New York Film Critics Series Looks at Movies 'From A Different Angle'

It's a chance to go into a film from a different angle.

That, according to film critic Owen Glieberman, who will open the spring 2011 series of films screened by The New York Film Critics series, starting Wednesday, April 6 at . The eight-week film series, which features interviews and Q&A sessions with prominent critics, as well as those behind the films, has been entertaining movie buffs for almost 20 years.

A film critic for Entertainment Weekly magazine since its inception in 1990, Glieberman said he is excited whenever event founders, the father and son duo of Ira and Mark Ehrenkranz, have invited him back to host. Glieberman will serve as the Morristown series opener host, while Rolling Stone magazine writer Peter Travers hosted the opener in Paramus on April 4.

"The audiences, the people who enroll in these are just fantastic," Glieberman said. "They come with so much enthusiasm and knowledge of film. They're tough critics. They are very astute movie goers. An ideal audience for a critic, they think critically."

The brainchild of father and son team Ira and Mark Ehrenkranz, the series was born from Ira's experience with other such ventures. "I left another series, which had awful films and guests," he said. "I went to all the New York series of this kind and thought we could compete in New Jersey. We have New York City critics and a much better slate of films."

The series began 18 years ago in Secaucus, and featured critic Jeffrey Lyons. It is now hosted at two locations, in Morristown and at the Garden State Plaza AMC in Paramus.

The series has had, in the past, an impressive track record of screening films that became major Academy Award contenders, among them Black Swan, Precious, Slumdog Millionaire, Joel and Ethan Coen's O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Up In The Air. These films were presented before their standard theatrical release dates, allowing series subscribers to be the first to catch them on the big screen.

The spring 2011 Morristown season opens with Exporting Raymond, by Phil Rosenthal, creator of the popular "Everybody Loves Raymond" sitcom. It's a documentary of Rosenthal's mission to recreate the series for audiences in Russia, as "The Voronins," where "he finds himself lost in Moscow, lost in his mission, lost in translation," according to press information on the New York Film Critics Series website.

Co-series creator Mark Ehrenkranz, who has worked in various roles at film studios for 25 years, said, "we feel this market is underserved.

"It's a chance to go into a movie from various angles," he said. "Sometimes we're interviewing an actor, talking to the director ... they will take you inside the film from a different angle."

Not every film is the same, and not every film is guaranteed to be loved by every critic, as fellow film critic and series host, Alison Bailes, can attest to. "I don't really like to do things like this unless I like the film–I don't want to be disingenuous," said Bailes, who is a critic for the website more.com, as well as for the new Roger Ebert-produced program, "Ebert Presents At the Movies."

"I think it has happened, one film I didn't enjoy. I won't lie and say I liked it," Bailes said. "But, the audience loved that film. It went over really well. There's no accounting for taste. Obviously not everyone will have the same taste as me."

This season, Bailes said standouts have included Exporting Raymond, which she called "very funny," as well as romantic thriller Double Hour. She did not pull any punches, however, for the movie Bride Flight, described as "the story of the women on the KLM flight that won the 1953 Air Race from London to Christchurch, New Zealand." According to Bailes, "that's one I didn't love."

Mark Ehrenkranz, who serves as the Morristown series emcee, said the movies he and his father select might have been heard of, but not necessarily seen by a larger audience. "Last year, we showed 127 Hours (the James Franco-starring film based on the true story of Aron Ralston, the man who survived being trapped during a hike by cutting his own hand off)," he said. "Everyone was like, 'ugh, I would never go see that.' But when they saw it, they were hugely surprised.

"We will challenge them and we'll do risks," Ehrenkranz said.

Glieberman said the movie series helps him to "tap my own curiosity. How can I learn from this?

"Inevitably I come out of these experiences enriched, feeling like I've learned something about the way movies work in general," he said. "That's what fun about it. It's a chance to see a lot of really interesting films in a rare and fascinating project. Our media world is so saturated with info. When you go to see a movie, you know too much about it. It's harder and harder in our world for a movie to exist just as a standalone experience. This series allows for that."

Film packages range from $179-$199, with offers to see up to 20 films at both the Morristown and Paramus locations. For more information on the New York Film Critics Series and how to register, visit www.nyfilmcritics.com.