June 2013

Don Jon

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza

Directed by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Synopsis: Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to “pull” a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn’t compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she’s determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

May 2013

Kings of Summer

Starring: Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Moises Arias, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Erin Moriarty, Nick Robinson, Angela Trimbur, Gabriel Basso

Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Synopsis: Joe, Patrick and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio – who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Free from their parents’ rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship as each boy learns to appreciate the fact that family – whether it is the one you’re born into or the one you create – is something you can’t run away from.

March 2013

The Story of Luke

Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Seth Green, Cary Elwes and Kristin Bauer

Directed by: Alonso Mayo

Synopsis:

Luke, 25, is autistic and has lived a sheltered life with his grandparents. But his world is turned upside down when his grandmother dies and he is forced to live with his dysfunctional relatives who have no patience for him or his senile grandfather, who they quickly force into a nursing home. Luke is left with his grandfather’s final semi-coherent words: ‘Get a job. Find a girl. Live your own life. Be a man!’ For the first time in his life, Luke has a mission. He is about to embark on a quest.

February 2013

Old Goats

Starring: Britton Crosley, Bob Burkholder, David VanderWal, Benita Staadecker, Gail Shackel, Steve Stolee

Directed by: Taylor Guterson

Synopsis: Old Goats is the often hilarious and always heartfelt story of three older men who refuse to go quietly into the night of retirement and old age. Cantankerous and set in their ways, each man must come to terms with the sunset years in his own unique fashion. Shot in and around Seattle, Old Goats finds humor in the everyday foibles of retirement life, providing a refreshing perspective on the golden years through the eyes of three men who don’t feel (or act) anywhere close to as old as they look.

February 2013

Emperor

Starring: Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones, Eriko Hatsune, Toshiyuki Nishida

Directed by: Peter Webber

Synopsis: A gripping tale of love and honor forged between fierce enemies of war, Emperor unfolds the story, inspired by true events, of the bold and secret moves that won the peace in the shadows of postwar Japan.

Matthew Fox (World War Z, Alex Cross, “Lost”) joins with Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln, No Country for Old Men, The Fugitive, Hope Springs), newcomer Eriko Hatsune, and award-winning Japanese star Toshiyuki Nishida to bring to life the American occupation of Japan in the perilous and unpredictable days just after Emperor Hirohito’s World War II surrender. As General Douglas MacArthur (Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of a foreign nation, he assigns an expert in Japanese culture – and psychological warfare – General Bonner Fellers (Fox), to covertly investigate the looming question hanging over the country: should the Japanese Emperor, worshiped by his people but accused of war crimes, be punished or saved? Caught between the high-wire political intrigue of his urgent mission and his own impassioned search for the mysterious school teacher (Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan, Fellers can be certain only that the tricky subterfuge about to play out will forever change the history of two nations and his heart.

January 2013

Side Effects

Starring: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones,

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Synopsis: A provocative thriller about Emily and Martin, a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily’s psychiatrist – intended to treat anxiety – has unexpected side effects.

January 2013

Stand Up Guys

Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Julianna Margulie and Alan Arkin

Directed by: Fisher Stevens

Synopsis: Val is released from prison after serving 28 years for refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend, Doc, is there to pick him up, and the two soon reunite with another old pal, Hirsch. Their bond is as strong as ever, and they reflect on glories gone by. And despite their age, their capacity for mayhem is still very much alive and well, and bullets fly as they make a valiant effort to compensate for the decades of crime, drugs and sex they’ve missed. But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret: he’s been put in an impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and the time for him to find an acceptable alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys’ reunion, their position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once and for all.