Space Melt Cinema presents: Small Soldiers at the Philadelphia Film Center!

Greetings, Gorgonites. Space Melt Cinema will be screening Small Soldiers (1998) in collaboration with the Philadelphia Film Socity April 11th at 7pm at the Film Society Center — 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA.

Small Soldiers is, once again, our favorite movie. It’s what happens when a children’s toy commercial slowly mutates into a war movie. Directed by Philadelphia College of Art alumni Joe Dante, the film begins as a harmless suburban adventure and gradually reveals itself to be something much stranger: a satire about militarism, consumer culture, and what would happen if (and when) we put Pentagon-grade microchips into action figures.

Dante’s best joke is the casting. The Commando Elite are voiced by actors from The Dirty Dozen, including Tommy Lee Jones, while the peaceful Gorgonites are played by the trio from This Is Spinal Tap: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. The warmongers sound like old war movies. The monsters sound like a rock band. Of course, let’s not forget the final performance from the legendary Phil Hartman.

As always, thank you to the greatest artist in Philadelphia, Noah J Landers (https://www.noahjlanders.com) for coming up with this incredible poster.