February 2014

In Secret

Based on Émile Zola's scandalous novel, Thérèse Raquin, IN SECRET is a tale of obsessive love, adultery and revenge set in the lower depths of 1860s Paris. Therese (Elizabeth Olsen of "Martha Marcy May Marlene"), a sexually repressed beautiful young woman, is trapped into a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille (Tom Felton of the "Harry Potter" franchise), by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (two-time Academy Award winner Jessica Lange). Therese spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominos with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband's alluring childhood friend, Laurent (Oscar Isaac of "Inside Llewyn Davis"), she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences.

January 2014

At Middleton

Adam Rodgers' romantic comedy At Middleton tells the story of George (Andy Garcia) and Edith (Vera Farmiga), two people who seem to have nothing in common aside from the fact that each has a university-bound child. However, when they meet during a group campus tour, the two strangers escape from the pack and quickly form a special bond as they reminisce about their own college days, and open up about their lives. 

December 2013

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller directs and stars in THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, James Thurber's classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

November 2013

Nebraska

Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) takes the helm for this black and white road trip drama starring Bruce Dern as a tempestuous Missouri father who's convinced he's won a million dollar magazine sweepstakes, and Will Forte as the son who grudgingly agrees to drive him to Nebraska to claim his winnings. Bob Odenkirk and Stacy Keach costar.

October 2013

The Retrieval

2013 Phoenix Film Festival Winner:
Audience Award, Best Director, Best Ensemble 

Director: Chris Eska

Cast:  Ashton Sanders, Tishuan Scott, Keston John

1864: as war ravages the nation, on the outskirts of the Civil War business as usual continues for slave-owners and traders. THE RETRIEVAL follows Will, a fatherless 13 year-old boy, who survives by working with a white bounty hunter gang who sends him to earn the trust of runaway slaves and wanted freedmen in order to lure them back to the South. On a dangerous mission into the free North to find Nate, a fugitive freedman, things go wrong, and Will and Nate find themselves alone and on the run. As the bond between them unexpectedly grows, Will becomes consumed by conflicting emotions as he faces a gut-wrenching final decision: to betray the father figure he's finally found, or risk being killed by his gang. Thrilling, but grounded in historical research, THE RETRIEVAL serves as an insight into the little-told story of the grey area between slavery and emancipation, and the horrific moral dilemma that comes with being forced to betray your fellow man. 

October 2013

Romeo and Juliet

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Damian Lewis, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ed Westwick and Paul Giamatti

Directed by: Carlo Carlei

The families of Montague and Capulet use any excuse to publicly fight in the streets of Verona, drawing a strict rebuke from the Prince (Stellan Skarsgård).  But young Romeo (Douglas Booth) of the Montagues is not interested – he is far too in love with Rosaline, a cousin to the Capulets, a romance which his cousin Benvolio (Kodi Smit-McPhee) urges him not to pursue.  But that night, there is to be a masked celebration at the Capulet estate, and Romeo manages to secure an invitation.  The Capulet household prepares for the event, where Lord and Lady Capulet (Damian Lewis, Natascha McElhone) hope that their daughter Juliet (Hailee Steinfeld) will accept the advances of young Count Paris (Tom Wisdom).  A free spirit little interested in romance, Juliet seems more interested in bantering with her nurse (Lesley Manville) than listening to her parents.

At the ball, Romeo instantly forgets his feelings for Rosaline when he spies Juliet; she is likewise struck dumb when she sees Romeo.  They dance briefly, noted by Juliet’s cousin Tybalt (Ed Westwick), who is told by Lord Capulet to let them be and not start trouble.  Later, Romeo and Juliet are dismayed to learn that their new loves are of the rival family; undaunted, Romeo spies Juliet on her balcony and boldly declares his love for her.

With the help of Friar Laurence (Paul Giamatti), Romeo tries to conspire a way to pursue Juliet without incurring the wrath of his family, while Juliet relies on her nurse to discreetly deliver messages to her love.  But the bad blood between the two families is too strong:  in a street duel, an angry Tybalt slays Romeo’s beloved kinsman Mercutio (Christian Cooke).  Romeo, his passions unchecked, then kills Tybalt.  Hoping to put an end to the blood feud, the Prince banishes Romeo from Verona – but this is worse than death, because he will forever be separated from Juliet.  As the lovers grow more desperate, Friar Laurence attempts to hatch a plan that will allow them to be together forever – but will their boldness and bravery in love result in eternal happiness or tragedy?

September 2013

Parkland

Starring: Zac Efron, Tom Welling, James Badge Dale, Paul Giamatti, Jackie Earle Haley, Ron Livingston, Colin Hanks, Billy Bob Thornton, Mark Duplass, Austin Nichols

Directed by: Peter Landesman

Synopsis: Recounting the chaotic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, the film weaves together the perspectives of a handful of ordinary individuals suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances: the young doctors and nurses at Parkland Hospital; Dallas’ chief of the Secret Service; an unwitting cameraman who captured what became the most watched and examined film in history; the FBI agents who nearly had the gunman within their grasp; the brother of Lee Harvey Oswald, left to deal with his shattered family; and JFK’s security team, witnesses to both the president’s death and Vice President Lyndon Johnson’s rise to power over a nation whose innocence was forever altered.

September 2013

Enough Said

Starring: James Gandolfini, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Catherine Keener and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Directed by: Nicole Holofcener

Synopsis: A divorced and single parent, Eva spends her days enjoying work as a masseuse but dreading her daughter’s impending departure for college. She meets Albert – a sweet, funny and like-minded man also facing an empty nest. As their romance quickly blossoms, Eva befriends Marianne, her new massage client. Marianne is a beautiful poet who seems “almost perfect” except for one prominent quality: she rags on her ex-husband way too much. Suddenly, Eva finds herself doubting her own relationship with Albert as she learns the truth about Marianne’s Ex. This film is a sharp, insightful comedy that humorously explores the mess that often comes with getting involved again.

August 2013

Short Term 12 

Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Stephanie Beatriz, Kaitlyn Dever, Alex Calloway, Kevin Hernandez, Lydia Du Veaux, Keith Stanfield

Directed by: Destin Cretton

South by Southwest Film Festival Award Winner

Synopsis: The story is told through the eyes of Grace, a twenty- something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. Passionate and tough, Grace is a formidable caretaker of the kids in her charge – and in love with her long-term boyfriend and co-worker, Mason.But Grace’s own difficult past – and the surprising future that suddenly presents itself – throw her into unforeseen confusion, made all the sharper with the arrival of a new intake at the facility – Jayden, a gifted but troubled teenage girl with whom Grace has a charged connection.She and Mason also struggle to help Marcus – an intense, quiet kid who is about to turn 18 – manage through the difficulty of having to leave the facility.Grace comes to find – in both her work and the new teenager in her care – surprising sources of redemption. And while the subject matter is complex and often dark, this lovingly realized film finds truth – and humor – in unexpected places.

August 2013

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints 

Starring: Rooney Mara, Ben Foster, Casey Affleck, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine

Directed by: David Lowery

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of 1970’s Texas Hill Country, this is a romantic American story that follows three characters on various sides of the law – outlaw Bob Muldoon, his wife Ruth Guthrie, and a local sheriff named Patrick Wheeler, who gets caught in their crosshairs.

July 2013

The Act of Killing

Directed by: Joshua Oppenheimer

Berlin International Film Festival Audience Award Winner

Synopsis: The filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass-killings in the style of the American movies they love. The hallucinatory result is a cinematic fever dream, an unsettling journey deep into the imaginations of mass-murderers and the shockingly banal regime of corruption and impunity they inhabit.

June 2013

Dirty Wars

Starring: Jeremy Scahill

Directed by: Richard Rowley

Synopsis: It’s the dirty little secret of the War on Terror: all bets are off, and almost anything goes. We have fundamentally changed the rules of the game and the rules of engagement. Today drone strikes, night raids, and U.S. government–condoned torture occur in corners across the globe, generating unprecedented civilian casualties. Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill (author of BLACKWATER: The Rise of the World’s Most Mercenary Army) traces the rise of the Joint Special Operations Command, the most secret fighting force in U.S. history, exposing operations carried out by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress. No target is off-limits for the JSOC “kill list,” even a U.S. citizen. Director Richard Rowley takes us on a chilling ride with whistle-blower Scahill. Dirty Wars is a battle cry for the soul and conscience of an America few of us know exists.

June 2013

Don Jon

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza

Directed by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Synopsis: Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to “pull” a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn’t compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she’s determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

May 2013

Kings of Summer

Starring: Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Moises Arias, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Erin Moriarty, Nick Robinson, Angela Trimbur, Gabriel Basso

Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Synopsis: Joe, Patrick and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio – who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Free from their parents’ rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship as each boy learns to appreciate the fact that family – whether it is the one you’re born into or the one you create – is something you can’t run away from.

March 2013

The Story of Luke

Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Seth Green, Cary Elwes and Kristin Bauer

Directed by: Alonso Mayo

Synopsis:

Luke, 25, is autistic and has lived a sheltered life with his grandparents. But his world is turned upside down when his grandmother dies and he is forced to live with his dysfunctional relatives who have no patience for him or his senile grandfather, who they quickly force into a nursing home. Luke is left with his grandfather’s final semi-coherent words: ‘Get a job. Find a girl. Live your own life. Be a man!’ For the first time in his life, Luke has a mission. He is about to embark on a quest.

February 2013

Old Goats

Starring: Britton Crosley, Bob Burkholder, David VanderWal, Benita Staadecker, Gail Shackel, Steve Stolee

Directed by: Taylor Guterson

Synopsis: Old Goats is the often hilarious and always heartfelt story of three older men who refuse to go quietly into the night of retirement and old age. Cantankerous and set in their ways, each man must come to terms with the sunset years in his own unique fashion. Shot in and around Seattle, Old Goats finds humor in the everyday foibles of retirement life, providing a refreshing perspective on the golden years through the eyes of three men who don’t feel (or act) anywhere close to as old as they look.

February 2013

Emperor

Starring: Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones, Eriko Hatsune, Toshiyuki Nishida

Directed by: Peter Webber

Synopsis: A gripping tale of love and honor forged between fierce enemies of war, Emperor unfolds the story, inspired by true events, of the bold and secret moves that won the peace in the shadows of postwar Japan.

Matthew Fox (World War Z, Alex Cross, “Lost”) joins with Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln, No Country for Old Men, The Fugitive, Hope Springs), newcomer Eriko Hatsune, and award-winning Japanese star Toshiyuki Nishida to bring to life the American occupation of Japan in the perilous and unpredictable days just after Emperor Hirohito’s World War II surrender. As General Douglas MacArthur (Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of a foreign nation, he assigns an expert in Japanese culture – and psychological warfare – General Bonner Fellers (Fox), to covertly investigate the looming question hanging over the country: should the Japanese Emperor, worshiped by his people but accused of war crimes, be punished or saved? Caught between the high-wire political intrigue of his urgent mission and his own impassioned search for the mysterious school teacher (Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan, Fellers can be certain only that the tricky subterfuge about to play out will forever change the history of two nations and his heart.

January 2013

Side Effects

Starring: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones,

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Synopsis: A provocative thriller about Emily and Martin, a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily’s psychiatrist – intended to treat anxiety – has unexpected side effects.

January 2013

Stand Up Guys

Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Julianna Margulie and Alan Arkin

Directed by: Fisher Stevens

Synopsis: Val is released from prison after serving 28 years for refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend, Doc, is there to pick him up, and the two soon reunite with another old pal, Hirsch. Their bond is as strong as ever, and they reflect on glories gone by. And despite their age, their capacity for mayhem is still very much alive and well, and bullets fly as they make a valiant effort to compensate for the decades of crime, drugs and sex they’ve missed. But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret: he’s been put in an impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and the time for him to find an acceptable alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys’ reunion, their position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once and for all.