Sunday Night Film Club – Boston

There are some special things to be aware of regarding this weeks film:

1) As I mentioned a few weeks ago, both on the mailing list and the club webpage, this is a special free screening. If you don’t already have a pass to get into the screening, more information on how to get one is available from the Brattle Theatre as well as the SNFC homepage.

2) A screening pass does not guarantee you a seat in the theatre, and seating is first-come, first-served. This is a “hot ticket”, so it would be wise to arrive quite early.

3) I won’t be saving a place in line for anyone, that wouldn’t be fair to the people who showed up early. No exceptions.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a line.

“Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright – the makers of Shaun of the Dead – are back together for a fabulously funny and fast-paced action-comedy. Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a top London cop who’s so good that he makes his fellow officers look bad. Banished to a sleepy, seemingly crime-free village Angel soon finds himself up to his badge in bodies, though he has a hard time convincing his new colleagues that they’re dealing with murder. The style of a Hollywood action-thriller is crossed with the sensibility of the team’s enduringly popular TV series Spaced, creating a sharp, surprising and endlessly entertaining comedy. – notes from the ICA, London”

“The talk of the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival, the newest thriller from director/co-writer Bong Joon-ho (Memories of Murder) utilizes state-of-the-art special effects to tell a tale that’s equal parts creature-feature thrill ride, comedy and poignant human drama. The idyllic landscape of the Han River suddenly turns to bedlam as a terrifying creature climbs out of the water and grabs Hyun-seo (Ko A-sung) from her father Gang-du (Song Kang-ho). The government announces that the creature is the host of an unidentified virus. Despite fearing the worst, Gang-du makes plans to infiltrate the forbidden zone to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the beast.”

This might be a popular film, so it’s probably a good idea to pre-order tickets over at Fandango.

“In 480 B.C. a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes, and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), king of the Greek city state of Sparta, leads his badly outnumbered warriors against the massive Persian army. Though certain death awaits the Spartans, their sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against their common enemy. Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) and Lynn Varley.”

“In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. Investigators (Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards) and reporters (Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey) become obsessed with learning the killer’s identity and bringing him to justice. Meanwhile, Zodiac claims victim after victim and taunts the authorities with cryptic messages, cyphers and menacing phone calls.”

A look at the career of consumer advocate Ralph Nader from wannabe presidential candidate to public pariah. Once upon a time not a long ago, Nader was one of the most admired Americans and the leader of the modern Consumer Movement. Without ever holding public office, Nader built a legislative record over the last thirty years rivaling that of any contemporary president. Many things we take for granted including seat belts, airbags, product labeling are largely due to the efforts of Ralph Nader and his citizen groups. Yet today, when most people hear the name “Ralph Nader,” they think of the man who split the vote in the 2000 election gave the country George W. Bush. As a result, despite his impeccable reputation, Nader has become a pariah even among former friends and allies. How did this happen? AN UNREASONABLE MAN traces the life and career Nader, one the most unique, important and controversial political figures of our time.

“In Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, a young Hannibal watches as his parents violently die, leaving his cherished young sister in his care. This horrific moment will soon pale in comparison to the atrocities he is forced to witness and perhaps survive as a result of. Alone and without any means of support, he is forced to live in a Soviet orphanage that once served as his familyÂ’s beloved home. He flees to Paris to find his uncle has died but his beautiful and mysterious Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) welcomes him. Showing a cunning aptitude for science, he is accepted into medical school, which serves to hone his skills and provide the tools to exact justice on the war criminals that haunt him day and night. This quest will ignite an insatiable lust within a serial killer who was not born, but made.”

“A 1920s love story about an English couple—Walter (Edward Norton), a middle-class doctor and Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class woman—who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with a local playboy (Liev Schreiber). After uncovering Kitty’s infidelity, Walter accepts a job in a Chinese village ravaged by a deadly epidemic and takes her along. The journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them new purpose in a remote and dangerous place. Written by Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia), based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by John Curran (We Don’t Live Here Anymore).”