Time Warp Drive-In, Jewish Film Festival return: Here's what's playing at each film event

John Beifuss
Memphis Commercial Appeal

The novel coronavirus isn't going away but neither are two eight-year-old Memphis film events, thanks to the availability of an outdoor movie "theater" and virtual technology.

The popular Time Warp Drive-In series launches its eighth season Saturday at the Malco Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Then, the next week, the International Jewish Film Festival — which traditionally has taken place at the Memphis Jewish Community Center, with satellite screenings at the Paradiso, the Ridgeway Cinema Grill and other venues — reimagines itself as a virtual event, with screenings beginning Jan. 27.

"Conan the Destroyer" (Arnold Schwarzenegger) knows it's easier to destroy the competition when Grace Jones is at your side.

With monthly revivals of 1980s comedies, rock 'n' roll musicals, monster movies and other examples of cult and classic cinema, the Time Warp Drive-In series — founded and curated by Black Lodge owner Matt Martin and independent filmmaker Mike McCarthy —  has been a staple of the Summer Drive-In since 2014.

Unlike other local movie programs, Time Warp did not have to "reinvent" itself in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The drive-in has remained in operation for most of the past year, even as Memphis indoor theaters remain closed as a health precaution.

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The 2021 Time Warp Drive-In season begins with a double dose of the actor who made political news recently with this strongly worded anti-Donald Trump video, Arnold Schwarzenegger. It ends Dec. 4 with a triple feature of Christmas-themed fantasies.

The best Bond? The late Sean Connery and his Aston Martin DB5 will race onto the Summer Drive-In screen in "Goldfinger."

As always, admission is $10 per person, and shows start at dusk. Shorts, vintage concession-stand ads, trailers and other examples of cinematic ephemera will screen between movies.

Here is the schedule: 

Jan. 23: Arnold Schwarzenegger gives muscular life to the hero of the mythological "Hyborian Age,"  created by pulp-fiction writer Robert E. Howard in 1932, in "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) and "Conan the Destroyer" (1984).

Feb. 20: Martial arts mayhem with Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon" (1973) and Jackie Chan in "Rumble in the Bronx" (1995).

March 20: The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, the Knights Who  Say "Ni!" and Roger the Shrubber are among the stars of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975) and "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" (1988). 

April 10: "Master of Suspense" Alfred Hitchcock is feted with a triple feature that consists of "Psycho" (1960), "Vertigo" (1958) and "Dial M for Murder" (1954).

Goon squad: Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Jonathan Luke Ke Huy Quan and Jeff Cohen are among "The Goonies."

May 15: A trio of family-friendly fantasy adventures including "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), "The Goonies" (1985) and "Explorers" (1985).

June 19: This smoke-a-delic quadruple feature begins with "Dazed and Confused" (1993) and continues with "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998), "Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke" (1978) and "Reefer Madness" (1936).

July 24: The almost preternatural presence of David Bowie links the Jim Henson fantasy "Labyrinth" (1986); the sexy vampire  tale, "The Hunger" (1983); and the British rock musical, "Absolute Beginners" (1986).

Aug. 7: A so-bad-they're-good (or are they?) marathon for movie masochists that includes "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987): "Cool as Ice" (1991), with Vanilla Ice; the legendary satanic no-budgeter, "Manos: The Hands of Fate" (1966); and Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster" (1955).

Sept. 11: In space no one can hear you laugh, so guffaw as loudly as you want to during Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs" (1987), "Galaxy Quest" (1999) and Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" (1996).

Oct. 30: Director Wes Craven was responsible for this Halloween weekend frightfest, which includes "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), "Scream" (1996), "The People Under the Stairs" (1991) and "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977).

Nov. 13: The late Sean Connery is Bond, James Bond, in "Dr. No" (1962) and "Goldfinger" (1964).

Dec.4: Christmas gets twisted in Joe Dante's "Gremlins" (1984); the Finnish "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale" (2010), inspired by the horrific folklore basis for some Santa Claus legends; and the mind-melting "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" (1964).

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International Jewish Film Festival

Meanwhile, the Memphis Jewish Community Center's Morris and Mollye Fogelman International Jewish Film Festival goes online in its eighth year, with nine feature films on the schedule, which can be viewed during various three-day "windows" of opportunity. The films — mostly new releases — can be rented to watch individually (for $15, in most cases); or all the movies can be viewed by those who buy a "season pass" to the festival ($140, or $110 for JCC members).

For example, the opening film, "Breaking Bread," is a new documentary about a woman trying to make "social change through food": Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s "Master Chef" television competition. The movie will be available to rent Jan. 27-29.

Young Riva Kyrmalowski stars in "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit," which screens online during the International Jewish Film Festival.

Other films — including "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit," adapted from Judith Kerr's semiautobiographical best-seller by Oscar-winning director Caroline Link, and "Holy Silence," a documentary about the Roman Catholic Church's response to the Holocaust, to name just two — will be available at various times through March 2. Some films will be accompanied by question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers and other virtual supplements.

For more information and to buy tickets to the Jewish Film Festival and access links to the movies, visit jccmemphis.org