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he comedy hit of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival is the irreverent tale of one teacher’s overzealous quest to mount a high school musical. Steve Coogan stars as Dana Marsch, a failed actor turned high school drama teacher. Shortchanged in the talent department, Dana still harbors ambitions and passions. At work, that is; his personal life, with his dissatisfied wife (Catherine Keener) and their border (David Arquette), leaves much to be desired. With his department under threat of closure, Dana conceives a sequel to Shakespeare’s Hamlet—a lighthearted musical theatre extravaganza that will disdain both political correctness and dramatic credibility. Despite objections from school officials and outrage in the community, Dana will not be denied his freedom of artistic expression. Co-starring Amy Poehler and Elisabeth Shue. Directed by Andrew Fleming (Dick, The Craft), who co-wrote the screenplay with Pam Brady (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Team America: World Police).

For this week’s show, we are co-hosting this event with the DC Indie Film Meetup Group. As we are likely to have a large combined group, we advise everyone to buy their tickets in advance at http://www.landmarktheatres.com/tickets/default.asp

Lazy stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city’s most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him. And it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they’re not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia; incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. All aboard the Pineapple Express.

Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) have one thing in common: they are both lazy, unemployed leeches who still live with their parents. When Brennan’s mother and Dale’s father marry and move in together, it turns the overgrown boys’ world upside down. Their insane rivalry and narcissism pull the new family apart, forcing them to work together to reunite their parents.

Evelyn WaughÂ’s heartbreaking romantic epic tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence in the pre-WWII era. Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first through the charming and provocative Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), and then his sophisticated sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). The rise and fall of CharlesÂ’ infatuations reflect the decline of a decadent era in England between the wars. Co-starring Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi and Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain. Directed by Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane).

Writer/director/narrator Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn) confirms his standing as poet laureate of men in extreme situations. With this visually stunning exploration, Herzog travels to the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station, headquarters of the National Science Foundation and home to eleven hundred people during the austral summer (October-February). Over the course of his journey, Herzog examines human nature and Mother Nature, juxtaposing breathtaking locations with the profound, surreal, and sometimes absurd experiences of the marine biologists, physicists, plumbers and truck drivers who choose to form a society as far away from the rest of society as one can get.

From Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) and producer Graydon Carter (Surfwise, The Kid Stays in the Picture) comes a probing look into the uncanny life of national treasure and gonzo journalism inventor Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. A fast moving, wildly entertaining documentary with an iconic soundtrack, the film addresses the major touchstones in Thompson’s life—his intense and ill fated relationship with the Hell’s Angels, his near-successful bid for the office of sheriff in Aspen in 1970, the notorious story behind the landmark Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his deep involvement in Senator George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, and much more. Narrated by Johnny Depp.

We recommend you purchase your tickets in advance via the E Street web site at http://www.landmarktheatres.com/tickets/default.asp

In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot that slowly begins to become sentient inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

25-year-old Wes (James McAvoy) was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. Until he met a woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie). After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad’s death by unlocking his dormant powers. As she teaches him how to develop lightning-quick reflexes and phenomenal agility, Wes discovers this team lives by an ancient, unbreakable code: carry out the death orders given by fate itself. With wickedly brilliant tutors—including the Fraternity’s enigmatic leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman)—Wes grows to enjoy all the strength he ever wanted. But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to his dangerous associates than meets the eye. Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny.

Bungling secret agent Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86 for CONTROL, is on a mission to battle the forces of their evil crime nemesis known as KAOS with his more-competent partner Agent 99, (whose real name is never revealed) at his side. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreams of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23. Smart will do whatever it takes to thwart the latest plot for world domination by KAOS.

Why are so many of our heroes on performance enhancing drugs? From the producers of Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 comes a new documentary that unflinchingly explores our win-at-all-cost culture through the lens of a personal journey. Blending comedy and pathos, writer/director Christopher Bell’s film is a collision of pop culture, animated sequences and first-person narrative, with a diverse cast including U.S. Congressmen, professional athletes, medical experts and everyday gym rats. At its heart, this is the story of the director and his two brothers, who grew up idolizing muscular giants like Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and who went on to become members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream. When you discover that your heroes have all broken the rules, do you follow the rules, or do you follow your heroes?