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Alien | 1979 | M | vl |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Ridley Scott
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
In space no one can hear you scream! Or so they say. Sigourney Weaver finds out when she stars as Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott's ground-breaking masterpiece of suspense and hard-boiled sci-fi.
Ripley's a resourceful officer who takes on the original exoskeletal mother of all, and spearheads the battle against a stowaway monster, who terrorises the crew of a spacecraft.
Support cast includes Tom Skerritt and John Hurt. Earned an Oscar for H R Giger's surrealist aliens.
TRIVIA:
An early draft of the script had a male Ripley; conceptual artist H.R. Giger's designs were changed several times because of their blatant sexuality; the front (face) part of the alien costume's head is made from a cast of a real human skull; for the awakening from hypersleep segment, Veronica Cartwright and Sigourney Weaver had to wear white surgical tape over their nipples so as not to offend certain countries.
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Alien 3 | 1992 | M | vl |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: David Fincher
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance
Sigourney Weaver returns as Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of the spaceship Nostromo's encounter with a deadly extraterrestrial in Alien. Now she finds herself stranded on a remote prison planet inhabited by vicious ex-convicts, armed with nothing but their wits to defend themselves against the deadly Alien creature.
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Alien Resurrection | 1997 | MA | v |
Screening: July 11th
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon
In this spectacular fourth instalment of the Alien franchise, Sigourney Weaver is back as Ripley, as you've never seen her before.
To combat the alien menace Ripley must team up with the smugglers, including an enigmatic mechanic named Call (Winona Ryder), who may be the instrument of Ripley's resurrection or the weapon of her destruction.
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Aliens | 1986 | M | vl |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: James Cameron
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser
In space they still can't hear you scream.
James Cameron takes on the mantle and runs with it in this intensely frightening Oscar-winning sequel. Sigourney Weaver reprises her role as Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley who returns to the planet where her nightmare originally began with a bunch of muscular, heavily armed marines, in a search-and-rescue mission for some missing space colonists.
Support cast includes Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser and Bill Paxton.
TRIVIA:
All of the cast who were to play Marines were trained by the S.A.S. (Special Air Service, Britain's elite anti-terrorist force) for two weeks before filming; Lance Henriksen wanted to wear double-pupil contact lenses to gives a scary, but James Cameron decided he didn't need them as he already had just the right amount of creepiness; Ripley's miniature bathroom in her apartment is actually a British Airways toilet, purchased from the airline.
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Allan Quatermain And The Lost City Of Gold | 1987 | PG | |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Adventure
Director/s: Gary Nelson
Cast: Sharon Stone, Richard Chamberlain, James Earl Jones, Henry Silva
A man puts his wedding plans on hold to search for his brother who goes missing in Africa while on the trail of a vanished white civilisation. The search takes him to a mysterious city where danger lurks in dark alleys behind streets paved with gold.
TRIVIA:
Filmed concurrently with King Solomon's Mines.
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Armed And Dangerous | 1986 | M | vl |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Mark L. Lester
Cast: John Candy, Meg Ryan, Eugene Levy, Robert Loggia
John Candy, Eugene Levy and Meg Ryan star in this comedy where an ex cop and his useless lawyer mate sign up as security guards and find they've joined a corrupt union. When the two are made fall guys to a robbery they begin to investigate corruption within the company and the union, becoming the target of a corrupt union boss.
TRIVIA:
The film Norman Kane (Eugene Levy) is watching in the warehouse is The Caine Mutiny (1954); the role of Norman Kane was originally intended for Tom Hanks.
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Big Trouble In Little China | 1986 | M | vl |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Action
Director/s: John Carpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, James Hong
The acclaimed John Carpenter directs Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, a simple man who doesn't believe in ghosts or magic until he's swept into a mind-boggling adventure deep within Chinatown's mysterious underworld.
The battle begins with an outlandish array of human and inhuman adversaries under the command of Lo Pan (James Hong), a 2000-year-old evil magician who has the power to transform himself from a wheelchair-bound old man into a seven-foot-tall mystical menace.
Jack is joined by his mate, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), who is trying to rescue his kidnapped fiancee; Kim Cattrall stars as Gracie Law, a crusading attorney; Victor Wong as Egg Shen, an enigmatic tour-bus driver who seems to know a lot about ancient Chinese magic for a simple tour-bus driver; and Kate Burton as Margo Litzenberger, an eager but inexperienced reporter.
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Birdy | 1984 | M | lsv |
Screening: July 5th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Alan Parker
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Matthew Modine, Sandy Baron
In this spellbinding and captivating story starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, two friends arrive home from Vietnam, scarred in different ways.
To escape an irrational world, Birdy (Modine) sits in an almost catatonic state in an Army Hospital where he has come to believe he is one of the feathered creatures of his boyhood dreams. In an effort to break Birdy's silence his psychiatrist brings in Al Columbato (Cage), Birdy's loyal best friend of his youth.
A battle-scarred veteran himself, Al desperately tries to reach the disturbed Birdy and bring him back to reality. The answer may lie in their youth where the eccentric Birdy first donned wings and the happy-go-lucky Al helped him to fly.
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Blood And Wine | 1996 | M | vl |
Screening: July 7th
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Bob Rafelson
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez
Jack Nicholson reunited with director Bob Rafelson, director of Five Easy Pieces and The King Of Marvin Gardens, for this violent, downbeat crime drama.
Alex (Nicholson) is a wine dealer whose business is going belly-up, along with his life. His son Jason (Stephen Dorff) hates him, his wife Suzanne (Judy Davis) has a drinking problem and is the constant target of Alex's abuse, and Alex is having an affair with Gabriella (Jennifer Lopez), a maid from Cuba.
Gabriella happens to mention that one of the people she cleans for has a diamond necklace worth several million dollars locked in a safe. Desperate for a quick score to get himself out of debt, Alex sees an opportunity for fast money and hooks up with Victor (Michael Caine), a career criminal who knows how to open safes but is also as ruthless as Alex where money is concerned.
Nicholson and Rafelson first worked together on the film Head, starring The Monkees; Nicholson only had a bit part, but he also wrote the screenplay and was credited with producing the soundtrack album.
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Braddock: Missing In Action III | 1988 | MA | vl |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Action
Director/s: Aaron Norris
Cast: Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, Ron Barker
Chuck Norris stars as Colonel James Braddock, who returns to Vietnam to search for his wife and son. Armed to the teeth, Braddock battles his way through the jungle where he takes on a sadistic Vietnamese officer in an explosive bid to free a group of captured Amerasian children.
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Chopper | 2000 | MA | vld |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Dan Wyllie, Kenny Graham
In his break-out role, following The Castle, Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down) does Mark "Chopper Read" to a T, reliving the legendary menace, difficult personal relationships and underworld activities of Australia's most famous hit man, who penned most of his award-winning story from behind bars.
TRIVIA:
Eric Bana spent two days living with Mark Brandon Read so he could get a better understanding of how to play his character in the film and Read suggested Bana play Chopper, after seeing him in the sketch comedy series "Full Frontal"; a shot of Chopper walking down the street towards the camera, in slow-motion, and with everyone else in the shot out of focus is filmed in exactly the same manner as a similarly important shot of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver; Australian singer/songwriter Billy Thorpe was strongly opposed to the use of his version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in the opening credits so "Don't Fence Me In" was used instead.
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Code Red: The Rubicon Conspiracy | 2000 | MA | va |
Screening: July 7th
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Ian Gilmour
Cast: Brian McNamara, Marjean Holden, Callan Mulvey
In the style of Predator, this sci-fi adventure stars Brian McNamara as the leader of an elite military force attacked by aliens in the jungle. Attempting to solve the mystery of their missing comrades, the commandos discover that aliens have taken over a secret military installation and have launched a nuclear countdown.
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Cousins | 1989 | M | la |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Lloyd Bridges
There's nothing like a wedding to break up a marriage. If love can't conquer all, love and laughter will when Joel Schumacher directs Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini and other top stars in this modern, madly-spinning marriage-go-round. Danson and Rossellini play cousins-by-marriage who pretend to be lovers in order to punish their philandering spouses (Sean Young, William Peterson).
Instead, the make-believe lovers walk directly into Cupid's line of fire - with consequences that are both hilarious and heartwarming. The humour, romance and sheer joy of life are always on target in this charming, funny and intelligent comedy.
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Cry Freedom | 1987 | PG | |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Richard Attenborough
Cast: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton
From the Oscar-winning director of Gandhi, Richard Attenborough comes this moving drama about South African white journalist Donald Woods, who befriends Stephen Biko, a black anti-apartheid activist who is later brutally murdered by government troops. Woods was forced to flee the country during his investigations. Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington star as Woods and Biko.
TRIVIA:
According to Richard Attenborough, a number of cast members are South African exiles; Denzel Washington was cast for the role of Biko after Richard Attenborough saw him in an episode of St. Elsewhere (1982).
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Cyborg | 1989 | MA | v |
Screening: July 7th
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Albert Pyun
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Gibson Rickenbacker, a karate-kicking hero in a post-apocalyptic future threatened by a fresh outbreak of the plague when the cyborg carrying the code for a cure goes missing.
The character names Gibson Rickenbacker, Nady Simmons, Fender Tremolo, Marshall Strat and Pearl Prophet are also names of musical instruments or manufacturers.
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Daylight | 1996 | M | v |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Action
Director/s: Rob Cohen
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen
xXx's Rob Cohen directs this blockbuster action pic with Sylvester Stallone as a humble cab driver whose latest ride leads straight to pulse-quickening excitement. As he drives through an underwater commuter tunnel, a horrific explosion traps the motorists in its depths. Luckily for the survivors, the cabbie is the former head of the city's Emergency Services, and it soon becomes apparent only he can lead them to safety.
Support cast includes Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen and Dan Hedaya.
TRIVIA:
Director Cameo: Rob Cohen as one of the businessmen in an early scene with Viggo Mortensen's character; Sylvester Stallone wears a Panerai watch; New York City's Emergency Medical Service ceased to exist the same year this movie was released. The agency was merged with the Fire Department of New York.
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Death Warrant | 1990 | M | vl |
Screening: July 5th
Genre: Action
Director/s: Deran Sarafian
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robert Guillaume, Cynthia Gibb, George Dickerson
In this action thriller from the director of Terminal Velocity, Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Lou Burke, a maverick cop sent undercover into a prison that has seen a string of suspicious deaths. There he encounters sadistic guards and sadistic inmates involved in a grisly racket.
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Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection | 1990 | M | vl |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Action
Director/s: Aaron Norris
Cast: Chuck Norris, Billy Drago, John P. Ryan
Action superstar Chuck Norris stars as Col. Scot McCoy who leads America's elite commando strike squad as they storm an isolated drug fortress in South America.
A murderous drug smuggler incurs the muscle-bound wrath of Col. Scot McCoy when he kills the hero's partner and takes US rescue soldiers hostage in a cocaine-fueled bid to rule the world. McCoy must lead his Delta Force Brigade into the Latin American jungle to bring the drug lord to justice.
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Disappearing Acts | 2000 | M | lsa |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Sanaa Lathan, Regina Hall
Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan star in this romantic drama based on the novel by Terry McMillan, where a couple confront financial and social challenges that test the strength of their love.
Zora (Lathan) is a woman who dreams of becoming a singing star, meanwhile supporting herself as a schoolteacher and Franklin (Snipes) is a divorced father of two who has lost his job as a construction worker and is trying to scrape up the money to launch his own business. Neither is looking for a relationship, but find they're attracted to each other. As they face the challenges of their chosen paths, they discover together that it's easy to build an affair... and hard to make it last.
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Donnie Brasco | 1997 | MA | vl |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Crime
Director/s: Mike Newell
Cast: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Anne Heche
Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) directs this crime gem, based on a true story, starring Johnny Depp as undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone, who leaves his wife (Anne Heche) and family to infiltrate the mob as the "jewel man" Donnie Brasco.
Al Pacino stars as Lefty Ruggiero, an aging hitman who never made it to the big time and sees a new future for himself with this smart young thief as Donnie manoeuvres his way into the Lefty's confidence.
Lefty enlists Donnie as his protege, but Lefty's friendship and loyalty make it hard for Donnie to distance himself emotionally. As Donnie moves deeper into the Mafia, he realises he's not only crossing the line between federal agent and criminal, but also leading his friend to an almost certain death sentence.
In this dangerous duel between family, FBI and a fierce but unwanted friendship, Donnie's loyalties are put to the ultimate test.
The soundtrack includes Herbie Hancock, Blondie, Johnny Mathis, Jerry Vale, The Pointer Sisters and ELO.
TRIVIA:
The film's version of "Lefty" Ruggiero is an amalgam of the real "Lefty" and the real "Sonny Black" Napolitano; when Donnie and Nicky are looking at the headline in the newspaper about the boss getting killed, they are looking at the picture of mob boss Carmine Galente who was killed in back of a Brooklyn, NY restaurant in 1979; Johnny Depp met with the real Joseph D. Pistone a number of times to gain knowledge and expertise for the role. He also took gun firing lessons from the FBI.
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Dragonheart | 1996 | M | v |
Screening: July 5th
Genre: Adventure
Director/s: Rob Cohen
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, Julie Christie
Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) directs Dennis Quaid as a medival dragonslayer in this fantasy epic co-starring Oscar winners Sean Connery and Julie Christie.
Bowen (Quaid), a disillusioned knight, must team up with Draco (Connery), the last dragon to defeat an evil king. Oscar-nominated special effects bring the dragon to life in this amazing fantasy story that draws you into its compelling universe.
Support cast includes Pete Postlethwaite, David Thewlis, Jason Isaacs (Brotherhood) and Dina Mayer.
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Ed | 1996 | G | |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Family
Director/s: Bill Couturie
Cast: Matt LeBlanc, James Caviezel, Jack Warden, Bill Cobbs
Friends' Matt LeBlanc, James Caviezel and Jack Warden star in this delightfully goofy story of a struggling minor-league pitcher assigned to watch over the team mascot, a mischievous chimpanzee. But can the chimp lead the team to success? Can he help the pitcher fulfil his talent and get the girl? A must for all fans of sports and primates.
TRIVIA:
Matt Le Blanc, best known for his role on Friends, watches a Friends episode on TV in the film.
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Fierce Creatures | 1997 | M | la |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Fred Schepisi, Robert Young
Cast: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline
The whacky cast of A Fish Called Wanda reunites for a hilarious sequel! When a ruthless mogul tries to raise a zoo's profits by replacing the cuddly critters with predators, all hell breaks loose!
John Cleese stars as Marwood Zoo's new director, Rollo Lee, who has come up with a sure-fire marketing scheme to boost attendance, stocking only fierce creatures and destroying all the soft cuddly animals.
Preview audiences disliked the original ending and a decision was made to reshoot it. Michael Palin had embarked on an eight-month voyage around the Pacific Ocean and director Robert Young had begun his next film. Fred Schepisi was chosen to reshoot the ending when Palin returned from his trip.
Made by the same team as A Fish Called Wanda (1988). The two films have more than 20 cast and crew members in common, including all the major performers from the earlier film (although some of them only have bit parts in this movie).
Robert Lindsay's character is named Sydney Lotterby. The real Sydney Lotterby was a BBC comedy stalwart with a long list of shows he either directed or produced, including "Some Mothers Do 'Ave Em", "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" and "As Time Goes By".
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Fletch | 1985 | M | va |
Screening: July 18th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Geena Davis
Chevy Chase stars as Fletch, an intrepid reporter investigating a drug ring.
Whilst hanging out in disguise on the beach where he's trying to track drug dealers, he's approached by a man named Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) who offers to pay Fletch thousands of dollars to kill him, which leads him to wonder just what this mysterious man is really up to?
Is it related to the drug ring? Fletch finds out the answers in a hilarious blitz of costumes, one-liners and adventures.
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Glory | 1989 | M | vl |
Screening: July 17th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Edward Zwick
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes
This Oscar-winning story based on the letters of Robert Gould Shaw tells of the Union Army's first black fighting unit in the American Civil War and stars Denzel Washington (Best Supporting Actor Oscar) as Private Trip. The 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was made up of black soldiers; some of whom were Northern freemen and others who were escaped slaves.
Matthew Broderick stars as Robert Gould Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists who led the 54th; a unit filled with virulent racism, not only from their Southern adversaries but from Northern whites who resisted arming black soldiers and doubted their ability to fight effectively.
But in the bloody attack on Fort Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina, the members of the 54th distinguished themselves in an almost suicidal battle, risking their lives for emancipation and citizenship, which may have helped turn the tide of the war.
Support cast includes Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes, Jay O. Sanders and Cliff De Young. Watch for Donovan Leitch (son of Season of the Witch singer Donovan) as Captain Morse.
TRIVIA:
Matthew Broderick is believed to be a distant relative of Shaw, the character he plays. The only main character based on a real person.
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Harry And The Hendersons | 1987 | PG | |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Family
Director/s: William Dear
Cast: John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche
John Lithgow is an all-American dad whose family gets a few lessons in being human from Big Foot, a hairy monster who comes into their home and their hearts after a close encounter with the stationwagon.
TRIVIA:
Bill Martin, who co-wrote the screenplay for Harry and the Hendersons, wrote songs for Harry Nilsson's "Harry" album and is pictured (wearing a bear suit) inside the album's cover. Martin says that the character "Harry" in the film is named after Harry Nilsson; Richard Foley and Dana Middleton, the two news anchors listed in the credits, were real-life news anchors and talk-show co-hosts at Seattle's KOMO TV.
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History Of The World Part 1 | 1981 | M | dls |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Mel Brooks
Cast: Mel Brooks, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn
Mel Brooks directs and stars in this side-splitting saga tracing man's evolution from the dawn of history through the Roman Empire to the French Revolution complete with swimming nuns, stand-up philosophers and singing revolutionaries.
From the dawn of man to the distant future, mankind's evolution (or lack thereof) is traced. Often ridiculous but never serious, we learn the truth behind the Roman Emperor, we learn what REALLY happened at the last supper, the circumstances that surrounded the French Revolution, how to test eunuchs and what kind of shoes the Spanish Inquisitor wore.
Support cast includes Cloris Leachman, Orson Welles, Madeline Kahn and John Hurt.
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In God's Hands | 1998 | M | l |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Action
Director/s: Zalman King
Cast: Patrick Shane Dorian, Matt George, Matty Liu, Shaun Tomson
This roller-coaster action tour of the globe's most exotic and dangerous surf spots chronicles the path of three best friends and world-class surfers as they search for waves, beauty, excitement, and the essence of life above and below the surface.
Along the way, Mickey (Matt George), Shane (Shane Dorian) and Keoni (Matty Liu) form the kind of bond that only those who have faced joy, death and delirium together can.
Their adventures culminate in the outer reefs of Hawaii, where, along with a voluptuous sea goddess (Maylin Pultar), a big wave legend (Derrick Doerner) and a world sailboarding champion (Pete Cabrinha), they attempt to surf waves that belong to the unridden realm. Madagascar, Bali and finally Hawaii provide the setting for some classic surf shots, including special water cinematography by John Aronson.
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Joan Of Arc | 1999 | MA | v |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Luc Besson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway
Mystic, maiden, martyr; Joan of Arc led a remarkably accomplished life for a peasant girl who never went to school and never saw her 20th birthday.
From acclaimed director Luc Besson and an all-star cast led by Milla Jovovich as Joan, Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman as The Conscience, Faye Dunaway as Yolande D'Aragon and Oscar nominee John Malkovich as King Charles VII, comes the inspirational story of a young woman who followed her own path and changed the course of history when she announced she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country.
TRIVIA:
Giles de Rais (Vincent Cassel's character) was a real person who after the war and Joan's death retired to his lands. Years later, he was arrested for the murder of more than a hundred young boys and was executed.
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Joy Of Sex | 1984 | MA | sd |
Screening: July 7th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Martha Coolidge
Cast: Cameron Dye, Michelle Meyrink, Colleen Camp
From the director of Valley Girl, Martha Coolidge, comes this comedy about a teenager who falsely believing she has cancer, sets out to lose her virginity before she dies.
What happens when you mix the wild and zany antics of a bunch of high school students and a kaleidoscope of off-the-wall teachers? Join this gang of madcap characters on a boisterous and unpredictable journey into the topsy-turvy world of rampaging teenage hormones. Joy of Sex laughingly proves that higher education doesn't always have to come out of a book.
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Live Nude Girls | 1995 | MA | ls |
Screening: July 9th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Julianna Lavin
Cast: Dana Delany, Kim Cattrall, Olivia d'Abo
In this truth-or-dare comedy drama starring Kim Cattrall, Dana Delany, Olivia d'Abo and Lora Zane five friends bare all at a bachelorette slumber party where the surprises just keep coming as sexual fantasies and petty rivalries abound.
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Lucky Numbers | 2000 | MA | l |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Nora Ephron
Cast: John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, Bill Pullman
This crime comedy from Sleepless In Seattle's Nora Ephron is based on a true-life scandal involving the Pennsylvania Lottery Commission in 1980.
John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow co-star as a small-town weather-man and his conniving Lotto-hostess mistress who rig the game, but their plan goes awry when a number of unscrupulous associates want a piece of the action.
Support cast includes Tim Roth, Bill Pullman, Ed O'Neill and Michael Rapaport.
TRIVIA:
It's rumoured Lisa Kudrow did her own stunt when her character's car goes through the glass at the station.
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Making The Grade | 1984 | M | ls |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Dorian Walker
Cast: Judd Nelson, Jonna Lee, Gordon Jump
Lots of catchy '80s tunes accompany Judd Nelson in his film debut as Eddie Keaton, a street kid from Jersey who's on the run from bookie Dice Man (Andrew Dice Clay).
A slovenly rich boy Palmer Woodrow (Dana Olsen) stumbles upon the brilliant idea of hiring a poor person to impersonate him at school - enter Eddie. The two strike a $10,000 deal, and it's off to posh Hoover Academy for Eddie; a world of luxury cars and country clubs.
TRIVIA:
The first actor approached for the role of Eddie Keaton was Jim Carrey; Andrew Dice Clay was cast after being seen at a comedy club by casting director Julie Seltzer and Robert Kraft (head of music for Cannon films).
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Mallboy | 2000 | MA | ld |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Vincent Giarrusso
Cast: Kane McNay, Maxie Rickard
Sea Change star Kane McNay is Shaun, a teenage boy in a dysfunctional Australian family. With a dead-beat dad barely out of jail, and mum boozily awash in her own problems, Shaun finds solace with his sleazy friends at the local mall, until a devastating encounter forces him to take responsibility for his own life.
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Maximum Risk | 1996 | M | vls |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Action
Director/s: Ringo Lam
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, Jean-Hugues Anglade
In this breakneck thriller from famed Hong Kong action director Ringo Lam, action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme is a policeman who assumes the identity of his murdered twin brother to wreak havoc on the Russian mafia.
It was Jean-Claude Van Damme's idea that Ringo Lam direct this film, as his American directorial debut.
Support cast includes Natasha Henstridge, Jean-Hugues Anglade (John Adams), Zach Grenier (Deadwood), Paul Ben-Victor (John From Cincinnati).
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Meet The Applegates | 1991 | M | ld |
Screening: July 5th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Michael Lehmann
Cast: Ed Begley Jr., Stockard Channing, Dabney Coleman
From the director of Heathers, Michael Lehmann, comes this comedy that'll have you reaching for the pest spray.
Stockard Channing and Ed Begley Jr. star as The Applegates: giant beetles disguised as a typical American family who intend to blow up a nuclear power plant with the goal of exterminating mankind so the bugs can live in safety. When the family falls into the traps of modern human society, they soon lose sight of their goal.
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Men Of Honor | 2000 | M | lva |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Drama
Director/s: George Tillman Jr.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr., Charlize Theron, Hal Holbrook
Oscar winning Cuba Gooding Jr. stars as Carl Brashear, who stands up to a tyrannical Robert De Niro in this fact-based story of a Kentucky sharecropper's son, who joins the newly-integrated Navy. At great personal cost, Brashear battles the Navy's entrenched racism, personified by a grimly bigoted Hal Holbrook, to become the first African-American deep sea diver.
The cast also includes Charlize Theron, Michael Rapaport, Powers Boothe and David Keith.
TRIVIA:
This picture was made with the blessing and cooperation of the US Department of the Navy; Carl Brashear's nephew is NHL bruiser Donald Brashear of the Washington Capitals.
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Moulin Rouge! | 2001 | M | a |
Screening: July 8th
Genre: Musical
Director/s: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Kylie Minogue, David Wenham
Baz Luhrmann's (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo+Juliet) spin on the tragic Parisian love triangle is a celebration of truth, beauty, freedom and, above all these, love and stars Nicole Kidman as the consumptive courtesan Satine; Ewan MacGregor as her lover, Christian; and Richard Roxburgh (Mission Impossible: 2) as the jealous Duke.
Featuring spectacularly staged hit songs from the 1970s and 1980s, this unconventional musical earned two Oscars and six nominations. Great supports from Jim Broadbent (Topsy-Turvy) as Zidler and John Leguizamo as Toulouse Lautrec.
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Moving Violations | 1985 | M | ls |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Neal Israel
Cast: John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, James Keach
John Murray (brother of Bill Murray) stars as Dana Cannon who, with many other alleged miscreants, ends up in driving school, thanks to local ordinances that reward cops for giving out false citations in order to fill a quota and to make extra money off the students at the school, which is run by the oppressive Deputy Halik (James Keach).
When they discover that Halik has a scheme to flunk all of his unwilling students, impound their cars and then auction off the vehicles, Dana unites his rag-tag classmates in a rowdy scheme to turn the tables and get out with their cars, licences and dignity intact.
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Mrs. Winterbourne | 1996 | M | l |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Richard Benjamin
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, Brendan Fraser
Richard Benjamin directs Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine and TV talk personality Ricki Lake in this Cinderella story of mistaken identity.
Connie Doyle's (Lake) luck has run out. Homeless, penniless and pregnant, Connie leaves a man who doesn't love her and boards the wrong train headed for the wrong city. But on this night, Connie's life will change forever. The wheel of fortune turns, the train derails, and Connie wakes up eight days later with a newborn son and a new identity. Grace Winterbourne (MacLaine) thinks she's her daughter-in-law and, with Brendan Fraser as the Winterbourne heir, this is also a good enough reason for Connie to stick around.
TRIVIA:
Despite having already lost 125 lbs, Ricki Lake was required to lose an additional 20 lbs before filming could begin.
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Mystery Men | 1999 | PG | |
Screening: July 7th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Kinka Usher
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear, Claire Forlani, Ben Stiller
Director Kinka Usher's debut film delivers a side-splitting take on the superhero genre with eye-popping special effects.
Greg Kinnear stars as Captain Amazing, the prominent superhero of a major superhero city who is captured by the villain of the day. Geoffery Rush stars as Captain Amazing's nemesis, the nasty Casanova Frankenstein and it's up to an inept group of amateurs to save the world.
Supervillans look out, these aren't your classic heroes! There's the fork-flinging Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), the bowling ball-hurling Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), the only-when-nobody's-looking Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), the shovel-wielding Shoveller (William H. Macy) and the perpetually-furious Mr Furious (Ben Stiller).
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O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 2000 | M | v |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Joel Coen
Cast: George Clooney, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, John Turturro, Charles Durning, Tim Blake Nelson
The Coen boys, as brilliant as ever, take escapees George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro with Holly Hunter and John Goodman on a soul-saving, banjo-strumming odyssey through depression-era Mississippi in this comedy about three escaped convicts.
With their eyes on a $1.2 million prize, they find treasure of a different kind when they make a hit record and cross paths with a one-eyed Bible salesman and crazed gangster Babyface Nelson. Based on Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey", the Coens were nominated for two Oscars. The soundtrack alone is a valid reason to watch this excellent film.
TRIVIA:
The title is taken from the title of the film the director wants to make in Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels (1941); George Clooney agreed to do this film without having read the script; the cabin in the valley before it is flooded is a replica of the cabin from Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981); the scene where Ulysses, Pete and Delmar come upon the KKK meeting is a reference to the scene in The Wizard of Oz (1939) when the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion sneak up on the Witch's castle.
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Quills | 2000 | MA | vsa |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine
Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff) directs Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet in this lavish portrayal of the infamous French aristocrat, the Marquis De Sade, who was banished to an insane asylum for his sexual indiscretions. There, his notoriety takes on a life of its own, in spite of sinister attempts to silence him once and for all.
The superb support cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Patrick Malahide and Billie Whitelaw. Geoffrey Rush's real-life wife, Jane Menelaus, plays de Sade's wife.
TRIVIA:
The genuine model head cast from the real Marie Antoinette (and on loan from Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London) is in the basket of aristocratic victims; the tune the Marquis de Sade keeps humming throughout the film is the French children's song "Au Clair de la Lune"; Geoffrey Rush directed the play that the asylum residents put on.
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Sakura Killers | 1986 | M | v |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Action
Director/s: Richard Ward
Cast: Chuck Connors, Mike Kelly, George Nichols
After a brutal ninja attack on a strictly guarded American gene lab, a secret tape containing the formulas to rule the world falls into wrong hands. No normal man has a chance to find the formulas, nobody but the specially trained ninjas. Their client: Sakura, a man who has no opponents, with one exception: The Colonel (Chuck Connors).
A deadly race against time for the tape with the secret recordings begins.
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Say It Isn't So | 2001 | M | la |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director/s: J.B. Rogers
Cast: Sally Field, Heather Graham, Chris Klein
In this comedy of errors from the people who brought you Something About Mary, American Pie's Chris Klein and Heather Graham (Bowfinger) are a lonely dog-catcher and a clueless hairdresser who fall in love.
Oscar winner Sally Field is outrageous as the conniving white trash mother determined to marry her daughter to a millionaire.
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Sense And Sensibility | 1995 | G | |
Screening: July 31st
Genre: Romantic Drama
Director/s: Ang Lee
Cast: Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet
Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) directs this Oscar-winning adaptation of one of Jane Austen's most popular novels brought to life by the cream of British thespians.
Emma Thompson (who also wrote the screenplay) stars as the pragmatic Elinor Dashwood who, with her sister, the passionate Marianne (Kate Winslet), is thrown into dire straits when their father dies leaving his estate to his son from a previous marraige. Elinor and Marianne's mother (Gemma Jones) is left penniless.
Struggling with their new circumstances, the homeless Dashwood sisters are looking down the barrel of either spinsterhood or scandal, and only love or money can save them. Greg Wise, Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant are all highly eligible prospects. However, there's always treachery and deceit to overcome in Jane Austen's world where society is obsessed with financial and social status.
The ensemble cast includes James Fleet, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Spriggs, Robert Hardy and Harriet Walter.
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Shaft | 2000 | MA | vl |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Action
Director/s: John Singleton
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Christian Bale, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright
With a new spin on one of the key "blaxploitation" films of the 1970s this action drama stars Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft, the namesake nephew of Richard Roundtree's legendary private eye.
He's a street-smart police detective who, with his partner Carmen Velez (Vanessa L. Williams), has been assigned to a racially motivated murder case in which a black college student was killed in front of a restaurant by Walter Williams Jr. (Christian Bale), the sociopathic son of a tycoon. Toni Collette stars as Diane Palmieri, a waitress who saw the murder but doesn't want to talk to the police. When Shaft and Carmen find Diane, they discover she had a good reason for being on the run for the two years.
TRIVIA:
Isaac Hayes, the composer of the Shaft theme song, Gordon Parks, the director of the original Shaft (1971), and John Singleton, director of this version, all have cameos; Samuel L. Jackson says the line, "This is some repugnant shit," which he first said in Pulp Fiction (1994) and again in Jackie Brown (1997); Lamont wears an earring with the initials "LT". These are the initials of the actor who portrayed him, former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
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She's The One | 1996 | M | la |
Screening: July 10th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Edward Burns
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Edward Burns, Maxine Bahns
Edward Burns writes, directs and stars in this wry comedy with a distincly Irish-American feel, where Cameron Diaz stars as a girl who dated Mickey in college and now she's dating Mickey's married brother Francis (Mike McGlone).
If anyone can come between the Fighting Fitzpatricks, Cameron Diaz is the one. Also stars Jennifer Aniston as Francis's spouse.
TRIVIA:
The scenes at the beach were filmed at Sun and Surf Beach Club, Atlantic Beach, NY; the second part of actor/director Edward Burns's unofficial "Long Island" trilogy which began with The Brothers McMullen (1995) and concluded with No Looking Back (1998).
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Short Circuit 2 | 1988 | PG | |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Kenneth Johnson
Cast: Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Cynthia Gibb
Number Five, aka Johnny Five, that incredible lovable robot, is back and taking the big city by storm.
In this sequel to the 1986 box office smash, robot Johnny Five's creator, Ben (Fisher Stevens), has moved to New York to sell miniature toy versions of Johnny Five on street corners. Ben's handiwork is noticed by Sandy (Cynthia Gibb), a toy buyer for a major department store who is under pressure to come up with a hot new toy. Sandy offers Ben $50,000 if he can produce 1000 toy Number Five robots.
Ben and his new friend, street hustler Fred (Michael McKean), make the deal, and when Johnny Five arrives to pitch in and turns into a one-man assembly line, their worries appear to be over.
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Siam Sunset | 1999 | M | lva |
Screening: July 10th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: John Polson
Cast: Linus Roache, Danielle Cormack, Ian Bliss, Roy Billing
John Polson directs his second feature starring Linus Roache as Perry, a paint designer for an English paint company, who is devastated when his beautiful redhead wife is killed in a bizarre accident.
Perry yearns to find the perfect colour, Siam Sunset, to match his late wife's hair and on winning an outback coach holiday he is given the perfect opportunity to get away and perhaps snap out of the doldrums and get himself back into life.
Once on the coach, he begins an extraordinary journey in the company of assorted fellow travellers, including the mysterious and beautiful Grace (Danielle Cormack), who is on the run from her boyfriend, the drug dealing doctor Martin (Ian Bliss).
Perry's perilous journey takes him to places he never imagined, and gives him a chance to discover a new life.
The support cast includes Roy Billing, Rebecca Hobbs and Robert Menzies.
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Sixteen Candles | 1984 | M | la |
Screening: July 10th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: John Hughes
Cast: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Dooley
John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Uncle Buck) directs Molly Ringwald as the lovely Samantha, whose life is going downhill fast.
Samantha's 15-years-old and has a crush on the most popular boy (Michael Schoeffling) in school, but it's the geekiest boy (Anthony Michael Hall) in school who has a crush on her. To top it off her sister's getting married and, with all the excitement, the rest of her family forgets her 16th birthday!
Add all this to a pair of horrendously embarrassing grandparents - don't you just love it when they scream "Look! She's finally got her boobies!" - and a foreign exchange student named Long Duc Dong who just wants to party (Gedde Watanabe).
Bop along to rockin' soundtrack including AC/DC, Paul Young, Kajagoogoo, Altered Images, Spandau Ballet, Oingo Boingo, The Specials and The Divinyls with those legendary Stray Cats doing Sixteen Candles.
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Sneakers | 1992 | M | l |
Screening: July 25th
Genre: Action
Director/s: Phil Alden Robinson
Cast: Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley
In this exhilarating high-tech caper from Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams), Oscar winner Robert Redford leads an all-star cast as computer expert Martin Bishop.
Bishop heads a team of renegade hackers including a former CIA employee (Oscar winner Sidney Poitier), a gadgets wizard (Dan Aykroyd), a young genius (River Phoenix) and a blind soundman (Oscar nominee David Strathairn) who are routinely hired to test security systems.
But Bishop's past comes back to haunt him when government agents blackmail the 'sneakers' into carrying out a covert operation: tracking down an elusive black box. Soon Bishop and his team embark on their most dangerous assignment ever.
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Some Kind Of Hero | 1982 | M | vl |
Screening: July 12th
Genre: Comedy Drama
Director/s: Michael Pressman
Cast: Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Ronny Cox
In this fast-moving comedy laced with poignancy and drama, Richard Pryor gives one of the finest roles of his career as Eddie Keller, a man who returns home after six years as a POW to find his world changed.
Eddie's wife loves another man and lost his savings; a daughter he's never seen calls the new boyfriend Daddy; his mother is recuperating from a stroke; the Army is withholding his back pay; and he can't get a loan because he has no collateral.
Eddie meets a sympathetic soul in Toni (Margot Kidder), a high-class hooker. Realising he must take some kind of action, Eddie begins a desperate and funny escapade into the world of crime.
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Speed | 1994 | M | vl |
Screening: July 5th
Genre: Action
Director/s: Jan De Bont
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper
Get ready for rush hour as Keanu Reeves' LAPD cop Jack Traven battles maniacal Dennis Hopper's elusive bomber-extortionist Howard Payne, who is seeking vengeance after his latest ransom scheme is thwarted.
Jack's luck is being put to the ultimate test as Payne gives him a personal challenge. A bomb is rigged on a city bus, which will detonate if the speedometer drops below 50 MPH. Sandra Bullock stars as Annie, who gets shoved into the driver's seat, while Jack does his best to save the day.
Support cast includes Jeff Daniels and Joe Morton.
TRIVIA:
The birds flying through the gap in the freeway were digitally added special effects; thirteen buses were used: two which exploded, one for the freeway jump, one for high-speed scenes and one used solely for 'under bus' shots; filmed on location on LA's 105 freeway before it was opened to the public; the shot when the bus enters LAX and a plane is seen taking off right behind it, took more than 50 takes.
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Tea With Mussolini | 1999 | PG | |
Screening: July 5th
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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Teesh & Trude | 2002 | MA | la |
Screening: July 15th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Melanie Rodriga
Cast: Susie Porter, Peter Phelps, Linda Cropper
AFI winner Susie Porter stars as Teesh, an unemployed single mother in her twenties. Water Rats' Linda Cropper stars as Trude, an older, divorced friend with whom Teesh shares a flat.
Teesh is starting to crack under the strain of taking care of her son Kenny (Mason Richardson) and her problems only get worse when her abusive father (Bill McClusky), who's just been released from prison, visits.
Trude is also having problems with her macho boyfriend Rod (Peter Phelps), who must complete a major paving contract at the shopping mall to save his ailing construction company. Meanwhile, Trude pines after her own children, who are apparently living with their father in a different state.
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Terms Of Endearment | 1983 | M | la |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: James L Brooks
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Debra Winger
Terms of Endearment dazzled critics and audiences alike with its believable, insightful story of two captivating people, mother and daughter, unforgettably played Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger. Whilst fending of suitors Aurora (MacLaine) tries to juggle her daughter Emma's (Winger) crumbling marriage and crippling illness, as well as be a caring grandmother.
Jack Nicholson turns in a great comic performance as MacLaine's neighbour, a boozy, womanising former astronaut, who provides some respite for Aurora from the stress of caring and being there for Emma.
Winner of five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress - Shirley MacLaine, Best Supporting Actor - Jack Nicholson, Best Director and Best Screenplay Adaptation - James L. Brooks.
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That Thing You Do! | 1996 | G | |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Tom Hanks
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler
This is where is it all started for some of the decade's brightest stars, including Oscar winner Charlize Theron, Giovani Ribisi and Steve Zahn, in Tom Hanks' upbeat comedy about a 1960s garage band and its brief brush with fame.
1960s aficionados will delight in Hanks attention for detail - if they can remember - from the band's switch from Danelectros to Fenders as the money rolls in, to retro-rocker Chris Isaak's cameo role and the theme of edgily exploited innocence, personified by creepy manager Hanks whose directorial debut suggests anything but a one-hit wonder.
Oscar nominee for Best Music, Original Song by Adam Schlesinger for the song "That Thing You Do!".
TRIVIA:
The four actors playing The Wonders rehearsed as a band for eight weeks to get the feel of performing; exterior shots for Erie, Pennsylvania, the hometown of the band, were actually filmed in Orange, California; the part of Troy Chesterfield is played by Peter Scolari, Tom Hanks' costar in his old sitcom "Bosom Buddies" (1980); the waitress played by Rita Wilson is named Marguerite. Wilson's birth name is Marguerita Ibrahimoff; the bass player played by Ethan Embry is never explicitly named.
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The Ambassador | 1984 | MA | s |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Drama
Director/s: J. Lee Thompson
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ellen Burstyn, Rock Hudson
Robert Mitchum stars as an American ambassador to Israel who is humiliated when his wife (Ellen Burstyn) is filmed in a compromising position with a PLO operative (Fabio Testi). The ambassador attempts to turn the tables on the blackmailers by using his wife's lover as a go between in a peace settlement.
Support cast includes Rock Hudson and Donald Pleasance.
This was Rock Hudson's final film.
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The Crucible | 1996 | M | a |
Screening: July 13th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: Nicholas Hytner
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Joan Allen
The devil made them do it. Directed by The History Boys' Nicholas Hytner from Arthur Miller's celebrated play, Daniel Day-Lewis stars in this chilling tale about the Salem witch trials where 15 sex-starved teenage girls play the blame game, and an innocent remark can lead to the gallows.
Featuring Joan Allen in her Oscar-nominated performance, the excellent cast includes Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield (in his last role), Bruce Davison and Peter Vaughan. The Crucible is more resonant than ever in a world riven by a new breed of witch-hunters.
TRIVIA:
Daniel Day-Lewis met his wife Rebecca Miller, daughter of Arthur Miller, while filming The Crucible; Arthur Miller got his inspiration for The Crucible during the Hollywood black-listings; The Crucible opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on January 22, 1953 and ran for 197 performances.
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The Evening Star | 1996 | M | l |
Screening: July 9th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Robert Harling
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Juliette Lewis, Miranda Richardson
She's back - and as delightfully feisty as ever! Shirley MacLaine stars as Aurora Greenway (reprising the role that won her the 1983 Best Actress Academy Award.) in the Golden Globe-nominated continuation of the much-loved saga that began with the 1983 Best Picture Oscar winner, Terms of Endearment.
The generations grow, but life still spins around Aurora like a cyclone. Juliette Lewis stars as her rebellious granddaughter who wants to run off with Mr Wrong; a snooty rival (Miranda Richardson) has come up with new ways to meddle in Aurora's life; her longtime spinster housekeeper (Marion Ross) is ready to ditch domestic work for the domestic bliss of matrimony; her great-grandson is like a poison pill and her shrink (Bill Paxton) is more than eager to cross the line separating client relationships and romantic entanglement.
This was veteran actor Ben Johnson's final film.
TRIVIA:
During filming, Mackenzie Astin got in a car accident where he lost the top edge of his right ear; When producers found they could not use the original house used in Terms of Endearment project, they searched Houston for a house that looked similar. When they located one, they found out that the house belonged to the daughter of the person who owned the one used in the original movie.
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The Gods Must Be Crazy | 1981 | PG | |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Jamie Uys
Cast: Marius Weyers, N!xau, Brian O'Shaughnessy
An award-winning comedy from South Africa about a peaceful bush tribe's first encounter with civilisation when a coke bottle literally drops from the sky. Possessiveness over the bottle soon leads to misery, and the people decide to give it back to the Gods from whence it came. But what if the Gods don't want it back?
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The Gods Must Be Crazy II | 1989 | PG | |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Jamie Uys
Cast: N!xau, Lena Farugia, Hans Strydom
In this hilarious sequel, a New York attorney (Lena Farugia) and a zoologist (Hans Strydom) find themselves lost in the South African desert and must enlist the help of Xixo to find their way out. A subplot involving two rival soldiers who continuously hunt and capture each other intertwines with the story of the two foreigners.
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The Good Son | 1993 | M | la |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Joseph Ruben
Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson
Macaulay Culkin stars with Elijan Wood in this eerie thriller about a little boy who discovers that his young cousin is a killer. The 12-year-old boy learns that evil has many faces when he goes to live with relatives after his mother's death and comes under the influence of his malevolent cousin.
Support cast includes Wendy Crewson, Dan Kelly and Quinn Culkin.
TRIVIA:
The original director Michael Lehmann was replaced due to clashes with Macaulay Culkin's father; Richard and Connie are played by Macauley's real life brother and sister; the sight on Henry's crossbow is a hood ornament from a Buick Riviera.
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The Holcroft Covenant | 1985 | M | lv |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Crime
Director/s: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Michael Caine, Lilli Palmer, Anthony Andrews, Victoria Tennant
John Frankenheimer directs Michael Caine in this espionage story based on Robert Ludlum's novel, in which one of Hitler's right hand men dies and leaves behind a fortune to compensate for his Nazi past.
When his New York based son (Caine) learns of the bequest, he embarks on a globetrotting series of adventures in order to find the mysterious document and implement his father's last wishes. But there are those who will go to any lengths to stop him.
Support cast includes Lilli Palmer, Anthony Andrews and Victoria Tennant.
TRIVIA:
The voice of Bernie Sussman on Holcroft's answering machine is director John Frankenheimer; James Caan walked off the production the day before filming started. Frankenheimer had to film around his absent lead character until Michael Caine was hired as a replacement.
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The Last Supper | 1995 | M | vl |
Screening: July 24th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Stacy Title
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Jason Alexander, Ron Eldard
Deftly blending pitch-black humour and intimate storytelling, Stacy Title directs Cameron Diaz as Jude who, with her liberal graduate student friends Paulie (Annabeth Gish) and Pete (Ron Eldard), wants to save the world from the hypothetical horrors of tomorrow.
Each week they hold a lively dinner party with carefully chosen, politically controversial dinner guests (Jason Alexander, Bill Paxton, Mark Harmon, Ron Perlman) and, regardless of the conversation, the repast is always delightful, delectable and deadly as they are served their just desserts - laced with arsenic.
This wickedly delicious satire puts a sharp and stylish spin on what's right and left - and right and wrong - in contemporary American politics.
And it's all backed with a very eclectic soundtrack including KC & the Sunshine Band, Ten Years After, UB40, Sam Phillips, Los Lobos and The Toys.
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The Man From Elysian Fields | 2001 | M | la |
Screening: July 10th
Genre: Drama
Director/s: George Hickenlooper
Cast: Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Julianna Margulies
From the director of Factory Girl comes this sultry tale of love, loyalty and art.
Andy Garcia stars as Byron, an author with writer's block who begins to descend into financial difficulty when his novel remains unfinished. With a wife (Julianna Margulies) and child to support and a father-in-law who believes he's a loser, Byron becomes very desperate.
Mick Jagger stars as the mysterious owner of a male escort service who Byron pours his heart out to in a bar and so begins his entry into a world he never imagined would be part of his life.
Olivia Williams (Peter Pan) stars as Andrea, a beautiful woman to whom Byron becomes an escort after he learns that her ageing husband is a famous writer (James Coburn) who he believes may be able to help him complete his novel.
TRIVIA:
Production was limited to 30 days because of financing; the credit card that Luther Fox uses to pay for taking Jennifer Adler out was George Hickenlooper's own debit card.
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The Mommy Market | 1993 | G | |
Screening: July 8th
Genre: Comedy
Director/s: Tia Brelis
Cast: Sissy Spacek, Anna Chlumsky, Maureen Stapleton
Sissy Spacek stars as an impressive array of four distinct mothers in this family comedy where three siblings are frustrated by their hard-working, single mum.
The children ask the advice of the mysterious Mrs Cavour (Maureen Stapleton). Harry (Asher Metchik) is sure Mrs Cavour knows magic, but Elizabeth (Anna Chlumsky) has her doubts. Upset with their latest punishment (handed down right at the beginning of summer vacation), the children try Mrs Cavour's ancient spell.
The next morning, not only is Mum gone, but the children can't even remember what she looks like! They are free to travel to a unique market to pick out a new model mum.
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The Naked Face | 1984 | M | va |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Mystery
Director/s: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Roger Moore, Rod Steiger, Elliott Gould, Anne Archer
In this fast-paced adaptation of a Sydney Sheldon mystery, Roger Moore stars as a Chicago psychiatrist who seems to attract murder. The psychiatrist is a prime suspect in the eyes of the police (an obnoxious Rod Steiger and Elliott Gould), so to exonerate himself and find the real killer, he turns to an eccentric and reclusive private investigator (Art Carney) with a penchant for clocks.
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The Running Man | 1987 | MA | v |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Science Fiction
Director/s: Paul Michael Glaser
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jim Brown
In a totalitarian American society, Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Ben Richards, a cop who flies his own helicopter gunship and is ordered to fire on citizens who are rioting for food.
When Richards refuses to fire on innocent civilians, he is knocked unconscious, jailed and assigned to a penal colony. When Richards and other inmates escape from the penal colony, TV footage of their escape catches the eye of Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), TV's top superstar and Richards ends up in a gladiatorial TV game show where the contestants win their freedom if they can defeat a barrage of sadistic guest stars.
The support cast includes Maria Conchita Alonso, Jim Brown and Yaphet Kotto with some other interesting choices in Dweezil Zappa, Jesse Ventura and Mick Fleetwood!
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The Sentinel | 1977 | MA | asv |
Screening: July 2nd
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Michael Winner
Cast: Christopher Walken, Chris Sarandon, Ava Gardner
Action man Michael Winner (Death Wish) directs this star-studded satanic thriller starring Christopher Walken, where a fashion model moves into an old apartment building only to discover that her frightening neighbours are nothing compared to the blind priest on the top floor who is guarding something ghastly.
Support cast includes Ava Gardner, Chris Sarandon, Eli Wallach, Martin Balsam and Cristina Raines (remember when you cried your way through Sunshine in 1973).
TRIVIA:
There was a bit of controversy surrounding this film upon its release when it was leaked that director Michael Winner used real human oddities for the Dead rising up from hell scene at the film's conclusion; Universal had hoped to sign on Don Siegel as director, but Siegel ultimately bowed out due to his discomfort with this particular movie genre.
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The Watcher | 2000 | MA | vl |
Screening: July 4th
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Joe Charbanic
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Marisa Tomei, James Spader
This taut, immensely suspenseful thriller starring Keanu Reeves and James Spader tells of a creepy, studious serial killer who torments an emotionally damaged police detective by sending him pictures of his future victims.
The detective must try to identify and locate these women before it is too late. Oscar winner Marisa Tomei stars as the detective's psychiatrist who might find herself in harm's way.
TRIVIA:
In the opening scene, Keanu Reeves dances to the Rob Zombie song "Dragula". This is a homage to The Matrix (1999).
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Thunderheart | 1992 | M | vl |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Michael Apted
Cast: Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Graham Greene, Fred Ward
Michael Apted (Enigma) directs Val Kilmer as one-fourth Indian, FBI agent Ray Levoi who is dispatched from Washington D.C. to help veteran agent "Cooch" Coutelle (Sam Shepard) solve the murder of an Oglala Sioux in the badlands of South Dakota.
Intentionally kept in the dark by Cooch, on his own Ray turns up troubling evidence that points to a severe abuse of authority on the Pine Ridge reservation, and the likelihood that Cooch's prime suspect, Jimmy Looks Twice (activist and poet John Trudell), may be the victim of a setup.
The sinister forces of pro-government tribal president Jack Milton (Fred Ward) are countered by tenacious tribal police officer Walter Crow Horse (Graham Greene), who points Ray in the right direction. But for Ray to cross that line will require not just an ironclad case, but no less than a spiritual reawakening.
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Ticker | 2001 | M | vl |
Screening: July 1st
Genre: Thriller
Director/s: Albert Pyun
Cast: Steven Seagal, Dennis Hopper, Tom Sizemore
In this non-stop high octane action tour-de-force, action superstar Steven Seagal plays a zen-centered bomb squadron leader who offers sage advice and cool guidance to a grizzled, burned out cop, Nettles (Tom Sizemore), as he battles a mad bomber.
Oscar nominee Dennis Hopper is maniacally brilliant as the madman who will stop at nothing to free his beautiful accomplice Claire (Jaime Pressly), who has been arrested by Nettles.
Top-selling rapper Nas also stars as Nettles' young and optimistic partner together with Ice T and Chilli.
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Two Hands | 1998 | MA | vl |
Screening: July 6th
Genre: Crime
Director/s: Gregor Jordan
Cast: Heath Ledger, Rose Byrne, Bryan Brown, Susie Porter
In this gritty crime thriller from Gregor Jordan, Oscar winner Heath Ledger stars as 19-year-old Jimmy, an aspiring hooligan who loses $10,000 when he acts as a courier for a drug dealing gangster.
Jimmy is working as a Kings Cross strip club spruiker when he gets his big break into the world of crime and also meets Rose Byrne as Alex, the girl of his dreams.
Bryan Brown stars as local gangster Pando, who sends Jimmy out on what seems to be a simple job. However, it all goes horribly wrong when a twist of fate sees two street kids (Mariel McClorey and Evan Sheaves) stealing the cash, which sets off a chain of disastrous events.
The excellent ensemble cast includes David Field, Tom Long, Steven Vidler, Susie Porter and Steve Le Marquand.
The soundtrack includes Powderfinger, Skunkhour, Alex Lloyd, The Reels, Kate Ceberano and Crowded House.
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Uncommon Valor | 1983 | M | vl |
Screening: July 5th
Genre: Action
Director/s: William T. Kotcheff
Cast: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, Robert Stack, Fred Ward
Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze and Robert Stack star in this action war story where a retired army colonel is convinced his POW son is still alive a decade after being captured in Vietnam.
Financed by an oil magnate whose son was also in the war, he enlists and trains a group of Vets half crazed by their own memories before attacking the jungle in a frenzy of grief and revenge.
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White Water Summer | 1987 | M | vl |
Screening: July 3rd
Genre: Adventure
Director/s: Jeff Bleckner
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Sean Astin, Jonathan Ward
Kevin Bacon and Sean Astin star in this adventure thriller where a pampered city boy (Astin) gets more than he bargained for when his parents ship him off to a wilderness camp.
Once there, Alan and the other three campers must attempt to live up to the tough expectations of their guide, Vic (Bacon), who is determined to push the kids as far as he can - and maybe farther.
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SHOWTIME GREATS |
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July |
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