January
Mon 4 Jan 7.45pm
HIS GIRL FRIDAY (U)
Screwball Comedies
Howard
Hawks' adaptation of The Front Page starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and
Ralph Bellamy as the newspaper editor Walter Burns, his ex-wife and star
reporter Hildy Johnson, and Bruce Baldwin, the man for whom she wishes to leave
the newspaper and marry.
USA, 1940, 92 mins
Free Admission
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Tue 5 Jan 7.45pm
TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE (12A)
A witty collection of five satirical short films taking an affectionate look
at the absurdity of the late communist period in Romania; adapted from urban
myths by 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days director Christian Mungiu. The tales
include ridiculous preparations for an official visit, and a greedy police
officer attempting to silently kill a pig so he can avoid sharing with his
neighbours.
Romania (subtitled), 2009, 131 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Times ::
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Thu 7 to Sat 9 Jan 7.45pm
BRIGHT STAR (PG)
Jane Campion's heartfelt and affecting study of the last years of John Keats
and his romance with Fanny Brawne, his spirited 18 year old neighbour; deftly
played by Ben Wishaw and Abbie Cornish in outstanding period drama.
UK, 2009, 119 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Times ::
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Mon 11 Jan 7.45pm
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (PG)
Screwball Comedies
The
discovery of his favourite eccentric aunts' very bad habit of 'ending the
suffering of lonely old bachelors' is the least of Mortimer Brewster's problems
as he strives to keep his new bride from fleeing upon meeting the rest of his
madly unhinged family. Frank Capra lends a surreally sinister air to a madcap
comedy starring Cary Grant as the much beleaguered Mortimer.
USA, 1944, 113 mins
Free Admission
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Tue 12 and Thu 14 Jan 7.45pm
GLORIOUS 39 (12A)
A Hitchcockian suspense thriller set at a country estate where all talk is of
war and appeasement, of Churchill or Chamberlain; conducted under the vigilant
eye of the foreign office. Stephen Poliakoff directs a cast featuring Romola
Garai, Bill Nighy, David Tennant and Julie Christie, in a story that touches on
the motives of the pacifists and appeasers and how the council of the Great War
survivors was hijacked and twisted by rogue elements within the Tory government.
UK, 2009, 128 mins
Reviews: :: The Guardian ::
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Fri 15 and Sat 16 Jan 7.45pm
ME AND ORSON WELLES (12A)
Richard Linklater directs a charming putting-on-a-show period drama,
celebrating Broadway's first Shakespearean production and one of American
theatre's most iconoclastic stars. Christian McKay's portrayal of Welles is
remarkable, ably supported by Ben Chaplin, Zac Efron and Claire Danes.
UK, 2009, 113 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Times ::
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Mon 18 Jan 7.45pm
WHAT'S UP, DOC? (U)
Screwball Comedies
A
simple case of matching luggage leads no end of confusion in a non-stop comedy
that includes the other great chase sequence through San Francisco. Peter
Bogdanovich's homage to the classic screwball comedies stars Barbara Streisand
and Ryan O'Neal as Judy Maxwell, a perennial student and the absent-minded
professor she sets her cap at.
USA, 1972, 93 mins
Free Admission
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Tue 19 and Thu 21 Jan 7.45pm
BUNNY & THE BULL (15)
The depletion of his food stocks forces the nervous, reclusive shut-in
Stephen to resolve whether to leave his flat for the first time in a year; but
not before he reconsiders the reasons for his seclusion in a series of fantastic
visions and nightmares of a former European journey taken with his
larger-than-life best friend Bunny.
'The film fizzes with delight, creativity and superlative performances. It is also hilarious, with wonderful turns from King's former employers, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt of the Mighty Boosh. '
'From the opening credits to the poignant conclusion the film is utterly captivating. Bunny and the Bull is a comic delight - and one of the films of the year.' (Arion MacNicoll, 'The Times')
UK, 2009, 101 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Times ::
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Fri 22 and Sat 23 Jan 7.45pm
TAKING WOODSTOCK (15) 
Ang Lee directs a warm comedy recounting the story of Elliot Tibor, a
closeted interior designer returned from New York, to the dilapidated Catskills
family motel that his father would burn down tomorrow if only he could afford
the insurance premium. Elliot finds his place in history when in an attempt to
drum up some business for the motel, he contacts the organisers of a rock
concert having heard that a nearby town had refused them a permit. Demetri
Martin leads as Elliot, Henry Goodman and Imelda Staunton play his overbearing
parents.
USA, 2009, 120 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Sunday Times ::
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Mon 25 Jan 7.45pm
RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (PG)
Pekinpah's West Old and New
Peckinpah
directs Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in their last major screen roles,
adapting without credit Guns In The Afternoon. Peckinpah's second film
establishes one of his key themes whereby redemption and honour are placed at
odds to an evolving 'civilised' society. USA, 1962, 96 mins
Free Admission
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Tue 26 Jan 7.45pm
DEPARTURES (12A)
Yôjirô
Takita's Oscar winning drama tracing the profound and sometimes comical journey
of Daigo Kobashi, a cellist who moves back to his home town following the
disbanding of his orchestra, inadvertently beginning a new career as a funeral
professional.
Japan, (subtitled), 2009, 130 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian ::
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Thu 28 to Sat 30 Jan 7.45pm
AN EDUCATION (12A)
Carey
Mulligan shines in her debut as Jenny, a precocious16-year-old schoolgirl,
distracted from her Oxbridge exam preparations by David, a much older suitor
offering all things artist, cultural and French. Lone Scherfig's nuanced
direction deftly evokes the drab 60s London found in Nick Hornby's witty
adaptation of Lynn Barber's memoir. 'This is a wonderful, life-affirming picture
that deserves all the prizes it will undoubtedly win.' (Toby Young, 'The Times')
UK, 2009, 99 mins
Reviews: :: The Observer :: The Guardian :: The Times ::
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