Trust me, you don't want to hear about the one movie I've seen in theatres this summer [The Hangover], or the string of mediocre rental selections [Spring Breakdown, Hamlet 2, Leatherheads], or the miserable in-flight movie [He's Just Not That Into You], or my exhausted, half-remembered Flaherty memories of a movie about naked mole rats. Actually, that one was pretty bad-ass, as was seeing Robert Flaherty's studies for a [never-completed] doc on Guernica shot at MoMA.
In sum, it's been a fairly fallow summer for movies thus far. I'm hoping to improve my luck during a quick jaunt to Boston this coming week. Fingers crossed.
But! One bright spot: Yesterday, I snagged an Athena 224-ES [or perhaps 224A] Motion Analyzer 16mm projector from campus surplus. Haven't tested to see whether it works yet, but the documentation promises "Forward and Reverse, without flicker" and "Unlimited single-frame hold time." I know where there's a stash of 16mm features on campus and am thinking serious flicker party time looms in my future. Anyone out there played with one of these babies? Pipe up in the comments, s.v.p.
