Before it knows how to fly, an eaglet lifts its wings when strong winds rock the nest (the technical term for which is an “aerie”). After the eaglet has grown adept at allowing the air to gently raise its light frame, it begins leaping from branch to branch on the tree it calls home (the technical term for this branch-to-branch movement is “branching”). When it’s ready, the eaglet catches a strong wind beneath its outspread wings and flies (the technical term for this departure from the aerie is “growing up”).

This is the first Cinefiles I’ve written without Joseph, who’s shooting the second half of his film thesis as I write these words. I’ve spent the last three-and-a-half years watching Joseph learn to soar — lifting his wings for the first light winds of inspiration — defying gravity and the height of our tree by “branching” from his Bolex to the Steenbeck he used to make 16mm shorts last year. Now confident in the strength of his winds, and daring enough to put his faith in the currents of chance, Joseph has embarked on his first flight.

The height of our aerie never scared me until I found myself alone among the branches and the wind. Before Joseph left, I had so much to say about the new Film Series calendar (which you can find in your WesBox). I was going to tease Wednesday’s “MYSTERY MOVIE.” But writing this article without my fellow Cinefile by my side, the clatter of my keyboard rattles my ears without the chorus of our laughter to temper it. I know Joseph will return to the nest when the filming is done, but when he does, he’ll be an eaglet no more.

In the meantime, don’t forget to reply to our weekly questions by dropping a line at cinefilesdigital@gmail.com.

1. What’s your favorite Joseph Cinefiles moment (digital or print)?
2. What is the technical term for the branch-to-branch movement typically performed by a maturing eaglet prior to full-fledged flight?

 

“Secret New Release”

2016. USA. Dir. ???. With ???, ???. 110 min.

Wednesday, November 2. 8pm. Free.

For mysterious reasons, we can’t reveal the name of Wednesday’s movie until the day of the screening, but we can let you know that it’s one of the most critically acclaimed 110–minute long films to be released in the next few weeks.

 

A Place in the Sun

1951. USA. Dir. George Stevens. With Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift. 122 min.

Thursday, November 3. 8pm. Free.

An ambitious pauper with remote ties to wealth stretches his identity to the breaking point when his juggled personas ignite multiple romances. Clift is as poignantly fragile as Taylor is incandescent and electrifying in this meticulous, quintessential American tragedy.

 

Kubo and the Two Strings

2016. USA. Dir. Travis Knight. With Charlize Theron. Animated. 102 min.

Friday, November 4. 8pm. $5. In 3D!

A young boy bearing a magic samisen capable of controlling origami sets forth to recover his eye, which was stolen by the insidious Moon King. “Kubo and the Two Strings” is sure to satisfy an appetite for awe-inspiring technical craft while offering the sort of moving story we’ve come to expect from the stop-motion veterans at Laika (who are responsible for “ParaNorman” and “Coraline.”) Plus, if all this stormy weather’s got you missing the days when it was appropriate to don shades, you’ll absolutely love the Dolby glasses you’ll wear so you can enjoy cinema in all three dimensions.

 

Juice

1992. USA. Dir. Ernest R. Dickinson. With Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur. 95 min.

Saturday, November 5. 8pm. Free.

Dickerson’s Harlem-set crime drama may be almost a quarter century old, but its focus on the issue of police brutality in inner cities remains as relevant as ever. An East Coast response to “Boyz N The Hood,” the film boasts an all-star cast of black musicians and actors, including Tupac, Queen Latifah, and Samuel L. Jackson. Co-programmed with Invisible Men.