LAFF: Do You Want to Believe?
By Craig Kennedy - May 16th, 2008; 11:09 am
Check this out Scully, it’s called Living in Cinema. Best. Website. Ever.
Dig out your Lone Gunmen t-shirts and get the nerd stains cleaned off of them. Organizers of the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 19 – 29) have added a sneak peek at the upcoming X-Files: I Want to Believe.
Star David Duchovny, writer/director Chris Carter and screenwriter Frank Spotnitz will be presenting clips and chatting about their new film on June 22 at the historic and beautiful Crest Theatre in Westwood.
I do want to believe, but I remain highly skeptical.
Filed under: Film Festivals
As am I, sceptical that is.
Just never was a fan of X-Files is all.
Hehe, like that caption. I also was never a big X-Files viewer, but I’m always up for a summer afternoon sci-fi adventure. What was the general consensus on the first movie? I don’t even remember it.
I don’t even like sci-fi.
The closest thing to sci-fi that I actually enjoy is TVs “Heroes.”
I don’t even like Star Wars.
But David Duchovny is always interesting.
Do I believe? No.
Do I want to? A little.
Aha, Craig, I like that. “Is the truth in that website, Mulder?” “Yes, Scully, the truth has been brought to me by Craig Kennedy.”
This is reason #8,326 why I sometimes wish I lived in LA, or at least could be teleported down there whenever I wish. You’ll have the opportunity to see this film before seeing its RT rating at around 38% or whatever it’ll be, unlike me.
Daniel, I think critics were very “mixed” on the first movie. I still myself have extremely mixed feelings about it. I really don’t like how Carter went all “Alien” with the mythology to make it more commercial and accessible. Suddenly not only were we seeing actual aliens–a big no-no from early on in the series, except as pieces of misdirection–but they were fierce, ferocious, um, Alien-like aliens with long claws. To me, it’s really immediately after the movie that the series went to shit, so, on the whole, I’ve always noted its existence with significant negativity. It’s really where the TV show should’ve ended, and the movie franchise should’ve started. (Because of high production and marketing costs, though, the film didn’t quite break even.) In some ways the first movie really tied the “mytharc” up to that point in a pretty bow, for the most part.
Anyway, it’s not surprising you don’t remember it because it wasn’t particularly good. Martin Landau seemed to have some fun playing a conspiracy theorist, however. I just read that Blythe Danner was in it but I don’t remember that. I do remember being pissed at Carter for continuing his inane bad habit of killing a character off the moment he/she has become even more interesting (John Neville’s Well-Manicured Man, who had just given a Donald Sutherland-in-JFK style expository rundown on the history of the universe in a limousine with Mulder before being blown to itty bitty pieces).
Alas Alexander, it’s not the whole movie, just clips. San Francisco is still the place to be.
The first movie was likeable enough for fans, but pretty forgettable (speaking for myself).
The fact that this is a stand-alone adventure actually gives me encouragement. I loved Duchovny and Anderson on the show and the whole milieu and it might be fun to see them back in action.
Oh, somehow I was assuming that Carter and co. were talking with clips along with showing the film. Shouldn’t have jumped to confusions like that as there are better ways of exercising.
Hmm Alexander, just last week you were complaining about the SF Bay Area weather. Now you’re dissatisfied with release dates. One more strike and your traitorous ass is out of here!
Aha, nah, I love the Bay Area! An SF Bay Area native being lectured to by a furrener? For shame, Sartre, for shame. :)
Speaking of which, I’m going to hijack this space for a second.
I’m going to be in Napa/Berkeley at the end of June for a wedding. I’m thinking of going to the 6/30 Giants/Cubs game. What’s the deal with left field bleacher seats? Is it ridiculous trying to sit over there by the cove? Are there better seats?
If I have time for a movie, where to? Looks like the Castro is closed for business on 6/30. Any special theater recommendations in Berkeley?
If you want to see something on IMAX, I recommend the Sony Metreon on Mission St., in San Francisco, Daniel, where I saw Beowulf last November. What’ll be out then? WALL-E, I know…
The Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley used to be my favorite arthouse in the East Bay but they’ve gone more and more mainstream in the last couple of years despite still carrying many edgier films, too. (It’s on–believe it or not–Shattuck Avenue.)
Plenty of great seats at AT&T Park, but I’ve honestly never sat in the bleachers. I think I was supposed to once or twice, but, um, I’m an outlaw.
All this talk of San Francisco makes me want to jump in a car…
Though with the price of gas, it would be cheaper to charter a private jet.
Hey Craig, you could join us for the Bay to the Breakers run (walk in our case) this Sunday. People dress up for it. A bunch of us are doing a cocktail theme. I’m a Blue Hawaii. The sight’s none too pretty.
Thanks, Alexander. I hope to make Wall-E if nothing else. I’m sure I’ll take a look at the Shattuck as well. Too bad the Castro won’t be open that Monday.
Daniel, you might want to check out the newly renovated Kabuki San Francisco Cinema.
http://www.sundancecinemas.com/now_playing.html
Closer to the time you can get movie listings and showtimes from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/search/listwais.cgi?type=movies&WAISmaxhits=300&WAIStemplate=new.eguide.tmpl&WAISaction=search&WAISdbname=%2Fweb%2Fwais-indexes%2Feguide%2Farts&querystring=alameda+&Go=Go
This covers both San Francisco and Alameda county theaters. Berkeley theaters are listed under the latter.
Wow, very cool, sartre. Much obliged!
the x-flies. ah no. do only things i have no interest in get to be a hype sensation ?? yes…go go go…
I loved the first few seasons of the show, but then it somehow managed to wedge its head between both of its butt-cheeks and I gave up. I recently dropped out of “Lost” with the same sinking feeling.
The first movie was a huge disappointment.
I was trying to be optimistic about this new one, but jeez louise that trailer I caught last night is a snoooooooooze.
I haven’t seen the trailer yet, but I agree with you about the direction the show went.
I also gave up on Lost in the middle of the 2nd season. Word on the street though that it’s much improved this season. I think now that the creators finally have an actual endgame in mind, it has made for a better show.
When I quit, it just seemed like they were stretching out the weak mystery past the breaking point like they do on soap operas.
“Lost” wobbled during the second season but recovered very nicely.
It seriously wobbled during the third, but again pulled up.
There’s nothing really wrong with the fourth season, I just got tired of hazy motivations, unanswered questions and endless scenes in which the castaways, armed with torches, tracked ___ through rainy jungles only to realize their quarry had “backtracked.”
I’m sure I’ll catch it all on DVD when I can jump from one ep to the next without a week’s wait (or, in some cases, a month or two’s wait) but it all just seemed reminiscent of the X-Files when they became submerged in black oil, vaguely defined characters and Duchovny’s spotty attendance.