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, 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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Saturday, Dec. 6: Annie Hall—Amazon rental
Alvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer. Directed by Woody Allen, who co-stars with Diane Keaton. Four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress.
1977 Comedy PG 1 hr 33 min
Tuesday, Dec. 9: One Battle After Another—Amazon rental—Start time: 6:30 p.m.
When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall. Strong language, violence, dark comedy. 2025 Drama R 2 hr 42 min plus intermission
Saturday, Dec. 13: Downton Abbey—Amazon rental
Mary finds herself at the center of a public scandal and the family faces financial trouble. The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepares for a new chapter.
2025 Period drama PG-13 2 hr 6 min
Saturday, Dec. 20: The Baltimorons—Amazon rental
A newly sober man's Christmas Eve dental emergency leads to an unexpected romance with an older dentist as they explore Baltimore together. Directed by Jay Duplass; with Michael Strassner, Liz Larsen. 2025 Comedy R 1 hr 41 min
Tuesday, Dec. 23: The Holly and the Ivy—Kanopy, Amazon rental
The pull of love, independence, and duty in the family of an English clergyman. An outstanding British cast: Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton. 1952 Drama 1 hr 20 min
Saturday, Dec. 27: The Magic Flute—Start time: 2 p.m.
The Metropolitan Opera abridged version, in English. With giant puppets as well as singers. Designed by Julie Taymor; conducted by James Levine. Papageno (Nathan Gunn) steals the show. Suitable for older children. 2008 1 hr 52 min
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and in January:
Saturday, Jan. 3: A House of Dynamite
Saturday, Jan. 10: The Thursday Murder Club
Tuesday, Jan. 13: Steve
Saturday, Jan. 17: Train Dreams
Saturday, Jan. 24: Let’s Not Go to the Dogs Tonight
Tuesday, Jan. 27: I’m Still Here
Saturday, Jan. 31: Groundhog Day
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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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