A special invitation from me:

We’re going to try something new in 2013—Movies for a Thursday Afternoon. We’ll be showing a relatively new film on Thursday afternoon January 3rd beginning at 1:30 p.m.: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith and other familiar British actors. It is the story of a group of seniors who decide to “outsource” their retirement to a luxury hotel in India. What they find there has a profound effect on each of them and provides us with a charming and entertaining movie-going experience. 

On January 10^th we will show the wonderful Frank Capra film from 1934 It Happened One Night starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.  The winner of 5 academy awards including best picture, this romantic comedy is equal parts screwball comedy and a picture of depression-era America. This was one of the most popular films of its time and it’s still fun today. (Interesting bit of trivia found on imdb.com: While shooting the scene where he undresses, Clark Gable had trouble removing his undershirt while keeping his humorous flow going and took too long. As a result the undershirt was abandoned altogether. It then became cool to not wear an undershirt which resulted in a large drop in undershirt sales around the country. Legend has it that in response, some underwear manufacturers tried to sue Columbia.)

January 17^th we can fall in love again with the magnificent Casablanca. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains star in this most memorable film. The story takes place during WWII in Morocco where refugees wait hoping to obtain exit visas to Lisbon and on to freedom. When nightclub owner Rick is asked to help Ilsa, with whom he is in love, and Laszlo, a resistance leader, to escape from the Nazis, he must choose between his country and his former love. Full of familiar lines, romantic music, Bogart and Bergman, this old favorite never fails to please.

January 24^th brings us to the classic western High Noon starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.  Marshall Will Kane is ready to leave on his honeymoon with his new Quaker wife when the Miller gang comes to town looking for revenge. Kane must take them on alone in one of the greatest cinematic showdowns of all time. Sometimes described as "a western for people who don't like westerns" this film is a brilliant portrait of one man’s courage in a world of bullies and cowards.

 January 31^st will find us singing and dancing in the rain (weather permitting of course.) Singin’ in the Rain with Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor celebrates sound in a picture about the move from silent film to talkies. This movie is guaranteed to make you smile with its joyous song and dance numbers and is the best musical film according to many critics. All I know is it’s a heckuva lot of fun!

All films are on Thursday afternoon’s beginning at 1:30 so please come, have some popcorn on us, and enjoy these wonderful films with your fellow movie lovers.  And stay tuned for more great movies coming in February!

See you at the movies!

Julie Stump

New this week (12/19/12):

Dark Knight Rises

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. 

Sleepwalk With Me

A burgeoning stand-up comedian struggles with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore. 

Total Recall  

Douglas Quaid begins to suspect he is a spy after visiting a company that implants fake memories, and finds himself on the run from the police.

New this week (12/12/12):

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Living in "the Bathtub," a marginal Delta community in southern Louisiana, six-year-old Hushpuppy sets out in search of her lost mother on a makeshift raft after her father falls ill and nature seems to unleash its fury in rising floodwaters and attacks from prehistoric creatures called aurochs.

Bourne Legacy

Aaron Cross is an agent groomed by the government program that also unleashed Jason Bourne, but with a few new wrinkles. Cross is busy training in Alaska when he's caught in a tsunami of hurt, thus beginning a frantic search for answers to who and what he is.

Machine Gun Preacher

Sam Childers is a drug-dealing criminal who undergoes an astonishing spiritual transformation and makes a life-changing decision to travel to war-torn East Africa. After witnessing unspeakable horrors faced by innocent children, he vows to save them at any cost, including his own safety. Childers begins waging a relentless battle against the territory's renegade militia, leading harrowing missions behind enemy lines to rescue kidnapped orphans and restore peace to their lives and eventually his own.

Men in Black 3

Agent J must travel back in time to MIB's early years in the 1960s and save his partner, Agent K, from being assassinated by an alien. Along the way, Agent J teams up with young Agent K and learns that there are secrets to the universe that Agent K never told him.

Ted

As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John's side ever since. Their friendship is tested when Lori, John's girlfriend of four years, wants more from their relationship.

The Watch

There's trouble brewing in peaceful Glenview, Ohio. That's why four civic-minded citizens, armed with flashlights, walkie-talkies and spiffy new jackets, have teamed up to safeguard their community. But the guys find more than they bargained for when they uncover an alien plot to destroy Earth, and now these bumbling heroes are Glenview's only chance to save the neighborhood and the world from annihilation.

Why Stop Now

Eli Bloom, a piano prodigy, has gotten the most important audition of his life. But before he can go, he must drop his mother off at drug rehab. Since she has to test positive for admission, the two end up at her dealer's door seeking one last score. But problems arise when mom can't pay and dealer is low on product, thus creating a series of comically unfortunate obstacles to each character's goals.

Dust Bowl (978.917 DUS)

Ken Burns documents the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, when a frenzied wheat boom on the southern Plains, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s, nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews, dramatic photographs, and seldom-seen movie footage bring to life incredible stories of human suffering and perseverance.

New this week (12/7/12):

Holiday Inn (1942)

A song and dance man leaves showbiz to run an inn that is open only on holidays. A former partner joins him and the two find themselves competing for the affections of the same lovely lady. 

Hope Springs

Kay and Arnold are a middle-aged couple who have been married for 30 years and now are sleeping in separate rooms and barely interact in any meaningful loving way. Finally, Kay has had enough and finds a book by Dr. Feld which inspires her to sign them up for the doctor's intense week-long marriage counseling session. What follows is an insightful experience as Dr. Feld manages to help the couple understand how they have emotionally drifted apart and what they can do to reignite their passion. 

Odd Life of Timothy Green

When a childless couple buries a box with all of their wishes for an infant in their backyard, their wishes are granted. However, their child, Timothy Green, is not all that he appears. 

Rock of Ages

Drew and Sherrie meet in L.A. while pursuing their dream of life in the big city. Will their love survive the challenges the city throws their way? This musical features songs by Journey, Twisted Sister, Starship, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, and many more. 

Woman in the Fifth

A college lecturer flees to Paris after a scandal costs him his job. In the City of Light, he meets a widow who might be involved in a series of murders. 

World Without End 

Set in England during the 1300s, the series chronicles the lives of ordinary citizens as the King leads the nation into the Hundred Years' War with France, all while Europe is bracing for the Black Death. Caris, a visionary woman, and her lover Merthin build a community that stands up to the Crown and the church.