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DIRECT FROM CANNES – ONE NIGHT ONLY TONIGHT AT 7:15 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
"Asteroid City" - A special French Riviera style, red carpet screening (Get you tickets before they sell out at “michtheater.org”)
Wes Anderson brought cowboys, aliens and movie stars to the Cannes Film Festival earning a six-minute standing ovation at its world premiere in the Lumiere Theater in Cannes. Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jason Schwartzman, Matt Dillon, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Norton, Margot Robbie and Jeff Goldblum are among the starry ensemble cast — many of whom were in attendance at the Grand Palais with their notoriously stylish and exacting director.
The project tells of a desert tourist trap that was one the sites of an asteroid landing, which also doubles as the location of an annual camp for “stargazers and space cadets.” The conceit is a story-within-a-story, as the cast plays a troupe of actors and stage crew for a play. Johansson had the Cannes crowd swooning as a movie star derailed in Asteroid City (and also as an actress playing that actress in the meta story).
OPENING THIS WEEK
"Past Lives" — OPENS FRIDAY, JUNE 23 AT THE MICHIGAN
Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.
A 2023 American romantic drama film written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro, and follows a reunion between two childhood friends as they contemplate their relationship and their own lives. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and has received almost universal acclaim from critics.
"Asteroid City" — OPENS TONIGHT AT THE MICHIGAN
This is a 2023 American comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Wes Andersonfrom a screenplay by Anderson and a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright,Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Steve Park,Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, and Jeff Goldblum. Its metatextual plot simultaneously depicts the events of a Junior Stargazer convention in a retro-futuristic version of 1955, staged as a play, and the creation of the play.
The film had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2023. The film received an extended standing ovation from the Cannes Film Festival audience and positive reviews from critics.
"No Hard Feelings" — OPENS FRIDAY, JUNE 23 AT THE MICHIGAN
On the brink of losing her childhood home, Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents looking for someone to "date" their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy, before he leaves for college. To her surprise, Maddie soon discovers the awkward Percy is no sure thing.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" — PLAYS FRIDAY, JUNE 23 AT 9:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Late Nights at the State series
Elite Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes) impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Alberto Leguizamo) -- one of the losers that evening -- the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time.
"Porco Rosso" — PLAYS SATURDAY, JUNE 24 AT 3:30 PM AND THURSDAY, JUNE 29 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Summer of Studio Ghibli 2023 series
From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of "Spirited Away," and Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes a dazzling aerial adventure set in and above the scenic port towns of the Adriatic Sea. “Porco Rosso” is a world-weary flying ace-turned-bounty-hunter, whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell. When he infuriates a band of sky pirates with his heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a hotshot American rival, to get rid of him. But with the help of the teenage girl Fio, an aspiring airplane designer, and a sultry lounge singer named Gina, Porco takes to the skies for what may be his final high-flying showdown.
"Devil in a Blue Dress"— PLAYS SUNDAY, JUNE 25 AT 1:30 PM AND TUESDAY, JUNE 27 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Summer Classics film series
In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is an unemployed Black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore), a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals), who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's Black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.
"A Fantastic Woman" — PLAYS MONDAY, JUNE 26 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Films We Love series
A transgender singer faces scorn and discrimination after the sudden death of her older boyfriend. Directed by Sebastián Lelio, the film stars Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Oscars.
"Lilo & Stitch" — PLAYS MONDAY, JUNE 26 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Films We Love series
Celebrating 6.26 aka "Lilo & Stitch Day" (before he was Stitch, the indestructible alien was named Experiment 626). This animated classic is a tale of a young girl's close encounter with the galaxy's most wanted extraterrestrial. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the perfect pet if he weren't in reality a genetic experiment who has escaped from an alien planet and crash-landed on Earth. Through her love, faith and unwavering belief in ohana, the Hawaiian concept of family, Lilo helps unlock Stitch's heart and gives him the ability to care for someone else.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
Worlds collide in this film when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Superheroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ezra Miller reprises their role as Barry Allen in the DC Superhero’s first-ever standalone feature film.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning animated Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.
A selection from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival from director Nicole Holofcener(Academy Award nominee for "Can You Ever Forgive Me?") starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies.
A brilliantly relatable/witty New York comedy that follows Beth (Louis-Dreyfus), a popular writer, and her husband Don (Menzies), who share a loving relationship. Even after decades of marriage, parenting, and their own successful careers, their physical spark has somehow not. But when Beth discovers that Don has been untruthful to her about his opinion of her work for years -- Beth's world comes crashing down. Has their whole relationship been one Big Fat Lie?
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