In December we sent out a Holiday Card to our members that had in it a little “Name The Films On The Gift” game to play.We know those of you who received the card have been waiting for the results of that contest, so here they are!We didn’t get any entrants and maybe you are all still trying to figure it out, but we don’t want to cause you too much stress, so here are the films represented on the gift (clockwise from upper left):

1. Born Into Brothels
2. Nosey Parker
3. Ballet Russes
4. Step Into Liquid
5. Hukkle
6. Goodbye, Dragon Inn

Your Bennett Street Films Board is now working hard to get a Spring line-up ready to spring on you. We still have a few things to workout in the venue and available films department. We will fill you in as soon as we can. In the mean time stay warm and go see a movie.

Yesterday was momentous. After weeks of thinking, discussing and planning, the Bennett Street Films holiday card made it into the USPS (and here in pdf).We made up a picture using several posters from movies we’ve shown in the past. Members who correctly guess the titles of all the posters will be entered in a drawing to win a DVD. We have two DVDs to give away. We’re keeping their titles a surprise, enjoy the diversion of the puzzle for its own sake.Our plan is to have folks return their guesses to us by New Year’s Day and we’ll have some kind of public drawing in the few days after that. We’ll exclude our family members from winning and all that. We’ll announce the winner here and in our email newsletter and make arrangements to have the DVD delivered (or picked up?) at that time. Happy Holidays from Bennett Street Films!

I was going through some old videos on my hard drive and cleaning up a little. Came accross this video and thought I’d share it here. I think I made this in 2004 and ran it in front of a title that year. I never did much else with it. Cute though, eh?

Starts on Sunday, Sept. 16th at 1:30 pm
Then plays Monday thru Wednesday at 6:30 pm Daily

I wanted to give this update the subject: “Wake Up, Goddammit!”, but I didn’t want to offend anyone on such a lovely Saturday.

Because this is such late notice we’re running this title (as well as next week’s) Sunday through Wednesday. This means there’s two extra shows. If you’re in town, we hope you’ll be able to catch it.

Please remember to bring your Bennett Street Films 2007 membership card. I might be selling tickets and concessions alone. Having your card will help prevent anyone from having to wait too long on line.

TALK TO ME (R, 118 Min., Biography/Drama)
The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph “Petey” Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.

IMDB.com – 7.8 out of 10 stars.

Rotten Tomatoes – 80% Fresh

Google – 4.2 out of 5 stars

“Talk to Me offers uplift without phoniness, history without undue didacticism and a fair number of funny, dirty jokes.”
-A.O. Scott, New York Times

Super-Ultra-Sekrit-Don’t-Tell-No-One Side Note:
Although I am loath to compare myself to a popularly admired entertainer such as Petey Green, you might find some clues in this story about why the Theater is looking for another Manager. (Hint: It ain’t substance abuse!)

Thursday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 16 at 7:15

Sat., Sept. 15 & Sun, Sept. 16 at 4:15 also.


(The two Sunday shows are free for Bennett Street Films Members.)

(PG-13, 113 Minutes, Documentary)
A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.

IMDB.com – 8.5 out of 10 stars

Rotten Tomatoes – 92% Fresh

Google – 4.3 out of 5 stars

A snippet from the review that seemed to resonate with me the most:

One may quibble with Mr. Moore’s anecdotal oversimplifications and his xenophilic fantasies, but he has struck a socio-psychic nerve in the body politic, generating a feeling of outrage that seems to be reverberating in every theater.
-Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Thank goodness!Part of what we were working on was experimenting with an expansion of Bennett Street Films’ activities. I’m here to tell ya that it ain’t gonna happen. Boy was I relieved. I was a little over-ambitious and acknowledging reality before it threw me over a cliff was, it seems, a lucky thing.There are still some changes on our end, but I don’t think they’ll have an impact on you, the movie-goer. For example, you may have seen an advertisement for a Manager/Projectionist in The Mini. (Any takers?) We’re all figuring out how to make some adjustments over the coming months and still have the show go on as usual. Have no fear, it’ll happen.Now, back to figuring out how many Bennett Street Films (and which ones!) we can run over the next few weeks…

There are several projects I have going for/with Bennett Street Films. Most of them are behind the scenes, not ready for announcement yet.We hope to be able to make some interesting announcements in August.That’s the news from…Lake Bennett, where all the people are people and the dogs are too.

Bennett Street Films members can come to either show of Air Guitar Nation on Sunday June 17 and wave your membership card around to get in free. Remember that card. I’m not sure who’ll be selling tickets. Rachel, I think. It won’t be me, as I’ll be 2000 miles away jacking up a house.

Remember, this is Sunday June 17th at 4:15 or 7:15. And please, to be fair to the group, only one person per card per weekend. Thanks!

This film rocks!

Humans. Fun. Both are a little messy. Both are beautiful. I’m not sure what else is in this film!

If you take life, your neighbors and yourself too seriously, this film is not for you.

Otherwise, I can’t recommend it enough!

Air Guitar Nation
(82 Min, Rated R for some language and brief nudity *gasp*)

It’s time to rock and roll – air guitar style! AIR GUITAR NATION is the feature documentary about the year that air guitar swept America – from New York to Los Angeles and then all the way to northern Finland. AIR GUITAR NATION chronicles the birth of the US Air Guitar Championships and the personal journeys of those talented contestants who are vying to become the first World Air Guitar Champion from the United States.

Every August, the Air Guitar World Championships bring thousands of fans all the way to Oulu, Finland to see the world’s best air guitarists battle it out for 60 seconds of mock stardom. For years, the USA was missing in action. Enter the first official US Air Guitar Championships.

What starts as a friendly contest above a New York strip club becomes a battle of naked ambition played out on the national and, ultimately, the world stage. Full of triumph and disappointment, patriotic spirit and political tension – and of course invisible guitars – this tension filled competition quickly turns very real as the contest becomes even more fierce as the contestants work hard to win the title of World Air Guitar Champion.

Full of triumph and disappointment, patriotic spirit and political tension—and, of course, invisible guitars—AIR GUITAR NATION and filmmaker Alexandra Lipsitz take audiences on an inspiring, exhilarating, and ultimately hilarious journey that delves deep to find out what it truly takes to become the best in the world and find the inner meaning of the chant, “Make Air, Not War.”

If you are the type that likes to read what the critics say and write about a movie, check out Rotten Tomatoes. Even the critics giving this show “bad” marks are saying it is fun, funny and entertaining to watch.

Can you beat that? 86% at rottentomatoes.com

And it gets a 7.8/10 at IMDb.com.

Sweet! I don’t know about you, but if I made a rockumentary that did that well, my air-Fender would splinter into 10,000 pieces on my air-Marshal amp! Heh!