hi everyone
We have fielded several comments recently concerning our programming, as this summer we have been playing more blockbuster movies for longer periods of time. Partly this is because we were having difficulties getting bookings of the smaller films we sought due to low print numbers; for this we just have to wait our turn. Partly it is because the big film distributors of the major new releases demanded the longer film runs, or give up the booking entirely. We always try to choose films we think will interest our audience, whether its a tiny independent or a huge tentpole, even as we recognize that not every film we book will be a "must-see" for every single person. Rest assured that we will be "returning" to our regular programming format now that the busy summer season is winding up. And as always, many thanks for your interest in and support of our programming.
First off, we will have New Art in the Lobby going up this weekend. Nan Oulette of Town HIll is returning with more of her whimsical "found art" pieces; she hung a very well-received show here a few years ago and now has a new crop of works to exhibit. "Growing up spending summers in Northeast Harbor, one of my favorite activities was combing the beaches for "treasures." I now live here year-round and can comb the beaches of MDI and other points DownEast in all seasons, discovering whatever gems: sand dollars, sea glass, shells, driftwood and other fascinating objects, the ocean deposits on the shore. I am also now realizing a dream - to create art with the 'found' objects. As a collector of folk art for years, I finally decided to try creating fish and other sea creatures from the pieces of flotsam and jetsam that have for years filled jars and boxes in my house. I mostly use these "sea changed" objects, but sometimes I find perfectly suited ornaments at the dump or at yard sales. Actually half the fun is finding the bits that can be combined into a new creation. It makes each piece different and each piece unique."
Second, we have more Special Programming. On Sunday Sept 5 at 2pm the Sierra Club presents a free Film and Talk on Monarch Butterflies, "THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE BUTTERFLIES." Monarch butterfly expert Bill Calvert, featured in the program, will introduce the film and lead a discussion afterward. Orange-and-black wings fill the sky as NOVA charts one of nature's most remarkable phenomena: the epic migration of monarch butterflies across North America. NOVA's filmmakers followed monarchs on the wing throughout their extraordinary 2000 mile odyssey to their wintering grounds in the mountains of central Mexico. To capture a butterfly's point of view, camera operators used a helicopter, ultralight, and hot-air balloon for aerial views along the butterflies' transcontinental route. The Sierra Club offers this for no charge to get people focused on the environment.
Third, please put a note on your calendar over the weekend of Sept 17 - 20 for the second annual MIFF-by-the-Sea Festival. We are putting the final touches on a best-of selection from this July's Maine International Film Festival, that looks to be an exceptionally exciting weekend of films, filmmakers and other activities. We hope you will make some time to take in a small new film that you have never heard of, perhaps meet the director or screenwriter or producer, and help support the film arts in Maine. We will be sending out more information later this month.
And finally, we have our regular film program, a little Hollywood, some small independent, a bit of foreign, films to delight younger (at heart) folks, others to entertain the more mature. Hope to see you soon.
-Lisa and Chris
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Fri Aug 20 - Thurs Aug 26
EAT PRAY LOVE (PG-13) 140min 5:30 and 8:30
Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having a husband, a house, a successful career yet, like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly, painfully divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her picturesque travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love (with Javier Bardem) in Bali. This romantic drama, based upon the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, is directed by Ryan Murphy.
and
DESPICABLE ME (PG) 109min 6:00 and 8:15
Super-villain Gru (voice of Steve Carell) delights in all things wicked. Deep beneath his black suburban house is a vast secret hideout with an army of tireless, little yellow minions. There he is planning the biggest heist in the history of the world…he is going to steal the moon! Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays and battle ready vehicles, he vanquishes all who stand in his path, until the day he meets three orphaned little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes, who see in him something no one else has ever seen, a potential Dad. This is a new animated feature directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin.
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Fri Aug 27 - Sept 2
EAT PRAY LOVE (PG-13) 140min 5:30 and 8:30
continues for another week.
Fri Aug 27 - Mon Aug 30
ONDINE (PG-13) 102min 6:00 and 8:15
This enchanting, touching drama from filmmaker Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), set in his picturesque home village on the southern coast of Ireland, tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), a divorced fisherman living a hardscrabble life who one day pulls up a beautiful, mysterious and nearly dead woman in his trawler's nets. She is shy and refuses to see a doctor, preferring to recuperate at the seaside hut he calls home. Through the insistence of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman might be a mythological selkie, even though his priest, hearing his confessions, thinks he's a nutcase. Her presence and singing has certainly improved his catch, and Ondine and Syracuse fall passionately in love, but just as it seems the fairytale might go on forever, the real world intercedes.
Tues Aug 31 - Thurs Sept 2
SOLITARY MAN (R) 90min 6:00 and 8:00
Michael Douglas gives an excellent performance as roguish, sixty year old New Yorker Ben Kalmen, formerly a successful car dealer who through his own bad choices lost his entire business. He's on the verge of a comeback, but some of the same motivations that led to his demise are threatening to take him down again. He's divorced from his college sweetheart (Susan Sarandon), the one person who knows him better than anyone. His daughter Susan breaks off contact when she discovers he's seeing one of her friends. He then alienates his girlfriend Jordan (Mary Louise Parker), the daughter of a very influential businessman when, obliviously, he again makes a poor choice, throwing everything into jeopardy. He ends up at his alma mater where a current student (Jesse Eisenberg) and an old school mate (Danny DeVito) try to help him. This incisive, well-acted film is from writer-directing partners Brian Koppleman and David Levien.
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Fri Sept 3 - Thurs Sept 9
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (R) 104min 6:00 and 8:15
This award-winning, critically acclaimed film from director and co-screenwriter Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon) is a poignant, funny and honest portrait of a modern family. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as a Nic and Jules, a mostly happily married couple who have two teenaged children, a fifteen year old son and a daughter about to start college, conceived from the same sperm donor. Secretly, the kids decide to learn who their shared biological father is and discover he is an easygoing farmer-restaurant owner (Mark Ruffalo) whose carefree lifestyle is an appealing alternative to their mom's strict home. As Paul comes into the lives of these four, the dynamics of this family are challenged and changed.
Fri Sept 3 - Mon Sept 6
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (PG-13) 114min 5:30 and 8:00
Back by Popular Demand! Hollywood succeeds well in remaking French director Francis Veber's winning comedy The Dinner Game into a crowd-pleasing hit of its own. This screwball comedy tells the story of Tim (Judd Apatow regular Paul Rudd), a professional guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss' annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event he participates in reluctantly, where the evening's winner brings the most eccentric character. Enter Barry (Steve Carell, Date Night), a loser guy with a passion for dressing mice up in tiny outfits to recreate great works of art. From director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers) it is an unforgettable feast about two unlikely friends and one very memorable dinner.
Tues Sept 7 - Thurs Sept 9
MICMACS (R)* 104min [in FRENCH with subtitles] 5:30 and 7:45
This magical new film from French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Delicatessan) is full of the wonderfully visually inventive whimsy that has characterized all his films. Bazil (Dany Boon) was orphaned when a land mine exploded killing his father. Then as an adult, a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting lodges in his head, too dangerous to remove, but it could kill him any day. Losing his apartment and his job, he is taken in by a motley crew of second-hand dealers who live in a cluttered underground junkyard. When one day he discovers the headquarters of the two weapons manufacturers who ruined his life, he and his new friends set out for revenge. *About the rating: AOScott (NYTimes) says "This is a completely preposterous rating, since the film's mood and message could hardly be more wholesome, and its message will resonate most strongly with thoughtful (teens)." R. Ebert says the R Rating is "for no good reason." Lou Loumenick (NYPost) calls the rating "ridiculously inappropriate."
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COMING SOON
NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS (PG) 100min
Actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson reprises her role of the endearingly odd and magical nanny in her hilarious and heartwarming sequel that could be even better than the first film, which was wonderful in itself. This time round, she appears at the door of a harried young mother of three (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. When she arrives, Nanny McPhee discovers the children are waging their own war against their two spoiled cousins from the city who have been sent to the farm for the summer. In her own inimitable way, she dispenses her life lessons, until the time when the children want her but no longer need her, at which point her job is done.
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COMING NEXT:
MIFF-by-the-Sea Film Festival
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Winter's Bone
Girl Who Played with Fire
Get Low
Cairo Time
I Am Love
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