Movie News
The Movie Committee has announced that movies are now showing every Saturday evening at 7 p.m In the Auditorium and on Tuesdays twice a month.
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Saturday, Oct. 11: The Naked Gun—Kanopy, Amazon rental
The original and the better one. With Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy. Directed by David Zucker.
1988 Crime comedy PG-13 1 hr 25 min
Tuesday, Oct. 14: Sunlight—Amazon rental
A suicidal man and a woman in a full monkey suit take a road trip. The woman is fleeing an abusive stepfather and wants to start a banana boat ride business in Colorado. The man is a former radio host and wants to dig up his dead father. Written and directed by Nina Conti; co-written by and co-starring Shanoah Allen.
2025 Comedy/Drama R 1 hr 25 min
Saturday, Oct. 18: Jaws—Amazon rental
The 50th anniversary. Directed by Stephen Spielberg; starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and a couple of malfunctioning mechanical sharks.
1975 Thriller PG 2 hr 4 min
Saturday, Oct. 25: Sorry, Baby—Amazon rental
Eva Victor stars as Agnes, a university professor who enjoys her life in academia but is haunted by a “bad thing” that happened when she was a student. With Naomi Ackie and Louis Cancelmi. Written and directed by Victor.
2025 Drama R 1 hr 43 min
Tuesday, Oct. 28: The Man Without a Past
Arriving in Helsinki, a nameless man is beaten badly by thugs and recovers only to find that he has lost his memory. Back on the streets, he attempts to begin again from scratch and is attracted to a Salvation Army volunteer. Written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. In Finnish with subtitles.
2003 Drama/Comedy 1 hr 37 min
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November - Robert Redford Tribute
Saturday, Nov. 1: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—Amazon rental
The film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman), and his partner Harry Longabaugh, “the Sundance Kid" (Robert Redford), who are on the run from a U.S. posse after a string of train robberies.
1969 Western 1 hr 50 min
Saturday, Nov. 8: Uncle Vanya—YouTube
The Chekhov play. An elderly professor and his younger second wife visit the rural estate of the professor's late first wife that supports their urban life. A BBC TV production with Ian Holm, David Warner, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
1991 Drama 2 hr 9 min
Tuesday, Nov. 11: Drive My Car—Amazon rental
A theater director is directing a multilingual production of “Uncle Vanya” while dealing with the death of his wife. “A quiet masterpiece, ‘Drive My Car’ is a story about grief, love and work as well as the soul-sustaining, life-shaping power of art” (Manohla Dargis, NYT). Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. In Japanese, with subtitles.
2021 R Drama 3 hr plus intermission
Saturday, Nov. 15: Quiz Show—Amazon rental
A dramatization of the Twenty-One quiz show scandal involving Charles van Doren. Directed by Robert Redford; with John Tuturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes.
1994 Drama PG-13 2 hr 13 min
Saturday, Nov. 22: The Way We Were—Amazon rental
Two people meet in college in 1937. Katie (Barbra Streisand) is a left-wing activist, and Hubbell (Robert Redford) is a golden boy athlete and gifted writer. Screenplay by Arthur Laurents, based on his experiences at Cornell University and with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Directed by Sydney Pollack.
1973 Drama/Romance PG 1 hr 58 min
Tuesday, Nov. 25: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—Amazon rental
Two young people undergo a memory erasure procedure to forget each other after their breakup. Directed by Michel Gondry, screenplay by Charlie Kaufman; with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.
2004 Romance/Surrealism R 1 hr 48 min
Saturday, Nov. 29: Three Days of the Condor—Amazon rental
A CIA researcher comes back from lunch one day to discover his co-workers have been murdered. Directed by Sydney Pollack; with Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow.
1975 Thriller R 1 hr 57 min
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and December
Saturday, Dec. 6: Annie Hall
Tuesday, Dec. 9: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
Saturday, Dec. 13: Downton Abbey
Saturday, Dec. 20: The Baltimorons
Tuesday, Dec. 23: The Holly and the Ivy
Saturday, Dec. 27: 3 p.m. The Magic Flute
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The Movie Committee always appreciates feedback. Thank you to all the residents who have suggested movies for future showings. These suggestions are always welcome.
Streaming Movies
Many residents prefer to watch movies at home for a variety of reasons, or they miss a particular movie because they have other plans for that night.
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Almost all the movies now shown at Broadmead are available from streaming services. (See the end of this post for the services used for this month’s movies.)
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For most services you sign up on your computer or phone. Newer TVs have the apps for Amazon and Netflix already on them and may have others as well. Of course you can also use Roku and similar devices.
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Amazon rentals are the major source of our movies. You need an Amazon account but you don’t need Prime to rent movies. The Prime service includes a number of new movies; they are available free for a limited period of time and then they move to rentals. Oppenheimer, for example, is now free on Amazon Prime, and costs $6 as a rental. At the end of January, Amazon is raising the cost of a Prime subscription if you want to see movies without ads.
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Most Amazon rentals are $4 to $6, except when the movies are brand new and popular. (They can be as much as $20 at first, but after a while the price drops.) You have 48 hours to watch a rented movie once you start to stream it.
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Kanopy is a free service sponsored by libraries and has increased the number and depth of its offerings. You sign up online using your Baltimore County library card. Kanopy has always regulated the number of movies you can watch each month. It used to be 15 movies; they have now moved to a different method. You get 45 “tickets” a month, and each movie “costs” 2 to 4 tickets. Again, once you start streaming, you have a limited time to complete the movie.
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Netflix is a subscription service with various levels: ads, no ads, etc. There are no restrictions on the number of movies you watch or a limited time in which to complete them. But Netflix doesn’t carry many older movies and its focus is shifting to series.
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An excellent source for locating movies is the website www.JustWatch.com.
JustWatch - The Streaming Guide All your streaming services in one app.
It tells you which streaming services are carrying the movie and the cost (not always accurate, but close). I use JustWatch to track movies that are still playing in theaters. I’m then notified when they become available for streaming.
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The Voice movie listings will now indicate the streaming source (if available) for each movie.
Movie Reviews
For those looking for movie reviews, most major movies are reviewed on the Roger Ebert site, which has a rotating group of reviewers. The reviews give a detailed plot summary. Four stars is the highest rating.
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Wikipedia has entries for most movies. In addition to a very detailed plot summary (including spoilers), the entries give the production history, cast, summary of critical reviews, and awards for which the movie was nominated or won.
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The Guardian, one of the few major newspapers without a pay wall, also has reviews.
If you have access to the New York Times, their reviewers are excellent, and their recommendations are noted as “Critics’ Choice.”
Movie History
For those interested in movie history, MIT, in its Open Courseware program, has a series of recorded lectures by David Thorburn, with an associated list of suggested films. The lectures include some movie clips. Thorburn has a very animated style of lecturing. His approach is particularly interesting because he places cinema in the context of society and points to connections with the other arts. His lectures are carried on YouTube, so you can view them on your TV, but you have to search for them. You can find information about the lectures at https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21l-011-the-film-experience-fall-2013/video_galleries/lecture-videos-notes/
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