State Theater
Famed theater architect C. Howar
d Crane, who also designed the Fox Theater in Detroit, designed the State Theater in downtown Ann Arbor- learn more and get location information at About The State Theater
The Kid with a Bike
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, the deeply moving new film by the Dardenne brothers (L’enfant, Rosetta) delves into the emotional life of troubled 11-year-old Cyril (newcomer Thomas Doret). When his father (Jérémie Renier) abandons him, Cyril obsessively searches for his bicycle – placing his last bit of hope in this symbol of their relationship. Almost by accident, he becomes the ward of a kind hairdresser (Cécile de France – Clint...
read moreMonsieur Lazhar
At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed...
read moreDamsels In Distress
A trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of the Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind...
read moreThe Royal Tenenbaums
Midnight Movies are only $6! Director Wes Anderson and his longtime friend and writing partner Owen Wilson follow up Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998) with this similarly offbeat comedy about a dysfunctional family reunion. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful attorney who had three children with his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), an archaeologist. Each of the Tenenbaum kids was a precocious genius: Chas (Ben Stiller) made a killing as a child investor. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior tennis champ and three-time U.S....
read moreWet Hot American Summer
Midnight Movies are only $6! 1980s teen comedies finally get the parody they so richly deserve with Wet Hot American Summer, the first feature film from writer/director David Wain and co-screenwriter Michael Showalter, formerly of the sketch comedy troupe the State. It’s the last day of the summer season at Camp Firewood, and as camp director Beth (Janeane Garofalo) prepares to wrap things up, the staff of teenage counselors realize this is their last chance to do something about the summer romances that have been brewing for the past...
read moreElena
Russian maestro Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Elena harks back to classic noir thrillers. Elena, a former nurse from a modest background, is married to older, wealthy Vladimir. Each has adult children from previous marriages. Though Vladimir is estranged from his wild daughter, Elena perks up when she visits her aimless son and his family in their cramped apartment. Vladimir resents Elena’s requests for financial aid for her unemployed relatives. As his health declines, Vladimir makes plans to leave everything to his daughter. Elena must decide...
read moreBran Nue Dae
Destined to become your favorite Aboriginal musical road movie, Bran Nue Dae is a foot stomping tour-de-force. Loosely based on a beloved Australian musical and directed by Rachel Perkins, it’s set against the backdrop of spectacular Western Australia. Though his mother is pointing him toward the priesthood, young Willie rebels against his Catholic boarding school in Perth and heads for his homeland in Broome, 1500 miles away. With Father Benedictus (the exuberantly deranged Geoffrey Rush) in hot pursuit, Willie makes his way north,...
read moreYour Sister’s Sister
Jack (Mark Duplass) is mourning the death of his brother and struggling to get his life on track. His best friend Iris (a charming Emily Blunt) intervenes and sends Jack to her family’s holiday pad in the islands outside of Seattle, for a little solo R and R. But Jack is unexpectedly welcomed by Iris’ sister Hanna (Rosemarie Dewitt), who has retreated to the house to mend her wounds over a recent breakup… using shots of tequila. Jack joins in and a one-night stand ensues, but trouble begins the next morning when Iris shows up...
read moreBonnie and Clyde
This iconic 1967 crime film, directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, was written by 1958 U of M graduate David Newman and his frequent collaborator Robert Benton. A landmark film, and one of the first of the “New Hollywood” era, this depiction of the lives of the Depression-era gangsters broke cinematic taboos and was popular with the younger generation. After Bonnie and Clyde, filmmakers had fewer qualms about presenting sex and violence. The film won two Academy Awards, and was rated 27th on the American Film...
read moreJuan of the Dead
More than just the first Cuban zombie comedy, JUAN OF THE DEAD is a twisted treat from the fertile imagination of Alejandro Brugues. 50 years after Castro’s Revolution, the citizens of Havana have been turned into shuffling, mindless zombies…but who can tell the difference? Only Juan and his ragtag squad. State officials insist the zombie epidemic consists of isolated incidents incited by US government-backed dissidents. Juan and his pals beat back hordes of flesh-eaters with the help of their survival machete skills, plus a...
read more28 Hotel Rooms
Special Guest Appearance! While travelling for work in a city far from their homes, a novelist and a corporate accountant find themselves in bed together. Although she’s married, and he’s seeing someone, their intense attraction turns a one-night stand into an unexpected relationship and a respite from the obligations of daily life. Through a series of moments – some profound, some silly, some intensely intimate – we see a portrait of an evolving relationship that could become the most significant one of their lives. Chris Messina...
read moreSuperman
This 1978 film helped establish the superhero movie genre. It depicts the origin of Superman, from his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton to his youth in Smallville, USA. Disguised as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, our hero has a romance with Lois Lane while battling the villainous Lex Luthor. Richard Donner directed Christopher Reeve in the main role. After Mario Puzo (The Godfather) delivered a 500 page script, Robert Benton and UM graduate David Newman were hired for rewrite work. The result is a pre-digital extravaganza with thrilling...
read moreBeyond the Black Rainbow
Beyond the Black Rainbow is a sci-fi fever dream inspired by director Panos Cosmatos’ memories of midnight movies and Saturday morning cartoons. Within the mysterious Arboria Institute, a disturbed girl is held captive by a doctor in search of inner peace. Her mind is controlled by a sinister technology. To escape, she must journey through the darkest reaches of the Institute… Slant magazine tells us: “Beyond the Black Rainbow has a visually dazzling and insanely dense look all its own, something like a trippy grindhouse homage...
read moreThe Ambassador
A decadent white diplomat arrives in the Central African Republic. He has recently purchased a diplomatic passport. Presenting himself as a rich do-gooder setting up a match factory to employ pygmies, he actually schemes to gain access to diamond reserves. Danish director Mads Brügger pulled off a similar stunt in North Korea in The Red Chapel; in what he calls “performative journalism,” he dresses the part and acts as an agent provocateur. Provocative this film certainly is, with its Borat-like use of an oversize persona to interact with...
read moreTeddy Bear
Winner of the World Cinema Directing Award for Drama at the Sundance Film Festival, Danish director Mads Matthiesen’s first feature is a touching story about a gentle giant’s search for love. Bodybuilder Dennis is a gruff, tatooed man-mountain who, at 38, has yet to leave his mama’s controlling grasp. He’s socially awkward and seems most relaxed when working out. Dennis lies to his petulant mother and travels to Thailand in the hopes of meeting someone. He begins a hesitant flirtation with the widowed owner of a gym, and is soon...
read moreHipsters
A smash success in Russia and winner of that country’s top film awards, Hipsters is a candy-colored musical set in the drab Soviet Union of the 1950s. The movie sets to music the story of Mels, a strait-laced young Communist party member who falls for an adorable poodle skirt-wearing Hipster. Casting caution and his grey uniform to the wind, he barters on the street for a saxophone and a snappy checkered suit. But as the Hipsters start growing up, they realize life isn’t always a song and dance. Directed by Valery Todorovsky. 130...
read moreOn the Ice
In Barrow, Alaska, Inupiaq teenagers Qalli and Aivaaq have grown up in a tight-knit community defined by ancient traditions, hip-hop and snowmobiles. On a seal hunt with their friend James, a tussle turns violent, and James is killed. Panic-stricken and with no one to blame but themselves, Qalli and Aivaaq lie and declare the death an accident. As Barrow roils with grief, Qalli stumbles through guilt-filled days. In this suspenseful feature-film debut by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, the snowy Arctic plains embody Qalli’s lost innocence as...
read moreHeadhunters
A slick Norwegian thriller not for the faint of heart. Roger Brown is a corporate recruiter with an expensive wife. Despite their membership in the Norwegian 1%, the couple is hard up for cash. Roger gets into a little art theft, using information from job candidates to rob them of their masterpieces. But when he tries to steal a Rubens from a suave Dane who turns out to be a former mercenary (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of Game of Thrones), Roger meets his match. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill heist escalates into a ferocious game of cat and...
read moreBullhead
Perhaps the year’s most stunning international debut, Michael R. Roskam’s Bullhead is a harrowing tale of revenge, redemption and fate. Domineering cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts in a ferocious breakout performance), constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafioso meat trader. When an investigating federal agent is assassinated and a woman from his traumatic past resurfaces, Jacky must confront his demons and face the far-reaching consequences of his decisions. Acclaimed...
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