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, May 17: Big—Amazon rental, Hulu
When a boy wishes to be a grownup at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body. Directed by Penny Marshall; with Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia.
1988 Comedy PG 1 hr 42 min
Saturday, May 24: Arrival—Amazon rental, Hulu
A linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world. Directed by Denis Villeneuve; with Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker. Eight Academy Award nominations.
2016 Science Fiction PG-13 1 hr 55 min
Tuesday, May 27: September 5—Amazon rental
The film tracks the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis and subsequent murder of Israeli athletes as seen through the eyes of the ABC Sports crew. With Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
2024 Historical R 1 hr 34 min
Saturday, May 31: The Brutalist—Amazon rental—Start Time: 3:30 p.m.
Escaping post-war Europe, a visionary architect arrives in America to rebuild his life. On his own in a new country, his talent is recognized by a wealthy industrialist. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost. Won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Score, and Best Lead Actor (Adrien Brody). Directed by Brady Corbet; with Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones.
2024 Drama R 3 hr 20 min: 3:30–5:30 p.m., dinner break, 7:00–8:20 p.m.
Saturday, June 7: The Big Sleep—Amazon rental
An adaptation of the 1939 Raymond Chandler novel, directed by Howard Hawks. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall.
1946 Mystery 1 hr 55 min
Tuesday, June 10: Universal Language—Kanopy, Amazon rental
A man returns to Winnipeg, his home town, in a Canada in which Farsi and French are the official languages.. The film features many school children, a crazy teacher, a man who shovels snow and leads tours of the city, and turkeys. Directed by Matthew Rankin. In Farsi with subtitles.
2024 Comedy 1 hr 29 min
Saturday, June 14: In the Mood for Love—Criterion Channel, Amazon Prime
A man (Tony Leung) and a woman (Maggie Cheung) move into neighboring apartments in Hong Kong on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite until a discovery about their spouses creates a bond between them. Directed by Wong Kar Wai.
2000 Romance PG 1 hr 33 min
Saturday, June 21: La La Land—Amazon rental
A struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle; with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
2016 Musical romance PG-13 2 hr 6 min
Tuesday, June 24: Black Bag—Amazon rental
A spy drama about intelligence agents George Woodhouse and his wife, Kathryn. When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George has to decide between loyalty to his marriage or his country. Directed by Steven Soderbergh; with Michael Fassbinder, Cate Blanchett.
2025 Drama R 1 h 34 min
Saturday, June 28: 20th Century Women—Max
A single mother in her mid-50s who is raising an adolescent son enlists two younger women—a free-spirited artist and a teenage neighbor—to help with his upbringing. With Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup.
2016 Comedy/Drama R 2 hr
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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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