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Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi are the subjects of Joseph Sikorski's newest documentary. Image courtesy of Apple TV

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Award-winning filmmaker Joseph Sikorski’s works include Arbor Day (1990), The Return of the King? (1993), Tower of Babble (2001), and Tower to the People: Tesla’s Dream at Wardenclyffe Continues (2015). The subject of the last—Tower to the People—plays an integral part in his newest documentary, Invisible Threads: From Wireless to War. Co-written with Michael Calomino, Invisible Threads takes an intriguing look at the early days of wireless technology and the conflicts between inventors Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi. Central to the story is a mysterious radio station erected in West Sayville, New York, by the German-based company Telefunken in 1911.

At the outset, local residents had the impression the site was to be a chocolate factory. Changing its name to Atlantic Communications Company, Telefunken built its radio tower with little public knowledge. The Suffolk County News editor Francis Hoag investigated, revealing the organization’s actual purpose. From here, the film follows the rise of wireless communication and the conflicts between Tesla and Marconi. Eventually, World War I becomes central to the narrative.

Marconi focused on developing a method to send Morse code through long-distance wireless communication. In contrast, Tesla had broader aspirations: He wanted to send sound, pictures, power, and electrical lighting by the same means. Thus came the Marconi-Tesla wireless race. 

The Wardenclyffe Laboratory in Shoreham. Photo courtesy of Apple TV

Tesla’s interests lay in the process, and concerned himself less with the applications. Marconi became a brand, with early telegrams being dubbed “Marconigrams.” As wireless technology grew, its impact and uses expanded. In 1912, wireless messages sent from the sinking Titanic saved lives. This alone boosted the value of Marconi’s system. The friction between Marconi and Tesla led to accusations and eventual wrangling over patents and lawsuits that dragged on for years.

But the heart of the story is Telefunken, who shipped the component parts from Germany to Long Island, assembling the tower in near secrecy. The company quickly demonstrated the ability to send a message from Sayville to Germany—four thousand miles—without a relay station in between. Telefunken’s process refinement even surpassed Marconi, leading to the U.S. government expressing concern that a foreign power had this control.

An “instrument of peace, commerce, and goodwill” changed in 1914 with the outbreak of the European war. The fear that Telefunken exploited the station to aid the German war effort proved true. Even with government oversight and surveillance, Telefunken used the system to communicate with Berlin: Telefunken was a major cog in the spy network. 

Conspiracies, subterfuge, and disinformation were all part of the complicated situation that even involved the sinking of the R.M.S. Lusitania. The tale is rife with saboteurs, cryptography, and Secret Service involvement, swirling with disinformation, assassinations, and labor unrest. All led to America entering World War I and taking over Telefunken. 

The film touches on the growing anti-German propaganda inflaming the American populace, particularly directed towards immigrants. Sikorski states that the majority of German-Americans were pro-American in the rising anti-German atmosphere but were subject to a wide range of persecution.

One of the most fascinating chapters involves the “Nauen Buzz,” a puzzle centered around coded messages accidentally solved by amateur radio enthusiast Charles E. Apgar. Sikorski presents Apgar through actual audio interviews recorded in 1934.

Another intriguing section explores Telsa’s remote-controlled boats outfitted with weapons. After a demonstration, government representatives dismissed its value—losing the earliest example of drone warfare. 

Invisible Threads masterfully mixes interviews with historians, authors, scientists, and other experts (and even a descendant) with hundreds of photographs and newspaper clippings. Restored historical images and 3D models for new perspectives were created from existing 2D photos. In addition, Sikorski nimbly weaves archival footage and dramatic recreations. He eschews dialogue with the latter but presents them with voiceovers, ambient sounds, and compelling underscoring. Additionally, the film details architectural challenges and scientific innovations.

Sikorski wisely chose the rich, evocative tones of Tony Todd for the narration. Todd, best known as the titular villain in the Candyman series, conveys a perfect blend of interest, insight, and a hint of menace.

With Invisible Threads: From Wireless to War, Joseph Sikorski presents a detailed, intriguing chapter in the world of communication—“So much creativity, so much destruction.”— and Long Island’s place in that history.

The documentary is now streaming on Apple TV and a special 4K edition with exclusive extras is streaming on Vimeo On Demand.

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Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

David Grann’s true-crime Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI brilliantly chronicles the Reign of Terror that cut a blood-stained swath through the Osage tribe in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. Two dozen murders were directly attributed to the four-year period, but further inquiry revealed a larger conspiracy that spanned at least two decades and hundreds of homicides. The book was one of the best or most notable books of 2017 by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, NPR, and many others.

Members of the Osage Nation earned royalties from oil sales through their federally mandated “head rights.” As the oil market grew, many amassed wealth, leading to widespread swindles and violence on the unsuspecting Native Americans. In addition, the Burke Act (1906) imposed an unscrupulous situation of guardianships, depriving many of the Osage control over their money making them wards of predatory opportunists. 

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

The book’s narrative is one of poisonings, shootings, and even the bombing of a house. The history is fraught with coverups by local authorities, high-profile citizens, police, doctors, and even undertakers. Coercion, blackmail, and negotiations with criminals are all part of the byzantine tapestry. The country found little sympathy for the victims, instead focused with a morbid glee on the lurid details: “Osage Indian Killing Conspiracy Thrills,” heralded the Reno Evening Gazette. 

With over forty films (including multiple documentaries), Martin Scorsese’s extraordinary roster includes Mean Streets, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence, Casino, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, and, his last film, 2019’s The Irishman. The Award-winning director has co-written the screenplay for Killers of the Flower Moon with Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and A Star Is Born). The result is a compelling epic. 

The story alternates between wider brutality and intimate moments among a trio of first-rate actors, surrounded by a varied, if not fully developed, supporting cast. Clocking in at nearly three and a half hours, Killers of the Flower Moon is a powerful, important film, but surprisingly misses some of the broader and significant elements of the story.

The film opens with a ritual burying of a peace pipe in a meditative and communal ceremony. Set to a pulsing soundtrack, the action shifts to an almost orgasmic oil gush, segueing into a portrait of the Osage, who became the world’s richest people per capita.

The scene changes to Fairfax, Oklahoma. While it is the 1920s, the town seems more a portrait of Wild West chaos, contrasting the wealthy Native Americans with an earthy population of white speculators and oil workers. 

Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns from Europe, where he served as an infantry cook in World War I, and his uncle, William King Hale (Robert De Niro), takes him in. Hale, the self-titled King of the Osage Hills, is a friend and supporter of the Osage, speaking the language and moving with ease in their community. The façade is quickly dispelled as Ernest is drawn into Hale’s machinations of deception and vicious, destructive manipulations. With his sly, paternal benevolence, he advises Ernest not to make small but big trouble—for there lies the big payoff.

While driving a cab, Ernest meets and courts Osage Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone). Much of the film is shown through her eyes and heard in her brief voiceovers, simply and devastatingly enumerating the many uninvestigated tribal murders. After their marriage, Hale continues to involve Ernest in a range of illegal and immoral activities, resulting in the death of Mollie’s sisters. 

Scorsese and Roth have narrowed the scope, focusing mainly on Ernest, Mollie, and Hale, allowing for extraordinary performances. DiCaprio has never been better as the conflicted but easily swayed Ernest, who becomes one of the “squaw men,” the lay-about husbands living off their wives’ money. DiCaprio shows Ernest’s struggle, creating a character of active and passive complicity but still revealing lingering shreds of humanity. 

Lily Gladstone is a revelation of nuance and subtle dimension, finding joy, pain, humor, and strength. Her ability to project extraordinary shades of emotion in complete stillness is matched by her anguish in the film’s most gut-wrenching scenes of loss. Late in the film, her declaration that “this blanket is a target on our backs” reflects a woman robbed of peace of mind, living in a world crumbling from within and without.

De Niro balances the “great white father” with the darkness of a conscienceless villain whose lack of moral compass tips towards the amoral. De Niro (and the film) might have been better served by a gradual revelation of Hale’s true colors, something in which the book succeeds.

As for the rest of the players, there are no weak links, but they have only one or two notes to play. The rogues are rough, whiskey-soaked outlaws. The citizens of Fairfax carry a certain generic “oldy-timey” vibe. The members of the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner to the FBI) are a tight-lipped crew, directed by Agent Tom White, an effective Jesse Plemons. While a good portion of Grann’s book deals with the investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, the film truncates the inquiry. The trial itself is abbreviated, with John Lithgow, as Prosecutor Leaward, and Brendan Fraser, as W.S. Hamilton, Hale’s attorney, basically serving their functions.

Throughout, the wrongs committed against the Osage are rightly and unflinchingly highlighted. Whether being overcharged for funeral arrangements, targets of arson and insurance fraud, or treated with disdain, suspicion, and envy by the “buzzards circling [the Osage] community,” the Osage nobility is fully present. Never caricatured, their ascendency from victim to the pursuit of justice in the face of systematic murder creates the core of the film’s final stretch. 

Scorsese’s penultimate scene is fascinating, allowing a seeming gimmick to work on another level (as it is fact-based). His cameo is fun, if a bit jarring. Killers of the Flower Moon’s final image, a contemporary nod, is beautiful—the ideal resolution to a film that casts light on a bloody, scarred chapter of American history.

Rated R, the film is now playing in local theaters and will later play on Apple TV+.

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Exorcist and Fathom Events is bringing it back to select theaters nationwide in the form of the Extended Director’s Cut as part of Fathom’s annual Fright Fest lineup. The film hits theaters on Sunday, Oct. 1 and Wednesday, Oct. 4.

A ‘possessed’ Linda Blair in a scene from the film.

Leading into each screening is an all-new exclusive tribute to legendary director William Friedkin—who passed away on August 7 at the age of 87—hosted by film historian Ben Mankiewicz.

In the film that tops IMDb’s list of the 101 Scariest Horror Movies EVER, “The Exorcist” stars genre icon Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, a preteen girl who’s increasingly disturbing behavior soon gives way to demonic possession. 

Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller also star, as the priests enlisted to save young Regan from the ultimate evil. The film fields an impressive ensemble that boasts Ellen Burstyn, Lee J. Cobb, and Mercedes McCambridge, and was the recipient of two Academy Awards® for Best Adapted Screenplay for scribe William Peter Blatty, as well as Best Sound.

The limited engagement puts the spotlight on William Friedkin’s Extended Director’s Cut, sourced from the Original 1973 Cut Camera Negative with newly restored and remastered picture and sound in stunning 4k. 

The version is packed with footage previously unseen in the theatrical edition, including an alternate ending. Plus, all screenings will include a trip through the iconic landmarks that helped bring the shocker to life in The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then And Now. The piece features appearances by Friedkin, Blatty, Blair, and the film’s cinematographer Owen Roizman.

Locally, the film will be screened at AMC Loews Stony Brook 17, Island 16 Cinema de Lux in Holtsville, Regal UA Farmingdale and Showcase Cinema de Lux in Farmingdale on Oct. 1 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. To order tickets in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.

See trailer here.

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Megan Suri in a scene from 'It Lives Inside.' Photo courtesy of NEON

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Director Bishal Dutta has directed nineteen shorts. He has received worldwide acclaim, garnering half a dozen Best Director laurels at various international film festivals. Most recently, Life in Color was an official selection at The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers Showcase (2018 Cannes Film Festival). His work has included music videos and broadcast commercials. 

NEON (distributor of the Academy Award-winning Parasite), along with QC Entertainment and Brightlight Pictures, produced Dutta’s first feature, the horror film It Lives Inside. Indian-born Sam (Megan Suri) is a high school student whose goal is assimilation. Her mother, Poorna (Neeru Bajwa), clings to their cultural roots, while her father, Inesh (Vik Sahay), attempts to navigate the two worlds and make peace between mother and daughter.

Megan Suri and Gage Marsh in a scene from ‘It Lives Inside.’ Photo courtesy of NEON

At school, Sam’s childhood friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), is something of an outcast. She comes late to class, wanders the halls, and lurks underneath the bleachers, muttering fiercely and tapping a glass container that never leaves her hands. (Until this point, the film’s subtitle could have been Monster in a Mason Jar.)

Concerned but hesitant to associate with Tamira, Sam confronts her former friend. Tamira attempts to explain the evil within. In the ensuing disagreement, Sam calls her “a psycho” and smashes the jar, releasing the trapped entity. Tamira disappears, and the spirit latches onto Sam.

The rest of the film follows Sam’s arc from the fear of losing her sanity to accepting the reality of the pishacha, a flesh-eating demon. The pishachi, part of Hindu and Buddhist mythologies, feed on dark feelings like anger and hatred. They attack by first isolating the target, then slowly eating the soul. 

In many ways, It Lives Inside is standard monster fare, no different than dozens (hundreds?) of high-school-girl-in-terror movies. (The high school mascot—a bit on-the-nose—is a werewolf.) However, Dutta, who penned the screenplay, presents a unique reflection of the immigrant experience through this unusual horror prism. 

The cultural elements are integral in the storytelling and ultimate resolution. The family celebrates Durga Puja, a holiday paying homage to the Hindu goddess Durga’s victory over the shape-shifting demon Mahishasura. The party offers a glimpse into the community, showing Poorna’s desire to honor her heritage and Sam’s desire to remain outside it. When Dutta shows these pieces, the film comes to life.

The most lingering moment involves the aftermath of a grisly death that Sam witnesses. The neighbors’ faces suggest suspicion, not compassion. Dutta comments boldly and effectively on “immigrant as other,” revealed in the brief visual commentary. This moment speaks more powerfully than a dozen speeches could convey. 

Suri is first-rate as Sam, balancing the character’s struggles, seeming descent into madness, and inner strength. She is the modern Scream Queen: resourceful, smart, and brave; willing to sacrifice everything but her humanity. She manages to make even the weakest dialogue believable. 

Bajwa and Sahay avoid caricatures and find a nice contrast as the parents, both trying to understand and support their child. Gage Marsh is very “boy band” as a quasi-date who meets an inevitable end. Betty Gabriel plays Sam’s teacher, Joyce Dixon, one of those fantasy mentors who never seem to leave school and are always available. We know she is cool because she wears a Berkley sweatshirt (coincidentally, where Dutta teaches film). Gabriel makes the stock character completely real. 

Strangely, the film seems underpopulated. Students barely register; party guests are mere ciphers. 

Sadly, as a horror film, it falls short. The absence of tension is not replaced by any genuine atmosphere or style. The tired tropes—whispering voices, red lights, a journal with dire warnings and disturbing sketches, dreams within dreams—play strictly as clichés, making the short running time seem to plod towards its inevitable and strangely tacit conclusion. Often, it feels like a lesser episode of the 1970s television series Kolchak: the Night Stalker. 

Of the monster itself, it remains invisible for most of the film. Occasionally, Dutta allows a glimpse—mostly a shape in the dark with eyes charged by a pair of old AAA batteries, accompanied by a growl that claims the eeriness of an annoyed Dachshund. The final encounter reveals a refugee from the creature-feature rubber suit brigade. The matinee monster looks slightly less than a Party City Alien or perhaps something ordered out of the back of a comic book. Spikey and mildly reptilian, it elicits no response outside of a mirthless and disappointed chuckle from the anesthetized audience.

If only Dutta had leaned further into the social core, he would have created something memorable. Instead, It Lives Inside remains a rather flabby thriller with a fascinating—but unrealized—potential.

Rated PG-13, the film is now playing in local theaters.

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Cinema Arts Centre's new series will kick off with 'Ladybird' on Oct. 6.

December 1st, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Cinema Arts Centre (CAC). To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the Huntington cinema will introduce a new series, CAC Through the Decades. The series will commemorate each decade that the Cinema Arts Centre has been in operation by presenting special screenings of some of the most important and popular films shown at CAC throughout its history.

The cinema was founded by Founded by Vic Skolnick, Charlotte Sky and Dylan Skolnick December 1st 1973 as the New Community Cinema – later changing its name to the Cinema Arts Centre following a move into the Town of Huntington’s John J. Flanagan Center. 

Co-Founders Vic Skolnick and Charlotte Sky, with their son Dylan, were passionate organizers who sought to bring Long Islanders together to create a movement around film culture that would eventually help shape and define the very character of our area, now renowned as a cultural destination and an arts-rich community. 

Robert Rossen’s ‘Lilith’ will be screened on Dec. 1.

Long-time supporters of the Cinema often reminisce about the “sheet-on-the-wall” days, when films were projected from a borrowed projector in a friend’s dance studio. From those early days, the Cinema Arts Centre has expanded into a state-of-the art theater with film and digital projection capabilities, newly renovated theaters, and a multi-use space called the Sky Room Café.  

Today, the Cinema Arts Centre presents approximately 400 special screenings and events a year, along with a full slate of new release first-run features. Regular special programming includes film and discussion programs with film historians, directors, and critics, silent films with a live score, historically significant classics, international cinema, educational lectures, classes and workshops, live music, open mic nights, as well as weekly screenings of cult and family favorites.

CAC Through the Decades will launch on Oct. 6 with a screening of Greta Gerwig’s award-winning coming-of-age comedy/drama Ladybird which will represent the 2010s. The 2000s will be represented by a screening of Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth on Oct. 10, the 1990s with a screening of the Coen Brother’s The Big Lebowski on Nov. 3, and the 1980s with a screening of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing on Nov. 17. Each screening will include a reception with fundraising raffles and other fun activities. 

The series will culminate on Dec. 1 with a special celebration that will span the entirety of the Cinema Arts Centre’s space, including its three theaters, each of which will play an iconic and celebrated film shown at the Cinema during its early days in the 1970s. 

Audience members will have the opportunity to attend one of three film screenings — Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Robert Altman’s Nashville, or Robert Rossen’s Lilith — which was the first film ever screened by the Cinema Arts Centre. Following the screenings on Dec. 1, the Cinema will hold an anniversary party and reception featuring live music, hors d’oeuvres, and even a film projected on a sheet on the wall as a call back to the Cinema’s early days.

The films featured in the series were selected, and voted on by close Cinema Arts Centre supporters, staff members, a committee of dedicated volunteers, and the CAC Board of Directors. 

Tickets to the Oct. 6, Oct. 20, Nov. 3 and Nov. 17 screenings are $22, $15 members; tickets to the Dec. 1 event are $40, $30 members. You can purchase tickets to these and other events, and find more information about how to support the Cinema Arts Centre at www.cinemaartscentre.org.

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From left, Kelly Reilly, Tina Fey, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, and Jamie Dornan star in 'A Haunting In Venice' Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Disney

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

With over two billion books in print, Agatha Christie remains history’s second best-selling author (just behind Shakespeare). Her works span sixty-six detective novels and fourteen short story collections. Having opened in 1952, The Mousetrap is the world’s longest-running play, with over twenty-nine thousand performances. Christie’s best-known creations are the private detective Hercule Poirot and the amateur sleuth Miss Marple.

Poirot—the meticulous Belgian of the “little gray cells”— is featured in thirty-three novels and fifty-one short stories, with over a dozen films following his exploits. 

Notable actors such as Albert Finney (nominated for an Academy Award for Murder on the Orient Express), Peter Ustinov, Alfred Molina, John Malkovich, and Tony Randall donned the waxed mustache. David Suchet has been the most successful and beloved with Agatha Christie’s Poirot series, which presented seventy episodes from 1989 to 2013. Suchet’s large-than-life Poirot remarkably manages to remain wholly dimensional. 

Kenneth Branagh and Tina Fey in a scene from ‘A Haunting In Venice’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Disney

In 2017, Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in Murder on the Orient Express, a labored adaptation that paled in comparison to the 1974 film and the 2010 television version. Branagh followed it up with the even less adept Death on the Nile (2022). 

His newest entry, A Haunting in Venice, claims its source as Hallowe’en Party (1969). The crisp novel deals with a girl who claims to have witnessed a murder and, shortly after, is drowned in a bobbing-for-apples tub. The similarities between the source and the film are slim. Apart from one character, a few names, a tub of apples, and a Halloween setting, A Haunting in Venice is an unrelated tale.

Hercule Poirot (Branagh) lives in an unsettled Venetian retirement with a bodyguard, ex-policeman Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio). Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), Poirot’s acquaintance with whom he shares a professional history and a slightly antagonistic bent, coerces Poirot into attending a séance at a nearby palazzo, which follows a children’s Halloween party. Skeptic Poirot agrees to accompany her, intending to reveal the medium as a fraud. 

The palazzo’s owner, Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), wants to contact her daughter, Alicia (Rowan Robinson), who had committed suicide by throwing herself into the canal a year earlier. The guests include the family doctor, Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan), his son, Leopold (Jude Hill), and the housemaid, Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin). The medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), speaks in the daughter’s voice, proclaiming she was murdered. Poirot quickly exposes Reynolds as a fake. But is she? While Poirot reveals her confederates—Romani siblings Desdemona and Nicholas Holland (Emma Laird and Ali Khan)—doubt looms.

The ensuing plot hinges on the revelation of Alicia’s killer and the question of the palazzo’s haunting by the ghosts of children locked in to die during the plague years. 

A Haunting in Venice is an old dark house thriller with the requisite rainstorm, a falling chandelier, strange shadows, whispering voices, and assorted things that go bump in the night. The real stars are the technical elements. Visually, the film is exquisite: Haris Zambarloukos’s whirring and winding cinematography complements John Kelly’s elegant and evocative production design.

The performances are solid enough, all playing in the same world—but certainly not Christie’s universe. In a complete departure from the author’s self-satirizing writer (cleverly played by Zoë Wanamaker in the series), Fey’s Oliver is a wise-cracking 1940s soubrette and Poirot’s active adversary. Yeoh brings a winking gravitas to the medium, and Reilly ably manages a mother’s grief. Laird and Kahn make for a mercurial pair.

The center of any Poirot mystery is, of course, Poirot. Branagh’s twenty-first-century reinterpretation of the role results in a unique, often troubled, human character. Oddly, the choice becomes problematic, offering a Poirot with a lack of “Poirot-ness.” Missing is the twinkling genius, one step ahead. Instead, this Poirot runs alongside the pack until the final moments. However, Branagh embraces Christie’s vision in the resolution, where he exercises his insights and logic in unraveling the solution. Here, Branagh finds a few moments to shine, offering a glimpse of his potential. 

A Haunting in Venice is a distinct improvement over Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. But whether Haunting is a Christie-inspired film or just a movie cashing in on the author’s fame, the answer must veer towards the latter. Viewers seeking a traditional Poirot murder mystery with the classic intrepid detective will most likely be frustrated and disappointed. Those more flexible (or less invested in the canon) will find a quick-paced and visually satisfying thriller.

Rated PG-13, the film is now playing in local theaters.

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A scene from 'Oppenheimer'

By Daniel Dunaief

Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Stony Brook University joined the chorus of moviegoers who enjoyed and appreciated the Universal film Oppenheimer.

“I thought the movie was excellent,” said Leemor Joshua-Tor, Professor and HHMI Investigator at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. “It made me think, which is always a good sign.”

Yusuf Hannun, Vice Dean for Cancer Medicine at Stony Brook University, thought the movie was “terrific” and had anticipated the film would be a “simpler” movie.

Jeff Keister, leader of the Detector and Research Equipment Pool at NSLS-II at Brookhaven National Laboratory, described the movie as “interesting” and “well acted.”

Joshua-Tor indicated she didn’t know anything about Robert Oppenheimer, the title character and leader of the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb. She “learned lots of new things” about him, she wrote. “I knew he was targeted by McCarthy-ism, but didn’t realize how that came about and the details.”

Keister also didn’t know much about Oppenheimer, who was played by actor Cillian Murphy in the film. “Oppenheimer seemed to quietly struggle with finding his role in the story of the development of the atomic bomb,” Keister said. “At times, he wore the uniform, then later seemed to express regret.”

Like other researchers, particularly those involved in large projects that bring together people with different skills and from various cultural backgrounds, Oppenheimer led a diverse team of scientists amid the heightened tension of World War II.

Oppenheimer was “shown to have been granted an extremely powerful position and was able to form a relatively diverse team, although he was not able to win over all the brightest minds,” Keister wrote.

Joshua-Tor suggested Oppenheimer “charmed” the other scientists, who were so driven by the science and the goal that they “accepted him. The leader of the team should be a great scientist, but doesn’t necessarily have to be the biggest genius. There is a genius in being able to herd the cats in the right way.”

Joel Hurowitz, Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University, “loved” the movie. Hurowitz has worked with large projects with NASA teams as a part of his research effort.

Hurowitz suggested that the work that goes into coordinating these large projects is “huge” and it requires “a well laid out organizational structure, effective leadership, and a team that is happy working hard towards a common goal.”

‘Stunning’ first bomb test

Keister described the first nuclear bomb test as “stunning” in the movie. “I have to wonder how the environmental and health impacts of such a test came to be judged as inconsequential.”

Some local scientists would have appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity to see more of the science that led to the creation of the bomb.

Science is the “only place the movie fell short,” Hannun said. “They could have spent a bit more time to indicate the basic science behind the project and maybe a bit more about the scientific accomplishments of the various participants.”

Given the focus of the movie on Oppenheimer and his leadership and ultimate ambivalence about the creation of the atomic bomb, Keister suggested that scientists “could be better encouraged to understand the impacts of applied uses of new discoveries. Scientists can learn to broaden their view to include means of mitigating potential negative impacts.”

Research sponsors, including taxpayers and their representatives, have an “ethical responsibility to incorporate scientists’ views of the full impacts into their decisions regarding applications and deployment of new technology,” Keister said.

Joshua-Tor thinks there “always has to be an ongoing conversation between scientists and the citizenry” which has to be an “informed, somewhat dispassionate conversation.”

Recommended movies about scientists

Local researchers also shared some of their film recommendations about scientists.

Hurowitz wrote that his favorite these days is Arrival, a science fiction film starring Amy Adams. If Hurowitz is looking for more lighthearted fare, he writes that “you can’t go wrong with Ghostbusters,” although he’s not sure the main characters Egon, Ray and Peter could be called scientists.

Keister also enjoys science fiction, as it “often challenges us with ethical dilemmas which need to be addressed.” While he isn’t sure he has a favorite, he recommended the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina starring Alicia Vikander as a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence,.

Joshua-Tor recalls liking the film A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly as John and Alicia Nash. She also loved the film Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe.

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‘The Color Purple’ heads to theaters on Christmas Day. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

By Tim Haggerty and Jeffrey Sanzel

Filmgoers can look forward to an exciting  field of offerings for the fall and holiday season. A wide range of releases promises a host of titles in a strong cross-section of genres including horror, musicals, historical dramas, and family movies. Here are some of the most anticipated movies for the rest of 2023, listed in order of release date. Ready, set, … action!

A Haunting in Venice

Kenneth Branagh’s follow-up to Death on the Nile is A Haunting in Venice, his third outing as celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot. The Agatha Christie-inspired story focuses on murder during a séance and promises thrills offered up by a star-studded. Along with director-actor Branagh are Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Yeoh, among others.

Rated PG-13· Release date September 15

Saw X

While not for the faint of heart (or stomach), Saw X marks the tenth in the Jigsaw saga. The film is set between the events of Saw and Saw II and follows a desperate man traveling to Mexico for a medical procedure, which is revealed to be a scam. Tobin Bell once again takes on the role of John Kramer/Jigsaw.

Rated TBA· Release date September 29

The Exorcist: Believer

David Gordon Green appropriately follows the end of his recent Halloween trilogy with The Exorcist: Believer. Originally, the producers were going to reboot the series, but instead have opted for a direct sequel to the landmark 1973 original. Ellen Burstyn reprises her starring role. 

Rated R· Release date October 13

Killers of the Flower Moon

It has been four years since Academy Award-winner Martin Scorsese’s much-lauded The Irishman. Now, the great director presents Killers of the Flower Moon. Based on David Grann’s bestseller of the same name, the film centers on a series of Oklahoma murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, committed after oil was discovered on tribal land. The film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal and Brendan Fraser, promises to be one of the fall’s best and most exciting films.

Rated R· Release date October 20

Priscilla

Sofia Coppola tells the Elvis story through meeting, courtship, and marriage in Priscilla. Based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me, Coppola creates the private life of the superstar in what will hopefully be her signature brilliance, blending high art with raw emotion. Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi star as Priscilla and Elvis.

Rated R· Release date October 27

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Taking its cue from the video game, Five Nights at Freddy’s follows a security guard (Josh Hutcherson) on night-time patrol at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, an abandoned family entertainment center, where animatronic mascots kill anyone there after midnight. 

Rated PG-13 Release Date October 27

Pain Hustlers

David Yates features Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, Andy Garcia, and Catherine O’Hara in Pain Hustlers, a true-events crime drama centered on a criminal conspiracy at a pharmaceutical start-up.

Rated R· Release date October 27

The Marvels

The Marvel Universe expands with The Marvels, a Captain Marvel sequel starring Nia DaCosta, along with Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, and Iman Vallanis’ Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel of the Disney+ series). 

Rated PG-13· Release date November 10

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The multi-million-dollar Hunger Games franchise returns with a prequel based on Suzanne Collins’ novel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Series vet Francis Lawrence directs the story that follows young Coriolanus Snow (played by Donald Sutherland in the previous four films) and his involvement with the Hunger Games.

Rated PG-13· Release date November 17

Next Goal Wins

Based on the 2015 documentary, Next Goal Wins tells the story of Dutch American soccer coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), hired to help turn around the American Samoa national team, considered one of the worst in the world. (The trailers suggest a warm Ted Lasso vibe.)

Rated PG-13· Release date November 17

Napoleon

Napoleon joins director Ridley Scott with Joaquin Phoenix as the French general-turned-emperor. While the film will include a number of Napoleon’s most famous battles, its primary focus is on his tempestuous love story with his first wife, Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).

Rated R· Release date November 22

Maestro

Perhaps one of the most anticipated fall films is Bradley Cooper’s biopic Maestro. Director Cooper has co-written (along with Josh Singer) the screenplay in which he stars as the extraordinary and complicated musician Leonard Bernstein. The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Maya Hawke and Jeremy Strong.

Rated R· Release date November 22

Wish

Disney’s Wish chronicles the origin story of the Wishing Star, with Ariana DeBose,  Chris Pine and Alan Tudyk starring in Frozen writers Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck’s screenplay. When darkness falls upon the Kingdom of Wishes, a young girl wishes upon a star to save her home, only to have the star physically come to her aid and becomes her sidekick. If the advance buzz is any indication, the animated film could become another Disney classic.

Rated TBA· Release date November 2

Poor Things

Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a young suicide brought back to life by a scientist (Willem Dafoe) in the unusual and surreal Poor Things, based on the 1992 Alasdair Gray novel. 

Rated R· Release Date December 8.

Wonka

Timothée Chalamet takes on the title role in Wonka, an origin story of the eccentric candy maker. Paddington director Paul King has assembled an all-star cast with Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Keegan Michael-Key, and Rowan Atkinson. The film promises to be a visual feast and a fascinating take on Roald Dahls’ legendary character.

Rated PG· Release date December 15

The Color Purple

Stephen Spielberg filmed Alice Walker’s indelible novel The Color Purple in his Oscar-nominated 1985 film. Now Blitz Bazawule brings the Broadway musical to the big screen, with  Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Louis Gossett Jr., showcasing the Tony-nominated score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray.

Rated PG-13· Release date December 25

This article originally appeared in TBR News Media’s Harvest Times supplement on Sept. 14.

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Movieland Cinemas. Photo by Elyse Benavides

By Heidi Sutton

Movieland Cinemas, a longtime fixture in the community, has closed. The announcement was made on its Facebook page on Sept. 7. General Manager Nicole Rapp cited high rent and declining foot traffic as the reason for the closure.

Located in Coram at 1850 Route 112 in the Pine Plaza, the theater opened in 1995 and changed hands many times, most recently in 2022 after extensive renovations. 

“Over the years, our theater has been a place where the community has come together to enjoy films … and celebrate the magic of cinema. We have cherished every moment spent with you, our loyal patrons, and the support you have shown us,” read the post.

Many patrons reacted to the announcment with sadness and thanked the theater for the many years of memories. 

“We want to extend our sincere thanks to each and every one of you who has been a part of our theater’s journey. It’s been an incredible ride, and we couldn’t have done it without you. We are going to miss hosting your birthday parties, special events, gaming tournaments, sensory friendly screenings, Princess/ Superhero meet-and-greets, and so much more,” said Rapp.

The post went on to the thank “the dedicated movie theater staff … who tirelessly worked behind the scenes” and hinted at reopening the theater in the future with a potential buyer.

“While our doors may be closing for now, the memories we’ve created together will live on. Thank you for being a part of our theater’s story, and we hope that this is a temporary speed-bump and soon be able to make a comeback,” added Rapp.

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The first of eight documentaries will be 'Rather' on Sept. 18 — At the age of 92, iconic journalist Dan Rather reflects on his career that spans seven decades.

By Tara Mae

Whether there is too much or never enough of it, time may either soften memories with nostalgia or sharpen remembrances with accrued insight. Through art and action, the Fall 2023 Port Jefferson Documentary Series (PJDS) highlights the intricacies of this dynamic both onscreen and behind-the-scenes. 

On specific Monday evenings between September 18 and November 13, at Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson and John F. Kennedy Middle School, 200 Jayne Blvd., Port Jefferson Station, the award-winning doc series will share eight distinct stories.  

Encompassing reflections on a career well-chronicled; a quickly encroaching catastrophe; a calamitous crisis averted; or, a curious occurrence, screenings will be followed by Q&As with guest speakers. Tom Needham, executive producer and host of “Sounds of Film” on WUSB, will once again serve as moderator. 

“Our setup has not changed either behind-the-scenes or in how we choose the documentaries,” said PJDS co-director Lyn Boland. “We assess production values, whether it is a good story, and if it is available to film festivals instead of streaming — we want it to be new. We also prefer films where the director is available to talk in one sense or another.”

Now in its 38th season, the PJDS, which began in 2005, excavates tangible accomplishments and existential inquiries. In interactive interviews with documentarians, it seeks answers from those who first sought to ask the questions. 

Sponsored by Maggio Environmental and Wellness; Covati & Janhsen, CPAS PC; and Port Jeff Storage,  the season opens with Rather, a film that examines Dan Rather’s ongoing seven decade journalistic career and his continued dedication to making a difference.

We Dare to Dream traverses the triumphs and trials of 29 elite athletes. Deprived of their home countries, they strive for international success while preparing to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the International Olympic Committee’s Refugee Olympic team. (This event will also feature a pre-show concert at Port Jefferson Methodist Church by pianist Jacqueline Schwab.) 

Time Bomb Y2K revisits when, on the verge of a new millennium, the world feared that all of technology was about to have a nervous breakdown on New Year’s Day. 

Between the Rains covers a 4 year period when record low rainfall in Kenya caused a reckoning for children caught in a culture being eroded by climate change.

Israel Swings for Gold traces the trajectory of Israel’s baseball team as it makes it Olympic debut in 2021.

Rolling Along recounts Bill Bradley’s revelatory professional career as informed by his personal ethos: Rhodes Scholar, champion New York Knicks recruit, and noted New Jersey senator.  

Maestra showcases the melodious moments and discordant dilemmas women face as they compete in the world’s only all-female conducting competition. 

Lastly, A Revolution on Canvas investigates the intriguing disappearance of more than 100 “treasonous” paintings by contemporary Iranian artist Nickzad Nodjoumi. 

(For dates and times, please see Film Schedule below.)

Each documentary is selected by one of the “film ladies,” as Lyn Boland, Wendy Feinberg, Barbara Sverd and Honey Katz are known. They present their choices to the PJDS board. Top contenders from those viewings are shared with three esteemed longtime volunteers, Denise Livrieri, Yvonne Lieffrig, and Debbie Bolvadin, who then also vote on the films. 

“It is important to have a wide variety of people choosing films; we know we each have private preferences that we always gravitate towards. If you do not have a wide group, you may leave out some of your audience,” Boland said. “We are lucky that our audience really trusts us. They know that we are invested and looked into the films personally, so we feel the documentaries are special to include.”

According to Boland, once the films are chosen, securing the rights to them and gaining access to the speakers is a game of cat and mouse. So, the hunt is on as soon film festivals announce their lineups. The Series’ cast of characters divides and conquers, attending screenings and identifying potential contenders for PJDS. 

“Once I have focused on a film I would like to present, the fun of the chase begins! Nailing down films, dates, directors or producers, and working out schedule conflicts are issues we have to contend with when programming a series. So, it [helps] when you have a connection to anyone associated with the film,” explained Sverd.  

Such relationships have been forged and nurtured over the years with different producers and directors who have previously shown their work during the Series. Rather and Time Bomb Y2K come from creators who screened earlier films through PJDS. Between the Rains and Rolling Along were acquired through Sverd’s and Feinberg’s respective personal connections. 

“I am looking forward to seeing many of our repeat guests and also the new folks who will be attending the films this season,” said Feinberg.

In addition to making contacts and advancing the films, each member brings their individual skill sets, contributing what best aligns with their interests and industries, including law, event planning, education, and graphic design. Primary and paramount requirement for joining the team — it is looking for new volunteers — is simply being a film buff.  

That passion translates to the audience, which includes familiar faces and new fans.

“In this day and age, with so much available to see and watch, it is just great that people appreciate the kind of experience that we offer,” Boland said.

Individual tickets are $10 (cash only) at the door, a combination ticket for the concert and documentary on is $15, or in advance at www.portjeffdocumentaryseries.com.

FILM SCHEDULE
A scene from ‘Rather’

◆ The Fall 2023 season kicks off with a screening of Rather at Theatre Three on September 18 at 7 p.m. Guest speakers will be Co-Producer Taylor Wildenhaus and Sarah Baxter, Director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting. Co-sponsored by the Stony Brook University School of Communications & Journalism and the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting. 

‘We Dare to Dream’

◆ We Dare to Dream will be screened at Theatre Three on October 2 at 7:30 p.m. Preceded by a special concert featuring pianist at First United Methodist Church, 603 Main St., Port Jefferson at 6:30 p.m. Guest speaker via Zoom will be Director Waad Al-Kateab. Sponsored by Danfords Hotel & Marina and The Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club.

‘Time Bomb Y2K’

◆ Next up is Time Bomb Y2K at Theatre Three on October 9 at 7 p.m. Guest speakers will be Co-Directors Brian Becker and/or Marley McDonald.

‘Between the Rains’

◆ Between the Rains will be screened at JFK Middle School on October 16 at 7 p.m. Guest speakers will be co-director Andrew H. Brown via Zoom and Dr. Dino Martins, CEO of the Turkana Basin Institute. Co-sponsored by the Turkana Basin Institute of Kenya and its affiliate, Stony Brook University.

‘Israel Swings for Gold’

◆ The season continues with Israel Swings for Gold at JFK Middle School on October 23 at 7 p.m. Guest speaker will be Co-Director Jeremy Newberger. Co-sponsored by North Shore Jewish Center in Port Jefferson Station and Temple Isaiah in Stony Brook.

‘Rolling Along’

◆ A special screening of Rolling Along will be held at JFK Middle School on October 30 at 7 p.m. Guest speaker will be former U.S. Senator and screenwriter Bill Bradley in person.

‘Maestra’

◆ Maestra heads to JFK Middle School on November 6 at 7 p.m. Guest speakers will be Director Maggie Contreras via Zoom and Melisse Brunet, Conductor and subject in the film. Sponsored by Danfords Hotel & Marina and The Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club.

‘A Revolution on Canvas’

◆ The season concludes with a screening of A Revolution on Canvas at Theatre Three on November 13 at 7 p.m. Guest speakers will be Co-Directors Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder. Sponsored by Danfords Hotel & Marina and The Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club.

For more information, call 631-473-5220 or visit www.portjeffersondocumentaryseries.com.

 

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