Artist-in-residence Emily Sloan's funeral party for the living
14 Pews owner Cressandra Thibodeaux has nurtured the microcinema during itsfirst year, and learned a lot along the way.
Photo via 14 Pews/Facebook
14 Pews is in a converted church in the Heights.
Photo via 14 Pews/Facebook
It's been one year since 14 Pews opened the doors at the Sunset Heights Church of Christ, a gem left vacant byAurora Picture Show. Owner Cressandra Thibodeaux tells us that here have been ups (reports in the New York Times and jubilant performance pieces) and downs (growing pains and unsuccessful screenings). All have been invaluable learning experiences to reflect upon as the microcinema embarks upon its next.
But now, it's time to celebrate with a proper birthday party.
On Saturday from 6:30 to 9 p.m., friends of 14 Pews - Kelly Simmons, Bill Baldwin, Thomas Gribble, Kristal Kirksey, Leann Mueller, Victoria and Marshal Lightman - will host an event for the first 100 members of the organization (Seed Faith level and above). There will be appetizers, wine and St. Arnold's beer at 941 Cortlandt, in the Heights.
It wouldn't be a proper party without entertainment: Puppet Pizzazz with Greg Ruhe, tarot card readings by Madilyn Stein, party crashing by You(genius) and classical guitar by Lucas Gorham and Denis Cisneros. Plus, a silent auction featuring work by local artists: James Orellana, Joseph Vaughn, Dan Allison, Keith Crane, Victoria Veedell, Don Glentzer, Chris Silkwood and Thibodeaux herself. All proceeds will benefit the non-profit arthouse.
To join in on the celebration, and help with the innovation and evolution of 14 Pews, become a member here.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later.
The 2000s brought two of the best zombie movies ever made in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Both films, despite being made by different filmmakers, featured intense action with fast-moving zombies, harrowing sequences, and real emotional connections with their main characters. Now the original director and writer — Danny Boyle and Alex Garland — have returned with the first of a possible three sequels, 28 Years Later.
The rage virus from the first two films that turns humans into insatiable monsters has successfully been contained to the United Kingdom, and one group of survivors has managed to band together on a small island off the coast of England. We’re introduced to the group through Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife, Isla (Jodie Comer), and his son, Spike (Alfie Williams).
Isla is sick with an unknown illness, while Jamie is set to take the 12-year-old Spike on his first trip to the mainland to hunt zombies. That trip not only gives Spike an education as to the different types of feral zombies that now populate England, but also a clue that other people have survived there. When he discovers that one of them may be a doctor, he makes plans to take his mother there in hopes of finding a cure for whatever ails her.
While the first two films were notable for their brisk pace that kept the potency of the stories high, Boyle and Garland almost go in the opposite direction for much of this film. The first 90 minutes are relatively slow, with only a couple of sequences that raise the blood pressure. The final half hour or so go a long way toward filling that void, so it’s clear that the filmmakers were biding their time for the story to come in the sequel. A bit more balance in this film would have served them well, though.
What they do show involves some weird, wild stuff that is objectively upsetting, even for fans of the genre. The zombies have evolved in strange ways, giving them a variety of body shapes and abilities to suit the environment in which they live. These storytelling choices may thrill some and have others scratching their heads. Another human character living on his own (played by Ralph Fiennes), appears to have gone the way of Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, with a revelation that is bone-chilling.
Boyle, who’s directed everything from Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire, doesn’t have a signature style, and he makes some choices in this film that test your patience. He occasionally employs an odd technique in which the film stutters, for a lack of better term. It’s a bit jarring, especially since it doesn’t seem to improve the storytelling. He also inserts scenes from older films involving medieval warfare that emulate the bow-and-arrow weaponry used by characters in this film, but the exact connection he’s trying to make is unclear.
The young Williams has a lot put on his shoulders in the film, and he proves to be up to the task of carrying the story. He isn’t precocious or annoying, instead reacting almost exactly like you’d expect a boy of his age to do when faced with extreme situations. Taylor-Johnson and Comer are good complements for him, drawing him out with their polar opposite characters. Fiennes makes a huge impression in the final act of the film, while Jack O’Connell makes a very brief appearance, teasing a bigger role to come.
It’s difficult to fully judge 28 Years Later because it’s designed to only give you part of the story; part 2, The Bone Temple, is due in 2026, while a third film will follow if the first two do well. This film has its moments and winds up on the positive side of the ledger, but it’s also a frustrating experience that could have used a more stand-alone story.