Dann in reel life: 'Paranormal' inactivity
Oh, oh. Things don't look so optimistic for the anxiously awaited sequel to the 2007 horror sleeper “Paranormal Activity. Paramount Pictures will only screen the sequel for the press at 9 p.m. Oct. 21, mere hours before it officially opens to the public Oct. 22. That's too bad.
The first movie ended with the demon apparently eating Micah Sloat's camcorder. I wanted to see in the sequel if the demon got indigestion. Or tape worm.
‘I Spit' on critics
When Meir Zarchi's 1978 “Day of the Woman was released in 1980 in Chicago under the new title “I Spit on Your Grave, my colleague Roger Ebert famously wrote: “A vile bag of garbage is playing in Chicago theaters this week. It is a movie so sick, so reprehensible and contemptible that I can hardly believe it's playing in respectable theaters.
Gene Siskel said it was “the hardest ‘R' I've ever seen probably because the distributors reportedly submitted an edited version to the MPAA for an R rating, then released the original uncut version with the R rating attached.
“I Spit on Your Grave went on to become the No. 1 videocassette in the United States for several weeks.
The remake opens today without a rating.
A ‘Girl' for After Hours
The After Hours Film Society presents Andre Techine's “Girl on the Train at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Tivoli Theater, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. The film examines why a young woman falsely claims that anti-Semitic thugs assaulted her on a Paris commuter train. Admission costs $9 (members $5). Go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com.
Off to see the wizard?
Join me and film historian Raymond Benson as Dann & Raymond's Movie Club presents “Off to See the Wizard: Fantasy Goes to the Movies. We'll show clips from such films as “Being John Malkovich, “Babe, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, “Lord of the Rings and more. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights. Free admission! Sometimes, even popcorn! Go to ahml.info or call (847) 392-0100.