The Film Series won’t be running next week due to some pilgrim nonsense, but we’ve packed enough cinematic awesomeness into this week’s schedule to hold you over until after the break. Wednesday starts off the week with one my personal favorite animated films, which pits a nine-year-old, a beatnik, and a 50-foot-tall robot against the U.S. Army. I would also recommend not missing Friday night: if you were here for “Stop Making Sense,” you know that concert documentaries tend to turn into Goldsmith dance parties.
1999. USA. Dir: Brad Bird. Animated. 86 min.
Wednesday, Nov. 14. 8 p.m. $5.
From developing “The Simpsons” into a full-length series and directing some of Pixar’s most beloved films to date, Brad Bird is no stranger to animation. Before making “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” Bird already had this gem on his resume, and I for one think it points to his knack for animation. 1950s Maine, in the throes of paranoia at the height of the Cold War, serves as the backdrop for this classic, heart-wrenching tale of friendship between a boy and his giant alien metal amnesiac. Nine-year-old Hogarth is as excited as any kid would be about his discovery of a gargantuan robot, but he soon finds himself struggling to hide his new friend from his neighbors, and eventually takes on the United States military. If this movie isn’t already the stuff of a wonderful childhood memory for you, you owe it to yourself to see it.
1974. USA. Dir: John Waters. With Divine, David Lochary. 97 minutes.
Thursday, Nov. 15. 8 p.m. Free.
“Who wants to die for art?” Waters’ divine muse takes on Baltimore’s most carnally outrageous denizens in his follow up to 1971’s infamous “Pink Flamingos.” The film pushes the limits of ‘comedy’ and ‘taste’ even further, becoming at once a visceral exploitation, a sly satire, and an absurdist anti-manifesto. Co-sponsored by the Queer Organizing Committee.
2012. USA. Dir: Dylan Southern, Will Lovelace. Documentary. 110 minutes.
Friday, Nov. 16. 8 p.m. $5.
This concert documentary follows dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem for 48 hours, chronicling the preparation, performance, and aftermath of the their last (sold-out) concert at Madison Square Garden. The film features not only gorgeous footage of the concert itself, but also intimate behind-the-scenes coverage of the bandmembers and a number of other musicians. Keep an eye out for Aziz Ansari crowd-surfing during ‘Yeah.’
1937. USA. Dir: Sam Wood. With The Marx Brothers. 111 min.
Saturday, Nov. 17. 8 p.m. Free.
Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, fresh from making “A Night at the Opera,” return to wreak havoc on the Sport of Kings, setting the stage for classic as well as lesser-known Marx Brothers routines and songs. Bankers, horses, and hospital patients alike suffer at the hands of the trio’s chaotic antics, which escalate to a frenzied finale at the high-stakes Big Race.
