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Beach Casual Food & Attitude
Bc^mYgugHoJidawgarty
in our Private Room
or let us Cater
your Holiday Party
THIS YEAR
ARE YOU
GOING TO BE
Give Your Special Someone,
Babysitter, Friend, Teacher
or Designated Driver a
Gnat’s Gift Card
Mon-Sun 11:30am-Unlil • Plenty of Parking • Catering & Private Parties
1080 Baxter St. • 706-850-5858 • www.gnatslanding.net
DOWNTOWN
NEW YEAR'S EVE *
Atlanta's premier
New Year's Party!
HW.T
• t & t * e *
CM fMt?
5 Party Areas!
6 Bands, 3 DJ's & 4 Comedians
DAVE
Modern SktH*
December 31st, 2008
8:30pm - 2am
FM's official New Year's Eve Party
Hyatt Regency, Downtown
featuring live performances by...
Young MC, Cracker.
Modern Skirts, Metalsome.lnc,
DJ Jammin' Dave, Martay Partay,
Reality Check, & Lethal
Rhythms Entertainment
Party features:
5 1/2 hour premium open bar, heavy hors d'oeuvres, carving and pasta
stations, decorations ond party favors,
Atlanta's Largest Balloon Drop @ Midnight, & late night breakfast
Tickets:
Tickets oh sale nowl
Regular Party Tickets $119 * VIP Tickets $175
(prices will increase as event gets closer)
www.downtowncountdown.net
0
CITY BO
ScnoaitPaww
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tf&LK
“j* $5*** iimi *"'■?«
NEWS OF ATHENS’ CINEMA SCENE
Check This Out: I just decided—just now!—
that instead of trying to think of something
pithy to say every two weeks in this section
of the column, I'm going to tell you all the
last movie I saw. I'm the kind of person who
loves little lists and surveys and quick answers
to simple questions, so this actually excites
me. Also, obviously, I think people should
talk to each other about the movies they see.
Sometimes, of course, it may be boring to you,
or ridiculous, but hopefully it will be a tiny
morsel of sweet uselessness to get us in the
mood for the serious stuff. Sometimes, also,
this will be an embarrassing confession, but
not this week. I just watched Edward Yang's A
Brighter Summer Day for the first time. It's not
an easy film to see—it's a bootleg DVD—but
if you're able, you should. The epic (237 min.)
1991 Taiwanese film about young love and
violence in the streets of Taipei circa 1960
deserves its reputation as an unsung master
piece. I'll be watching it again immediately.
Speaking of Hard Films to See: Does anybody
have access to Jonathan Demme's original
cut of Swing Shift (1984)? The excellence
of Rachel Getting Married has got me long
ing anew to see the legendary "un-re-edited
by Goldie Hawn" version of Demme's only
dramatic feature between Melvin and Howard
be a very limited engagement, so don't get
caught napping, and please check www.athen-
scine.com for updates.
V Once-Local Boy Makes Good Films: Former
Athenian, filmmaker, and my old pal Matthew
Buzzell made a documentary about the much
loved New York band Luna called tell Me Do
You Miss Me, in 2006. It's screening at Cine
on Wednesday, Dec. 17. You may have heard
more about Buzzell's other 2006 film, Putting
the River in Reverse, which documented Allen
Toussaint and Elvis Costello's recording ses
sion in New Orleans not long after Hurricane
Katrina. For Tell Me Do You Miss Me Buzzell was
granted a truly personal viewpoint of Luna's
poignant and difficult final tour, accompany
ing the band as it played its way around the
world, feted by adoring fans and press but not
really making any money. Check Cine's website
for more details.
ACC Library Film Stuff: Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3
p.m., as part of its ongoing discussion series
"Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the
Graphic Novel," the ACC Library will host a
screening of American Splendor. The 2003
film, directed by Shari Springer Berman and
Robert Pulcini, is based on the autobiograph
ical comics of Harvey Pekar and stars Paul
Matthew Buzzell’s doc on Luna, Tell Me Do You Miss Me, is at Cine Wednesday, Dec. 17.
(1980) and Something Wild (1986). I honestly
don't think the released cut is terrible, but
everything I've ever read about it says the
original cut is just a whole different film, and
possibly Demme's best. Anyone?
Sorry for the Digressions: On to local cin
ematic news. The "Coming Soon" page on
Cine's website is looking pretty exciting
right now. Starting this Friday, Dec. 12, is
Ashes of Time Redux, Wong Kar-Wai's criti
cally applauded reworking of his 1994 wuxia
drama. Anyone who was disappointed with My
Blueberry Nights earlier this year (I wasn't)
might want to give the director of Days of
Being Wild, In the Mood for Love and 2046
another shot. This is supposed to be terrific:
more of Wong's stoic, lovelorn characters
wandering around, trying to find ways to live
with themselves—but with swords! Also on
Friday, Dec. 12, Synecdoche, New York finally
comes to Athens. The directorial debut by star
screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John
Malkovich, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind) has been near the top of my need-to-
see list since it opened on the coasts, like, a
year 3nd a half ago. This looks like it could
Giamatti and Hope Davis. A post-screening
discussion on the film and Peka/s comics will
be led by Chris Pizzino of the UGA English
Department. The next two iFilms Series
screenings are Ladies in Lavender on Thursday,
Dec. 11, and Antonia on Thursday, Dec. 18,
both at 7 p.m. Ladies in Lavender, directed
by veteran British actor Charles Dance, stars
Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith
as spinster sisters whose comfortable lives
are shaken up when they find a handsome
stranger washed up on the Cornwall shore.
The Brazilian drama Antonia, directed by Tata
Amaral, follows the triumphs and tragedies
of four young women who form a rap group
in the hope of escaping the poverty of the
Sao Paolo slums. All screenings are in the
Auditorium of the ACC Library, 2025 Baxter
St., www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us.
End Transmission: Finally, I would like to sug
gest that, this holiday season, we all watch
Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner
with those we love. Let me know how it works
out at film(Sflagpole.com.
Dave Marr
22 FLAGPOLE.COM • DECEMBER 10,2008