Thursday, February 15, 2007
Feb 16 - 22 CHILDREN OF MEN Nightly at 7, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Matinee 3pm. R 104min. D: Alfonso Cuaron. Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine. In 2027, every woman on earth is infertile. With the loss of their ability to have children, the world has also lost hope. Clive Owen plays Theo, a Briton attempting to make a life in this hellish world. His estranged wife convinces him to transport a young woman to safety. When Theo learns that the woman is pregnant, their journey takes on a significance--and a danger--he never imagined. “Children of Men is filled with scenes which dazzle you with their technical complexity and visual virtuosity. On this level alone, it's easily one of the best films of the year and represents a new level of artistry for Cuarón.” Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
Feb 23 - March 1 BLOOD DIAMOND Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 138min. D: Edward Zwick. Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Houson. Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of ex-mercenary Danny Archer and Mende fisherman Solomon Vandy. Both men are African, but their histories and their circumstances are as different as any can be until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond, the kind of stone that can transform a life…or end it. “Zwick does a fine job in combining a broad range of elements and turning them into a compulsive and thought-provoking adventure and is aided by beautiful cinematography.” Mark Adams, Sunday Mirror
March 2 - 8 THE GOOD SHEPHERD Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 160min. D:Robert De Niro. Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt. Matt Damon plays Edward Wilson, a Yale graduate in the late 1930s. His membership in the exclusive, hidden Skull and Bones society led him away from poetry and into a relationship with the federal government, who recruited him to help them on several covert operations. Throughout the film, the emergence of a mysterious tape haunts Wilson, who is determined to uncover the truth behind a leak in his secret organization. “No previous American film has ventured into this still largely unknown territory with such authority and emotional detachment. For this reason alone, The Good Shepherd is must-see viewing.” Andrew Sarris, NY Observer
March 9 - 15 THE GOOD GERMAN Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 108min. D:Steven Soderbergh. George Clooney, Cate Blanchett. Steven Soderbergh delivers another big-budget stylistic experiment, this time 40’s style film noir, with “The Good German”. Set in postwar Berlin, the atmospheric thriller, based on the acclaimed novel by Joseph Kanon, stars George Clooney as an American military journalist who has returned to Berlin for the Potsdam Peace Conference. “In a few quick strokes, Soderbergh and screenwriter Paul Attanasio, sketch a convincing scenario in which it is technically not possible for the good guys to win a war because good guys don't fight them.” Carina Chocano, LA Times
March 16 - 22 NOTES ON A SCANDAL Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 98min. D:Richard Eyre. Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench. Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett face off with searing performances in this riveting tale of obsession and desire. “Notes on a Scandal” is the story of Barbara Covett, a hard-nosed spinster schoolteacher, and her poisonous friendship with fellow teacher Sheba Hart. When the young and beautiful Sheba shows up as the new art instructor, everyone is charmed by her, including the embittered Barbara. Barbara is thrilled when her lonely life is shaken up by Sheba's overtures of friendship, as Sheba invites her to share in family dinners, and opens up to her about her marital troubles and personal longing. “A wonderfully salacious and psychologically controlling character piece, which brilliantly showcases two of the industry's more gifted actresses.” Kit Bowen Hollywood.com
March 23 - 29 VENUS. Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sunday Matinee 3pm. R 95min. D:Roger Michell. Peter O’Toole, Jodie Whittaker. Maurice and his friend Ian are two classy curmudgeons whiling away their hours in coffee shops and at the theater, but their routine is thrown for a loop when Ian's niece's daughter Jessie is sent from the country to act as his nurse. Far from just a tale of a May-December romance, “Venus” is a very raw look at growing old, and the aches and pains, both emotional and physical, that accompany a man near the end of his life. It is an honest, moving portrait of human desire, and how it can both beat us down and lift us up--no matter the age.
March 30 - April 5 LITTLE CHILDREN Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm Sun Mat at 3pm. R 130min. D:Todd Field. Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson. Set in the imploding minefields of modern suburbia, “Little Children” follows several inhabitants of a small American town as they fumble their way through adulthood. Numb-to-life housewife and mother Sarah Pierce finds an outlet for her yearning in gorgeous househusband Brad Adamson, who is crippled with insecurity over the fact that his perfect wife, Kathy, is the family breadwinner. “Little Children, a jolting, artfully made drama set in and around a suburban playground somewhere between American Beauty and In the Bedroom on America's psychic highway, is populated by parents who are surprised by adulthood and children who are treated like projects built by competitive students of What to Expect... books.” Lisa Schwarzbaum, EW
April 6 - 12 DREAM GIRLS Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. PG13 125min. D:Bill Condon. Jaime Foxx, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson. Late for their stint in a local talent show, The Dreamettes show up in their cheap wigs and homemade dresses, rehearsing songs and steps by the lead singer’s brother, with hopes that talent and sheer desire will break them out of the only life that seems available to them. They're young. They're beautiful. All they have to do is trust a car salesman aching to make his mark in the music business . “Joy is defined as Dreamgirls, an ecstatic dose of pure top-down Motown tight-harmony effervescence that takes a hit Broadway musical about a Chicago girl group and turns it, miraculously, into a Hollywood delight.” Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
April 13 - 19 MISS POTTER Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. PG 93min. D:Chris Noonan. Renee Zellweger, Emily Watson, Ewen McGregor. Beatrix Potter has delighted generations of children with her books. But she kept her own private life locked carefully away. “Miss Potter” is set in the high summer days of late Victorian and Edwardian England, during which Beatrix develops her natural skills as artist and story-teller. When she finally publishes her debut book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she becomes a writing celebrity. “Known in the United States for her whimsical books, Potter was an ecological champion in the United Kingdom. The film touches on this, but mostly it's a tender tale about yearning hearts and courageous idealism.” Bruce Westbrook Houston Chronicle
Feb 23 - March 1 BLOOD DIAMOND Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 138min. D: Edward Zwick. Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Houson. Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of ex-mercenary Danny Archer and Mende fisherman Solomon Vandy. Both men are African, but their histories and their circumstances are as different as any can be until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond, the kind of stone that can transform a life…or end it. “Zwick does a fine job in combining a broad range of elements and turning them into a compulsive and thought-provoking adventure and is aided by beautiful cinematography.” Mark Adams, Sunday Mirror
March 2 - 8 THE GOOD SHEPHERD Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 160min. D:Robert De Niro. Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt. Matt Damon plays Edward Wilson, a Yale graduate in the late 1930s. His membership in the exclusive, hidden Skull and Bones society led him away from poetry and into a relationship with the federal government, who recruited him to help them on several covert operations. Throughout the film, the emergence of a mysterious tape haunts Wilson, who is determined to uncover the truth behind a leak in his secret organization. “No previous American film has ventured into this still largely unknown territory with such authority and emotional detachment. For this reason alone, The Good Shepherd is must-see viewing.” Andrew Sarris, NY Observer
March 9 - 15 THE GOOD GERMAN Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 108min. D:Steven Soderbergh. George Clooney, Cate Blanchett. Steven Soderbergh delivers another big-budget stylistic experiment, this time 40’s style film noir, with “The Good German”. Set in postwar Berlin, the atmospheric thriller, based on the acclaimed novel by Joseph Kanon, stars George Clooney as an American military journalist who has returned to Berlin for the Potsdam Peace Conference. “In a few quick strokes, Soderbergh and screenwriter Paul Attanasio, sketch a convincing scenario in which it is technically not possible for the good guys to win a war because good guys don't fight them.” Carina Chocano, LA Times
March 16 - 22 NOTES ON A SCANDAL Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. R 98min. D:Richard Eyre. Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench. Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett face off with searing performances in this riveting tale of obsession and desire. “Notes on a Scandal” is the story of Barbara Covett, a hard-nosed spinster schoolteacher, and her poisonous friendship with fellow teacher Sheba Hart. When the young and beautiful Sheba shows up as the new art instructor, everyone is charmed by her, including the embittered Barbara. Barbara is thrilled when her lonely life is shaken up by Sheba's overtures of friendship, as Sheba invites her to share in family dinners, and opens up to her about her marital troubles and personal longing. “A wonderfully salacious and psychologically controlling character piece, which brilliantly showcases two of the industry's more gifted actresses.” Kit Bowen Hollywood.com
March 23 - 29 VENUS. Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sunday Matinee 3pm. R 95min. D:Roger Michell. Peter O’Toole, Jodie Whittaker. Maurice and his friend Ian are two classy curmudgeons whiling away their hours in coffee shops and at the theater, but their routine is thrown for a loop when Ian's niece's daughter Jessie is sent from the country to act as his nurse. Far from just a tale of a May-December romance, “Venus” is a very raw look at growing old, and the aches and pains, both emotional and physical, that accompany a man near the end of his life. It is an honest, moving portrait of human desire, and how it can both beat us down and lift us up--no matter the age.
March 30 - April 5 LITTLE CHILDREN Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm Sun Mat at 3pm. R 130min. D:Todd Field. Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson. Set in the imploding minefields of modern suburbia, “Little Children” follows several inhabitants of a small American town as they fumble their way through adulthood. Numb-to-life housewife and mother Sarah Pierce finds an outlet for her yearning in gorgeous househusband Brad Adamson, who is crippled with insecurity over the fact that his perfect wife, Kathy, is the family breadwinner. “Little Children, a jolting, artfully made drama set in and around a suburban playground somewhere between American Beauty and In the Bedroom on America's psychic highway, is populated by parents who are surprised by adulthood and children who are treated like projects built by competitive students of What to Expect... books.” Lisa Schwarzbaum, EW
April 6 - 12 DREAM GIRLS Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. PG13 125min. D:Bill Condon. Jaime Foxx, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson. Late for their stint in a local talent show, The Dreamettes show up in their cheap wigs and homemade dresses, rehearsing songs and steps by the lead singer’s brother, with hopes that talent and sheer desire will break them out of the only life that seems available to them. They're young. They're beautiful. All they have to do is trust a car salesman aching to make his mark in the music business . “Joy is defined as Dreamgirls, an ecstatic dose of pure top-down Motown tight-harmony effervescence that takes a hit Broadway musical about a Chicago girl group and turns it, miraculously, into a Hollywood delight.” Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
April 13 - 19 MISS POTTER Nightly at 7pm, Fri & Sat 7 & 9pm, Sun Mat at 3pm. PG 93min. D:Chris Noonan. Renee Zellweger, Emily Watson, Ewen McGregor. Beatrix Potter has delighted generations of children with her books. But she kept her own private life locked carefully away. “Miss Potter” is set in the high summer days of late Victorian and Edwardian England, during which Beatrix develops her natural skills as artist and story-teller. When she finally publishes her debut book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she becomes a writing celebrity. “Known in the United States for her whimsical books, Potter was an ecological champion in the United Kingdom. The film touches on this, but mostly it's a tender tale about yearning hearts and courageous idealism.” Bruce Westbrook Houston Chronicle
// posted by country mouse @ 7:26 AM 
