Opening this Friday, Monsters vs. Aliens portends to be one
of the year’s biggest box-office hits. At select theaters around town,
you can see it in glorious digital 3D that features the latest
technological innovations. But while today’s 3D makes the 3D of
yesteryear look primitive by comparison, there’s still something
appealing about the old-school approach. That’s what the Cleveland
Institute of Art Cinematheque (11141 East Blvd., 216.421.7450) has
in mind by showing 3D classics such as The Creature From the
Black Lagoon (U.S., 1954) and It Came From Outer Space (U.S., 1953) this weekend. The films,
which screen as a double-feature package at 8:35 p.m. Friday and
Saturday, use the outmoded anaglyph process, but they are still fun to
watch. Lagoon features an amphibious creature that wipes out an
entire expedition; Outer Space boasts aliens that land in the
desert and then wreak havoc after inhabiting the bodies of local
residents. Tickets: $8 (glasses included).
The annual Tournées Festival of French and Francophone
cinema returns to Baldwin-Wallace’s Marting Hall (Room 114, 50
Seminary St., Berea) this weekend. It kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, March
27, with a reception, followed by a showing of La Faute à
Fidel (Blame it on Fidel), Julie Gavras’ 2006 film about a
young girl whose life undergoes a drastic change after her parents
become political activists. Other films include the Edith Piaf biopic
La Môme (La vie en Rose) (March 28); a program of shorts
by young filmmakers called L’Origine de la Tendresse et
Autres Contes (L’Origine de la Tendresse and Other Tales)
(March 29); the documentary 10ème Chambre —Instants
D’Audience (The 10th District Court: Moments of Trial)
(March 29); Rêves de Poussière (Dreams of
Dust) (April 3); and the thriller Ne le dis à
personne (Tell No One) (April 4). For information, call
440.826.2322. All screenings are free.
With the Wednesday, April 1, screening of the 1998 film
Pièces d’identité (Pieces of Identity), the
Cleveland Museum of Art kicks off its film series “Central African Art
and Power on Screen” to coincide with its spring exhibition of African
art. Other films in the series include Kirkou and the Sorceress (April 8 and 11), On the Rumba River (April 10 and 11) and
Lumumba (April 15). The films show in the CMA Morley Lecture
Hall (11150 East Blvd.); tickets are $8. For information, go to
clevelandart.org.
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2009.
