There is always fun to be had at the wonderful movie lovers dream in Los Angeles called The New Beverly Cinema. For seven bucks you get a groovy double bill that you’d never imagine playing at a theatre near you. In fact, coming this March is an all-time favorite of mine with FINAL EXAM with FRIDAY THE 13th: THE FINAL CHAPTER (which wasn’t). The cool thing about Final Exam is that I have not seen it since it came out in the theatre back in 1981. I was much too young to check it out but thankfully me mum was twisted enough to take me anyway. Thanks mom… you rock! Now whether it will hold up today is a different story, but damn, not only do I get to see it again, but I get to see it with what is one of my favorite Friday the 13th flicks. How this wouldn’t amaze is beyond me.
And the beauty of this is that they do this type of programming all the time. It’s not always horror, it’s everything. This very evening as I write this they are offering up THE PARALLAX VIEW and KLUTE. Each film is presented in 35 mm high quality studio prints. And if you don’t believe me, just ask a couple of fellows that recently brought a little of their own personal taste to the theatre. Edgar Wright gave us “The Wright Stuff” with some very eclectic pieces of cinema. And of course, Eli Roth just finished up
“The Greats of Roth” which really gave insight into his taste for horror and camp.
Opening night was an amazing double bill featuring a couple of “so good because they are so bad” horror classics. It was TORSO and PIECES, and the audience went crazy for both. I am a huge fan of PIECES for obvious reasons. Lynda Day George baby! Lynda Day! In fact, her moving reading of “Bastard!”… “BASTARD!” had me hook, line and chainsaw. I really have a deep love for this woman. This was a great start to a wacky and wild festival of classic cinema. From MOTHER’S DAY and CREEPSHOW, CARRIE and ZAPPED!, THE APPLE and STUNT ROCK, a couple of personal favorites of mine, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST or CANNIBAL FEROX (depending on which night you went), to BACHELOR PARTY and CADDYSHACK. They even brought PIECES back because it was so popular. I kept thinking back to the HOSTEL franchise, and how you can see a whole lot of influences from all of these movies.
And just like Edgar, Eli invited a few friends including the lovely and talented PJ Soles and William Katt from CARRIE (both being lovely and talented). In case you needed a little Scott Baio, he was there for the fun with ZAPPED!. Plus some STUNT ROCK love with the films director Brian Trenchard-Smith. It was a smash hit and of course, with an amazing group of cinema loving men and women ready for popcorn, soda and a whole lot of laughs, it was exactly what you would want from a night at the movies. As you may have guessed, this will continue as the New Beverly will have more famous faces come around and pick a few flicks to share with an eager audience. Look for Joe Dante coming soon to bring a few of his favorites along.
But there is so much more to be had at The New Beverly Cinema. In fact, this coming May you can look for the theatre’s 30th anniversary. It is going to be an amazing event, one in which they will be showing the classics that started it all off in an attempt to recreate the theatres first calendar. One to look forward to, Marlon Brando in LAST TANGO IN PARIS. Once again, whether your favorite director is hosting or not, theatres like this need you. It is a wonderful experience to sit through the movies you grew up with, or the movies that are way before your time. Seriously, if you haven’t seen KLUTE, you are missing out. So with that said, again I urge everyone to find the theatre near you that is off the beaten path. It’s the one showing STREETS OF FIRE… coming soon to the New Bev. And of course, let everyone know what they are missing out on. In fact, I’d love to see some of your smiling faces on March 14th or 15th and take pleasure in The Final Chapter with Final Exam. Trust me, it will be a blast.
In fact, what movie would you love to see on the big screen that you have not had the opportunity to enjoy? I’ll start… I’d love to see VICE SQUAD and possibly MANIAC (also coming to the New Bev). What’s your pick?
For more information on the New Beverly Cinema, you can
check out its website at
www.newbevcinema.com