The Filmic 5: CinemaCon Edition
Your Weekly Film Superlatives By Critic and Film Scholar Jack Hanley
It is a pleasure to be returning to the Filmic 5 after a brief hiatus working the Spring Film Festival Season both as a host and/or part of the screening committees for some amazing Festivals (special thanks to Boulder International Film Festival and the Chicago Underground Film Festival)- this week finds me teaching in Las Vegas (when not crashing CinemaCon) and looking forward to a return to Boulder (the new home of the Sundance Film Festival).
I. Film Icon I Am Remembering This Week
I was deeply saddened to hear of Val Kilmer's passing this week while in my hotel room. As a '90s film-kid, I vividly remember his mesmerizing performance as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's THE DOORS during high school.
Kilmer was a gifted and dedicated actor whose performances spanned multiple genres and showcased his deep commitment to his craft. Beyond his roles, Val's bold spirit and wit will be long remembered, leaving a lasting legacy both on and off the screen- we will miss you, Iceman.
Should you wish to join me in remembering Val this week, here are but a few of MY favorite Kilmer performances (and where to find them). I join in the sentiments that his most famous wing-man dropped in a moment of silence to open CinemaCon this week in Vegas.
TOP GUN (1986)- Streaming on Prime and Apple TV; TOMBSTONE (1993)- Streaming on Prime; TRUE ROMANCE (1993)- Streaming on Prime; HEAT (1995)- Streaming on Netflix; KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)- Streaming on Prime.
II. Film Essay I Am Loving This Week
"The importance of melodrama lies precisely in its ideological failure. Because it cannot accommodate its problems, either in a real present or in an ideal future, but lays them open in their shameless contradictoriness, it opens a space which most Hollywood forms have studiously closed off."
–Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, “Minnelli and Melodrama,” Screen, Summer 1977
The truly GREAT melodramas serve as a sort of nostalgic emotional ritualism, (I know I yearly revisit MY personal favorite, Sirk's ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS) and I was captivated by Film Comment's re-issue of David Ehrenstein's marvelous 1978 essay, Melodrama and the New Woman this week. Click HERE to enjoy this essay.
III. Trailer That Is Exciting Me This Week
Zambian director Rungano Nyoni is one of our most exciting contemporary African directors (I had the GREAT pleasure of helping program her debut film I AM NOT A WITCH at the Crested Butte Film Festival).
When I heard from my partner Shay that the trailer for her follow up film ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL (a searing and surrealist deconstruction of an African community of women coming to terms with a deceased male elder responsible for a pattern of abuse) had dropped, I couldn't watch it fast enough- and the chills are still there.
IV. News I Am Excited To Share This Week
I'm excited to announce a new filmic podcast endeavor: The History of You in 5 Horror Films- the newest podcast from the Reel Weird Horror Collective Podcasting network.
I invite you to join me for my latest horror cinema podcast, where I will reminisce with horror filmmakers, actors, and fans from ALL over the world to discover the horror films and experiences that made them who they are today.
Episodes recording now- show drops later this Spring. Stay Tuned!
V. Film Story That Moved Me To Tears This Week
David Kraning has watched his profits diminish and expenses go up at Video Stop, the LAST video rental store in Pocatello, Idaho. Recently, he knew he had to close. But he faced a dilemma: What would he do about his most loyal customer?
Click HERE to read this amazing report via the Washington Post about Idaho's newest "video store" Christina’s Corner, and the enduring power of cinema- and kindness. I dare you not to cry.
Jack Hanley is a Boulder-based film scholar, podcaster, and critic. He is a programmer with the Chicago Underground Film Festival and Boulder International Film Festival. He is one-half of Blindspotting: A Film Discovery Podcast and Flicker with Jack and Scott on YouTube. Find him at Kinophilia on Medium and at HanleyOnFilm.com