Little hand says it's time to rock and roll.

Sorry for the short notice, but good opportunities for rooftop movies this time of year are harder to come by than in July and August, and with the early week warm front and the fact that Angel and I are otherwise disposed later in the week, tomorrow night is looking like an excellent night to sit under the stars with a movie.

With that in mind, we're making last year's Patrick Swayze tribute (which kicked off with Roadhouse) an annual event with a screening of his 1991 action masterpiece, Point Break, in which he plays a bleached blonde surfer who accepts FBI agent Keanu Reeves into his surf-gang as Reeves is learning how to surf in order to bust a ring of Presidentially-masked robbers who the Bureau also suspects are hanging ten in their time away from crime. Reeves goes a little native as he is seduced by the thrill-seeking allure of the waves, while Swayze is perhaps more than he first appears to be. All in all, a classic.

It's also directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who I'd say is now a shoo-in for a Best Picture nomination for this year for The Hurt Locker, and like her latest, it's yet another example of why she's one of the best action directors in Hollywood, even if she's sadly underemployed and, it seems, passed over for more marquee properties in favor of male directors who are usually incapable of making action flicks quite as gripping and smart as she is at her best. So we have Patrick Swayze (reason enough for you to show up), Keanu Reeves in a role you won't hate him in, Gary Busey before he went batshit insane, and some of the best action sequences ever put to film. Sold, see you there!

Bring a hoodie, or a blanket, or a slanket, or a snuggie, because it can get a little chilly up there in September. Flasks of whiskey also help.

Bill Murray rarity!

Back in 1984, Tom Schiller made Nothing Lasts Forever, his one and only feature film, an oddball sci-fi flick about an alternate NYC taken over by the Port Authority, and a young artist forced to work in the Holland Tunnel after failing an art test, with Bill Murray as the driver of an interstellar bus line carrying the elderly to space. Schiller was one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live, and directed a number of the short films that appeared on the show in its early years. Dan Aykroyd also co-stars, and Bill Murray has, I'm told, stated from time to time that this is his favorite film that he was ever in.

Sadly, the film all but vanished. Wikipedia is a little conflicted on whether it was ever released or not, with the entry on the film stating it had a very limited release, and the entry for Schiller stating that it was never released at all. Either way, it's safe to say that few, if any, people ever saw a public screening of it in the 80s, and a handful of folks have been lucky enough to see it in special museum/retrospective screenings here and there over the years, usually in New York. It has never been released on home video in any form.

Is it that much of a stretch, then, to wonder if Wednesday night might be the first semi-public screening in the District of Columbia in 25 years, if not ever? Are you really going to let yourself miss that? I didn't think so. We'll see you on Wednesday night.

Rooftop Movie Club: Demented and Sad, But Social

Unfortunately, circumstances have conspired to make yet another tribute to the departed necessary, with the passing of that master chronicler of 80s teen angst, Mr. John Hughes.

And no film of his demonstrates that more perfectly than the story of the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess and the criminal. Keep your fingers crossed that this week's thunderstorms take a break for a few hours Wednesday night (unfortunately, Thursday isn't an option for us, otherwise we'd do it after the cold front moves through), and come join us for The Breakfast Club.

Bring beer, munchies, and, if you're feeling so inclined, a Cap'n Crunch & Pixie Stix sandwich.

EDIT: Current weather.com forecast puts the chance of rain at 15% or less between now and midnight, so we're going for it. See you on the roof!

Los Vampiros del Mar!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the roof...

We've been talking about it all summer, and it's finally here: Piranha II: The Spawning, aka P2:tS, aka (as the Spanish preferred to call it) Piraña 2: Los Vampiros Del Mar.

This one comes to us from the director who brought us The Terminator, Aliens, and who has promised to revolutionize the cinema as we know it with his upcoming Avatar. That's right, the director who made the highest grossing film in history (Titanic) got his start on this low budget Italian-produced B-movie, getting promoted from special effects coordinator to the director's chair after the original director quit. Everybody's gotta start somewhere, right?

Of course, it's a pretty blatant attempt to continue to cash in on sea-based horror in the post-Jaws years, but by '81 the formula was getting pretty stale. Unable to top even the worst of the other copycats, or its predecessor, the surprisingly excellent John Sayles-scripted enviro-horror of the original Piranha, Cameron and the Italians followed genre convention and did what any tired horror sequel must: upped the amounts of gore, sex, and death. Oh yeah, and they gave the Piranha a genetic mutation that now allows them to fly, so you're not even safe if you can manage to get out of the water.

It's never funny when it supposed to be, but is pretty much hilarious the rest of the time. And still far better than suffering through Titanic. In fact, I think that movie might have benefitted from some carnivorous flying fish.

As usual, we'll start off with some classic animation. But before we go into the feature, we'll also take a moment for a public service message to remind everyone, as P2:tS demonstrates, that the outdoors contain many dangers. This will come in the form of perhaps the strangest 1970s educational film you've ever seen.

Bring the drinks and snacks of your choice, and if you have easy-to-transport lawn/camp chairs, feel free to bring those as well so we don't get as many dirty looks from the rest of the rooftop for monopolizing the chairs. See you there!

Le Roi est Mort

We at Dorchester Rooftop Movies have had a sad couple of weeks. We'd like to observe a moment of silence for Farrah of the feathery hair. Give a spirited HEY-O! to the dearly departed Mr. McMahon. A heartily shouted lament that Billy Mays will never be here for another indispensable product. But we're all still reeling from the shock of the fallen King of Pop. And so, we at the Rooftop Movies' Office of Programming, Pretension, and Arbitrary Decision-Making feel we would be remiss if we didn't use our unique platform to make some kind of larger tribute. As such, we must first apologize for yet another delay of the hotly anticipated screening of James Cameron's ode to toothy flying sea-dwellers (Piranha 2: The Spawning). That will, again, have to wait for another week.

Instead, this Wednesday we'll be showing Moonwalker, Jackson's 1988 companion film to the Bad album. The movie consists of a number of loosely related short films, and as such, we can't help but feel it is likely the structural basis for Robert Altman's Short Cuts, and we trust that Altman will not be stepping forward to dispute this claim. It's also a rarity, having long since gone out of print on both VHS and DVD. So when the hasty re-issue hits stores in a few weeks, you may sneer down your nose at everyone else on your block and tell them that you just attended a screening weeks ago, so no thank you very much.

In keeping with the usual tradition, the feature will be preceded by a cartoon; which in this case should hopefully be an episode of the Jackson 5ive animated series from the early 70s.

As usual, bring any beverages or snacks you'd like to enjoy, and keep an eye on the weather in case it's going to get chilly after dark.

Single white sequined glove optional.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING NOTE:
Prior to the Jackson 5ive cartoon, we'll be showing a short film by Susan Etheridge, currently untitled, depicting how alcohol, uneven pavement, pyromaniacal boys, and illegal fireworks that bear the name HELLRAISER, are a certain recipe for disaster and near-death experiences. It's sort of a public service message. With fire. The director and many of the actors will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

First night, Take 3 (THE GATE!)

After our first two attempts at a rooftop movie were foiled by inclement weather, we've regrouped, and developed a three-pronged strategy to finally have a successful night:

1. Ditch Spaceballs. The gods are obviously angry at Mel Brooks. They must have seen Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It at full price; I'd be pissed, too. So with apologies to Mr. Brooks, you'll have to get your schwartz on on your own time.

2. Sneakiness. By sending this evite out semi-last minute, hopefully, the forces of raininess will be unable to marshal their troops against us.

3. Accuweather. Actually checking the weather in advance and scheduling on a night where there's virtually no chance of rain might help, too. We've done so this time.

So join us on this Wednesday night for a screening of a classic bit of 80s horror, The Gate, in which a bunch of kids accidentally unleash the forces of Hell via a hole in their backyard left over after a tree is removed. I like to think of it as a horror version of the cross-breeding of The Goonies and Home Alone. Less Culkin, less Chunk, more demons. Also, the feature film debut of Stephen Dorff.

Same schedule and pointers as usual apply: bring a few drinks, any snacks you want, and we'll get started with a classic cartoon as soon as it's fully dark out and then move on to the feature.

PS- For those who were looking forward to Piranha 2, we're saving that for another week.

PPS- It's been brought to my attention that this film is currently scheduled for a 3-D remake directed by Alex Winter, who you may remember from such roles as the vampire with a really bad mullet in The Lost Boys. Consider this screening your preparation for seeing the remake.

Rooftop Movies Strike Back: The Schwartz is Strong

Things were touch and go for a little while there for the start of season three of rooftop movies at the Dorchester: our projector was repossessed over the winter (some might say "Indian gifted", but those people would be culturally insensitive assholes, now wouldn't I..er...they?). That was a dark, dark day, indeed. I'm sorry if we ever expressed any doubt that the movies might not happen, for I knew this was a tradition that was irrepressible and essential: hence I went out and found a replacement projector that no one can take away. And I found it, as the TV man says, on eBay.

See, I'm firmly committed to every American's god given right to watch movies in the out of doors with a cold beer in hand. If I might quote one Chris Klimek upon the news that a new projector had been procured, "America, Fuck Yeah!". I couldn't let you all down; it'd be unpatriotic.

Weather permitting, the lights go down and the screen comes up on a third summer up on the roof on Thursday of next week for anyone who cares to join us. We'll be screening a crowd pleaser for the first time out, Spaceballs. Please feel free to recite lines along with the movie like you're back in your parents' basement watching it in middle school. Or was that just me? We'll likely move things into more oddball territory next time out with James Cameron's auspicious debut directorial effort, Piranha II. Bring snacks, bring beer, and bring a blanket, as it can get chilly up there after sundown in early and late summer.

EDIT: Due to impending rain tonight, we're postponing until next week.

EDIT 2: Make-up date rained out as well! Curses!