Author: Josh Hornbeck

Josh is the founder of Cinema Cocktail, and he is a writer and director, podcaster and critic, and communications and marketing professional living and working in the greater Seattle area.

In This Corner of the World (2016) | May 16, 1:00 pm

Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm… – JustWatch

Director: Sunao Katabuchi

Cast: Non, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Daisuke Ono, Mayumi Shintani

Country: Japan

Distributor: Shout! Factory

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Platform: Netflix

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Tito and the Birds (2019) | May 16, 11:00 am

Tito is a shy 10-year-old boy who lives with his mother. Suddenly, an unusual epidemic starts to spread, making people sick whenever they get scared. Tito quickly discovers that the cure is somehow related to his missing father’s research on bird song. He embarks on a journey to save the world from the epidemic with his friends. – Telescope Film

Director: André Catoto Dias

Cast: Pedro Henrique, Mateus Solano, Denise Fraga, Matheus Nachtergaele

Country: Brazil

Distributor: Shout! Factory

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 13 minutes

Platform: Amazon Prime

Special Programming: Family Films

WATCH ON AMAZON PRIME
WATCH ON OTHER STREAMING SERVICES

Emma. (2020) | May 15, 9:00 pm

Jane Austen’s beloved comedy about finding your equal and earning your happy ending, is reimagined in this delicious new film adaptation of Emma. Handsome, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse is a restless queen bee without rivals in her sleepy little town. In this glittering satire of social class and the pain of growing up, Emma must adventure through misguided matches and romantic missteps to find the love that has been there all along. – Universal Pictures UK

Director: Autumn de Wilde

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Rupert Graves, Gemma Whelan, Amber Anderson, Tanya Reynolds, Connor Swindells

Country: United Kingdom

Distributor: Focus Features

Rating: PG

Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Platform: Video-On-Demand

Special Events: Opening Night Gala, Filmmaker Conversations

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 17: Comedies on Other Streaming Services

Josh is joined once again by Robert Taylor, screenwriter and critic at The Robert Taylor Odyssey, as they try to “Make ‘Em Laugh” with comedies found on other streaming services.

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 16: Make ‘Em Laugh!

Josh is joined once again by screenwriter and critic Robert Taylor of the Robert Taylor Odyssey as they try to “Make ‘Em Laugh” with comedies that are only available on The Criterion Channel. Plus, Matt Gasteier of The Complete Podcast stops by to discuss entry points to the films of Yasujiro Ozu.

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 15: April 2020 New and Expiring Titles

Josh is joined by screenwriter and critic Robert Taylor of The Robert Taylor Odyssey to discuss April’s new and expiring titles, and Michael Hutchins stops by to discuss the state of Criterion’s permanent digital library.

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      • Robert Taylor: Support Your Local Restaurants (Delivery, Take-Out, or Gift-Cards)
      • Michael Hutchins: Art-House American Campaign
      • Support Your Local Art-House, Independent Cinema (Donations) | Support Your Local Food Bank

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Announcing the Cinema Cocktail 2020 Virtual Film Festival

Every May for the past few years, I’ve taken some much-needed vacation time to attend the Seattle International Film Festival. The festival coincides with my birthday, and what better way to celebrate another trip around the sun than 25 days of incredible film from every corner of the globe? But with the COVID-19 spread necessitating the shutdown of public gatherings, this year’s festival was cancelled. Rather than give up my yearly celebration of cinema, I’ve decided to take the two weeks off and program my own virtual film festival to coincide with the time I’d be taking off under normal circumstances.

So here at Cinema Cocktail, I am pleased to announce the first-ever Cinema Cocktail Virtual Film Festival – May 15-31. Using streaming services like the Criterion Channel, Mubi, Ovid, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Shudder, and more – as well as the occasional Video on Demand title – I’ll be curating a selection of films that include silent cinema, classics, contemporary film from around the world, long form storytelling, family films, and midnight movies. There are a few principles that are guiding my selection as I narrow down the final choices:

      • All programmed films must be films that I have not yet seen, though exceptions will be made if I can track down some films that are exceptionally difficult to see;
      • If at all possible, 50% of all films programmed should be directed or co-directed by female filmmakers. black and indigenous filmmakers, and filmmakers of color; and,
      • If at all possible, programmed films should represent as many geographic regions as possible.

I do know that I am setting myself up for some challenges here and I may not achieve all three goals, but I do believe they’re worthy goals to strive towards nonetheless.

While the full lineup won’t be announced until early May, I am very pleased to announce both our Opening Night and our Closing Night films!

Opening Night Film and Festivities

We’ll kick off the festival with Autumn de Wilde’s Jane Austen adaptation, Emma., a stylized and luminous comedy that’s that been getting high marks from critics. As Justin Chang wrote for NPR, “This is the first feature from the photographer and music-video director Autumn de Wilde, and while she has an obvious eye for beauty, she has an equally sharp eye for the absurd.” We’ll also include a link to a 33-minute Q&A with de Wilde and star Anya Taylor-Joy for anyone who wants to learn more about the film.

Closing Day Screenings and Celebrations

We’ll be closing out the festival with a retrospective on the French filmmaker Céline Sciamma. Throughout the day we’ll view all of her feature films (Water Lilies, Tomboy, and Girlhood), one of her shorts (Pauline), and an in-depth interview between Sciamma and Tricia Tuttle, director of the BFI London Film Festival. Finally, we’ll end the evening with Sciamma’s latest film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire. “Sciamma has a keen eye for the ways that women have always cared for each other under the radar of society, dealing with unwanted pregnancies and building little communities in plain sight.” (Emily VanDerWerff, Vox)

If there’s enough interest, I also intend to host a few panel conversations and group discussions through the festival, and we’ll see what other ways we can build in some aspects of intentional community building that you get with a traditional film festival. I do hope you’ll consider joining me for as much of this two-week festival as you’re able. Stay tuned for more information!

Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 14: Japanese Cinema on Other Streaming Services

Josh is once again joined by Matt Gasteier of The Complete Podcast to discuss Japanese cinema, this time focusing on films that are available on other streaming services.

Note: This was recorded in early March, when we were just beginning to get an idea of just how serious the outbreak of COVID-19 really was going to be for our country. Things have changed all across the country since this was recorded, and Matt shared a few organizations that he’d like listeners to consider supporting if you have the resources. Due to a hectic work schedule during this crisis that leaves little time or bandwidth for editing, the follow episode is lightly edited and contains many of the stammers and pauses that are usually trimmed. And due to the delays in editing, some of the titles are on different streaming platforms than the ones mentioned in the episode. We’ve posted links to the most current platforms available, as well as a link to their Just Watch listing.

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 13: Japanese Cinema – Keisuke Kinoshita

Josh is joined once again by frequent contributor Matt Gasteier of The Complete Podcast to continue their conversation about the Criterion Channel. For this episode, they dive into the filmography of Japanese filmmaker Keisuke Kinoshita and offer up a few recommendations for films that are only available on the Criterion Channel. But first, Jill Blake of the Drinking While Talking Podcast stops by to discuss entry-points into classic Hollywood.

Note: The segments with Matt and Jill were recorded in early March, when we were just beginning to get an idea of just how serious the outbreak of COVID-19 really was going to be for our country. Things have changed all across the country since this was recorded, and both Matt and Jill have shared a few organizations that they’d like listeners to consider supporting if you have the resources. Due to a hectic work schedule during this crisis that leaves little time or bandwidth for editing, the follow episode is lightly edited and contains many of the stammers and pauses that are usually trimmed.

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 12: March 2020 New and Expiring Titles

Josh is joined by frequent contributor Matt Gasteier of The Complete Podcast to discuss March’s new and expiring titles, and Michael Hutchins stops by to discuss the directors who are represented in Criterion’s permanent digital library.

Note: The segments with Matt were recorded in early March, when we were just beginning to get an idea of just how serious the outbreak of COVID-19 really was going to be for our country. Michael’s segment was recorded in mid-February, due to a previously schedule trip. Things have changed all across the country since this was recorded, and both Matt and Michael have shared a few organizations that they’d like listeners to consider supporting if you have the resources. Due to a hectic work schedule during this crisis that leaves little time or bandwidth for editing, the follow episode is lightly edited and contains many of the stammers and pauses that are usually trimmed.

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