Toronto’s Revue Cinema may possibly close as early as this Monday because of some greedy landlords. I’m probably going to give that its own article because I was at a sold-out screening of Showgirls over there just recently and I would really hate to see some out-of-touch 96-year-old landlord who thinks he knows what he can do with a popular spot for many moviegoers, and even attracting viewers like myself who aren’t even in Toronto.
There’s a petition that’s been organized by a former Revue Cinema employee, and before I have my full article about the Revue itself posted here, I figure the least I can do is share it here.
Without further ado, these are Friday’s Five Films. If you like what you’re seeing here, remember to subscribe for a whole lot more.
#1: The Assassin (2015, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
That this film ended up becoming Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien’s final film before his retirement casts a shadow over the film, but it’s also one of the most beautiful films that I can recall having seen within the past decade. I don’t think I’ve seen a wuxia film that invites such contemplation to the same degree that The Assassin does, especially as the allegiances of its characters are constantly blurred - though perhaps that’s also the point of it all, it’s a game where humans are being made to fight off against one another, and for what?
#2: Klute (1971, Alan J. Pakula)
Donald Sutherland passed away last week, I thought I couldn’t go without watching at least one of his movies to pay tribute. I could easily have went with Don’t Look Now once again because said film is my all-time favourite horror movie, but I wanted to go with something else and I thought what better way to go for it than with a movie named for his own character? That leads me to Klute, a movie I still think should have been named for Jane Fonda’s Bree Daniels (but I guess Klute is far more unique), because this film is one of the very best about the life of a sex worker and living under surveillance constantly - there’s a sense of unease you feel from start to finish while watching Klute that only makes it one among the very best American films ever made.
#3: Lady Snowblood (1973, Toshiya Fujita)
One of the best revenge stories ever told, because underneath all that gorgeous bloody violence you’ll see a movie all about how people are shaped by their own circumstances when hate is the first thing that they are taught from childhood, as they carry it into adulthood. For me, that’s what makes Meiko Kaji’s turn as the titular action hero one among the very best ever formed for the cinema, for it also creates a greater depth to the revenge narrative we’ve seen in many action movies all through the years.
#4: Showgirls (1995, Paul Verhoeven)
I was just at a sold out screening of this movie at Toronto’s beloved Revue Cinema, on a beautiful 35mm print no less. There’s a handful of people who will constantly talk about how Showgirls is a work of brilliance, others who will say it’s “so-bad-it’s-good,” and others who agree with the consensus from back when it came out in which they thought it was bad. But I think that while watching a Paul Verhoeven movie, you can’t help but at least find that everything being delivered in the most over-the-top manner would at least feel somewhat deliberate. And I think for a movie about the excess of the American Dream, you can’t look any further than seeing it at its core in Showgirls.
#5: Tank Girl (1995, Rachel Talalay)
This is truly one of my favourite comic book movies of all time. Even though it’s a movie that was marred with the interference of the studio system, you can’t help but feel that there’s at least some commitment to making sure that Tank Girl is one of the most bizarre things you’ll ever watch. All of it shows, but I also think it succeeds better at the “self-aware superhero” schtick compared to something like Deadpool. But I guess when it’s a guy who does it, everyone loves it but when it’s a girl to the front, people only look at it with scorn.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on an out of five star basis.
Friday
Touch (1997, Paul Schrader) - ✯✯½
Fear, Anxiety and Depression (1989, Todd Solondz) - ✯✯½
Prey (2022, Dan Trachtenberg) - ✯✯✯✯½
Klute (1971, Alan J. Pakula) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Saturday
Them! (1954, Gordon Douglas) - ✯✯✯½
The Belle Starr Story (1968, Lina Wertmüller) - ✯✯✯✯
Tank Girl (1995, Rachel Talalay) - ✯✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
Sunday
Can’t Hardly Wait (1998, Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont) - ✯✯✯✯
IF (2024, John Krasinski) - ✯
Contempt (1963, Jean-Luc Godard) - ✯✯✯✯✯
House of Flying Daggers (2004, Zhang Yimou) - ✯✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987, Patricia Rozema) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Monday
Born to be Bad (1950, Nicholas Ray) - ✯✯✯½
What a Way to Go! (1964, J. Lee Thompson) - ✯✯✯
Am I OK? (2022, Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne) - ✯✯✯
Tuesday
After Blue (Dirty Paradise) (2021, Bertrand Mandico) - ✯✯✯½
The Bikeriders (2023, Jeff Nichols) - ✯✯✯½
Lady Snowblood (1973, Toshiya Fujita) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Showgirls (1995, Paul Verhoeven) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Wednesday
Beijing Watermelon (1989, Nobuhiko Obayashi) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Assassin (2015, Hou Hsiao-hsien) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Tideland (2005, Terry Gilliam) - ✯✯✯
Thursday
WALL-E (2008, Andrew Stanton) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Twister (1996, Jan de Bont) - ✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
Mulholland Drive (2001, David Lynch) - ✯✯✯✯✯
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Thanks for this post, Jamie 🎞️
I too am writing something about the Revue situation at the moment, looping in some other local artists I know and connecting the story to Glad Day's recent scare. If you'd like to collaborate or co-author, just let me know!