Saturdays: New Movies Can Still Be Good
New Releases
2013-10-05 @ 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
The Bling Ring
(Sophia Coppola, 2013) · Hollywood insider Coppola brings her satirical touch to the true story of fame-obsessed teens who burgled the very celebrities they idolized—including Paris Hilton, who said she only agreed to cameo because she "loves Sophia." And who can blame her? Coppola took the featherweight story seriously, even prepping her cast by making them fake-rob a house. Emma Watson stands out among the gang, proving she can play vacuous as sharply as she plays genius.
runtime: 90 min format: DCP
2013-10-12 @ 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Frances Ha
(Noah Baumbach, 2012) · This film follows Frances, a 27-year old still fledgling dancer living in New York City. Frances has a shrinking income, a failing love life, and a straining relationship with her roommate, Sophie. When Sophie moves out to live with another friend, Frances tries desperately to figure out how to live her life. Not so much a narrative as a glimpse into a character's life, Noah Baumbach manages to produce a film that is endearing, lovable, and funny.
runtime: 86 min format: 35mm
2013-10-19 @ 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Voyage to Italy
(Roberto Rossellini, 1954) · A quarrelsome English couple prepares to sell an inherited villa. "Madness to want to stay here in an enemy country." "I hate him. The brute!" The terrace overlooks Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Naples, and Capri just 10 years after Allied bombers destroyed the ancient Abbey at Monte Cassino. Counting among "Rules of the Game", "Story of a Love Affair", "The 400 Blows", and "High and Low", this movie trades in wit and beauty, not necessarily happiness.
runtime: 97 min format: 35mm
2013-10-26 @ 7:00 PM 9:15 PM
Before Midnight
(Richard Linklater, 2013) · Nine more years have passed, and Celine and Jesse are now a couple vacationing in Greece with twin daughters. The thrill of connection and reconnection has subsided, and now they're grappling with the lingering consequences of their union. How to maintain a love born in transience? How to negotiate the strife that arises from intimate familiarity? Midnight trades in the guarded romanticism of the first two films for a bitter, incisive honesty.
runtime: 109 min format: 35mm
2013-11-02 @ 7:00 PM 9:15 PM
Much Ado About Nothing
(Joss Whedon, 2012) · In this film, Joss Whedon, the modern Shakespeare, does his take on the Bard's classic comedy. A story about two pairs of lovers with different takes on what love is, "Much Ado About Nothing" demonstrates what film techniques can do to add nuance to a text. Using the original text and starring several cast members from other Whedon works including Nathan Fillion, this film's giddy and intimate energy puts it among the best modern Shakespeare adaptations.
runtime: 109 min format:
2013-11-09 @ 7:00 PM 9:15 PM
Blue Jasmine
(Woody Allen, 2013) · This update of "A Streetcar Named Desire" for the new millennium replaces aristocratic southern belle Blanche Dubois with Manhattan socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), whose life of luxury is blown by the scandal surrounding her Bernie Madoff-like husband. Homeless, she moves in with her working-class sister, whose tiny apartment and coarse boyfriend (standing in for Stanley Kowalski) set a gritty stage for Jasmine's descent into madness.
runtime: 98 min format: DCP
2013-11-16 @ 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Fruitvale Station
(Ryan Coogler, 2013) · Based on the true story of Oscar Grant III (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year old killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer in the early morning of New Year's Day in 2009, this film follows Oscar through the last day of his life. Coogler filmed "Fruitvale Station" in Oakland and the San Quentin State Prison, using prisoners as extras. This hard-hitting and unrelenting film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and Best First Film at Cannes.
runtime: 90 min format:
2013-11-23 @ 7:00 PM 9:30 PM
The Act of Killing
(Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, and Anonymous, 2012) · "War crimes are defined by the winners. I'm a winner." Anwar Congo belonged to the Indonesian paramilitary death squad that killed a million alleged Communists in the mid-sixties. Never faced with reprisals, Congo is a national hero acutely aware of his crimes but lacking the framework to feel remorse. This begins to change when he agrees to reenact his memories of murder on camera. One of the most chilling and surreal documentaries ever made.
runtime: 115 min format: DCP
2013-12-07 @ 7:00 PM 9:45 PM
The Butler
(Lee Daniels 2013) · Lots of "'The Butler' did it!" headlines greeted the surprise box-office success of this picture, whose sweeping portrayal of American politics and the civil rights movement over a period of decades struck a chord with audiences. The offbeat casting of the presidents (Robin Williams as Ike, John Cusack as Nixon, Alan Rickman as Reagan) drew initial attention to the film, but Forest Whitaker holds the movie together as the conflicted main character.
runtime: 132 min format: 35mm
