The White Ribbon - Opens 3/19
2 Oscar Nominations - Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography
A village in Protestant northern Germany. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all? The village schoolteacher observes, investigates and little by little discovers the incredible truth. Are we being asked to consider whether these events heralded something that would explode years later with the rise of Nazi Germany? Did these events contain the germs of the tragedies that followed? "Though no violence worse than a slap is ever shown being committed, The White Ribbon is so steeped in the awful that the proper response is a shudder."-New York Post. "Don't let anyone tell you too much about this spellbinder from Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke. This haunting film never pushes itself on you. It trusts you to suss out the horror that lies beneath the veneer of innocence. You'll be knocked for a loop."-Rolling Stone. "A kind of mashup of "Our Town" and "Village of the Damned," the film is both draining and enthralling. Immaculately crafted in beautiful black-and-white and entirely absorbing."-Time. "4/4 Stars. Detailed yet oblique, leisurely but compelling, perfectly cast and irreproachably acted, the movie has a seductively novelistic texture complete with a less-than-omniscient narrator."-The Village Voice. 144 min., Rated R.
The Messenger -
2 Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor, Woody Harrelson
Best Original Screenplay
The Messenger is a powerful and tender story about a returned war hero making his first steps toward a normal life. In his first leading role, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband's death, Will's emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival. Featuring tour-de-force performances from Foster, Harrelson and Morton, and a brilliant directorial debut by Moverman, The Messenger brings us into the inner lives of these outwardly steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity. "91% Fresh."-Rottentomatoes.com. "4/4 Stars. This is a poignant war movie, but it's also a buddy movie with a difference, one that's both funny and bleak."-Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Messengers with the worst possible message, they nonetheless manage to be human and alive... In a film that itself bears sad tidings about the costs of war, that is an affirming, even an inspiring, gift."-NPR. "This is a fully felt, morally alert, marvelously acted piece of work. Despite the grim subject, it's a sweet-tempered movie, with moments of explosive humor -- an entertainment."-New Yorker. 105 min., Rated R.
The Last Station - 2 Oscar Nominations: Helen Mirren, Best Actress & Christopher Plummer, Best Supporting Actor
After almost fifty years of marriage, the Countess Sofya, Leo Tolstoy's devoted wife, passionate lover, muse and secretary—she's copied out War and Peace six times...by hand!—suddenly finds her entire world turned upside down. In the name of his newly created religion, the great Russian novelist has renounced his noble title, his property and even his family in favor of poverty, vegetarianism and even celibacy. After she's born him thirteen children! When Sofya then discovers that Tolstoy's trusted disciple, Chertkov—whom she despises—may have secretly convinced her husband to sign a new will, leaving the rights to his iconic novels to the Russian people rather than his very own family, she is consumed by righteous outrage. This is the last straw. Using every bit of cunning, every trick of seduction in her considerable arsenal, she fights fiercely for what she believes is rightfully hers. The more extreme her behavior becomes, however, the more easily Chertkov is able to persuade Tolstoy of the damage she will do to his glorious legacy. "4/4 Stars. This production, directed by Michael Hoffman, is like a great night at the theatre--the two performing demons go at each other full tilt and produce scenes of Shakespearean affection, chagrin, and rage."-The New Yorker. "4.5/5 Stars. For those who enjoy actors who can play it up without ever overplaying their hands, The Last Station is the destination of choice."-Los Angeles Times. "Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent."-USA Today. "A grandly entertaining historical drama."-Entertainment Weekly. "Helen Mirren outdoes even her Oscar-winning performance in "The Queen" with her tour de force as Countess Sofya Tolstoy in Michael Hoffman's delightful The Last Station."-New York Post. 112 min., Rated R.
Red Cliff
Legendary action cinema master John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite for the first time since the 1992 classic Hard Boiled with this epic historical drama set based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. Red Cliff opens with power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeking permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush two troublesome warlords that stand in his way, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets under way, Cao Cao’s troops rain destruction on Liu Bei’s army, forcing the latter to retreat. Liu Bei’s military strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) knows that their only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted advisor, war hero Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s fast approaching, brutal army, the rebel warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign unrivalled in history that changes the face of China forever. A massive hit in Asia and the most expensive Asian film production of all time, Red Cliff is a breathtaking war epic that marks the triumphant return of John Woo. "Any war picture in which the heroine stalls the villain with a quiet, painstaking tea ceremony until the wind shifts direction and the good guys can firebomb the bad guys into oblivion is too ineffably Zen not to love."-New York Magazine. "Balances character, grit, spectacle and visceral action in a meaty, dramatically satisfying pie that delivers on the hype and will surprise many who felt the Hong Kong helmer progressively lost his mojo during his long years stateside."-Variety. "The spectacular battle scenes are the engorged heart of the delirious adventure. But Woo also gets maximum romantic value from Tony Leung as a war hero married to Chiling Lin as the tea-pouring beauty."-Entertainment Weekly. 148 min., Rated R.