24
Feb/10

WAVERLY MIDNIGHTS: BIGELOW VS. CAMERON

24
Feb/10
Former husband and wife James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow claim to still be good friends, but they’ll be battling it out in Hollywood and the IFC Center

Former husband and wife James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow claim to still be good friends, but they’ll be battling it out for directorial supremacy in Hollywood and the IFC Center

IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.
Weekends at midnight, February 26 – April 17
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com

The IFC Center isn’t waiting until March 7 to watch Kathryn Bigelow battle it out for Oscar supremacy against former husband James Cameron. Starting this Friday night and continuing into April, IFC will match up the writer-directors of THE HURT LOCKER and AVATAR by screening their earlier works on alternating weekends at midnight, a cool collection of underrated flicks and big-budget epics that all contain elements of genius, nearly every one action-packed, filled with chills and spills — and Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. Yes, movie lovers, the fight kicks off February 26 with Bigelow’s kitschy classic, POINT BREAK (1991), in which FBI Agents Johnny Utah (Reeves!) and Pappas (Gary Busey!) chase surfing bad boy Bodhi (Swayze!) along the beautiful beaches of California. POINT BREAK will be tough to beat, but Cameron’s THE ABYSS (1989) will go where its challenger did not — deep underwater with Ed Harris (March 5-6). Cammie and Biggie, who were husband and wife from 1989 to 1991, will both enter round two with Jamie Lee Curtis by their side, either basking in the glow of Oscar or wallowing in sheer misery, pitting Kathryn’s 1989 cop drama BLUE STEEL (March 12-13) against Jim’s explosive 1994 remake of a French film, TRUE LIES (March 19-20), followed by KB’s misunderstood STRANGE DAYS (1995) against JC’s awesome ALIENS (1986). If there’s still any doubt as to whom the victor is, the IFC Center has loaded the deck for the last round, as Big’s 1987 vampire drama NEAR DARK (April 9-10) stands little chance against Cam’s 1984 favorite, THE TERMINATOR (April 16-17), in which Ahnold will make sure who the winner is, even if he has to travel through time to make it so.