There’s still a chance for you to see several of the nominees for the Academy Awards before the awards ceremony on March 12, including one of the front-runners. There’s also a bevy of must-sees from the vault and something for the kids during March Break.
Here are three Oscar-nominated films at the ByTowne and the Mayfair that I recommend.
My favourite film of 2022 was Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s up for an incredible 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, 2× Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay. It won “Best Picture” at the Producers Guild on February 25. The Producers Guild Best Picture award frequently matches up with the Oscar for Best Picture. The next night, it dominated the Screen Actors Guild awards ceremony in several categories. See what all the fuss is about, or come to see the two Daniels’ cinematic gem for your second or third or…. time. At the ByTowne.
I’m seriously looking forward to the Irish film The Quiet Girl, which was nominated for Best International Feature Film. It tells the story of Cáit, a young girl sent away from her neglectful family to live with “her mother’s people,” a middle-aged couple whose house seems strangely empty. Cáit is quiet and withdrawn, but begins to blossom under the care of her new temporary parents. At the ByTowne.
Living is a remake of one of Akira Kurosawa’s most beloved classics, Ikiru. Bill Nighy is outstanding—he’s nominated for the Best Actor award. He plays a dry-as-dust civil servant who has spent his entire life being a perfect bureaucrat. He’s skilled at delaying and deflecting work in his public works department. When he finds out he has incurable cancer, he decides to use his remaining time to learn how to live life. At both cinemas.
You’ve got two opportunities to enjoy the Oscars on March 12 with hundreds of other film fans. The ByTowne is holding its annual Oscars Night party, which will have games, prizes and “a host who loves to dish on the Hollywood spectacle.” The event is free (you’d still be wise to get tickets online beforehand), but the ByTowne encourages patrons to donate to Cystic Fibrosis Canada. The Mayfair is holding a free-for-members screening of the 95th Oscars pre-show and ceremony. The treats at the Mayfair are food from The SmoQue Shack and beverages from Beyond the Pale.
In the first half of March, you can see numerous excellent films from the vault at both cinemas. I’ll start with a film I think should be on every cinephile’s list: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s magnificent 1928 silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc. This remarkable and moving film is accompanied by live music from the VOC Silent Film Harmonic group at the Mayfair. It has a 98 score on Metacritic and a permanent spot on most “100 best films ever” lists. Don’t miss it!
Next on my list is Taxi Driver, considered one of Martin Scorsese’s masterpieces. It stars Robert De Niro as a mentally unstable Vietnam veteran who decides to “clean up” the sleazy streets of NYC, with Harvey Keitel as a slimy pimp. This is the film that introduced Jodie Foster as the underage hooker whom De Niro tries to save. At the Mayfair.
Too serious for you? Not a problem; both cinemas have lots of great entertainment, too!
First, one of my all-time favourites: The Big Lebowski, on its 25th anniversary, is screening at the ByTowne. One of the Coen brothers’ best films, and their most quoted one, this movie offered the perfect role to Jeff Bridges as The Dude, AKA: Jeffrey Lebowski, a laid-back middle-aged slacker who shares a surname with a billionaire Republican who has a trophy wife, Bunny, who…. No, I’m not going to explain the plot. I want to say, “See it!” Or “See it again!” The Dude abides!
Over at the Mayfair, there’s a Mamma Mia sing-along fundraiser on March 12 for Ottawa’s favourite Shakespeare performers, A Company of Fools. I defy you to watch the trailer without singing along or getting an earworm. There will be prizes handed out for the best dressed and best spirit.
Speaking of singing along, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is back at the Mayfair! How many cult classics are in the U.S.’s National Film Registry AND the American Fantasy & Horror Films Hall of Fame? The Mayfair’s usual message: “Feel free to dress up as your favourite character, bring props and items to be thrown in the air (newspapers, toast, toilet paper, playing cards…), call-back at the screen, and dance in the aisles.” What a hoot!
I’d mentioned there’s something for the kids during March Break. The ByTowne has scheduled two films in early afternoons: Steven Spielberg’s magical E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and a new French flick (with English subtitles), Astérix and Obélix: The Middle Kingdom. Imagine a kid seeing E.T. for the first time on a big screen! And for the many fans of the comic heroes Asterix and Obelix, here’s their latest adventure. This time, they’re off to rescue a Chinese empress even though Caesar and his Roman army stand in their way.
So much to see!
Dates, times and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. Dates, times and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca.
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