Film and Culture Forum

The Last Hangman (2005) - followed by 2 week haitus

2008-02-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

A hangman follows his father's footsteps in the trade during politically shifting times in Britain. He comes to conclude after hanging his friend for a crime of passion that capital punishment is not an objective decision of the state to prevent and solve crime... it's an act of revenge. Powerful movie followed by discussion on capital punishment.

next two weeks (last 2 Fridays in February), we will not be meeting because our host will be vacationing in Mexico. Hope to see you the first Friday in March at 7pm, at Craig's house!

Friday January 18th at 8pm - Agnes of God

2008-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry to change the time this week, but our host has some out of town guests with whom he is going out for dinner. We'll meet at Craig's at 8pm, and watch Agnes of God, a film from the '80s starring Meg Tilly, Ann Bancroft and Jane Fonda.

Hope to see you there! :-)

Fridays - come and join us!

2008-01-21T21:03:00.001-08:00

We're continuing to meet at Craig's on Fridays at 7pm. [1417 Warren, off of S 14th] Usually, we also have a second film at 9pm. Last week, we watched and discussed A Month By the Lake starring Vanessa Redgrave and The Child, a French film.

This is your standing invitation - join us any time for this informal gathering. Leave after the first film, if you want. Bring a friend. Snacks and film choices also welcome!

Friday, January 18 - another voting pool

2008-01-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Changing to Fridays for awhile, we'll have several film choices to select from - feel free to bring a video or DVD! We'll vote on which one to watch. [Nancy's vote is for "Becoming Jane" the recent release about Jane Austin's life.

Film night is still at Craig's house, 1417 Warren [just off of 14th St. South...take Logan to 14th and head south to the end and turn left onto Warren, house is on the right, white with red brick]

Thursday January 10th - American Cousins (2003)

2008-01-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

On Thursday January 10th, we'll watch the film American Cousins:

Two American mafiosi, Gino and Settimo, take refuge in the Glasgow cafe owned by their Scottish/Italian cousin. But cousin Roberto isn't the tough guy they'd expected. His strengths are fish frying and stamp collecting, and he thinks Magnum 45s are a type of ice cream. Gino and Settimo try to repay Roberto's hospitality by chasing off a debt collector who wants his property, but their strong arm tactics alarm him and he realises they aren't the PR consultants they claimed to be.

Last week, we watched both Imaginary Crimes and Agatha Christy's Pale Horse, so this week, we may also watch Gothica, starring Halle Berry, if we have time.

Dr. Miranda Grey (Barry) is a brilliant criminal psychiatrist. However, after a auto accident, she wakes up only to find that she has been convicted for the murder of her husband Doug. With only fragmented memories of the alleged crime, she begins to dig deeper into her husband's past. Meanwhile she is being haunted by the ghost of a girl called Rachel who is seemingly trying to convey a message to her with the phrase 'not alone.'

Thursday, January 3 - viewers' choice video (vote to decide)

2007-12-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thursday January 3rd, we'll have a few people bringing a video or two - feel free - so we can decide which to watch by group vote.

At the home of Craig Wolter who has a new plasma screen home theater system (featuring HD plasma screen and surround-sound) for movie screening and discussion. At 7pm, 1417 Warren Place, Lafayette - Bring snacks or a beverage to share. :-)

In the near Future... This is England (2006)

2007-12-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Thursday at the home of Craig Wolter who has a new plasma screen home theater system (featuring HD plasma screen and surround-sound) for movie screening and discussion. At 7pm, 1417 Warren Place, Lafayette - Bring snacks to share. :-)

The film for a TBD Thursday is "This is England" :

Mods, New Romantics, and Skinheads are the major youth sub-cultures of this very English summer of 1983 and young 12-year-old Shaun is left wandering aimlessly alone and lost during the start of his school holidays, until his chance meeting with Woody and his fun and friendly Skinhead pack. Finding a new lease of life; girls, parties, Ben Sherman shirts, Doc Martin boots and shaven hairstyles young Shaun is welcomed, life during this summer holiday has got a whole lot better. That is until Combo arrives on the scene bitter, dangerous, racist, militant and psychotic life for young Shaun has just approached his first major crossroads. This is England is a look back at the early eighties of British working-class life through the eyes of young Shaun and his new gang, and dealing with the bitterness of outside influences such as racism and xenophobia, of mass unemployment and the fall out of the Falkland's War

Sunday, December 23 - Ratatouille (2007)

2007-12-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

The animated Remy is a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant's new garbage boy, the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy's family's skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans. Sunday December 23rd at 7pm.

Thursday, December 13 - Snow Cake (2006)

2007-12-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

A drama focused on the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman (Weaver) and a man (Rickman) who is traumatized after a fatal car accident. At Craig's house (featuring HD plasma screen and surround-sound), 1417 Warren Place, Lafayette - 7pm.

Monday August 6 - Bless the Child (2000)

2007-07-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's (Kim Basinger's) well-ordered, practical universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital, until one rainy night, her sister Jenna abandons her newborn, autistic daughter at her home. Maggie takes the baby in, and she becomes the daughter she never had. Six years later Jenna suddenly re-appears with a mysterious new husband, Eric, and abducts Cody. Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis (Jimmy Smits), an expert in ritual homicide and occult-related crime, takes up her cause when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently missing children. The little girl, it soon becomes clear, is more than simply "special." She manifests extraordinary powers that the forces of evil have waited centuries to control, and her abduction sparks a clash between the soldiers of good and evil that can only be resolved, in the end, by the strength of one small child and the love she inspires in those she touches.

Monday July 30 - The Boys of Baraka (2005)

2007-07-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Documenatary that follows a group of 12-year-old boys from the most violent ghettos of Baltimore to the Baraka School, an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya, where children live by strict guidelines, yet are given the freedom to grow.

Monday July 23 - Winter Passing (2005)

2007-07-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Actress Reese Holden (Deschanel) has been offered a small fortune by a book editor if she can secure for publication the love letters that her father (Harris), a reclusive novelist, wrote to her mother, who has since passed away. Returning to Michigan, Reese finds that an ex-grad student (Warner) and a would-be musician (Ferrell) have moved in with her father, who cares more about his new friends than he does about his own health and well-being.

Monday July 16th - Bobby (2006)

2007-07-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

The story of the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy who was shot in the early morning hours of June 5, 1968 in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Through it all, we see and hear RFK calling for about a better society and a better nation and 22 people in the hotel whose lives were never the same.

Written & Directed by Emelio Estevez. Starring Bobby Kennedy (as himself, archive footage), Christian Slater, Martin Sheen, Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, William H. Macy, Sharon Stone, Emelio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Helen Hunt, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Elijah Wood, Harry Belefonte and other stars. Nominated for 3 Golden Globes, winner of 3 awards.

Monday July 9th - Little Children (2006)

2007-07-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Many have recommended this movie to me, so should be good!

Little Children centers on a group of young marrieds, whose lives intersect on the playgrounds, town pools and streets of their small community in surprising and potentially dangerous ways. Starring Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connolly, Patrick Wilson. Nominated for 3 oscars, another 21 nominations and 12 awards.

Monday July 2 - For Your Consideration

2007-06-28T15:27:00.001-07:00

Film about Hollywood - how novel! No-name actors make a low-budget period drama. An anonymous post on the internet suggests that one performer is Oscar-worthy. Two more cast get Oscar-related press. A buzz in Variety and on TV prompt the studio executives to insist on changes in the script in anticipation of a blockbuster. The possibility of being nominated changes the actors' lives. Sounds a bit silly but fun.

Monday June 25 - The Science of Sleep (2006)

2007-06-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

We will watch a French film, "The Science of Sleep," at Riehle Brothers in the Boiler Room, 7pm.

Following the death of his father in Mexico, Stéphane Miroux, a shy insecure young man, agrees to come to Paris to draw closer to his widowed mother Christine. He lands a boring job at a calendar-making firm and falls in love with his charming neighbor Stéphanie. But conquering her is no bed of roses for the young man and the only solution he finds to put up with the difficulties he is going through is escape into a dream world.

The lead actor, Gael Garcia Bernal, also plays Che Guevara in "The Motorcycle Diaries."

Monday June 18th - Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

2007-06-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

The dramatization of a motorcycle road trip Che Guevara went on in his youth that showed him his life's calling. Won an oscar, among 26 wins and 34 award nominations.

Monday June 11th - Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

2007-05-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

In 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.

At Riehle Brothers, 7pm in the Boiler Room.

Thursday May 10 - The Last King of Scotland (2006)

2007-05-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

This Thursday in the Boiler Room at Riehle Brothers (7pm), we will show this highly acclaimed recent release.

In the early 1970s, Nicholas Garrigan, a young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor, comes to Uganda to assist in a rural hospital. Once there, he soon meets up with the new President, Idi Amin, who promise a golden age for the African nation. Garrigan hits it off immediately with the rabid Scotland fan, who soon offers him a senior position in the national health department and becomes one of Amin's closest advisers. However as the years pass, Garrigan cannot help but notice Amin's increasingly erratic behavior that grows beyond a legitimate fear of assassination into a murderous insanity that is driving Uganda into bloody ruin. Realizing his dire situation with the lunatic leader unwilling to let him go home, Garrigan must make some crucial decisions that could mean his death if the despot finds out. [from imdb]

Thursday May 3 - Spanglish (2004)

2007-04-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

A native Mexican woman becomes a housekeeper for an affluent yet troubled family. The result is a wittily perceptive collision of cultures and values, and a refreshingly honest look at marriage, parenting and devotion to family.

Thursday April 26 - Phone Booth (2002)

2007-04-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

A fiendish publicist finds himself being held hostage in a phone booth by an extreme moralist who watches his victim's every move through the scope of his high-power sniper rifle, while speaking to the publicist via the phone booth. The caller prides himself on using force to punish corrupt people by forcing them to admit all of their lies and sins through mental games, or killing them. Evil fights evil.

Thursday April 19 - Running with Scissors (2006)

2007-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Story about surviving a very unusual childhood in a wacky family featuring an alcoholic and an unstable parent and many bizarre relatives. Therapy (and laughs) and deep thoughts to follow. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Annette Bening, Alec Baldwin and Jill Clayburgh.

Monday April 2 - Half Nelson (2006)

2007-03-30T08:45:00.001-07:00

An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret. Nominated for several academy awards.

Monday April 9 - The Children of Men (2006)

2007-03-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Clive Owen stars as a burned-out activist plagued by infertility and the spiritual devastation of a doomed world. When his estranged wife, now the leader of an underground revolutionary group, enlists him for a mission, he finds hope and responsibility again. He is trusted to save the first pregnant woman in almost twenty years. Nominated for three Academy Awards.

Monday March 26 - The Blood Diamond (2006)

2007-03-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

This action/thriller was up for 5 academy awards and won 4 other prizes and had 12 other nominations. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times called it "one of the best movies of the year."

Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) - an ex Mercenary from Zimbabwe - and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) - a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory, a journey that could save Solomon's family and give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have. [posted on IMDb]

Monday March 19 - Dreamgirls (2006)

2007-03-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Three back-up vocals become stars, leading to competition among the group for the lead, for men and creating all kinds of drama ... story of greed, tough hate, and romance, among other things. Should generate good discussion!

Monday March 12 - Babel (2006)

2007-03-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Four stories from different places on the globe, very different cultures, intersect to show contrasts and also similarities among humanity. Middle east, far east, Latin America and the US are all interconnected in our global society, in spite of their distinctives.

March 5th at 7pm - Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

2007-03-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

We are meeting at 7pm in the "Boiler Room" at Riehle's Tavern and Athletic Club [on Concord, near Teal, by the Tippecanoe Mall], we'll see some acclaimed films and discuss them for 30-40 minutes, afterwards.

Winner of two academy awards this year, Little Miss Sunshine depicts a dysfunctional and particularly quirky family is both amusing and inspiring - not the usual victorious American film of heroes but one about love and loyalty in the midst of everyday failures.

February 26th - The Departed (2006)

2007-03-01T10:02:00.001-08:00

Winning several academy awards including Best Picture and Highest Achievement for a Director (Martin Scorsese), The Departed (2006) is a story of Boston police facing the local organized crime syndicate, with two undercover agents on each side of the law.

Monday, February 12 - Identity and Bringing Down the House

2007-02-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

The films for Monday February 12, hosted by Jsyn the bartender:

8pm - Identity

10pm - Bringing Down the House

Monday January 29 - Wedding Crashers and Predator

2007-01-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

8pm: Wedding Crashers (2005) - two swingers who crash weddings to take advantage of the romantic atmosphere to pick up women find themselves at odds with one another when one of them meets and falls for one of the women.

10pm: Predator (2005) - One young girl gets singled out in the park to be the next victim of a child-molester.

At Riehle Bros Tavern, on the big screen.

Monday January 22 - Old School (2003) and Crank (2006)

2007-01-19T09:06:00.001-08:00

Well, we're deviating away from the "culture" element of this forum, because we have slated two "guy movies" with action-adventure and reckless comedy rather than choosing them for depth of thought. Although last week's vigil ante movie Boondock Saints left us with a lot to ponder about the justice system and ethics. So some of these might also surprise us in their fodder for discussion. This week, Jason has picked out two flicks I've not seen, so I'll have to give a summary based on what I've read on IMDb:

At 8pm: Old School (2003) is a comedy about four guys that try to recapture their college years.
at 10pm: Crank (2006) is about a professional assassin who has been poisoned by his target and who can't let his blood pressure drop or he will die. Sounds a little like DOA.

Again, we're at Riehle's Tavern on the BIG screen. Hope you can make it!

Monday January 15 - Boondock Saints

2007-01-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

This vigil ante movie Boondock Saints leaves us with a lot to ponder about the justice system and the ethics of taking things into one's own hands. Is God involved? What does that mean? How is this abused at times?

Again, we're at Riehle's Tavern on the BIG screen. Hope you can make it!

CHANGE IN TIME AND VENUE - Mondays at Riehle Bros.

2007-01-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

NOTICE: Due to new management at Hunter's Pub South, the Film and Culture Forum will not meet there after January 11th. Our new meeting place is Riehle Bros. Tavern and Athletic Club 2270 Concord Road on Monday nights at 8pm and 10pm on the BIG screen. [located on Concord Road, just south of Teal Road, near Tippecanoe Mall, about 2 miles north of Hunter's Pub] The first at this location, Monday, January 15th will feature 'Revenge of the Nerds' just for yuks at 8pm and 'Boondock Saints' for more reflection, action and adventure, at 10pm.

January 11th -- Goodbye Lenin! (2003)

2007-01-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

A young East German man protests against the Communist regime and his mother, a devoted Socialist who has lost her husband, watches the police arrest him, suffering a heart attack and falling into a coma. Months later, the Berlin Wall and Communist Regime does not exist anymore. When the mother awakes from her coma, she has to avoid excitement. So the son tries to set up the GDR again for her in their flat.... but the world has changed.

January 4th -- Baghdad ER (2006)

2007-01-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

This written about the documentary by someone who was stationed in Baghdad:

Most people think they know what’s going on in Iraq and

Afghanistan

because they watch CNN. No matter how hard you try you can't turn simple numbers (17000+ injured; 2100+ dead) into reality. The truth is hidden from us by the media and the government. This documentary will show you the inside story, without pulling any punches. Take your blinders off and watch the truth. You won't regret it.

January Film Line-Up

2006-12-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

January's films come to us at the recommendation of Amanda Ruhl, another film buff. I hope you can enjoy the following, with us during January, exact dates/order forthcoming:

Baghdad ER (2006)
Having worked at the "Baghdad ER" I think this is an outstanding film. When I first saw it I was just sure it would be sensationalistic and exploitative. I was wrong. This film does have its graphic moments but is nowhere near as graphic as it could have been. Initially I also thought that the film would be anti-war. As I watched the film I was pleasantly surprised to note that it had no political message whatsoever. The film has no narrator and the only words are those spoken by the people actually in the documentary from Medics and nurses to physicians and the patients themselves. The film will, therefore, be different things to different people depending on who watches it and in what frame of mind. One person could call it anti-war where another could call it propaganda. I believe it to be neither and the mark of a great documentary. As a physician in the Army I was uplifted by this film realistically showing the work we do in Iraq and elsewhere in support of our front line soldiers. This film shows this beautifully and should be seen by everyone. The compassion for the soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, and civilians treated at the CSH is real and happens there every hour of every day. [review by engineer307 on imdb]

Goodbye Lenin! (2003)
East Germany, the year 1989: A young man protests against the regime. His mother watches the police arresting him and suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. Some months later, the GDR does not exist anymore and the mother awakes. Since she has to avoid every excitement, the son tries to set up the GDR again for her in their flat. But the world has changed a lot. [summary by Benjamin Stello on imdb]

Born into Brothels (2004)
Admist the apparent growing prosperity of India, there is a dark underbelly of poverty of another side of the nation that is little known. This film is a chronicle of filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's efforts to show that world of Calcutta's red light district. To do that, they inspired a special group of children of the prostitutes of the area to photograph the most reluctant subjects of it. As the kids excel in their new found art, the filmmakers struggle to help them have a chance for a better life away from the miserable poverty that threatens to crush their dreams. [summary by Kenneth Chisholm on imdb]
Don't miss this inspiring jewel of a film that concretely gives hope and shows us life through the photography and vivacity of children, and shows what a huge difference one person can make. [review by Dilip Barman on imdb]

Waiting for Guffman (1996)
A town of Blaine, Missouri is preparing for celebrations of its 150th anniversary. Corky St.Clair, an off-off-off-off-off-Broadway director is putting together an amateur theater show about the town's history, starring a local dentist, a couple of travel agents, a Dairy Queen waitress, and a car repairman. He invites a Broadway theater critic Mr. Guffman to see the opening night of the show. [summary by Piotr Zembrowski on imdb]

And the following might be added to this list:

Last letters home : voices of American troops from the battlefields of Iraq (2004)
Another Iraq documentary, based on letters of US soldiers, a tribute to American troops killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Christmas Break

2006-12-15T15:38:00.000-08:00

Due to the large number of Christmas parties scheduled at Hunter's Pub South, we will take the rest of December off from this forum. We will resume in January with a new series.

December 14 - The Motorcycle Diaries

2006-12-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Before graduating from medical school, young Che Guevara and his friend, Alberto Granado, hop on a motorcycle to travel through South America before beginning a medical residency in a lepor colony. In the process they encounter the injustice of poverty and discover more of the world that they could not have learned from a textbook. Guevara records his travels in a diary, which reveal the daily influences that deepen his convictions that have made him so famous.

December 7 - An Inconvenient Truth

2006-12-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Former U.S. Vice President and Presidential Nominee Al Gore voices his concerns on global warming in An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Using scientific data and recent events ranging from the melting of massive amounts of ice in Greenland, Antarctica and the North Pole to Hurricane Katrina as as rationale for his cause, Gore poses a compelling argument for the future dangers of global warming and describes the steps he thinks can be made at the government and individual level to prevent this from happening.

November 30 - Brassed Off

2006-11-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

Brassed Off (1996) is about an English coal mining village with a brass band. The union tries to save the coal mine - closing it would also mean the end of the town's brass band. They enter a national competition and fight in many ways to represent and uphold the working class. Starring Ewan McGregor

November 16 - The Inside Man

2006-11-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

The Inside Man (2006) is a Spike Lee film about a tough cop up against a clever bank robber. Unexpectedly, an interesting twist develops, a power broker with a hidden agenda, who injects even more instability into the precarious situation. A fun movie starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster

November 23 - Thanksgiving

2006-11-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

No film showing this week due to the holiday. Hunter's Pub closes at 2pm.

November 9th – The Big Night

2006-11-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

The Big Night (1996) portrays two Italian immigrant brothers who open an Italian restaurant in America. One is an uncompromising chef and the other a businessman, handling the financial aspects. They manage to keep it afloat with their high ideals, in spite of few patrons other than a poor artist who pays with his paintings. The owner of the nearby successful restaurant offers to help organize a special benefit at their restaurant to keep the restaurant open. It’s a tiny bit like Babette’s Feast in the quest for noble eating as a fine art and features Minnie Driver, Marc Anthony, Liev Schreiber, Ian Holm.

November 2 - The Dish

2006-10-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

The Dish (2000) is about a remote Australian antenna that is capable of allowing the world to see the first steps on the moon, live coverage. The story focuses on the pressures to get the dish running and glitches that arise to prevent the it from working. Starring Sam Neill.

Craig Wolter's recommendations

2006-10-29T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well, everyone, we're going to see four films in the next four weeks that have come recommended to us by our friend Craig Wolter. They are (in no particular order):

Gathering Storm (2002) is about Winston Churchill (played by Albert Finney) , his rise to power in the 1930s, sounding the alarm about Hitler and Germany and subsequent events. Sounds very intriguing!

Brassed Off (1996) is about an English coal mining village with a brass band. The union tries to save the coal mine - closing it would also mean the end of the town's brass band. They enter a national competition and fight in many ways to represent and uphold the working class. Starring Ewan McGregor

The Insider (1999) is about a whistle-blower (played by Russell Crowe) who calls a tobacco company on its lies about the dangers of its product. CBS news and corporation get involved in the expose' (starring Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer).

The Dish (2000) is about a remote Australian antenna that plays a key part in the world being able to see the first steps on the moon, in live coverage. The story focuses on the pressures to get it running and glitches that arise to prevent the dish from working. Starring Sam Neill.

October 26 - The Young Catherine

2006-10-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

The Young Catherine is the story of a young woman who becomes queen in Russia. She has to overcome many obstacles, including sacrificing herself (among other things, accepting a loveless marriage) for the sake of the greater good of her country. Story of one woman's rise to meet great responsibilities.

Starring Julia Ormond, Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Plummer

October 19th

2006-10-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Angel on my Shoulder is a classic film from 1946 starring Paul Muni:
A mobster gets a second chance at life (returning to earth after death) as a mayoral candidate. In his new life, he has to make some hard choices... whether or not to use his new position to further his old cause or undo his corrupt life by making a positive difference in the world. What do his choices mean for his soul? A very thought-provoking picture about how our choices in life affect those around us. Can people change their souls? What choices do we have and not have?

October 12th

2006-09-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday October 12th, the film to view and discuss is The Last Samurai. A childish, rude Civil War vet is shipped off to Japan, commissioned to bring American technological progress to the backward country. He finds a rude awakening and gradually develops a respect for Japanese culture in all its richness, learning to sacrifice himself for others and a higher cause. Starring Tom Cruise [in an unusually deep, strong performance]

October 5th

2006-09-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

Clean and Sober is a story of a man's confrontation with his own demons, including alcholism. After hitting bottom, he reluctantly embarks on a journey out of self-destruction into wholeness, gradually facing life's brutal reality, looking to be a positive force rather than self-absorbed and escapist. Starring Michael Keaton

September 28th

2006-09-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

This week, September 28th, we will watch and discuss The Bonfire of the Vanities, a story of two characters grappling with the American Dream coupled with various kinds of self-destruction and emptiness. A wealthy, powerful Wall Street socialite is broken by a media firestorm and other trials leading to his life transformation. A newspaper reporter realizes that his drive to be famous and recognized has destroyed someone's life. Through forced self-examination, they become far better, more selfless and humane characters.

Starring Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis.

Series on Growing Character - Can People REALLY Change?

2006-09-18T13:48:00.002-07:00

The order will depend on how the films arrive in our possession, but here are the likely titles we'll watch and discuss at the Film and Culture Forum, during fall 2006:

Angel on my Shoulder – a mobster posing as a mayoral candidate tries to undo his corrupt life by making a positive difference in the world in his "second chance"

Riding the Bus with my Sister – a woman reluctantly sacrifices for her mentally challenged sister and finds a new freedom and perspective on life

Many Faces of Eve – a multiple personality case faces issues from childhood and finds healing

A Walk to Remember – two North Carolina teens are thrown together after one gets into trouble and has to complete community service

San Francisco – story of life before and after the great San Francisco earthquake devastation (not unlike Hurricane Katrina) where lives were changed

Bonfire of the Vanities – financial master’s life unravels when his girlfriend hits a boy with her car and the newspapers have a field day, exploiting his life and exposing various situations and false values

The Last Samurai – a drunken, careless, American military advisor embraces and gradually understands and appreciates the Samurai culture he was originally hired to change, becoming a person of selfless courage

Young Catherine – a German princess is chosen to marry the heir to the Russian Throne, facing plots and intrigues against her, maturing into a person capable of seeing and working for the greater good

I’ll Cry Tomorrow – road and constant struggle of one woman from stardom to alcoholism, through several marriages to sobriety and health

28 Days – a hot-shot newspaper columnist must enter a rehab center and gradually progresses from denial to some sense of maturity and caring for others and sense of community

Clean and Sober – another good addiction recovery story