Before he created the music, he lived every bit of it.

Our Staff Pick for the month of June comes from Allyssa, one of our Box Office Managers! She has chosen the mythmaking rock Drama Purple Rain!

A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid’s spotlight…and his girl.

Purple Rain is a film powered by pure charisma and one of the greatest soundtracks ever recorded. Songs like “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” and the immortal title track were made to shake theater walls, and seeing Prince command the screen in all his magnetic brilliance is a reminder of just how singular a performer he was. Great pick, Allyssa!

Fear and fury are sizzling in the Florida Keys!

We’re attempting to ride out the storm with our next Bogie Fest entry: Key Largo! This hurricane-lashed drama brings Humphrey Bogart together once more with Lauren Bacall in a story where danger rises with the tide.

Set in a remote Florida Keys hotel, war veteran Frank McCloud (Bogie himself) arrives to visit the family of a fallen comrade, only to find himself trapped as a powerful storm bears down. The hotel is then seized by a gang of mobsters led by the ruthless Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson doing his very best Edward G. Robinson impression), a larger-than-life crime boss whose presence turns the claustrophobic setting into a pressure cooker of fear and defiance.

As the winds howl outside, tensions escalate within, and McCloud must decide whether to remain the detached observer he claims to be…or take a stand against tyranny. Anchored by crackling dialogue and powerhouse performances, Key Largo is a bit underrated these days, sometimes lost in the sea of masterpieces that director John Huston bestowed upon us.