By “Cinema” Dave
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
With Labor Day being the unofficial conclusion of summer, Hollywood will attempt to release movies for Academy Award consideration and Halloween inspired movies. In fact, one of the most anticipated movies of this season will be Jamie Lee Curtis’ return to the Halloween, a direct sequel to the original Halloween movie released 40 years ago.
The Nun will have a one-week engagement at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) IMAX theatre this weekend [and will also be shown in regular theaters]. The Nun is part of an original horror movie franchise created by James Wan that includes titles like The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 movies and the two Annabelle movies. Like the Marvel Comic universe, each one of these thrillers is a standalone story of a contemporary world around us. After making a memorable, but brief appearance in The Conjuring 2, The Nun features an original story about a nun battling suicidal tendencies.
After The Nun, The Predator, The House with a Clock in its Walls and Venom will take over IMAX’s five-story screen. The now controversial (for not showing American astronauts planting the flag on the moon) First Man opens on Oct. 11 for a two-week stay. Based on the eight years in the life of Neil Armstrong leading up to the moon landing in 1969, First Man has received standing ovations at the Venice Film Festival.
Locally, The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) will dominate November. The opening film and party will begin Friday, Nov. 2 at the remodeled Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Beyond the regular screenings at the Savor Cinema in Ft. Lauderdale and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood, there will be special screenings and party related themes at a variety of other venues. The Westin Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort will feature a screening of Where the Boys Are. The wrap party on Nov. 18 will feature a fairway screening of Caddyshack at the Ft. Lauderdale Country Club.
Saturday, Nov. 17 will be an interesting day at Bailey Hall. In honor of the 20th anniversary of Pleasantville, starring Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon and Don Knotts in his final film, the afternoon screening of the film will feature a tribute to writer/director Gary Ross, who also directed Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games and Ocean’s 8.
Twelve years ago, FLIFF premiered Sharkwater, a documentary that was sympathetic to the ocean’s mightiest predator, the shark. Sharkwater Extinction is a follow-up documentary that will examine the roll of the predator and its role in the balance of nature. Has there been progress? The answers can be seen at a party/screening on Nov. 17 at Bailey Hall.
As the film industry wraps up 2018, it will not feature a Star Wars or a Marvel Comics universe movie. There will be a prequel to the Harry Potter series with a sequel to Fantastic Beasts, written by JK Rowling. Co-written by Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa returns to the big screen in Creed II, which stars Michael Jordan in a unique sequel that reaches back to a Rocky sequel from 1985. As lyricist Peter Allen once sang, “Everything old is new again.”