Railroad Square Cinema

Elles

railroadsquare — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:32:59 +0000

A provocative exploration of female sexuality, ELLES stars the fearless, brilliant, Oscar winning Juliette Binoche as Anne, a well-off Parisian journalist investigating the lives of two student prostitutes (Joanna Kulig and Anaïs Demoustier) for a magazine article. What begins as a routine assignment, though, quickly turns personal, as Anne is drawn into the lives of these fiercely independent young women and forced to confront her own sexual fears and desires. From a strong new voice in film, director Malgoska Szumowska, who has researched her topic thoroughly, ELLES is uncompromising (rated NC-17), brave and engrossing stuff. In French and in Polish with English subtitles. NC-17. 93 Min.

Footnote

railroadsquare — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:28:57 +0000

Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film! “It is a truism that academic arguments are so passionate because the stakes are so small. FOOTNOTE, a wonderful new film from the American-born Israeli director Joseph Cedar, at once affirms this conventional wisdom and calls it into question. The movie’s very title suggests that its concerns are marginal, esoteric, even trivial…. The genius of FOOTNOTE is that it is about those important things too. Deftly turning the law of inverse proportions on its head Mr. Cedar spins a committee-room squabble into something authentically grand: a piercing satire, a poignant family drama and an investigation of the competing claims of honesty, loyalty, ambition and love. Really, the stakes could hardly be higher”—A. O. Scott, N.Y. Times. In Hebrew with English subtitles. PG. 105 Min.

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

railroadsquare — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:08:09 +0000

From the director of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE comes the most charming film of the season. A killer cast including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson sock home this wonderful comedy/drama about a group of British retirees who move to India, where they learn to let go of the past and embrace their new environment…a captivating seriocomedy… the winning characterizations and soulful insights into aging keep this handsome film on a warmly satisfying track”—Hollywood Reporter. PG-13. 118 Min.

Crazy Wisdom

railroadsquare — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:06:52 +0000

Chogyam Trungpa, the brilliant “bad boy of Buddhism,” was pivotal in bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Born in Tibet, recognized as an exceptional reincarnate lama and trained in the rigorous monastic tradition, Trungpa fled his homeland during the Chinese Communist invasion. In Britain, realizing a cultural gap prevented his students from any deep understanding of Buddhism, he renounced his vows, eloped with a sixteen year-old, and lived as a westerner. In the U.S., he openly drank alcohol and had intimate relations with students. Was this crazy wisdom? Trungpa landed in the U.S. in 1970 and legend has it that he said to his students: “Take me to your poets.” With followers from Allen Ginsberg to Joni Mitchell, Trungpa became renowned for translating ancient Buddhist concepts into language and ideas that Westerners could understand. Humor was always a part of his teaching. CRAZY WISDOM uses archival footage, animation, interviews, and original imagery to build a film that mirrors Trungpa’s challenging energy and invites viewers to go beyond fixed ideas about our teachers and leaders. Unrated. 89 Min.

Bully

railroadsquare — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:31:24 +0000

Although many people first heard of BULLY because of the absurd ratings battle about it, BULLY is simply a truly important film—the kind that can change lives. “The best social documents on film do more than show you what’s wrong in the world—they make it personal. BULLY does that with a passion. Lee Hirsch’s film is a potent and provocative look at a problem that’s out of control, what with 13 million American kids a year being bullied, and some of them even taking their own lives. Hirsch goes beyond statistics to focus on a handful of bullied students at public schools in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Iowa and Mississippi. Alex, 12, is punched and ridiculed without remorse, while school administrators tell his parents that “boys will be boys.” Kelby, 16, is an athlete who comes out as gay, only to face being ostracized and run down by a car. Ja’Meya, 14, is so traumatized that she takes a gun onto her school bus to scare off bullies and faces 22 felony charges. The families of two suicides—one boy was 17, the other 11—try to organize on a national level, pressing students and school officials to pull the issue out of dark corners and take a stand for the silent. As one parent says to a school official who tries to brush the topic away: “You politicianed me.” BULLY isn’t politics. It’s a heartfelt cry for help”—Peter Travers, Rolling Stone. PG-13. 94 Min.

The Island President

railroadsquare — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:23:36 +0000

Both a political thriller and a compelling character portrait, The Island President chronicles the high-stakes crusade of Mohamed Nasheed, the recently deposed president of the Maldives, to fight global warming. As the leader of the lowest country on earth, Nasheed warns that if sea levels continue to rise, “We will die.” The film boasts astonishing access to the charismatic leader as he travels around the world, going head to head with major polluters like India, China, and the U.S. Winner of the Toronto International Film Festival’s People Choice Award, this inspiring documentary “balances run-and-gun insider footage with stunning shots of a beautiful tourist retreat whose residents could soon become environmental refugees” (Variety). PG. 101 min.

Darling Companion

railroadsquare — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:35:41 +0000

“Lawrence Kasdan (THE BIG CHILL) nimbly directs this character-driven, heartfelt saga, which he co-wrote with his wife, Meg. Diane Keaton is the warmhearted Beth, who spies a stray dog on the side of a freeway and takes him home with the help of her daughter, Grace (Elisabeth Moss). Her husband, Joseph (Kevin Kline), a dedicated surgeon but distant spouse, resists the charms of the canine Beth dubs Freeway. But Freeway is no run-of-the-mill dog, and he melts Joseph’s somewhat icy heart. The pooch also becomes a key link between Grace and Sam (Jay Ali), the veterinarian who treats him and then falls for Grace. A year later, Grace and Sam hold their wedding at their parents’ spacious cabin in the Rockies. After the ceremony, a few family members remain, including Joseph’s sister, Penny (Dianne Wiest), her boyfriend, Russell (Richard Jenkins), and Penny’s son, Bryan (Mark Duplass). Joseph takes Freeway out for a walk, then becomes distracted by a cellphone call. Freeway bounds after a deer and Joseph returns home alone. She and their houseguests form a search party, and most of the town goes on alert. The ensemble cast makes the most of the material. Joseph’s cynicism and wit are communicated with the spot-on casting of Kline, and Keaton ably conveys Beth’s suppressed loneliness as well as her big heart. She and Kline have a gently convincing chemistry as an empty-nesting couple. DARLING COMPANIONS’s ruminations on the ties that bind—human and canine—cover quite a bit of ground”—USA Today. PG-13. 103 Min.

The Deep Blue Sea

railroadsquare — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:35:13 +0000

“Passion defies reason in THE DEEP BLUE SEA. And in this typically exquisite, nuanced, memory-infused work from master British filmmaker Terence Davies (THE HOUSE OF MIRTH), we believe every minute of the torment of Hester (Rachel Weisz), a cultivated woman who’s married (passionlessly) to a solicitous magistrate but is helplessly in thrall to a younger, drink-prone chap who will never love her the way she does him. With his painterly filmmaking style and his ongoing fascination with the early postwar England of his own childhood, Davies has been able to shape the stage play to his strengths, telling the story from Hester’s point of view. It helps that Weisz, in one of her finest performances, opens herself beautifully to vulnerability and folly. The muted yet rich palette of THE DEEP BLUE SEA, the calm compositions and the gently flowing pace are all Davies.’ Grade: A”—Lisa Schwartzbaum, Entertainment Weekly. Unrated. 98 Min.

Marley

railroadsquare — Sat, 05 May 2012 22:11:41 +0000

Bob Marley’s universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best. From Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) comes the story of a towering figure of musical history, whose music and message has transcended different cultures, languages and creeds to resonate around the world today as powerfully as when he was alive. PG-13. 145 min.

Damsels in Distress

railroadsquare — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:39:00 +0000

“Things are looking up: Whit Stillman (METROPOLITAN) has made DAMSELS IN DISTRESS, an exhilarating gift of a comedy about college, the female intellect, the limitless male ego, inventing a new dance, and suicide prevention. Greta Gerwig, the darling, leads the all-aces cast as Violet, a sophomore who yearns to make Seven Oaks U. a more congenial place for her and cohorts Rose, Heather, and Lily. Affronted by dorms that reek of soggy sweat socks, the girls seek to honor the best in a liberal-arts education and perfumed soap. Violet herself fights the old ennui after being dumped by a frat boy whose dimness is rivaled only by his roommate’s. No wonder she takes up with Charlie (a stellar Adam Brody), who longs for days of something higher than “muscle-bound morons running around in T-shirts.” At the end, the characters whirl around to the Sambola, Violet’s dance, and hide their secret hearts. This is the world as Stillman sees it, and to luxuriate for two hours in that retro bubble of sparkling wit is a pleasure not to be missed.”—Peter Travers, Rolling Stone. PG-13. 99 Min..