ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL WRAPS UP
It was a special year for the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which closed last Sunday. Good attendance, great vibe. This special event was indeed special. Congratulations to Festival Director Leslie Raymond and her team!
OPENING THIS WEEK
"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"— OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 31 AT THE STATE AND AT THE MULTIPLEX
A 2023 American fantasy heist action-comedy film directed by Jonathan Goldsteinand John Francis Daley, who cowrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio from a story byChris McKay and Gilio. Based on the tabletop role-playing game "Dungeons & Dragons," it is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and has no connections to the film trilogy released between 2000 and 2012. The film stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith,Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant.
Production went through various phases in development since 2013, each with various writers and directors. Goldstein and Daley were the final writers/directors, using elements from the previous attempt by director Chris McKay and screenwriter Michael Gilio. Filming began in April 2021 in Iceland and later Northern Ireland.
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 10, 2023, and will be released in the United States on March 31, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics.
"Return to Seoul" — OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 31 AT THE MICHIGAN
On an impulse to reconnect with her origins, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. The headstrong young woman starts looking for her biological parents in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions. Director:Davy Chou
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" — PLAYS FRIDAY, MARCH 31 AT 9:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Late Nights at the State series
Danger once again surrounds Bella (Kristen Stewart), as a string of mysterious killings terrorizes Seattle and a malicious vampire continues her infernal quest for revenge. Amid the tumult, Bella must choose between her love for Edward (Robert Pattinson) and her friendship with Jacob (Taylor Lautner), knowing that her decision may ignite the long-simmering feud between vampire and werewolf.
Fly Fishing Film Tour 2023 — PLAYS SATURDAY APRIL 1 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
The 17th annual Fly Fishing Film Tour presented byCosta, YETI and Simmsis back in action and hitting the road with a top notch selection of short films that are sure to get you fired up for the season ahead.
"Hidden Figures" — PLAYS SUNDAY, APRIL 2 AT 1 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Not Just For Kids Family Friendly Series
Three brilliant African American women at NASA -- Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson -- serve as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race and galvanized the world.
"Singin' in the Rain"— PLAYS MONDAY, APRIL 3 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Films We Love Series
A spoof of the turmoil that afflicted the movie industry in the late 1920s when movies went from silent to sound. When two silent movie stars', Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, latest movie is made into a musical a chorus girl is brought in to dub Lina's speaking and singing. Don is on top of the world until Lina finds out. From directorsStanley Donen and Gene Kelly, and starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor.
"All Quiet on the Western Front"— PLAYS TUESDAY, APRIL 4 AT 5 PM AT THE STATE
When 17-year-old Paul joins the Western Front in World War I, his initial excitement is soon shattered by the grim reality of life in the trenches. Award-winning Daniel Bruhl ("Inglourious Basterds") stars in this tense drama by Grimme Award winner Edward Berger.
Post-film Q&A and Discussion by Professor Kira Thurman, Associate Professor of History, German Studies, and Musicology.
"Drive My Car" — PLAYS THURSDAY, APRIL 6 AT 7:15 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Diamonds by the Decade Series
Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku, a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There, he meets a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koji Takatsuki, a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke’s late wife. Forced to confront painful truths raised from his past, Yusuke begins-with the help of his driver-to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind.
Adapted from Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning film is a haunting road movie traveling a path of love, loss, acceptance, and peace.
"Big Night" — PLAYS THURSDAY, APRIL 6 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Cultura d'Italia Series
Chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are immigrant brothers from Italy who open their dream restaurant, Paradise, in New Jersey. However, Primo's authentic food is too unfamiliar for the local tastes, and the restaurant is struggling. When famous Italian-American bandleader Louis Prima is scheduled to appear at Paradise, the two brothers put all of their efforts into the important meal, which will likely decide the fate of their restaurant.
- Thursday, May 4 –"Cinema Paradiso"
COMING SOON
"Air" — OPENS THURSDAY, APRIL 6 AT THE STATE
From award-winning director Ben Affleck, this film reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
This is a 2022 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on the 2013 book "The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III" by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones. It is a dramatization of the story of Philippa Langley, the woman who initiated the search to find King Richard III's remains under a car park in Leicester, and her treatment by the University of Leicester in the claiming of credit for the discovery.
The film stars Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, and Harry Lloyd. The film premiered in Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2022.
This is a 2023 American drama film written, directed, and produced by Zach Braff. The film stars Florence Pugh, Molly Shannon, Chinaza Uche, Celeste O'Connor, and Morgan Freeman.
It is being released in the United States on a limited theatrical release on March 24, 2023 – including the State Theatre!
Years after being involved in a fatal accident, Allison forms an unlikely relationship with her would-be father-in-law.
Daniel (Morgan Freeman) is brought together with Allison (Florence Pugh), the once thriving young woman with a bright future who was involved in an unimaginable tragedy that took his daughter's life. As grief-stricken Daniel navigates raising his teenage granddaughter and Allison seeks redemption, they discover that friendship, forgiveness, and hope can flourish in unlikely places.
"The Quiet Girl" (ENDS TONIGHT!!!)
A 2022 Irish coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Colm Bairéad. The dialogue is mostly in Irish. Set in 1981, the film follows a withdrawn nine-year-old girl who experiences a loving home for the first time when she spends the summer on a farm with distant relatives in Rinn Gaeltacht, County Waterford. The film was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.
The film is based on "Foster," a 2010 novella in English by Claire Keegan. It premiered at the Berlinale in 2022. It won a Crystal Bear and received a special mention from the children's jury. The jury stated that "It is a film with a delicate story full of details about childhood, grief, parenthood and rebuilding a family. The very strong narrative is combined with a stunning cinematography. The sound and the images create a unique atmosphere."
The film broke box office records for the opening weekend of an Irish-language film and became the highest-grossing Irish-language film of all time.
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.
"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.
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