"Pulp Fiction" @ the Gateway Sunday June 8th. Johnny DiLoretto Explains Why this Movie Still Matters.

Johnny DiLoretto is the director of operations for the Gateway Film Center, the Midwest's premier Independent movie house. He will be checking in from time to time over the upcoming months to keep us informed about all the kick ass events they have scheduled sure to keep your summertime blues at bay.

Q: Sunday June 8th Cinema Classics presents the 20th Anniversary Screening of "Pulp Fiction" at the Gateway Film Center. Wow, that was a quick twenty years. Why is this movie still important and worth seeing on the big screen?

A: Of course you gotta see this movie on the big screen! You have to see it in its element to be reminded of exactly how revolutionary and influential it was. It changed the way movies were made and had a direct impact on everything that came after it. For better or for worse. Mostly for worse, because people lifted Tarantino's techniques and bit off his writing style without the cinematic chops to make that stuff sing. You should see it to be reminded of how great it is. 

Q: For us movie dumb asses, what makes director Quentin Tarantino special?

A: He's a savant. He has devoured, passionately devoured, all of cinema -- the classics, the crap, all of it. And he pukes it back out, in some instinctive way, so that you can see all of this amazing stuff happening in his movies -- he's referencing film history as he's blazing new narrative ground. He's conducting a score of tension and comedy and violence all the while spinning these exhilarating, musical exchanges of dialogue. He is - without fucking question - one of the true geniuses of modern American cinema. 

Q What other Q Tarantino's films do you consider essential viewing for the casual movie fan? 

A. You can't go wrong with any full-length movie he's directed. All of it. Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained. Of the stuff he's only written, you have to see True Romance, which features a mind blowing cameo by Gary Oldman as a psychotic, dreadlocked, pimp; and features one of the all-time great scenes between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. 

Q: What are the details for the movie again and when can I hear Cinema Classics?

A: You can see the movie at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 8. It's $7.50 for just the film; or you can get eat brunch and see the movie for $15. We do a great brunch in The Torpedo Room. 

Learn more about Johnny DiLoretto and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here.

Dear J.J. Abrams: Please Don't Ruin Star Wars

By Wal Ozello

I know we usually write about rock n roll here on pencilstorm and other life moments.  But it's May the Fourth and that's means it's Star Wars Day (May the Fourth/Force be with you - get it?).

So please, allow me to geek out for a moment with an open letter to J.J. Abrams, the director and writer for the new Star Wars movie.

Dear J.J. Abrams:

I'm sure by now you've started filming the next Star Wars movie: Episode VII, titled who knows what. It may sound crazy, but I hope you're not sleeping at night.

I hope that at 2 a.m. in the morning you wake up, tossing and turning, and then never fall back to sleep. I hope your mind is filled with excitement and anxiety that you just can't shake.

Let's face it, this is the most exciting thing you'll ever do in your life. Sure, you've done Lost, Alias, the Star Trek reboot, and a bunch of other things that the average filmmaker would love to have at the top of their resume.

But this is STAR WARS.  The biggest film story ever.  It's magic. Pure magic. And you're at the helm.  I assure you, and billions of fans would agree with me, you're doing the most important thing in your life ever. 

It's the equivalent of taking the first step on the moon, coining the word Rock N Roll or even inventing the light bulb. This is huge. While you're in the midst of it, I hope you take a moment to look around and see Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo instead of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford. At that moment it's okay to say to yourself, "HOLY SHIT I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS."

Then also realize that you can't mess this up.  The pressure is just as huge as the moment is. Could you imagine what would have happened if Neil Armstrong tripped coming out of the Lunar Module?  You could do that. All you need to do is take a look at the prequels to understand the potential failure here.

Listen... think about it this way.  Someone just handed you Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Waters and asked you to build an addition. Or pulled you into a music studio and asked you to write  new additional few songs for Pink Floyd's The Wall.

If you mess this up you'll never be able to show your face in public again.  You'll be the Jar Jar Binks of Hollywood.  We can forgive George Lucas for the prequels because, hey, he made Star Wars to begin with but we'll never forgive you if you mess this up.

See right now, all of us movie lovers are drowning in superheros and wizards.  From Marvel and DC to Potter and Gandalf, we are stuck watching guys in spandex fly around in New York City or wizards leading short people around to battle dragons, find horcruxes and destroy a ring. We need this Star War movie to be great. We need manna from heaven. We need you to be our Moses, part the red sea, and lead us from the world of comics and fantasy novels.

Please make this the best thing ever.  Give us a new hope.  A hope that movies don't need to be overproduced to be fun. That they don't need to be over thought and intertwined with a million other movie and television plots. We want to enjoy going to the movies again!

So when you're on set, and the pressure is piling on, let go and go with your gut instinct. Be like Luke during the trench run on the Death Star. Forget all the training and technical instruction you've learned with filmmaking. Forget all the rules and certainly don't listen to the Disney generals who are calling the shots, yelling at you for turning off your targeting computer.  Instead, go with your gut. Go with what feels right.  That's message behind the first Star Wars movie - when you go with your raw inner instincts and believe in yourself,  everything will work out well in the end.

We're all wishing you the best J.J. and can't wait to see what you do.

Wal Ozello is the author of the science fiction thriller, Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars and lifelong Star Wars fan. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

Learn more about Wal Ozello and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here

Pearl Jam and The National @ The Gateway Film Center

Hey guys, everybody knows that Brian Phillips and myself host a monthly movie series at the Gateway Film Center, right? Well, it's true. "Reelin' and Rockin' at the Gateway" is two years old and still going strong. The next two months feature Pearl Jam "Twenty" on Wednesday, February 19th and The National "Mistaken For Strangers" on Wednesday, March 19th. The films start at 8pm but we meet for drinks at the upstairs bar around 7 to talk a little rock n roll. Hope you can join us! -Colin G

Click here to visit the Reelin' and Rockin' Facebook page

Click here to learn more about the series and see a list of the previous movies we have shown. 

Movies I'd Watch In Hell Forever By Wal Ozello

It’s Oscar season when they select the best movies, actors, etc. of the year. But when’s the last time you’ve seen an Oscar movie over and over again? Here’s the metric that I think all movies should be judged by: If you die and go to hell, and are stuck watching the same movie over and over again, what would it be?

That’s how I define a great movie and NONE of this year’s Oscar films fit into that category.

So here it is… I present to you my list of Top Ten Movies I’d Watch In Hell

1) Goodfellas. My college roommates and I had this movie going constantly at our apartment, so hell would be an extension of college for me. The way this story is told is amazing and the visuals are stunning. The Copa scene alone is to die for. I can’t wait for my sons to grow up so I can share this movie with them. Is 14 old enough for them to watch the “you’re so funny” scene?

2) The Godfather. This movie is a work of art. I call it the Sistine Chapel of movies. Coppola was able to turn a basic mob movie into magic. I think of this movie every time I renew my baptismal vows.

3) The Godfather II. I know what you’re thinking now. I just like mob movies. No. This movie is a work of art in its own right. How Coppola juxtaposes Vito’s life with Michael’s is a cinematic editing masterpiece. Every editor and screenplay writer who watches this movie wants to kill themselves because they’ll never be that good. Ever.

4) Shawshank Redemption. I must have seen this movie a million times thanks to TNT and if it was on TV right now I’d watch whatever scene it was. Any movie where some guy can crawl through five miles of shit and make me feel good about it deserves to be in my top ten. You want to feel like there’s hope? Turn on TNT and watch this movie. Perfect movie for living in hell for eternity.

5) The Sixth Sense. Seriously, did ANYONE see the ending coming? I totally pissed myself when that ring hit the floor. This story was beautiful. Get the DVD and watch the deleted scenes. The original ending of the movie makes it even more magical.

6) Rear Window. I first saw this film in a college class. The room was 10 feet by 20 feet and the screen was as wide as one of the walls. It was like I was looking right out of Jimmy Stewart’s window. By the end of the film I had develop three things: claustrophobia, a smoking habit, and a crush on Grace Kelly. If you want to experience this movie the way Hitchcock intended, place your nose inches from your TV screen and don’t move your head from side to side.

7) The Wall. It’s not a music video or a rock concert. It’s a transcendent orgy of music, film, and animation. Every shot of this film is a moving painting of deep rich colors that along with music takes you on the journey of stardom. It’s kind of like the rock star version of Goodfellas, pulling you into the excitement of being a musical king then flipping you to the dark side.

8) Swingers. This movie is so money and it doesn’t even know it. It was shot as an independent film on a shoestring budget. Every character is amazing and each actor nails the part. This is the original bromance movie that all other try to emulate. While I’d watch this forever, the answering machine will always make me feel anxious. I feel for you Mikey.

9) Elf. The beauty of this film is the humor never gets old. I can watch it on December 24th or July 4th and it’s still funny. It’s Will Ferrell’s masterpiece because he’s playing the most human character amongst all of his movies. Next to Shawshank and Goodfellas, it’s the most quoted movie on facebook. (I just made that up, but it sounds true doesn’t it?)

10) Leaving Las Vegas. This is the most depressing and darkest movie that’s ever been made. Period. After you watch it, you want to slit your wrists and bleed all over the living room. But here’s the thing, 5 minutes later the movie actually makes you feel better about yourself. Because no matter how miserable and pathetic your life is, at least you’re not a washed up script writer that’s drinking yourself to death or a prostitute who can only find love in a suicidal drunkard. Hell is like a Sandles Beach vacation compared to this movie. So smile and change the channel to TNT. Shawshank’s on you’ll discover there is some hope in this world.

Now it's your turn. Comment below and let me know what films you'd watch in hell.

Wal Ozello is the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars and is the lead singer of the Columbus hairband Armada. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and graduate of the Ohio State University Photography & Cinema Department.

Reelin and Rockin @ the Gateway Turns Two! Twenty Four Rock Movies and Counting..

Two years ago, my pal (and CD1025 DJ) Brian Phillips and myself had a dream. We wanted to watch more rock documentaries and drink more beer, but noticed jobs, families and responsibilities were increasingly disrupting our best laid plans.

So we hatched the ultimate caper. What if we could find a really cool movie house to let us borrow a theater one Wednesday a month, and then we will bring some people out for a happy hour followed by a screening of kick ass rock movie?  And to top it all off, all the proceeds would go to charity.  Win - Win!

Thankfully, CD102.5 and the good folks at the Gateway Film Center took us up on our offer and Wednesday September 18th we will be celebrating our two year anniversary of "Reelin and Rockin" at the Gateway Film Center" with The Rolling Stones classic "Gimmie Shelter".  Drinks at Upstairs bar 7 pm, movie at 8.This was actually our first movie shown those twenty four months ago, but it is so good, we had to show it again. 

If you haven't made it out to "Reelin and Rockin" in the past two years, here is what you have missed. (loser) 

Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter / Wilco - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart / The Band - The Last Waltz / Ramones - End of The Century / The Other F- Word / Joe Strummer - The Future is Unwritten / It Might Get Loud / Morphine - Cure For Pain, The Mark Sandman Story / Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park / This is Spinal Tap / Marley _ The Bob Marley Story / Iggy and The Stooges Raw Power / The Tom Synder Punk Rock Interviews / Rolling Stones - Some Girls Live in Texas / The Replacements - Color Me Obsessed / Johnny Cash's America / I'm Now - The Story of Mudhoney / Rolling Stones - Charlie is My Darling / Sound City (Dave Grohl) / Flogging Molly - Whiskey on a Sunday / Anvil - The Story of Anvil / Searching For Sugar Man / Sex Pistols - Filth and The Fury / DIG! / Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me / Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter.

I get a little misty eyed looking at this list and I am sure I can speak for Brian when I say thanks to everybody who has come out and helped us with our little film series. It's about as much fun as a grown music geek can have on the third Wednesday of every month.  - Colin G.

Please Click here for the Reelin and Rockin Facebook Page

You can learn more about Colin Gawel and Brian Phillips by visiting the Pencilstorm Contributors page by clicking here. 

I Just Came From the Big Star Movie.....by Ricki C.

I just came from the Big Star movie at Colin and Brian Phillips' Reelin' & Rockin' Series at the Gateway Theater.   It's a pretty great movie.  You should go see it when it opens at the Gateway for its regular run, I think in September.  (Johnny DiLoretto, a little help?)

Anyway, as I was driving home under a gorgeous full moon I was thinking about the parallels between Big Star's and Watershed's careers.  They were both power pop bands from out-of-the-way locales.  (Let's face it, when Big Star emerged in 1972, Memphis hadn't exactly been a hotbed of rock & roll since the  mid-1950's heyday of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Sam Phillips' groundbreaking Sun Studios.)  Big Star's No. 1 Record  came out in the middle of heavy-metal, prog-rock & the sensitive singer/songwriter boom of early 70's America, and was promptly buried underneath all that musical mediocrity.  Who needed a cool Beatle-esque pop band with great lyrics and killer harmonies when you could gobble a handful of 'ludes and nod out to Led Zep or a 15-minute drum solo from Foghat.   (As a matter of fact I heard Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" on the Newark oldies station on my drive home and thought, "Jesus, why couldn't this be "When My Baby's Beside Me"  or "Thirteen" instead?)  Watershed's Twister  was released in 1995 as the Seattle grunge juggernaut was crushing everything in its path, with its lyrical themes of "Give up your dreams, kids, all is death & misery, kneel & listen as we pummel you with our ponderous fusion of heavy-metal & bad punk."  That's not rock & roll.  

Oddly, the very first conversation I ever had with Colin Gawel back in 1990 when I was a roadie for Willie Phoenix and Watershed was Willie's opening band at Ruby Tuesday's touched on Big Star.  Watershed had just delivered a killer set of mostly new material - including "Rise," their first TRULY GREAT song - and I said to Colin, "So do you guys listen to Big Star, The Scruffs, The Records and all those other 70's power-pop bands?"  (I knew Willie was producing the guys.  I figured he had hooked them up with the bands Willie and I had bonded over back in 1978.)  Colin just kinda looked down at his shoes and mumbled, "Uh no, mostly we listen to Kiss and Rush and Triumph."  "Triumph!?!" I said/scolded, and that pretty much ended the conversation.  (Years later, after I became a member of Watershed's road crew and recounted the conversation to Colin - which he had no memory of - in the band van, Colin admitted he had never even HEARD of Big Star at that point and that he only mentioned Triumph because he considered them an obscure rock name to conjure with.)

The most striking difference in the Big Star and Watershed stories, though, is how SAD the Big Star story turns out.  The band descended from the lofty heights of 1972's No. 1 Record and 1973's truly sublime Radio City  to the depths of Third/Sister Lovers in 1975, just two short years later.  Three of the original four members have left this life, well before their time.     

Watershed, however, have just kept plugging away in the 20 years since they were dropped by major label Sony.  They made arguably their best album - 2002's The More It Hurts, The More It Works - 15 years into their career, and possibly their second-best, Brick & Mortar, just last year in 2012, 25 years in.  Not a bad record (pun intended) of creative longevity for a rock & roll band.   But nobody in Watershed has died, or had their careers cut short by drugs & alcohol, so no movie.  The band's biggest casualty to date, drummer Dave Masica, screwed up his back working his day-job as a cook at a country club.  Not exactly Gimme Shelter-level cinematic material.        

I realize that some readers out there might find this incredibly self-serving, coming from a member of the band's road crew, but I was a Watershed fan long before and for many more years than I've been an employee of the group, and I just wanna say this: Thank you Colin, Joe, Herb & Dave (and Pooch & Joe Peppercorn) for the music and  for the memories.  

I just came from the Big Star movie, and while it vividly demonstrates that there is no justice in rock & roll, it also eminently demonstrates that there are many heart-loads of wonder. - Ricki C. / August 21st, 2013.