Dear New Parkway Lover:
In an effort to get some more butts in the seats at the New Parkway, we’re making a few changes with more to come in June. I think you all know that the goal for this theater is sustainability and we’ve been losing money so far so we’ve got to tweak things here and there to stay afloat. We’ve found that folks love our special events but we need more people coming out to our regular old features, which we think are pretty good offerings. Won’t you help spread the word a be a tad more of a regular at what we hope is or will become your favorite East Bay Theater…Here are some of the highlights of the upcoming week or two:
· Tonight’s Parkway Classic is Wild at Heart and we’ve got the movie and the book’s author, Barry Gifford, here in person. Here the Q&A, get a book signed, see a classic.
· We’ve got at least three Warriors’ games as they bounce their way towards the NBA championship. Scheduled games in the best viewing room in town are Friday at 7:30, Sunday at 12:30, and Tuesday at 6:30. Come show your love!
· Shining Alert! We’ve got the double feature of Room 237 followed by The Shining happening tomorrow night. Scary good!
· We’ve got Feelmore Fresh tomorrow night with Adults Only. Where else can you see porn in a real theater without creepy dudes? Here, that’s where, and without the creep! We call it erotica and follow it up with a community dialogue, all brought to you by Feelmore 510. Starting at 10:30 or so this week.
· How about Streets of Fire with the Spinning Platters on Saturday night? Or The Wiz Sing-Along with Spectrum Queer Media on Sunday afternoon?
· Mother’s Day is Sunday! And we’ve got the good mother, bad mother double feature brunch. Or if you prefer your movies to be stranger and more Thrillvilling, you might spend your Mother’s Day evening with us with Mothra, the mother of all moths, or something like that.
· Due to public demand, we’re starting a Sunday night Live TV segment from 9-11PM. That means Mad Men live from 10-11PM and then perhaps some rotating shows beforehand. This week, we’ll likely show the airing of Iron Chef. And we’ll always have our special drinks to go along with Mad Men and perhaps all of our TV offerings. $5 gets you a seat in front of the big screen.
· Oppa Oakland Style is back on Monday with Peepli Live. Peep that!
· Wednesday is changing dramatically here at the New Parkway. We’re ditching our two afternoon showings, swapping out the 2 for 1 ticket special (why didn’t enough people come for that?) for Happy Hour drinks and prices all night long, and we might add some special programming as well.
· Next Thursday, we’ve got Battle Royale followed by Shaun of the Dead. Not a double feature, but it would make a doubly good night at the New Parkway.
And yet another plug for some upcoming things, including the brilliant Brando:
· We’re doing our second movie marathon on May 19th, this time showing the Godfather trilogy. That means roughly 10 hours of mostly outstanding moviemaking and some optional movie-inspired food and drink. Get your tickets today!
· The Champions League Final is only 3 weeks away. It’s sure to sell out, and if we fill one house in advance, we may very well be able to show it on two screens, and make it even grander than the Super Bowl where they play that other football.
And here’s what Adam has to say about our features. So clever…
Hi All:
The weather is starting to pick up. That delicious summer haze has finally started to descend upon us. After months of staying in and catching up on 'House of Cards' and 'Justified', we can finally start to open the curtains and enjoy the glorious sunshine. And you will thoroughly enjoy that sunshine as you walk from your car to the New Parkway. Because there is something uniquely wonderful about going to a movie when it is beautiful outside. The popcorn tastes fresher (we buy old kernels in the Winter), the beer tastes colder (we turn our fridges on in the Summer), and the staff is friendlier (they drink the cold beer and eat the fresh popcorn before work). So embrace the sunshine and sit indoors for a great movie.
Olympus Has Fallen
I went through a period back from 2005-2007 when I watched an ungodly (God likes moderation) amount of documentaries. They were informative and gripping and brought a number of unknown topics to light. I felt smart and well-informed. But those documentaries didn't have a ridiculously armed war helicopter shooting the living hell out of the White House. And sometimes that's exactly what the doctor ordered. I find perverse joy in stupid, fun action movies that know exactly how silly they are and proceed with their tongue firmly in cheek.
This movie could have been made by Kim Jong-Un's propaganda department and segments will likely be shown in North Korea in years to come as factual events. Gerard Butler continues where '300' left off with somewhat limited acting skills but impeccable action star skills. Please proceed as follows: Walk in, buy popcorn and beer, leave brain at door (you can collect it later), enjoy the spectacle and then go to see a documentary (to fill up the cotton candy swirling around your head).
Disconnect
Do you think the Internet is evil? Not evil like a Bond villain, sitting at the bottom of a volcano, stroking a hairless cat, while causing mayhem. Maybe evil is too strong a word. How about inherently dangerous? If so, this movie is right up your alley. If not, just wait. When you drunkenly Facebook message your ex, this movie will be perfect for you. Jason Bateman headlines his first major dramatic role. And he delivers with a strong performance.
Murderball director Henry Alex Rubin explores the destructive potential of the internet in this ensemble drama. Even in the heightened awareness of a post- age, it is naturally gripping (NPR). It is an absorbing analysis of who we are as a people living in an advanced electronic age that is both potentially dangerous and convenient.
Murderball director Henry Alex Rubin explores the destructive potential of the internet in this ensemble drama. Even in the heightened awareness of a post- age, it is naturally gripping (NPR). It is an absorbing analysis of who we are as a people living in an advanced electronic age that is both potentially dangerous and convenient.
Trance
Some rare directors are just so good they never make a bad movie. Danny Boyle is definitely in this category. After taking a time-out to complete the masterful Olympics opening ceremony last year, Boyle is back with an all-star cast in this gripping psychological thriller. Simon (James McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer, teams up with a criminal gang to steal a painting worth millions of dollars, but after suffering a blow to the head during the heist he awakens to discover he has no memory of where he hid the painting. The gang's leader (Vincent Cassel) hires a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) to delve into the darkest recesses of Simon's psyche.
Like any good Hitchcock movie, this movie has plenty of twists and turns and keeps you guessing until the end. The acting is superb. Be warned: it requires some semblance of thought and concentration on your part. Well- more than Iron Man 3 anyway.
Adam
And now for more information about our repertory and special events programming:
New Parkway Family Classics—This week we’re showing Charlotte’s Web on Friday afternoon at 4 and Saturday at 12:30. If this is not a family classic, then what is? And this week, and from this point forward, we are partnering with the lovely and informative 510families.com who demand that every single one of their followers come to this very very cool, very family friendly theater. Heed their call!
Spectrum Queer Cinema—On Sunday at around 3:30, Spectrum Queer Media presents The Wiz Sing-Along. Bring mom and the entire family out to have fun singing along with one of the most incredible Broadway film song lists EVER!
Thrillville—on Sunday at 6:15PM or so, join us as THRILLVILLE THEATER presents MOTHRA (1961), hosted by renowned kaiju eigu expert and award-winning author AUGUST RAGONE ("Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters") What better way to celebrate Mothra's - that is, Mother's Day than with the mother of all Japanese monster movies, the massively maternal masterpiece MOTHRA (1961)! Plus trivia, prizes and surprises from our celebrity guest host. Presented in original Japanese language with English subtitles. Don't worry, you'll pick up the plot easily enough - it's right there in the title.
Sunday TV Night—Always something that’s being broadcast between 9-11 on Sunday nights. Mad Men with special drinks and likely Iron Chef this week.
Baby Brigade—We’ve got Trance and Disconnect for our 4:30 and 6:30 Baby Brigades on Monday. That’s a whole bunch of thrill and mind twists and turns. But good stuff and worth considering making it your baby’s first double-feature. Come on, you owe it to yourself. And for this as well, we are partnering with the energetic and inquisitive 510families.com who demand that every single one of their followers come to this very very cool, very family friendly theater. Again, heed their call!
Parkway Classics—Will the Thrill's PARKWAY CLASSICS presents SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004). Arguably the funniest "zomedy" ever made is best enjoyed in a pub that also serves pizza, surrounded by hungry, drooling….fellow patrons. They'll be laughing, too. Starring Simon Pegg (co-writer) and Edgar Wright (writer/director) as the affable British slackers fighting off hordes of rabid, ravenous zombies (the old school slow but scary kind). The apocalypse has never been so horrifying - or hilarious.
Thanks for your continued and growing support of the New Parkway Theater. We hope to see you soon!
Moses
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