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A scene from 'West Side Story'. Photo courtesy of CAC
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A scene from 'West Side Story'. Photo courtesy of CAC
A scene from 'West Side Story'. Photo courtesy of CAC
A scene from 'West Side Story'. Photo courtesy of CAC

Something special is coming to the Cinema Arts Centre. As part of its Best of the Big Screen series, the theater will present a rare big screen viewing of West Side Story (1961) on Tuesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. with an introduction by film historian Philip Harwood.

A modern reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, two street gangs battle for control over the harsh streets of the Upper West Side. Their conflict becomes complicated when a former gang-leader falls in love with a rival’s sister. Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, West Side Story holds the record for most wins for a musical. Filled with remarkable dance numbers and elevated by Robert Wise’s brilliant direction, Leonard Bernstein’s score, and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics, it is regarded as the greatest musical film of all time.

Tickets are $15, $10 members here.

And make sure to check out the list of other classic films that the theater will be showing this summer, including Planet of the Apes,  Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights, The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob, some great films for their Film Noir series, and a special Alfred Hitchcock retrospective!

Cinema Arts Centre is located at 423 Park Avenue in Huntington. For more information, call 631-423-7610 or visit www.cinemaartscentre.org.

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Hit the road with the Griswolds once again, as Fathom’s Big Screen Classics roll on with a pair of special screenings of the 1983 fan-favorite comedy “National Lampoon’s Vacation” returning to select theaters nationwide on Sunday, July 16 and Wednesday, July 19 in honor of its 40th anniversary. 

For the Clark W. Griswolds of Chicago, 50 weeks of work and routine will soon be rewarded with a fortnight of frenzied freedom. Mom (Beverly D’Angelo) and the kids (Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron) would rather fly, but Dad (Chevy Chase) insists on driving west to Walley World. 

He’s programmed everything on the family’s PC — from tire wear to best routes, from choice sights to the finest AAA-recommended lodgings. But what was supposed to be a perfectly planned getaway quickly takes a detour through Murphy’s Law, as the Griswold gang must overcome vandals, car wrecks, and even the LAPD SWAT Team to make it to their destination in one piece. 

Directed by Harold Ramis with a script by John Hughes, Vacation also stars Imogene Coca, John Candy, Christie Brinkley in her acting debut, Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, Eddie Bracken, Brian Doyle-Murray, Miriam Flynn, James Keach, Eugene Levy and Frank McRae. 

Each screening features an exclusive introduction by noted film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, discussing the enduring appeal and influence of the side-splitting road trip epic widely hailed as one of the finest comedies of all time.

Locally the film will be screened at AMC Loews Stony Brook, Island 16 Cinema de Lux in Holtsville and Showcase Cinema de Lux in Farmingdale on July 16 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and on July 19 at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.

See a trailer of the movie here.

 

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Harrison Ford in a scene from 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'. Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. / Disney

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

The Indiana Jones films are among the most popular blockbusters of all time: beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed by the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), then Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade (1989). It was almost twenty years before the fourth chapter was released: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). This last received the poorest reviews and the weakest response. Stephen Spielberg directed all four films, with Harrison Ford starring as Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr., an archeology professor. Worldwide grosses have approached two billion dollars. 

In between the third and fourth films, a television series, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, followed Jones as a child and youth. Twenty-eight episodes and four made-for-television films ran from 1992 through 1994. In addition, dozens of books, comic books, toys, and other tie-ins surround the Jones icon.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as Helena, and Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones, star in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.’ Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in the closing days of World War II. Jones faces Nazi adversaries as he attempts to recover the Lance of Longinus. The German officers reveal Hitler believes the relic to contain extraordinary powers that could reverse the course of the war. The Lance is a fake, but Nazi astrophysicist Jürgen Voller has found half of Archimedes’ Dial, an invention of the ancient Syracusan mathematician said to be able to locate fissures in time. 

After an extended fight and chase on a train, Voller is killed (spoiler alert: he is not), and half of the Dial is supposedly lost (spoiler alter: it is not). Of course, Jones and sidekick, archaeologist Basil Shaw, survive.

The action jumps from 1944 to July 1969, just after the moon landing. Borderline alcoholic Jones, a passionless professor at New York City’s Hunter College, instructs indifferent students on the eve of his forced retirement. His son, Mutt, died in Viet Nam, and his wife, Marion Ravenwood, left him. Enter his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, Basil’s only child. Helena seeks the Dial, and while Jones had promised the near-insane Basil to destroy it, he preserved it in the college storeroom.

While retrieving it, Jones and Helena are attacked by muscle sent by Voller, now a scientist working for NASA. During this melee, Helena reveals herself to be less a student of archeology and more a mercenary treasure hunter planning to sell the Dial fragment in a Tangiers black-market auction. What ensues is a world-crossing journey, with a plethora of fights and escapes. These—the film’s raison d’être—are slightly cartoonish but grandly, energetically executed. However, they are too long. Much, much too long. 

Somewhere along the way, the series traded its signature humor and bold but neatly developed characters for impressive but bloated action sequences: extended chases in narrow streets and open spaces, replete with rooftop leaps, helicopters, planes, motorcycles, and innumerable cars. There is even an escape on horseback through a parade, invading the New York City subway.

With a few exceptions, the body count is composed of expendable characters. The almost bloodless violence borders on heightened slapstick, with square-landed punches usually followed by an attempt at a wry quip. The core villain, Voller, could be straight out of a Hollywood propaganda film; his henchmen are the usual obedient thugs. Helena’s sidekick, Teddy Kumar, vaguely replicates Short Round from the earlier films.

So much of The Dial of Destiny is an homage to Indiana Jones, one through three. While the trio paid tribute to the serials of the 1930s and ‘40s, Dial celebrates the trilogy. As soon as the chords of John Williams’ unmistakable underscore play, Jones saves the day (or at least the moment). But building an entire two hours and twenty minutes on waves of nostalgia comes up, if not empty, certainly less than satisfying. The film’s climax, a bizarre sword-and-sandal sequence, becomes uncomfortably comical and slightly clumsy.

While Ford announced this would be his final performance in the role, he remains in fine form as the curmudgeonly Jones, with his have-hat-and-whip-will-travel presence. He continues making the most incredible situations palatable. (Perhaps the CGI that renders the prologue’s younger Jones is the most extraordinary special effect.) 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge creates a quirky, amoral Helena, a great foil for Jones. She infuses the grifter with a mix of noir femme fatale and girl-next-door charm. Mads Mikkelsen’s Voller succeeds as the typically erudite fascist with requisite lip-curling contempt. Ethann Isidore manages to avoid precociousness as Teddy.

The supporting cast play mostly enlarged cameos. Antonio Banderas twinkles as Renaldo, a boat captain. John Rhys-Davies is delightful in his return as Jones’ old friend, Sallah. Toby Jones strikes the right balance between sanity and madness as Basil. Shaunette Renée Wilson gives one of the more dimensional performances as a government agent. 

While forging no new ground, those looking for another chapter in the saga will be either disappointed with its failure to compete with the earlier films or delighted with its improvement over the fourth, ill-conceived outing. With exotic locations, Teutonic villains, time travel, giant bugs, eel-filled waters, and enough stolen car chases for a dozen films, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny neither improves nor weakens the franchise. 

Disney recently announced that The Dial of Destiny is the final entry. And while not perfect closure, it is good enough to draw the curtain on four decades of epic adventure.

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

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Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant in a scene from His Girl Friday, 1940 Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures & Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group

On Thursday, July 13, Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre will launch a new film and discussion series, presented in partnership with Wallace Matthews, former columnist for Newsday, the New York Post and ESPN. The series will use the medium of film to examine the relationship between Hollywood and the News.

Titled This Just In! The love-hate relationship between Hollywood and the News Media, the series will begin by looking at films from Hollywood’s pre-code era, and move throughout history, examining films that depict newsrooms and journalists — analyzing how they have been depicted in the movies throughout different periods of history. Each program will feature a film screening followed by an audience discussion led by Matthews.

The first three films covered in the series will be Lewis Milestone’s The Front Page, Mervyn LeRoy’s Five Star Final, and Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday.

‘The Front Page’

Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Chicago’s reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien) wants to quit newspaper work and get married, but his editor, Walter Burns (Adolphe Menjou), is determined to keep him on the job. The court pressroom is full of lame reporters, all waiting to cover the hanging of Earl Williams. When Williams escapes custody, Hildy seizes the opportunity and bribes an insider to get the scoop on the escape. Can he keep Williams’ whereabouts secret long enough to get the scoop, especially with the Sheriff and other reporters hovering around? 

‘Five Star Final’

Thursday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Edward G. Robinson stars as Joseph Randall, the ruthless newspaper-editor who will go to any length to get a headline for the Five Star Final. Facing declining circulation, he decides to dig up a 20-year-old killing. He sends reporter Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff) undercover to get a photograph of Nancy Townsend as she prepares for her daughter’s wedding. Now a pillar of society, Townsend shot her lover decades ago. But there are tragic consequences when Randall publishes the photo of Townsend with the story of the shooting. 

‘His Girl Friday’

Thursday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.

One of the fastest, funniest, and most quotable films ever, His Girl Friday stars Rosalind Russell as reporter Hildy Johnson — who is matched only by her conniving but charismatic editor and ex-husband, Walter (Cary Grant), who attempts to use every tick in the book to keep her from remarrying. When adapting Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s play The Front Page, Howard Hawks had the idea of turning reporter Hildy into a woman, and the result is an immortal mix of hard-boiled newsroom setting with ebullient remarriage comedy. 

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The Cinema Arts Centre is located at 423 Park Ave in Huntington. Tickets to the films are $15, $10 members. For more information on this and other events at the CAC, call 631-423-7610 or visit www.cinemaartscentre.org.

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Margot Robbie in a scene from 'Barbie'. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment

By Tim Haggerty & Jeffrey Sanzel

This summer’s cinematic offerings range from blockbusters to independents, with Hollywood stars intermingled with well-known character actors and a handful of up-and-coming personalities. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

First up is the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Three decades in, Harrison Ford continues his adventures three decades in as the titular professor of archeology, Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. Approaching retirement, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact, the Antikythera, doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays his goddaughter.

Rated PG-13 · Release date June 30

Insidious: The Red Door

Patrick Wilson makes his feature directorial debut with The Red Door. Wilson and Rose Byrne appear in this last entry of the Insidious run, in which the original Lambert family attempts to (finally?) exorcise the demons plaguing them. (As with most horror movies of this ilk, demons surprisingly can be resurrected by decent box office returns.)

Rated PG-13 · Release date July 7

Joy Ride

Joy Ride stars Oscar-nominated Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) joins Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu in a buddy comedy about a quartet of friends who embark on a trek across Asia to help one of their group search for her birth mother. Directed and co-written by Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians).

Rated  R · Release date July 7

Mission: Impossible 7

Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson join headliner Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, Part One. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team embark on “their most dangerous mission,” tracking down a weapon that threatens humanity in this action-franchise. The claim is that Dead Reckoning, Part Two (due out June 28, 2024) will be the final chapter. 

Rated PG-13 · Release date July 12

Theater Camp

Budding thespians are the target of the satirical Theater Camp which follows the eccentric staff of a rundown theatre camp in upstate New York as they come together with a less-than-theatrically-inclined member of the camp family to keep the program going following the sudden absence of the beloved founder with Dear Evan Hansen’s Ben Platt playing a counselor guiding the campers in their summer’s big show. 

Rated PG-13 · Release date July 14

Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer promises to be a dark, powerful, and cutting-edge biopic of the scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, chronicling his work on the atomic bomb and the repercussions on his professional and personal lives. Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, supported by an extraordinary cast: Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Branagh, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Gary Oldman, Rami Malek, and Josh Hartnett.

Rated R · Release date July 21

Barbie

Possibly the most anticipated release is Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. With an all-star cast—Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Dua Lipa and many others—the meta-comedy shows a particular Barbie (Robbie) and Ken (Gosling) as they venture into the real world. If the trailers reflect the finished production, it should be one of the summer’s best.

Rated PG-13 · Release date July 21

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion is Disney’s latest foray into bringing amusement park rides to the big screen. A woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. All -star cast includes LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Jared Leto, Winona Ryder, Tiffany Hadish and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Rated  PG-13 · Release date July 28

Talk to Me

The Australian horror film Talk to Me was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival and has already garnered excellent reviews. The traditional plot centers on friends who unwittingly unleash malevolent forces when conjuring spirits with an embalmed hand.

Rated  R · Release date July 28

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle phenomenon returns with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The movie’s revival is due to longtime fans Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and is computer animated feature emphasizing the “teenage” element of the original comics.

Rated  PG-13 · Release date August 2

Strays

Will Ferrell leads an all-star voice cast (Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Josh Gad, Will Forte, Sofia Vergara) in the adult live-action animal adventure Strays. A naive border terrier (voice of Ferrell), abandoned by his deadbeat owner, decides to trek back home to exact his revenge. 

Rated  R · Release date August 18

Blue Beetle

Those seeking a superhero infusion will embrace Blue Beetle. Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña plays the title character in this DC origin story about a recent college grad who becomes possessed by the Scarab, an ancient alien biotechnological relic, which turns him into the Blue Beetle. With Susan Sarandon and George Lopez.

Not Rated  · Release date August 18

Bottoms

After her dark comedy Shiva Baby, director Emma Seligman’s sophomore outing is Bottoms. Seligman reunites with Shiva Baby’s Rachel Sennott for this teen sex comedy in which two high school seniors create a fight club so they can hook up with cheerleaders.

Not Rated  · Release date August 18

Brief Encounters

Brief Encounters is the summer’s most unusual opening. Filmed in 1967, the movie was banned in the Soviet Union and is finally getting its formal American release. Romanian-born director Kira Muratova (generally identified as Ukranian) sets a romantic triangle amid the casual shortages and shoddy apartments of professional-class Odessa.

Not Rated · Release date August 25

With a mix of comedy, drama, thriller, and pure escape—along with the usual sequels—summer 2023 promises something for every filmgoer. 

This article originally appeared in Summer Times, TBR News Media’s seasonal guide supplement.

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Scarlett Johansson in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Focus Features

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Auteur Wes Anderson’s first feature film was Bottle Rocket (1996), based on a short he made in 1994 with Luke and Owen Wilson. His sophomore outing, Rushmore (1998), brought him to prominence. The quirky, line-crossing comedy follows a high school student (Jason Schwartzman) with a crush on a fifth-grade teacher (Olivia Williams).The film featured Bill Murray in the first of nine collaborations with the director. 

With a focus on (and often delight in) the dysfunctional and a sense of heightened reality, Anderson’s works (for which he not only directed by served as writer and producer) have included The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and The French Dispatch (2021).

His films have received fifteen Academy Award nominations (winning four, all for The Grand Budapest Hotel). In addition, the works have 20 BAFTA nominations (winning five) and 10 Golden Globes (winning two). 

To discuss Anderson’s latest offering, Asteroid City, two terms are helpful. The first is “meta.” Definitions of “meta” vary slightly. The most accessible is Merriam-Webster’s informal explanation: “showing or suggesting an explicit awareness of itself or oneself as a member of its category; cleverly self-referential.” It goes on to cite various examples:

“The Bar?” she said. “I know the place. Been meaning to drop by. Love the name. Very meta.” — Gillian Flynn

A new comedy about fantasy football, which follows a group of armchair quarterbacks as they try to tackle life. How meta would it be if people started betting on what was going to happen on the show? — TV Guide

Leave it to Larry [David] to contort public desire for a Seinfeld reunion into a meta plot that chronicles his not-necessarily-noble struggle to pull off a Seinfeld reunion. —Dan Snierson

The second term is “shaggy dog story.”

Again, let us turn to Merriam-Webster: “of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless.”

And therein explains the meta-comedy/shaggy dog story Asteroid City, one hundred and five minutes of tedious indulgence that evokes an occasional strained chuckle but otherwise ceaselessly plods to a non-conclusion. 

A Rod Serling-like host (Bryan Cranston) introduces a television show following the creation of a play penned by world-famous writer Conrad Earp (Edward Norton). The black-and-white framing device evokes the earliest days of television. Earp’s play, Asteroid City (presented widescreen in vivid shades of sherbet), tells of the titular desert town hosting a youth astronomy convention. The action shifts between the presentation of the play and the television special. Some might complain that the documentary gimmick interferes with the narrative action. However, this is a minor cavil since the story plays in virtual stagnation.

Anderson creates a story where everything means something, even if it doesn’t. The 1955 world of the Cold War, atom bomb testing, a movie star, singing cowboys, a grieving widower, and a host of odd types and situations parade limply through the convoluted plot. Eventually, the assorted characters end up under government quarantine when an alien briefly appears, stealing a meteorite fragment. 

There is enormous potential for commentary and outrageous, pointed humor between the two worlds- the theatrical and the narrative. However, Anderson misses on almost every count. Even his concept of a three-act play bears no sense of understanding, with its only true reference to the indication of scenes.

He has assembled an all-star cast (many veterans of his films), headed by Jason Schwartzman (as the widower) and Scarlett Johansson (as the movie star), supported by first-rate talents including Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Matt Dillon, Steve Carell, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, and Margot Robbie. 

Sadly, they all give the same performance—or rather, the idea of a performance of a performance. Everyone speaks in an identically flat cadence, lips barely parting like poorly skilled ventriloquists, mouthing pretentious dialogue, wanting—but failing—to be outrageously quippy or metaphorically deep. Rarely has so much talent gone for so little. 

The only interest rests in the two-dimensional visuals, alternating between crisp black-and-white and hyper-rich colors, the work of cinematographer Robert Yeoman. A few whimsical pieces—vending machines that dispense martinis complete with lemon twists or others that offer valueless desert real estate—evoke a weary smile. But again, not enough to sustain the short but interminable running time.

Great art manifests best when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. What happens when there is no center? When the whole is a hole? Several times, the lead actor complains, “I don’t understand the play.” The director’s response: “But just keep doing it.” Well, perhaps not.

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

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Vanessa Aleksander and Ignacy Liss in a scene from March ‘68. Photo courtesy of Staller Center

Stony Brook University’s Staller Center  for the Arts turns into a movie lover’s mecca when new independent films screen at the Stony Brook Film Festival on evenings and weekends from Thursday, July 20 to Saturday, July 29. The popular festival, now in its 28th year, will become a hub for some of the best filmmakers working today, a meeting ground for favorite actors and rising stars, and a showcase of new masterpieces as it pairs memorable short films with an array of features you won’t see anywhere else.

Presented by Island Federal, this year’s lineup offers 36 films from over 26 countries. The Festival kicks off with the U.S. premiere of the Dutch film Sea of Time. Led by Sallie Harmensen (SkyTV’s Devils), Reinout Scholten van Aschat, and of Danish stage and screen fame Elsie De Brauw, the harrowing, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful film is anchored by the powerhouse performances that examine enduring love in times of hardship.

Many international films in this year’s Festival are threaded by this theme of love overcoming life’s difficulties. Whether it is the blossoming young love against all odds in the Polish period drama March ’68, the touching Japanese film Trapped Balloon (starring Toko Miura of the 2022 Oscar-winning film Drive My Car), the gorgeous and romantic love story of My Sailor, My Love with Scottish film icon James Cosmo (Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials) and Tony-Award Winner Bríd Brennan (Dancing at Lughnasa), or the hilarious, music-infused road trip feature Grandpa Goes South from Slovenia.

Continuing on this shared theme of overcoming is Martha, a film that tells the true story of Martha Liebermann, wife to famed painter Max Liebermann, as she faces the Third Reich on own her terms. 

At the same time, the powerful documentary Radioactive, directed by Stony Brook University professor Heidi Hutner, recounts the saga about four housewives from Three Mile Island facing down the nuclear industry Goliath for over forty years, and The Grandson tells the story of a man’s refusal to allow heartless scammers to get the best of his grandfather in this tight Hungarian thriller.

There is no shortage of independent cinema in this year’s lineup, including the Serbian puzzle piece Where the Road Takes You, which takes the Western trope of the stranger in town who saves the girl and flips it on its head. From Canada comes the quirky comedy I Like Movies about the reformation of a crabby, awkward teenage cinephile. 

Also providing comic relief is the scenic and quietly riotous American indy Friends From Home, shot on the cheap during Covid, and from Italy, the strangely compelling Amanda, about a young woman who suddenly decides that an acquaintance from her very young childhood is now her best friend.

Rounding out a host of stellar independent offerings is the wild Yes, Repeat, No, set in a studio where three actors are all auditioning for the same role. This courageous and unforgettable film zeroes in on questions of conflicting identity while managing to surprise at every turn.

Some recognizable faces also show up in this year’s lineup, including Richard Kind, Karen Allen, and Peter Reigert in Hit Man: Secrets of Lies and the wickedly hilarious Two Chairs, Not One, starring Caitlin Reilly (HBO’s Hacks), whose wildly popular TikTok account has amassed hundreds of millions of views.

The closing night feature tells an extraordinary tale of overcoming. Divertimento shares the true story of sisters Zahia and Fettouma Ziouani, a conductor and a cellist, who, despite being Algerian immigrants from the wrong part of Paris, managed to create a world-class professional orchestra with little more than respect, determination, and sheer talent. Opening and closing with the insistent rhythm of Ravel’s Bolero, the film makes its hopeful message equally insistent: family and community can make the impossible possible.

“We are very excited to have filmmakers from all over the world join us for their premiere screenings. Our audiences can gather in a huge theater with Long Island’s largest screen, to see movies the way they were meant to be seen,” says Festival Director Alan Inkles. 

“Not only are these films not available on any streaming format, but you also get to hear directly from the filmmakers themselves, ask them a question at our live Q&A, and even vote for your favorite,” he said.

Additional sponsors for the Stony Brook Film Festival include Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP; Suffolk County; Altice Media; and WLIW/PBS.

FILM SCHEDULE

OPENING NIGHT

Thursday, July 20 at 8 p.m.

Feature: Sea of Time

Short: The Red Suitcase

Friday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Exodus

Short: Hit Friends

Friday, July 21 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: I Like Movies

Short: Chipper

Saturday, July 22 at 7 p.m.

Feature: My Sailor, My Love

Short: The Countryman

Saturday, July 22 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Grandpa Goes South

Short: Two Chairs, Not One

Sunday, July 23 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Martha

Short: Stuck

Sunday, July 23 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Friends From Home.

Short: At A Glance

Monday, July 24 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Trapped Balloon

Short: Healer

Monday, July 24 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: A Fleeting Encounter

Short: Winter’s Passing

Tuesday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Elik & Jimmy

Short: The Third Defector

Tuesday, July 25 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Amanda

Short: Mahogany Drive

Wednesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island

Short: Queen Moorea

Wednesday, July 26 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Where the Road Leads

Short: Hit Man: Secrets of Lies

Thursday, July 27 at 7 p.m.

Feature: March ‘68

Short: The Father, The Son and The Rav Kalmenson

Thursday, July 27 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Yes Repeat No

Short: Demon Box

Friday, July 28 at 7 p.m.

Feature: The Grandson

Short: Death By Puppies

Friday, July 28 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: First Snow of Summer

Short: Voices

CLOSING NIGHT

Saturday, July 29 at 8 p.m.

Feature: Divertimento

Short: The Basics of Love

CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS

10:30 p.m. Presented on stage.

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Ticket information

All screenings are held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook in the 1,000-seat Main Stage theater. 

Festival goers can choose from a Gold Pass “VIP” ($250), Regular Pass ($100), new! Flex Pass ($75), or Individual Pass of $15, $13.50 seniors. To learn about the different membership levels and their benefits, call 631-632-2787 or visit www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com.

This article first appeared in Summer Times, a seasonal guide supplement by TBR News Media.

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Lake, voiced by Ava Hauser; Ember, voiced by Leah Lewis; and Wade, voiced by Mamoudou Athie, in a scene from 'Elemental.' Image courtesy of Disney/Pixar

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Elemental marks Pixar’s twenty-seventh animated feature. The most successful include the four Toy Story movies, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars and its sequels, WALL-E, Coco, Inside Out, and most recently, the unusual but fascinating Lightyear. 

Director Peter Sohn pitched the idea for Elemental to Pixar after the release of The Good Dinosaur (2015). The son of immigrants, Sohn took inspiration from his childhood in the culturally diverse 1970s New York City, as well as romantic films such as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), Moonstruck (1987), and Amélie (2001). 

In a 2022 Variety interview, Sohn explained: “Maybe it’s because when I was a kid, I really didn’t appreciate or understand what it meant to be an immigrant, to come to the U.S., and all the hard work that [my parents] did to give my brother and me our lives […] On the other side, I married someone that wasn’t Korean, and there was a lot of culture clash with that in my world. And that brought to me to this idea of finding opposites. And the question of what if fire fell in love with water came.”

While perhaps not the most brilliant of the studio’s output (Toy Story, Coco), Elemental is a surprisingly clever, heartfelt story of opposites uniting. Set in a world of the elements—fire, water, earth, and air—daughter of Fireland immigrants, Ember Lumen, becomes involved with water element Wade Ripple, an easily flustered water inspector. 

After Ember causes a plumbing accident in her father’s convenience store, The Fireplace, Wade appears in the soaked basement. An adventure ensues throughout Element City, with the unlikely pair joining forces to solve the immediate situation, then becoming involved in solving a greater problem within the community. Ember learns to curtail her destructive temper, but equally as important, she learns to speak her truth.

The film tackles multiple issues with style and finesse. The story’s foundation focuses on honoring one’s culture and the sacrifices often entailed. But it also celebrates the individual’s pursuit of personal happiness. Much of the screenplay (by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh) addresses bias and hostility regarding the treatment of immigrants. Boldly shown in the prologue, Ember’s parents, newly arrived, are shut out of living quarters controlled by people of earth, air, and water. There is also the issue of the burden often placed on first-generation children to continue what their parents have started. The film smartly addresses this with great sensitivity without resorting to preaching.

Ultimately, Elemental is a traditional rom-com, with all the hurdles and pitfalls, and even a dating montage—but an entirely unique setting. (This more adult slant in the film lost some of the younger audience members who became restless as the film progressed.) However, the gloriously exquisite animation is a joy, the anthropomorphizing creating a perfect blending of human and “other.” The visual puns are matched by the cleverly ever-present, sometimes subtle—and often not so subtle—wordplay.

While not as starry as many of the Pixar catalogue, the vocal talent is first-rate. Leah Lewis embodies Ember’s struggle with wry wit and genuine charm. Mamoudou Athie presents Wade’s growth from mildly neurotic underachiever to hero, never losing his kind center. Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Vosough Ommi play Ember’s parents with the right blend of love and whimsy, arcing from frustration to acceptance. 

Catherine O’Hara is delightful as Wade’s mother, Brook Ripple, featured in a hilarious dinner party where Ember is both welcomed and mildly embarrassed by the overly and overtly emotional Wade clan. This scene leads to Ember’s pointed comment on Wade’s rich-kid-follow-your-heart family, said with vexation tinged with a hint of jealousy. In what amounts to a cameo, Wendi McLendon-Covey’s Gale Cumulus, Wade’s employer, makes a bigger-than-life impression in an appropriately grand performance.

Starting with the premise “Elements don’t mix,” touching on the bonds and struggles of parents and children, building to a love that crosses boundaries, and culminating with a message of acceptance and love, Elemental may never become a classic, but it sits easily—and proudly—in the Pixar family.

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

*A bonus, “Carl’s Date,” precedes the feature. The Up short marks one of the final works of Ed Asner, who passed away in 2021. The sweet piece shows a gentler side of the curmudgeonly Carl as he prepares for a date while being advised by the “talking” dog, Dug. It is an ideal complement to the romantic elements of Elemental. 

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Ricki Lake in a scene from ‘Hairspray’

“Good Morning Baltimore!” In honor of its 35th anniversary, the 1988 hit musical comedy Hairspray returns to select  theaters nationwide on Sunday, June 11 and Wednesday, June 14, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Fathom Events.

It’s Baltimore, 1962, and a rebellious teenager with the biggest bouffant on the block, Tracy Turnblad, attempts to be one of the featured stars on a popular dance show and win the coveted “Miss Auto Show” crown as she fights against racial discrimination in this film created and directed by John Waters.

Michael St. Gerard and Ricki Lake in a scene from ‘Hairspray.

The movie boasts an all-star cast that includes Ricki Lake, Divine, Sonny Bono, Debbie Harry, Jerry Stiller, Michael St. Gerard and Ric Ocasek. The film laid the groundwork for the hit Broadway show of the same name, which debuted in 2002 and has won eight Tony Awards.

Each screening includes two very special introductions — one by John Waters, discussing his creative process behind the film and its enduring status — and the other by film historian and critic Leonard Maltin, who breaks down the film that has become one of the most popular comedies of all time, both on Broadway and the big screen.

Locally the film will be screened at Island 16 Cinema de Lux in Holtsville, AMC Loews Stony Brook 17; and Showcase Cinema de Lux in Farmingdale on June 11 at 4 and 7 p.m. and on June 14 at 7 p.m. To order tickets in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.

See trailer here.

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Mike DelGuidice will cover classic hits from Billy Joel on Aug. 28. File photo by Greg Catalano/2019

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker has announced the Suffolk County Summer Concert and Movie Night Series in collaboration with community organizations including North Shore Youth Council, the Longwood Alliance, the Middle Island Civic Association, the Middle Island Fire Department, the Coram Civic Association, the Coram Fire Department, and the Ridge Civic Association.

“The summer community concerts have been instrumental in providing local performances with free-admission concerts across the district,” said Legislator Sarah Anker. “I encourage our residents to attend these concerts that provide a wonderful entertainment venue for all ages. A warm thank you to the community organizations for their partnerships with my office.”

Concert Information:

1. North Shore Youth Council Community Movie Night

Showing: ‘Luca’

Date: Friday, July 7th

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Location: North Shore Heritage Park 633 Mount Sinai Coram Rd, Mount Sinai

 

2. Middle Island Concert with Longwood Alliance, Middle Island Civic Association and the

Middle Island Fire Department

Featuring: That 70’s Band (Fireworks after show)

Date: Saturday, July 8th

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Old Kmart Parcel Across from Artist Lake, Middle Island

 

3. Middle Island Concert with Longwood Alliance, Middle Island Civic Association and the

Middle Island Fire Department

Featuring: 45RPM (Firework rain date)

Date: Sunday, July 9th

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Old Kmart Parcel Across from Artist Lake, Middle Island

 

4. Ridge Civic Association Concert

Featuring: Tradewinds

Date: Saturday, July 15th (rain date July 16th)

Time: 4 p.m.

Location: Longwood Estate, Longwood Rd, Ridge

 

5. North Shore Youth Council Community Movie Night

Showing: ‘Tangled’

Date: Friday,  July 21st

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Location: North Shore Heritage Park 633 Mount Sinai Coram Rd, Mount Sinai

 

6. North Shore Youth Council Community Concert

Featuring: BonJourney

Date: Friday, August 4th

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: North Shore Heritage Park 633 Mount Sinai Coram Rd, Mount Sinai

 

7. Middle Island Concert with Longwood Alliance, Middle Island Civic Association and the Middle Island Fire DepartmentFeaturing: Penny Lane

Date: Saturday, August 19th

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Middle Island Fire Dept. 31 Arnold Dr, Middle Island

 

8. Coram Civic Association and the Coram Fire Department Concert

Featuring: Southbound

Date: Saturday, August 26th (rain date August 28th)

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Middle Island Fire Department, 31 Arnold Dr, Middle Island

 

9. North Shore Youth Council Concert

Featuring: Mike DelGuidice on tour with Billy Joel

Date: Monday, August 28th (rain date August 30th)

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: St. Anthony’s of Padua Church 614 NY-25A, Rocky Point

 

There is no charge for admission to the concerts. For more information about the concerts, please contact the office of Legislator Sarah Anker’s office at (631) 854-1600.

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