Our list of the films worth seeing around town this week and beyond


How Anna Got Her Groove Back: Karina After Godard
Spectacle Theatre is hosting a month-long look at the lesser known work of French New Wave icon Anna Karina. The actress is best known for her roles in Godard films. But after her brief marriage to the filmmaker ended, she moved on to more varied roles and worked with legendary filmmakers such as Visconti and Fassbinder. Spectacle has chosen three films starring Karina: Anna (“a radiant pop musical”), Rendezvous a Bray (an erotic drama based on a short story by surrealist Julien Gracq), and The Time To Die (a sci-fi thriller). Starting Friday, September 5th and screening until September 30, various showtimes at Spectacle Theatre, 124 S 3rd Street in Williamsburg; tickets, $5 at the door 

 


Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Since this movie is almost half a century old, I don’t feel bad spoiling it for you. This film adaptation of legendary Depression-era outlaws Bonnie and Clyde is just as wacky as the year 1967 probably was, and is actually quite groundbreaking in its portrayal of an impotent (uh, literally) Clyde played by an awkward Warren Beaty and a powerful, take-no-BS Bonnie as played by Faye Dunaway. Gene Hackman plays the ultimate backslapping bro, and Gene Wilder makes a brief but totally bizarre appearance in the film that does nothing to advance the narrative. Actually, it’s questionable what he’s doing in the film at all. I suspect members of the cast were chilling at some sprawling Hollywood Hills estate and sipping on Kool-Aid when they decided it would be TOTALLY hilarious to have Wilder pop up in the film. Random! Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7, 11:30 am brunch screening begins with a 30 minute live music set by folk-punk act, Tatters & Rags. A Southern-inspired brunch menu will be served at Nitehawk, 136 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg; tickets, $16 

 


Memphis
Those dudes at Sundance decided this movie was neat enough to screen and some critics have assigned Jarmusch’s subtlety to filmmaker Tom Sutton’s Memphis. Judging by the trailer, it looks like Memphis is mostly long shots of Willis Earl Beal (who also wrote the soundtrack) meandering through sleepy and seedy locales in the film’s namesake city, which is totally fine by us. Thursday, Sept. 4 at 9:30 pm through Thursday, Sept. 11, various showtimes at IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan; tickets, $14

 


50 Years of John Waters: How Much Can You Take?
Ok so we know this is happening uptown or whatever, but c’mon it’s John Waters the King of Camp, Prince Weirdo himself! The Film Society at Lincoln Center is screening a massive retrospective of Waters’ work starting this week. On Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 pm there’s a one-time-only, super rare interactive Odorama screening of  where audience members will receive scratch-n-sniffer stickers. takes place on Sept. 11 and John Waters will be there in the flesh to present his two first feature-length films, Mondo Trasho (1969) and Multiple Maniacs (1970). And don’t miss Pink Flamingos, the movie where Divine takes a bite out of real live dog poop. There are even a of Water’s early short films starting with 1964’s Black Leather Jacket. Sept. 5 through Sept. 14 and The Film Society Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza; tickets, prices vary

 


No No: A Dokumentary
As legend has it, in 1970 Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter for the minor-league team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, while tripping balls on LSD. An outspoken civil rights leader and advocate of equality for Black professional athletes, Ellis has sometimes been referred to as “the Muhammad Ali of baseball.” This is the first time a documentary filmmaker has attempted to uncover the truth behind the legend, and apparently does a pretty good job of it. Featuring tons of interviews with Ellis. Friday, Sept. 5 through Thursday, Sept. 11, various showtimes at Village East Cinema, 181-189 2nd Avenue, East Village; tickets, $14.