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.
Tuesday, Nov. 12: Tokyo Story—Kanopy, Hulu, Amazon rental
The story is about an aging couple who travel from their village to Tokyo, to visit their grown children. The film is considered Yasujirō Ozu’s masterpiece; it stars Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama as the parents and Setsuko Hara as their daughter-in-law. In Japanese with subtitles.
1953 Drama NR 2 hr 16 min
Saturday, Nov. 16: Howard’s End—Kanopy, Amazon rental
A Merchant-Ivory film, from a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the 1910 novel by E. M. Forster. The film follows the Schlegels, a family of intellectual and idealistic sisters, who became friends with the Wilcoxes, a wealthy and conventional family, during their time in Germany. Starring Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, and Vanessa Redgrave.
1992 Drama PG 2 hr 20 min
Saturday, Nov. 23: Home for the Holidays—Amazon rental
The film follows Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter), who, after losing her job and finding that her daughter has her own plans for the holidays, goes to spend Thanksgiving with her dysfunctional family. Directed by Jodie Foster, with an all-star cast.
1995 Comedy/Drama PG-13 1 hr 43 min
Tuesday, Nov. 26: The General—Kanopy, Amazon Prime/rental
A classic silent film with Buster Keaton. “The General” is a locomotive at the time of the Civil War (the Confederate side).
1927 Comedy 1 hr 18 min
Saturday, Nov. 30: The Thin Man—Amazon rental
William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett and directed by W. S. Van Dyke. The first of the series.
1934 Comedy/Mystery 1 hr 33 min
Saturday, Dec. 7: Between the Temples—Amazon rental
A grieving cantor reluctantly takes on his grade school music teacher as a bat mitzvah student. Directed by Nathan Silver, with Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane (“Hester Street”).
2024 Drama/Comedy 1 hr 51 min
Tuesday, Dec. 10: The Secret in Their Eyes—Amazon rental
A former police officer is writing a novel in 1999 about a brutal rape/murder that took place 25 years earlier in Buenos Aires and whose perpetrator escaped punishment. With Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil. Won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The rape scene is shown briefly. In Spanish with subtitles.
2009 Crime/Romance/Corruption R 2 hr 10 min
Saturday, Dec. 14: The Accidental Tourist—Amazon rental, Roku
The film tells the story of a travel writer struggling to cope with the sudden death of his son and the breakdown of his marriage. As he retreats into his solitary life, he meets an eccentric dog trainer, Based on the novel by Anne Tyler. With William Hurt, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner.
1988 Romance/Drama PG 2 hr 1 min
Saturday, Dec. 21: Miracle on 34th Street—Amazon rental
Mr. Kris Kringle is asked to play Santa Claus at Macy's. His portrayal is so complete that some begin to wonder if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.
With Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood.
1947 Drama G 1 hr 36 min
Tuesday, Dec. 24: No movie
Saturday, Dec. 28: Georgy Girl—Amazon rental
The film tells the story of an awkward young woman in 1960s swinging London, who is pursued by her father's middle-aged employer but has a crush on the lover of her promiscuous, pregnant roommate. With Lynn Redgrave, James Mason, Alan Bates, and Charlotte Rampling.
1966 Romantic Comedy R 1 hr 39 min
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/