Nitehawk becomes a grind house for the nite as it launches THE WORKS – KURT RUSSELL with a special one-night screening of the double-feature GRINDHOUSE (PLANET TERROR and DEATH PROOF) with a presentation of “Wild Eye Releasing’s 35mm Grind House Trailer Show” before the films!

Uncensored sexuality and hardcore thrills! Kurt Russell stars as the murderous car driver in Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse contribution, Death Proof. Preying on innocent women and then brutally ending their lives in violent car crashes, this sexy serial killer meets his match when he takes on a gang of stunt women. Brilliant. But before we get to Russell, there’s Robert Rodriguez’s all-star cult film take on the zombie film, Planet Terror. Oozing brains and Rose McGowan with a machine gun leg? Sign us up! Grindhouse is well known for its fictional trailer intermission by the like of Eli Roth, Edgar Wight, and Rob Zombie but we’re taking it up a notch by screening real 35mm trailers from the golden era itself.

Part of THE WORKS – KURT RUSSELL.

Nitehawk Cinema and Tequila Ocho Present…
FILM FEAST: Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN

Two young boys, one slightly older attractive woman, one big life journey.

Go on a sexy road trip with Nitehawk and Tequila Ocho’s Film Feast presentation of Alfonso Cuarón’s Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. As always, the screening includes delicious beverage and food menu pairings related to the film. The best part? You’ll be served each course during the specific moments that inspired the film so you can experience edible sensations while watching all of the action unfold on-screen!

Alfonso Cuarón’s (Gravity) Y Tu Mama Tambien is set against the backdrop of the political and economic realities of present-day Mexico and was, upon its release, immediately notorious for its controversial depiction of sexuality. Restless while their girlfriends are in Europe for the summer, friends Tenoch Iturbide and Julio Zapata meet 20-something Luisa Cortés (wife of Tenoch’s cousin) at a lavish family wedding. They try to impress Luisa by enticing her with promises of the most beautiful secluded beach in Mexico called Boca del Cielo (aka Heaven’s Mouth). And while neither their planned trip nor the beach is true, the three set out on a road trip of discovery about themselves, friendship, the outside world and, of course, sex and seduction.

MENU
Rule #1
Oyster “Tostada”, papalo, whipped avocado, mezcal and grapefruit foam
Drink Pairing: Sangre de Charolastra – Summer Wine with Tequila and Fresh Fruit

Rule #2
Tlayuda, beef tongue, black bean puree, queso oaxaca, salsa verde, lime crema
Drink Pairing: Ruptura de la Cerveza – Smoky Tomatillo Michelada

Rule #3
Cabrito Tamale, masa, guajillo mole, banana leaf
Drink Pairing: Agua de Vida – Single Estate Tequila Ocho with Traditional Oaxacan Sangrita

Rule #4
Flourless Chocolate Chile Cake, oaxacan spiced mousse
Drink Pairing: Juchitan Old Fashioned – Tequila and Mezcal Old Fashioned with Chocolate and Chilis

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Make it a NYMPHOMANIAC double-feature as we now screen both volumes!

Lars Von Trier’s films tell the story of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who is discovered badly beaten in an alley by an older bachelor, Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), who takes her into his home. NYMPHOMANIAC: VOLUME II picks up with the story of Joe’s adulthood, where her journey of self-discovery leads to darker complications.

Nitehawk celebrates May Day with a double-feature (our first!) screening of THE WICKER MAN!

Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man is a provocative British film challenging sexuality, religion, nature, and the value of life. Oozing with sexual references (phallic inferences on regeneration, growth, and fertilization abound), every gesture is a seductive act: sex in the graveyard, young women jumping over a fertility fire, the “innkeeper’s daughter”, boys dancing around the Maypole. And all of these devious acts lead up to the big May Day spring festival when the slightly kooky Scottish community turns full-on creep – it still shocks audiences today! (We’ll be screening the new director’s cut!)

But of course, it’s the 2006 American re-make by Neil LaBute that is actually the campiest of the two. Deemed “absurd” by its star Nicolas Cage, pitting the two against each other will be the most daring gesture of all!

Starring: Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Frank Braña, Edmund Purdom

Never say that demented killers don’t have any goals. The beginning of Pieces shows an innocent young puzzle-loving boy killing his over-bearing mother with an ax and, thus, setting the course for a rather interesting obsession. Fast forward to forty years later, a college campus in Boston is experiencing a series of murders, all of young women whose body parts are stolen. Could it be him? Enter the Lieutenant who has his secret agent pose as a young college co-ed in order to lure the murderer and reveal his identity. Bloody and a favorite amongst horror fans, and surely one that has some serious mother issues, Pieces shows us that apparently you don’t have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre!

Our special screening of Bob Rafelson’s HEAD (starring The Monkees) includes an introduction by Eric Lefcowitz, author of MONKEE BUSINESS, prizes for the first ten audience members and a book signing!

Head is a trippy stream of consciousness film about the nature of free will co-written by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson that stars…the Monkees! The ultimate psychedelic-musical-comedy-adventure in which The Monkees attempt to shed their innocent persona, the film begins with the band suddenly interrupting the dedication of a bridge and, from there, works backwards to show what led up to that moment. There’s go-go dancing, an inescapable black box, and a series of unrelated genre-film inspired vignettes. It’s a cinematic act that challenges reality and confronts the idea of scripted control versus total autonomy. It’s a movie for a “turned on audience.” 

A mysterious gift transforms a bored boy’s life into one big mathemagical adventure in THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH! Presented in 35mm!

Norton Juster wrote The Phantom Tollbooth in 1961.

Milo is bored…really bored…until one day after school a tollbooth suddenly appears in his house. So he hops in the pint-sized car, sets course from the map, and heads out of San Francisco into a magical parallel universe of the Kingdom of Wisdom. The Phantom Tollbooth is a mixture of live action with animation (actually the last of the MGM films to combine the two) and is pretty trippy. Milo is accompanied by his watchdog “Tock” who has a last pocket-watch in his body as they travel to places like  Mountains of Ignorance, the Doldrums, Dictionopolis, Digitopolis, and the Castle in the Air. The goal? To rescue Princess Rhyme and Reason! The eccentricity in this film is certain to enchant and educate the young ones while blowing the parents’ minds. Plus Chuck Jones (from Looney Tunes fame) co-wrote, co-directed and animated the film!

Part of Nitehawk’s February LITTLE BOOKWORMS brunch series.

A young boy searches to save his lost mouse from the Tower of London in THE BOY WHO TURNED YELLOW.

Similar to their lavishly beautiful films like The Red Shoes, acclaimed British directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (aka The Archers) produce a colourful children’s masterpiece in their last collaborative venture, The Boy Who Turned Yellow. Originally made for the Children’s Film Foundation as an educational tool to explain the science of electricity to children, this film tells the story of a young boy who is in search of his pet mouse that he lost while on a field trip to the Tower of London. Heading back to London to find “Alice”, he turns yellow on the Tube and finds a man who travels via electricity, also yellow. Adults can search for subtextual message about this dreamlike science film that certainly eschews narrative cohesive for gorgeous visuals while kids enjoy the adventurous spirit!

We’ll also be playing a short animated film before the feature!

Part of Nitehawk’s CHEEKY MONKEYS May brunch children’s series.

Please sir, I want some more…an orphan runs away to hook up with young pickpockets in late 1880s London.

This Best Picture Academy Award winning film is a huge musical production based off the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. In Act 1, we see young Oliver loses a bet to ask the cruel headmaster of the orphanage for some more gruel on behalf of the starving kids. Displeased with this gesture, Oliver is sent into labor at a funeral home where really awful acts cause him to escape. Heading into London in Act II, his life becomes more complicated as he falls into a seedy underworld helmed by a murderer and a pickpocket. It all may sound dark but, rest assured, Oliver gets the good life in the end! Although not as heavy as Dickens’ novel, the film retains some of the subtextual meaning for the adults while being more upbeat and entertaining for the kids.

Part of Nitehawk’s CHEEKY MONKEYS May brunch children’s series.

An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical conman search for the missing component to a magic spell useful to the defense of Britain. Screening in 35mm!

Set in England during World War II, this Disney musical combines live action with lively animated sequences…and Angela Lansbury! The adventure in Bedknobs and Broomsticks starts during the Blitz when the three Rawlings children are sent to the safe Dorset village of Pepperinge Eye. There they are placed in the care of an apprentice witch, Eglantine Price, whose early attempts at magic create hilarious results (like turning young Charlie into a white rabbit). When she successfully casts a traveling spell on an ordinary bedknob something extraordinary happens…they fly to the animated Isle of Naboombu to find a powerful spell that will save England. Kids will be bewitched by the stunning visuals and creative storyline while adults will appreciate subtle nods like the two “ladies of the night” in the Portobello Road scene!

Part of Nitehawk’s CHEEKY MONKEYS May brunch children’s series.