The Host

This Monday night, Movie Night In The Back Yard presents The Host (2006). Korean director Joon-ho Bong has created a unique film that defies classification. Part monster movie, part comedy, and part political satire, The Host tells the story of a family threatened by the monstrous results of US pollution in Seoul's Han River. Both the Jurassic Park-like effects and the story of this eclectic family are compelling, and the depiction of the Americans involved is hilarious. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind international sensation.

Curse of the Golden Flower

This Monday night, Movie Night In The Back Yard presents Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). After realizing that we forgot to include a fung ku movie on this summer's schedule, we decided to change next weeks film from Diva to Curse. There have been a lot of great kung fu movies released in the last few years. Here' s a list of some favorites: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Shaolin Soccer, and Beat Kitano's Zatoichi. I haven't seen Curse of the Golden Flower, but it was directed by Yimou Zhang who also made Hero and House of Flying Daggers. So if we know anything it's that this thing will look good.

Children of Men

Tonight, Movie Night In The Back Yard presents Children of Men (2006). Alfonso Cuaron's (Y Tu Mama Tambien) vision of the future was the best movie of 2006. Set in Britain in 2027 and starring Clive Owen, Children of Men shows us a world where the human race has become infertile and chaos has destroyed most of the world's governments. While Britain still retains some semblance of order, it's not exactly a wonderful place to be, especially if you're an illegal immigrant. Come check it out on the big screen.

MNITBY Preshows

Each week at Movie Night In The Back Yard we show a preshow before the feature. Unfortunately the sun is setting pretty late these days and in order to start the feature at a reasonable hour we've only been watching about 20 minutes of our preshows. Preshows have always been a chance to show some things that are either shorter or more obscure than the feature films at Movie Night, and it is always a lot of fun to select them. Here is a list of what we've watched so far and a few of the likely preshows for the rest of the MNITBY season. Do check these out. They are all excellent.

Extras (HBO series staring office creator Ricky Gervais)
Deadwood (HBO series)
Planet Earth (amazing documentary series)
Twin Peaks (Possibly the greatest TV series ever)
Carnivale (HBO series)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (classic 1951 sci-fi movie)
First Person (a documentary TV series from Errol Morris)

Brick

Next Monday night Movie Night In The Back Yard presents Brick (2005). Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Brick has all the traditional elements of a detective story: film noir style, a murder, detective lingo, and a mysterious woman. What's unusual is that it's set in a high school. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt from Third Rock from the Sun, Brick doesn't disappoint.

Akira

This Monday night Movie Night In The Back Yard presents the anime classic Akira (1988). We've shown a lot of anime movies in the past, but this is the one that defines the genre. Since its release in 1988, anime and for that matter all of film has never been the same. The quality and attention to every detail in this amazing film changed the look of animated movies. And the story of Akira has influenced live action movies as well. Without Akira there would be no Matrix. If you haven't seen it you have to check this out. We'll be watching the remastered version released in 2001.