Sunday Night Film Club – Boston

“In the horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss — but when you’re afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.”

“Two crew members are stranded on a spacecraft and quickly – and horrifically – realize they are not alone. Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It’s pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the ship. They can’t remember anything: Who are they? What is their mission? With Lt. Payton staying behind to guide him via radio transmitter, Cpl. Bower ventures deep into the ship and begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft’s shocking, deadly secrets are revealed…and the astronauts find their own survival is more important than they could ever have imagined.”

“The Informant is the tale of Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), an Ivy League Ph.D. who was a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the early 1990s. The bipolar hero wound up blowing the whistle on the company’s price fixing tactics and became the highest-ranked executive to ever turn whistleblower in US history. Whitacre secretly gathered hundreds of hours of video and audio tapes over several years to present to the FBI which became one of the largest price fixing cases in history. In the story — a dark comedy / thriller in director Steven Soderbergh’s hands — Whitacre’s good deed dovetails with his own major infractions and struggle with severe bipolar disorder.”

“Joel, the owner of an extract manufacturing plant, constantly finds himself in precarious situations that steadily worsen by the minute. First, his soon-to-be floor manager acquires a serious injury in a machine malfunctioning accident. This subsequently endangers the well being of his company. Second, his personal life doesn’t fair much better when he takes the advice of his bartending friend, Dean. Dean during a drug-induced brainstorming session suggests how to test his wife’s faithfulness. Finally, compounding these catastrophes is new employee Cindy, who also happens to be a scam artist intent on milking the company for all its worth. Now, Joel must attempt to piece his company and his marriage back together, all while trying to figure out what he’s really after in life.”

“Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim focuses his probing lens on a subject that’s decidedly less urgent but no less fascinating with this look at the electric guitar featuring Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s The Edge, and The White Stripes’ Jack White. Growing up, all three guitarists realized their rebellion through music: Page was attempting to subvert the sugary sweet pop music of the 1960s, The Edge was hell-bent on making the guitar solos of the 1970s a distant memory, and White used his screeching strings to buzz out the droning bass machines of the 1980s. Later, Page makes way for Headley Grange to revisit the birthplace of “Stairway to Heaven,” The Edge digs out the original four-track rehearsals for “Where the Streets Have No Names” in Dublin, and White expresses his exuberance for revered bluesman Son House — all the while displaying their deep love for their instrument of choice by permitting the viewer a rare chance to see them refining as-yet-unreleased material. When the trio comes together for a landmark jam session, their spectacularly diverse styles and instruments become just as apparent as the shared passion that binds them all together.”

“The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father’s magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo’s father sends the ocean’s mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo’s dreams of becoming human. (Synopsis written by The Massie Twins)”

“Aliens become refugees in South Africa where they are kept isolated from any human contact. While being contained in the refuge being ignored of their welfare, their weapons become the sole interest of Multi-National United (MNU). But only one man , Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), can activate these weapons. He becomes hunted for and only one place can give him refuge, District 9. From producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) and writer/director Neil Blomkamp.”

Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renown dolphin trainer Ric OÂ’Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.

A bumbling British government minister (Tom Hollander) makes a verbal snafu during a TV interview, setting in motion this smart comedy and Sundance Film Festival hit that’s already drawing comparisons to some of the great political and absurdist comedies, including Dr. Strangelove, Wag the Dog, Thank You for Smoking and Monty Python. With razor-sharp, truly laugh-out-loud dialogue, the film pokes fun at the absurdity and ineptitude of our highest leaders. With everyone looking out for number one, and the fate of the free world at stake (but apparently incidental), the hilarious ensemble cast of characters bumbles its way through Machiavellian political dealings, across continents, and toward comic resolutions that are unforeseeable. From the acclaimed team who created the award-winning BBC comedy series “Alan Partridge” and “The Thick of It.” Also starring Peter Capaldi, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Mimi Kennedy and Steve Coogan.