(Photo courtesy of Whitney Museum)
In conjunction with the Whitney Museum’s Rituals of Rented Island, Anthology Film Archives is presenting Further Rituals of Rented Island. During the 1970s performance art flourished in what performance artist/filmmaker Jack Smith dubbed “Rented Island” — better known as downtown Manhattan. Artists took to working in unconventional spaces like lofts, storefronts and even Anthology way back when it was in SoHo. They created new forms of art and expression while posing the question, who needs commercial art?
Anthology will be presenting 13 different programs, each focusing on a different artist between January 16 and 21. Select screenings will begin with a short film by performance artist Stuart Sherman.
Don’t miss these and other films about violence, Daria and nuns we’re Reel Psyched about this week.
TUESDAY
983 Movie Night: A History of Violence
If blood, guts and gore aren’t exactly your cup-o-fun, you may want to steer clear of this quadruple feature. Kill Bill Volume 1, The Last Boy Scout, 300 and Sin City will screen back-to-back while you snack on some 983 burgers (may we suggest The Monster?) and wash ‘em down with pints of BK Lager.
983 Bushwick’s Living Room, 983 Flushing Ave., Bushwick; 5p.m.; Free
WEDNESDAY
Music Video Film Festival & Band Battle No. 5
The Silver Sound MVFF+BB 5 (as it’s abbreviated) is really two events in one. First is the music video festival, where 21 of the best music videos will be screened. Next is a battle of the bands, where five hand-selected bands will duke it out. The winning band gets paired with the director of the winning video, and Silver Sound will produce a video for them.
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg; 7:30 p.m.; $5-$8
FRIDAY
The Pit
Jamie Benjamin is an outcast, teased by his classmates and ignored by his parents. When little Jamie comes across a pit full of hungry, raw meat-eating “Tra-la-logs” in the woods, his only friend – a stuffed bear named Teddy – gives him an idea: why not feed his tormenters to these hungry creatures?
Spectacle Theater, 124 S Fourth St, Williamsburg; Midnight; $5
TV Hangover Presents: Daria
La la la la la. If you’ve seen Daria, which unless you’ve lived under a really huge rock your whole life, you surely have, then you know the rhythm and melody for those la la las. The Beavis and Butthead spin-off will be on the big screen accompanied by drinking games, trivia and other fun throughout the night. Costumes are heavily encouraged.
Videology, 308 Bedford Ave., Williamsburg; 8 p.m.; $5
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
The fifth part in the Jack Ryan series features Chris Pine as Ryan, filling the not-so-small shoes of Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck and Harrison Ford. Unlike the previous films (Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, etc.) this one isn’t based on a specific Tom Clancy book, but modeled only on the character of Jack Ryan himself. A billionaire frames Ryan for a terrorist plot and kidnaps his wife, and now Ryan must clear his name, save his wife, and stop the plot from happening.
Williamsburg Cinemas, 217 Grand St., Williamsburg; $11
FRIDAY – SATURDAY
Blood Simple
The Coen Brothers’ directorial debut, based on the novel Red Harvest, is a dark, suspenseful crime drama that twists and turns in ways you may not be ready for. A Texas bar owner hires a private detective to spy on his cheating wife and her lover. He hires a man to kill them and all hell breaks loose.
Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg; Midnight; $11
FRIDAY – SUNDAY
Band of Sisters + Q&A’s with Director Mary Fishman and Sister Margaret Galiardi
Following Vatican II of the 1960s, Catholic nuns rid themselves of their medieval garb and sheltered ways to become activists and stand up for civil rights, women’s rights and many other causes. Scenes of convent life prior to Vatican II are contrasted with current-day scenes of sisters standing up to government agencies, the military and the church hierarchy. Hear in their own words their stories about these turbulent times.
Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th St., Greenwich Village; 7:10 p.m. & 3:10 p.m.; $11
The Big Lebowski
Everyone loves “The Dude,” and if this film doesn’t screen at least sixty times in one given year, then something is really going wrong in the world. That said, we’ll still never tire of this Coen Brothers classic, and catch it every time. The Dude abides.
Sunshine Cinema, 143 E Houston St, Lower East Side; Midnight; $10
SATURDAY
Totally 80s Movie Freak Out
It’s an 11-hour, 6-movie-long marathon of ‘80s flicks, soaked in ‘80s clichés — shoulder pads, synth soundtracks, guitar solos, mullets, rads and gnarlys. It’s a promise of six movies you’ve never seen, all on 35 mm and featuring Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio, Jamie Lee Curtis and more. A musical, a slasher, a juvenile delinquent film, a trucker movie, a blaxploitation flick, a cop film – is this not what dreams are made of?
Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave., Lower East Side; 12:30 p.m.; $25
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