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June 9, 2006
Don Juan DeMarco
Dir: Jeremy Leven, USA (1995), 97 min.
"Don Juan DeMarco" stars Johnny Depp as a man who thinks he is, and may be,
Don Juan. Women agree with him, but society does not, as his psychiatrist,
played by Marlon Brando, listens to his stories. The dividing line between
fantasy and reality becomes blurred, and, in the end, may not matter at all.
This is a "feel good" film that can be enjoyed by all ages.
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July 14,
2006
A Face in the Crowd
Dir: Elia Kazan, USA (1957), 125 min.
You've never seen Andy Griffith like this...Griffith plays Larry
"Lonesome" Rhodes, an Arkansas hobo who becomes a TV idol. As his
stardom increases, Rhodes becomes increasingly
power hungry, using his straight-talking television
persona to promote an extreme political agenda. With its cynical exploration
of media manipulation in politics, this film is just as haunting today
as it was in its own time. A startling performance by Griffith and
an excellent supporting cast including Walter Matthau and Patricia Neal
make this film a must see!
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August
18, 2006
Aparajito (The Unvanquished)
Dir: Satyajit Ray , India (1957), 110 min.
Aparajito follows the life and transition of the child Apu, first
introduced in Ray's film "Pather Panchali", to an adolescent.
An emotional classic which captures the sad but inevitable
reality of life and growing up, the film is a poignant tale of a
mother's love, her sacrifice, and the conflict between Apu's pursuit
of his dreams for a new life and the love for his mother pulling him
back towards the old. The age-old struggle is brilliantly captured in
this poetic masterpiece which serves as a tribute to that undaunted
Aparajito hidden somewhere within all of us.
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September 15, 2006
Das Schreckliche Mädchen (The Nasty Girl)
Dir: Michael Verhoeven, Germany (1990), 92 min.
When a young girl sets out to research the past of her seemingly idyllic
small town, she uncovers an unpleasant collaboration with The Third Reich.
Things turn ugly and comic at turns when the town turns against her.
Winner of eight international film awards and nominated for Best Foreign
Language Film in both the Oscars and Golden Globes.
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October 27, 2006 Science Fiction Double Feature !!!
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Dir: Robert Wise, USA (1951), 92 min.
When the Interplanetary United Nations
finds that the earth has developed weapons of mass destruction, its
response is simple: "join us and live in peace, or pursue your present
course and face obliteration!'' Originally developed as a commentary on
the Cold War, the film has obvious relevance today. It is perhaps best
known for its theremin-based score and the immortal line, "Gort!
Klaatu barada nikto!''
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Forbidden Planet
Dir: Fred M. Wilcox, USA (1956), 98 min.
For anyone who ever thought, "Shakespeare's `The Tempest' is good, but
it would be even better if it had spaceships and a giant robot!'' Leslie
Nielsen and his crew of explorers discover a planet inhabited only by a
mad scientist, his daughter... and a deadly secret! This film marks
the debut of Robby the Robot, one of the most iconic robot characters
in cinema history.
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November 10, 2006
Le Dîner de cons (The Dinner Game)
Dir: Francis Veber, France (1998), 80 min.
Each week the successful Pierre Brochant meets his Parisian friends
for a unique, misanthropic `Dinner Game'. The friends compete by inviting
the most idiotic person they can find to dinner; the host
of the most idiotic guest wins! This week, Pierre thinks his guest--a
tax employee whose principal hobby is making replica monuments out of
matchsticks--is the sure winner, but when a medical injury prevents Pierre
from attending the dinner he ends up alone with his
well-intentioned, but clumsy champion all night. Extremely comic,
"The Dinner Game'' allows you to decide who the real idiots are.
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December 8, 2006
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without A Past)
Dir: Aki Kaurismäki, Finland (2002), 97 min.
After a brutal mugging, a man awakens with no memory; he wanders into the
outskirts of Helsinki with his face wrapped like an escapee from a classic
horror film. A destitute family helps nurse him back to health and a
Salvation Army worker named Irma helps him get a job. While bureaucrats
and policemen can't seem to cope with this amnesiac's lack of
established identity, the man without a past plants potatoes,
manages a rock & roll band, and romances Irma as he builds his new self.
This film won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and was nominated for Best
Foreign Film at the Academy Awards.
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January 12,
2007
Whisky Galore! (Tight Little Island)
Dir: Alexander Mackendrick, UK (1949), 82 min.
The inhabitants of the mythical Scottish island Todday have their wildest
dreams come true when a ship carrying 50,000 cases of whiskey wrecks into
their island in the middle of wartime rationing. The story is convivial
and comic as parched inhabitants scheme to get the whiskey away from the
watchful captain. Based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie
which itself is based on the true story of the SS Politician , a ship which
sunk near Scotland during Warld War II while carrying over 250,000 bottles of
whiskey.
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February 9,
2007
Yume (Dreams)
Dir: Akira Kurosawa, Japan (1990), 119 min.
"Dreams'' is a set of eight short, dream-like films. The themes range from
whimsical--as in one dream when an art student accidentally walks into a Van
Gogh painting and meets the artist (played by Martin Scorsese)--
to serious as mountaineers struggle through a blizzard or a general
struggles with the ghosts of men who died in war. All eight have the vivid
colors and beautiful shots characteristic of Kurosawa's work.
Whether or not you already count yourself a fan of films like "The
Seven Samurai'' or "Ran'', you won't want to miss "Dreams''.
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March 2,
2007
Goodbye Lenin!
Dir: Wolfgang Becker, Germany (2003), 121 min.
Amidst the turbulence preceding the fall of the Berlin wall, a patriotic
East Berliner falls into a coma, only to wake up eight months later to a
new government and way of life. But because of her unstable health, her
son will go to any length to protect her from this life-threatening shock.
His innocent attempt to capture the past in order to save his mother takes
a life of its own in this clever look into the triumphs and failings of a
unified Germany. Wolfgang Becker's humorous and insightful film has
garnered over 30 awards!
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April 20, 2007
Waking Ned Devine
Dir: Kirk Jones, Ireland/UK (1998), 91 min.
Imagine being so happy about an unexpected surprise that the shock kills
you! That's what happened to Irishman Ned Devine after winning the
national lottery. Ned's friends and fellow townspeople are anxious not to
let his winning ticket go to waste so the residents of his tiny Irish coastal
village devise a scheme to claim the winnings. Of course, complications
occur and a screwball comedy ensues. Winner of the Best Feature Award at
the 1998 New York Comedy Festival, this film is sure to keep you laughing.
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May 4, 2007
Grizzly Man
Dir: Werner Herzog, USA (2005), 103 min.
"Grizzly Man'' is an artistic documentary about Timothy Treadwell, an extreme
environmental activist who spent 13 summers living among grizzly bears
in Alaska. The documentary intersperses family and friend interviews
with footage Treadwell took of himself and the bears on his Alaskan trips
before he and his girlfriend were attacked and killed by a grizzly in
October 2003. Winner of the Sundance's Sloan prize along with 10 other awards
and 5 nominations...a great documentary!
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