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Above And Beyond: Part 1 | 2006 | M | a |
Screening: August 4th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Sturla Gunnarsson
Cast: Richard E. Grant, Liane Balaban, Jonathan Scarfe
Richard E. Grant (Bright Young Things, Gosford Park) stars in this tale of bravery, courage and persistence, which tells of the unsung heroes of The Atlantic Ferry Organisation, who flew aircraft from Newfoundland to Europe during the Winter of 1940.
Helmed by Icelandic director Sturla Gunnarsson, the story unfolds as the Battle of Britain is raging and the RAF desperately needs aircraft. When one of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's ministers, Canadian press magnate Lord Beaverbrook (Kenneth Welsh - Love and Hate), suggests flying planes from Newfoundland to Europe, many call it a suicide mission. North Atlantic aviation is in its infancy and winter flying is unheard of. Yet in November 1940, seven Hudson Bombers, flown by civilians, successfully make the flight from Gander, Newfoundland to Ireland, ushering in a new era in aviation history. This Atlantic Ferry Organization team became the core of RAF Ferry Command, which by 1945 had flown 10,000 aircraft from Newfoundland to Britain, helping to turn the tide of the war.
Also stars Liane Balaban (New Waterford Girl, Saint Jude), Jonathan Scarfe (Into the West) Joss Ackland (K19: The Widowmaker, Surviving Picasso) as Winston Churchill and Jason Priestley (Murder at the Presidio). Filmed on location in Newfoundland, Labrador and Ontario.
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Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq | 2007 | M | avl |
Screening: August 13th
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Jon Alpert, Ellen Goosenberg Kent
Cast: James Gandolfini
In a war that has left more than 25,000 wounded, this inspiring Australian premiere documentary looks at a new generation of veterans who survived near-fatal wounds whilst serving in Iraq.
Emmy winner James Gandolfini interviews 10 soldiers and marines who reveal their feelings on their future, their severe disabilities and their devotion to their country. Through the heartbreaking memories of each soldier's "alive day", the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq, we are able to survey the physical and emotional cost of war.
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An Inconvenient Truth | 2006 | PG | a |
Screening: August 3rd
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Davis Guggenheim
Cast: Al Gore
From director Davis Guggenheim comes this Oscar-winning documentary, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at former Vice President Al Gore's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. In the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, Gore re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change and in the process showed the world a side of himself that had never been seen before.
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An Inconvenient Truth - Update | 2007 | PG | |
Screening: August 14th
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Davis Guggenheim
Cast: Al Gore
An update with former Vice President Al Gore, a year after An Incovenient Truth, as he tells of the new facts, evidence and findings that have come out since the original documentary was released.
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As You Like It | 2006 | M | av |
Screening: August 4th
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director/s: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Romola Garai, Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina
Oscar-nominee Kenneth Branagh directs this imaginative and exotic adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most beloved plays - the enduring love of Rosalind and Orlando in all its many disguises. Rosalind (Bryce Dallas Howard) is raised at the court of Duke Frederick (the renowned Brian Blessed), who took over her father's dukedom, with her cousin Celia (Romola Garai). She falls in love with a young man named Orlando (David Oyelowo), but before she can even think twice about it, she is banished by Duke Frederick, who threatens death if she comes near the court again.
Support cast includes Kevin Kline (Best Actor 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards), Richard Briers, Janet McTeer and Alfred Molina.
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Bernard And Doris | 2007 | M | als |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Comedy Drama
Director/s: Bob Balaban
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Ralph Fiennes, Peter Asher
In this Emmy-nominated drama, Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes star in a hypothetical, behind-the-scenes story of tobacco heiress Doris Duke and her Irish butler, Bernard, directed by Bob Balaban.
Doris was the world's richest woman, a society icon with a reputation for being difficult and demanding. Bernard was a closeted homosexual who, despite his subordinate status and troubled history with alcohol abuse, ended up the primary beneficiary of her estate. Theirs was a love story that nobody could have imagined - until now. Support cast includes Peter Asher (of legendary singing duo Peter and Gordon), James Rebhorn and Nick Rolfe.
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Bob Roberts | 1992 | M | l |
Screening: August 5th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Tim Robbins
Cast: Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Rebecca Jenkins
Oscar winner Tim Robbins writes, directs and stars as Bob Roberts; a corrupt right-wing folksinger running for the senate who makes a hit record proving that image and a bit of schmaltz mean more than substance in this Golden Globe-nominated satirical mockumentary in the vein of This is Spinal Tap, delving into the brutal world of American politics. A muck-racking reporter is the only thing standing between Roberts and success.
Support cast includes such familiar faces as John Cusack, Jack Black, James Spader, David Strathairn, Helen Hunt and Susan Sarandon.
Trivia: Tim Robbins wrote a song called "Revape Amerika" for Tapeheads (1988), Robbins reworked the song into "Retake America", used in this film; all the songs were written by Tim Robbins and David Robbins, his brother; Tim Robbins sings in the film and also plays the harmonica; Jack Black sings background vocals on the soundtrack; the idea for the film originated from a sketch on "Saturday Night Live".
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Breaking Bad: Pilot | 2007 | MA | vd |
Screening: August 28th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Vince Gilligan
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte
In this Emmy-nominated drama, Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) stars as unassuming high school chemistry teacher Walter White, who discovers he has lung cancer. Desperate to secure his family's financial future and finally free from the fear that had always inhibited him, Walt teams up with a former student to turn a used RV into a mobile drug lab.
Breaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn - Deadwood) and teenage son (RJ Mitte - Gray's Anatomy) who has cerebral palsy. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White's releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the drug trade.
Also stars Max Arciniega, John Koyama, Steven Michael Quezada.
TRIVIA:
When Walt is showing to Jesse the chemistry supplies he stole from the school, he mentions that he's got an "Erlenmeyer flask". This is a reference to "The X-Files" (1993), which featured an episode titled "The Erlenmeyer Flask". Director Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad, was a writer and producer on several seasons of *The X-Files*; a professor at the University of Southern California gave Bryan Cranston lessons in chemistry basics for the series; an actual DEA agent showed the crew and the cast how to make crystal meth.
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Britz: Part 1 | 2007 | MA | avl |
Screening: August 7th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Peter Kosminsky
Cast: Riz Ahmed, Manjinder Virk, Zaid Munir
In this thought-provoking Showcase Original Presentation, Riz Ahmed (The Road to Guantanamo) stars as Sohail, an ambitious law undergraduate who signs up with MI5 and, eager to play a part in protecting British security, begins an investigation into a terrorist cell.
Manjinder Virk stars as his sister Nasima, a medical student in Leeds who becomes increasingly alienated and angered by Britain's foreign and domestic policy after witnessing at first hand the relentless targeting of her Muslim neighbours and peers.
With action set in Pakistan, Eastern Europe, London and Leeds, both feature-length episodes detail a tragic sequence of events from two distinct perspectives. At the heart of this thought-provoking drama is a revealing examination of British Muslim life under current anti-terror legislation. Britz ultimately asks whether the laws we think are making us safer, are actually putting us in greater danger.
Written and directed by the acclaimed Peter Kosminsky - BAFTA-winner for The Government Inspector and helmer of Wuthering Heights (1992) and White Oleander (2002).
FACTS: According to the Director General of the Security Service MI5, The 7/7 suicide bombers were motivated by a sense of injustice faced by Muslims in Britain and throughout the world; 36 Justice bills, six anti-terror bills and five asylum and immigration bills have been introduced in Britain since 1997. Many young Muslims feel this legislation is aimed directly at them; "I have a horrible feeling that we are sinking into a police state..." - George Churchill Coleman, Former Head of Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Unit.
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Broken Bridges | 2006 | PG | v |
Screening: August 4th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Steven Goldmann
Cast: Toby Keith, Kelly Preston, Josh Henderson
In this bittersweet story about family, love and redemption, the death of a loved one brings fading country music star Bo Price (debut of country music singer Toby Keith) back to his hometown .
Bo is reunited with his childhood sweetheart (Kelly Preston) and meets his 16-year-old daughter for the first time. Can Bo mend the bridges that were broken when he up and left his home and loved ones for fame and fortune? Sometimes you must go back to move forward.
Support cast includes Josh Henderson (Desperate Housewives), Oscar nominee Tess Harper and Burt Reynolds.
TRIVIA:
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Broken Trail: Part 1 | 2006 | M | lsva |
Screening: August 16th
Genre: Western
Director/s: Walter Hill
Cast: Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, Chris Mulkey
In this Emmy-winning emotionally riveting action drama directed by Walter Hill, Oscar winner Robert Duvall and Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church star as horse herders Print and Tom, who find themselves the reluctant guardians of five abused and abandoned Chinese girls while traversing the 1890s Wild West.
Determined to get a herd of horses to Wyoming in order to collect a hefty wage, the two ranchers set out across the country but soon discover a cutthroat criminal is holding five women hostage - human cargo to be sold into prostitution. After rescuing the women, Print and Tom must escort them to safety and protect them from the pursuing pack of bandits determined to sell them into captivity.
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Children Of God: Lost And Found | 2007 | MA | asnl |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Noah Thomson
Cast: Noah Thomson
Causing a firestorm of controversy at Sundance, this documentary from Noah Thomson, who was born and raised a member of the Children of God and left the cult in his early 20s, explores through interviews with members, past and present, and home movie footage, their childhood, the alleged physical and sexual abuse that occurred as part of the doctrines of David Berg, how they escaped and its impact on adulthood. Thomson's journey takes him to Mexico and South America and to the abandoned Brazilian commune where he was born and raised as he goes in search of his mother, who is still a member.
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Clean | 2004 | M | dl |
Screening: August 6th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Olivier Assayas
Cast: Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, James Johnston
In this award-winning drama, a woman with a checkered past is released from prison and is forced to make some serious decisions about her life in order to regain custody of her young son. Maggie Cheung's masterful performance won her a Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2004. Watch for James Johnston in his debut as Lee Hauser, taking a break from The Bad Seeds.
TRIVIA:
During the scene where Albrecht (Nolte) has a meeting about the artwork for Lee's album, a Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds poster is seen on the wall behind him; Maggie Cheung and director Olivier Assayas were already divorced when they made this movie.
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Confetti | 2006 | M | ln |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director/s: Debbie Isitt
Cast: Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson, Alison Steadman
Three outrageous fantasy weddings, two manic wedding planners and one grand prize... let the games begin!
Britain's leading fictional glamour-wedding magazine, Confetti, announces a competition in which three happily-engaged couples will duke it out to create the most to-die-for wedding ceremony, each hoping to win a million-dollar mansion to start their new lives together. The three couples include the tuneless Matt and Sam whose unfortunate wedding theme is Hollywood musicals; the hypercompetitive tennis duo Josef and Isabelle who believe it doesn't matter how you play the game so as long as you win; and the nudists Michael and Joanna whose desire to wed in their birthday suits has everyone in an uproar.
Archie Heron and Gregory Hough are standouts as the hilarious wedding planners trying to keep everyone happy and bring it all together.
All will be revealed in Debbie Isitt's witty and affectionate comedy in which a cast of leading British comic actors. The ensemble cast includes such popular British performers as Martin Freeman (Love Actually, The Office), Jessica Stevenson (Shaun Of The Dead, Spaced, The Royle Family), Stephen Mangan (Green Wing), Felicity Montagu (I'm Alan Partridge), award-winning comedian Jimmy Carr in his first screen performance and Alison Steadman (Topsy-Turvy, Life Is Sweet).
Trivia: the film was acted out as an improvisation and was shot entirely in chronological order; actors were not given call-sheets in order to increase the film's sense of unknowing.
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Daphne | 2007 | M | als |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Clare Beavan
Cast: Geraldine Somerville, Janet McTeer, Elizabeth McGovern
Based on personal letters and biographies, Geraldine Somerville (Harry Potter) stars in this drama, which examines Daphne du Maurier's struggle with unrequited passion for the American heiress Ellen Doubleday and her affair with the Broadway star Gertrude Lawrence.
Set just after WWII, the film story reveals how Daphne's obsession with her forbidden love for Ellen led to her writing the play September Tide and the novel My Cousin Rachel. Daphne called herself "a boy in a box" and this drama shows how her incendiary love life informed the writing of the compelling stories.
TRIVIA:
Daphne du Maurier referred to her heterosexual encounters as 'Cairo' and to homosexual encounters as 'Venice'; Daphne du Maurier went on to write short stories, 'The Birds' and 'Don't Look Now'. Both were made into films; Daphne du Maurier was made a Dame in 1969. She died in Cornwall in 1989 aged 81.
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Dexter: That Night, A Forest Grew | 2007 | MA | als |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Crime
Director/s: Jeremy Podeswa
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Erik King
A written manifesto from the "Bay Harbour Butcher" sends the Special Task Force in charge of capturing the killer into chaos. All part of Dexter's plan as he tries to be more "pro-active" in keeping Agent Lundy off his tail. But things start to spiral downward for Dexter as Lila's influence begins to take its toll on Dexter's personal life.
In Season 2 of this Showcase Original Presentation, after killing his brother, the Ice Truck Killer, at the end of last season, Dexter now finds himself unable to kill again. He certainly wants to, and in fact still needs to, but he is too unnerved by feelings he can't quite understand. Drifting from the Code of Harry, Dexter starts making foolish choices as he tries to get back to his old self; with disastrous results. Debra returns to work at Miami Metro PD but shows signs she is not ready to resume duty after her own recent ordeal with the Ice Truck Killer. Meanwhile, Dexter's biggest secret is about to surface for all the world to see.
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Dinner Rush | 2000 | MA | v |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Bob Giraldi
Cast: Danny Aiello, Edoardo Ballerini, John Corbett, Summer Phoenix
Danny Aiello and Edoardo Ballerini star in this drama where the show must go on even when mobsters murder a restaurant owner's partner just as the eatery's attracting a better class of client. Aiello is an island of old school values in a sea of change in these frenetically interlocking stories of the haves and have-nots.
TRIVIA:
Was filmed in only 21 days.
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Durham County: Dark Man | 2007 | M | vl |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Crime
Director/s: Adrienne Mitchell
Cast: Hugh Dillon, Justin Louis, Helene Joy
Ray Prager gets close to Audrey Sweeney so he can manipulate Mike Sweeney's family. Mike and Audrey reach a boiling point while she staunchly defends Ray.
They say there's only six degrees of separation between you and anyone else in the world, but sometimes it's not even that. Sometimes the most brutal evil you can imagine is already in your world. Sometimes he's just across the street.
This emotionally powerful Showcase Original Presentation revolves around Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) and his family, as he hunts a serial killer he's certain is the guy across the street, Ray Prager - a dangerously fragile man whose need for total control feeds his paranoia.
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Falling From Grace | 1992 | M | l |
Screening: August 22nd
Genre: Drama
Director/s: John Mellencamp
Cast: John Mellencamp, Mariel Hemingway, Kay Lenz
Making his acting and directorial debut, singer John Mellencamp stars as Bud Parks in this moving love story about a famous singer's return to his tangled and sometimes incestuous small town roots.
When singer Bud and his wife Alice (Mariel Hemingway) make a return to his Indiana hometown to celebrate his grandfather's 80th birthday, old feelings and emotions re-ignite as Bud slips back into his old wild ways of late nights and heavy drinking. Bud even finds his marriage at stake after he rekindles a love affair with his high school sweetheart PJ (Kay Lenz), now his brother's wife.
It's a very telling depiction of the wonderfully close-knit, yet claustrophobic small town life in rural America.
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For Love Or Country | 2000 | M | l |
Screening: August 8th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Joseph Sargent
Cast: Andy Garcia, Mia Maestro, Gloria Estefan
The music of Cuba infuses this poignant story starring Andy Garcia as trumpet maestro, Arturo Sandoval, following his quest to get his family out of Cuba with the help of jazzman Dizzy Gillespie.
TRIVIA:
In the end credits, Arturo Sandoval himself is listed as having played one of the government functionaries; the black and white film the character of Dizzy shoots is actually footage of Havana, Cuba; the seaside park scenes showing wrought-iron fences were shot in the Parque de Palomas (Pigeon Park) in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Gas, Food Lodging | 1991 | M | al |
Screening: August 7th
Genre: Romantic Drama
Director/s: Alison Anders
Cast: Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk
Set in the small town of Laramie, New Mexico, sexy waitress and struggling single mother, Nora (Brooke Adams), is doing her best to keep her two teenage daughters, Trudi (Ione Skye) and Shade (Fairuza Balk) from making the same mistakes she made - specifically, loser men, early pregnancies and dead-end jobs.
But Nora's frustration at her inability to cope with the burden of raising fatherless daughters is getting the best of her. Shade somehow maintains optimism in the arid landscape while pursuing the daunting task of finding a man for her mother and locating her long absent father, whilst Trudi seems determined to cause as much trouble as possible and make a name for herself among her peers.
TRIVIA:
The letter telling Nora about Trudi's absences from school gives the name of the school principal as Allison Anders, the director; Elvia Rivera (the Mexican movie goddess) was named after director Allison Anders' landlord.
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Genesis | 2004 | G | |
Screening: August 10th
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Claude Nuridsany, Marie Perennou
Cast: Sotigui Kouyate
In this documentary exploring the origins of the earth and its inhabitants, the makers of Microcosmos and Winged Migration continue their theme in Genesis.
Showing beautifully shot images of the world's creatures in The Galapagos Islands, Madagascar and Iceland, a picture is painted of how the world was created and what creatures live on it now. An African elder describes the history of the world through its various stages with spectacular footage showing many of the animals in greater detail that ever before.
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Glass House: The Good Mother | 2006 | M | lva |
Screening: August 5th
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Steve Antin
Cast: Angie Harmon, Jason London, Bobby Coleman
It's spare the axe and spoil the child in this shattering suspense thriller. After losing their mother and father in a tragic accident, teenager Abby Snow (Jordan Hinson) and her younger brother, Ethan (Bobby Coleman), are adopted by Eve (Angie Harmon) and Raymond Goode (Joel Gretsch), two ideal parents who seem too good to be true.
Moving into the Goodes' remote mansion, the Snow siblings soon come to the shocking realisation Eve and Raymond are not exactly what they seem to be, and Abby and Ethan's dream of love and security turns into a living nightmare of cruelty, hate and terror.
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Hard As Nails | 2007 | M | ls |
Screening: August 11th
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: David Holbrooke
Cast: Justin Fatica
This Australian premiere documentary paints an intimate portrait of the driven, charismatic Justin Fatica, an unordained Catholic minister and the founder of the Hard as Nails youth ministry.
When Fatica steps to the altar, he becomes a whirlwind of energy, using a mix of professional wrestling, hip hop and Scripture to bring Jesus to his audience, employing an intense over-the-top approach that has connected with thousands of troubled teenagers, whilst inspiring resistance within his own Catholic church.
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Heart And Souls | 1993 | PG | l |
Screening: August 15th
Genre: Fantasy
Director/s: Ron Underwood
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Charles Grodin
Oscar-nominee Robert Downey Jr. stars in this funny, touching comedy as Thomas Reilly, where four people who die prematurely in a bus crash have some unfinished business to attend to on earth before they can enjoy the afterlife, so they proceed to become eternally entwined into the life of a child born at the moment of their death. In return Thomas's friends from the other side provide him with the spiritual guidance he needs, leading to some hilarious and often highly inconvenient situations. The excellent support cast includes Charles Grodin, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard, Tom Sizemore and Elisabeth Shue.
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Hollywood Shootout: Ethan Hawke | 2007 | PG | |
Screening: August 3rd
Genre: Entertainment
Director/s: Stephanie Medina
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Peter Bart, Peter Guber
The hit series that puts you in the crossfire of two Hollywood power brokers. Join Ethan Hawke in a unique face-off between Variety boss Peter Bart and uber-producer Peter Guber, as they take shots at the movies, the stars, the awards and each other.
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I Am An Animal: The Story Of Ingrid Newkirk & Peta | 2007 | M | ao |
Screening: August 17th
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Matthew Galkin
Cast: Ingrid Newkirk
This Australian premiere documentary is a candid and introspective look at the extreme beliefs and motives of Ingrid Newkirk, the British-born co-founder and driving force behind People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal-rights organisation, providing an unprecedented portrait of a very private person committed to a very public crusade, and offering a glimpse into the inner workings of the animal rights group.
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I Dreamed Of Africa | 1999 | M | a |
Screening: August 7th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Hugh Hudson
Cast: Kim Basinger, Vincent Perez, Eva Marie Saint
Oscar winner Kim Basinger stars in this true story as an Italian heiress Kuku, who dreams of her father's childhood stories of Africa. However when she's whisked away to Kenya by handsome new husband Paolo (Vincent Perez), the harsh realities of bush life are more than she bargained for, including fierce storms, roving lions, venomous snakes and murderous poachers and accommodation with a neighbouring tribe.
Support cast includes Eva Marie Saint, Daniel Craig prior to James Bond mode and Ian Roberts.
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If Lucy Fell | 1996 | M | la |
Screening: August 22nd
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director/s: Eric Schaeffer
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Eric Schaeffer, Ben Stiller
Sarah Jessica Parker stars as a therapist attracted to a dreadlocked Ben Stiller. Eric Schaeffer directs and stars as an artist infatuated with Elle Macpherson. Best friends since childhood, they make a pact to throw themselves off the Brooklyn Bridge if they don't find love by the time they're 30 taking angst to a whole new level.
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John From Cincinnati: His Visit: Day One | 2007 | MA | lda |
Screening: August 26th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Mark Tinker
Cast: Rebecca De Mornay, Bruce Greenwood, Luke Perry
From the creators behind Deadwood and surf-noir writer Kem Nunn, this Showcase Original Presentation is set in Imperial Beach, California, the last great surf-break before Tijuana.
Starring Rebecca de Mornay, Bruce Greenwood, Luke Perry and Brian Van Holt, this is a story about the Yosts; a family of surfers whose awesome athletic talents have seemed for generations to come with a curse attached. The Yosts' reign and reputation has been eroded by years of bad luck, addiction and hubris and just as things are looking like they can't get worse, a stranger named John arrives - and the Yosts' banal existence is lifted into something profound, miraculous and, possibly, universal.
The distinctive theme song is by the late Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.
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Longford | 2006 | M | sna |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Tom Hooper
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Samantha Morton, Lindsay Duncan
Oscar winner Jim Broadbent stars in this thought-provoking, Emmy-nominated drama inspired by real events, as Lord Longford, a devout Catholic, who often visited prisoners because of his passionate belief in forgiveness and society's need for prisoner rehabilitation.
In 1965, he visits Myra Hindley (Samantha Morton), a young woman serving a life sentence for murdering children with her lover Ian Brady (Andy Serkis). Despite encountering public outrage, discouragement from his wife Elizabeth (Lindsay Duncan), doubt from his family and criticism from his colleagues and the press, Longford continued to visit and exchange letters with Hindley.
TRIVIA:
to look like the real Lord Longford, Jim Broadbent wore a prosthetic nose and chin that took two hours to apply each day; to make himself walk very slowly and lamely when the character is 92 years old, Broadbent put small, painful stones inside his shoes.
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Lost Behind Bars | 2006 | M | asv |
Screening: August 9th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Scott Williams
Cast: Paget Brewster, Antonio Cupo
Paget Brewster stars as a true crime author who discovers that an innocent man is sitting on death row for a murder he did not commit. Researching the case in a small Oregon town, the famous writer has limited time to acquit the falsely convicted inmate before he is put to death. At the same time, she stumbles on some more information that is even more unsettling - the real killer is still very much at large! A gripping and frightful mystery, Lost Behind Bars also stars Antonio Cupo.
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Love My Way: Garden Of Love | 2004 | M | sv |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Jessica Hobbs
Cast: Claudia Karvan, Asher Keddie, Brendan Cowell
In the moving and powerful conclusion to the first season, Julia offers Charlie the chance to move forward and when a secret rocks Frankie's world, it is Tom who helps her take the leap of faith back into life.
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Loverboy | 2005 | M | asnl |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Romantic Drama
Director/s: Kevin Bacon
Cast: Kyra Sedgwick, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon directs and stars with partner Kyra Sedgwick in this moving drama of Emily who, more than anything, wanted a child.
After a one night stand she conceives a boy and names him Paul (Dominic Scott Kay), her little Loverboy, and she is astonished to find that he is even more precious to her than she had imagined. Emily's journey through life is shaped by her relationship with her indifferent parents Sybil (Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny) and Marty (Kevin Bacon - Mystic River). Based on the celebrated novel by Victoria Redel, this story is an emotional journey into the heart and mind of a woman who simply loved too much.
The film is a family collaboration with original music is by Michael Bacon, Kevin's brother and appearing are Rob Sedgwick (Kyra's brother) and Bacon siblings Sosie and Travis.
Support cast includes Sandra Bullock (Miss Congeniality, Crash), Matt Dillon (Crash), Oliver Platt (Casanova, Kinsey) and Campbell Scott.
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Low Winter Sun: Part 1 | 2006 | MA | vl |
Screening: August 4th
Genre: Crime
Director/s: Adrian Shergold
Cast: Mark Strong, Brian McCardie, Neve McIntosh
In this gripping and tense Showcase Original Presentation, Mark Strong (The Long Firm) heads an all-star cast as Detective Sergeant Frank Agnew, a man seeking revenge, who becomes embroiled in a world of greed, murder and corruption. Brian McCardie stars as his partner in crime, Detective Constable Joe Geddes.
When corrupt cop Brendan McCabe's car is fished out of the river, a mutilated corpse is also discovered in the boot of his car and Agnew finds himself leading an investigation into a spate of murders and struggles to stay one step ahead of his own team as a gothic tale of violence and corruption unravels around him. Also starring is The Pink Panther's Burt Kwouk.
Low Winter Sun was nominated for 2007 BAFTA Best Drama and a Best Director nod for Adrian Shergold.
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Me And You And Everyone We Know | 2005 | MA | sa |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Comedy Drama
Director/s: Miranda July
Cast: John Hawkes, Miranda July, Ellen Geer
The winner of four awards at Cannes and the Special Jury Prize at Sundance, this critically acclaimed, unique comedy is sure to please. A lonely, newly single father of two boys and an eccentric performance artist struggle to connect in an isolating contemporary world. In her feature film debut Miranda July directs, writes and stars as Christine, a lonely artist and cab driver who meets Richard (Deadwood's John Hawkes), a newly single shoe salesman and father of two boys.
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Meadowlands: Pilot | 2007 | MA | lsv |
Screening: August 17th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Duane Clark
Cast: David Morrissey, Lucy Cohu, Tom Hardy
In this Showcase Original Presentation, BAFTA nominee David Morrissey stars as Danny Brogan who moves to Meadowlands with his family where the residents harbour secrets as potentially devastating as the Brogans' themselves: bad boy handyman Jack Donnelly, vivacious and bubbly Brenda and general practitioner Dr York.
Three years ago Eddie Foy opened Foy's Bar with the help of investment from a criminal source. The place was a success, a destination for a hip, affluent crowd who loved Eddie. However, he fell in deep with his criminal backers and one night came home to find his house ablaze. Eddie had only one choice: testify against his criminal backers and enter a witness protection programme, relocating to Meadowlands and assuming the name of Danny Brogan to keep his past a secret.
TRIVIA:
Tristan Gemmill, who stars as Dr York, emigrated to Australia at 15, studying drama at Melbourne University before returning to England.
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My Kid Could Paint That | 2007 | M | l |
Screening: August 25th
Genre: Documentary
Director/s: Amir Bar-Lev
Cast: Marla Olmstead, Mark Olmstead
Most four-year-olds make paintings that hang on the refrigerator in their parents' kitchen, but by that age Marla Olmstead already had her first gallery show in New York.
Born in 2000, Marla first picked up a paint brush when she was a year old, following the example of her father, an amateur painter, and soon she was creating large canvases with unexpected skill and enthusiasm. Marla's work has been displayed around the United States and her paintings fetch as much as $25,000 each, but some have questioned if Marla is following her own muse, whilst others have debated the validity of reviews comparing her work to Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock.
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Only You | 1994 | G | |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director/s: Norman Jewison
Cast: Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Billy Zane
Oscar nominee Norman Jewison directs Oscar winner Marisa Tomei as an incurable romantic who throws caution to the wind and goes to Italy in search of an illusive soul mate.
Faith has waited all her life to meet Damon Bradley, the name given as her eventual soul mate both by her ouija board, at age 11, and a carnival fortune teller. Now, just days before her marriage, Faith receives a call from her fiance's old friend, Damon Bradley, who phones with best wishes on his way to Venice, Italy. Determined to get at least a glimpse of the man before her wedding she grabs Kate (Bonnie Hunt), her best friend and takes the next plane to Italy. There, she bumps instead into Peter (Robert Downey, Jr.), who instantly knows Faith is his soul mate - now all he has to do is convince her.
Soundtrack includes Louis Armstrong, Ezio Pinza and Michael Bolton.
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Opal Dream | 2005 | PG | avl |
Screening: August 7th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Peter Cattaneo
Cast: Vince Colosimo, Jacqueline McKenzie, Christian Byers
Pobby and Dingan are invisible. They live in Lightning Ridge and are friends with Kellyanne. When Pobby and Dingan suddenly disappear, Kellyanne develops a mysterious illness and her big brother Ashmol, in an uncharacteristic display of affection, recruits the local community to help find these "missing persons". This journey becomes a rite of passage, not only for Ashmol but for the whole town. Together they discover that you don't always need to see to believe.
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Park | 2006 | MA | ldsv |
Screening: August 16th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Kurt Voelker
Cast: William Baldwin, Ricki Lake, Cheri Oteri
Kurt Voelker has a gem of a film for his second feature. In this comedy of errors set during one afternoon in Los Angeles, the distraught April (Dagney Kerry) heads to the local park intent on suicide, but hasn't really thought out a perfect plan.
The driver of a pet-grooming van, Ian (David Fenner), is consumed with lust towards his co-worker, Krysta (Izabella Miko), and throws a wrench into April's quest. However, Krysta has planned a tryst with her sleazy lover, attorney Dennis (William Baldwin). Dennis's wife, Peggy (Ricki Lake), suspects his affair so she and her friend Claire (Cheri Oteri) follow him to catch him in the act.
Then there's Nathan (Trent Ford) and his friend Babar (Maulik Pancholy), who attempt to convince Meredith (Anne Dudek) and Sheryl (Melanie LynsKey) to adopt their nudist lifestyle.
The antics of the afternoon in the park leave some with surprising fulfilment and others with unexpected disappointment.
The soundtrack includes Nick Kershaw, Spearhead, Nina Simone, Indigo Girls and Loverboy.
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Peaceful Warrior | 2006 | PG | l |
Screening: August 8th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Victor Salva
Cast: Nick Nolte, Scott Mechlowicz, Amy Smart
Based on Dan Millman's perennially best-selling autobiographical novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, this moving tale about the power of the human spirit, stars Scott Mechlowicz as a talented-yet-arrogant college gymnast with Olympic dreams and a golden future.
But all that changes after he suffers a debilitating injury and his life is turned upside down. A chance meeting with a mysterious stranger named Socrates (Oscar nominee Nick Nolte), a man who holds the power to tap into new worlds of strength and understanding, teaches him that there is more to measure a man than medals and glory.
TRIVIA:
Dan Millman, the author, can be glimpsed for a brief moment as the driver of the car at the gas station during the scenes when Dan exercises for the first time after his motorcycle crash.
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Razzle Dazzle | 2007 | PG | a |
Screening: August 30th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Darren Ashton
Cast: Ben Miller, Kerry Armstrong, Nadine Garner
Darren Ashton (Thunderstruck) directs this heart-warming, hilarious comedy starring Kerry Armstrong, Ben Miller (Moving Wallpaper), Nadine Garner, Denise Roberts, Toni Lamond, Barry Crocker and Leo Sayer.
The tension is palpable and the excitement is mounting as hundreds of contestants prepare to take part in Australia's most prestigious dance competition. Amidst parental politics, dance school rivalry, creative controversy and hysterical pushy stage mothers, Mr Johnson (Miller) prepares his "Jazzeteers" for the chance of a lifetime. But he also has to contend with Miss Elizabeth and her Talent Academy dancers who are going to make sure that no outside school creeps in and steals their thunder.
An excellent cast and a foot-tapping soundtrack will have you reaching for your dancing shoes.
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Reservations | 2006 | M | lsa |
Screening: August 13th
Genre: Romantic Drama
Director/s: Aloura M. Charles
Cast: Kerry Armstrong, Loren Dean, Robin Wiegert
AFI winner Kerry Armstrong stars as Helen, a flight attendant on a stopover in New York, in this series of stories which unfold as strangers experience a night and day at a Manhattan hotel.
Helen meets Marc, a depressed actor; there's Marketa, a young Czech woman who connects with Marlene, a Cuban maid as they struggle to communicate; seven-year-old Brendan, left alone by his parents, who mistakenly calls a sex hotline connecting with a lonely operator and Hallie, a runaway, shares an encounter with a Danish businessman which neither will forget.
This is a film about loneliness, connections, language and love. Director Aloura Charles previously worked as assistant to Scorsese on Gangs of New York, and as her first feature directorial debut the piece is very strong. Mixing tragedy with a sort of wry comedy, the film manages to draw you into the characters and care about what they end up doing.
Favourite line: Marc, the actor, says his Ipod was "a gift for doing a pilot". Flight attendant Helen replies "So was mine". And the exchange between Tanner Blaze as Brenden, the boy left in hotel room and standup comedian Retta as the phone sex worker is a standout scene.
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Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles | 2005 | PG | a |
Screening: August 4th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Yimou Zhang
Cast: Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai, Ken Nakamoto
In light of a longstanding family rift, Gou-ichi Takata (Ken Takakura) has sought solace in an isolated Japanese fisherman's village for many years. When Gou-ichi receives word that his son Ken-ichi (Kiichi Nakai) may be on his deathbed, he sets out to Tokyo in hopes of making peace.
However, Ken-ichi refuses to see Gou-ichi even in his last days. In an attempt to unite father and son, Ken-ichi's wife Rie (Shinobu Terajima) gives Gou-ichi a videotape that explains Ken-ichi's love of performing and his dream of seeing famous Chinese actor Li Jiamin onstage. To win the heart of his son back, Gou-ichi makes a journey across the land of China to find and film Li Jiamin. On his way, he learns valuable lessons about family, forgiveness, and redemption. Directed by three-time Oscar-nominee Yimou Zhang, Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles marks the return of respected actor Ken Takakura to the screen after a five-year hiatus.
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Rome: Testudo Et Lepus (The Tortoise And The Hare) | 2006 | MA | vl |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Adam Davidson
Cast: Ray Stevenson, Lindsay Duncan, Kevin McKidd
Servilia's plan to assassinate Atia backfires, with horrific circumstances when Atia's servant Althea accidentally tastes a bowl of poisoned stew before Atia samples it. In Gaul, with help from the grown-up Octavian, Titus Pullo seeks out Lucius Vorenus on the bloody battlefields where Octavian's armies have nearly wiped out the rebel Marc Antony's legions. Once he finds Vorenus, Pullo sets off with his friend to find and rescue Vorenus' family, sold into slavery.
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Scoop | 2006 | PG | s |
Screening: August 2nd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Woody Allen
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Woody Allen
Oscar winning screen legend Woody Allen directs and co-stars in this intelligent, dark comedy in which the lovely Scarlett Johansson plays a college newspaper journalist who stumbles upon a sensational story while studying abroad in London. Hugh Jackman stars as a charming British aristocrat with whom she develops a romance.
Allen does what he does best here as he deftly blends love and death in this fresh and modern addition to his already wildly impressive body of work.
Deadwood's Golden Globe winner Ian McShane also stars.
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Shining Through | 1992 | M | vs |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: David Seltzer
Cast: Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, Liam Neeson
Set during World War II, Melanie Griffith stars as Linda Voss, a plucky New York girl who goes from secretary to secret agent after applying for a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Michael Douglas) whose interest is purely in Linda's language skills. Their business relationship translates into love, but when America enters the war, Ed abandons his law practice to become a full-time spy and, utilising her charms, Linda persuades Ed to include her and she travels to Berlin and infiltrates the Nazis - in particular Liam Neeson's Nazi officer.
Support cast includes Joely Richardson, Sir John Gielgud and Sylvia Syms.
Trivia: Liam Neeson works in this film with his future sister-in-law, Joely Richardson; the Nazi SS men were US soldiers from the Berlin Brigade.
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Showcase & Nida Present...: Kimberly Peirce | 2008 | M | al |
Screening: August 17th
Genre: Entertainment
Director/s: Nicole Coventry
Cast: Nell Schofield, Kimberly Peirce
Recorded in front of an audience of NIDA students, writer/director Kimberly Peirce talks with Nell Schofield about her film Boys Don't Cry, Hilary Swank's Oscar-winning performance and her follow up feature Stop Loss starring Australian actress Abbie Cornish.
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Tea With Mussolini | 1999 | PG | la |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Franco Zeffirelli
Cast: Judi Dench, Lily Tomlin, Cher, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith
A phenomenal cast of accomplished actresses help make famed director Franco Zeffirelli's semi-autobiographical tale an enchanting and warm film.
A boy whose mother has died and whose father has all but abandoned him is raised by an eccentric, caustically witty group of older British and American women in 1930s Florence. Together, this group of expatriates act as the young boy's surrogate mothers, watching over him as they all weather the rise of fascism, the menacing political climate, and impending personal heartbreak.
Oscar winners Cher, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith with Lily Tomlin and Joan Plowright, are exceptional as the posse of women who teach this young man about art, love, passion for living, and humanity. A graceful, lyrical celebration of life, that fondly remembers individual moments of heroism and selflessness in history.
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The Andromeda Strain: Part 1 | 2008 | M | vd |
Screening: August 3rd
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Mikael Salomon
Cast: Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Christa Miller
This powerful Emmy-nominated Showcase Original Presentation, based on Michael Crichton's classic sci-fi novel of the same name, combines science fiction thrills and chills with intelligent political commentary and boasts an all-star cast including Emmy nominee Benjamin Bratt, Emmy winners Eric McCormack and Andre Braugher, Rick Shroder and Christa Miller.
In the Arizona desert, in a sleepy town in the middle of an arid nowhere, something has just fallen from the sky and crashed to Earth. Within the hour, all of the townspeople - save a single infant and a drunkard old man - will be dead. Now an elite scientific unit attempts to study the deadly virus, determine its origin, and figure out a way to stop it!
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The Big White | 2004 | M | lv |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Comedy Drama
Director/s: Mark Mylod
Cast: Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Woody Harrelson
Oscar winner Robin Williams stars as a destitute Alaskan travel agent with a deranged wife, Oscar winner Holly Hunter, who finds the answer to his financial problems in the form of a get-rich-quick scam involving a frozen body in the dumpster behind his office.
Just a few things stand in his way - a determined insurance investigator, an irate sibling - a hilarious cringe-making performance from Woody Harrelson - and two would-be gangsters. Support cast includes Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Blake Nelson and W. Earl Brown and Mark Mylod (Ali G In Da House, The Royles) directs.
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The Black Donnellys: The Black Drop | 2007 | M | av |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Crime
Director/s: Daniel Minahan
Cast: Thomas Guiry, Jonathan Tucker, Billy Lush
Joey is stabbed while in protective custody. Jimmy goes behind Tommy's back and tries to re-negotiate Tommy's deal with Dokey. Tommy and Kevin kidnap buildings inspector Anthony Lino who has been condemning the buildings on the block including the Diner. Elsewhere, Nicky tells Tommy that Dokey was involved in his father's death.
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The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover | 1989 | MA | vsa |
Screening: August 11th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Peter Greenaway
Cast: Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Tim Roth
Lust... murder... dessert. Bon Appetit! Oscar winner Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon star in this exotic tale of infidelity where a woman, bored of her oafish crime boss husband, starts having an affair with a quiet bookseller (Alan Howard) at her husband's restaurant.
Using specific colours to represent each set of the film, acclaimed director Peter Greenaway draws remarkable comparisons between food, sex and violence, changing the way we think about our behaviour and actions. The lengthy tracking shot from the restaurant to the toilet is supposed to be symbolic of food passing through the intestinal tract.
The costume design by Jean-Paul Gaultier is exquisite and will leave a lasting impression.
TRIVIA:
The dog excrement was actually chocolate mousse; the car that Albert Spica drives is listed in the credits as a Valentine Lindsay AT V12. It is in fact a modified early-'70s Dodge Dart Swinger; In Michael's book depository, a marker can be seen bearing the label "Death in the Seine." This was the name of a short film by writer-director Peter Greenaway, made the previous year; the mural on the back wall of the dining room is "The Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Militia of Haarlem" (1616) by Frans Hals.
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The Darwin Awards | 2006 | M | ldsv |
Screening: August 23rd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Finn Taylor
Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Winona Ryder, Juliette Lewis
In this quirky, irreverent comedy, described as the X-Files meets Jackass, Joseph Fiennes stars as Detective Michael Burrows who is obsessed with The Darwin Awards, which honours those who accidentally kill themselves in really stupid ways.
So when he's fired for bungling an arrest, he offers his profiling services to a life insurance company. Winona Ryder stars as a tough claims investigator who Burrows teams up with to identify these unfortunates before they die. All the while they're being filmed by a very uncooperative documentary maker to a killer soundtrack, which includes Metallica, Judas Priest and The Violent Femmes.
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The History Boys | 2006 | M | als |
Screening: August 13th
Genre: Comedy Drama
Director/s: Nicholas Hytner
Cast: Richard Griffiths, Stephen Campbell Moore, Andrew Knott
Through biting wit, rapid-fire dialogue, music, song, vintage movie scenes, impassioned debates and moments of stark emotional truth, this is the story of an unruly bunch of sharp, talented but rough-edged British schoolboys engaged in a battle to get to Oxford and Cambridge.
Richard Griffiths stars as the maverick literature teacher Hector, who thinks himself a fool yet breaks all the rules in trying to help the boys discover their own wisdom. Stephen Campbell Moore stars as the new teacher, Irwin, a recent graduate of Oxford who has been hired by the ambitious Headmaster to whip the boys into exam-ready shape.
As both teachers vie for the boys' loyalty, minds, and even hearts, they impart vital lessons and reveal their own human flaws.
TRIVIA:
The film is based on the award winning play by Alan Bennett, which ran at the National Theatre in London from May 2004 until April 2005; many of the extras in the film are also members of staff at the National Theatre in London (where Nicholas Hytner is the artistic director) who were invited to visit the set and have the chance of appearing in the finished film; Richard Griffiths' character rides a Velocette motorcycle; the story is set in the early 1980s because shortly after this Oxford and Cambridge changed their entrance system and abolished the seventh-term post-A-level entrance exams.
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The Last Time | 2006 | MA | l |
Screening: August 9th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Michael Caleo
Cast: Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, Amber Valletta
Michael Keaton stars as Ted, a former university literature professor who has since found his calling in sales. Brendan Fraser stars as fresh-faced Ohio native Jamie, eager to embrace life in New York City, but the cynical Ted greets the cub salesman with a palpable sense of scorn. Though Jamie is currently engaged to be married to the pretty Belisa (Amber Valletta), the bride-to-be is beginning to view her prospective spouse as something of a loser, and soon sets her sights on his reluctant mentor Ted.
But beneath the surface lies hurt, anger and betrayal.
Also stars Daniel Stern, Michael Lerner and David Jensen.
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The Lost Room: The Comb And The Box | 2006 | M | asv |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Craig R. Baxley
Cast: Michael Watkins, Peter Krause, Kevin Pollak, Julianna Margulies
In this Emmy-nominated Original Showcase Presentation set in the 1960s, there were hundreds of motels with thousands of rooms along Route 66 as it twisted its way from Chicago to LA and back. None of them stood out from the rest until one day when some unknown event at the Sunshine Motel transformed ordinary things into items of wonder. To possess an object from the room is to possess its power.
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The Making Of...: Breaking Bad | 2008 | M | ad |
Screening: August 1st
Genre: Entertainment
Director/s: Vince Gilligan
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn
Breaking Bad. Take a behind the scenes look at this SHOWCASE black comedy drama with a difference. This special includes interviews with the show's creators and cast.
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