Nitehawk Cinema serves up a tasty brunch to go with their noon-ish screening of Buster Keaton's classic THE NAVIGATOR. One of the best efforts of the iconic filmmaker's peak years finds his usual hapless romantic utilize his greatest strength, his wholly American can-do spirit, what I like to call gumption, in the pursuit of his lady love's hand. An ocean separates them, as it were.

Valentine's Day go smoothly, Stockers? The cards and candy do the trick? First dates go swimmingly? The selection at your local pickup spot worthy and agreeable?

Yeah?

Good. Now let's talk classic film.

The great greeting card holiday celebrating St. Valentine, the Catholic church's version of Aphrodite and Venus, is upon us once more, Stockers, and the various classic film venues in our lovesick metropolis are observing this day in ways traditional and otherwise.

Is is possible that we're just about halfway done with February already? That winter and all its attendant misery is waning rather than waxing? That the three best seasons that ever existed, Spring, Summer and Autumn, lay just around an icy, foreboding corner? YES IT IS, Stockers! Look no further than pitchers and catchers reporting to Yankees training camp in Tampa for proof! In a few weeks we'll have the Oscars, March Madnes and exhibition baseball. In the meantime there's plenty of classic cinema unspooling in our fair city to take your mind off the wait.

Make it through Blizzard Nemo okay?

Yeah?

Good, 'cause there's a plethora of classic screenings to get excited about today, well worth the efforts of stitchin' up yer boots and trudging through some magical Manhattan snow, which seems to perennially fall in lovely coal grey tones.

A HUGE spike in retro film screening activity is due to be greeted this day by Blizzard Nemo, which is not, contrary to popular rumour, the name of my twink meth dealer. No, we
are indeed about to see an epic conflux of classic cinema and tempestuous snowfall. So the slog to attend these screenings may be a bit tougher this day, but nonetheless worth
while.

Jacques Becker's CASQUE D'OR screens for the second of its three day run as part of MOMA's Auterist History of Film series. Simone Signoret comes between rival bosses of the vicious Apache gang that terrorized the Mouin Rogue section of Paris during that city's Belle Epoque. Cool and stylish melodrama, and Simone can come between me and and a buddy anytime. As it were.

Slow start to the month for classic film screenings, and yet what's on display is no less attendance worthy.

To those whose mirth, enthusiasm and indeed perhaps spirit were sapped by that foul demon that greets us as dubious hurdle at the commencement of each new year, that wickedness christened January, I salute you my fallen comrades. I'll even pour one out for ya.

Yesterday January, tomorrow the NFL. Within a space of 72 hours two of my most hated foes will lie slumbering in deep if temporary graves.