New and continuing series this day include
Stratford-On-Houston at Film Forum, Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day Program at MoMA, and The Deuce at the Nitehawk Cinema. The unhinged unspoolery be thus;

Apologies, Stockahz, for skipping Tuesday's post. I was still dealing with what was easily and instantly a worldwide trauma, the passing of a best friend who I never actually met, and the notion of proffering a Pick seemed a pointless exercise against the backdrop of such sorrow. Instead, I listened to a few tunes yesterday morning, songs that helped get me through some difficult years, that shaped the person that I've become. Enough now, the one-time David Jones would scoff at all this sorow as a morose indulgence. He always embraced life, and would want us all to get on with ours. Plus, he probably really is just knocking back a few Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters with whatever alien race he decided to visit. Let's raise a glass with him. And to him.

And now, back to the NYC rep film circuit. Today's lone series represent not limited choice, but wonders aplenty. They are the Bard-lovin' Stratford-On-Houston at Film Forum, and the Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day Program at MoMA. The classic film cornucopia be thus;

Damn, this new year's already got my head a-spinnin'! Coupled with the seemingly unnatural velocity that met 2015's pace comes the quizzical shock of 2016's sudden arrival. How's a man to cope with this quantum conundrum, if not an actual scientific quandary then at least and damn sure an emotional one?

Oh hell, I know the answer. Classic films. Something that both freezes me in time and lets me grow beyond my routine boundaries. Ah, NYC rep film circuit, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways;

IFC Center

New and continuing series this day include the twin Charlotte Rampling and Christopher Lee tribs at IFC Center, the Modern Matinees series A Pioneer Cowboy and Fashionably Late, and the ever-splendid and eternally swank Cabaret Cinema at the Rubin Museum. The '16 cinematic shenanigans start thusly;

STOCKAHZ! How the Helllahya?!? I can't enthuse enough over the fact that yet another new year has arrived and that you're still here reading my humble missives! It's good to know the rep film circuit in NYC continues to grow, thanks largely to the contributions of master vets like Bruce Goldstein at Film Forum and David Schwartz at Moving Image, newbies like John Woods, Caryn Coleman, and Max Cavanaugh at the Nitehawk Cinema, and contribs to come from the likes of the Metrograph Cinema, the soon-to-reopen Quad Cinema, and whatever surprise IFC Center has in store for us. It's an exciting time to be a Cinegeek, mostly for those who live in our fair metropolis, but for all lovers of the genre cinematic worldwide. I can't wait to see what the preservationists and the programmers have in store for us in 2016! For now, however, we have a brand new January to focus on. So let's do that.

Well Hallelloo, Stockahz, and welcome to the first post of this fledgling upstart known to us all by the collective monicker of 2016! Perhaps not as warm or personable a given name as Jeff or Mary, but one we will no doubt come to know intimately, in ways both good and meh and Holy Hell over the next 12 months. We all made it through a 2015 that was at times rough, at times supermely fulfilling, at times WTF? We made it through together though, you and I who share this love of classic films, in particular the repertory film circuit in NYC's majestic 5 boroughs and just beyond. We've much to look forward to in this new year; centennial celebrations, film restorations, the opening of one, possibly two new venues dedicated to rep screenings, festivals abundant, outdoor summer screenings, and the potential for several new ventures that will see this site grow from its website iteration into a multifacted entity covering the circuit in multiple new ways. Exciting stuff looms, but for now we have a 31 day cycle to focus on. So let's get to it.

How the hell did we get here again so damn quick?!?

Oh criminy, Stockahz, I welcome this day with both bated breath and heavy heart, one which sees not the calendar's flip to a new page, but the calendar's replacing by a whole new calendar. We had some year on the rep circuit lo these last 365 days, and also a pretty nuts year beyond our small yet wonderful communal circuit.

The calendar's end looms. The bowties are being dry cleaned. The champagne is being chilled to a specific temp. Balls are being hoisted, only to be felled. Keep it clean, knuckleheads. In other words we have precious little time to enjoy the remaining repertory rapscallionery offered by the finest film programers this side of anywhere. So, in the spirit of timeline's hasten, today's slate;

Yet another repertory calendar year finds itself near its imminent close. So many wonderful memories, so many great series from so many diligent, exceptional programmers. I cannot believe it'll nearly be a year since I witnessed the William Friedkin intro/Q&A to CITIZEN KANE, part of the Film Forum's celebration of Orson Welles' centennial. That BAM's Carpenter-fest is 11 months in the rear view mirror. Janus Film's glorious restoration of Satyajit Ray's APU TRILOGY, the tribs to widescreen scope that featured both the fulfillment of the spectrum and its absence. Glorious Technicolor, Mexican Noir, and all those wonderful outdoor screenings every summer affords. Hot damn what a terrific year for film lovers of all stripes, of both classic cinema and its deeper nooks, and even the newbies and their attempts to match or even top the gold. Grateful to live in this Movie-Mad Metropolis of Manhattan Isle and its outer environs, and to share my passions with you who find yourselves similarly afflicted. 2016 promises to be an equally great 12 pages on the wall. For now, however, let's celebrate what's left on this remarkable 2015 slate.

I think I said it best last year, so I'm not gonna change a syllable. My Xmas wish to you all;