Then She Found Me
Adapted from Elinor Lipman's novel of the same name, Helen Hunt makes her feature directing debut with Then She Found Me, a touching story of schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) and her very unlikely path towards personal fulfillment. Following the separation from her husband (Matthew Broderick) and the death of her adopted mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother (Bette Midler), who turns out to be a local talk show host Bernice Graves. As Bernice tries to become the mother to April that she was never able to be, April seems to find solace in the arms of the parent of one of her students (Colin Firth), only to find that the mystery to life's questions cannot be solved by a simple revelation."By the closing scene, I felt privileged to be along for April's emergence from the deep waters of daughterhood and her realization that when love knocks, the heart opens wide."-Philadelphia Inquirer. "There's a gentle realism that makes room for laughs, drama and the slightest touch of farce, never spilling into the comically cheap and managing to explore subtler issues involvolving adoption"-Chicago Tribune."A funny and touching story about the way we create families both by blood and by choice."-New York Observer. 100 min., Rated R.
Redbelt
"Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor follows his turn in American Gangster by taking the lead role in this thoughtful fight movie from writer/director David Mamet. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a man who runs his own Jiu-jitsu studio in Los Angeles. Terry's business is failing, causing tension between him and his wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). But their lives change drastically when Terry is compelled to come to the aid of an actor, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), during a bar fight. Frank befriends Terry and invites him to come and work as a consultant on a movie he is shooting. Just as Terry's fortunes seem to be changing, he finds himself caught up in a deceitful plan that has been carefully hatched by Frank's devious agent (Mamet regular Joe Mantegna). With his debts piling up, Terry decides to go against all his instincts and enter the competitive fighting world, where he stands to win a huge cash prize. But the good-natured fighter is in for a shock when he gets a close-up glimpse of the corruption that runs rife throughout the sport. Redbelt is full of the usual plot twists and fine performances that mark any Mamet movie. It's fascinating to watch the director draw on his longstanding passion for Jiu-jitsu to fill out the storyline, and Ejiofor does a convincing job as a man who draws on the discipline of the sport to stay calm during some testing times. As with many Mamet films, a series of cons are liberally sprinkled throughout the script, calling on viewers to remain alert as each strand of the storyline slowly unravels. Ostensibly an action movie, Mamet makes Redbelt an unusual and invaluable addition to the genre. "What is memorable is the film's portrait of a man of honor in a sleazy world, possibly a metaphor for the struggle of the artist to stay honorable in a world of backbiting, betrayal and hunger for easy money."-Washington Post. "Mr. Ejiofor gives a commanding performance, perfectly calibrated in what's withheld just as much as what's revealed."-Wall Street Journal. "4/5 Stars. [A] contemporary noir with a samurai movie interior, as sincere, plaintive and strangely optimistic a movie as he's made."-Los Angeles Times. "With his 10th feature -- an entertaining tale of high-stakes martial arts -- Mamet has infused the sleight of hand with a measure of two-fisted action."-Village Voice. "In the story of a purist-minded jiu-jitsu instructor trying to keep his distance from the vulgar commercialism of arena-style martial arts competition, David Mamet may have found the ideal metaphor for his own relationship with mainstream Hollywood."-Variety. 99 min., Rated R (language.)
Son of Rambow
A runaway audience smash at the Sundance Film Festival, SON OF RAMBOW is a hilariously fresh and visually inventive take on friendship, family, film heroes and the death-defying adventures of growing up in the video age. It all begins in 1980s Britain, when young Will Proudfoot, raised in isolation among The Brethren, a puritanical religious sect in which music and TV are strictly forbidden, encounters something beyond his wildest fantasies: a pirated copy of Rambo: First Blood. His virgin viewing of the iconic thriller blows his mind -- and rapidly expanding imagination -- wide open. Now, Will sets out to join forces with the seemingly diabolical school bully, Lee Carter, to make their own action epic, devising wildly creative, on-the-fly stunts, not to mention equally elaborate schemes for creating a movie of total commitment and non-stop thrills while hiding out from The Brethren. But when school popularity finally descends on Will and Lee in the form of, oui, the super-cool French exchange student, Didier Revol, their remarkable new friendship and precious film are pushed, quite literally, to the breaking point. "I can't imagine a better movie for children and adults to enjoy together. "-Chicago Reader. "Son of Rambow evokes the rush of discovery that turns budding cinephiles into lifers -- that delight in finding a film that seems to express or coalesce some inchoate yearning, including a yen to share."-Village Voice. "Bright and witty physical and optical visual touches spill off the screen, though the use of effects is scaled to the tale."-Variety. "We cringe and laugh at -- and are ultimately moved by -- their clumsiness and innocence. And it endears us to the Rambo films in ways we never could have anticipated."-Washington Post. "A joyous, touching story of friendship, mischief and imagination."-Minneapolis Star Tribune. "It's an absolute delight."-Boston Globe. 95 min.
IPFW & Cinema Center Present:
"The Soundtrack of Your Life: Music and Film."
All Films Begin at 7:30
General Admission/Students/Seniors - $2.00 Cinema Center Members - Free
North by Northwest - May 20th
Quintessential Hitchcock comedy-thriller, with bewildered ad-man Cary Grant chased cross country by both spies (who think he's a double agent) and the police (who think he's an assassin). One memorable scene after another, including now-legendary crop dusting and Mount Rushmore sequences; one of the all-time great entertainments. Features a witty script by Ernest Lehman and exciting score by legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann. 1959, 136 min.
Singin’ in the Rain - May 22nd
Hollywood, 1927: the silent-film romantic team of Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont is the toast of Tinseltown. While Lockwood and Lamont personify smoldering passions onscreen, in real life the down-to-earth Lockwood can't stand the egotistical, brainless Lina. He prefers the company of aspiring actress Kathy Selden, whom he met while escaping his screaming fans. Watching these intrigues from the sidelines is Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), Don's best pal and on-set pianist. Cosmo is promoted to musical director of Monumental Pictures by studio head R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) when the talking-picture revolution commences. That's all right for Cosmo, but how will talkies affect the upcoming Lockwood-Lamont vehicle "The Dueling Cavalier"? Don, an accomplished song-and-dance man, should have no trouble adapting to the microphone. Lina, however, is another matter; put as charitably as possible, she has a voice that sounds like fingernails on a blackboard. The disastrous preview of the team's first talkie has the audience howling with derisive laughter. On the strength of the plot alone, concocted by the matchless writing team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Singin' in the Rain is a delight. But with the addition of MGM's catalog of Arthur Freed-Nacio Herb Brown songs -- "You Were Meant for Me," "You Are My Lucky Star," "The Broadway Melody," and of course the title song -- the film becomes one of the greatest Hollywood musicals ever made.
American Graffiti - May 27th
Before Star Wars, George Lucas created this highly entertaining, insightful mosaic about youngsters "coming of age" after high school graduation in 1962. Often hilarious, always on-target, this film made Richard Dreyfuss a star and boosted many other careers. In addition to the classic cars, the vintage soundtrack and the omnipresence of Wolfman Jack throughout capture the period perfectly. Also starring Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Suzanne Somers & Harrison Ford. 1973, 110 min., Rated PG.
This is Spinal Tap! - May 29th
Hilariously precise parody of a rock documentary (also the origin of the term 'rockumentary') with actual director Rob Reiner as the rocumentary's director Marty Di Bergi, who chronicles latest American tour of aging British rock group. Collaborative effort improvised by Reiner & his cast including Michael McKean, Christopher Guest & Harry Shearer as the band and slew of others. Classic bits too numerous to mention and musical performances that are "pitch-perfect" punctuate this timeless classic. This one goes to 11. 1984, 82 min., Rated R.
Reservoir Dogs - June 5th
This breakthrough debut from writer-director-costar Quentin Tarantino echoes The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing and John Woo's Hong Kong action flicks. "K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies" highlight the fanciful soundtrack that contrasts with the stark brutal violence reaching it's zenith during one major cringe inducing torture scene made infamous by its musical accompaniment; the upbeat, feel good, "Dylan-esque" Stuck in the Middle With You. Starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Eddie Bunker, & Steven Wright as the DJ. 1992, 99 min., Rated R.
The Piano - June 10th
Haunting, unpredictable tale of love and sex told from a woman's point of view. In the late 19th century, a Scottish woman (Holly Hunter), her illegitimate daughter (Anna Paquin), and her beloved piano arrive in remote New Zealand for an arranged marriage to a farmer played by Sam Neill. Then headstrong Hunter (who has been mute since childhood) strikes a bargain with her moody neighbor Harvey Keitel (a Maori convert) involving the piano that leads to eye-opening consequences for the entire community. Writer-director Jane Campion has fashioned a highly original fable, showing the tragedy and triumph erotic passion can bring to one's daily life. Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances, Campion for her screenplay. 1993, 121 min., Rated R.
Bride & Prejudice - June 12th
In a modest Indian village, the determined Mrs. Bakshi sets out to find marriage matches for her four beautiful daughters. Right away, the smart and headstrong Lalita (Aishwarya Rai) announces she will only marry for love, giving her mother nightmares. Then Lalita meets the wealthy American Will Darcy (Martin Henderson) and sparks immediately fly. But is it love or hate? Darcy seems to Lalita to be an arrogant California snob. Darcy believes Lalita to be a small-town Indian beauty who knows nothing of the world. Alternately enchanted by and suspicious of one another, Lalita and Darcy nearly fall prey to assumptions, gossip and a comedy of errors . . . until pride is humbled and prejudice overcome. 111 min., Rated PG-13.
The Royal Tenenbaums - June 17th
Director Wes Anderson and his longtime friend and writing partner Owen Wilson follow up Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998) with this similarly offbeat comedy about a dysfunctional family reunion. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful attorney who had three children with his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), an archaeologist. Each of the Tenenbaum kids was a precocious genius: Chas (Ben Stiller) made a killing as a child investor. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior tennis champ and three-time U.S. Nationals winner. The adopted Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright who won a 50,000-dollar Braverman Grant in the ninth grade. When Royal abruptly left his family, however, it was the beginning of two decades of betrayal and failure that would scar the Tenenbaums for life. Their past resentments are bitterly held against Royal when he suddenly reappears, claiming to have six weeks to live and a desire to reconnect with his family. Typically, Royal's story is a sham, but his presence and sincere desire for absolution soon have a profound effect on the Tenenbaums, who are each dealing with thwarted desires and relationships. Among them are Richie's lifelong love for Margot, who's unhappily married to Raleigh St.Clair (Bill Murray) and Etheline's eccentric engagement to Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), who wishes to marry her. The Royal Tenenbaums also co-stars Owen Wilson and features narration provided by Alec Baldwin. 108 min., Rated R.
Juno - June 19th
Juno stars Ellen Page as the title character, a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Michael Cera). With the help of her hot best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds her unborn child a "perfect" set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt. Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents (JK Simmons and Allison Janney) as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs. PG-13.
Once - June 24th
One of the most revealing details about the Irish people is that when the Free State was founded and the modern Irish at last got to design their own currency, they put a harp on their money so that even in the most mercantile of moments, the Irish love of song, tale and verse would be present. That native love of music and storytelling is in full flower in Once, John Carney’s unabashedly romantic updating of the old backstage Hollywood musical. Assuming Once can find an adventurous and imaginative distributor, this is possibly the first Irish-set song-and-story cycle since The Commitments to promise strong arthouse crossover appeal in the U.S. Built out of director Carney’s relationships from a previous career as a rock musician, Once features Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard as a heartsick busker with a battered guitar who forms an unlikely musical partnership with Marketa Irglova’s expatriate Czech gamine a sidewalk flower-seller with a musical past of her own. Age, culture and life circumstance make theirs a love that has to happen in glances, and the songs that pass between them—simple, melodious stuff about loss, love and longing—become both their courtship and, in a sense, its consummation. Carney handles this delicate material with a warm assurance that is the perfect articulation of Hansard’s sensitive tunes. When Irglova first appears to Hansard at the end of a long slow push-in on a darkened Dublin street, it’s as if she has magically appeared to him as the answer to his howled out lover’s prayer. To use a music-biz phrase, this picture has "ears." Unlike most musical films in the post-MTV era, Once knows when to stay with a performance and let the singing do the talking. Hansard (who was actually part of the ensemble in The Commitments) is a screen natural, a battered charmer with a face that seems to laugh and weep at the same time, and Irglova lights up the screen with an assured and even world-weary performance remarkable for an actress who is all of eighteen. In addition to being utterly convincing emotionally, their touching relationship offers a gentle glimpse into an Eastern and Western Europe that is in the midst of becoming one entity. How remarkable to think that cultures that 20 years ago still viewed each other with suspicion and mistrust are now not only neighbors but increasingly family. And how appropriate that this miraculous communion be celebrated so beautifully in the universal language of song. 88 min., Rated R.