July Updates
Halfway through 2026!
Editor’s Note
Happy July! I write to you on my [redacted]th birthday. While summer birthdays had the downside of no “Bring your birthday treat to school” day in grade school, it’s always had the major advantage of being during the height of summer movie season. No matter the year, some part of my birthday celebration has involved movies. This year has been no exception, as I saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in 70mm at AFI on Sunday, and have a home viewing of “Jaws” on deck for today.
This year I’m also lucky enough to get to take my 3-year old niece to our first movie together. In anticipation of the new releases (and my desire to not see the live-action “Moana”), I sent her the entire Minions filmography on Blu-Ray in hopes of convincing her to either see that or “Toy Story 5”. While there would be a certain symmetry to taking her to Toy Story at nearly the same age as when I saw the first one, the thought of explaining Lumière Brothers references to her makes the Minions a strong contender. Either way, I’ll be fulfilling my uncle duties in buying her the biggest bag of Nerds Gummy Clusters possible.
While this month’s movie club screenings are decidedly not kid-friendly (I hope to never have to explain whatever is going to happen in “The Invite” to my niece), I can’t wait to see everyone at our events this month!
-Drew
Volunteer to be an event host!
New month, new events! You know what that means… we’re looking for volunteers to be a warm welcoming presence to event attendees!
General responsibilities include arriving to events on time, handing out name tags, greeting new people, and making sure people are feeling included/in the right space.
Currently seeking volunteers for the following events:
7/14: Screening | THE INVITE
8/2: BYO Vinyl Listening Party
8/4: Screening | SPIDER MAN
8/12: Trivia!
8/18: Screening | TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA
8/27: Happy hour/Discussion
Upcoming DC Movie Club Events
7/9: Genre Circle: Origin of the Razzies
“To understand bad taste one must have very good taste.”--John Waters, “Shock Value: A Tasteful Book About Bad Taste”
“It is pretty bad, though.” -- Roger Ebert on Xanadu
At this genre circle, we will be watching the two 1980 films that inspired a publicist to create the Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies for short) to honor the worst in Hollywood filmmaking. Since then, people have won both Razzies and Oscars in the same weekend or been nominated for both awards with the same role.
If taste is subjective, why do things like the Oscars, Razzies, or film criticism matter? How has the internet changed the role of art criticism in general? How do apps like Letterboxd change the way we view movies? Do we just consume or engage?
We’ll be watching (at home, on your own) & discussing “Xanadu” and “Can’t Stop The Music”.
7/12: Film Takes on Tap: Brunch Edition at Hook Hall
Join fellow lovers of film, the arts, and learning (!) for a morning of booze (optional), friendship, and passionate presentations!
Here’s how it’ll work:
Show up anytime between 10-11 for brunch/friendship. Hook Hall has a great brunch menu with a great boozy add-on!
Presentations start promptly at 11 — we’ll have 3 short-ish presentations, followed by a short Q&A for each presenter
Listen, learn, ask questions, make friends, enjoy!
7/14: Screening: THE INVITE at Alamo Drafthouse DC
5:30 p.m. - Happy Hour
6:45 p.m. - Screening
7/28: Screening: HER PRIVATE HELL at Alamo Drafthouse DC (Tentative)
More details coming soon!
7/30: Happy Hour/Discussion at Red Bear Brewing Co
6 p.m.-???
We’ve technically got happy hour most every week, but this event is purely for drinking and schmoozing. There will be some discussion questions around movies we’ve seen so far this year in case you need an ice breaker (or just want to discuss movies)!
The event is free, but please register just so we can keep an eye on numbers to keep the bar in the loop :)
8/02: BYO Vinyl Listening Party at Kuro Listening Bar
4 PM-10:30P (closing)
Beat the August heat (and Sunday scaries) with a BYO movie-adjacent vinyls listening party!
Join DC Movie Club and Lower Georgia Avenue Main Street at Kuro Listening Bar for a unique event for movie, music, and cocktail lovers alike!
Analog lovers -- this is your chance to show off your killer music/movie taste and bring your own movie related vinyls [think: soundtracks, scores, and/or sound effects ]. For those of you who don’t have vinyl to bring, just come enjoy the groovy tunes, Japanese-inspired cocktails, good company, and air conditioning!)
Your ticket includes one cocktail from Kuro!
Future Events
8/4: Screening | SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY
8/12: Movie Trivia | Penn Social
8/18: Screening | TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA
8/20: Genre Circle | Angelika Pop-Up DC
8/27: Happy Hour/Discussion | Location: TBD
Want to get involved? Volunteer to:
Screenings/Events Around Town
AFI Silver - Series & Events Calendar
Alamo Drafthouse - July Throwback Screenings
Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market - Calendar
DC Outdoor Movies - Calendar
The Kennedy Center - Film Calendar
The Miracle Theater - Calendar
National Air and Space Museum - 50th Anniversary Film Series
National Gallery of Art - Film Calendar
National Museum of Asian Art - Film Calendar
Suns Cinema - Calendar
Have an event we should know about/you want to promote? Submit it here!
Letterboxd List of the Month
A movie theater is one of the best places to beat the heat during summer. But even from inside an air-conditioned theater, the movies on this month’s list make you feel the warmth of the sun, the thick humid air, or heat between the characters (sometimes all three!).
Did we miss one of your favorites? If so, comment below!
Want to submit a review for a group screening? Use this form to submit your post-movie thoughts.