Movie Natters: March 5, 2007 Archive

A teachable moment

Posted at 1:35 PM on March 5, 2007 by Euan Kerr

Malcolm the 16 year old and I decided at the last minute to go see a 3.15 "Zodiac" matinee Saturday afternoon. We dashed down and got in as the trailers were running.

"Zodiac" is a sprawling tale, spread over many years, with each scene seeded with clues. It's one of those movies where you don't want to miss anything, and even then you are sometimes left scratching your head. (It's like "Syriana" in a way.)

In our haste to get out the door, I had eyeballed another theaters start times and gleaned that the film was 90 minutes long.

Sadly I hadn't realized that the megaplex was using two screens to show "Zodiac." As the film progressed I really began regretting that second coffee and third glass of water I had downed at lunch.

You begin running the route to the restroom through your head. "If I go now, how much will I miss?" I decided to tough it out.

"Zodiac" is 158 minutes long. 2 hours and 38 minutes. It doesn't drag, in fact it's really engrossing, but I wish I'd not misread the time.

Perhaps there should be a little note placed in movie ads, next to the rating, indicating the length. It would warn who just had a lot of coffee at lunch/dinner. It would also help to have it more clearly on the DVD cover. It's a sad reality at our house that we have to plan our viewing round kid pick-ups, and we seem to spend a lot of time peering through the credits printed in tiny letters on the back looking for the duration to decide whether we should watch "Movie A" or "Movie B" so we can be on time.

Thus: "Zodiac" Rated: R Time: 158.

Simple.

It'll never happen.

Twin Cities Fourth Arab Film Festival coming soon

Posted at 3:09 PM on March 5, 2007 by Euan Kerr

The local Arab cultural group Mizna mounts its annual film festival March 29th through April 1st at the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights. You can find the schedule on the Mizna site.

The group hold a preview/fundraiser tomorrow night in the Red Room at the Loring Pasta Bar, with a showing of "Alexandria... Why?" directed by Youssef Chahine. Since it's release in 1978 it's been considered a landmark in Arab film, although it was banned in some Arab countries.