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Movie Review

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Lacey Chabert in a scene from 'Hot Frosty.' Photo courtesy of Netflix

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Christmas is a time of giving: gifts, good cheer, and kind wishes. Christmas is also the time for an endless parade of holiday movies launched by every channel and streaming service. And, like a handful of coal, Netflix stuffed our stockings with the one-note, no-joke Hot Frosty. 

Writer Russell Hainline’s premise is simple. Depressed widow Kathy Barrett (Lacey Chabert), owner of Kathy’s Kafé, lives in the town of Hope Springs (subtle). Still grieving over the death of her husband to cancer, her life is falling apart: the roof leaks, the heat does not work, and she no longer cooks for herself, represented by a counter of empty takeout containers. However, other than that, she seems to be doing okay. Let’s call it grief light. 

Lacey Chabert in a scene from ‘Hot Frosty’ with Dustin Milligan. Photo courtesy of Netflix

Her friend, Mel (Sherry Miller), runs Reclaimed Rags, a second-hand clothing store across from the café. Mel gives Kathy a scarf with the “wise” advice: “You’ll never find the warmth unless you venture out into the cold.” Kathy graciously accepts the scarf but then notices that between two scarved snowmen is an Adonis-like ice sculpture without one. Feeling generous(?), she wraps the scarf around the sculpture, bringing it/him (Dustin Milligan) to life. (Don’t worry—the scarf covers the naughty bits.)

On the plus side, the adult fairy tale kicks into gear very quickly, without much backstory or exposition (or explanation). On the negative side, the adult fairy tale kicks into gear very quickly, without much backstory or exposition (or explanation). The writing is puerile, and Jerry Ciccoritti’s direction club fisted.

The animated sculpture crashes into Reclaimed Rags and steals some clothing, including a vest with the name “Jack.” Thus, he is called “Jack.” The next morning, Kathy finds Jack standing in front of the diner. Thinking he might need help—given his strange behavior—she brings him inside … because that is what one does with psychotics who say, “I was made of snow, now I’m made of not snow.” (Scintillating dialogue.) When he claims, “I’ve never had food before,” one questions why she does not call for help or simply runs screaming into the street. Instead, she takes him to the local doctor, Dottie (Katy Mixon Greer), who concludes that he might be the snowman he claims to be (for this, she went to medical school?). They agree not to take him to the police because the sheriff tends to overreact. 

Kathy moves him into her house, and the newly sentient Jack immediately falls for her. The rest of the interminable film focuses on their growing relationship and his ability to learn anything by watching television. (This includes the discovery that vampires are afraid of crosses. Very Christmasy.)

An unpleasant and fairly ugly encounter with a snow-banked cougar, Jane (Lauren Holly), concludes with Jack’s innocent punchline, “Do you want me to get behind you and push?” Fortunately, this thread goes nowhere besides landing Jack a maintenance job at the middle school. The majority of his work is decorating the gym for the winter dance.

The film is a mix of styles—like a Christmas gift bag of assorted pointy objects. (Each is different, but all are painful in their own ways.) The occasional joke that lands is a holiday miracle. (Though a Mean Girls reference is pretty smart.) There are two montages because one is not nauseatingly enough. 

A grating subplot focuses on the sheriff hunting for the person who smashed the clothing store’s glass. The officer is a parody of a spoof of a send-up of a take-off on small-town law enforcement. In a film of mostly poor moments, the usually hilarious Craig Robinson is saddled with some of the most eggnog-curdling dialogue in this (or any) film: “You can’t buy me breakfast. It might influence the investigation.” (Hilarious.) Joe Lo Truglio’s deputy sheriff makes Barney Fife look like Hamlet’s Horatio. The café/ice cube scene might rank as the unfunniest bit in holiday history.

Chabert and Milligan work well together, play it straight enough, and do not lack charm. But the material is so painfully underdeveloped and wrong-headed that they cannot mine a moment of tension in the ninety minutes. His declarations like “I still don’t understand how all of this is happening, but I am so glad you were the one who found me” are only matched by his constant statement of “I love you.” Will she say it back? Can she? Is she ready? (Spoiler alert. Yes.)

Corralling the underdeveloped townspeople, the film builds to a lazy finale—a Frosty the Snowman/E.T./It’s a Wonderful Life rip-off. (Yes, they can claim homage to the last one, but it is not.) A strong cast fails to shovel this slushy mess. (Even the outtake bloopers are not funny.)

Perhaps the film has created a new sub-genre: the Frenetically Lugubrious Christmas Fantasy Rom-Uncom. (Ho-Ho-No, Thank you.) Next year, instead of holiday fare like Hot Frosty, Netflix, please just give us the cheese-of-the month club.

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Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich in a scene from 'The Fifth Element'

Calling all sci-fi fans! Time to get out your multi-pass as Fathom Events is giving fans a chance to relive the Summer of ’97 by bringing Luc Besson’s groundbreaking The Fifth Element back to select cinemas nationwide on Sunday, Nov.17 and Wednesday, Nov. 20. 

From its opening scenes in 1914 Egypt to its towering views of 23rd Century New York City, and its mind-expanding journey to the faraway world of Fhloston Paradise, The Fifth Element follows cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) as he discovers that the fate of the world is contained within the mysterious Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), who literally drops from the sky and into his life. To save humanity, he must protect her from the evil industrialist Zorg (Gary Oldman), who is embroiled in an intergalactic war between the Mondoshawans and the Mangalores.

The spectacular odyssey across space and time also stars Ian Holm as the mysterious Vito Cornelius, Chris Tucker as hyperactive radio host Ruby Rhod, and Luke Perry as Billy Masterson. 

Conceived by Luc Besson when he was 16, The Fifth Element became a passion project and took more than 20 years to bring to the screen. The film was nominated for eight César Awards, France’s top cinematic honor, and received three awards, including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.

Each screening features an exclusive introduction by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, exploring the continued influence of this landmark sci-fi fable.

Locally, the film will be screened at Island 16 Cinema de Lux in Holtsville, Regal Cinemas in Ronkonkoma, AMC Loews 17 in Stony Brook, and Showcase and Regal Cinemas in Farmingdale, To order tickets in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.

See preview here.

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'The Girl Who Wore Freedom'

Join the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington for a special screening of The Girl Who Wore Freedom on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. The documentary explores the untold stories of the men, women, and children of Normandy, France, who lived through German occupation, the D-Day invasion, and the liberation by Allied forces.

Long forgotten by the world, twenty thousand French civilians were killed during the Battle of Normandy. But those still living in Normandy haven’t forgotten, and continue to celebrate and embrace Americans for their liberation and the ultimate gift of freedom. Exploring D-Day through the personal stories of French survivors and American veterans, The Girl Who Wore Freedom captures the journey from war to forgiveness, and gratitude, honoring the legacy of those who fought for freedom.

Trailer

80 Years After Witnessing the D-Day Invasion, Their Memories of Liberation Come Alive in NormandyTuic

Tickets are $16,  $10 members. To purchase in advance, visit www.cinemaartscentre.org or click here.

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Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in a scene from 'Here'. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

In 1989, Raw published Richard McGuire’s six-page comic strip, Here. The thirty-five panels followed a single location but spanned 500,957,406,073 B.C. to 2033 A.D. Often, the panels contained other images within, depicting multiple time frames simultaneously. In 2014, Pantheon Books published McGuire’s full-length graphic novel. The 304 pages traced the same space from 3,000,500,000 B.C. to A.D. 22,175, concentrating on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, predominantly focusing on the living room of a house built in 1907.

As a senior thesis project in 1991, students from Rochester Institute of Technology’s Department of Film and Video created a six-minute film of the original comic. An immersive V.R. film based on the full-length novel was designed and produced by British Fifty Nine Productions, under the direction of Lysander Ashton, with music by Anna Meredith.  

Now, director Robert Zemeckis brings his adaptation to the big screen. The prolific Zemeckis broke out with the 1978 I Wanna Hold Your Hand. His work includes Romancing the Stone, the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her, and Contact, among others. His 1994 Forest Gump won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (for Tom Hanks). Over the years, Zemeckis has teamed with Hanks on Pinocchio, The Polar Express, and Cast Away. Here reunites Hanks with his Gump co-star, Robin Wright. 

Zemeckis (who co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth) uses the basic idea and framework of the novel but instead chooses to highlight on the twentieth-century Young family that occupies the house. While still weaving back and forth through time, it eventually settles into a more chronological telling of the one family.

The first eight minutes progress through thousands of years of history (dinosaurs, volcanic eruption or asteroids, Ice Age), but then Here slows down to offer a handful of earlier years, including a native American couple and their tribe, as well as a view of the house across the street where Benjamin Franklin’s son, the loyalist William, lived. Of the former, the indigenous people seem cast from a 1960s history museum diorama. The late eighteenth-century Revolutionary War moments feel like a community theatre production of 1776. 

The earliest inhabitants of the house, the Harters (Michelle Dockery and Gwilym Lee), serve little function except establishing occupancy and a nod to the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 (with a parallel later with the COVID pandemic). A slight subplot about aviation grates. The Beekmans follow—Stella (Ophelia Lovibond) and her inventor husband, Leo (David Fynn), who provide a humorous and interesting diversion.

Zemeckis trades the book’s panoramic and epic nature to emphasize the Young family’s day-to-day struggles. Recently discharged from the service, World War II veteran Al Young (Paul Bettany) purchases the house for his wife, Rose (Kelly Reilly). Here, they raise their family—two boys and a girl. The oldest, Richard (Hanks), impregnates his girlfriend Margaret (Wright) on the living room sofa. The couple weds, taking up residence in the house. What follows is years of joys and sorrows, trials and tribulations—marriage and children, illness and death. 

Throughout their story, flashes of the earlier inhabitants recur, as well as the Harris family (Nikki Amuka-Bird and Nicholas Pinnock), who take the house when Richard sells it. Perhaps Zemeckis is trying to draw parallels between these disparate worlds—but, unlike McGuire—he does not succeed.  

Here veers towards the saccharine when it is trying to be its most sincere. The Hallmark (card, not network) feel hovers around most of the stiff dialogue. Instead of simple, the exchanges feel simplistic. The messages about love, family, dreams, art, and loss seem predictable and lack anything bordering on revelatory. The best-landing moments can be attributed to the Young quartet and the inherent honesty in their performances, even when saddled with two- and even one-dimensional material.

From a visual standpoint, Here is almost a one-camera set-up. We view the living room straight on as it evolves and shifts, often picture-in-picture(-in picture). The effect alternates between clever and precious. Sometimes, the entire experience feels like Disney’s Carousel of Time. And speaking of Disney, the A.I. intelligence Metaphysic Life, used for face-swapping and de-aging the actors in real-time (instead of post-production), presents a young Tom Hanks looking more like the puppet Pinocchio than his real boy counterpart. 

In the end, the film works and doesn’t work. For some audiences, they will embrace a concept taken to its fullest and a sometimes touching family saga. For others, Here is a gimmick with a center that is human, but not inspiring, tapping into soap opera plots that overstay the hundred-minute running time. Gertrude Stein said of her hometown, Oakland, “There is no there there.” Ultimately, with Zemeckis’s film, there is no Here there either.

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

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Grace Delaney, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh in a scene from the film. Photo by Peter Mountain/A24

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

To describe the plot of a non-linear story chronologically seems to be counterintuitive. At the very least, the approach undermines the essence of the creator’s intent in selecting the structure. That is true in the cast of We Live in Time. Director John Crowley (Brooklyn) and screenwriter Nick Payne (the Tony Award-nominated Constellations) constructed (or deconstructed) the decade-long relationship of Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) and Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh). 

As a film, it easily ticks all the boxes of romantic drama: a meet-cute (in this case, she hits him with her car, only causing a slight trauma), courtship, struggle, illness, careers, frustrations, fertility, and family. There are dates and montages, lingering looks, and tasteful scenes of physicality. These well-known and well-worn tropes play with sensitivity and style, even from a standard approach. But in this case, by ignoring the standard narrative and presenting the story as almost a shuffled stack of photos, the often peripatetic tapestry provides greater depth. 

Almut’s second bout with ovarian cancer is presented first, giving an unusual resonance to both her first illness and the birth of their child, Ella (Grace Delaney, who manages to be adorable without being precocious). 

The individual details—she is a former figure skater turned Bavarian fusion chef/restaurant owner, and he is a Weetabix representative—are handled smartly. At the beginning of the timeline, Tobias is on the cusp of a divorce; the issue of a pen to sign the papers is simultaneously hilarious and poignant. Nothing solely functions as a punchline, and every element serves as textural development. 

Central to much of the later conflict is whether Almut will enter the Bocuse d’Or, one of the most prestigious international cooking competitions. Wedding preparations, along with chemo treatment, are deftly threaded. 

The “what if’ element of life choices lands differently when you know what will happen. Something as simple as how to properly crack an egg or why one should get a child a dog takes on entirely new dimensions when presented from multiple time perspectives. The film even knows when to allow rom-com elements—an aggressive extraction from an overly tight parking space or a visit to an amusement park. Somehow, the filmmakers manage to elevate the predictable. 

Crowley has assembled an excellent cast. Adam James, as Almut’s former boss and mentor, Simon Maxson, hits the right notes, reflecting the pressured world of high-end cuisine competition. Lee Braithwaite is appropriately awkward as Jade, Almut’s commis (novice chef), who assists her. 

Nikhil Parmar and Kerry Godliman elevate the convenience store workers who assist with Ella’s birth, making them real and honest rather than playing the scene for easy laughs. Lucy Briers makes the oncologist a person rather than a plot delivery system.

But at heart, We Live in Time is a two-hander. While the ensemble strongly supports the principal characters, it is the story of Tobias and Almut. Perhaps the most overused and indefinable term applied to performances is “chemistry.” However, whatever “chemistry” actually is, Garfield and Pugh have it. Their attraction and connection are wholly displayed, and their frustrations and disappointments are believable. The depth of the relationship never feels false, precious, or theatrical. They achieve that rare symbiosis by simply being present with each other. 

Garfield makes Tobias an anxious, occasionally twitchy type A. He is a notetaker and highly emotional, with feelings always bubbling to the surface. In contrast, Pugh’s Almut is a portrait of stillness and silence, intensity that breaks into a smile of gentle joy or erupts into a seething, low-grade anger. They are perfectly complementary.

The fact that the audience always knows not just where they are but when they are is a tribute to Crowley, Payne, and a gifted design team that manages to ground every moment in detailed reality. The film is beautifully paced. Unlike the turgid It Ends with Us (that could have been timed by a calendar), the playing time of just under two hours never flags.

We Live in Time offers a love story told in an unusual and appropriately challenging way. Life’s underlying interconnectedness and complexity are presented with dark humor, wit, and humanity, with two powerful, memorable central performances.

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

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Tony Hale and Anna Kendrick in a scene from the film. Photo from Netflix

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

In the world of truth-is-stranger-than-fiction, Netflix’s Woman of the Hour tackles the story of serial killer Rodney Alcala and his September 13, 1978, appearance on The Dating Game. Directed by Anna Kendrick and written by Ian McDonald, the film tells the story through bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Kendrick), who selected him, focusing on her experience on the show and dealing with systemic sexism. The film premiered on September 8, 2023, to a positive response at the Toronto Film Festival.

Actor Bradshaw scrapes by in Los Angeles, attempting to make her way into film and television. “I’m working very hard and accomplishing very little,” she reflects. After a particularly depressing audition, her agent gets her a spot on the popular game show. Reluctantly, Bradshaw agrees to appear. The film is mostly taken up with the time from her arrival at the studio through her segments on the show. Intercut are several of Alcala’s horrific rape and murders, beginning with one in Wyoming in 1977, which opens the film.

During the show’s taping, Bradshaw goes rogue, changing the questions to more pointed and revealing interrogations of the three bachelors. The first proves to be a bit of a fool, the second inappropriate, with Alcala coming off as smooth, witty, and a touch thoughtful. 

Bradshaw chooses Alcala, and the second bachelor warns her not to go near him. After leaving the studio, Bradshaw and Alcala have a few drinks in a nearby bar. Quickly, Bradshaw realizes that there is something off about him and exits the bar with him in pursuit. She is only saved by a group of men coming out of the studio.

In her directorial debut, Kendrick proves to be first-rate. She instinctually knows what to show and when to pull back, maintaining a constant tension in the film’s brisk ninety-minute running time.

Sometimes, Alcala’s crimes are shown in all their horror; other times, they are suggested by a sun-drenched landscape with just the sound of the victim. The film is spot-on as an indictment of toxic masculinity and misogyny leading to violence. In both the casual dismissal of women to the horrific rape and torture, Kendrick creates a taught, unflinching, and brutal film. Even the use of Alcala’s photography, particularly the enhanced sound of the shutter clicks, adds to the exceptional storytelling. Additionally, the film captures the visual and auditory essence of 1970s California.

Some of the film’s wisdom is courtesy of the make-up artist, Marilyn (a very strong Denalda Williams): “Is it possible to get a guy in this town who isn’t a total maniac?” Later, she follows this up: “The question beneath the question. Which of you will hurt me?” Her casual statement delivers a wallop and succinctly but pointedly expresses the overall thesis.

As a true crime docudrama, Woman of the Hour is less successful. McDonald has fictionalized a great deal for storytelling purposes, and one must at least pause to consider the validity of the choices. Most viewers will take the film at face value without looking into the actual facts and history. Since the film is short, much information is changed or left out.

The only subplot deals with an audience member, Laura (Nicolette Robinson), recognizing Alcala as the man who most likely murdered her friend after a beach party encounter. The way the security guard deals with her accusation is chilling. Unfortunately, Laura is a fiction. This is one of many introduced changes and additions without indicating where liberties were taken. In reality, Bradshaw stuck to the innuendo-laden questions, and the bachelors were dissimilar to the film’s counterparts.

Kendrick, a first-rate actor, shows dimension, fear, strength, and resolve. Always watchable, she delivers at every moment. Daniel Zovatto succeeds in making Alcala wholly plausible—a sadistic, dangerous, and threatening narcissist who knows how to turn on the charm. Tony Hale is appropriately sleazy and short-tempered as the gameshow host Ed Burke, based on Jim Lange. Some of the finest moments belong to Autumn Best as the runaway, Amy, who survives Alcala’s attack. Her raw performance resonates to her final cut-off scream. (However, the reality of the runaway’s story is very different than that offered in the film.)

At the time of his appearance on The Dating Game, Alcala was responsible for the murder of five women and the attempted murder of eight-year-old Tali Shapiro; he was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List. He had served thirty-four months for child molestation and spent two-and-a-half years in prison for giving drugs to a thirteen-year-old girl. 

Because there were no background checks—or vetting of any kind—Alcala easily landed a spot on the show. Two years after his Dating Game appearance, Alcala was convicted of the murder of twelve-year-old Robin Samsoe and sentenced to death. The overturned verdict caused a 1986 retrial, where he was found guilty and sentenced to death (the ruling was overturned in 2011). While remaining on California’s death row, he died at the age of natural causes at the age of seventy-seven. Some of this information is presented in the final scroll, but most are not. Alcala was directly linked to eight murders, but his actual crimes could have encompassed up to one hundred and thirty victims. 

Those looking for a detailed account of Alcala’s crimes should seek the three-part documentary series Dating Death. However, viewers open to more flexible telling will find that Woman of the Hour viscerally lays bare both the killer and danger of a hyper-toxic macho culture.

Rated R, the film is now streaming on Netflix.

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A scene from 'Back to the Future II.'

Where we are going, you won’t need roads as Fathom Events and Universal Pictures are bringing fans Back To The Future Part II to select theaters nationwide to celebrate the film’s 35th Anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 19 and Monday, Oct. 21(Back to the Future Day).

VIEW TRAILER HERE!

Getting back was only the beginning as the most spectacular time-travel adventure ever continues in Back to the Future Part II—the sequel that proves that lightning can strike twice! Picking up precisely where they left off, Marty and Doc (Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd) launch themselves to the year 2015 to fine-tune the future and inadvertently disrupt the space-time continuum. Now, their only chance to fix the present is by going back to 1955 all over again before it is too late.

From the Academy Award-winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future Part II proves true excitement is timeless.

Before the film, fans will be treated to two commercials created in 2015: a movie trailer for the fictional JAWS 19 and a commercial promoting the hoverboard, a solution for transportation; both featured in the film.

Locally the film will be screened at Island 16: Cinema de Lux in Holtsville, AMC Loews Stony Brook 17 in Stony Brook, and Showcase Cinema de lux in Farmingdale on both days at 7 p.m.

For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com or click here.

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Christopher Reeve played the cinematic hero Superman in four films. Photo courtesy of © Warner Bros./ DC Studios

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Born in 1952, Christopher Reeve graduated from Cornell before studying acting at the Juilliard School, appearing in a range of stage productions. His cinematic work encompassed nearly two dozen films, including Somewhere in Time (1980), Deathtrap (1982), and The Remains of the Day (1993). But he will be forever remembered as the legendary Man of Steel in Superman (1978) and its sequels Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). 

In 1985, after learning to ride for the television version of Anna Karenina, Reeve became an avid equestrian. On May 27, 1995, his horse made a refusal (a failure to jump a fence which stops forward movement). Reeve fell and shattered his first and second vertebrae, resulting in a cervical spinal injury that resulted in paralysis from the neck down. 

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is a well-crafted, riveting documentary chronicling Reeve’s life, emphasizing his career as the cinematic superhero, his accident, and its aftermath. Directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui (who co-wrote the script with Otto Burnham) created a loving, dimensional tribute to a beloved personality in a sensitive but unflinching account. 

In the film’s first ten minutes, Reeve is established as Superman and superstar and quickly shifts to the accident: “In an instant, everything changed.” Over one hundred and four well-paced minutes, the filmmakers interview his children from his relationship with British modeling executive Gae Exton—Matthew Reeve and Alexandra Reeve Givens—and his son from his marriage to actor-singer Dana Morosini—Will Reeve. Exton, Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Daniels, and John Kerry are interviewed, sharing their working and personal relationships with Reeve. 

The film touches on Reeve’s difficult childhood with unsupportive parents who divorced when he was three and remarried. In archival footage, Reeve discusses his father’s perpetual disappointment in his choices. Reeve saw theatre as providing a “neutral place that felt like home.” Theatre offered security with a beginning, middle, and end. The filmmakers emphasize his friendship with Juilliard classmate Robin Williams as well as his early days as a stage actor. While appearing in an off-Broadway play, Reeve flew to London for a Superman audition at Pinewood Studios. (Fellow castmate William Hurt discouraged him from selling out.) Immediately cast, the milestone changed the entire course of his career.

The film alternates between tracing the Superman films with his life post-accident, smartly weaving and contrasting the two worlds. His personal life is respectfully but thoroughly explored, focusing on his time with Exton and the birth of their two children. Realizing that they were incompatible, they separated but shared custody. Over the next several years, Reeve led a more Hollywood lifestyle until meeting Morosini. After a short courtship, Reeve realized he was ready to settle down, and they married in 1992. Their idyllic life was devastated just three years later.

The days immediately following the accident segue into the years of challenges and soul-searching. He states, “I ruined my life and everyone else’s.” The highly active Reeve pondered his shift from intensely “no fail” and “never quit” to a more reflective worldview. His sense of isolation, his weeks on the ventilator, and his fear of not just death but if I live, “Now what?” are part of the many interviews documented with Reeve. His shift in his approach to parenting is intimate and insightful. 

Super/Man draws on hundreds of hours of footage of Reeve’s struggles. (One odd note is the use of clips from the 1998 remake of Rear Window; they seem strangely integrated as they are not indicated as fictional.) Reeve became an outspoken activist, raising awareness for others in similar situations. He and Morosini founded The Christopher Reeve Foundation (later The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation), whose mission is “dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.” Reeve became a high-profile advocate, beginning with his first public appearance at the 68th Annual Academy Awards.

Central is the committed family bond—all three children, Exton, and, especially, Morosini—supported Reeve, who required twenty-four-hour care. (At the time, the cost was $400,000 a year.) Reeve’s gradual return to film, directing In the Gloaming and occasional acting appearances are traced until his sudden death on October 10, 2004 of heart failure at the age of 52. The coda is Morosini’s cancer diagnosis and passing two years later. 

The film is raw, compelling, and heartbreaking. Reeve lost much but embraced a difficult future: he made his path about giving visibility to those in similar straits. Ultimately, Super/Man is an honest and eye-opening look at the person who once said, “I am not a hero. I never have been, and I never will be.” On the contrary, Reeve was a hero in the real sense of the word—a person who has “the strength to persevere in the face of overwhelming obstacles.” Super/Man celebrates this truth.

The documentary is now playing in local theaters.

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The Port Jefferson Documentary Series continues its Fall 2024 season with a screening of Checkpoint Zoo at the First United Methodist Church, 603 Main St., Port Jefferson on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.

In the early days of the Ukraine-Russian war, the Feldman Ecopark, a beloved animal refuge in Ukraine’s second largest city, found itself caught in the crossfire. With the invading Russian army on one side and the Ukrainian front line on the other, thousands of animals were left trapped with little food and water. Against all odds, a courageous team of zookeepers and volunteers risked their lives to embark on a seemingly impossible mission: bringing these innocent creatures to safety.

Followed by a panel discussion with the director, Joshua Zeman on Zoom, moderated by Juliette Passer, J.D., Lecturer, Political Science Dept., Stony Brook University.

Film Info: https://ghostrobot.com/work/checkpoint-zoo

Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students at the door or at www.portjeffdocumentaryseries.com.

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Meet George Takei at the Cinema Arts Centre on Oct. 15.
George Takei

The Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington will present A Special Evening with George Takei on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.  The event will include a screening of the acclaimed documentary, To Be Takei, an interview with Q&A moderated by Jud Newborn, and gala book signing reception with live music by Mike Soloway.

The world-renowned actor, author and activist has appeared in more than forty feature films and hundreds of television series, most famously as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise in the original Star Trek and in six blockbuster Star Trek feature films. But like Star Trek’s iconic introductory voice-over, Takei‘s story goes where few have gone before.

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event

Tickets are $75 per person, $60 members and includes

a copy of George Takei’s new NY Times bestselling children’s book, My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story. To order, visit www.cinemaartscentre.org or click here.

SPECIAL NOTE: George Takei is honored to be appearing at the Cinema Arts Centre and is not receiving any fee or honorarium. All profits go to support Cinema Arts Centre.

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George Takei is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, George spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in US incarceration camps along with more than 125,000 other Japanese Americans. This experience inspired the musical Allegiance, in which George made his Broadway debut in 2018, and again in London, where it was staged anew in 2023.

Over the years he has appeared in TV series ranging from The Twilight Zone, The Big Bang Theory and Will & Grace to Psych and Ridley Scott’s The Terror in 2019 – in addition to his legendary work on Star Trek. His rich baritone has provided narration for the Ken Burns / PBS series The National Parks, while his voiceover work has ranged from The Simpsons to the animated feature, Mulan.

Winner of numerous awards and conferred with Honorary Doctorates by universities around the globe, George Takeinow serves as Chairman Emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s board of trustees. George served on the board of the Japan–United States Friendship Commission and, in 2004, was given the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the emperor of Japan for his contribution to US-Japan relations.

Film Screening:

To Be Takei.  From outer space to Capitol Hill, from the silver screen to YouTube, the legendary George Takei has blazed his own trail while conquering new frontiers with a beaming trademark grin. Oh, my! To Be Takei is a look at the many roles played by this eclectic actor and activist. His wit, humor and grace have helped him to become an internationally beloved figure and Internet phenomenon with 7-million Facebook fans and counting. Those testifying to Takei’s charisma include Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Senator Daniel Inouye, Dan Savage, Howard Stern, and George and Brad Takei themselves. The film offers unprecedented access to the daily life of George and his husband/business partner Brad and chronicles George‘s fascinating personal journey from Japanese American internment camps to his iconic and groundbreaking role as Sulu on Star Trek, and his rise as a pop culture icon. (USA, 2014, 94 mins. | Dir. Jennifer Kroot)

George Takei’s new book:

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story, is the moving, beautifully illustrated true story for children ages 6 to 9 about growing up in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II – from George Takei, the iconic Star Trek actor, activist, author, world-renowned social influencer and tireless educator. Published lovingly in hardcover – and a pleasure for adults as well – Takei’s heartfelt account will make an important and enlightening gift for the children in your lives. Takeilooks back at his own memories to help children today understand what it feels like to be treated as an enemy by your own country. Featuring powerful, meticulously researched watercolor paintings by Michelle Lee, this is a story of a family’s courage, a young boy’s resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself in the face of injustice.

 

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