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Mr. Beaks Wants To Remind You About SPELLBOUND!!

Published at:  May 16, 2003 1:38:54 PM CDT



Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.



Still haven’t seen this one m’self. It’s driving me crazy, too. This and DOWN WITH LOVE are on the menu for the weekend. I’ve got a rare moment where I can pause between one project and the next, and I want to spend as much of my free time catching up on movies as I can. Here’s Beaks to explain just why this tiny documentary deserves your attention this weekend in the shadow of the mighty MATRIX...


This is my penance.

Last week, I raved over the shamelessly stupid, blow-it-up-to-Detroit-and-back spectacle of BAD BOYS II. For those concerned souls who emailed me wondering if I’d lost my mind, rest assured that it was only a temporary madness, a dizzying sugar high brought on by too much eye candy. I’m feeling much better (though I still say there’s little chance of anything in THE MATRIX RELOADED living up to the calamitous action heights of BAY’S REVENGE), but now I must wean myself off the empty calories lest I binge-‘n-bloat like Augustus Gloop. Happily, I’ve got just the film to provide some ample nourishment for the heart and the soul.

Remember SPELLBOUND? No, for the 1,138th time, it’s *not* the Hitchcock thriller with the Dali dream sequence, but the Academy Award nominated documentary about the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. If it sounds familiar, that’s because I talked it up back in March when it was vying for the Oscar. Of course, it would eventually lose to the more widely seen BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a word-of-mouth hit at the Film Forum in New York City, where it has been pulling in over $17,000-per weekend since April 30th (its numbers actually improved in its second frame). Now, the film is gearing up for a wider release planned to coincide with the Spelling Bee finals later this month. Starting this weekend (May 16th), those of you in Los Angeles, Chicago, Hartford, and a few of the outlying areas in New York State will be able to check this lovely film out for yourself. Catch SPELLBOUND at one of these theaters:

Laemmle Sunset 5 – Los Angeles, CA

Laemmle Playhouse 7 – Pasadena, CA

Laemmle Towne Center 5 – Encino, CA

University 6 – Irvine, CA

Real Art Ways – Hartford, CT

Clearview Claridge Cinemas – Montclair, NJ

Lesser Kew Gardens – Queens, NY

Ackerman Jacob Burns Film Center – Pleasantville, NY

Ackerman Fine Arts Cinema – Scarsdale, NY

Landmark Century Centre – Chicago, IL

Lesser York Square – New Haven, CT

Cinema Arts Center – Huntington, NY

In the coming weeks, SPELLBOUND will expand to San Francisco, Boston, Houston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami and most of the major markets. My advice is to keep checking the listings for your local art house or specialty theater. This is a film you do not want to miss; an absorbing, endlessly entertaining documentary that offers up the heartening spectacle of intellectual achievement. It’s also Rated G, so you can take the kids, which I fully recommend, as I think youngsters will really respond to watching their peers compete on a wholly different kind of playing field.

Just don’t forget, with all of the RELOAD-ing going on this weekend, that there’s some noteworthy counter-programming out there. It’s called SPELLBOUND. See it.

Faithfully submitted,

Mr. Beaks

Speaking of Beaks and BAD BOYS II, I’m still hearing from him and the people he went with that the freeway chase in that film is just as good and just as crazy as the one in MATRIX RELOADED. Kills me that Beaks has already seen that and NEMO and FREDDY VS. JASON and so many other summer films. All I know is, I’m seeing HULK before that bastard or I’m going to die trying.



"Moriarty" out.









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    Readers Talkback

  • May 16, 2003 3:29:02 PM CDT

    I'm not first, am I?

    by philsy

    Spellbound rocks. I saw it last summer at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The film is so engrossing that you really do cheer for these kids, and you're heartbroken when they lose.

    Phil

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 17, 2003 1:42:46 AM CDT

    Not my favoite Hitchcock.........

    by jimmy jazz

    I found it to be hampered by a fairly contrived script(even by Hitchcock standards) and a typically wooden performance by Gregory Peck. Even the much ballyhooed Dali dream sequences to be rather silly. But, man oh man that Ingrid Bergman was luscious, wasn't she? Even so, I still liked her better in Notorious
    What....read the article? Oh, my mistake, never mind.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 17, 2003 1:58:35 AM CDT

    Jimmy Jazz is our Talk Back Winner!

    by mrbeaks

    Your pre-viewed VHS copy of DISORDERLIES is on the way, sir. Congratulations. And though I don't think I'd be that far off in assuming that gimp guy lives under or rock (or, more likely, a Hardees dumpster), he's kinda right about the unduly pedantic tone of this little piece. I make it sound like y'all wouldn't know of this film were it not for cultured ol' me. I apologize. To hell with me! Still, I hope you guys give SPELLBOUND a chance when it hits your area. It's a fine little flick despite the absence of Ingrid Bergman.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 17, 2003 5:45:23 AM CDT

    As a former spelling bee-er myself I look forward to this one.

    by cash bailey

    Though I doubt it will screen near me. I'll probably have to search it out on video.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 17, 2003 8:32:35 AM CDT

    The best movie about a spelling bee: "A Boy Named Charlie Brown"

    by the g-man

    Seriously. Of all the Peanuts adaptations, this feature length film is second only to the Christmas special for actual pathos.

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