Breaking Away - One Time Showing

Friday, May 24th at 6:30pm

 

In celebration of May being Bike Month, Cinema Center is partnering with the City of Fort Wayne and Bike Fort Wayne to bring you Breaking Away.  We are encouraging everyone to bike to this event, we are even turning our parking lot on the Northeast corner of Clay & Berry Street into a Biking Lot!  $5 tickets for people who bike to the show, Regular pricing if you drive.  Bike racks will be provided by the city in our Biking Lot, Bicycle Friendly Fort Wayne will be providing a free bike check with volunteers who will watch your bike while you enjoy the movie. 

 

Dennis Christopher stars as a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, Indiana, who is caught with his friends -- Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley -- coasting between high school and deciding what to do with the rest of their lives. The four friends are snobbishly looked down upon by the college students of the town as "cutters," since they were born in Bloomington and their parents worked in the local limestone quarries that built the university. Dennis Christopher's character Dave wants to be a champion bicycle racer and he idolizes the Italian racing team -- so much so that he speaks, thinks, and acts Italian, all to his father's (Paul Dooley) forlorn exasperation. Dave falls for a college girl (Robyn Douglass), but is ashamed to admit he is a cutter and poses as an Italian exchange student to impress her. Dave is particularly excited when his heroes -- the Italian racers -- come to town for a race. But they are even more snobbish than the college students and rely on dirty tricks to keep Dave from winning a race against them. After that ordeal, Dave throws away his false identity and convinces his friends to enter the university's "Little 500" bicycle race against the college students.

 

100 min., Rated PG.

 

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Cinema Center and Rich Lee Present:

The Room - Friday, June 7th at 9pm

 

Cinema Center is partnering with Rich Lee to bring The Room, a 2003 American independent romantic drama film, to our theater!  For this performance only, we will be offering special $5 'Tweet Seats' in our back row.  There are only six Tweet Seats, so email movies@cinemacenter.org to reserve yours today!  

 

An American black comedy about love and passion, betrayal and lies. It depicts the depths of friendship and relationships in one's life and raises life's real and most asked question: "Can you ever really trust anyone?...Are you ready to see reflections of your life?"  A successful banker, Johnny, is madly in love with his fiancé, Lisa, and plans to be married next month. His plans take a horrid turn when he finds the truth about Lisa and the people surrounding him.

 

99 min., Rated R.

 

 

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IPFW Summer Film Class

On Tuesdays and Thursdays in May and June, Cinema Center will be hosting IPFW's Summer Film Class about Film Noir and Horror Films.  

 

Film noir is a term used to describe the dark, brooding films (films such as Double Indemnity, Out of the Past, Mildred Pierce) that emerged from Hollywood after World War II.  The films are literally dark, often set at night, in shadowy and obscured conditions, and morally dark or ambiguous--focusing on damaged and damaging people who inhabit a heartless world where even the strong may not survive. 

 

Not surprisingly, horror films from the thirties (Frankenstein, King Kong, Dracula etc.) employed the same visual style (often with the same directors and cinematographers who later worked on noir films).  In the course we'll explore how these dark films and their later incarnations (Reservoir Dogs, Dawn of the Dead, Blood Simple) reflect the desires and fears of their respective eras.

Class starts at 7:00 pm while all films start at 7:30 pm.  ALL SHOWINGS ARE FREE!!!  To learn more about the class, visit IPFW's Website.

 

 

Chinatown - May 23rd

 

In 1930s Los Angeles, "matrimonial work" specialist Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to tail her husband, Water Department engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Gittes photographs him in the company of a young blonde and figures the case is closed, only to discover that the real Mrs. Mulwray had nothing to do with hiring Gittes in the first place. When Hollis turns up dead, Gittes decides to investigate further, encountering a shady old-age home, corrupt bureaucrats, angry orange farmers, and a nostril-slicing thug (Polanski) along the way. By the time he confronts Cross, Evelyn's father and Mulwray's former business partner, Jake thinks he knows everything, but an even more sordid truth awaits him. When circumstances force Jake to return to his old beat in Chinatown, he realizes just how impotent he is against the wealthy, depraved Cross.

 

130 min., Rated R.

 

 

Out of the Past - May 28th

 

Robert Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, the friendly but secretive proprietor of a mountain-village gas station. As Jeff's worshipful deaf-mute attendant (Dick Moore) looks on in curious fascination, an unsavory character named Joe (Paul Valentine) pulls up to the station, obviously looking for the owner. Jeff is all too aware of Joe's identity; he's been dreading this moment for quite some time, knowing full well that it will mean the end of his semi-idyllic existence, not to mention his engagement to local girl Ann (Virginia Huston). In a lengthy flashback, the audience is apprised of the reasons behind Jeff's discomfort - and thus begins a tale of treachery, betrayal and intrigue that extends into the present day and turns Jeff's life upside down.

 

97 min., Unrated.

 

 

Cat People - May 30th

 

Simone Simon plays an enigmatic young fashion artist who is curiously affected by the panther cage at the central park zoo. She falls in love with handsome Kent Smith, but loses him to Jane Randolph. After a chance confrontation with a bizarre stranger at a restaurant, Simon becomes obsessed with the notion that she's a Cat Woman--a member of an ancient Serbian tribe that metamorphoses into panthers whenever aroused by jealousy. She begins stalking her rival Randolph, terrifying the latter in the film's most memorable scene, set in an indoor swimming pool at midnight. Psychiatrist Tom Conway scoffs at the Cat Woman legend--until he recoils in horror after kissing Simon. 

 

73 min., Rated R.

 

 

Frankenstein - June 4th

 

Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) wants to build a man in his own image, using the body of a dead man. He and his assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) dig up a freshly buried coffin and steal the body. When they realize the head and the brains of the body are severely damaged, they decide to steal a brain from Dr. Frankenstein's former teacher Dr. Waldman (Edward van Sloan). When Fritz accidentally drops the glass jar with the label "good brain" on it, on the floor, he decides to take the glass jar with the label "bad brain". Using some kind of mysterious ray that Dr. Frankenstein discovered, the body is brought to life during a thunderstorm, and the monster of Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) is born.

 

70 min., Unrated.

 

 

Blood Simple - June 6th

 

M. Emmett Walsh plays Visser, an unscrupulous private eye hired by Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya) to murder Marty's faithless wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and her paramour, Ray (John Getz), one of Marty's employees. But Visser is no more up-front with Marty than with anyone else; he makes some slight modifications of the original plan so that it better serves his own best interests. After a surprise double-cross and the murder of one of the important players, matters spiral out of control, and the plot gyrates through a complicated string of darkly humorous events. False assumptions, guilt, and fear all lead to a frantic attempt to conceal evidence and the heart-pounding, irony-filled denouement.

 

97 min., Rated R.

 

 

Mildred Pierce - June 11th

 

The film opens with oily lounge lizard Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) being pumped full of bullets. Croaking out the name "Mildred", he collapses and dies. Both the police and the audience are led to believe that the murderer is chain-restaurant entrepreneur Mildred Pierce (Crawford), who takes the time to relate some of her sordid history. As the flashback begins, we see Mildred unhappily married to philandering Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). She divorces him, keeping custody of her two beloved daughters, Veda (Ann Blyth) and Kay (Jo Anne Marlowe). To keep oldest daughter Veda in comparative luxury, Mildred ends up taking a waitressing position at a local restaurant. With the help of slimy real estate agent Wally Fay (Jack Carson), she eventually buys her own establishment, which grows into a chain of restaurants throughout Southern California. Meanwhile, Mildred smothers Veda in affection and creature comforts. She goes so far as to enter into a loveless marriage with the wealthy Monty Beragon in order to improve her social standing; Beragon repays the favor by living the life of a layabout playboy, much to Mildred's dismay -- and possible financial ruin. 

 

113 min., Unrated.

 

 

Dawn of the Dead - June 13th

 

After shambling armies of the recently-dead take over every major city -- seeking warm human flesh for food -- the U.S. government imposes a state of martial law, sending in special National Guard units to attack and destroy zombie infestation where they find it. Two members of one such unit, Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger) have been tasked to overthrow a nest of zombies in a Pittsburgh housing project. When the job turns ugly and Peter is forced to terminate his own berserk, racist commanding officer, the pair decide to split the outfit with the help of his friend Stephen (David Emge), a traffic pilot for WGON-TV, and the station's floor manager, Stephen's girlfriend Frances (Gaylen Ross). Together they steal the station's helicopter and head for less-populated areas, but after some narrow scrapes with flesh-hungry redneck ghouls in the country outside Harrisburg, they opt for a more secure hideout. Eventually they find the perfect solution: a massive, sprawling shopping mall. After the lengthy process of purging the building of zombies is complete, the four secure themselves snugly in the miniature city, consigned to live out their lives in a dull but cushy consumer's paradise... but the arrival of a menacing gang of nomadic bikers proves that this is not to be. With their survival instincts weakened by a mallful of toys and trinkets, the crew are again forced to face grim reality as they face both living and undead foes in a final battle.

 

126 min., Rated R.

 

 

Reservoir Dogs - June 18th

 

The story looks at what happens before and after (but not during) a botched jewelry store robbery organized by Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney). Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) is a career criminal who takes a liking to newcomer Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and enjoys showing him the ropes. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is a weaselly loner obsessed with professionalism. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) has just gotten out of jail after taking the rap on a job for Cabot; he's grateful for the work but isn't the same person he used to be. While Mr. Blonde goes nuts during the heist, the thieves are surprised by the sudden arrival of the police, and Mr. Pink is convinced one of their team is a cop. So who's the rat? What do they do about Mr. Blonde? And what do they do with Mr. Orange, who took a bullet in the gut and is slowly bleeding to death? 

 

98 min., Rated R.

 

 

Near Dark - June 20th

 

Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), a restless young man from a small farm town, meets an alluring drifter named Mae (Jenny Wright). She reveals herself to be a vampire, who "turns" Caleb into one of her kind rather than kill him. But the rest of her "family" is slow to accept the newcomer. The ancient leader, Jesse (Lance Henriksen), and his psychotic henchman Severen (Bill Paxton) lay down the law; Caleb has to carry his own weight or die. However, he can't bring himself to kill. He manages to win the gang's approval when he rescues them from certain death in a daytime gunfight during a spectacular motel shoot-out in which every bullet hole lets in a deadly ray of sunlight. When the vampires threaten Caleb's real family, he's forced to choose between life and death.

 

95 min., Rated R.

 

 

Psycho - June 25th

 

Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. 

 

109 min., Rated R.

 

 

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Summit City Film & Animation Academy

July 8th - 14th

 

The Summit City Film & Animation Academy is a partnership between Huntington University's digital media arts department and the Fort Wayne Cinema Center with the express purpose of educating high school students in the craftsmanship of either filmmaking and animation during one intensive training week.

Learn more…

 

 

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Pride Film Festival - July 28th

  

  

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

 

Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell), born a boy named Hansel, is raised by a single mother (Alberta Watson) who wishes to see her son do better than his poverty-stricken family. Some years later, Hansel is attracted to a good-looking American G.I., who promises a betterlife overseas for young Hansel, under one condition: that he undergo a sex-change operation to become a fully functional female whom he can then marry. The operation is seriously botched, leaving the now-renamed Hedwig with an "angry inch" only to be stranded in a dingy Kansas trailer park on the day the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. Hedwig then supports herself through a series of ill-fated lounge gigs and side jobs, meeting up with 16-year-old Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), a religious type who befriends her and later steals her songs and becomes the rock star Hedwig always dreamed of being. 

 

91 min., Rated R.

 

 

  

I Am Divine

 

I Am Divine is the story of Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, from his humble beginnings as an overweight, teased Baltimore youth to internationally recognized drag superstar through his collaboration with filmmaker John Waters. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine was the ultimate outsider turned underground royalty. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture. I Am Divine is a definitive biographical portrait that charts the legendary icon’s rise to infamy and emotional complexities.

 

90 min., Unrated.

 

 

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Midnight Movies for only $5

Every Last Saturday of the month at 11:59pm Cinema Center will be showing Midnight Movies.

 

 

 

Fight Club - Shows May 25th

 

Edward Norton stars as a depressed young man (named in the credits only as "Narrator") who has become a small cog in the world of big business. He doesn't like his work and gets no sense of reward from it, attempting instead to drown his sorrows by putting together the "perfect" apartment. He can't sleep and feels alienated from the world at large; he's become so desperate to relate to others that he's taken to visiting support groups for patients with terminal diseases so that he'll have people to talk to. One day on a business flight, he discovers Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charming iconoclast who sells soap. Tyler doesn't put much stock in the materialistic world, and he believes that one can learn a great deal through pain, misfortune, and chaos. Tyler cheerfully challenges his new friend to a fight. Our Narrator finds that bare-knuckle brawling makes him feel more alive than he has in years, and soon the two become friends and roommates, meeting informally to fight once a week. As more men join in, the "fight club" becomes an underground sensation, even though it's a closely guarded secret among the participants. (First rule: Don't talk about fight club. Second rule: Don't talk about fight club.) But as our Narrator and Tyler bond through violence, a strange situation becomes more complicated when Tyler becomes involved with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), whom our Narrator became infatuated with when they were both crashing the support-group circuit.

 

139 min., Rated R.

 

 

 

Evil Intent - Shows June 29th

 

Stephanie and Kelly are best friends and roommates. Paul is Stephanie's boyfriend and Kelly's former boyfriend. The three of them eventually realize they are part of a love triangle that's filled with love, betrayal, insanity, and murder.

 

74 min., Unrated.

 

 

 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Shows July 27th

 

Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell), born a boy named Hansel, is raised by a single mother (Alberta Watson) who wishes to see her son do better than his poverty-stricken family. Some years later, Hansel is attracted to a good-looking American G.I., who promises a betterlife overseas for young Hansel, under one condition: that he undergo a sex-change operation to become a fully functional female whom he can then marry. The operation is seriously botched, leaving the now-renamed Hedwig with an "angry inch" only to be stranded in a dingy Kansas trailer park on the day the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. Hedwig then supports herself through a series of ill-fated lounge gigs and side jobs, meeting up with 16-year-old Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), a religious type who befriends her and later steals her songs and becomes the rock star Hedwig always dreamed of being. 

 

91 min., Rated R.