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| One of those legendary train trips that people used to dream about taking, the Trans-Siberian Express has probably seen better days. Roy (Woody Harrelson) and Jessie (Emily Mortimer) are the perfect American couple traveling from Beijing to Moscow on this legendary express train. The two strike a bond with another couple, Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara), with whom they quickly form that tenuous bond that often unites fellow travelers away from home. When Roy gets separated from the train at a stopover, Jessie begins to realize that their compatriots are not exactly as they appear. Unwittingly, Roy and Jessie are caught in a web of drug trafficking and murderous deceit when all four become targets of ex-KGB detective Grinko's (Ben Kingsley) investigation. Directed and co-written by Brad Anderson (The Machinist). Official Web Site |
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| The comedy hit of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival is the irreverent tale of one teacher's overzealous quest to mount a high school musical. Steve Coogan stars as Dana Marsch, a failed actor turned high school drama teacher. Shortchanged in the talent department, Dana still harbors ambitions and passions. At work, that is; his personal life, with his dissatisfied wife (Catherine Keener) and their border (David Arquette), leaves much to be desired. With his department under threat of closure, Dana conceives a sequel to Shakespeare's Hamleta lighthearted musical theatre extravaganza that will disdain both political correctness and dramatic credibility. Despite objections from school officials and outrage in the community, Dana will not be denied his freedom of artistic expression. Co-starring Amy Poehler and Elisabeth Shue. Directed by Andrew Fleming (Dick, The Craft), who co-wrote the screenplay with Pam Brady (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Team America: World Police). Official Web Site |

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Driven by Isabel Coixet’s visually assured and deeply observant direction,
Elegy charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college
professor (Ben Kingsley) and a young woman (Penélope Cruz) whose beauty
both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their intimate connection transforms
them—more than either could imagine—a charged sexual contest evolves
into an indelible love story. With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity,
the drama explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and to transform.
Co-starring Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard. Based on
Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth’s short novel The Dying Animal.
From the director of My Life Without Me. Official
Web Site Director Isabel Coixet on adapting Philip Roth's novel for the screen |

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A powerful coming-of-age drama that raises difficult questions about the
morals of our times. Andrew Garfield (Evening Standard and Critics' Circle
theatre awards winner) stars as Jack. His involvement in a disturbing crime
means Jack, at 24, has spent most of his young life in juvenile prisons. Released
from prison into an unrecognizable adult world, Jack is given a new name,
new job, new home; a new life. But anonymity is both a blessing and a curse
as Jack has to contend with not being able to tell the people he gets to know,
and love, of his true past. Co-starring acclaimed actor and director Peter
Mullan as Terry, Jack's case worker and the only person he can really trust.
Based on the award-winning novel by Jonathan Trigell, adapted for the screen
by writer Mark O'Rowe. Directed by John Crowley (Intermission). Official
Web Site Calvin Wilson's St. Louis Post-Dispatch review... |
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Just as New York City was the backdrop in Woody Allen's Manhattan,
the stunning city of Barcelona is the setting for the writer/director's look
at the romantic adventures of Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett
Johansson). These two young American women spend a summer in Spain, where
they meet a flamboyant artist (Javier Bardem, Academy Award winner for No
Country for Old Men) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Penélope
Cruz). Vicky is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina is a sexually
adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled, the results
can only be described as chaotic. Co-starring Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn
and Chris Messina. Official
Web Site Joe Williams's St. Louis Post-Dispatch review... |
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There are certain unforgettable moments in history when America has triumphed
against long odds and proved itself to the world: Neil Armstrong setting foot
on the moon; the U.S. Men's Hockey team beating the Soviet Union in the 1980
Olympics. But one such moment has never received the recognition it deserves:
In 1976, a small American winery sent shock waves through the industry by
besting the exalted French wines in a blind tasting, putting California wines
on the map for good. Novice vintner Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) risked everything
to realize his dream of creating the perfect hand-crafted California Chardonnay.
Meanwhile in Paris, struggling wine seller Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman)
came up with an idea for a publicity stunt to help his floundering shop. Little
did Spurrier and Barrett realize they were about to change the history of
wine forever. A dramatic comedy directed by Randall Miller (Marilyn Hotchkiss
Ballroom Dancing & Charm School), co-starring Chris Pine, Rachael
Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, Eliza Dushku and Dennis Farina. Official
Web Site Director Randall Miller is drawn to stories of passion and risk |

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On August 7, 1974 a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a
wire illegally rigged between New York's Twin Towers, then the world's tallest
buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken
for psychological evaluation and brought to jail. Petit spent eight months
in New York planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends
and accomplices, he had to find a way to bypass the World Trade Center's security; smuggle
the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire
between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the
winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete
secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet
above the sidewalks of Manhattan. James Marsh's documentary brings Petit's
extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself,
and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent
spectacle that became known as "the artistic crime of the century."
Music by Michael Nyman. Official
Web Site Joe Williams's St. Louis Post-Dispatch review... |
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Evelyn Waugh’s heartbreaking romantic epic tells an evocative story
of forbidden love and the loss of innocence in the pre-WWII era. Charles Ryder
(Matthew Goode) becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first through
the charming and provocative Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), and then his sophisticated
sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). The rise and fall of Charles’ infatuations
reflect the decline of a decadent era in England between the wars. Co-starring
Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi and Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain. Directed
by Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane). Official Web Site Ella Taylor's Riverfront Times review... |

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Pediatrician Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet), devastated since his
wife Margot (Marie-Josée Croze) was savagely murdered in the early
days of their marriage eight years earlier, receives an anonymous email. When
he clicks on the link indicated, he sees a woman's face standing in a crowd
and being filmed in real time. It's Margot's face
.Is she still alive?
And why does she instruct him to "tell no one"? Alex barely even
has time to raise the lid on this Pandora's box before the police reopen the
case, determined that Alex will take the rap for murder. Based on Harlan Coben's
international bestselling thriller. Winner of 2007 César Awards for
Best Director (Guillaume Canet) and Best Actor. Official
Web Site Ella Taylor's Riverfront Times review... |
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In a modern-day fable about the unexpected wonders of the everyday, Luke
Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums) stars as Henry Poole, a disillusioned
man who attempts to hide from life in a rundown suburban tract home. But just
as he settles in to his indulgent isolation with a case of vodka and all the
junk food he can eat, his neighbor, a well-meaning busybody named Esperanza
(Adriana Barraza, Babel), drops by with a plate of homemade tamales
and a whole lot of questions. Despite his desire for solitude, Henry can't
help noticing Dawn (Radha Mitchell, Finding Neverland), the beautiful
young divorcée next door and her daughter Millie (Morgan Lily), an
eight-year-old amateur spy who hasn't spoken a word since her parents' break-up.
Soon, Henry discovers that his plan to live out his days in quiet desperation
is going to be much harder than he ever imagined. George Lopez co-stars in
this funny, poignant and uplifting comedy written by Albert Torres and directed
by Mark Pellington. Official
Web Site Director Mark Pellington on the unexpected places life takes us |
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Filmed in sub-zero weather in upstate New York, writer/director Courtney
Hunt's award-winning debut feature is set in a real-life smuggling zone on
a Native American reservation between New York State and Quebec, where the
lure of fast money presents a daily challenge to single moms who would otherwise
be making minimum wage. Strapped for money and having been deserted by her
husband, working class Ray (Melissa Leo) reluctantly teams up with Lila (Misty
Upham), a widowed Mohawk Indian, to smuggle illegal immigrants across the
frozen St. Lawrence River from Canada to the U.S. in the trunk of a Dodge
Spirit. Both women swear each trip will be their last, but one final run across
the river leads to a showdown with the law on all sides. Grand Jury Prize
winner at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Official Web Site |
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This quietly compelling drama of fractured families, dislocated cultures
and bridged gulfs is masterfully written and directed by Turkish-German Fatih
Akin (Head-On, Crossing the Bridge). Expatriate widower Ali (Tuncel
Kurtiz), seeking a little home comfort, invites prostitute Yeten (Nursel Köse)
to live with him, a move his son Nejat (Baki Davrak), a professor of German
literature, disparages. When tragedy ensues, Nejat travels to Turkey seeking
Yeten's daughter while she, unknowing, searches for her mother in Germany.
Co-starring Fassbinder icon Hanna Schygulla.Winner of 4 German Film Awards,
including Best Picture, Director, Editor and Screenplay. Official Web Site |
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| Visually spectacular, intensely action-packed and powerfully prophetic since its debut, director Ridley Scott's sci-fi noir thriller returns in a definitive Final Cut, including extended scenes and never-before-seen special effects. In a future of high-tech possibility soured by urban and social decay, 21st-century detective Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) hunts for fugitive, muderous replicants—and is drawn to a mystery woman (Sean Young) whose secrets may undermine his soul. Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Co-starring Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh and Daryl Hannah. Music by Vangelis. Official Web Site |
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Gelfling vs. Skeksis in The Dark Crystal • Sep 5 & 6 Original theatrical version! Not on DVD! Grindhouse • Sep 12 & 13 James Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window* • Sep 19 & 20 New 35mm print! Brandon Lee is The Crow • Sep 26 & 27 Star Clipper presents Japanese animation! My Neighbor Totoro* • Oct 3 & 4 Adults only! Divine in John Waters' Pink Flamingos • Oct 10 & 11 Stanley Kubrick's head trip! 2001: A Space Odyssey • Oct 17 & 18 See live cast The Samurai Electricians with The Rocky Horror Picture Show • Oct 24 & 25 and Oct 31 & Nov 1 * = Also screens Sat & Sun at noon! All midnight screenings $6.50 except Rocky Horror, which is $10. Prop bags for Rocky Horror available at theatre. No outside props, please. |
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As one of the "Hollywood Ten"—film professionals who refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee and were subsequently imprisoned—screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Roman Holiday, The Brave One, Spartacus, Exodus) made a heroic journey from Hollywood royalty to blacklisted writer to Academy Award winner. Against the backdrop of tremendous political unrest, we are given an emotional and at times humorous account of how this turmoil affected one of Hollywood's most prolific writers. Director Peter Askin's documentary features brilliant readings of Trumbo's extraordinary letters (performed by Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas, Paul Giamatti, Nathan Lane, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson, David Strathairn and Donald Sutherland), interlaced with interviews, home movies and excerpts from his films. Written by Christopher Trumbo (Dalton's son), based on his play. Official Web Site Director Peter Askin on Trumbo's prophetic words |