Le Plasir (11/29-30)

Saturday, November 29, at 5:30 pm & Sunday, November 30, at 4:15 pm

LE PLAISIR (aka “House of Pleasure”)

Max Ophuls’ 1955 color and ‘scope spectacle Lola Montès may be the revival of the year, but until that film gets to Cleveland, feast your eyes on this Ophuls wonder made three years earlier. It’s one of three masterpieces that ended the director’s extraordinary career (the third, The Earrings of Madame de…, shows at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Dec. 30.), and the only one of the three not distributed theatrically in the U.S. (We’re showing a rare 35mm print from France.) Le Plaisir tells, with peerless lyricism and intoxicating camera movements, three de Maupassant stories of fleeting happiness: an old man wears a mask to perpetuate his youth; urban prostitutes spend a day in the country; an artist marries his mistress/model. Subtitles. 35mm. 95 min.



Show Times : Nov 29 (Sat) - 5:30PM : Nov 30 (Sun) - 4:15PM For additional information visit www.cia.edu

Movie Journey

Mysteries of the Great Lakes

Ever wanted to explore the ecology of our inland seas, its threatened species and conservation efforts? Looking for something to do, other than shopping, this weekend? Than why not take a holiday break or a long lunch and go experience the “Mysteries of the Great Lakes” playing at the Great Lakes Science Center.

It takes a drop of water nearly 400 years to travel from the headwaters of Lake Superior to the edge of Lake Ontario. Along the way, the water passes by towering cliffs dotted with early Native American pictographs, caribou and moose grazing on the shores, over giant prehistoric sturgeon lurking among thousands of shipwrecks and past nearly 40 million people who live along the more than 10,000 miles of coastline. It is a dramatic journey through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. It’s a MUST SEE!



November 28-30, 12 & 3 pm and December 1-24, 12pm. For directions, fees, etc. visit www.glsc.org

Rachel Getting Married

I have been wanting to see this film for some time now...and it's here!!!

"Rachel Getting Married" is a contemporary "drama with an aggressive sense of humor" about the return of an estranged daughter to the family home for her sister's wedding. Kym's (Anne Hathaway) reemergence throws a wrench into the family dynamics, forcing long-simmering tensions to surface in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking. "Rachel Getting Married" paints a colorful, nuanced family portrait.



See if you can squeeze in a late night showing this week at Cedar Lee (www.clevelandcinemas.com). For the official trailer visit www.sonyclassics.com/rachelgettingmarried/main.html

Sunday at the Movies (11/2)

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

Newspaper editor Cary Grant will do anything to keep his ex-wife, ace reporter Rosalind Russell, from remarrying in "His Girl Friday." (1940) He loves her almost as much as the newspaper business and thinks nothing of framing her fiancé and freeing death row prisoners to lure her back for one last big story.



Directed by Howard Hawks, 2:00pm, Main Library Auditorium 15425 Detroit Ave. Lakewood. Free! For more information on this classic flick visit www.imdb.com/title/tt0032599/

Skateboarding Movie Night (10/20)

Monday, October 20th, 2008

Kick off your week with a night out at the Garage Bar for Cult Movie Mondays. This Monday night the theme of both flicks (10:00pm & 12:00 midnight) is SKATEBOARDING. Wonder what movies they will show? Anyone know?

Along with the film, movie night is filled with drink specials, popcorn, and candy! :)

For information, including other specials and directions visit www.thegaragebar.net

Free French Film (10/18)

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Girl on the Bridge (1999-France) starring Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis. Filmed in glorious black and white, this is an engaging story of a desperate girl and the professional knife-thrower who saves her. She joins the act, trusting him completely. Their relationship hits a snag, and she leaves. Then it’s he who suffers an emotional crisis. Luminous performances by Auteuil and Paradis.Directed by Patrice Leconte Rated R (French with English subtitles.)



6:00 p.m. Lakewood Library Main Auditorium

In Search of....

....A Midnight Kiss.

Wilson (Scoot McNairy), a twenty-nine-year old guy who has just had the worst year of his life, is new to Los Angeles, has no date, no concrete plans and every intention of locking the doors and forgetting the last year ever happened. That is until his best friend, Jacob (Brian McGuire), browbeats him into posting a personal ad on Craig’s List.

When Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a strong-willed woman hell bent on being with the right guy at the stroke of midnight responds, a chaotic, sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching journey through the black and white streets of L.A. begins. In the waning hours of the year, emotional vulnerability and bitterly honest humor seem to be waiting around every corner.

In Search of a Midnight Kiss is directed by award-winning comic filmmaker, Alex Holdridge, whose last film, SEXLESS, is the only movie to have won both the Jury and Audience Award for best feature film at the SXSW film festival (2003). The veteran art house producer, Anne Walker, (Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused) is Executive Producer.



For movie trailers visit www.midnightkissmovie.com for local showtimes visit www.clevelandcinemas.com

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

A perfect way to spend a rainy friday night. Dinner at Lemon Grass for Thai and then off to Cedar Lee Theatre!

My pick for the evening...Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Two young American women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) come to Barcelona for a summer holiday. Vicky is sensible and engaged to be married; Cristina is emotionally and sexually adventurous. In Barcelona, they're drawn into a series of unconventional romantic entanglements with Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a charismatic painter, who is still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz).

Set against the luscious Mediterranean sensuality of Barcelona, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is Woody Allen's funny and open-minded celebration of love in all its configurations.



Rated PG-13, 96 minutes For more movie info visit www.vickycristina-movie.com. For times and ticket information visit www.clevelandcinemas.com

Pillow Talk? (08/09)

Saturday, August 9th, 2008.

Do you have Saturday afternoon plans? :) The Eleventh Annual Cinema at the Square Series returns to the Palace Theatre. For the ultimate visual experience, the films are shown on the Palace’s 20 foot-high by 47 foot-wide super Hurly-Glo projection screen – the largest non-Imax screen in Ohio.



This Saturday's flick is Pillow Talk, directed by Michael Gordon, Staring Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Randal. A womanizing music composer repeatedly antagonizes the other half of his party line when she complains of his constant telephone use. Mutual hatred ensues, though the two had never previously met. Later, he manipulates her into falling in love with him by adopting the persona of a Southern Gentleman and playing this personality off of his own in a series of occasionally tag-team "three way" party line conversations. She later discovers his deception and is outraged. The film ends (hilariously) with him breaking down her front door and dragging her screaming out of bed through downtown New York, past a police officer, and finally up the stairs to his apartment where everything is made all right again by his condescension to marry her. A delightfully charming piece of Americana. 1959

Moviegoers will be treated to pre-show organ recitals on a restored 1928 Kimball organ as well as a delightful, classic cartoon, pre-movie.

For more information including more shows and times visit www.playhousesquare.org/cinema/

Home Grown Film (7/27)

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

Lakewood Earth & Food Community presents the film...Real Low Calorie Diet. This movie captures a movement across Northeast Ohio to change the way that we eat. As the film reveals through interviews, animation, and beautiful footage of the city and the countryside, the simple act of eating locally honors our land, our communities, and our rich natural heritage. From climate change to nutritional issues in the inner-city, this film demonstrates that many innovations to our social problems are already taking place at the grassroots level, where the real hope for our democracy lies.

Eat right, preserve the environment, and safeguard democracy. 2:00 p.m. in the new Lakewood Main Library Auditorium.

Magical, a perfect description. (7/25-27)

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, June 25th through the 27th, 2008

The Ingenuity Festival returns with a weekend-long celebration of art and technology, designed for audiences of any age and experience, staged in the center of Downtown Cleveland. Prominent international masters present original works alongside the finest of Northeast Ohio's performing and visual artists. High technology firms and major colleges and universities are presented alongside acclaimed artists to create a dazzling display of exciting and immersive new work! Ingenuity pushes boundaries, creating a unique festival experience that draws and celebrates diversity, and involves the audience as both spectator and participant!



There are so many interesting looking shows, exhibits and installations, but one that I deffinatley want to catch will be a late night performance by the Hot Cha Cha's Friday night at the Plain Dealer Star Plaza Stage.

Oh and if you haven't been to the Opening Ceremony (Friday, July 25 4-5:30 pm) before, it is worth it to skip out of work early for the big show...let's just say...it's Magical. :)

For the schedule and more information visit www.ingenuitycleveland.com

King Kong in Lakewood (6/07)

Saturday June 7, 2008

Catch this historical flick this weekend. See what Peter Jackson got wrong in his ill-conceived remake by joining us for the glorious original. An adventurous film crew travels to Skull Island for the scenery and ends up finding the living eighth wonder of the world. Can Kong be tamed? Will New York City ever be the same? Is this the greatest special effects movie of all time?



Directed by Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack. Rated PG. 6:00pm in the New Main Lakewood Library Auditorium
KING KONG (1933)

Blueberry Nights Opens (5/23)

Friday May 23rd, 2008

The vibrant colors, rich soundtrack and inspiring scenery make My Blueberry Nights a total Memorial Day Weekend MUST SEE.



My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 film directed by Wong Kar Wai, starring Norah Jones and Jude Law. It also features Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn and Cat Power. The director describes it as "a story of a woman who takes the long route instead of the short one to meet up with the man she loves." It is Wong's first film in English and was the opening film for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival last May.

Being a fan of all three actors; Portman, Jones and the oh so beautiful Jude Law this film will be a delight to the senses. Add it to your holiday weekend plans. It's playing at Cedar Lee theatre. For times and tickets visit www.clevelandcinemas.com

Oh Karl... (5/09)

Friday, May 9th, 2008

Rodolphe Marconi’s new documentary on Karl Lagerfeld, “Lagerfeld Confidential,” has generated a lot of interest for his candor in interviewing Mr. Lagerfeld about his sexuality and his reputation for being cruelly unsentimental in ending relationships of which he has tired.

“Usually when people are 70 years old with a lot of money, a career and celebrity, they stay at home with a bodyguard in a beautiful house with a swimming pool,” Mr. Marconi said. “But Karl is always in danger. He is all the time alive, curious. For me, curiosity is intelligence.”



The documentary also features, Anna Wintour, Nicole Kidman, and Baz Luhrmann. Celebrate Fashion Week Cleveland with this new documentary about the legendary fashion designer, “the haughty high priest of haute couture” according to the BBC. The film takes a revealing peek under the white ponytail and behind the thick shades to reveal an imperious jet-setter who loves books, cinema, and the visual arts as much as his creations for Chanel. (France, 2007, color, subtitles, 35mm, 89 min.)

Be there! 7 pm. For tickets and additional information visit www.clevelandart.org

Banff Film Fest & Bash (04/11-12)

Friday & Saturday April 11th & 12th, 2008

For the dare-devil in each of us, don't miss out on the 11th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival.

This festival is a collection of some of the world’s most inspiring and thought-provoking active, environmental, and adventure mountain films. Traveling from remote landscapes and cultures to up close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports, these films provide an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

The tour makes a stop in Cleveland for an exclusive showing in Northern Ohio, starting at 7:30 p.m. each night. The Cleveland showing of the film festival showcases different films and a reception each evening. Be there for Friday’s Opening Night Reception! The festivities will kick off with appetizers by Chipotle and Mustard Seed Market & Cafe, Great Lakes Brewing Co. beer and dessert by the Cleveland Cupcake Co. Complimentary Red Bull and Caribou Coffee will be offered for both nightly receptions. The receptions, which run from 6:00-7:30 p.m., also feature exhibits of interest to outdoor enthusiasts, charity raffles, prize sign-ups and a cash bar.

Saturday’s HIGH ALTITUDE PARTY, held in the balcony of the Allen, returns in 2008. High Altitude ticket holders will be treated to: Appetizers & drinks as well as a canvas bags full of goodies from our sponsors. Exclusive balcony seating. Live music by guitarist and singer Frankie Starr, who has opened for name acts such as B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Walsh and Ted Nugent!

Tickets to this special party section are limited, so be sure and reserve your space early. Advance ticket prices, thru April 1 at midnight, are: $30 for Friday (includes the Opening Reception and films); $25 for Saturday (includes the reception and films); and $35 for the Saturday High Altitude Party (includes the reception and films, plus admission to the High Altitude Party and balcony seating). Partial proceeds from the Cleveland showing of the BMFF benefit CAI and Pennies for Peace (from the book, Three Cups of Tea, www.threecupsoftea.com).

Event is open to ages 13 and over; parental guidance is advised for some films.
Allen Theatre Playhouse Square Center 1407 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44115 www.playhousesquare.org

6:00 p.m. - Receptions 7:30 p.m. - Film presentations

Easter Weekend in Cleveland (3/21-22)

Friday & Saturday March 21st & 22nd, 2008

Although the weekend will be filled with Cadbury Cream Eggs and black jelly beans (my personal favorites!) there is a lot to do around town other than gorge ourselves on our Easter baskets.

Here are a few things that sound fun...

LISTEN : Parts & Labor perform (www.partsandlabor.net) as part of the rock! MOCA art rock series. $6 @ 8pm www.mocacleveland.org

SEE : Caramel (a big hit @ this years film festival) will be showing for an exclusive engagement @ the Cedar Lee Theatre. www.caramelmovie.com for show times visit www.clevelandcinemas.com

DO : Hunt Easter eggs with the kiddies @ Legacy Village (www.legacy-village.com). Between noon and 3pm. FREE

EAT : Saturday morning, explore the West Side Market for fresh spring produce, cheese & meats. The Easter holiday will bring out the best hustle and bustle the market has to offer. www.westsidemarket.com



Happy Easter Cleveland!

Cleveland FIlm Fest (3/6-16)

Thursday March 6th - Sunday March 16th, 2008

The films are coming! The films are coming! This weeks marks the beginning of the 32nd Cleveland International Film Festival. So many great flicks and not enough vacation days to take off for every show. Below are a few of the films on my "must-see" list. Get your tickets early these shows are sure to sell out!

PRICELESS : Directed by Pierre Salvadori
Ah, life among the jet set on the French Riviera. A whirlwind of parties, shopping, champagne, and caviar. Nice work if you can get it, which gorgeous young party girl, Irene (Audrey Tautou of “Amelie” and “The DaVinci Code.”), certainly can. Jean is one of the have-nots, a mild-mannered bartender in one of the chicest hotels who takes on all the little jobs he can find for the cash. Crazy rich ladies hire him to walk their dogs; sad drunks tell him their stories in the bar late at night. When Irene and Jean’s paths cross, he fakes being a millionaire. Eventually, though, they find they have something in common; a lack of personal finances and a taste for the good life. When Jean begins to take tips from Irene, he soon finds it’s much easier to escort older ladies than to wait on them. In French with English subtitles. Saturday, March 15 at 7:15pm



AMERICAN TEEN : Directed by Nanette Burstein
A huge hit at the recent Sundance Film Festival, winning the Documentary Directing Award for director Nanette Burstein. Burstein spent the 2005-2006 school year shooting footage of seniors at Warsaw Community High School in Indiana. Her film chronicles some of their hopes and lots of their fears as they navigate the tricky waters of small-town high school life and impending adulthood. AMERICAN TEEN is not your grandma’s talking-heads documentary. Burstein uses brilliant animated sequences to express the kids’ fantasy lives, plus a pop soundtrack, voiceovers and graphic collages in the style of MTV’s “Laguna Beach.” It’s a new style of documentary for a new generation totally at home in front of the camera. Sunday, March 16 at 7:00pm

WORLD'S BEST COMMERCIALS!
Ballets have “The Nutcracker.“ Classical theaters have “A Christmas Carol.“ The CIFF has “World’s Best Commercials.“ Buy your ticket early. This one always sells out. Friday, March 14 at 12:00pm

Advanced ticket prices for most films are $9 per film for CFS members and $11 for non-members. Day-of-show ticket prices are $10 for CFS members and $12 for non-members. Tickets are available online, by telephone (1-866-865-FILM),or at the CIFF store in the lobby of Tower City Cinemas. For more information on the 290+ films that will be shown at the Cleveland International Film Festival, log on to www.clevelandfilm.org.

A Musical Hitchcock Affair (2/28)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Come see the newly remastered film of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Hear the music of Bernard Herrmann performed by a Red quartet with Red's Artistic Director & Conductor Jonathan Sheffer on hand for a post-film discussion.



$20 includes the film, the musical performance and a general admission ticket to Red {an orchestra} March 8th concert. ($10, film only). For tickets and information contact the Red office at 216.361.1733 or info@redanorchestra.org. Note tickets for this event will NOT be on sale at the Shaker Square box office, they will only be available by contacting Red. Shaker Square Cinemas 13116 Shaker Square (SW Quadrant), Cleveland 7:00pm

Bogart in Lakewood (2/16)

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

Everybody comes to Rick's-Nazis, from thieves to old lovers. Humphrey Bogart plays a former freedom fighter who thought he left both love and America behind, drowning his sorrows in a bottle of gin. But then Ingrid Bergman comes back into his life on the arm of her hero husband and "Boggie" begins to rethink his ways.



Casablanca, 1942, directed by Michael Curtiz, is required viewing for anyone who ever thought they had a handle on love, and for those struggling under the burden of a broken heart.

Lakewood Public Library at 7:00 p.m. in the New Main Library Auditorium. Doors open fifteen minutes before the show. Free!
www.lkwdpl.org/calendar/flicks/index.html

Movie Deals

Don't let a little winter weather keep you inside this week, head out and grab a glass of wine and a good flick at Cedar Lee Theatre. Where every Monday tickets are only $5 and every Wednesday enjoy half-price beer and wine from 4-8pm with your purchase of a movie ticket.

This weeks "must see" is the French film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Director (Julian Schnabel) and Best Cinematography. Through a mesmerizing blast of color, beauty and humor, Schnabel tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric, “Munich”), the high-flying editor of French Elle and father of two, who was renowned for his sense of humor and style, his joie de vivre and amorous energy, when, in an instant, his world was plunged into the depths of catastrophe. Tapping into the limitlessness of his memories, fantasies, wit and wishes, he finds a way to race through experiences of wonder and grief, sex and love, fatherhood and childhood, faith and questioning, ecstasy and absurdity – and touches the very essence of what it is to be human. For more information visit www.thedivingbellandthebutterfly-themovie.com


For movies and show times visit www.clevelandcinemas.com

Down in Fraggle Rock (1/27)

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

Children of the eighties listen up! Join the Cleveland Museum of Art as they share with us, A Better World, Living in Harmony. This program of Jim Henson short films argues that it’s easy being green. Including a complete episode of the 1983 TV series Fraggle Rock, which featured/created an elaborate underground fantasy world. Also included is the 1989 rain forest-themed TV show The Song of the Rain Cloud Forest, a 1989 TV show; and as well as various Public Service Announcements.

Like Walt Disney, puppeteer Jim Henson (1936–1990) created characters that captured the imagination of millions, allowing him to build a pop-culture empire. As the creator of the Muppets, Henson became the foremost puppeteer of the television era; his lovable, pliable creations (some of which he voiced and performed) proved to be more expressive than marionettes and ventriloquist dummies, and dominated family television for decades.



1:30pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall
Admission to the program is $8, CMA members $6, seniors 65 & over $5, students and children $4
www.cma.org

Relive the music of Fraggle Rock on iTunes >>

At the Movies (11/9-11)

This weekend why not check out some of the movies you've been meaning to catch?
A good tub of popcorn and an icy cola..kick back and enjoy!

A few that I want to see are...
- Bella (Winner at this years Toronto Film Festival) | www.bellathemovie.com

- American Gangster | www.americangangster.net

- 8 Films to Die For | www.horrorfestonline.com

- My Kid Could Paint That | www.apple.com/trailers/sony/mykidcouldpaintthat/trailer/

2 Days In Paris

Don't miss this flick now showing at Cedar Lee Theatre....

A New York couple, French photographer Marion and American interior designer Jack, attempt to re-infuse their relationship with romance on a European vacation. Their week in Venice didn't work out as planned, they have higher hopes for their last two days in Paris. But the combination of Marion's offbeat parents and flirtatious ex-boyfriends, and with Jack's continuing photography obsession, don't make for an auspicious beginning. Will they be able to salvage their relationship? Or will they merely manage to perfect the art of arguing?



RATED: R / RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes
Starring: Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Daniel Bruhl, Ludovic Berthillot, Albert Delpy

www.2daysinparisthefilm.com or www.clevelandcinemas.com

Snip Snip (8/31)

Friday, August 31st

Watch as Edward Scissorhands snips his way through a small suburban community. Showing at the Cleveland Museum of Art with cinematographer Stefan Czapsky there to reflect on the film, and the following. Showing at 7:00 pm. $8 a ticket.

http://www.clevelandart.org/

Naaaannny! (opens 8/25)

"The Nanny Diaries” tells the story of the humorous journey of Annie Braddock (Scarlet Johansson), struggling to understand her place in the world. Fresh out of college, she gets pressure from her mother to find a position in the business world although Annie would prefer to trade in her blackberry for an anthropologist's field diary. Through a serendipitous meeting, Annie ends up in the elite and ritualistic culture of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Annie accepts the position as a nanny for a wealthy family, referred to as simply "the X's." She quickly learns that life is not very rosy on the other side of the tax bracket, as she must cater to the every whim of Mrs. X (Linney) and her precocious son Grayer, while attempting to avoid the formidable Mr. X (Giamatti).

Opens in theatres this Friday, August 25th.
For more information on the movie, and to watch the trailer visit www.thenannydiariesmovie.com.

Trailer not doing much for you? There is always the audiobook available on iTunes.

Funny Face at the Playhouse (8/11)

Saturday, August 11, 2pm & 8:30pm

Escape the heat for an evening at the movies as the Tenth Annual Cinema at the Square Series presents Funny Face.

In Funny Face, Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) can only get to Paris if she agrees to model a line of ultra-chic fashions for photographer Dick Avery. Paris provides the backdrop for this blend of Gershwin music and Givenchy fashion. (1957 USA, 103 minutes. Directed by Stanley Donen; Starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire.)



For the ultimate visual experience, the films are shown on the Palace’s 20 foot-high by 47 foot-wide super Hurly-Glo projection screen – the largest non-Imax screen in Ohio. Moviegoers will be treated to pre-show organ recitals on a restored 1928 Kimball organ that contains 13 sets of pipes, a xylophone, Glockenspiel, a complete set of drums and many cymbals. The organ, donated to Playhouse Square in 1975, was painstakingly restored by volunteers and is the perfect complement to your evening at this year’s 10th annual Cinema at the Square! Following the organ performance is a delightful, classic cartoon. See classic films the way they were meant to be seen! Unlike seeing a movie at the local multiplex, CINEMA AT THE SQUARE transports audiences back to Hollywood’s Golden Age through its setting in the lavishly restored Palace Theatre, originally built in 1922 for Vaudeville.

For more information visit http://www.playhousesquare.us/cinema2007/movieschedule.asp

Mad for MOCA Mix (7/28)

Saturday, July 28th

For nearly twenty years, experimental filmmaker Robert Banks has been inspiring praise for his short films from avid movie junkies, critics, and other film auteurs from across the globe. So it should come as no surprise that MOCA, in collaboration with Banks, will show seven of his best known short films, complete with new original scores composed the night of by audio/cut-up collective, The Lusty Moors. 8:00 - 11:30 pm. Free for members, $7 for non members.

http://www.mocacleveland.org/