Loving movies is about more than just shelling out cash for the latest Hollywood drivel (and the occasional hit). It's also about supporting the local film scene and this Friday, April 15 anyone who gives a shit should head over to the old Rainbow theatre under the conference centre from noon to 2 p.m. for the Whistler Film Festival Society's open house.
The WFF people want to transform our old movie house into a state-of-the-art, kick-ass theatre with the latest digital projection technology.
Imagine plush seats, a killer lounge and the best picture and sound quality money can buy. This kind of undertaking requires a shitload of capital to pull off and the Film Fest is not all the way there yet, they need some public money from the town, province and everyday people.
Not everyone thinks this is a worthwhile expense.
But I do. This theatre, managed properly, will be good for Whistler and good for Whistler Film. Digital projection is the future - Hollywood is always looking to save money these days and the process of printing and shipping 35mm films all over the continent is not cheap and will soon change. Without the proper projectors we will soon be missing out on some of the world's best movies.
For another thing, Whistler needs to diversify - we are quickly realizing we can't survive on skiers & boarders & bikers & golfers alone. Cultural tourism is a market we need to tap into. It's no secret the film industry has dumptrucks full of money, so lets get some of that cash into our pockets by having a world-class venue operating year round, drawing them in.
Third, aside from cementing the Whistler Film Fest on the world stage (more cash, bragging rights and better movies for us) this theatre will provide local filmmakers with another venue to hold premiers and showcase our stuff. It will be swanky, it will be sexy and I bet the popcorn will be the best you've ever had. But don't take my word for it. Go this Friday at noon and check it out, ask questions and then decide for yourself. If we love movies it's our job to go get informed.
The Village 8, currently Whistler's only source for slick flicks, is opening Scream 4 this Friday. It's been ten years since Scream 3 and Wes Craven ( Last house on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Nightmare on Elm Street ) is unleashing his post-modern deconstructionist horror franchise on a new generation.
Neve Campbell is back as the victim-turned-bestselling-author returning home to promote her book on the ten-year anniversary of the original Scream massacre. It doesn't take long for some anniversary slayings to commence and before we know it scantily clad high-schoolers are dying while analyzing life as art as cliché as death as a film-within-a-film. How meta.
For horror fans, it's a fun (albeit a bit too long at 1:46 min) romp through a flurry of in-jokes, brutal stabbings and genre deconstruction. Amidst the murder, Craven comments on the state of contemporary horror, the rise of celebrity and social media. Overall, Scream 4 is good enough, especially for a "Part 4."
In keeping with self-reflective horror, the download of the week is Rubber, a bizarre little (82 min) movie where the killer is a tire, like off a car, with psychokinetic powers that's rolling through a desert killing spree. It's pretty deadpan and real arty but Rubber musician/director Quentin Dupieux also slips social commentary into a bloody, quirky, ingenious piece of filmmaking. You'll either like this one or hate it but the thing I love about horror is it teaches us mortality. Appreciate the people you love. Right now. Don't wait. We don't get a Part 5.
