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Cinema Chat: 'Emily,' 'Cocaine Bear,' and more

State Theatre
Jeffrey Smith
/
flickr.com
Inside the State Theatre.

OPENING THIS WEEK

"Cocaine Bear" — OPENS TODAY AT THE STATE AND THE MULTIPLEX

An American dark comedy/action film directed and co-produced by Elizabeth Banks and written by Jimmy Warden. It is inspired by the true story of the "Cocaine Bear", an American black bear that ingested a duffel bag full of cocaine in 1985. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Margo Martindale, and Ray Liotta in one of his final performances before his death.

Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild thriller finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow... and blood.

"Emily" — OPENS TODAY AT THE STATE

A 2022 British biographical drama film written and directed by Frances O'Connor in her directorial debut. It is a part-fictional portrait of English writer Emily Brontë (played by Emma Mackey), concentrating on a fictional romantic relationship with the young curate William Weightman. Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling, Amelia Gething, Adrian Dunbar and Gemma Jones also appear in supporting roles. Emily premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film imagines Emily Brontë’s own Gothic story that inspired her seminal novel, "Wuthering Heights." Haunted by the death of her mother, Emily struggles within the confines of her family life and yearns for artistic and personal freedom, and so begins a journey to channel her creative potential into one of the greatest novels of all time.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN

"Clueless" — PLAYS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 AT 9:30 PM AT THE STATE

Part of the Late Nights at the State series

A 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel "Emma," with a modern-day setting of Beverly Hills. The plot centers on a beautiful, popular, and rich high school student who befriends a new student and decides to give her a makeover while playing a matchmaker for her teachers and examining her own existence.

The film's director studied Beverly Hills high school students to understand how teenagers in the 1990s talked and learned some appropriate slang terms from them. It has received positive reviews from critics and is considered to be one of the best teen films of all time. It has developed a cult following and has a continuing legacy. The film was followed by a spin-off television sitcom and series of books.

"Citizen Kane" — PLAYS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN

Part of the Films We Love Series

Orson Welles's first film challenged the conventions of Hollywood filmmaking and created a modern film aesthetic. Starring Welles,Joseph Cotten, andDorothy Comingore.

"L'Avventura" — PLAYS THURSDAY, MARCH 2 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE

Part of the Cultura d'Italia Series (Thursdays at the State)

A 1960 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Developed from a story by Antonioni with co-writers Elio Bartoliniand Tonino Guerra, the film is about the disappearance of a young woman (Lea Massari) during a boating trip in the Mediterranean, and the subsequent search for her by her lover (Gabriele Ferzetti) and her best friend (Monica Vitti). It was filmed on location in Rome, the Aeolian Islands, and Sicily in 1959 under difficult financial and physical conditions. The film is noted for its unusual pacing, which emphasizes visual composition, mood, and character over traditional narrative development. The film was nominated for numerous awards and was awarded the Jury Prize at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.

CONTINUING DOWNTOWN

2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts 

ANIMATION

  • "An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It" - AUSTRALIA/11 MINS/2022
  • "Ice Merchants" - PORTUGAL, UNITED KINGDOM, FRANCE/14 MINS/2022
  • "My Year of Dicks" - USA/25 MINS/2022
  • "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" - UK/34 MINS/2022
  • "The Flying Sailor" - CANADA/7 MINS/2022

DOCUMENTARY

  • "Haulout" - UK/25 MINS/2022
  • "How Do You Measure a Year?" - USA/29 MINS/2022
  • "Stranger at the Gate" - USA/30 MINS/2022
  • "The Elephant Whisperers" - INDIA/39 MINS/2022
  • "The Martha Mitchell Effect" - USA/39 MINS/2022

LIVE ACTION

  • "An Irish Goodbye" - IRELAND/23 MINS/2022
  • "Ivalu" - DENMARK/16 MINS/2022
  • "Le Pupille" - ITALY, USA/37 MINS/2022
  • "Night Ride" (Nattrikken) - NORWAY/15 MINS/2020
  • "The Red Suitcase" - LUXEMBOURG/18 MINS/2022

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"

A 2023 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope Pym / Wasp. It is the sequel to "Ant-Man" (2015) and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) and the 31st film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The film is directed by Peyton Reed, written by Jeff Loveness, and stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne alongsideJonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, William Jackson Harper, Katy O'Brian, and Bill Murray.

In the film, Lang and Van Dyne are transported to the Quantum Realm along with their family and face Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the first film in Phase Five of the MCU.

Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope's parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott's daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.

"Close" 

A 2022 coming-of-age drama film directed byLukas Dhont, and written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens, reteaming after their first feature film "Girl" (2018). The film stars Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Emilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker. It follows two 13-year-old boys whose close friendship is thrown into disarray when students at high school notice their intimacy, causing a rift between them.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 26 May 2022 to critical acclaim and won the Grand Jury Prize. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. It also won the André Cavens Award for Best Film by the Belgian Film Critics Association.

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" 

Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert ("Swiss Army Man"), collectively known as The Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can't seem to finish her taxes.

"Women Talking" 

A 2022 American drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley. It is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews and inspired by real-life events that occurred at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia. The film stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand, who is also a producer on the film.

The film had its world premiere at the 49th Telluride Film Festival. The film received praise from critics for Polley's screenplay and direction, the performances of the cast (particularly Foy, Buckley, and Whishaw) and score. It was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the American Film Institute, and at the 95th Academy Awards received nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

ALL THINGS EQUAL: THE LIFE & TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBERG — LIVE ON STAGE TUESDAY, MARCH 14 AT THE MICHIGAN

Written by two-time Tony Award Winning playwright ("The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and "Curtains") Rupert Holmes (also known for “Escape,” the Pina Colada song).

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg "RBG" welcomes a friend of the family to her cozy chambers to convey, over the course of ninety fascinating and often funny minutes, a sense of her life and its many trials. An evening with a great and compassionate icon of straight-thinking American justice, emerges an RBG who is not only "notorious" but victorious as she takes a stand for ordinary people facing the many challenges of a changing world.

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