OSCAR PREVIEW EVENT – FREE! - Wednesday, March 8, 7–8:30 p.m., State Theatre. For more information call 327–4200.
Presented by the Ann Arbor District Library
Movie maven and 107.1-FM radio host Martin Bandyke, Cinema Program Director Nick Alderink and Michigan Theater director Russ Collins, will discuss the Academy Award nomination and handicap who might and should win Oscars at the upcoming 95th Awards ceremony (Sunday, March 12). Features movie clips, audience participation, and giveaways.
ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL "SNEAK PREVIEW" RECEPTION AND SCREENING – Monday, March 6th, 5:30 PM
The Ann Arbor Film Festival Fundraiser (Monday, March 6th, 2023, 7-9pm at Zingerman's Greyline) will celebrate our city’s rich cinema history by raising a toast to the student-run film societies that created and sustained a robust ecosystem for the presentation and viewing of film for the better part of the 20th century. These film groups brought experimental, international, independent, and classic films to the University of Michigan campus, creating a fertile seedbed where the AAFF was conceived and flourished. Representatives from Cinema II (Frank Uhle), Cinema Guild (Vicki Honeyman), and the Ann Arbor Film Co-Op (Philip Hallman) will share recollections of their involvement from this historic period.
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.
OPENING THIS WEEK
"Creed III" — OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 2 AT THE MULITPLEX
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian -- a fighter who has nothing to lose.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"L'Avventura" — PLAYS TONIGHT 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.
- Thursday, April 6 – "Big Night"
- Thursday, May 4 –"Cinema Paradiso"
"Jeanne Dielman" — PLAYS SATURDAY, MARCH 4 AT 7:30 PM AND TUESDAY, MARCH 7 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Films We Love Series
A 1975 film written and directed by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. It was filmed over five weeks on location in Brussels and financed through a $120,000 grant awarded by the Belgian government. Distinguished by its restrained pace, long takes, and static camerawork, the film is a slice of life depiction of a widowed housewife (portrayed by Delphine Seyrig) over the course of three days. It has been labeled an exemplar of the slow cinema genre, as well as of feminist film. In a critics' poll conducted by The Village Voice in 2000, it was named the 19th greatest film of the twentieth century. In a critics' poll published by Sight & Sound in 2022, it was named the greatest film of all time – replacing "Citizen Kane".
"Big Hero 6" — PLAYS SUNDAY, MARCH 5 AT 1:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Not Just for Kids Family Friendly Series
A 2014 American computer-animated superhero film loosely based on the Marvel comics of the same name. Big Hero 6 tells the story of Hiro Hamada, a young robotics prodigy, and Baymax, his late-brother Tadashi's healthcare-provider robot, who form a superhero team to combat a masked villain who is responsible for Tadashi's death. Walt Disney Animation Studios created new software technology to produce the film's animated visuals.
"The Big Lebowski" — PLAYS MONDAY, MARCH 6 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Celebrating “The Day of the Dude” (25th anniversary of the film’s release).
A 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joeland Ethan Coen. It starsJeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity, then learns that a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston) was the intended victim. The millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is kidnapped, and millionaire Lebowski commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release; the plan goes awry when the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the ransom money for himself. Sam Elliott, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, and Ben Gazzara also appear, in supporting roles.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
