Film
Cemetery screenings that don’t scare
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the programmers of the Coolidge Corner Theatre cross the river for the latest installment of Cemetery Cinema, an annual series of double features projected on the beautiful grounds of Mt. Auburn Cemetery. While graveyard screenings are often associated with horror movies, the folks at the Coolidge take a more thoughtful approach, […]
“Marie Antoinette and friends: Three films by Sofia Coppola”
If the words “Hollywood royalty” apply to anyone, it’s Sofia Coppola. Her father is Francis Ford Coppola, director of such American classics as “The Godfather” (1972) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979); her mother, Eleanor, was an acclaimed documentarian; and her family tree includes such thespians as Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, and Nicolas Cage. Unlike some Hollywood […]
“Mighty Mary” and the all-woman team that cannonballed America’s Cup
Most of the action in “Mighty Mary,” the new documentary about the first all-woman yachting team to vie for the America’s Cup in 1995, takes place in San Diego, where the women train and race. But the film also has plenty of Cambridge connections. Director and former Olympic rower Mary Mazzio lived in Cambridge in […]
A Robin Hood origin story
“The Uprising” ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 4. The latest action flick from “Jason Bourne” director Paul Greengrass has been marred by a marketing fumble that hailed the movie as a Robin Hood origin story. “Witness the rise of Robin Hood,” was the mid-summer tagline until Focus Features caught flack — too much of a […]
Cult classics are in session
The Harvard Film Archive is officially back in full swing following a long summer off, and with it comes another round of fascinating retrospectives and repertory series you’re unlikely to see anywhere else. On Friday, the HFA kicks off another tribute to a cinematic hero in a series titled “João César Monteiro, Poet-Provacateur.” Though often […]
Futures in flux at MIT and Harvard documentary film centers as founding leaders step down
The 2020s have been hard on Boston’s documentary film scene. In 2022, the LEF Foundation’s DocYard screening series went on indefinite hiatus; in 2024, the Bright Lights Cinema Series was cancelled after its curator, Anna Feder, was let go in what appeared to be a politically motivated dismissal. In comparison, last month’s leadership transitions at […]
Art horror, serial killer nonchiller, espionage comedy and a gorefest
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 4. In this latest art-horror curio from Jane Schoenbrun, the alt-indie hand behind psycho-chillers “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” (2021) and “I Saw the TV Glow” (2024), the “Friday the 13th” film franchise and gender politics get skewered with bloody orgasmic […]
Two roads, one driven by survival, the other by friendship
“The Dog Stars” ⭐⭐ Rating: 2 out of 4. Ridley Scott has been down apocalyptic-ish roads before, notably with game changing sci-fi classics “Alien” (1979) and “Blade Runner” (1982). In “The Dog Stars,” adapted from Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, we trek through uneven end-of-times terrain. A virus has wiped out most of humanity, leaving Hig […]
In these films, creatures and cartoon characters live among us
“Hope” ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 2.5 out of 4. For those who relish Korean creature-feature flicks laced with social commentary — think “The Host” (2006) or the gonzo zombie blast “Train to Busan” (2016) — “Hope” may scratch your itch. But be advised, you’ll be nearly an hour in before the first beastie rears its ugly head […]
This week in Cambridge and Somerville: Outdoor screenings, Grooversity and free bike tune-ups
For a searchable calendar of events with your choice of list or map view, or to submit an event of your own, go to the main calendar. Read more Graham Greene honors and mid-century sci-fi continue, retro series kicks off Thursday, Aug. 27 7 p.m.Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Ali Barthwell presents “Reality TV […]