12/25/08 12:13 am - SHOWING DECEMBER 25TH THROUGH JANUARY 1ST
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards. A man, like any of us, unable to stop time. We follow his story set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man’s life can be. Directed by David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club, Seven), the dramatic fantasy is a time traveler’s tale of the people and places he bumps into along the way, the loves he loses and finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star. Runtime: 3 Hours
Thurs - Tue: 12:00 3:30 7:00 10:20 | Wednesday, New Year's Eve: 12:00 3:30 7:00 | Thurs, Jan 1: 12:00 3:30 7:00 10:20
Milk
Gay Rights Activist. Friend. Lover. Unifier. Politician. Fighter. Icon. Inspiration. Hero. His life changed history, and his courage changed lives. In 1977, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans. Co-starring James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna and Josh Brolin. Directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, My Own Private Idaho) from an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black. Runtime: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
Thurs - Tue: 11:20 2:00 4:40 7:20 10:00 | Wednesday, New Year's Eve: 11:20 2:00 4:40 7:20 | Thurs, Jan 1: 11:20 2:00 4:40 7:20 10:00
Doubt
Writer/director John Patrick Shanley brings his Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play to the screen as a gripping story about the quest for truth, the forces of change and the devastating consequences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction. It's 1964, St. Nicholas in the Bronx. A vibrant, charismatic priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is trying to upend the school's strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline. The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Muller. But when Sister James (Amy Adams), a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Now, without a shard of proof besides her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn which threatens to tear apart the community with irrevocable consequence. Co-starring Viola Davis. Runtime: 2 Hours
Thurs - Tue: 11:40 2:20 4:50 7:30 9:50 | Wednesday, New Year's Eve: 11:40 2:20 4:50 7:30 | Thurs, Jan 1: 11:40 2:20 4:50 7:30 9:50
Slumdog Millionaire
Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, and of Latika (Freida Pinto), the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. Intrigued by Jamal’s story, the jaded Police Inspector begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out… Written by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), based on the best selling novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup. Directed by Danny Boyle (Sunshine, Millions, Trainspotting). Runtime: 2 Hours 15 Minutes
Thurs - Tue: 11:10 1:50 4:30 7:10 9:45 | Wednesday, New Year's Eve: 11:10 1:50 4:30 7:10 | Thurs, Jan 1: 11:10 1:50 4:30 7:10 9:45
COMING SOON:
I've Loved You So Long
Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) and Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) are sisters who are almost complete strangers to one other. Juliette has just been released from prison after serving a long sentence for an unspeakable crime, and life together isn't easy for the estranged sisters. The world has moved on and Juliette often seems confused. Helped by some, such as the kindly but tactless social worker and her open-hearted but depressed parole officer (Frédéric Pierrot), Juliette is also rejected by others, particularly employers who throw her out as soon as they find out what she did. But a huge question hangs over Juliette's renaissance. Why did she do such a terrible thing fifteen years ago? For all the others, it's a recurrent thought that they dare not put into words. And for Juliette, locked away in her secret, it's a burden to bear, which holds her back from engaging in her life and believing that she too has the right to be happy. (Fully subtitled)
Revolutionary Road
Adapted from the revealing novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is an incisive portrait of an American marriage seen through the eyes of Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his wife April (Kate Winslet). The couple proudly declare their independence from the suburban inertia that surrounds them and determine never to be trapped by the social confines of their era. Yet for all their charm, beauty and irreverence, the Wheelers find themselves becoming exactly what they didn't expect: a good man with a meaningless job whose nerve has gone missing; a less-than-happy homemaker starving for fulfillment and passion; an American family with lost dreams, like any other. Yates' story of 1950s America poses a question that has been reverberating through modern relationships ever since: Can two people break away from the ordinary without breaking apart? Co-starring Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, Michael Shannon and David Harbour. Directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty).
All information has been taken directly from the Landmark Theatres website. Please note that all opening dates and times are subject to change without notice.
Quantum of Solace continues the high-octane adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) that began in Casino Royale. Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. As Bond gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, he must keep one step ahead of the CIA, a group of terrorists and even M, to unravel a sinister plan to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources. Co-starring Olga Kurylenko and Mathieu Amalric. Directed by Marc Forster (Monster's Ball). Runtime: 2 Hours
For theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), life catering to suburban blue-hairs at the local regional theater in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife (Catherine Keener) has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin. His therapist (Hope Davis) is better at plugging her best-seller than she is at counseling him. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel (Samantha Morton) has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his autonomic functions, one by one. Worried about the transience of his life, he leaves his home behind. He gathers an ensemble cast into a warehouse in New York City, hoping to create a work of brutal honesty. Co-starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Williams, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson and Dianne Wiest. Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich.
Just how hard is it to be happy? In the effervescent new comedy from writer/director Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy), Sally Hawkins stars as Poppy, an irrepressibly free-spirited school teacher who brings an infectious laugh and an unsinkable sense of optimism to every situation she encounters, offering us a touching, truthful and deeply life-affirming exploration of one of the most mysterious and often the most elusive of all human qualities: Happiness. Poppy’s ability to maintain her perspective is tested as the story begins and her commuter bike is stolen. However, she enthusiastically signs up for driving lessons with Scott (Eddie Marsan), who turns out to be her nemesis—a fuming, uptight cynic. As the tension of their weekly lessons builds, Poppy encounters even more challenges to her positive state of mind: a fiery flamenco instructor, her bitter pregnant sister, a troubled homeless man and a young bully in her class, not to mention that she has also thrown out her back. How this affects not only Poppy’s world view but also the outlook of those around her begs the question, “glass half full or half empty”?
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fable that offers a unique perspective on how prejudice, hatred and violence affect innocent people, particularly children, during wartime. Through the eyes of a fanciful, eight-year-old German boy largely shielded from the reality of World War II, we witness a forbidden friendship that forms between Bruno, the son of Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jewish boy imprisoned in a concentration camp. Though the two are separated physically by a barbed wire fence, their lives become inescapably intertwined. The imagined story of Bruno and Shmuel sheds light on the brutality, senselessness and devastating consequences of war from an unusual point of view. Together, their tragic journey helps recall the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust. Written and directed by Mark Herman (Little Voice), based on the best-selling novel by John Boyne.