sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday

SEPT 9 & 10 (7:10 & 9:30)

SUPER 8Director: J.J. Abrams USA, 2011, 112 min; PG

Cast: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Riley Griffiths.

“This year’s most thrilling, FEELING mainstream movie!” –Time

Loving, Playful, and spectacu-larly well made, Super 8 is eas-ily the best summer movie of the year — of many years. It’s been ages since adolescent innocence, fatherly authority, and everyday awe were in movie vogue. This irresistible story of middle-school-age kids who set out to make a zombie flick, accidentally witness a sensational train crash, and become involved in a tale of extrater-restrial mystery straight out of an E.T.-era Steven Spielberg pic may leave viewers dumbstruck: How have we survived for so long on such a meager, high-cal, low-nutrition diet of processed superhero sequels? Super 8 is an antidote to that emotional-vitamin deficiency. It’s also a great specimen of original storytelling --Entertainment Weekly

AUG 14 & 15 (7:00 & 9:20)

WATER FOR ELEPHANTSDirector: Francis Lawrence USA, 2011, 121 minutes; PG Cast: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz

“A SPLENDID PERIOD SWOONER THAT DELIVERS CLASSIC ROMANCE!” – Variety

“ELEVATES PURE CORN TO A COMPLETELY SATISFYING REALM OF ROMANTIC MELODRAMA.” –Chicago Tribune

“A THROWBACK TO OLD-SCHOOL HOLLYWOOD ACTION/ROMANCE.” –Philadelphia Inquirer

Water for Elephants is one of those big, extravagant-looking romances. Jacob (Robert Pattinson) is an aspiring veterinar-ian who ditches school and hops a train, one that, it turns out, carries a ragtag, two-bit traveling circus. It’s 1931, and no one is making much of a living: The Benzini Brothers Circus makes its way by picking up performers, roustabouts and animals from other circuses that have failed. When the circus’ manager, a cruel but complicated egomaniac named August (Christoph Waltz) learns that Jacob is a vet — or almost a vet — he finds uses for him. Jacob’s situation becomes precari-ous when he falls in love with August’s wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a bareback performer — she prances about bewitchingly in pink leotards and spangles. It’s love at first sight for Jacob, and maybe at second for Marlena, but their bond is strengthened further when August picks up an elephant from yet another failed circus….Sara Gruen’s novel is unpretentious and satisfying, and although screenwriter Richard LaGravenese has streamlined it considerably, he has preserved the book’s spirit: This may be a love story, but it’s also a snapshot of a lost era. --Movieline

AUG 21 (7:00 & 9:25)

BRIDESMAIDSsee Aug. 19 & 20 for description

AUG 22 (7:00 & 9:15)

MADE IN DAGENHAMDirector: Nigel Cole UK, 2010, 114 min; PG Cast: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Rosamund Pike, Miranda Richardson, Daniel Mays

A genuinely uplifting crowd-pleaser. In 1968, the Ford plant at Dagenham is the cornerstone of the British car industry. Persuaded to come along to meet with management by her shop steward (Bob Hoskins), Rita O’Grady (Hawkins) surprises every-one, and most of all herself, by throwing the bosses’ hypocrisy back in their faces. In no time at all she has led the women out on their very first strike. This is the sort of story the British do better than anyone, related with great populist spirit and rambunctious comedy. –Vancouver International Film Festival

AUG 23 (7:00 only) SPECIAL EVENT! Q&A with painter Manon Elder and director Kristina Campbell to follow screening!

SEARCHING FOR EMILYDirector: Kristina Campbell Canada, 2011, 94 min; DVD

Searching for Emily follows the entertaining creative process of portrait artist Manon Elder as she collaborates with Royal BC Museum curator Kathryn Bridge to redefine the image of iconic Canadian author and artist Emily Carr (1871-1945). The film culminates with Elder’s journey to the mystical islands of Haida Gwaii. Unscripted and shot on Campbell’s video camera, the boundaries between subject and audience meld as the artist muses, works and travels. As Elder unselfconsciously invites the viewer to join her in following Emily Carr’s footsteps, Searching For Emily becomes the portal for us all to understand and love Emily Carr.

SEPT 13 (7:00 & 9:40)

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEYDirector: Stanley Kubrick UK/USA, 1968, 141 min; Blu-ray; rated G

“AN EXTRAORDINARY, OBSESSIVE, BEAUTIFUL WORK OF ART.” –Chicago Tribune With his virtuosic adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, Stanley Kubrick invented the modern science fiction film. That 2001 has blown many audience members’ minds to the point of causing them to walk out is a testament to Kubrick’s distinctive vision that bet-ter reveals itself the more times you see the film. Part philosophical reverie, part social satire, and part sheer cinematic poetry, the story jumps from a pre-historic era to a futuristic space-age when man discovers proof of intelligent alien life in the form of a gigantic black monolith on the moon. Kubrick’s multi-dimensional context is larger in scope, and yet more surgically focused, than any other film ever made. –Cole Smithey

AUG 16 (7 & 9:00)

DAYS OF HEAVENDiRECtoR: tERRENCE MALiCK USA, 1978, 94 min; Blu-ray; PG

“ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILMS EVER MADE!” –Roger Ebert

“One of the great cinematic achievements of the 1970s.” --Variety

It seems almost incontestably the most gorgeously photographed film ever made. Days of Heaven is a rapture that must be seen on a big screen. The story is about a love triangle between Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepherd in the Texas wheat fields during World War I. Is Days of Heaven a movie that never quite lives up to its cinema-tography (shot famously during twilight by Néstor Almendros) and its music (by Ennio Morricone), or is it, film being the sensual encounter it is, a master-piece because of its unsurpassed textural pleasure? –The Village Voice Shot in Alberta.

AUG 30 (7:15 only)

THE THIN RED LINEDiRECtoR: tERRENCE MALiCK USA, 1998, 170 minutes; Blu-ray; 14A

After directing two of the most extraordinary movies of the 1970s, Badlands and Days of Heaven, American artist Terrence Malick disappeared from the film world for twenty years, only to resurface in 1998 with this visionary adaptation of James Jones’s novel about the World War II battle for Guadalcanal. A big-budget, spectacularly mounted epic, The Thin Red Line is also deeply philosophi-cal, a thought-provoking meditation on man, nature, and violence. Featuring a cast of contemporary cin-ema’s finest actors—Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, and Woody Harrelson among them…A kaleidoscopic evocation of the experience of combat that ranks as one of the greatest war films ever produced. –Criterion Collection

With George Clooney, Ben Chaplin, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, John C. Reilly, Jared Leto, John Travolta, Nick Stahl.

SEPT 6 (7:15 only)

THE NEW WORLD: The Extended CutDiRECtoR: tERRENCE MALiCK USA, 2008, 171 minutes; Blu-ray; PG Cast: Colin Farrell, Q’orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale

American history is transformed into a dream-vision of savagery and grace by Terrence Malick in his humid story of colonial settlers on the Virginian coast in 1608. Malick takes as his text the romantic legend of the Native American princess Pocahontas, and how she was brought back to be feted at the English court of James I as trophy and augury of the dizzying fortunes and reputations to be made in the new world. Malick is ecstati-cally at home in the broiling southern swampland. –The Guardian UK

Contains over 20 minutes of footage not seen in its first theatrical release.

AUG 19 & 20 (7:00 & 9:25)

BRIDESMAIDSDirector: Paul Feig USA, 2011, 125 min; 14A

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Chris o’Dowd

“A BREATHROUGH COMEDY!” –Boxoffice Magazine

“SEE IT BECAUSE IT IS F---ING HILARIOUS!” –Slate

“SMART LAUGHS AND SIDE-SPLITTING FARCE!” –Empire

The brilliant Saturday Night Live player Kristen Wiig finally gets the big-screen vehicle she deserves. This raucous comedy was produced by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) and successfully transposes his “bromance” formula to the world of women: Wiig plays a depressed loser whose lifelong friendship with pal Maya Rudolph is threatened when the latter gets engaged and another of the bridesmaids starts angling to be maid of honor. The gags are often rowdy, yet they spring from a genuinely female perspective; aside from a big scatological set piece inside a chic dress salon, the movie maintains a surefooted balance between the sentimentality of most chick flicks and the crudity of most dick flicks. Paul Feig, creator of the cult TV series Freaks and Geeks, directed. –Chicago Reader

AUG 17 & 18 (7:15 & 9:00)

MARION WOODMAN: DANCING IN THE FLAMESDirector: Adam Reid Canada, 2009, 86 minutes; DVD

What if life and death are not divided against each other but are instead part of a mysteri-ous, harmonious whole? That’s the thesis of Adam Reid’s enlightening documentary about spiritual intellectual Marion Woodman. If the intellectual’s dream is to find space for true happiness amid the dangers of fearless thinking, we have a genuine success story in Marion Woodman. A Jungian analyst, author and educator, she’s renowned for her contributions to feminist thought, the study of addiction, and the endeavour to join spirituality with professional psychology. This probing, inspiring docu-mentary radiates passion and intellectual curiosity - indeed, it’s about the essential link between the two. As a thinker, Woodman draws on religion and myth to explain the mind; hers is a philosophy of dynamic oppo-sites. Life and death, love and grief, courage and submission are not at loggerheads for her - they’re part of a harmonious whole. Director Adam Reid draws on the animated films of Faith Hubley, incorporating their mythical imagery into the interview footage of Woodman and colleague and disciple Andrew Harvey…The visceral and the intellectual bleed into one radiant force in this film - that’s its special pleasure. --Vancouver International Film Festival

Marion Woodman is best known for her groundbreaking work on feminine psychology and addiction. Her books include Addiction to Perfection, The Owl was a Baker’s Daughter, and The Pregnant Virgin.

Sponsored by UVic’s Film Studies Program.

AUG 24 & 25 (7:15 only)

LITTLE WHITE LIES / Les Petits MouchoirsDirector: Guillaume Canet France, 2010, 156 minutes; French with subtitles; 18A

Cast: Marion Coutillard, François Cluzet, Benoît Magimel, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Dujardin, Valérie Bonneton

“Nobody does character-driven summer vaca tion dramas like the French.” –Toronto Screen Shots

Guillaume Canet’s witty relationships drama stars Canet’s partner Marion Cotillard as a Parisian in a tight-knit group of friends — mostly couples, mostly thirtysomething, some with kids, some without. Every year, they head out of the city for the beach house owned by Max (François Cluzet) for sun, sea and considerable amounts of wine. But this year, they have a dilemma: one of the group, Ludo (Jean Dujardin), has been hurt in a motorbike accident. Should they leave him in the hands of the hospital and head off regardless? The decision is, of course, yes, and a comedic vacation drama ensues. --Empire

“This funny and warm French ensemble effort plays out like an early Woody Allen comedy, with its bourgeois characters, witty banter and relationship intrigues.” –Radio Times

AUG 31 & SEPT 1 (7:00 & 9:10)

LIVE, ABOVE ALLDirector: oliver Schmitz South Africa, 2010, 107 min; Sotho with subtitles; PG

HHHH A hit on the festival circuit, this South African drama focuses on a bright young girl, Chanda (Khomotso Manyaka), who’s mourning the death of her little sis-ter and coming to terms with her mother’s supposedly mysterious illness. Her drunk-en, philandering stepfather is no use, so Chanda must run the family as her moth-er’s situation worsens. Nosey neighbours suggest rip-off quacks: Chanda’s smarter than that, but it’s a tough call to overcome the superstitions ruling a community liv-ing in fear. It’s a beautifully filmed and performed insight into those paying the highest possible price for pride and denial of the AIDS epidemic. Deeply moving without resorting to sentiment, it’s also a harrowing insight into child prostitution, but lightens the load with smart character humour and a sense of hope in the future. A very rewarding watch.

--Empire Magazine

SEPT 7 & 8 (7:15 & 9:20)

THE HANGOVER PART IIDirector: todd Phillips USA, 2011, 102 min; 18A

Cast: Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Jamie, Chung, Ken Jeong, Mason Lee

It’s deja vu all over again in The Hangover Part II, only dirtier and more dangerous, if you can imagine that. If director Todd Phillips used the first movie to see how far he could push the enve-lope, this one licks and seals it. The formula is intact: An impending wedding brings together buddies for a bachelor party they can’t remember and nearly kills them. Like woozy detectives, they retrace steps through a sinful city to discover what happened. Now the debauchery goes down in Bangkok, and Las Vegas will forever seem tame by comparison. --St. Petersburg Times

SEPT 14, 15, 16, 17 (6:45 & 9:25)

THE TREE OF LIFEDiRECtoR: tERRENCE MALiCKUSA, 2011, 140 minutes; rated G – violence

Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain

WINNER! PALME D’OR –Cannes Film Festival

“HHHHH!” –Monday Magazine

“Some films need repeated viewings over the years; they beg for their audi-ence to grow along with them, their meaning evolving over time. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of those. Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is another.” --The Wrap

“Better than a masterpiece - whatever that is - The Tree of Life is an erup-tion of a movie, something to live with, think, and talk about afterward.” –The Village Voice

“Cosmic in scope and oracular in tone, a cinematic sermon on the mount that shows its creator in exquisite form.” –The Globe and Mail

HHHHH! On the anniversary of his brother’s death, architect Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn) ponders his place in the universe, leading inevitably to power-ful memories of his turbulent ‘50s childhood in Texas - in particular, his formative relationship with his ethereal mother (Jessica Chastain) and disciplinarian father (Brad Pitt). For his fifth film in 40 years, Terrence Malick has summoned forth a dizzyingly impressionistic study of family life that doubles as a vaulting enquiry into the very nature of the universe and the possibility of God. Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (see Sept. 13) comes close, but Malick’s philosophy pines for the salve of love and spirit. Against the constant murmurings of nature, we catch only odd lines and whispered voiceovers querulously calling to a hard-of-hearing deity: “Where were you?” Cycles of life and death on a cosmic scale are contrasted with the intricate dynamics of family. What does the loss of a loved one mean against the backdrop of eternity? Much, it transpires. This is a sublime evocation of the tides of ecstasy and torment flowing through an American boyhood.

Malick conducts the way great composers conjure art from thin air, cre-ating an unforgettable symphony of beauty, introspection, and wells of unabashed feeling. And to accompany such cinematic inspiration, extracts of Couperin, Berlioz, Brahms, Mahler and Bach, interposed with Alexandre Desplat’s yearning score.

…There is simply nothing like it out there: profound, idiosyncratic, com-plex, sincere and magical; a confirmation that cinema can aspire to art. --Empire

From the director of Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and The New World

AUG 28 & 29 (7:00 & 9:15)

LOOSE CANNONSDirector: Ferzan ozpetak italy, 2010, 114 min; italian with sub-titles; PG

From the director of Steam: the Turkish Bath

Ferzan Ozpetek’s film which he co-wrote with I Am Love screenwriter Ivan Cotroneo, is a moving, funny and insight-ful look at what happens when a traditional patriarchal family’s values comes under threat from younger generations. It focuses on the story of Tommaso (Riccardo Scamarcio), youngest son of a con-servative Southern Italian pasta making family business. Tommaso, an aspiring writer, returns home from Rome where he is living with his boyfriend and studying literature, and makes a fateful decision to come out to his whole family. To his surprise he is pre-empted by his older brother Antonio (Alessandro Preziosi) inducing his father to have a heart attack and subsequently banish the formerly favoured Antonio from the family business. Tommaso decides to keep quiet and becomes the favoured son, groomed to take over the business…The film shares similarities with La Cage Aux Folles (or the remake, The Birdcage) in that comedy is created from camp gay men trying to act straight and unintentionally failing. Still it is enlighten-ing to have a gay-positive film from a largely Catholic country.--Catch 22 Magazine

SEPT 4 & 5 (7:00 & 9:00)

MIDNIGHT IN PARISDirector: Woody Allen Spain/USA, 2011, 95 min; rated G

Cast: owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni.

HHHH! Midnight in Paris is as effort-lessly charming and romantic a film as you will likely see this year. The first five minutes are a seductive travelogue that recalls every postcard cliché of Paris – you’ll be desperate to phone a travel agent. The plot kicks in when we meet Gil (Owen Wilson), a successful Hollywood screenwriter who dreams of relocating to Paris to finish the novel that will prove to himself that he’s not just a hack. Gil wanders the streets of Paris, dreaming of the city’s glorious past. Before long Gil magically finds himself at a party where Cole Porter is singing at the piano, while the likes of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald carry on in high style. Before the night is through, Gil not only chats with Hemingway but starts to fall for a gorgeous young woman (Marion Cotillard) who models for Picasso. A moveable feast, indeed. …Midnight is suffused with a wistful charm that helps make this one of Allen’s most appealing and original creations. As wish fulfillment fantasies go, Midnight is a marvel of wit and magic. --Monday Magazine

SEPT 11 & 12 (7:00 & 9:10)

ECO-PIRATE: THE STORY OF PAUL WATSONDirector: trish Dolman Canada, Blu-ray 111 min; PG

WINNER! BEST DOCUMENTARY –Protecting Change Film Festival

Paul Watson remains a truly compelling character on the global sonar, because he’s got all the ingredients of any Hollywood hero. He’s referred to as the “Rambo of the environment” in this movie. He’s also called a monumental pain in the bottom line by those who find his high-seas eco-actions as a terrorist assault on the capitalist ideal. In this smart and well-researched documentary portrait from Vancouver’s Trish Dolman, we get all the familiar sides of Watson as defender of the oceans, but we get a whole lot more. Dolman follows the captain as he takes us down memory lane -and the “World War to Save the Whales” that began in 1974. He loves cetaceans, and he thinks these huge relatives of human beings deserve protection from the illegal poaching industry headquartered in Japan. Because the anti-whaling movement essentially gave birth to modern environmentalism, Eco-Pirate doesn’t just take us into the personal past of a Canadian folk hero; it explores the very birth of a global movement, spawned in the heart of hippie Vancouver. An eye-opening portrait, and a proud piece of the Canadian folk quilt, Eco-Pirate will give you fresh eyes on an old battle -and our cousins in the deep, struggling to survive. –Vancouver Sun

“Whether you agree with his methods or not, it’s impossible not to support his cause to protect the

SEPT 2 & 3 (7:15 & 9:00) back by popular demand!

QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us?Director: taggart Siegel

USA/New Zealand/France, 2010, 82 minutes; Blu-ray; rated G

HHHHH! THE FEEL-GOOD ADVOCACY FILM OF THE YEAR!” –Box Office Magazine

“A remarkable documentary that’s also one of the most beautiful nature films I’ve seen.” — Roger Ebert

“Queen of the Sun” would be a warm, inviting title for any movie, but it’s the subtitle — “What Are the Bees Telling Us?” — that demands our attention. The bees are telling us they’re in big trouble and need our help. As it turns out, helping bees is not only spiritually rewarding and environmen-tally essential, but it’s also a lot of fun. Portland-based Taggart Siegel continues his upbeat focus on eco-friendly advocacy. His choice of subject matter is environmentally urgent, but Siegel is a solution-savvy filmmaker who favors hope over gloom. That approach makes “Queen of the Sun” an uplifting call to action to solve a potentially disastrous problem. Fortunately, there’s still time to make genuine progress. Eco-friendly, chemical-free beekeeping in New Zealand points to a positive deterrent against colony collapse, and Siegel charts a beekeeping revolution that’s now in full swing. It’s an infectious enthusiasm. --Seattle Times

AUG 26 & 27 (7:10 & 9:00)

CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOPDirector: Rodman Flender USA, 2011, 89 minutes; Blu-ray; PG

“WILDLY ENTERTAINING!” –Austin Chronicle

“HILARIOUS AND SURPRISINGLY MOVING.” –Film.com

“BEHIND-THE-SCENES GOLD!” –Entertainment Weekly

In 2010, after a much-publicized departure from hosting NBC’s Tonight Show, ex-late night host Conan O’Brien hit the road on a 32-city tour with a music and comedy show, ending his 22-year relationship with the network. The “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television” tour was O’Brien’s answer to a contractual stipulation that banned his appearance on television, radio and the Internet for six months following his last show. Filmmaker Rodman Flender’s resulting documentary is an intimate portrait of an artist trained in improvisation, captured at the most improvisational time of his career. At times angry but mostly hilarious, O’Brien uses comedy and rockabilly music, engaging in bits with on-stage guests such as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Jim Carrey. He also, performs a duet with Jack White. Did Conan hit the road to give something back to his loyal fans, or did he travel across the continent to fill a void within himself? –Films We Like Sponsored by CFUV 101.9 FM

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Love Kills October 13 – 22, 2011 Theatre Inconnu presents this gripping rock opera by Kyle Jarrow.

Rookery Nook November 3– 19, 2011A witty and fun 1920s British farce by Ben Travers.

EurydiceFebruary 16 – 25, 2012A quirky retelling of the Orpheus myth from the heroine’s perspective, by Sarah Ruhl.

Marowitz HamletMarch 15 – 24, 2012Hilarious Shakespeare “mash-up” by writer/director Charles Marowitz.

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AUG-SEP 2011

DAILY SHOW INFO: 250-721-8365 www.cinecenta.com

Cinecenta’s program is subject to change without notice. To avoid disappointment, please check our 24-hour phone line or website for the most up-to-date information.

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Managers: Lisa Sheppard, Michael RyanProgrammer: Michael HoppeDesign: Juniper EnglishGraphic Production: Juniper English & Sherpas

Student Union Building, UVicUniversity of Victoria Students’ Society, conceived as an inexpensive alternative for students, the University community and the public. The theatre is in the Student Union Building at UVic. The following buses come to UVic: 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 29, 33, 39, 51, 80.

s. Tickets and memberships go on sale 40 minutes before showtime. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment.

where noted. Films are 35mm prints unless other-wise indicated.

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AUG 2 & 3 & 4 (7:00 & 9:00)

FORKS OVER KNIVESDirector: Lee Fulkerson USA, 2011, 97 minutes; rated G

“Even if you’re a junk-food junkie, this exploration of the health benefits of a ‘plant-based diet’ is so scrupulously researched and argued that only a fool would ignore its findings.” –Entertainment Weekly

When scientists have known for decades that a plant-based diet can pretty much prevent human-kind’s biggest ailments—heart disease and cancer—but when people continue to wolf back Quarter Pounders, can you really blame a movie for not being subtle? The title refers to the concept that you can eat good food to avoid the knives of surgery. It’s pretty much the flip side to Morgan Spurlock’s more amusing Super Size Me: instead of focusing on how much damage fast food does to your body, Forks shows how much good a whole-foods, plant-based diet can do for it.

To make its case, the film centres on veteran scientists T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. and the mountains of research they’ve accumulated to back up their claim that meat and dairy are basically toxic. Forks methodically takes on target after target, refuting ideas about osteoporosis and dispelling stereotypes of vegetarian weaklings. Fulkerson spices things up with funky archival footage. And it’s telling when he tracks efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the same agency that regulates and advocates for livestock and dairy farmers, to tell us what to eat.

Where the film falters is in interspersing case study after case study of sick, overweight Americans who reverse their conditions by taking on a diet that’s plant-only. Still, the sheer quantity of informa-tion is hugely convincing. Watching it is like eating your spinach: not totally enjoyable but essential to your health. --Georgia Straight

“What ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ did for global warming, Lee Fulkerson’s persuasive documen-tary does for a vegan diet. Pass the spinach, please.” --Boston Globe

AUG 5 & 6 (7:00 & 9:00)

MIDNIGHT IN PARISDirector: Woody Allen Spain/USA, 2011, 95 min; rated G

Cast: owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni.

HHHH! Years ago, Woody Allen drew inspiration from his leading ladies. Since his relocation to Europe, cities have become his muse: first London and then Spain. Now add the City of Light for Midnight in Paris, as effortlessly charming and romantic a film as you will likely see this year. The first five minutes are a seductive travelogue that recalls every postcard cliché of Paris – you’ll be desperate to phone a travel agent. The plot kicks in when we meet Gil (Owen Wilson), a successful Hollywood screenwriter who dreams of relocating to Paris to finish the novel that will prove to himself that he’s not just a hack. Gil wanders the streets of Paris, dreaming of the city’s glorious past. Before long Gil magically finds himself at a party where Cole Porter is singing at the piano, while the likes of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald carry on in high style. Before the night is through, Gil not only chats with Hemingway but starts to fall for a gorgeous young woman (Marion Cotillard) who models for Picasso. A moveable feast, indeed…Midnight is suffused with a wistful charm that helps make this one of Allen’s most appealing and original cre-ations. As wish fulfillment fantasies go, Midnight is a marvel of wit and magic. --Monday Magazine

AUG 12 & 13 (7 & 9:15)

THORDirector: Kenneth Brahagh USA, 2011, 115 minutes; PG

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgðrd

“Branagh gets the balance between pageantry and silliness just right.” –Movieline

Can a blockbuster be momentous and lighthearted at the same time? Thor, Kenneth Branagh’s rous-ing popcorn adventure about the Norse-blond, hammer-wielding god of thunder who made his Marvel Comics debut in 1962, pulls off something I wouldn’t have thought possible: It restores the innocence to big-budget superhero mythmaking. Thor, played by the Australian newcomer Chris Hemsworth with a bulked-up swagger, absurdly noble eyes, and a killer grin, is a stud-muffin Viking Hercules who is born to royalty in the realm of Asgard. After crossing his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), in a fit of youthful pique, he gets stripped of his powers and is sent through a wormhole, which crash-lands him in the New Mexico desert. On Earth, Thor is rescued by a team of scien-tists (led by Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgðrd). The movie, though it’s often a very funny god-out-of-water origin comedy, has a stirring emotional core as well. It’s not art, but it’s mighty fun. –Entertainment Weekly

JULY 31 & AUG 1 (7:00 & 9:10)

THE FIRST GRADERDirector: Justin Chadwick UK/Kenya, 2010, 104 minutes; PG

“AN UPLIFTING TRUE STORY!” –Variety

WINNER! BEST FEATURE FILM – Palm Beach Film Festival

WINNER! AUDIENCE PRIZE – Tribeca Film Festival

This proved to be one of the biggest crowd-pleasers at this year’s Telluride Film Festival. First Grader is set in Kenya and recounts the true story of an 84-year-old farmer and former Mau Mau tribesman who decided to go to school when the country introduced universal education. Maruge (Oliver Litondo), an old man with a walking stick, approaches the new school in his vil-lage and asks to enroll. The school authorities are reluctant to admit an octogenarian alongside 6-year-olds. Teacher Jane Obinchu (Naomie Harris) is equally skeptical, but when she observes Maruge’s unyielding determination to learn to read, she becomes his ally. The film paints a vivid picture of rural and urban Kenya. Director Justin Chadwick -- best known for his superb BBC miniseries of Dickens’ “Bleak House” -- insisted on filming on location, and he enlisted locals for most of the roles in the film. He brings the countryside alive. The result is that an unknown story seems certain to stir the hearts of audiences worldwide. --The Hollywood Reporter

“An enjoyable feel-good drama that pushes all the right buttons.” –ViewLondon

AUG 9 (7 & 9:00)

BADLANDSDiRECtoR: tERRENCE MALiCK USA, 1973, 94 min, DVD; PG

Recalling her experiences in the style of the teen-age magazines she’s always reading, Holly (Sissy Spacek) tells us how she fell for a 25 year Kit (Martin Sheen). How when her father (Warren Oates) opposed the idea of their relationship, Kit shot him. And how after burning the house down they set of across the badlands of Montana towards Saskatchewan. Around the simple story Terrence Malick creates an atmospheric, poetic and totally American folk-tale. Kit and Holly are living out their fantasies in a very real world…Badlands is a haunting study of a psychopath and remains one of the most impressive debuts ever. --Edinburgh U Film Society

AUG 7 (7:00 & 9:00)

MIDNIGHT IN PARISDirector: Woody Allen Spain/USA, 2011, 95 min; rated G Cast: owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni.

see Aug. 5 & 6 for description

“MARVELOUSLY ROMANTIC!” --The New York Times

“A JOYOUS DELIGHT!” –The Wall Street Journal

“EXHILARATING! BRIMS OVER WITH BRACING HUMOR AND RAVISHING ROMANCE!” –Rolling Stone

AUG 8 (7:15 & 9:00) back by popular demand!

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORKDirector: Richard Press USA/France, 2010, 85 minutes; Blu-ray; rated G

Bill Cunningham was lucky to find what he loves to do and do it, and win universal affection from all. In this documentary, Bill celebrates his 80th birthday. Every day of his life he still pedals around Manhattan on his bicycle, taking photographs of what people are wearing. His work has been fea-tured in Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue, and Details magazine. These days, you can find him featured in big spreads in the New York Times… This movie made me happy every moment I was watching it. --Roger Ebert

AUG 10 & 11 (7:00 & 9:10)

POTICHEDirector: François ozon France, 2010, 104 min-utes; French with subtitles; PG Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini

“A CHARMING ROMANTIC FANTASY!” –Los Angeles Times

“A GLITTERING SHOWCASE FOR DENEUVE!” –Time

“SOPHISTICATED AND QUICK WITTED!” –The New York Times

“CHARMING! DELIGHTFUL AND BREEZY!” –The Huffington Post

Just try to not smile when French cinema icons Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu share the screen in Francois Ozon’s frothy comedy. Deneuve plays Suzanne Pujol, the dissatisfied potiche (i.e. trophy wife) of umbrella manufacturer Robert (Fabrice Luchini), whose factory workers have gone on strike. It’s 1977, a candy-coated era when women were beginning to assert themselves. Suzanne is reluctant at first to assume her husband’s role in negotiating a settlement but finds she has a knack for it. Equally surprised is union advocate Maurice Babin (Depardieu), who shared a tryst with Suzanne years ago and never forgot it. They’re adversaries with an intimate history, and their scenes together percolate with furtive passion. Even a silly dance routine in a disco comes across as an awkward mating ritual. Deneuve and Depardieu are so comfortable together that Potiche feels at times like eavesdropping on old friends. –St. Petersburg Times