Who will come out on top in Calgary theatres this week?
It’s a little bit of a slower week as far as one-off screenings go but at worst that’s a mixed blessing. You won’t have to run yourself ragged trying to take in everything and you’ll have plenty of free time to catch Exit Through the Gift Shop and Fish Tank which open Friday at the Uptown and Globe respectively and are both well worth your time (see our reviews elsewhere in this issue). But if you’re craving something off the beaten path there are a few screenings that’ll oblige you.
The Calgary Cinematheque is creeping up on the three-year mark so most local film buffs are well aware of the incredible selection of films the society has brought to Calgary. Well it’s showing no signs of slowing down and on Thursday May 20 at the Plaza the group will bring Federico Fellini’s Amarcord . A blend of raunchy comedy and more serious social criticism set in Fascist Italy Amarcord may have come a decade after Fellini’s most famous works ( La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 came out in 1960 and 1963 respectively while Amarcord is from 1973) but it’s no less well-regarded — Time’s review placed it alongside the director’s best and it earned a best foreign film Oscar. Don’t miss the chance to see it on the big screen.
Earlier in the week the Consortium for Peace Studies and Project Ploughshares will co-present a screening of Devil’s Bargain: A Journey into the Small Arms Trade . The documentary narrated by Kiefer Sutherland looks at the impact of handguns and other small arms on the world at large. Really who wouldn’t want a lecture on gun use from Agent Jack Bauer? The free screening will take place on Friday May 14 in the University of Calgary’s Professional Faculties building.
Lastly if it’s semi-gothic quirk you crave the Plaza’s got your back with double-features of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Edward Scissorhands throughout the week. Some reviewers (myself included) may not have thought much of Alice’s plot but the visuals are superb and Scissorhands still holds up as one of the oddest studio pictures out there. If you only have time for one though my money’s on Scissorhands .
