First, I do apologize about everyone getting a random message last Friday (a request for info about Reel Pizza). I think I might have done something inadvertently that caused that message to go out to you all. I am, obviously, still learning about Mailing List Administration. I hope no one was inconvenienced by this goof, and I will try to figure out what I did so it doesn't happen again!
We have new LOBBY ART beginning May 2, the Photography of Leslie Ricker, Mount Desert.
Les grew up in a poor but happy family, the youngest of 7, up in Aroostook County. He was given a 35mm camera for his highschool graduation and taught himself to take pictures, trying to capture the beauty that was all around him that maybe folks were too busy to notice. When he was 19, he hitchhiked to Bar Harbor as he had heard that MDI was a beautiful place. And he was not disappointed when he discovered it was a mystical place and an aspiring photographer's dream. By and by he got a job as sternman for Gary Parsons which he continued for a dozen years, but not without giving up on his dream of being a photographer. Now he is again taking pictures using his God-given sense of composition and hopes that one day his photography will be discovered.
A Special Programming notice:
Acadia Senior College presents The "BIG IDEAS" Series, screening films, followed by discussion, that explore the promise and peril of ideas that challenge our current prevailing conceptions in these fast-paced times. What big ideas are changing the way people think about our world in the 21st century? What, exactly, are Big Ideas? These questions will be the theme of this ongoing series of events sponsored by Acadia Senior College. On Sunday, May 18 at 1pm, we proudly host the inaugural event with the film THE END OF SUBURBIA. This film explores the American way of life as expressed in the explosion of suburban sprawl over the past 50 years, and the serious questions beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. As global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply, the consequences of inaction are enormous. In this documentary, scientists and policy makers discuss what World Oil Peak means for North America. How will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream? Are today's suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? And what can be done now, individually and collectively, to avoid the end of suburbia? A community discussion will follow the showing with David Hales, Pres. of COA; Erika Shriner, Activist and writer; and Karen Wigglesworth of the Maine Earth Institute.
And finally, the BAR HARBOR GREEN MARKET will again grace our parking lot Wednesday's from 9am - 1pm beginning Wednesday May 21, and continues through the fall. YUM!
We are moving into the summer-y time (at least according to the movie biz calendar). Chris and I want to send a big THANK YOU to all of you who came to Reel Pizza this winter. We appreciate and enjoy all our local customers so very much, and are really glad to be here helping make wintertime on MDI a little less dark and a little less cold. For those of you who do not come to Bar Harbor in these upcoming crazy-busy months, adieu till fall. We will be delighted to see the rest of you, through your familiar faces, during the summer, as we continue with our crazy mix of art, foreign, Hollywood, documentary and independent film, although you might notice it is a little heavier on the Hollywood for a bit as we all pretend we are on vacation with everyone else who is in town.
Below you will find a full schedule that runs May 2 - 22. Both screens for the next three weeks are booked and confirmed. I will do it in brief first and then follow with the full stories and details.
See you soon,
-Lisa
Fri 5/2 - Thurs 5/8
Fri 5/2 - Mon 5/5
Tues 5/6 - Thurs 5/8 TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (R) 106min 5:30 and 8:00
Fri 5/9 - Thurs 5/15
Fri 5/9 - Mon 5/12
Tues 5/13 - Thurs 5/15 MARRIED LIFE (PG-13) 90min 5:30 and 7:45
Fri 5/16 - Thurs 5/22
Fri 5/16 - Thurs 5/29
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Friday 5/2 - Thursday May 8
LEATHERHEADS (PG-13) 114min 6:00 and 8:30
George Clooney and Renee Zellweger star in Clooney's third film as director (Good Night and Good Luck), a fun, screwball romantic comedy set in 1925 at the very beginnings of the professional football league. He is a charming, brash football hero who is determined to guide his team from bar brawls to packed stadiums. But when the team loses its sponsor, he convinces a collegiate star, and a war hero to boot, to join his ragtag team and help the struggling sport finally capture the country's attention. A spitfire newswoman suspects there are holes in the young man's war story and begins to snoop. But while she digs, the two teammates start to become serious off-field rivals for her fickle affections.
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Friday May 2 - Monday May 5
21 (PG-13) 118min 5:30 and 8:00
Loosely inspired by true events, based on the book Bringing Down the House, this entertaining and fast-paced film directed by Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) stars Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) as Ben, a shy, gifted and poor MIT student invited to join the so-elite-its-top-secret Blackjack Team. Led by their unorthodox statistics professor (Kevin Spacey) these students have cracked the casino's code and can turn the odds in their favor. Reluctant at first to join, Ben eventually agrees as his winnings will go towards his med school bills. But the casinos don't appreciate card counters, so these kids must stay one step ahead of the top security guard (Laurence Fishburne), keep their cards straight, and not be seduced by the high life.
Tuesday May 6 - Thursday May 8
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (R) 106min 5:30 and 8:00
Winner of this year's Best Documentary Oscar, this vital, sobering film is the latest from director/screenwriter Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). Ostensibly this film is about an innocent Afghani taxi driver who in December 2002 was detained, taken into US custody, interrogated about a rocket attack and was dead 5 days later as a result of his treatment. The director interviews the soldiers responsible who argue that their behavior, admittedly bad, was at the behest of their superior officers. Gibney's scope widens to include abuses of power at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. He includes footage of statements by then White House council Alberto Gonzalez, Sen. Carl Levin (chair of the Armed Services Committee), VP Cheney and Pres Bush, and interviews with Justice Dept lawyer John Woo and FBI interrogator Jack Clooney, making a link between torture and terrorism that all Americans should understand, as our government continues to act with reprehensible brutality in our country's name around the world.
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Friday May 9 - Thursday May 15
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (R) 112min 6:00 and 8:30
Produced by Judd Apatow (40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad) this smart, heartfelt and painfully funny romantic disaster comedy stars Jason Segel, who also wrote the script, as an endearing and vulnerable geek trying to get over the heartbreak of being dumped by his long-time TV star girlfriend (Kristen Bell). Taking an impulsive trip to Oahu to recover after all else fails, he is horrified to discover his ex and her new, hip boyfriend, a rock star named Aldous (Russell Brand) are staying at the same resort. The supporting cast includes Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Jack McBrayesr and Mila Kunis. It is a hilarious look at male insecurity.
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Friday May 9 - Monday May 12
NIM'S ISLAND (PG) 94min 5:30 and 7:45
Based on the award-winning book by Wendy Orr, this funny, high-energy adventure film with a heart-felt twist stars Jodie Foster, Gerald Butler and Abigail Breslin. Nim is a young girl who lives with her father on a remote, magical island. Her favorite literary character, Alex Rover, has a similar life, but comes from the imagination of a reclusive, agoraphobic author who lives isolated in a city apartment. When Nim's dad goes missing and her island is threatened, the girl reaches out to her hero through the author, who struggles to find the courage to help her number one fan.
Tuesday May 13 - Thursday May 15
MARRIED LIFE (PG-13) 90min 5:30 and 7:45
This unique comedy of manners crossed with a suspenseful psychological thriller is directed by Ira Sachs (Forty Shades of Blue) based on James Bingham's Five Roundabouts to Heaven. Set in 1949, this period film with an excellent cast stars Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson as Harry and his devoted wife Pat. When Harry falls head over heels for a beautiful, younger widow (Rachel McAdams) he decides to kill his wife to spare her the humiliation of divorce. But additional complications are raised when Harry introduces his mistress to his unattached best friend (Pierce Brosnan) who is instantly smitten and acts to win her for himself.
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Friday May 16 - Thursday May 22 (continues through Thurs May 29th)
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN (PG) ?min times to come
Reuniting the original cast, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are magically returned to the world of Narnia in another age, for another adventure that will test their courage. With the help of a mouse, a badger and a dwarf, the four children must rescue Narnia from evil conquerors and restore the rightful heir, Prince Caspian, to the throne. This brand new film again uses the creative team and director from the wonderful The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
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Friday May 16 - Thursday May 22
IRON MAN (PG-13) 126min times to come
In this summer's first popcorn film, Marvel Studio's legendary Super Hero come to the big screen, directed by Jon Favreau. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the story of a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard and Jeff Bridges.
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COMING SOON?
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (PG-13) 113min
Knocked unconscious in a brawl, a Boston teen awakens in a mythical kingdom where he must return, with the help of a drunk kung-fu master (Jackie Chan), a magical staff to the Monkey King, enslaved by the evil Jade Warlord. But soon the staff is stolen by a silent monk (Jet Li). The sequences pairing Chan's Drunken Master style with Li's classical method is great fun, the action choreography by Wo Ping Yuen (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and cinematography by Peter Pau (also, CTHD). Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little, The Lion King) directs this family friendly homage to and spoof of the kung fu epics of old. Its great fun.
SMART PEOPLE (R) 93min
This character-driven relationship comedy-drama features an terrific cast who bring all their skill to their rolls. Dennis Quaid (The Rookie) is a widowed, cranky and brilliant English Lit professor who hasn't gotten over the death of his wife years before. Ellen Page (Juno) is his teenaged daughter who is following in her father's footsteps. These two are fumbling their way through their respective life-crises (mid-life and adolescence) with the help of Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) who is a former lit major who turned to pre-med when the collegiate crush on her professor was shattered by a bad grade on a paper. Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) is the professor's loser brother, always looking for a handout, who bond's with his niece. This wryly funny and poignant look at a dysfunctional family is the debut film of commercials director Noam Murro.
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COMING NEXT:
Indiana Jones 4
The Counterfeiters
Under the Same Moon
Shine A Light
Priceless
Baby Mama
The Visitor
Kung Fu Panda
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