LA Happenings: VERTIGO And AGUIRRE At The Egyptian, LOVE EXPOSURE, ALTERED STATES & More At Cinefamily

The back half of May is looking to be a mighty fine time for film fans of all kinds who call the greater Los Angeles area their home. The following are a few choice cuts from the many special and repertory calendars that peppermint our fair city.

While I am learning quite gosh darn fast that there are always things of note going down at The Cinefamily, the evening of May 31st proves to be quite the juggernaut. First up it's Sono Sion's 4-hour epic Love Exposure. A long checked ScreenAnarchy favorite (I'm dreaming of those glory days at NYAFF 2009), Sono's manic meditation on Christianity, cults and devotion (let's call it love), is sure to draw diehard fans, but if you have yet to see this one than there's no better place than on the big screen. Now if your gluteus maximus doesn't totally give out on you by the end of that then by all means stick around for a midnight screening of Ken Russel's sci-fi blast of mind/matter mayhem -- yes it is Altered States with William Hurt. Coincidentally both of these films have spent a good amount of time on my top 100 (not that that means anything to anybody but me).  As for this coming weekend, the fam continues their retrospective of films from House director Obayashi Nobuhiko. You can take it on my own authority, School In The Crosshairs is a fine slice of whimsy that you may want to take in. More at The Cinefamily's site.      

Though it seems to be a regular event in these here parts, who can pass up a 70mm screening of Vertigo at the Egyptian -- still my absolute favorite theater in town, in my absolute least favorite part of town, Hollywood proper. So when does it go down exactly? May 24th, 7:30pm. The screening is part of The Great Movies: A Tribute To Roger Ebert, which is, of course a selection of Ebert's favorite films. Also of note a June 6th screening of Aguirre: The Wrath Of God with Werner Herzog in person. Heading out towards the beach at that other American Cinematheque establishment, the Aero, we have a double feature of Polanski's Macbeth and Kurosawa's Macbeth, uh I mean Throne of Blood. That goes down on May 30th, 7:30pm More on all American Cinematheque screenings here.