Ongoing series today include Original Gangsters at IFC Center, Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, Star Presence on Screen at Museum of the Moving Image, and Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures 1932-57 at MoMA. To the hijinks!

Recidivist activities of the cinematic variety today include Original Gangsters at IFC Center, Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, An Auteurist History of Film and Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures 1932-57 at MoMA, the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives, and the elegant Cabaret Cinema at the Rubin Museum. The participants in the chain gang look thus;

Alright, I ain't gonna lie. I'm stumped for a header to today's post, and I'm actually looking around my apartment for ideas. What do I see? Stacks of old flyers from Film Forum, MoMA and BAM, a DVD collection so massive it should be splitting the rent, various delivery menus, quickie learn-a-language manuals, a ZIP drive circa 2000 A.D. , my Puma Baskets, a jar of fortune cookie fortunes, and an air freshener I'm pretty sure I bought just last week. Wait. What year is this?

Well, whaddaya know! The header writes itself! I gotta toss more junk around my apartment, it's just so much easier.

Ongoing series today include Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, An Auteurist History of Film at MoMA, the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek, and the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives. The precocious parfait as follows;

Anybody who's put it off thus far might wanna take a stroll by Kim's Video on 1st ave twixt 7th st. and St. Marks Place. They're not much longer for this world, and at one time they loomed large, Kubrick's monolith-large, over the Cinegeek scene in NYC. They've currently slashed prices by 50% on all inventory, and while most of the primo catalogue has been snapped up by now there are still deep cut treasures to be had, for those who know how to spot them. If nothing else the biz deserves a final visit from those who benefitted from its focus on studio vaults, cult items and other esoterica it would have been otherwise impossible to see in the pre-YouTube & BitTorrent era. Stop by one last time, preferably to purchase something, but in any event to pay your respects to a one-time chain that loved film as much as its customers did.

Now to the rep circuit.

Continuing series this day include Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, and An Auteurist History of Film and Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures 1932-57 at MoMA. The shimmy shimmy ko-ko pop looks thus;

Right about now, 45 years ago, Neil and Buzz were clocking some quality time inside the Lunar Module in the Mare Tranquilitatis. So hey, if they could amuse themselves by staying indoors on a July afternoon, you think you're better than Neil and Buzz?

Continuing series today include Femme Noirs at Film Forum, Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures, 1932-57 at MoMA, Overdue at BAM Cinématek, and A Richard Pryor Triple Play hosted by BAM Cinématek at Putnam Triangle Square. The mishegoss as follows;

From 7/21/12:

I'm gettin' just a little bit irritated over how fast this damn summer is blazing past us. It's July 19th already. July. 19th. Seems like just yesterday I was kicking it at the Mizoguchi retrospective at Moving Image back in May, or catching the new 4K DCP of Friedkin's SORCERER in June, basking in the sun's smoochery after the horrible medieval winter we'd cannibalized our way through. So this whole July 19th thing has my spider-sense all a-tinglin', and prompts me to put my readers, as well as my own damn self, on notice; the season's slipping past pretty quickly, lads and lasses, take advantage of every opportunity to indulge in Summer '14! If that means subwaying it uptown to spend time indoors with some quality AC and a classic Fritz Lang flick, then that counts too.

Continuing series today include Original Gangsters at IFC Center, Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, part one of the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek, Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures 1932-57 at MoMA, and the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives. The metaphysical conflict looks thus;

Yes it's been a terrible few days now to be a member of the human race, as if there's ever an easy time. And I'm not going to pontificate about recent tragedies. That's for other folks in other forums. What I am suggesting is this; this pastime we adore, this passion for cinema we all share, it does exist to quell some of the turmoil and ache and flabbergast we experience as witnesses to the bad times. This is not to suggest that it's in any way a part of the solution, nor that we feel the same pain that those most harshly affected by senseless violence do, but it can be an active reminder that we are capable of better things, more creative studies of our worse impulses, better committed to celluloid than against each other.

That's my two cents anyway. Sorry for the pontification.

Ongoing series today include Original Gangsters at IFC Center, Femmes Noirs at Film Forum, An Auteurist History of Film and Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Pictures 1932-57 at MoMA, part one of the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek, the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives, and the swank Cabaret Cinema series at the Rubin Museum. The wimwam looks thus;

Yesterday marked the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969, 45 years ago, and in three days we'll be celebrating the anniversary of its landing in the Mare Tranquillitatis. This has nothing whatsoever to do with what's screening today, except to say it was one more dream realized by the human race, and for a change it required no special effects to accomplish the trick.

Okay, that was my wax poetic. Now to today's rep circuit.

Ongoing series today include An Auteurist History of Film at MoMA, the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives, Summer of Surrealism at the Nitehawk Cinema, and part one of the Luis Buñuel retrospective at BAM Cinématek. The kajagoogoo be thus;

World Cup's on another 4-year intermission, MLB's on break, NBA Hot Stove completely cooled. The winners? Germany, the American League and Carmelo Anthony, respectively. The losers? Excuses to avoid NYC's rep film circuit. I'm here all week.

Ongoing series today include An Auteurist History of Film and Lady in the Dark: Crime Films from Columbia Films 1932-57 at MoMA, and the Elmore Leonard trib at Anthology Film Archives. The tomfoolery as follows;