Films we want to see: 'Robot Dreams' with a story of friendship in the 1980s East Village

Image via NEON

"Robot Dreams," a dialogue-free animated feature, opened on Friday at the Film Forum. (Showtimes here.) 

We've seen the trailer (below!), though not the film... and are looking forward to it. 

The synopsis: 

New York City, 1980s. Dog lives an unassuming life among the bustle of the East Village. Feeling lonely, he orders Robot from a TV ad. Once assembled, Robot instantly becomes Dog's most steadfast friend. Together, they explore the city, rollerskating and roaming to a near-constant thrum of Earth, Wind, & Fire's "September."

The film by Pablo Berger (from the graphic novel by Sara Varon) scored 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. 

Berger previously lived in the East Village, noting to an interviewer: "The apartment where Dog lives has the same floorplan as my first apartment." (His apartment includes a video rental from Kim's and a trip to the Strand.) 

A few headlines about the film: "'Robot Dreams' Is a Radiant Ode to Friendship and 1980s New York" (TIME) ... "Animated ‘Robot Dreams’ captures feelings of love and loss in 1980s East Village" (Gay City News)

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Coming attractions: 'Make Me Famous'

"Make Me Famous," a documentary on 1980s-era East Village-based painter Edward Brezinski, premiered last weekend in London... garnering some feature stories (The Guardian ... AnotherMag) in the process.

Here's a description of the film: 

Edward Brezinski worked alongside Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the Lower East Side art scene, but never reached the same level of success as his contemporaries. "Make Me Famous" uncovers why such a well-connected yet peculiar painter never made it, despite being so maniacally focused in his quest for fame. 

What begins as an investigation into Brezinski's legacy and mysterious disappearance becomes a sharp, witty portrait of NYC's 1980s downtown art scene. Gallery owners and fellow artists dish on insider gossip, name drop, and contradict each other in telling the story, resulting in an irresistible snapshot of an unknown artist that captures the spirit of an iconic era. 

Check out the trailer...

 

You can catch a screening at the Museum of the City of New York on April 18. (Details here.)

Decision 2023: What screening of 'Cocaine Bear' are you attending?

It's officially "Cocaine Bear" week... which local movie house will you see the 2024 Best Picture winner in? Or will you wait for its release via the Criterion Collection?

 

Serving up 'Licorice Pizza' this Thanksgiving

"Licorice Pizza," Paul Thomas Anderson's well-received coming-of-age film, opens this evening in 70mm at the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue at 12th Street. (Given the 70mm format, it will be playing in the large auditorium — the Jaffe Art Theatre.) 

The thumbnail plot of the comedy-drama: "Alana Kane and Gary Valentine grow up, run around and fall in love in California's San Fernando Valley in the 1970s."

You can find ticket info here. 

And the trailer because it has Bowie's "Life on Mars" ...