April 2015! Ninjas, The Vertigo Effect, & Dick Miller! Or As We Call It In The Bronx, FRIDAY!

Hallo Stockahz! And welcome to April 2015, baseball, and tempratures repectable, even woundrous! There is much to get to in this overview, the second written one since the suspension of the podcast, but I'm very happy to announce a new 'cast will be kicking off mid-month! I'm excited about the changes and hope you dig the new direction. in the meantime, let's get to this current 30-day sked!

Those of you familiar with the site know I like to award what I refer to as Big Dawg status to the screening or series I conisder most unmissable each month. Last month that noble distinction was awarded to BAM Cinématek and their excellent Black & White 'Scope series, exploring the subgenre of monochrome widescreen with classics like Robert Rossen's THE HUSTLER, Richard Brooks' IN COLD BLOOD and Preminger's ADVISE AND CONSENT. It was the clear winner in a crowded month, which is also the case this April. Forced to make the tough choices though, I'm going with a usual suspect, the grand Film Forum, and their superb and comprehensive career overview of the insanely gifted writer/director Preston Sturges! Strictly Sturges features every film that bore his name as either scribe-only or double-threat. Scheduled titles include his screeenplay work on gems like REMEMBER THE NIGHT, THE POWER AND THE GLORY and IF I WERE KING, to the cream of his writer/director phase, masterpieces like THE LADY EVE, THE PALM BEACH STORY, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, HAIL! THE CONQUERING HERO, and what many deem the crown jewel in a phenomenally inspired and productive career, 1942's SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS. The series runs from Friday the 10th to Thursday the 23rd.

Also at the Forum this month, serving as weeklong bookend engagements to the Sturges series, are Douglas Sirk's forever-imitated soapsud weepie IMITATION OF LIFE, and Rene Clement's postwar classic FORBIDDEN GAMES. The former is most likely your pick for signature Lana Turner perf, unless you think it's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. The latter remains one of the most haunting films ever made about childhood scarred. They both unspool their digital 1's & 0's in brand spankin' new DCP restos. IMITATION runs from today, the 3rd, til Thursday the 9th; GAMES from Friday the 24th thru Thursday May 7th.

Two continuing series at the Forum are the Monday evening screenings of the films of D. W. Griffith, and the enormously popular Sunday morning series Film Forum Jr. The Griffith series offers this month WAY DOWN EAST, HEARTS OF THE WORLD, ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL?, and what is considered his finest achievement, 1918's time-hopping ode to the better angels of human nature INTOLERANCE. The Sunday series promises screenings of Robert Wise's THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Wolfgang Petersen's THE NEVERENDING STORY, and Arthur Lubin's BUCK PRIVATES, the first above-the-title onscreen venture from the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. Tempted to wake up early for this program one of these days. Film Forum is located at 209 W. Houston street in downtown Manhattan.

Across town at the NY film fanatic's fave recreation of the collapsing house from the ending of POLTERGEIST, Casa de Mekas, or Anthology Film Archives, offers up what narrowly missed out as this month's winner of the Daily Growl. The cats over at Subway Cinema have programmed their second annual Old School Kung-Fu Film Fest, this year tightening their focus on a specific legendary figure: the ninja! Menahem Golen's 1981 ENTER THE NINJA helps form part of the series' title, and it is followed by screenings of Sam Firstenberg's REVENGE OF THE NINJA and AMERICAN NINJA, Lee Tso-nam's A LIFE OF NINJA, Chang Cheh's FIVE ELEMENTS NINJA, and hey look you get the idea, I'm afraid I'm gonna wear out the N and J keys on my keyboard. The spectacularly awesome hijinks run from Friday the 16th thru Monday the 19th.

Also at AFA this month is the debut of a great new doc about legendary charcacter actor Dick Miller, entitled THAT GUY DICK MILLER. Accompanying screenings include gems like Roger Corman's A BUCKET OF BLOOD and WAR OF THE SATELLITES, and Joe Dante's THE HOWLING, GREMLINS, and what might be its superior follow-up, GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH. Miller is the epitome of the beloved cult personality, and he will be in attendance for several of these screenings, so if you're a fan head to AFA's site to check the dates. Series runs from today, April 3rd, thru to the 12th.

Also unspooling in glorious 35mm this month are micro-series dedicated to a sampling of Jean Cocteau and Charlie Chaplin. The former includes the titles BLOOD OF A POET and ORPHEUS, on the weekend of the 18th, and the latter a nearly complete review of Chaplin's short works for Keystone, Mutual and First National, as well as two feature-length masterpieces; 1925's THE GOLD RUSH and 1931's CITY LIGHTS on the weekend of the 25th. Anthology Film Archives is located at 32 2nd avenue in Manhattan's East Village.

Heading uptown the Museum of Modern Art has some excellent cinema programmed. Chief among them is the fantastic continuing series dreamt up and booked by adjuct curator and film critic Dave Kehr. For the last two months Acteurism, dedicated to the notion that a film's authorship may come from before the cameras and not just from behind them, has shone its Kliegs on the luminous Ginger Rogers. This month it shifts its beams onto the wonderful and woefully underrated CV of Joel McCrea. Titles scheduled include George Stevens' THE MORE THE MERRIER, Ernest B. Shoedsack & Irving Pichel's THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, Howard Hawks' BARBARY COAST, William Wyler's DEAD END, and Roy Del Ruth's HE MARRIED HIS WIFE. McCrea has always been one of my faves, so I'm attending several of these. Plus, haven't been to MoMA for a spell, and I'm trying to get the maximum bang for mah buck outta this annual membership, y'know? The series runs Wednesdays thru Fridays at 1:30pm.

Also at MoMA this month are two special specific revivals: Joseph von Sternberg's THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN and Orson Welles' debut masterpiece CITIZEN KANE. The von Sternberg is currently flickering thru til Sunday the 5th, while the former consesus greatest-film-all-time runs from Friday April 17th thru Thurday the 23rd. MoMA is located at 11 W 53rd street in midtown Manhattan.

Hopping 'cross the pond into Queens, Astoria's crown jewel, the Museum of the Moving Image, has some interesting hijinks planned. Seeing as its newly renovated and massive screening space can now accomodate 3D, they've booked Victor Fleming's classic THE WIZARD OF OZ in said format for a ten day run beginning today, the 3rd, and concluding on Sunday the 12th. The film unspools at 12:30pm each day, and the price of admission grants you access to the entire museum space as well, which will completely fry your tiny little cinematically-crazed mind if you've never visited before. Trust me, it's very much worth every penny.

Also at MoMI this month is a one-night-only world premiere screening of a newly restored Pearl White classic, 1918's THE HOUSE OF HATE. Professor Richard Koszarski will be in attendance to explain how the once "lost" film re-emerged and the painstaking effort to digitally restore it to its former luster. This one's a must. Moving Image is located at 36-01 35th avenue in Astoria, Queens.

Heading southwards into the equally not-Manhattan badlands of Brooklyn, BAM Cinématek has put together a very busy sked indeed. Starting the month with the return of their excellent Overdue series, they feature this outing the smart and tough filmmaking of producer/director James B. Harris, the onetime collaborator of Stanley Kubrick and fine filmmaker in his own right. Upcoming scheduled titles include 1965's classic nuclear sub suspenser THE BEDFORD INCIDENT, the Kubrick-helmed anti-war masterpiece PATHS OF GLORY, 1988's COP, the first-ever James Ellroy adap, and the incredibly fun and critically underappreciated Charles Bronson actioner TELEFON. Hey, Bronson plays a brutal KGB agent hunting a maniacal Donald Pleasance, you see any problems with that?

Also at BAM this month is a terrific series based on what I have always felt is a not-terrific film, regardless of its current status as Sight & Sound's choice for greatest film ever made. The Vertigo Effect is dedicated to exploring the influence Hitch's pervy thriller has had on cinema over the course of nearly 7 decades. Films in the series include Otto Preminger's LAURA, Francois Truffaut's MISSISSIPPI MERMAID, Richard Quine's BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, and William Dieterle's PORTRAIT OF JENNIE. ALL of which are far superior to the film they're meant to honor, Hitch's VERTIGO, which kicks the series off on Thursday the 16th. Runs til Thursday the 30th.

BAM also offers a micro-series dedicated the the soon-concluding TV series Mad Men, with screenings of David Swift's HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, Billy Wilder's THE LOST WEEKEND, and Edward Dmytryk's MIRAGE. The series runs Wednesday the 22nd into Thursday the 24th. BAM Cinématek is located in the Peter Jay Sharp building, 30 Lafayette avenue, in Brooklyn.

Sliding slightly northwards into harmonically hirsuite BillyBurg the inspired programmers at my new fave theater, the Nitehawk Cinema, are up to thier usual tricks. Brunch and midnight shenanigans include Barry Levinson's THE NATURAL, Rob Reiner's THE PRINCESS BRIDE, and Dante's EXPLORERS for the Bellini-besotted, and Ralph Bakshi's FRITZ THE CAT, John Landis' KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, and Ken Russell's ALTERED STATES at the witching hour. Other notable screenings include Giuseppe Patroni Griffi's THE DRIVER'S SEAT, as part of the Art Seen series, and Robert Endelson's FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, screening as part of The Deuce, the NH's loving trib to Times Square's glory grindhouse era. Plus, tater tots n' root beer. Trust me. The Nitehawk Cinema is a mere stumble away from the Bedford Avenue L train stop, at 136 Metropolitan avenue.

Back on the side of the East River that still has all its own teeth, pickin's get a might slim going forward. The Film Society of Lincoln Center has a mini-trib to pioneering filmmaker Agnès Varda, as part of their Art of the Real 2015 series. Titles scheduled include 1955's LA POINTE COURTE, 1969's LIONS LOVE, and 1985's VAGABOND. Upcoming at month's end is a fête of legendary actor/filmmaker Robert Redford. Be sure to check back with this site as further details emerge.

The Rubin Museum's Cabaret Cinema series continues to never disappoint. This month they offer up Truffaut's JULES ET JIM, Harold Ashby's HAROLD AND MAUDE, and Stanley Donen's FUNNY FACE. The policy has changed at the museum, and tix are no longer complimentary with a $10 bar tab. However, it remains one of the swankier ways to take in a classic film, and every screening comes accompanied by a guest speaker who ties the film in to the museum's larger philosophical themes. It is well worth your attendance, but seating is limited, so arrive early and claim your territory.

The French Institute, or Alliance Française, begins a new series as part of its excellent CinéSalon series. Haute Couture on Film explores, well, just that. And this month features Donen's FUNNY FACE, Jacques Demy's BAY OF ANGELS, and John Cassavetes' GLORIA; a trio of powerhouse perfs from, repectively, Audrey Hepburn, Jeanne Moreau, and Gena Rowlands. This is a brilliant, impeccable screening space. Don't miss out.

The Tarrytown Music Hall, one of my fave getaway venues, ressurrects Beatlemania with the recent 4K resto of their innovative and inspirational feature debut, 1964's A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, on Wednesday the 15th.

Lincoln Center's Library for the Performing Arts hosts the closing feature in the Silent Clowns' trib to silent comedy pioneer Hal Roach, LAUREL AND HARDY: LEADING TO THE TEAMING, on Saturday the 4th. Once more, these screenings are popular and seating is ample but limited, so arrive early to claim your real estate.

Finally, the New York Historical Society continues its Justice in Film series with bookings of Alexander MacKendrick's SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS on Friday the 10th, and William Wyler's JEZEBEL on Friday the 24th. Both screenings at 7pm, and will be intro'd by film curator Laurence Kardish and film exec/filmmaker's daughter Catherine Wyler, respectively.

And for whatever reason the BowTie Chelsea Cinemas seems ridden with malware, so I haven't been able to even check their upcoming sked. Hopefully they corect this snafu.

So there's yer April 2015 rep film rundown. Skeds are subject to change, and they damn well do, so be sure to check back with our interactive calendar for any changes. In the meantime be sure to spread the word about this site's mission, to pull movie lovers off their couches and replant them in a theater seat. And don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and whatever new social media app is spawned between now and next month's overview. Until next time this is Joe Walsh sayin' if youre gonna see it, see it on the big screen! Excelsior, Knuckeheads!

- Joe Walsh