WAM! DAD HAT!
How much is too much? How about 2 events, made up of 9 movies, packed into one week? That’s too much, right?
Maybe. But when one of those events is WAM, you have to accept that for one week, there’s no such thing as ‘too much’.
W.A.M.
WAM is a one weekend barrage of gloriously weird-ass musicals from the late 70’s and early 80’s. At no point in the making of these films did anyone even consider asking, “is this too much?”
Voyage of the Rock Aliens is a concentrated dose of 1984, featuring some legitimately great music that ranges from rockabilly to new wave to pop (and sometimes, somehow, all three at once).
Rock & Rule is Canadian made, animated weirdness that features voice talent and music from Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Cheap Trick, and Earth Wind & Fire. Rock & Rule is a one-off experiment with Laserdisc Night, so admission is just $5 for this one.
The Apple goes hard, all the time. It was, perhaps, a little too ambitious for its own good, but it chased after such a unique vision with so much gusto, and so little self-consciousness, that the end result is sublime.
Phantom of the Paradise is perhaps the best-known film at WAM, which tell you just how far into the weeds we’ve gone. An early film from Brian De Palma, Phantom of the Paradise takes several literary classics (ranging from Faust to The Picture of Dorian Gray), throws them in an angry blender, and whips them up into a pulp rock opera.
The Return of Captain Invincible stars Alan Arkin as an alcoholic superhero who comes out of retirement to do battle with his arch nemesis, Mr. Midnight (Christopher Lee). It’s directed by eccentric Aussie filmmaker Philippe Mora. Mora is a favorite of ours, and the man responsible for VHS Night legend Howling III: The Marsupials.
W.A.M. includes some of the most obscure films we’ve ever played, but every one of them is amazing. Check out the event page for clips and showtimes. You won’t be disappointed.
WAM plays Friday (3/24) through Sunday (3/26). Check out the full schedule and purchase tickets here.
Session Zero
What is a zero session? When you’re playing Dungeons & Dragons, it’s the session before your first full play session. It’s a low-key chance to get the table together, get comfortable, and lay the ground rules.
At the Cinemagic, Session Zero is a short series of films we’ll be playing in the lead up to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, featuring a mix of classic fantasy staples, and a few cool prizes courtesy of Guardian Games.
We know it isn’t fantasy in the traditional sense, but we can all agree that A Knights Tale is a long way from historically accurate. It’s full of 70’s rock and anachronistic dialogue, but thanks to a great cast and a surplus of charm, it absolutely works.
Conan the Barbarian, on the other hand, is basically the template for grimdark sword and sorcery. It’s a surprisingly brutal film that makes no effort to sand off the rough edges of Arnold Schwarzeneggers perfectly cast anti-hero.
On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got the high fantasy of Willow. As you follow Willow (Warwick Davis) and Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) on their journey to the evil Queen, you know where things are going, but it doesn’t matter when the trip is such a joy.
As for Prizes, you’ll get one raffle entry with every ticket purchased. On Thursday, before the first show of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, we’ll pull out a few names and give away some schwag from Guardian Games. We’ll have more details for this on the event page soon.
A Knights Tale plays Monday (3/27) at 7:00. Conan The Barbarian plays Tuesday (3/28) at 7:00. Willow plays Wednesday (3/29) at 7:00. D&D: Honor Among Thieves opens Thursday (3/30) at 7:00. Learn more and buy tickets.
