrial siblings Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) crash-land on earth, only to be pursued by a predictably unfriendly secret branch of the U.S. government. Fortunately for them, they wind up in a cab driven by Jack Bruno (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), a cynic with a checkered past who, along with some help from…
A Christmas Tale
Despite that treacly title which makes it sound like a Very Special Hallmark Hall of Fame TV flick, A Christmas Tale upends virtually every cliché known to connoisseurs of holiday-themed fare. For starters, it’s the first “Christmas” film inspired by a treatise on organ transplants (La greffe by psychoanalyst Jacques Ascher and hematologist Jean-Pierre Jouet).…
Che
An epic-scaled biopic without a single conventional biopic moment, Steven Soderbergh’s staggeringly ambitious Che breaks most of the rules of commercial cinema while achieving near greatness on its own sui generis terms. Split into two parts of roughly 135 minutes apiece, Che demands to be seen from start to finish — preferably with a bathroom/smoke…
Birdsong (Spain, 2008)
Albert Serra retells the story of the Three Magi in his second feature. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, and 5 p.m. Saturday, March 14.
Criminal Extract
Working with an admirably lean adaptation by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, three actors portray all the parts in a distilled, 90-minute verson of Dosteovsky's Crime and Punishment, on stage now at the Cleveland Play House. They offer a compelling, if at times slightly fuzzy, retelling of the hefty tale. Starting like any police procedural…
Arts News
Artists are invited to submit their visions for public art to be included in an East Side Transit Center, a passenger waiting space/bus staging area to be located at East 22nd and Prospect. Public art will be an important part of the project, which will be named after the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Big…
No Plan B
"Post-graffiti" writers combine street smarts with a sophisticated awareness of art-historical trends and techniques. Lately, artists like Bask, Tes One, Sarah Gail Hutcherson, Barry McGee, Phil Frost, D*Face, Shepard Fairey and a host of others have been finding their way into galleries and museums of contemporary art. Today's names are part of an art-world subculture…
Local Foodie News
It can be disquieting to walk into a Jewish deli and get served tamales and en-chiladas. But that's the routine at Los Habaneros (20255 Van Aken Blvd., 216.991.4522, loshabanerosmexican.com), a new Mexican spot run by Rogelio Hernandez. Granted, the space hasn't served matzo-ball soup since Eddie Sand's Blueline Café shuttered last year. But apart from…
From Russia, With Love
Aleksandr Sokurov made an international splash in 2002 with his technically ingenious Russian Ark, a survey of Russian history symbolized by a room-by-room tour of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The film, which reveled in gilded art and royal splendor, was hailed as a masterpiece because it was composed of a single, unedited Steadicam…
Wiggin’ Out
During the Cavs' 105-94 loss to the Celtics in Boston last Friday night, Glen "Big Baby" Davis was ejected for a flagrant foul on Anderson Varejao. Wild Thing was heading to the basket for a lay-up when Davis hooked his arms around Andy's neck and threw him to the ground. This, of course, led the…
She’s Not Talking
The report from County Coroner Frank Miller III says the cause of Rosemary Vinci’s death was a blocked artery. But the doctor who runs the Division of Autopsy Services at Ohio State University respectfully disagrees. At Scene’s request, Dr. Charles Hitchcock reviewed the coroner’s report last week. Dr. Hitchcock says he believes Vinci died of…
State Of The City: Worried
It's hard not to like Mayor Frank Jackson. He preaches the people's philosophy in a tried-and-true progressive town. "The pace is set not by the quickest, but by the slowest," he said last week at his fourth state of the city address, paraphrasing an old Zapatista slogan. "I'm not going to leave anybody behind." And…
She’s Not Talking
The report from County Coroner Frank Miller III says the cause of Rosemary Vinci's death was a blocked artery. But the doctor who runs the Division of Autopsy Services at Ohio State University respectfully disagrees. At Scene's request, Dr. Charles Hitchcock reviewed the coroner's report last week. Dr. Hitchcock says he believes Vinci died of…
Local Reviews
Death Sweats Hot to French (Central Command Center) myspace.com/centralcommandcenter For years, hipsters from Lakewood to the Heights have coveted their turntables, but local label Central Command Center knows where's it's really at: cassettes. The label cut its teeth with a release by indie bruisers Coffinberry and is now in bed with lo-fi/lo-moral garage-dudes Death Sweats.…
The Pipes Are Calling
3.11 Pogues devotees the Boys From the County Hell celebrate their 10th anniversary on March 13 at the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216.383.1124, beachlandballroom.com), before launching into their annual three-shows-in-a-day ritual on March 17. At 9 a.m. they open the all-day affair at House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 216.523.2583, hob.com). They can walk…
A Decade Of Debauchery
Editor's Note: It's been 10 years since the Boys From the County Hell started playing around town on St. Patrick's Day. During that time, the Pogues tribute band has teamed up with Spider Stacy (an orginal Pogue) for a series of shows, played a gig in Bangkok and started more than one bar brawl with…
Time Is On Their Side
Watchmen just might be the most anticipated movie of all time. Fans have been salivating over – and lining up to skewer – the inevitable film adaptation ever since the comic-book series wrapped its year-long run in 1987. Can you blame them? When writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons published the first issue of…
Your Complete Concert Listings
ROCK & POP Agora: The Agora's hot-pink neon sign is a Cleveland rock icon. Divided into a spacious theater and a more comfortable ballroom, the club has three bars, and it's as big as the names who play there. 5000 Euclid Ave. Fri, March 13 The Jack Fords, Café. Annabell's: Annabell's basement has a new…
Rockabye Babies
The tour of Spring Awakening is hurtling audiences – wistfully or painfully – onto the sharp horns of adolescent dilemma. There's no denying the sexy, exuberant snap of the youthful company. Nor can we negate the high-decibel crackle of the onstage band's rendering of Duncan Sheik's all-too-authentic rock score. Add to that the resounding pop…
Culture Jamming: Wtf? Now In Hd!
TOP PICK Donnie Darko (Twentieth Century Fox) One of the greatest mindfucks of all time finally comes to Blu-ray, and the details are stunning. The disc includes both the theatrical and director's cuts of the movie. Go for the latter – the whole time-travel thing makes a little more sense with the additional 20 minutes.…
Capsule Reviews Of Current Releases
OPENING Birdsong (Spain, 2008) – Albert Serra retells the story of the Three Magi in his second feature. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, and 5 p.m. Saturday, March 14. Che – An epic-scaled biopic without a single conventional biopic moment, Steven Soderbergh's staggeringly ambitious Che breaks most of the…
Kings Of Rap-rock
Former House of Pain MC Danny Boy was going to spit one more verse and return to rap retirement. But that verse grew into underground hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which reunited Danny's old group and brought aboard some friends. Danny Boy's return to rap was initially planned as a cameo for Boston rapper Slaine,…
Ate And A Half
Like Federico Fellini, Terry Tarantino is a dreamer. Both the Italian director and the Italian restaurateur share a gift for the grandiose, favoring ambitious personal projects with theatrical flair. After all, what prudent restaurant owner dishes up live opera alongside pasta dishes named after himself, as Tarantino is wont to do at his Little Italy…
Glenville Redux
Angela's Family Restaurant at East 71st and St. Clair clanks with the sound of the breakfast crowd as Jeff Johnson steps through the door, squeezes his trim mustache and scans the room with an apprehensive grin. The 50-year-old seems to know half the Glenville regulars in here. When he sits, they stop at his table…
Neko Case Leads This Week’s New Releases
Neko Case Middle Cyclone (Anti-/Epitaph) Neko Case has charted a fascinating career path from punk drummer to roots-pop singer-songwriter. The New Pornographers have provided Case with many memorable vocal moments. But she's excelled in her impeccable solo work, which reached its zenith on her third studio album, 2006's brilliant and broadly brushed Fox Confessor Brings…
There’s No Whining In Cleveland
You are here. So am I, and neither one of us is going anywhere anytime soon. All the money you ever had is down the shitter and all the money you're ever going to get isn't far behind. It's time to put a lid on the bellyaching and get serious with a life-sized downgrade. You…
Around Hear
The Suede Brothers' new single has turned into the band's second EP. Formerly the Black Diamonds, the throwback band entered Painesville's Suma Recording in September to record three tracks with James Gang/Pere Ubu producer Paul Hamann. Four months and nine songs later, Ill New You is scheduled for April release and looks like a worthy…
