MV5BMjM5MDU5MDU2NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTY2NzcyMjE@._V1._CR7.883331298828125,10.533340454101562,323,484_.jpg — The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

**Directed by: Arthur Lubin**
**Starring: Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier**
**Rated: Approved**
**Running Time: 1 h 32 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Production Design, Music, Directing, Cinematography, Excitement**
**WEAKNESSES: Some Lengthy Songs**

The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

October 31, 2018

A disfigured violinist stalks a young operetta.

MV5BMjE0ODI3Mjc0NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTM5MjgwMzE@._V1_.jpg — Cannibal! The Musical (1993)

**Directed by: Trey Parker**
**Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Toddy Walters**
**Rated: R for Comic Gore/Violence, and Some Language**
**Running Time: 1 h 35 m**
**TMM Score: 3 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Humor, Low Budget Gem, Writing, Some Songs, Locations**
**WEAKNESSES: It's Pretty Stupid, Pacing**

Cannibal! The Musical (1993)

October 20, 2018

A team of miners travels across the mountains only to be trapped in the winter. As the snows pile up the travelers are forced to turn to cannibalism, while singing!

MV5BMTg3NjUxMzM5NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzQ1NjQzMw@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,674,1000_AL_.jpg — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

**Directed by: Tim Burton**
**Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen**
**Rated: R for Graphic Bloody Violence**
**Running Time: 1 h 56 m**
**TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Art Direction, Music, Acting, Story, Dark Humor**
**WEAKNESSES: -**

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

October 20, 2018

A barber who has been wrongfully imprisoned for fifteen years returns to London to extract his revenge on the judge who wronged him.

MV5BYzUxZDI3MjktZmM4YS00MzdjLWE5MzctMmI4M2ViMDgxMmUzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTAyODkwOQ@@._V1_.jpg — The Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

**Directed by: Frank Oz**
**Starring: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Levi Stubbs, Steve Martin, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest**
**Rated: PG-13 for Mature Thematic Material Including Comic Horror Violence, Substance Abuse, Language and Sex References**
**Running Time: 1 h 34 m**
**TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Music, Fun, Satire, Story, Ridiculousness**
**WEAKNESSES: Target Audience (?)**

The Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

October 19, 2018

A flower shop worker comes across an unusual species of plant that brings him great fortune, but at a great cost.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

October 19, 2018

A newly engaged couple get a flat tire near a castle where the mad Dr. Frank-N-Furter is having a party.

asib.2018 1.jpg — A Star Is Born (2018)

**Directed by: Bradley Cooper**
**Starring: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliot**
**Rated: R**
**Running Time: 2h 16m**
**TMM Score: 5 Stars**
**STRENGTHS: Everything**
**WEAKNESSES: Nothing**

A Star Is Born (2018)

October 11, 2018

When struggling singer Ally is performing at a drag bar, the biggest Rock Star in the world happens to hear her as he makes a pit stop for more beers. The instant connection they feel mirrors her rise to fame as they both cope with the frustrations of fame, the music industry, and love.

asib.1979 1.jpg — A Star Is Born (1979)

**Directed by: Frank Pierson**
**Starring: Barbara Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey**
**Rated: R**
**Running Time: 2h 19m**
**TMM Score: 2 Stars**
**STRENGTHS: Concert Set Pieces**
**WEAKNESSES: Strains Believability, No Emotional Connection**

A Star Is Born (1979)

October 11, 2018

The rowdiest mis-behaving-ist Rock Star in the game discovers a lounge singer who, he believes, has what it takes to be the next big thing. What does the next big thing mean for the last big thing?

mi3 1.jpg — Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

**Directed by: Nina Paley**
**Starring: Annette Hanshaw, Assem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally**
**Rated: NR**
**Running Time: 1h 22m**
**TMM Score: 3 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Directorial Conviction, Music, Design**
**WEAKNESSES: Pacing and Simple Animation**

Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

September 7, 2018

Sita and Rama, figures from the Vedas and Upanishads, are banished to a wild land of demons and monsters. When Sita is kidnapped by the king of the Rakshasa, Ravana, Rama must rescue her, but will he believe that she remained faithful during her stay with Ravana.

The-Decline-of-Western-Civilization-III-images-3ebeb533-8c67-40d8-a6b7-f3a97169c4b.jpg — The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)

**Directed by: Penelope Spheeris**
**Starring: Flea**
**Rated: NR (Suggested R for Pervasive Language and Destructive Behavior)**
**Running Time: 1 h 26 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Story**
**WEAKNESSES: Content**

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)

August 31, 2018

A documentary following the lives of gutter punks in Los Angeles in the late nineties.

MV5BZGQwODQ0NmYtN2JlYy00YzA2LThlMGEtMDk1MWMwZWM5MGIxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjI4MjA5MzA@._V1_.jpg — The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

**Directed by: Penelope Spheeris**
**Starring: Alice Cooper, Lizzy Borden, Poison, Aerosmith, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne**
**Rated: R**
**Running Time: 1 h 33 m**
**TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Music, Story**
**WEAKNESSES: Content, Misogyny**

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

August 31, 2018

Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris revisits her Decline of Western Civilization documentary series, this time taking a look at the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles.

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

August 31, 2018

A documentary following six punk rock bands around Los Angeles in the year 1980.

Sid & Nancy (1986)

August 30, 2018

The true story of Sid Vicious, bassist for The Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen.

(JamieR-AC)__TopsyTurvy(onesheet)1.jpg — Topsy-Turvy (1999)

**Directed by: Mike Leigh**
**Starring: Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Timothy Spall, Lesley Mansville**
**Rated: R for a Scene of Risque Nudity**
**Running Time: 2 h 34 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Mise-En-Scene, Direction, Acting, Production Design, Characters**
**WEAKNESSES: Length, Cultural Appropriation (?)**

Topsy-Turvy (1999)

August 20, 2018

The two leaders of a Victorian era theatre troupe struggle to come up with any good new material, straining their relationship, until inspiration for something new strikes.

popeye 1.jpg — Popeye (1980)

**Directed by: Robert Altman**
**Starring: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall**
**Rated: PG**
**Running Time: 1h 54m**
**TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS:When the movie is a cartoon.**
**WEAKNESSES: When the movie is a movie**

Popeye (1980)

August 3, 2018

A strange sailor, in search of his father, drifts into a ramshackle town. He’ll find more family than he bargains for as the town of Sweet Haven finds a hero.

MV5BZGY5NWUyNDUtZWJhZi00ZjMxLWFmMjMtYmJhZjVkZGZhNWQ4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_.jpg — Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

**Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell**
**Starring: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Michael Pitt**
**Rated: R for Sexual Content and Language**
**Running Time: 1 h 35 m**
**TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5**
**STRENGTHS: Soundtrack, Writing, Acting**
**WEAKNESSES: Subject Matter Will Turn Away Some Viewers**

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

July 23, 2018

The story of Hedwig, a transgender punk/glam rock girl, as she goes on tour.

The Lure (2015)

July 4, 2018

A musical about two mermaid sisters who are hired to work at a nightclub; when one of them falls in love with a bassist in the band, threatening their very way of life.

Hillsong: Let Hope Rise

**Directed By: Michael John Warren**
**Starring: Michael Guy Chislett, Matt Crocker, Adam Crosariol**
**Rated PG for Some Thematic Elements**
**TMM: 3 out of 5 Stars**
**Strengths: Cinematography, Direction, Themes**
**Weaknesses: Story**

Hillsong: Let Hope Rise (2016)

September 21, 2016

Hillsong sings a live concert.

Search the Archives…