February 2010
FILM
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns '
UTEP Cinema Novo Art and Foreign Film Series — Union Cinema, Union Building East, First Floor. Film showings are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is $2 ($1 for UTEP faculty, staff, military and students with valid ID). Free popcorn offered. Ticket sales at the door begin 30 minutes before showtime. Schedule subject to change. Information: Marina, 747-5481 or mmmonsisvais@utep.edu.
• Jan. 29-30 — “A Single Man.” In 1962 Los Angeles, a British college professor (Colin Firth) struggles to find meaning after the death of his longtime partner.
• Feb. 5-6 — “The September Issue.” The September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine weighed nearly five pounds and was the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. This film tells the story of legendary Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her larger-than-life team of editors creating the issue.
• Feb. 12-13 — “Up in the Air.” Falsely compassionate outplacement expert Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) lives out of a suitcase and loves every second of it. When his boss hires Natalie, she develops a method of video conferencing that will allow termination without ever leaving the office — essentially threatening the existence Bingham cherishes.
• Feb. 19-20 — “The Hurt Locker.” An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat.
• Feb. 26-27 — “Precious.” Abused by her mother, raped by her father, Claireece Precious Jones grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. An intense story of adversity and the mechanisms to cope with it.
Impressionism film series – El Paso Museum of Art, One Arts Festival Plaza, will hosts a free series of documentaries and lectures on film through March 7 in conjunction with the exhibit “Impressionism on Print.” The films, which range in length from 24 minutes to one hour, will show continuously during regular museum hours in Ginger Francis Seminar Room. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (extended hours 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Information: 532-1707.
Documentary Series:
• Jan. 26-30: “The Impressionists: Toulouse-Lautrec”
• Feb. 2-7: “Impressionists on the Seine”
Rosamond Bernier-Live at the Met Lecture “French Impressionism” Series:
• Feb. 9-14: “The Cast of Characters”
• Feb. 16-21: “Modern Art and Modern Manners”
• Feb. 23-26: “Paris by Day and by Night”
• March 3-7: “An Accessible Paradise.”
African-American Month ‘Film Night’ — A series of films featuring African-American themes are 6:30 p.m. Mondays at UTEP Language Arts Building, Room 319 as part of UTEP’s African-American History Month events. All screenings are free. Information: 747-8650.
• Feb. 1 — “The Pursuit of Happyness”
• Feb. 8 — ”Tupac Resurrection”
• Feb. 15 — “Stax Records”
• Feb. 22 — “Good Hair”
‘Fast Food Nation’ — The documentary discussing the social and environmental consequences the nation’s fast food habit is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, as part of the “Hoy Topic Wednesday” film series at Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. Dr. Elizabeth Walsh, Professor of Biological Sciences at UTEP, will introduce the film. Admission is free. Information: 532-7273.
Film Salon — The Film Salon at Trinity First United Methodist Church, 801 N. Mesa (at Yandell), continues its series highlighting the career of Carol Lombard with her 1936 film “My Man Godfrey” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, in Resler Hall. Admission is free. Nursery available with two-day advance reservation. Information: 533-2674 or filmsalon.org.
In this mid-Depression comedy, Lombard plays the happy-go-lucky daughter of a wealthy New York family who picks up the homeless “forgotten man” William Powell as part of a high-society scavenger hunt. After Powell dresses down the partygoers for their inconsideration for the inhabitants of Manhattan’s lower depths, Lombard feels ashamed and hires him as her family’s butler.
Upcoming films in the series include “Nothing Sacred (March 6) and her final film, Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 classic, “To Be or Not To Be,” (April 3).
Arthouse Jewish Film Series — El Paso Jewish Federation and UTEP’s Jewish American Studies program hosts the film series 10:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, at UTEP’s Rubin Center for Fine Arts. Three award-winning films are featured with discussion by Dr. Ezra Cappell at 3:15 with Dr. Ezra Cappell.
Admission: $12 per feature ($8 UTEP students with ID); $20 entire series ($14 UTEP students). Advance purchase recommended; seating is limited. Information: 584-4437 or jewishelpaso.org.
Films are “Blessed is the Match, The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh” at 10:30 a.m.; “39 Pounds of Love” at 12:15 p.m.; and “A Matter of Size” at 1:45 p.m.
‘Nightmare in Las Cruces’ — The documentary about New Mexico’s worst crime, directed by Charles Minn opens Wednesday, Feb. 10, at Cineport 10, 700 South Telshor in Las Cruces, for a nine-day or more run. The film is about the 1990 incident when two killers walked into the Las Cruces Bowl and shot seven victims several times at close range, including children, before stealing several thousand dollars from the safe. The crime remains unsolved. Information/showtimes: (575) 521-9360.
Pax Christi Film Series — The series presents three short films “Invisible Children,” “The Rescue” and “Together We Are Free” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21 at Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services’ Mother Teresa Center, 2400 E. Yandell (between Piedras and Cotton). Hosted by Pax Christi El Paso and the Peace & Justice Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. Admission is free, donations welcome. Information: 532-0527 or 497-0384.
These films document different aspects of the horrifying reality of abducted children forced to fight in a rebel army against the Ugandan government. They focus on children’s efforts to avoid abduction, negotiations to free captured children, and a remarkable protest staged by youth from around the world.
Holocaust Museum Cinema Sundays — El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center, 715 Oregon, hosts free showings of Holocaust, genocide and racism-related films at 2 p.m. the last Sunday of the month. Age 18 and younger not permitted without parent or guardian. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Information: 351-0048, ext. 24 or maribel@elpasoholocaustmuseum.org. Web: elpasoholocaustmuseum.org.
The Feb. 28 screening is “The Reader” (2008). Kate Winslet received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a woman who goes to work as a guard at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.
Fountain Theatre — 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 1/2 block south of the plaza in Mesilla. The historic theater, operated by the Mesilla Valley Film Society, features films at 7:30 p.m. nightly, plus 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Foreign language films include subtitles. Admission: $7 ($6 seniors and students with ID; all seats for matinees; $5 society members and children); $5 on Wednesday. Information, schedule: (575) 524-8287 or mesillavalleyfilm.org.
• Jan 29-Feb 4 — “Red Cliff.” John Woo’s first Chinese film since 1992 is based on the historic war in 208 A.D. marking the end of the Chinese Han dynasty. Zhou Yu, an adviser to Sun Quan, is enlisted by a rival faction of soldiers governed by Liu Bei to defeat the imperious Cao Cao. Rated R.
• Feb 5-11 — “An Education.” A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Rated PG-13.
• Feb 12-18 — “The Drummer.” Sid, the rebellious son of Kwan, a controlling and savage triad boss in Hong Kong, has to flee to Taiwan upon enraging his father’s adversary, a powerful tycoon and underground business leader. Hiding out in the mountains, Sid encounters a group of Zen drummers.
• Feb 19-25 — “Song of Sparrows.” Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s spiritual fable about Karim (Reza Naji), an impoverished farmer who lives in a rural village with his wife, Narges (Maryam Akbari), and three children. He loses his soul, only to regain it after a season in hell during which he succumbs to the temptations of the material world. Rated PG.
• Feb 26-March 4 — “In Search of Beethoven.” Director Phil Grabsky traces the composer’s life from his youth in Bonn as the son of a court musician, through his heyday as the greatest virtuoso of early 19th-century Vienna.
CinéMatinee Film Series — Films with western, rural or New Mexico themes (as well as other special selections) are shown at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Fountain Theatre, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 1/2 block south of the plaza in Mesilla. Admission: $4 ($1 for Mesilla Valley Film Society members), unless otherwise listed. Information: (575) 524-8287 (leave message) or mesillavalleyfilm.org.
• Feb. 6 - “Whale Rider.” One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2003. Pai, age 12, is convinced that she is a tribal leader, and sets about to prove it despite the discouragement of her grandfather and the male tradition of leadership in her New Zealand Maori tribe. Rated PG-13
• Feb. 13 — “Once” (2006). Glen Hansard portrays a street musician in Dublin who plays his own songs at night and the ones people like to hear during the day. A pretty Czech immigrant hears him on the street and strikes up a conversation that leads to bigger things for the musician. Rated R.
• Feb. 20 — “Young Guns II” (1990). Made in New Mexico. The sequel opens circa 1950 with an old man telling his story to a lawyer at the edge of White Sands National Monument. The old man wants to arrange a meeting with the governor of the state and get a full pardon for killing 21 men. Why? He says that he’s the real Billy the Kid. The remainder of the movie is told in flashback with Billy The Kid (Emilio Estevez) and his gang of outlaws. Rated PG-13.
• Feb. 27 — “The Well” (1951). Nominated for two Academy Awards. Based on a true story that took place in April 1949, the film surprised many when it was not among those blacklisted during the McCarthy era. An African American kindergarten child goes missing. Witnesses recall seeing a stranger buying the child a flower. The man turns out to be the brother of the town’s leading employer.
New Mexico Museum of Space History — Alamogordo, N.M. The museum’s Tombaugh IMAX Dome Theater presents:
• “Molecules to the Max” (11 a.m., 1, 3 and 5 p.m. daily). The animated film takes the audience into the innermost workings of the cosmos through the adventures of an oxygen atom named Oxy and friends Hydro and Hydra.
• “Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag” (noon, 2 and 4 p.m. daily). Following a young F-15 fighter pilot through Red Flag, the final training phase before pilots are sent into actual combat, this giant screen film is the closest audiences will ever get to a ride in the world’s greatest fighter jet.
Tickets: $6 ($5.50 for seniors and military; $4.50 ages 4-12). Ages 3 and under free for all shows. Information: (877) 333-6589 or (575) 437-2840 or nmspacemuseum.org.
Jay’s Film Forecast — Film historian Jay Duncan prepared this list of top monthly “Coming Attractions” for movie fans, listed by studio and release date. Release dates are subject to change.
Feb. 5:
• Dear John (Screen Gems) — Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
• Frozen (Anchor Bay) — Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, Emma Bell. Directed by Adam Green.
Feb. 12:
• Beauty and the Beast (Buena Vista) — Re-release of Disney’s 1991 animated feature. First time in 3D. Featuring the voices of Robby Benson, Paige O’Hara, Angela Lansbury. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise.
• My Name Is Khan (Fox Searchlight) — Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Sheetal Menou. Directed by Karan Johar.
• Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox 2000) — Logan Lerman, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan. Directed by Chris Columbus.
• A Prophet (Sony Classics) — Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif. Directed by Jacques Audiard.
• Valentine’s Day (New Line) — Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway. Directed by Garry Marshall.
• The Wolfman (Universal) — Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Joe Johnston. Postponed from Spring 2009.
Feb. 19:
• From Paris With Love (Lionsgate) — John Travolta, Amber Rose Revah, Jonathon Rhys Meyers. Directed by Pierre Morel.
• Shutter Island (Paramount) — Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo. Directed by Marin Scorsese.
Feb. 26:
• Cop Out (Warner Bros.)—Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Jason Lee. Directed by Kevin Smith.
• The Crazies (Overture Films) — Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphant, Danielle Panabaker. Directed by Breck Eisner.
• The Yellow Handkerchief (Samuel Goldwyn Co.) — Maria Bello, William Hurt, Kristen Stewart. Directed by Udayan Prasad.
DVD Releases
Feb. 2
• Amelia / PG
• Adam / PG-13
• Love Happens / PG-13
• Zombieland / R
Feb. 9
• A Serious Man / R
• Couples Retreat / PG-13
• The Time Traveler’s Wife / PG-13
Feb. 16
• Coco Before Chanel / PG-13
• Law Abiding Citizen / R
Feb. 23
• Motherhood / PG-13
• The Informant / R
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