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Set in Harlem in 1987, Precious is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly
hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome. Claireece "Precious"
Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a 16-year-old African-American girl born into a
life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father;
at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo'Nique), a poisonously
angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of
chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful
secret: she can neither read nor write. Precious may sometimes be down, but
she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious
young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities
exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to
transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One. In the literacy workshop
taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a
journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light,
love and self-determination. Winner of three awards at the 2009 Sundance Film
Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic
Competition. Co-starring Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd and Lenny Kravitz.
Official Web Site Roger Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times review... |
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Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and Kathy Bates star in The Blind Side, which
depicts the remarkable true story of All-American football star Michael Oher
(played by Quinton Aaron). A homeless African-American youngster from a broken
home, Oher is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him
fulfill his potential on and off the football field. At the same time, Oher's
presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries
of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different
set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works
hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American
offensive left tackle. Official
Web Site Ed Johnson-Ott's NUVO review... |

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An Education is the story of a teenage girl's coming-of-age set in
1961 London, a city caught between the drab, post-war 1950s and the glamorous,
more liberated decade to come. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) stands on the brink
of becoming a woman: a brilliantly witty and attractive 16-year-old whose
suburban life is about to be blown apart by the utterly unsuitable 30-something
David (Peter Sarsgaard). Urbane and witty, David manages to charm her conservative
parents Jack (Alfred Molina) and Marjorie (Cara Seymour). David introduces
Jenny to a glittering new world of classical concerts and late-night suppers
with his attractive friend and business partner, Danny (Dominic Cooper) and
Danny's girlfriend, the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Rosamund Pike). Just
as Jenny's family's long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into
Oxford seems within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life. Written
by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) and directed by Lone Scherfig
(Italian for Beginners). Official Web Site Ed Johnson-Ott's NUVO review... |
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In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story you will hardly
believe is actually true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing
of the U.S. military come to light when a reporter encounters an enigmatic
Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan
McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady
(George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental
U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the
way wars are fought. A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled
psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and
even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill
Django (Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him.
Intrigued by his new acquaintance's far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides
to accompany him on the search. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine
training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), the reporter
is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django's
New Earth Army and Hooper's personal militia of super soldiers. An eye-opening
and often hilarious exploration of the government's attempts to harness paranormal
abilities to combat its enemies, inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller
of the same name. Official
Web Site Roger Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times review... |

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A little girl who is sent with her sister to an orphanage in the heart of
France, who waits in vain every Sunday for her father to come for her…
A cabaret performer with a weak voice who sings to an audience of drunken
soldiers… A humble seamstress, who stitches hems at the back of a provincial
tailor's shop… A young, skinny courtesan, to whom protector Étienne
Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde) offers a safe haven, amongst the idle and
decadent… A woman in love who knows she will never be anyone’s wife,
refusing marriage even to Arthur 'Boy' Capel (Alessandro Nivola), the man
who returned her love… A rebel who finds the conventions of her time
oppressive, and instead dresses in her lovers' clothes… This is the story
of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (Audrey Tautou, Amélie),
who begins her life as a headstrong orphan, and through an extraordinary journey
becomes the legendary couturier who embodied the modern woman and became a
timeless symbol of success, freedom and style. Official
Web Site Kenneth Turan's Chicago Sun-Times review... |

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| An extraordinary life of adventure, celebrity and continuing mystery comes to light in Amelia, a vast, thrilling account of legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (two time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank). After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheartthe legendary "goddess of light," known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed. She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam (Richard Gere), and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history. Directed by Mira Nair (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding). Official Web Site |

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The new dramatic comedy from the Coen Brothers (Burn After Reading, Fargo)
is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson
Airplane is on the radio and "F-Troop" is on TV. It is 1967, and
Larry (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university,
has just been informed by his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) that she is leaving
him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous colleagues, Sy (Fred
Melamed), who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry.
Larry's unemployable brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on the couch,
his son Danny (Aaron Wolf) is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew
school, and his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is filching money from his
wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While his wife and Sy blithely
make new domestic arrangements, and his brother becomes more and more of a
burden, an anonymous hostile letter-writer is trying to sabotage Larry's chances
for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying
to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue
him for defamation. Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing
nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different
rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous
person—a mensch—a serious man? Official
Web Site Michael Phillips's Chicago Tribune review... |
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| Visionary director Wes Anderson's first animated film utilizes classic handmade stop-motion techniques to tell the story of the best-selling children's book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach). Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Foxs wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil FarmersBoggis (Brian Cox), Bunce (Hugo Guinness) and Bean (Michael Gambon)who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost. Also featuring the voices of Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and Jarvis Cocker. Official Web Site |
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When a decorated Marine goes missing overseas, his black-sheep younger brother
cares for his wife and children at home—with consequences that will shake
the foundation of the entire family. Brothers tells the powerful story
of two siblings, Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and younger brother Tommy
(Jake Gyllenhaal), who are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on his
fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school
sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young daughters.
Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail who's
always gotten by on wit and charm. Shipped out to Afghanistan, Sam is presumed
dead when his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains. At home
in suburbia, the Cahill family suddenly faces a shocking void, and Tommy tries
to fill in for his brother by assuming newfound responsibility for himself,
Grace, and the children. When Sam unexpectedly returns to the States, he is
uncharacteristically withdrawn and volatile, and grows suspicious of his brother
and his wife. In the shifting family dynamics, who will dominate? And how
will the brothers come to terms with issues of love, loyalty, and manhood—and
with the woman caught between them? Directed by Jim Sheridan (In America,
My Left Foot). Official Web Site |
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| Everybody's Fine, a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's Stanno Tutti Bene, follows a widower named Frank (Robert De Niro) who embarks on an impromptu road trip to reconnect with each of his grown children, only to discover that their lives are far from picture perfect. At the heart of the dramatic comedy is the theme of family and physical and emotional distances traveled to bring the members back together. Co-starring Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell. Written and directed by Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine). Official Web Site |