There are several movie openings this weekend and you have an opportunity to participate in a sing-a-long to a movie classic! IT's all covered in this week's edition of 'Cinema Chat' with david Fair and Michigan Theater Executive Director and CEO, Russ Collins.
Opening Downtown
In “Gemma Bovery,” life begins to imitate art in uncanny ways when British beauty Gemma (Gemma Arterton) and her furniture restorer husband Charles Bovery (Jason Flemyng) move to the very same Norman village where the novel Madame Bovary was written. Local baker and Flaubert fan Martin (Fabrice Luchini) falls for the lovely and charming newcomer and sets out to be her mentor. It doesn’t take long before his wild imagination leads him to draw parallels between the literary and real life woman, and Gemma soon finds herself at a crossroads that seems to be fulfilling Martin’s worst fears that her destiny is mirroring that of Flaubert’s doomed heroine. “Gemma Bovery” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.
Special Screenings Downtown
You’re invited to “step in time” as the Summer Classic Film Series continues with “Singalong Mary Poppins!” When Mr. Banks hires the mysterious and magical Mary Poppins as his “impossible” children's new nanny, she immediately endears herself to the kids. For this special engagement, a restored print of the classic 1964 film has been customized with on-screen lyrics so that audiences can join in the fun by singing along. A movie host will introduce the film and lead the crowd through audience participation activities and demonstrate the use of the complimentary bag of interactive props. To complete the experience, audience members are encouraged to dress as their favorite Mary Poppins character – or in a costume inspired by the movie. “Singalong Mary Poppins” plays Sunday August 23 at 1:30 PM and Tuesday August 25 at 7 PM at the Michigan Theater.
“Jellyfish Eyes” is the cinema directorial debut from acclaimed visual artist Takashi Murakami. With live action and computer animation it brings the artist’s endless imagination to the screen in a tale of family, friendship, and loyalty. Having moved to a country town with his mother following the death of his father, young Masashi immediately makes a most unlikely friend: a flying, jellyfish-like sprite that he nicknames Kurage-bo. Taking Kurage-bo under his wing and into the classroom, Masashi soon discovers that his schoolmates have similar friends—and that they, their creators, and the town itself are not all they seem to be. Pointedly set in a post-Fukushima nuclear plant anxietiy world, Murakami’s film carries a message of cooperation and hope, while boasting unforgettable creature designs and handcrafted special effects nearly a decade in the making. “Jellyfish Eyes” plays Wednesday August 26 and Thursday August 27 at the State Theatre.
Continuing Downtown
AT THE MICHIGAN:
“Mr. Holmes” starring Ian McKellen as an aging Sherlock Holmes forced to revisit the case that brought about his retirement.
“Irrational Man,” Woody Allen’s latest film starring Joaquin Phoenix as a philosophy professor grappling with an existential crisis.
“A LEGO Brickumentary,” explores the extraordinary impact of the LEGO brick.
The Stanford Prison Experiment
“The Stanford Prison Experiment,” a tense, psychological thriller based on the notorious true story of 24 student volunteers acting as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail.
AT THE STATE:
“The End of the Tour,” which tells the story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter (and novelist) David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel), which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, Infinite Jest.
“Infinitely Polar Bear,” the Sundance grand jury prize nominee starring Mark Ruffalo as a bipolar father trying to rebuild his relationship with his two daughters and win back the trust of his wife (Zoe Saldana).
Opening at the Multiplex
“American Ultra” is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike (Jesse Eisenberg), a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe (Kristen Stewart), is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive. “American Ultra” opens Friday.
In “Sinister 2,” a mother and her twin sons find themselves in a house marked for death as the evil spirit of Bughuul continues to spread with frightening intensity. “Sinister 2” opens Friday.
“Hitman: Agent 47” centers on an elite assassin who was genetically engineered from conception to be the perfect killing machine, and is known only by the last two digits on the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. His latest target is a mega-corporation that plans to unlock the secret of Agent 47's past to create an army of killers whose powers surpass even his own. Teaming up with a young woman who may hold the secret to overcoming their powerful and clandestine enemies, 47 confronts stunning revelations about his own origins. “Hitman: Agent 47” opens Friday.
