Events for April, 2012
High Noon
Directed by Fred Zinneman. US. 1952. NR. 85 min. Paramount.. 35mm.
- Sun, Apr 1, 2:00 pm
Leading off our month of classic films dealing with issues of “moral courage,” we bring you one of Hollywood’s most memorable westerns. The story is a simple one: strong, silent Gary Cooper, a lawman, is about to get married to a Quaker girl (Grace Kelly, at her loveliest) and retire as sheriff, when he finds out that a ruthless killer that he had put away has been released and is heading back to town on the noon train, bent on revenge. More»
Pariah
Directed by Dee Rees. US. 2011. R. 86 min. Focus Features. 35mm.
Sat, Mar 31 thru Thu, Apr 5 -- Roll over to view showtimes.
“From its opening scenes, Pariah, a vital first feature worked up from a short film by director Dee Rees, draws you into a world largely untapped in American black cinema. The setting is a nightclub where AG’s — “Aggressive Lesbians,” members of a subculture marginalized within their own black community, let alone the rest of the world — can frolic with joy and humor, acting out a raucous, good-natured belligerence denied them in their everyday lives. Yet the movie is anything but combative. Pariah is a tender, sporadically goofy, yet candid examination of emergent identity, a film whose lack of attitude sets it apart from much of the hard-bitten, thug-life storytelling that’s dominated African-American cinema for decades. If anything, its source genre is the coming-of-age movie, and though the universe its freshly hatched lesbian inhabits is all black, Rees is blessedly unwilling to confine herself in any kind of ghetto, whether racial, sexual or aesthetic. More»
From Dusk till Dawn
Directed by Robert Rodriguez. US. 1996. R. 108 min. Miramax / Private Collector. 35mm.
- Fri, Apr 6, 9:45 pm
“From Dusk Till Dawn harkens back to the wonderful, awful horror movies of days gone by, throws in a criminals-on-the-lam first half, and then not only turns the whole beautiful mess up to 11, but also breaks off the knob and eats it. More»
Stand By Me
Directed by Rob Reiner. US. 1986. 12+. 89 min. Sony. 35mm.
- Sat, Apr 7, 2:00 pm
“The line between sappy and sweet is a razor-thin one. We’ve all been held hostage by coming-of-age stories that shamelessly cudgel us into sniffling submission. And while they might succeed in making us reach for the Kleenex, we rarely feel good about it afterward. Then there’s a movie like Stand by Me, which gets your tear ducts working honestly. More»
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Directed by Lasse Hallström. UK. 2011. PG-13. 107 min. CBS Fillms. 35mm.
Fri, Apr 6 thru Thu, Apr 19 -- Roll over to view showtimes.
“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is indeed about salmon fishing in the Yemen – or the cockamamie and rather costly notion of building a dam and stocking a waterway in the Arabian peninsula with upstream-swimming fishies imported from the U.K. It is, of course, also a romantic comedy, one in which the “he” (Ewan McGregor) and the “she” (Emily Blunt) start off at odds over this dubious exercise in “Anglo-Yemeni cooperation” and end up sharing a tent by a river in southern Arabia, and sharing a crazy dream. More»
Point Entertainment presents Leo Kottke
Tickets $24.50 - $38.50. Buy tickets online.
- Fri, Apr 13, 8:00 pm
“Amazing” and “incredible” are two words often used to describe a Leo Kottke show. Internationally recognized as a master of both the 6 and 12 string guitar, he is widely known for his innovative finger-picking style which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk; and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies. Fans of Tommy Emmanuel and Jorma Kaukonen will love Leo Kottke. More»
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Directed by Mel Stuart. US. 1971. 8+. 98 min. Warner Bros. 35mm.
Sponsored by Bridge Street Chocolates
- Sat, Apr 14, 2:00 pm
Audiences young and old enjoy this larkish musical/fantasy featuring precocious children and childlike adults. Gene Wilder stars as the eccentric candy maker searching for the child who will inherit his fantastic factory. For a contrarian, but not completely off base, review check out Chuck Bowen’s on SlantMagazine.com.
Point Entertainment presents Suzanne Westenhoefer
Tickets: $20 - $35. Buy tickets online.
- Sat, Apr 14, 8:00 pm
All new for 2011! A crazy, heart-pumping, mind-bending, hilarious romp through heartbreak, comedy, life, love, and everything about couples un-coupling in the modern world. You’ve never seen Suzanne like this before! Expect non-stop inappropriate comedy from the woman Curve magazine voted “America’s Funniest Lesbian.” More»
12 Angry Men
Directed by Sidney Lumet. US. 1957. NR. 96 min. MGM. 35mm.
- Sun, Apr 15, 2:00 pm
When he saw it on live television, Henry Fonda was so taken by this story, of one courageous juror standing steadfastly against his eleven peers in the name of justice, that he chose to produce it on film and take on the starring role. Taking place almost entirely within the claustrophobic confines of a stifling hot jury room, and featuring the talents of such noted character actors as Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, Jack Klugman, and many other soon-to-become famous faces, 12 Angry Men is both a character study and a lesson in decency. More»
TEDxPhoenixvilleSalons
Tickets: $5. Buy tickets online.
- Tue, Apr 17, 7:00 pm
- Tue, May 15, 7:00 pm
- Tue, Jun 19, 7:00 pm
- Tue, Jul 17, 7:00 pm
- Tue, Aug 21, 7:00 pm
As we gear up for our third annual live TEDxPhoenixville event on October 6, 2012 we’d like to introduce you to the TED format and share some of our favorite TEDTalks with you. Join us each month for a different program of compelling and inspiring talks. Each evening’s program will consist of pre-recorded TEDTalks plus one live performance curated by our TEDxPhoenixville organizing committee. The salons will take place on the third Tuesday of the month April thru August in the Colonial Theatre’s third floor screening room. Seating is limited to 50 people. More»
The Mighty Macs
Directed by Tim Chambers. US. 2009. G. 99 min. Freestyle Releasing. DVD.
Presented by Phoenixville Hospital Healthy Woman Program
- Wed, Apr 18, 7:30 pm
“Sometimes a film feels a bit too pat and yet is impossible to resist. “The Mighty Macs,” based on the national championship run of the 1972 women’s basketball team at Immaculata College near Philadelphia, is such a film: lots of button pushing, but in the end you’re glad you saw it. More»
In Darkness
Directed by Agnieszka Holland. Poland. 2012. R. 145 min. Sony Pictures Classics. 35mm.
Fri, Apr 20 thru Thu, Apr 26 -- Roll over to view showtimes.
Join us on Tue, Apr 24 for an after-film discussion with David Lee Preston, award-winning journalist, Delaware native and son of Halina Wind, survivor of the Lvov sewers.
“There are millions of stories to tell about Nazism and the Holocaust — and in a million years, no way to fathom what happened. Those are only two reasons why the best films on the subject still have something new to reveal about the mysteries of human behavior. “In Darkness,” a harrowing nail-biter of a movie (and a Foreign Language Oscar nominee), introduces Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz), a Polish sewer worker and petty thief in the Nazi-occupied city of Lvov who hides a desperate group of eight Jews for 14 months in the sewers he knows so well. More»
MST3K: Mitchell
Directed by Andrew McLaglen. US. 1975. R. 97 min. Rhino. DVD.
- Fri, Apr 20, 10:00 pm
Update as of 2/28: We are very pleased to announce a special addition to this MST3K screening! After Mitchell‘s unappealingness concludes we’ll be screening episode 201 of Incognito Cinema Warriors XP (www.icwxp.com). It’s a heavy metal, zombie apocalypse flavor of the cow town puppet show we all know and love. One of the show’s writers, John Dell’Osa, will be on hand with merch and also to high five you (if you so desire). More»
The Princess Bride
Directed by Rob Reiner. US. 1987. 8+. 98 min. Fox. Blu ray.
- Sat, Apr 21, 2:00 pm
“Both a send-up and a salute to the storybook adventure, The Princess Bride mixes in all the essential ingredients—a beautiful heroine (Robin Wright), a simple farmhand who is much more than he seems (Cary Elwes), a friendly giant (Andre the Giant, who else?), a Spaniard out for revenge (Mandy Patinkin), an evil prince (Chris Sarandon), rodents of unusual size, a decrepit miracle worker (Billy Crystal) and much else besides—and gives them a deliciously witty twist. Immensely quotable, deeply silly yet also sincere, this is charming, hysterical, action-packed stuff for audiences of any age.” (TIFF)
The Miracle Worker
Directed by Arthur Penn. US. 1962. NR. 106 min. MGM. 35mm.
- Sun, Apr 22, 2:00 pm
One might, at first, assume that a biographical film about the education of deaf, mute and blind Helen Keller might be a study in mawkish sentimentality. To the contrary, it is a tough, thought-provoking and often unsettlingly honest story of two very strong personalities, clashing and ultimately overcoming incredible odds. Oscars went to both Patty Duke (as Keller) and Anne Bancroft (as her teacher, Annie Sullivan) for their exceptionally powerful performances, in this recreation of their Broadway success. More»
The Garden
Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy. US. 2008. NR. 80 min. Oscilloscope. 35mm.
- Sun, Apr 22, 4:30 pm
“A galvanizing tribute to the undeniable muscle behind one singular communal voice, Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s Oscar-nominated documentary The Garden chronicles the trials and tribulations of a group of Los Angeles farmers and their struggling inner-city garden. More»
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Directed by Lynne Ramsay. 2011. R. 112 min. Oscilloscope. 35mm.
Fri, Apr 27 thru Thu, May 3 -- Roll over to view showtimes.
“Every parent’s nightmare” would be the evening news boilerplate description of “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” Lynne Ramsay’s disturbing movie about the mother of a child who goes on a killing spree at his high school. That trite phrase is accurate in an almost technical sense: Ms. Ramsay (who adapted Lionel Shriver’s novel with Rory Stewart Kinnear) follows a kind of dream logic in telling a chronologically splintered story, weaving patterns of associated images and sensations into an intense and claustrophobic web of fear. More»
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Directed by Robert Stevenson. US. 1971. G. 117 min. Buena Vista. 35mm.
- Sat, Apr 28, 2:00 pm
“When a mail-order apprentice witch (Angela Lansbury) is saddled with three sibling refugees from London during World War II, the outlook is grim. But the kids soon discover her secret and sign on for adventure in the name of England. With the aid of a magical bed, they track down her fraudulent headmaster (David Tomlinson) to find the spell that will aid the Allies. Fascinated that she has actually achieved results with his lessons, he joins forces. The quintet does battle with corrupt booksellers, animated-lion royalty, and, eventually, invading Germans. More»
Point Entertainment presents Two Funny Philly Guys
Tickets $25 - $30. Buy tickets online.
- Sat, Apr 28, 8:00 pm
4/16 Update: Arlen Specter is opening for the Funny Philly Guys…pretty crazy! Listeners to Sports Radio WIP are no strangers to these two funny Philly guys. On the morning show, Joe Conklin, the man of “a thousand” voices, does uncanny impressions of Harry Kalas and Charles Barkley, to Bill Clinton and Ed Rendell. Big Daddy Graham, who hosts the overnight shift, originally started out as a musical comedian opening for rock shows, now focuses on what he calls observational comedy, telling stories about living in Philadelphia. This show sold out when the guys were here in 2010, so don’t wait to get your tickets! More»
To Kill a Mockingbird
Directed by Robert Mulligan. US. 1962. NR. 131 min. Universal. 35mm.
- Sun, Apr 29, 2:00 pm
This is the film which forever established Gregory Peck in the public mind as an exemplar of decency, fatherhood and quiet but forthright courage. To Kill A Mockingbird evokes a hauntingly nostalgic sense of childhood in small-town America. Taking place in racially divided 1930s Alabama, the story is seen from the perspective of Peck’s two motherless and often mischievous children. While they go about the innocent pursuit of childhood fun, around them stir the social tensions of the time, as their lawyer father defends a young black man accused of rape. More»