We're happy to report there's excellent progress on the Fairfield Orpheum Movie Theatre. Sheila Ross, Patricia Draznin and the Chris Johnsons organized a productive and thoroughly enjoyable lunch Friday for several folks involved in bringing the theatre to fruition. Sheila's an Orpheum Theatre Committee coordinator ("otherwise, troublemaker!") and will join us to report the encouraging developments. When I write "encouraging" I'm muzzling my enthusiasm for what I see unfolding. The Fairfield Orpheum Movie Theatre is happening, and it will be "Awesome, with a capital A." 

Chris Busch will be on the phone from Los Angeles (I think, last time it was New York City) and junior Filmosopher Shane Miller will be in the house cause there's no school, baby! 

We'll cover new releases and those going wide, including Zero Dark Thirty, which may have a polarizing effect. An Oscar Academy voter who saw a screener told me he was very unhappy with it, "will not vote for any of it" and feels it will set back our relationship with much of the world. Speaking of Oscars, the nominations are out. We'll talk about that, the documentary Kings Of Pastry and more. We're The Filmosophers, "where we give our filmosophy of the movies and have filmosophical discussions." Friday, 12:30 PM CST, again Sunday 9:00 AM. "May the Force be with you" - The Fairfield Orpheum Theatre, 2013 and Beyond... :)

This weekend there are three major films opening with a good buzz, including Dredd 3D, "a rare example of a remake that actually works." Director Paul Thomas Anderson's (There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights) The Master, which  "extends his winning streak of challenging films for serious audiences." Also, End Of Watch, "a riveting action thriller". The Rottontomatoes radio show described stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as having great chemistry.

We'll talk more about closing of the Co-Ed and the energy already forming to create another movie theater in Fairfield's cultural district. As noted by Ken Mottet, host of "The Feed Store" (KRUU, Sundays 2-3PM)- "These are the kinds of stories that prove my wife's theory--Fairfield IS the center of the known universe." Speaking of that, The Vindication Of Ronald Clay screens 7:30 tonight at the Arts & Convention Center.

We're the Filmosophers, with Chris Busch and Bruce Miller, "where we give our filmosophy of the movies and have filmosophical discussions." Fridays at 12:30 PM Central, again Sunday mornings at 9:00. "I'll be back!" ~ Ar-Nuld, Co-Ed Theatre, 1984

This weekend we'll talk about the wide releases: Total Recall (What is reality?);  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (goofy family comedy); the limited releases, including: Celeste And Jesse Forever ("shrewd rom-com"); the documentaries, including You've Been Trumped ("the wealthy exert their will") and the exceptional Jiro Dreams of Sushi ("elegant, spare and tantalizing") which is available on DVD at the FF Library.

We're excited to let you know that maybe... just maybe, the Wachowskis have finally made the movie fans have been waiting for since experiencing their classic, and our favorite, which for me is also the most spiritual film of my time- The Matrix.

We're the Filmosophers, with Chris Busch, Bruce and Shane Miller, "where we give our filmosophy of the movies and have filmosophical discussions". Fridays at 12:30 PM Central, again Sundays at 9:00 AM. "Everything is connected"- Cloud Atlas

On this weekend's Filmosophers, we'll talk about the energetic box office- two films did over $40 million, very good for February; we'll talk about new releases, including another well reviewed animated film from Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki's studio that gave us Spirited Away; an Oscar nominated documentary that sounds like familiar football turf, but is about so much more; a "chilly thriller" that looks like Fargo lite, and others. We'll discuss films we've seen on DVD, including the documentary Project Nim- "from the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child"; Himalaya, a stunningly photographed fiction film about the forgotten people of Tibet; Paris, a love letter to the titular city we discovered after seeing the radiant Melanie Laurent in Beginners; and These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Made America, which "tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself."

We're the Filmosophers, with Chris Busch and Bruce Miller "where we give our filmosophy of the movies and have filmosophical discussions". Fridays at 12:30, rebroadcast Sundays at noon. Live stream @kruufm.com

"The last scene of a movie should occur on the sidewalk outside of the theater. What film and art can do best, is to continue to live after the experience is over." - These Amazing Shadows

Filmmaker, entrepreneur, and Fairfield First! publisher Burt Chojnowski will join Bruce in the KRUU studio Friday. He'll  tell us about a very exciting development for film fans- Stage Door Cinema! www.StageDoorCinema.com

There was an almost unbelievable box office event last weekend. "In the movie business, sometimes a flop is just a flop. Then there are misses so disastrous that they send signals to broad swaths of Hollywood. Mars Needs Moms is shaping up as the second type." 

We'll talk about that, talk about new films in theaters, video releases and more.

We're The Filmosophers, "where we give our filmosophy of the movies and have filmosophical discussions", Friday at 12:30 PM Central. Live stream @kruufm.com

School is out Friday which means Filmosopher's junior reviewer Shane Miller will join Chris and I in the studio. Shane and Dad are excited to talk about our Hayao Miyazaki festival experience. We've recently seen Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle. As mentioned last week, we saw Princess Mononoke (DVD available at the FF Library) first and expressed deep admiration for what is ostensibly an animated adventure film which makes "a statement on the ecological devastation brought on by human advancement". Filmosophically it is so much more: a visually beautiful, magically resonant, spiritually profound epic journey of desire versus conscious awareness. -click "Read More" to continue-

Friday, we're honored to welcome back returning co-host Burt Chojnowski. Randy West, Executive/Artistic Director of WOB will be our guest, because you know what? He's not only an exquisite talent of live theatre, but also loves the movies.

We had planned to talk about Clint Eastwood's new film Hereafter, but projector problems forced Randy into seeing RED instead. There are some well known actors in RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous), including Helen Mirren, and we'll hear from Randy about it.

Hereafter was our Filmosophical film of the week last Friday, before we even saw it. Burt and I will opine on that pick, after watching it this week. The critics are divided on Hereafter almost right down the middle. [Click on read more below to continue.]

Friday is a big day for film fans, locally and nationally. We're thrilled to tell you that Winter's Bone starts Friday at the Co-Ed Theatre in Fairfield. Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone led the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance, taking both the grand jury prize and a special jury prize for screenwriting. “Bone follows an Ozark Mountain girl who hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father while trying to keep her family intact."  Be aware, this is not a sweet little indie film. "Intense, immersive and in control, Winter's Bone has an art house soul inside a B picture body, and that proves to be a potent combination indeed." -Kenneth Turan, L.A. Times [click Read More]

The Fairfield Film Festival "is a 5 months long series of events, mainly of the screenings of documentary movies at the Sondheim Center." It opens this Friday night with Burzynski: The Movie directed by Eric Merola. Burzynski "is the compelling story of  pioneering medical doctor and PhD biochemist Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, who has discovered the genetic mechanism to cure most human cancers. This timely, eye-opening documentary takes the audience through the treacherous, yet victorious, 14-year journey that both Dr. Burzynski and his patients have had to endure in order to obtain FDA-approved clinical trials of Antineoplastons."  Eric Merola and Fairfield Film Festival Director Anya Petrova will join us in the studio to talk about Burzynski  and the film festival. [Click on "Read More" below to continue...]

Filmosopher's co-host Chris Busch is in New York, so we're posting a Filmosopher's show blog celebration. Burt Chojnowski, "Fairfield First! Buzz" icon, documentary filmmaker and cultural-district innovator will once again co-host the show. We'll have esteemed Fairfield Public Library Director Rebecca Huggins in the studio to talk about their 2ND FRIDAY FREE FILM: The Wind Journeys. (click on Read More below to continue)