Notes From The Program Director | Week of April 18th, 2025

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Notes From The Program Director

Week of April 18, 2025

Melissa Tamminga

Rich Text

April 18-24, 2025

Hello, friends!

This week, the warm-hearted comedy-drama The Ballad of Wallis Island continues, and I'm also delighted to say Ryan Coogler's electrifying new feature film, Sinners, begins its run with us.

Coogler is one of the most extraordinary filmmakers working today, and from the very beginning of his career, he has been a director to reckon with, coming out of the gate at Sundance with his transcendent and devastating directorial debut, Fruitvale Station, a biographical film that documents the events leading up to the wrongful death of Oscar Grant, who was killed by a police officer at the BART Station in Oakland, CA, Coogler's hometown. After Fruitvale Station (which also gained the Un Certain Regard distinction at Cannes), Coogler quickly proved he not only had arthouse cred but also blockbuster chops with his terrific films Creed and Black Panther (for me, the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Sinners is now the first film based on wholly original material that he's written and directed since Fruitvale Station.

For Sinners, Coogler assembled an Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning crew–composer Ludwig Goransson, editor Michael P. Shawver, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, production designer Hannah Beachler–and a brilliant cast, including frequent Coogler collaborator Michael B. Jordan, playing a dual role as twins, and also Hailiee Steinfeld, Tenaj L. Jackson, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Li Jun Li, Omar Benson Miller, Jayme Lawson – and even musician Buddy Guy. (Be sure to stay for the credits and the post-credits sequence – you won't want to miss them.)

And there is little else you will see this year that is like Sinners: it is a rip-roaring edge-of-your-seat blockbuster film with all the bells and whistles; it is a period film, set in 1930's Mississippi, the Jim Crow and Depression era; it is a film that fluidly and adeptly taps into several genres; it is a sexy vampire film (although Coogler is so careful to immerse us in the setting and characters, the vampire element doesn't even emerge until halfway through); it is a layered, nuanced sociopolitical film about the bloodthirsty lust of white power structures as those seek to feed on Black America; it is a film about the joy and power of Black music and art, those who create it and those who seek to steal it. It is, in fact, a film, as some have noted, that has so many layers that perhaps it shouldn't work as well as it does – and yet it does, beautifully, and it thus becomes one of those films where rewatches will surely become ever more rewarding.

Indeed, as David Rooney notes for The Hollywood Reporter, "There's a lot going on here — an evocative portrait of life in the Jim Crow South; a pulpy explosion of vampire horror; a dynamic reflection on the spiritual and supernatural power of the blues; an allegory for the struggle for freedom, both earthbound and other-worldly. As much arthouse as grindhouse, it's a blood-drenched mix tape that shouldn't work. But it does, thanks to Coogler's muscular direction, a terrific cast, enveloping . . . visuals, body-quaking sound and music that stirs the soul while setting the pulse racing."

In addition to an encore of the fabulously flamboyant The Importance of Being Earnest from National Theatre Live on Sunday, April 13, we've also got several other special events for you this week, beginning with this month's entry in the Third Eye series: Pineapple Express.

Chosen by Cheba Hut, our wonderful Third Eye sponsor, Pineapple Express, as a modern stoner classic, is perfect in the lead up to 420 and in the tradition of late night Third Eye cult cinema. Film critics in 2008 were a little surprised that an arthouse darling director at the time like David Gordon Green would want to make a stoner comedy, but Green has, of course, gone on to thrive in commercial cinema, and Pineapple Express quickly found its fans among audiences and with critics, too. As Roger Ebert prophetically wrote, "David Gordon Green, that poet of the cinema, is the last person you'd expect to find directing a Judd Apatow male-buddy comedy about two potheads who start a drug war. But he does such a good job, there's a danger he'll become in demand by mainstream Hollywood and tempted away from the greatness he showed in [the films] George Washington and Undertow." It was, for Ebert, so good in fact, that it wasn't just "a druggie comedy that made [him] laugh" but "the answer to the question, 'What would happen if a movie like this – [a stoner comedy with "male bonding, immature sexual desires, verbal scatology, formidable drug abuse, fight scenes, gunfire, explosions"]-- was made by a great director?"

Join us on Saturday, April 12 at 10 pm!

We've also got a few very special events this week including this month's Science on Screen / Kid Pickford film, the beloved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring the inimitable Gene Wilder.

Courtesy of funding from Science on Screen, we're also delighted to be able to bring you a unique pre-film introduction "Up, Up, and Away: The Helium Effects of Fizzy Lifting Drinks," for a discussion with physics student Alan Hernandez Zavala on the curious science behind Wonka's Fizzy Lifting Drink:

"What makes this fizzy concoction so special? We'll explore the science of carbonation, the role of gases like helium in creating weightless sensations, and how these bubbly brews could affect our voices and our bodies. Get ready to lift your spirits (and maybe your voice) as we unpack the science behind this magical, helium-infused treat!"

We're especially grateful to have Alan, a dedicated college student who immerses himself fully into the culture of teaching and learning, with us: "With a deep curiosity about how the world works, Alan thrives on asking questions and exploring the science behind everyday phenomena. His passion for knowledge drives him to pursue research opportunities, while his commitment to helping others shines through his work as a volunteer tutor in all things math and science. Alan's approach to teaching is hands-on and interactive, creating an engaging environment where learning comes to life."

Join us on Saturday at 1:30 pm for this FREE screening! Tickets are currently all spoken for, but we always encourage our patrons to stop by and request to be put on our waiting list: there are often a few seats left over for these screenings that we'd be happy to fill!

And on Easter Sunday, 4/20, we also got a 1970's classic, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway rock-opera-turned-film that was beloved by a generation and continues to delight: Jesus Christ Superstar. Jesus (aka Superstar actor Ted Neeley) did visit the Pickford back in 2016, with a screening of the film then, and while, unfortunately, Jesus will not be with us this time, this is a film for the hippies, the musical lovers, and film fans of all sorts, all those eager to revisit this vibrant, irresistible film -- or to see it for the first time.

Join us on Sunday at 1:00 pm!

Finally, the Pickford is playing one of the host-venues to the annual CASCADIA International Women's Film Festival, and the festival starts on Thursday, April 24. You can find out more about their line-up and guests and purchase tickets through the CASCADIA website.

See you at the movies, friends!

Melissa