Dave’s Film Festival

With all these folks signing up for Netflix (or the Blockbuster version thereof) so they can rent more movies for less money, I’ve decided to plot a different course toward the same end. I’ve signed up with a program that allows me to rent more movies for a lot less money: namely, the Oklahoma County public library system.

No, it’s not very sexy to check out your movies from the library, and they don’t have a lot of blockbusters (no Spider-Man 3, dang). But they do have a lot of classic titles that I’ve wanted to see for a while. And they’re free (excluding late fees, which one need only exercise a sparse bit of memory to avoid). That’s still quite a bit cheaper than even Netflix.

And who knows, every once in a while, I may find one there that came out after the beginning of the new millennium.

So, in this spirit of free films, I’m launching the first ever Dave’s Film Festival. It will likely be an ongoing, sporadic affair, consisting of me and (usually) Marsha watching selected entries whenever we have the chance. And attention all you film buffs out there: Dave’s Film Festival is open to the public. In other words, if you know where I live, you can come watch the movies with me. Would Ebert extend such an offer? I think not. [Update: Marsha says to call first.]

There’s really only two criteria if you want to enter your film into Dave’s Film Festival. First, your film has to be available for free within the Oklahoma County public library system. Second, it has to be a film that I’m interested in seeing. I understand it may be difficult to know whether your film will appeal to my delicate yet preternaturally good tastes. Perhaps the best way to gauge it is to read my reviews of other entries and use your best judgment to determine how your film stacks up against the rest.

In truth, I’ve already watched the first three entries. Two, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, are Sidney Lumet pictures starring Al Pacino. The third is John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle. All three are crime dramas, yet all look at the subject from notably different angles.

Please be on the lookout for reviews of the entries in Dave’s Film Festival. Of course, I will be posting reviews of most, if not all, of the successfully screened entries right here on this blog. I look forward to your feedback.