Thrills & Chills

Good Time in 35mm

Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie · 2017
102min · 35mm
Playing Sep 1

Thursday, Sep 1: 7:30 pm

Following the mind-bending Heaven Knows What, celebrated filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie return to the mean streets of New York City with Good Time, a hypnotic crime thriller that explores with bracing immediacy the tragic sway of family and fate. After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Constantine "Connie" Nikas (Robert Pattinson) embarks on a twisted odyssey through the city's underworld in an increasingly desperate—and dangerous—attempt to get his brother Nick (Benny Safdie) out of jail. Over the course of one adrenalized night, Connie finds himself on a mad descent into violence and mayhem as he races against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing their lives hang in the balance.

Part of Thrills & Chills, six thrillers with awesome electronic scores.

“An anthemic, youthful blast of generational pop art, Good Time is a 100 minute-long string of fire emojis, that begins and ends with a heart.” Jessica Kiang, The Playlist

“Propelled by a Rob Pattinson tour de force, this Safdie brothers fireball rips through 100 minutes of screen time like Wile E. Coyote with his tail on fire. It comes at you hard so you remember.” Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Drive

Nicolas Winding Refn · 2011
100min · DCP
Playing Aug 31

Wednesday, Aug 31: 7:30 pm

The Driver is a Hollywood stunt driver by day, who moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver-for-hire in the criminal underworld by night. A loner by nature, he finds himself a target for some of LA's most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband of his beautiful neighbour, Irene. When the job goes dangerously awry, he takes it upon himself to keep Irene and her son alive.

Part of Thrills & Chills, six thrillers with awesome electronic scores.

“The entire film, in fact, seems much more real than the usual action-crime-chase concoctions we’ve grown tired of. Here is a movie with respect for writing, acting and craft. It has respect for knowledgable moviegoers.” Roger Ebert

“…an ambient mood piece that his you like a shot of nitroglycerine enhanced adrenaline yet goes down as smoothly as an expensive slug of single-malt.” Sara Michelle Fetters, MovieFreak.com

Run Lola Run in 35mm

Tom Tykwer · 1998
81min · 35mm
Playing Sep 7

Wednesday, Sep 7: 7:30 pm

A thrilling post-MTV, roller-coaster ride, RUN LOLA RUN is the internationally acclaimed sensation about two star-crossed lovers who have only minutes to change the course of their lives. Time is running out for Lola (Franka Potente). She's just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn't replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences. Set to a throbbing techno score, "Lola's like a human stun gun!" Peter Rainer, New York Magazine.

Part of Thrills & Chills, six thrillers with awesome electronic scores.

“…at 81 minutes it isn’t a second too short, but what it does, it does cheerfully, with great energy, and very well.” Roger Ebert

“It’s a furiously kinetic display of pyrotechnics from the director Tom Tykwer, who fuses lightning-fast visual tricks, tirelessly shifting styles and the arbitrary possibilities of interactive storytelling…” Janet Maslin, New York Times

Sorcerer

William Friedkin · 1977
122min · DCP
Playing Sep 8

Thursday, Sep 8: 7:30 pm

This Academy Award-nominated cult-favorite film from William Friedkin (EXORCIST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) tells the story of four men who, for various reasons, cannot return to their own countries and end up in a dismal South American town where an American oil company is seeking courageous drivers willing to haul nitroglycerin through 200 miles of treacherous terrain. Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou star in and Walon Green (THE WILD BUNCH) wrote the screenplay (adapted from the French novel Le Salaire de la peur). The haunting music was the first credit for Tangerine Dream, the German electronic experimental band provided many successful scores for films such as THIEF and LEGEND. Friedkin said this about SORCERER, “I have a great fondness for SORCERER, more than any other film I’ve made. Sorcerer is the one I hope to be remembered for and the one film that came closest to my vision.”

Part of Thrills & Chills, six thrillers with awesome electronic scores.

“A defiant, mad gesture of a film that features some of the most exhilarating sequences in movie history.” Sam Adams, The Dissolve

“Perhaps the elusive, uncanny soundtrack of Tangerine Dream brings this about, or maybe it’s Friedkin’s juxtapositions of close-ups and stark long shots of the tiny trucks lost in jungle or desert landscapes, but Sorcerer eventually seems to be happening someplace not of this world. Not hell, exactly; maybe Limbo.” Peter Keough, Boston Globe

Uncut Gems in 35mm

Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie · 2019
136min · 35mm
Playing Sep 15

Thursday, Sep 15: 7:30 pm

From acclaimed filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie comes an electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.

Part of Thrills & Chills, six thrillers with awesome electronic scores.

“It’s a film that is impossible to sit back and watch passively – a clenched-muscle collision of overstimulation.” Wendy Ide, The Observer (UK)

“[A] recklessly audacious and wildly accomplished blend of crime thriller, family melodrama, and sports drama.” Richard Brody, New Yorker

The Guest

Adam Wingard · 2014
100min · DCP
Playing Sep 14

Wednesday, Sep 14: 7:30 pm

From director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, the masterminds behind the award-winning modern horror tale YOU’RE NEXT, comes THE GUEST. A young soldier (Dan Stevens) arrives on the doorstep of the Peterson family, claiming to be a good friend of their beloved son who died in action. The Peterson’s welcome David into their home and into their lives, but when people start mysteriously dying in town, mayhem ensues as their teenage daughter starts wondering if David is responsible. In addition to Stevens, the film features a talented cast, including Maika Monroe (LABOR DAY, THE BLING RING, IT FOLLOWS), Sheila Kelley (“Lost,” “Gossip Girl”), Leland Orser (TAKEN, “24”) and Lance Reddick (JOHN WICK, “Fringe”). Filled with dark humor and explosive violence that critics are calling “all kinds of awesome” (Sara Michelle Fetters, MovieFreak) and “impossibly cool” (Samuel Zimmerman, Fangoria).

Part of Thrills & Chills, six thrillers with awesome electronic scores.

“Completely ridiculous. And entertaining as hell.” Richard Roeper

“An effectively bloody, breakneck ride…” Guy Lodge, Variety

“CRITIC’S PICK! Together with the writer Simon Barrett, whose canny scripts flip and swerve at unexpected moments, Mr. Wingard is building a résumé that pays at least as much attention to character and story as it does to scares and body count.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

Thrills & Chills

From Dan, Lead Programmer: My final series for the Grand Illusion is “THRILLS & CHILLS”. Thrills — with some of the best thrillers ever made; chills — with some of the finest synth and electronic scores in cinematic history. These soundtracks illustrate why “chillwave” is one of the fastest growing EDM subgenres, including Cliff Martinez’ score to Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive. Our series will be bookended by rare 35mm screenings of Good Time and Uncut Gems. The Safdie brothers took the cinema of Scorsese and Friedkin to new heights, with perfect scores by Oneohtrix Point Never. Speaking of Friedkin, Tangerine Dream’s nailing biting score to Sorcerer will have you squirming in your seats. Perhaps no other film shows the power of an electronic score to propel a thriller at breakneck speed than Tom Twyker’s Run Lola Run, presented here in glorious 35mm. And finally, Steve Moore of Zombi provided the pulsing throwback score to 2014’s lamentably underseen The Guest