Yes, my minor obsession with all things filmic may have resulted in some unfortunate last-minute scrambling to fulfill necessary tasks like laundry and banking. But could I help it if Turner Classic Movies was having a Peter Sellers marathon? Still, sacrifices had to be made if I was to be ready for my return to Amherst. After all, it’s not like I would be retreating to the isolated, film-starved wilds of Cahulawassee for the semester.
Amherst may not quite be a cinemaphile’s pipe dream (oh to live in Toronto, Telluride, or … dare I say it? Park City, Utah), but there are still plenty of options to satisfy even the most dedicated filmgoer. Amherst Cinema, right in the center of downtown on Amity Street, brings in the best of the latest independent and foreign films. While they usually only carry three or four movies at a time, what they lack in quantity they make up in quality. Amherst Cinema will also host the occasional revival film series. The Pleasant Street Theater in Northampton is operated by the same non-profit organization as Amherst Cinema and shows similar fare (in fact, all their films usually swap between the theaters at some point, so making the trek to Northampton is almost always unnecessary). For your more mainstream, big-budget fare, you’ll want to hop on the 20-minute PVTA bus ride over to the Cinemark at Hampshire Mall. Both Amherst Cinema and the Cinemark have special lowered prices for students, and with regular adult tickets heading for the wrong side of eight dollars, be sure to bring your ID along.
Of course, if you’re looking for a night out at the movies but don’t want to dip into your Wings fund, Amherst is happy to provide a helping hand. The college’s Flics program screens a new film every weekend in the basement of Keefe (usually a couple of months after the movie has appeared in wide release, but before it’s out on DVD), for absolutely free. F-R-E-E … perhaps the most beautiful four-letter combination in the English language. Well, except maybe for C-O-E-N.
Which brings me, finally, to my real purpose here: to give you all a quick rundown of 10 or so movies to watch out for this semester. My calendar is circled for October 2nd, the day “A Serious Man,” a new black comedy by the Coen brothers (makers of “Fargo,” “No Country for Old Men,” and numerous other masterpieces), hits theaters. But what will hold my appetite until then?
September offers fairly slim pickings. On the 11th, “9,” an animated post-apocalyptic action tale from producer Tim Burton, is intriguing (have you ever heard the phrase “animated post-apocalyptic action tale” before? Didn’t think so). “Transformers” star Megan Fox stars as a possessed cheerleader who eats her male suitors in “Jennifer’s Body,” debuting on the 18th. I definitely won’t be going to see that five times. Nope. Oh yeah, also on the 18th is the limited release debut of “Bright Star,” a costume drama from acclaimed director Jane Campion about the short life and romance of poet John Keats. But that doesn’t involve Megan Fox eating people, so I don’t know about that one. “The Informant!” follows a bungling agri-business exec turned government agent and should offer Matt Damon the chance to show off his comedic chops that same week.
October 2nd is a big day: in addition to “A Serious Man,” look out for “Capitalism: A Love Story,” the latest film by controversial documentarian Michael Moore, “Zombieland,” a zombie comedy in the vein of “Shaun of the Dead,” and “The Invention of Lying,” another comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until British funnyman Ricky Gervais seizes the opportunity. The following week is, well, weak, again; all we have new will be “Couples Retreat,” an ensemble comedy with Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell and others starring as four couples who attend marriage therapy sessions at a tropical-island resort — notable if only because it’s directed by Peter Billingsley, the kid who played Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” way back when. “An Education,” a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in suburban 1960’s London (a big hit at the Sundance Festival earlier this year) should also be hitting Amherst Cinema around then.
I’m really only getting started here — adaptations of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” arrive October 16th — but I’m running out of room, and I can get carried away talking about movies. So let me just depart with a few guiding words that will sum up most of my future recommendations. Support independent filmmaking. Don’t settle for sequels and schlock. Worship Christopher Nolan. And enjoy your semester.