Film
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Blade Runner Ridley Scott’s vanguard science-fiction epic from 1982 has been digitally tweaked in hundreds of ways, most of which will be noticed only by the most pious of fanboys. Mainly, the rerelease is a good excuse to indulge once more in Scott’s iconic and highly influential vision of a future Los Angeles choked by rain, neon, and cheap pleasure palaces, where Harrison Ford’s bounty hunter trolls the godforsaken urban landscape for those renegade “replicants.” Of course, there comes a steely-eyed brunette (Sean Young), who may be a replicant herself. It has always been difficult to discuss Blade Runner-one of the few genuine masterpieces of the forlorn 1980s-without focusing on its style, and yet it is a movie where style becomes content and vice versa, as the romantic fatalism of <2005>’40s film noir freely intermingles with the visionary imagination of Philip K. Dick. And yes, a sequel is said to be planned with an actual script written, though those rumors have been circulating for years. But if Ford can reprise Han Solo, why not Rick Deckard? (R) Brian Miller BRIAN MILLER Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Tuesday, December 30, 2014, 9:30 – 10:30pm
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The Sound of Music Sing-Along Sure, some critics hated this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical when it debuted on Broadway in 1959. And the 1965 movie adaptation seemed even more out-of-step with that volatile decade. (The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael called it “the single most repressive influence on artistic freedom in movies.”) But yesterday’s kitsch beomes today’s classic (unless it’s the other way around), and The Sound of Music is a kind of cultural juggernaut: You can’t avoid it, and the songs are embedded deeper in your hippocampus than you’d like to believe. So why not surrender to the inevitable? Songs like “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” have irresistible choruses practically built for mass participation. The Sound of Music is a bit of a machine, one that compels your obeisance-rather like Julie Andrews’ governess (or the nuns, for that matter). Music supplies a discipline, yet also a means of resistance against the Nazis sweeping into Austria. Those who can’t fight, sing; and those who can’t sing, here at least, must surrender to Maria. (Note to parents: If your daughters are still fixated on “Let It Go,” this might be a way to dislodge the tune from their heads.) And there’s no danger of forgetting the lyrics, which will be helpfully projected onscreen. T. BOND 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See 5thavenue.org for tickets. Friday, January 2, 2015, 7 – 8pm
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The Sound of Music Sing-Along Sure, some critics hated this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical when it debuted on Broadway in 1959. And the 1965 movie adaptation seemed even more out-of-step with that volatile decade. (The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael called it “the single most repressive influence on artistic freedom in movies.”) But yesterday’s kitsch beomes today’s classic (unless it’s the other way around), and The Sound of Music is a kind of cultural juggernaut: You can’t avoid it, and the songs are embedded deeper in your hippocampus than you’d like to believe. So why not surrender to the inevitable? Songs like “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” have irresistible choruses practically built for mass participation. The Sound of Music is a bit of a machine, one that compels your obeisance-rather like Julie Andrews’ governess (or the nuns, for that matter). Music supplies a discipline, yet also a means of resistance against the Nazis sweeping into Austria. Those who can’t fight, sing; and those who can’t sing, here at least, must surrender to Maria. (Note to parents: If your daughters are still fixated on “Let It Go,” this might be a way to dislodge the tune from their heads.) And there’s no danger of forgetting the lyrics, which will be helpfully projected onscreen. T. BOND 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See 5thavenue.org for tickets. Saturday, January 3, 2015, 7 – 8pm
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The Sound of Music Sing-Along Sure, some critics hated this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical when it debuted on Broadway in 1959. And the 1965 movie adaptation seemed even more out-of-step with that volatile decade. (The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael called it “the single most repressive influence on artistic freedom in movies.”) But yesterday’s kitsch beomes today’s classic (unless it’s the other way around), and The Sound of Music is a kind of cultural juggernaut: You can’t avoid it, and the songs are embedded deeper in your hippocampus than you’d like to believe. So why not surrender to the inevitable? Songs like “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” have irresistible choruses practically built for mass participation. The Sound of Music is a bit of a machine, one that compels your obeisance-rather like Julie Andrews’ governess (or the nuns, for that matter). Music supplies a discipline, yet also a means of resistance against the Nazis sweeping into Austria. Those who can’t fight, sing; and those who can’t sing, here at least, must surrender to Maria. (Note to parents: If your daughters are still fixated on “Let It Go,” this might be a way to dislodge the tune from their heads.) And there’s no danger of forgetting the lyrics, which will be helpfully projected onscreen. T. BOND 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See 5thavenue.org for tickets. Sunday, January 4, 2015, 7 – 8pm
