January is a dumping ground. Here lie your already failed resolutions, holiday cookie weight, and all the movies that weren't up to December's Oscar-bait snuff. But don't fret. Thanks to a few theaters, museums, and Phoenix-based movie buffs, this month won't be all lost when it comes to moviegoing. Mark your calendar, here are five flicks not to miss.
Contemporary Days:The Designs of Lucienne & Robin Day @ SMoCA Lounge Of course, you're all too familiar with American design innovators Charles and Ray Eames. That twosome made a splash stateside crafting homes, films, and chairs. But across the pond, another pair, Robin and Lucienne Day, made their own waves with abstract-inspired textiles and utilitarian designs.
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To glimpse that duo's career and impact, head to SMoCA Lounge on Thursday, January 10, at 7:30 p.m. That's when No Festival Required will present a screening of the documentary Contemporary Days:The Designs of Lucienne & Robin Day. Tickets are $7.
Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters @ Phoenix Art Museum Photographer Gregory Crewdson is known for his carefully staged scenes of slightly surreal life. Peeking into lives of imagined characters is Crewdson's M.O., but the lens is turned toward the artist in the documentary Brief Encounters. Director Ben Shapiro shot the film over ten years with Crewdson, gaining intimate access to the photographer's creative process.
Three 1 p.m. screenings take place Friday, January 11, through Sunday, January 13, at Phoenix Art Museum. General admission is $10; members pay $7. Gangster Squad Real deal: We have a thing for Mafia movies. Additionally: Ryan Gosling.
The two collide in L.A.-set Gangster Squad from Ruben Fleischer, who we're cutting some major slack for after sitting through 30 Minutes of Less. That's largely due to the stellar cast he's assembled for this outing, including Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and, Scottsdale's finest, Emma Stone. The film gets a wide open on Friday, January 11.
Weird Science @ Pollack Tempe Cinemas Look, we've seen enough episodes of X-Files and Fringe to know that "making" a person is a bad, bad, bad call. But we're willing to suspend our high levels of disbelief when it comes to campy '80s flicks, and John Hughes' Weird Science in particular.
Cult Classics screens the romp at Pollack Tempe Cinemas on Saturday, January 12, at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $11 to $35.
$ellebrity @ FilmBar To be clear, we are wholly opposed to listening to celebs cry and whine over having their pics snapped when they go to Whole Foods. But rock photog Kevin Mazur's look into the world of million-dollar shots and how they've changed journalism seems a potentially fascinating endeavor. See for yourself when Mazur's film $ellebrity screens Thursday, January 17, at FilmBar.