Friday, August 12, 2011

[Reel Pizza] schedule Aug 19 - Sept 8

Here is the schedule that takes us beyond Labor Day! We have two special
programs to offer, one late night and one matinee, and new art gracing our
lobby walls, in addition to our regular film program. No times are listed
on this schedule, as we will be returning to booking the week-long screen
on a Monday for Friday basis.

-Lisa and crew

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NEW ART Ethan Pierce, Portland Maine
"It is my personal belief that visual art is a medium like any other-the
purpose of which is to allow the creator of the piece to birth his or her
emotions and beliefs in physical form and thus to insinuate to the viewer
a more concrete image of the abstract feelings and or ideas that the
author wishes to convey. When I draw, paint, act, write, or perform any
other creatively based task, my objective is to create a piece that
reflects what I feel or think at that moment-be it joy, anger,
frustration, peace or any number of elemental emotions. The physical act
of painting helps me to understand things about myself, my thoughts and
values."

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Saturday Aug 27 11pm
ROCK'N'REEL (NR) 79min
"In the hands of a free spirit, the cinema is a magnificent and
dangerous weapon."-- Luis Buñuel
Can't get enough of Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris'? Come catch a double
feature from two of that film's most indelible characters: Luis Buñuel and
Salvador Dalí. Made in 1929 and 1930, these films are a one-two punch of
savage surrealist cinema that continues to inspire filmmakers today. We
are pleased to be presenting these films with live musical accompaniment
by multi-instrumentalist Sean Murphy. This should provide an
electrifying interplay with these two classic films. A rare treat.

Sunday Aug 28 2pm
THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE BUTTERFLIES (NR) 50min FREE
The 4th and final film of our summer series with the Maine Chapter of the
Sierra Club who offers these films at no charge to get people focused on
the environment. 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. Monarch butterfly expert Bill Calvert, featured
in the program, will introduce the film and lead a discussion afterward.

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Fri Aug 19 - Mon Aug 22
WINNIE THE POOH (G) 69min
With gentle charm, the timeless 85-year-old AA Milne classics about a boy,
his philosophical bear of very little brain, and assorted friends, Tigger,
Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, Roo and Eeyore, return to the big screen.
Narrated by John Cleese with songs by Zooey Deschanel, Disney has based
this most recent iteration of the original featurettes on five of the
timeless stories, using hand drawn animation that evokes the original EH
Shepard illustrations. Pooh starts his day, as he usually must, looking
for some honey. Later they discover that Eeyore's tail is missing, and
have a quest to save Christopher Robin from abduction by an imaginary
culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day with an important message
about the benefits of being literate.

Tues Aug 23 - Thurs Aug 25
DOUBLE HOUR (NR) 95min [in Italian with subtitles]
This twisty blend of romance, psychological thriller and film noir is the
debut feature of music video director Giuseppe Capatondi. Both leads
earned best actor awards at the Venice Film Festival. Ksenia Rappoport
plays a Slovenian immigrant who is a high-end hotel maid in Turin.
Filippo Timi plays a luckless ex-cop, now a security guard. They meet at
a speed-dating singles event and a passionate romance develops. Leaving
the city for a weekend getaway to the country, things suddenly take a dark
turn, and, as her murky past resurfaces, her reality starts to crumble.

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Fri Aug 26 - Mon Aug 29
BEGINNERS (R) 104min
Sweet, touching and funny, this is the second film from graphic artist
Mike Mills (Thumbsucker), a distinctive director with a unique style.
Based on his own personal history, the story follows a man (Ewan
MacGregor) whose 75 year old father informs him, after the death of his
mother following a 45 year-long marriage, that he is and always has been
gay. The son, somewhat mortified with his father's announcement watches
as his father morphs from a distant parent into a lively, happy man who is
in a loving relationship with a much younger man (Goran Visnjic).
Remembering this transformation after his father's death challenges him in
his newly forming relationship with a young woman (Melanie Laurant) with
whom he is interested, but under normal circumstances would flee from at
the first hint of attraction.

Tues Aug 30 - Thurs Sept 1
THE FIRST GRADER (PG-13) 103min
Based on a true story, this heartfelt film follows the controversial
attempt of an elderly tribal farmer (Oliver Litundo), once a freedom
fighter against the British, in a remote mountaintop village to take
advantage of the Kenyan government's new promise of universal, free
education. Eventually the principal-teacher (Naomi Harris, Pirates of the
Caribbean) risks all, her career, her marriage, her safety, to help the
old man to learn to read. Director Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn
Girl) provides a rich and beautiful portrait of Kenya and her people,
while also exploring its more violent past, in this provocative and
uplifting tale.

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Fri Sept 2 - Mon Sept 5
A BETTER LIFE (PG-13) 98min [partly in Spanish with subtitles] From
director Chris Weitz (About a Boy), this touching and poignant
multi-generational story is about a father's love and the lengths a parent
will go to give his child opportunities he never had. Demián Bichir gives
a masterful performance as Carlos, a struggling illegal day-laborer for a
landscape gardener. His is also raising his son (José Julián) alone,
trying to make ends meet while steering his teen clear of the lure of LA's
gangs and their easy money. It is a powerful and authentic story that
resonates with truth.

Tues Sept 6 - Thurs Sept 8
PAGE ONE: A Year Inside the New York Times (R) 88min
With unprecedented access to the Gray Lady's newsroom and the inner
workings of her Media Desk, this engrossing and enlightening documentary
is a nuanced portrait of a revered institution at a crossroads,
chronicling the transformation of the media industry at a time of greatest
turmoil. Grappling with challenges such as WikiLeaks, constantly evolving
platforms such as Twitter and tablets, and an increasing expectation that
news should be free, the writers, editors and publishers struggle to stay
vital and solvent. But director Andrew Rossi also shows that rigorous
journalism is vibrant and thriving.

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COMING ON OUR SECOND SCREEN?

CRAZY STUPID LOVE (PG-13) 118min
This enchanting comedy of romantic confusion stars Steve Carell as Cal, a
straight-laced father of two with the perfect life who finds his world
crumbling around him when his wife (Julianne Moore) tells him she has
cheated on him and wants a divorce. Now he spends his evenings sulking
alone at the local bar, where handsome Lothario Jacob (Ryan Gosling) takes
this sad sack under his wing and teaches him about the many options
available to meet new women. His makeover provides him with many new
conquests, but his heart still pines for his ex. Meanwhile, his teenager
son has a crush on the babysitter, who is crazy about his "new" dad.
Directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (I Love You Phillip Morris, Bad
Santa) have made a smart, satisfying, and hilariously funny comedy.

THE HELP (PG-13) 137min
Based on Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel, this new film explores the
plight of black maids in Civil Rights Era Jackson, Mississippi with both
gravity and affecting humor, raised by excellent performances. Skeeter
(Emma Stone) is just graduated from Ol'Miss and returned to her childhood
home and friends. She has taken a job with the local paper writing a
housekeeping column, and hopes to get assistance from the maids, including
Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, of her friends (whom she is finding
increasingly racist). Soon she decides what she would really like to do
is write a story of the maids' experiences working for these women. But
getting these women to talk to her is a challenge, especially with the
racial unrest.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (PG-13) 110min
This "origins" story from British director Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) has
the best reviews of this summer's crop of action films, both for its
reality-based cautionary tale and for the seamless visual effects; plus it
stands on its own as an individual film. Andy Serkis (LOTR, King Kong)
gives a terrific motion-capture performance as Caesar, an orphaned chimp,
raised by genetics scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) trying to work out
a drug to cure Alzheimer's disease, afflicting his father. Defending the
grandfather, Caesar gets himself into trouble and lands in monkey jail
where he causes the other inmates, including orangutans and gorillas to
revolt against Mankind.

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COMING NEXT SCHEDULE?
MIFF by-the-sea #3
ANOTHER EARTH
30 MINUTES OR LESS
OUR IDIOT BROTHER
THE DEBT
MEEK'S CUTOFF
REJOICE AND SHOUT

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