Category: Newsletters

Writer/director Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums) returns with The Grand Budapest Hotel, which recounts the adventures of Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The dramatic comedy involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortuneall against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent. All-star ensemble cast also includes F. Murray Abraham, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody, Tilda Swinton, Mathieu Amalric, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, Saoirse Ronan and Edward Norton.

“The LEGO (R) Movie” is the first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO (R) adventure. The original 3D computer animated story follows Emmet (Chris Pratt) an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, the film is an action drama focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners.

Gloria (Paulina Garcia) is a “woman of a certain age” but still feels young. Though lonely, she makes the best of her situation and fills her nights seeking love at social dance clubs for single adults. Her fragile happiness changes the day she meets Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez). Their intense passion, to which Gloria gives her all, leaves her vacillating between hope and despairuntil she uncovers a new strength and realizes that, in her golden years, she can shine brighter than ever. The film is exclusively and radically told from a single point of viewGloria’sand Garcia’s tour de force performance captured the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. Chile’s Official Selection for Best Foreign Language Film consideration at the 86th Academy Awards. Directed and co-written by Sebastian Lelio.

Bethesda Row now offers assigned seating in its theatres. I have purchased seat H3. If we are not all able to sit together, we will meet back upstairs in the main floor theatre lobby after the film ends.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see all five Academy Award nominees in the category of Best Animated Short and more! Program includes: “Feral” (USA), in which a wild boy, found in the woods and brought back to civilization, tries to adapt to a strange new environment; Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Get a Horse!” (USA), a contemporary homage to the first shorts featuring Mickey Mouse, with all-new, black-and-white, hand-drawn animation; “Mr. Hublot” (Luxembourg/France), about a withdrawn, idiosyncratic character made partially of mechanical parts whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of the dog Robot Pet; “Possessions” (Japan), in which an 18th Century man, lost on a stormy night deep in the mountains, enters a small shrine that suddenly turns into a room in a different world; and “Room on the Broom” (UK), based on the children’s picture book by Julia Donaldson, about a kind witch who invites a surprising collection of animals to join her on her broom, much to the frustration of her cat.

Following his Oscar win for A Separation (Best Foreign Language Film), writer/director Asghar Farhadi returns with the dramatic mystery, The Past. After a four year separation and at his estranged French wife Marie’s (Berenice Bejo, The Artist) request, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa, Leila) returns to Paris from Tehran in order to finalize their divorce procedure so she can marry her new boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet). During his tense brief stay, Ahmad discovers the conflicting nature of Marie’s relationship with their teenage daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet), and his efforts to improve this relationship soon unveil a secret from their past. A terrific cast creates in-depth characters in this gripping story told with generous empathy. Winner of two awards at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival: Best Actress (Bejo) and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Iran’s official selection for consideration at the 86th Academy Awards.

August: Osage County tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tracy Letts (Killer Joe, Bug) made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run and was the winner of five Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Play. The film version of August: Osage County is directed by John Wells (The Company Men) and features an all-star cast, including Best Actress nominee Meryl Streep, Best Supporting Actress nominee Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham.

Set in Los Angeles, slightly in the future, Her follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix, The Master), a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet “Samantha,” a bright, female voice (Scarlett Johansson) who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other. From the unique perspective of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are, Adaptation) comes an original love story that explores the evolving natureand the risksof intimacy in the modern world. Also starring Amy Adams, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde.