Film: Movie Theaters Reopening, QAnon, Woody Allen

This week, we have a vital scoop on how New York's independent movie theaters are responding to the p

Mar 26, 2021 • View in browser

This week, we have a vital scoop on how New York’s independent movie theaters are responding to the prospect of reopening their doors. Learn how they’ve kept afloat throughout the yearlong lockdown, and how their business has already drastically changed. We’ve also covered films about gambling addiction, QAnon, retirees having misadventures, and more. Enjoy!Also, it’s been a year since Hyperallergic started its membership drive, and we’ve made some great progress since then! If you want to support unique, independent arts journalism, then please consider becoming a supporter. And if you’re already a member, then you have our endless thanks!– Dan Schindel, Associate Editor for Documentary

Which NYC Theaters Will Reopen?

The Spectacle Theater in New York (image courtesy Spectacle)

Governor Cuomo’s announcement late last month that New York City movie theaters would be allowed to reopen beginning March 5 took many film programmers completely by surprise. In an in-depth survey of how the COVID-19 lockdown has affected the city’s repertory cinemas, Steve Macfarlane talks to workers at Anthology Film Archives, Film Forum, the Quad, and more.

Go Inside the Villages in Florida

From "Some Kind of Heaven"

The Villages constitutes the fastest-growing, most extravagant retirement community in the US. Director Lance Oppenheim followed several of its residents for his documentary Some Kind of Heaven. Fellow filmmaker Sophy Romvari talks to Oppenheim about putting together the movie, and how some Villages residents think it’s “fake news.”

Latest Reviews

"Allen v. Farrow" Revisits Harrowing Allegations of Sexual Abuse The docuseries is the latest look back at the Woody Allen scandal. But do these projects really come from a more enlightened perspective? Justine Smith

"Into the Storm" Tries to Illuminate the Shadowy Allure of QAnon Despite its six-hour runtime, the HBO docuseries Q: Into the Storm fails to comprehend what draws people to conspiracy theories. Dan Schindel

Stream a ’70s Classic About the Highs and Lows of Gambling with a Young George Segal Pay tribute to the late actor George Segal by watching one of his best movies, California Split. Dan Schindel

What to Stream

From "Road to Perdition"

For this week’s streaming roundup, I highlighted some films based on DC Comics titles that aren’t about superheroes.MoMA’s annual Doc Fortnight festival is currently underway. Make sure not to miss Cycle ∞, a terrific program of Indigenous shorts and other works curated by the filmmaking collective COUSIN.

Kyle Kallgren has embarked upon an epic three-part video about the classic sci-fi satire Starship Troopers. He’s kicked things off with a look at the life of Robert Heinlein, the influential author of the book the film was based on. This is shaping up to be one of the best, most ambitious video essays of the year.

Starship Troopers, Part 1: Heinlein

Until theaters are safe again, be well!

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