The CWRU Film Society Spring 2001 Schedule

Schedule subject to change without notice. Movie information provided by the Internet Movie Database.

Friday, January 19, 2001 - Saturday, January 20, 2001

26th Science Fiction Marathon

Movies and times subject to change. Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 19 at 6pm in the lobby of Strosacker Auditorium. Admission is $20.

8:00pm Men In Black (1997)
10:00pm The Arrival (1996)
12 midnight Surprise I!!
1:30am Swamp Thing (1982)
3:00am Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1978)
5:00am Dark City (1998)
7:00am Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) - Silent with Killiam soundtrack
8:30am Barbarella (1968)
10:00am The Crawling Eye (1958)
11:30am The Devil-Doll (1936)
1:00pm The Iron Giant (1999)
2:30pm The Time Machine (1960)
4:30pm Star Trek: Generations (1994)
6:30pm Surprise II!!
8:30pm Starship Invasions (1977)
10:30pm Starship Troopers (1997)

Friday, January 26, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm, 11:30pm
X-Men (2000)
Rated PG-13 (104 min.) Director: Bryan Singer
With Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen

X-Men, based upon the legendary Marvel comic, was the surprise blockbuster of last summer and directed by the director of The Usual Suspects (Feb. 2). In the near future the next stage of evolution has begun with children being born with a special X-Factor in their genes, thus making them “mutants”. The seeds of a new Holocaust are being sewn by extremists, led by U. S. Senator Robert Kelly. Mutant Erik Lehnsherr, a.k.a. Magneto, (who lost his parents during the WWII Holocaust) and Professor Charles Xavier were once friends, but now they are in opposition as to how to integrate mutants into “normal” society. While Xavier seeks to stop the hatred toward mutants peacefully, Magneto and a brotherhood of mutants seek to eliminate human-kind. To stop Magneto, Xavier organizes his mutant students into the “X-Men” to save the humans who hate their kind. Hugh Jackman delivers a “brake-out” performance as the lovable Wolverine! (A role that belonged to Dougray Scott, until the filming of MI:2 ran long.)

Saturday, January 27, 2001 7:00pm, 10:00pm
Apocalypse Now (1978)
Rated R (153 min.) Director: Francis Ford Coppola
With Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Martin Sheen

Loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, Coppola’s masterpiece has become a classic film of excess, drugs and cultism. This film was enormously over-budget and problems haunted the set, but when released, the film stunned the world and took the Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Documentary footage taken by Coppola’s wife has been compiled into “Hearts Of Darkness” - a fascinating and revealing account of the making of this movie. Come see Brando, come see Laurence Fishburne in his first role (at 16 no less!), and come hear Wagner!!!!! Apocalypse was originally conceived (and written) by Coppola and George Lucas, but Lucas went to make some silly little science fiction movie.

Friday, February 2, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm, 11:30pm
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Rated R (106 min.) Director: Bryan Singer
With Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, and Kevin Spacey

With a title referring to Casablanca, how could it go wrong? After a waterfront explosion, Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey in an Academy Award winning role), an eye-witness and participant testifies to the trail of events leading up to the incident at the harbor. The story begins when five men (the usual suspects) are rounded up for a line-up, and grilled about a truck hijacking. Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), a crooked cop—exposed, indicted—trying to go straight, gets talked into doing one more job with the other four criminals. All goes well until the influence of the legendary, seemingly omnipotent “Keyser Soze” is felt.

Saturday, February 3, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Unrated (126 min.) Director: John Frankenheimer
With Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury

Banned in America for 30 years due to the Kennedy assassination, now, in the past 7 years, we can see a true classic film! After Harvey returns from the Korean War as a decorated hero, the other members of his platoon can’t really remember what he did to win his medal. Two of the soldiers start having recurring nightmares, and one of them decides to investigate Harvey’s current activities. What dark and sinister secrets are being withheld by the Government and the Army? Lansbury is great as the protective, yet controlling wife.

Friday, February 9, 2001 7:00pm, 9:00pm, 11:00pm
Blood Simple (1984 / 2000)
Rated R (97 min.) Director: Joel Coen
With John Getz, Frances McDormand, and Dan Hedaya

This is a restoration of Ethan and Joel Cohen’s first (and arguably best) feature film, which upgraded the film’s original mono sound track to digital stereo and enhanced some of the colors. Along with the expected Cohen brother direction, Barry Sonnefeld’s (Men in Black) cinematography is stunning. A bar-owner in Texas is certain that his wife is cheating on him and hires a private detective, Ray, to spy on her. Things get complicated when Ray gets involved with Abby, the wife. Do not miss the beginning restoration “testimonial” before the film!

Saturday, February 10, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm
Brazil (1985)
Rated R (131 min.) Director: Terry Gilliam
With Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, and Katherine Helmond

This is the second film of Gilliam’s fantasy trilogy (with Time Bandits and Baron Munchausen). Sam Lowry is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. He dreams of a life where he can fly away from technology and overpowering bureaucracy, and spend eternity with the woman of his dreams. While trying to rectify the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle, Lowry meets the woman he is always chasing in his dreams, Jill Layton. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy has fingered him responsible for a rash of terrorist bombings, and both Sam and Jill’s lives are put in danger.

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 Free Showing! 7:00pm
Titus (1999)
Rated R (162 min.) Director: Julie Taymor
With Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming

Taymor follows her dramatic staging and direction of Broadway’s The Lion King with an equally stunning feature film based upon Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. War begets revenge. Victorious general, Titus Andronicus, returns to Rome with hostages: Tamora queen of the Goths and her sons. He orders the eldest hewn to appease the Roman dead. He declines the proffered emperor’s crown, nominating Saturninus, the last ruler’s venal elder son. Saturninus, to spite his brother Bassianus, demands the hand of Lavinia, Titus’s daughter. When Bassianus, Lavinia, and Titus’s sons flee in protest, Titus stands against them and slays one of his own. Saturninus marries the honey-tongued Tamora, who vows vengeance against Titus. The ensuing maelstrom serves up tongues, hands, rape, adultery, racism, and Goth-meat pie.

Friday, February 16, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm, 12:00am
Unbreakable (2000)
Rated PG-13 (106 min.) Director: M. Night Shyamalan
With Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robin Wright

Security Guard David Dunn miraculously survives a catastrophic train crash outside Philadelphia. Not only is he the sole survivor out of 132 passengers, he also is completely unharmed. A little later, comic book specialist Elijah Price contacts him to confront David with an incredible theory: Elijah, who has been nicknamed “Mr. Glass” due to his more than fragile bones, thinks that David has got all which he himself lacks. The two of them “seem to be linked by a curve, but sitting on opposite ends”. First, David does not believe the strange man, but every single thing he had said proves to be true: David has never ever been hurt or sick in his life, his physical strength is larger than normal and he has a skill which others don’t. Slowly, David begins to discover the shocking truth behind Mr. Price’s assumptions. But after all, David’s fate is not only to find his real place in the world. It also is about proving Elijah’s theory of his own existence.

Saturday, February 17, 2001 7:00pm, 9:00pm
Army of Darkness (1993)
Rated R (81 min.) Director: Sam Raimi
With Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, and Marcus Gilbert

This is the third film of Raimi’s Evil Dead series, and a hit at our 19th Annual Science Fiction Marathon. Our hero, Ash, finds himself stranded in the 13th Century with his car, his shotgun, and his chainsaw. Soon he is discovered and thought to be a spy for a rival kingdom and is taken prisoner. After proving his merit in The Pit, he decides to help the kingdom retrieve the Necronomicon (which will also help him return to his own time), which they need to battle the supernatural forces at play in the land. Ash accidentally releases the Army of Darkness when retrieving the book, and a fight to the finish ensues.

Legend of Drunken Master will NOT be shown Friday, Feb.23.

Kung-Fu Extravaganza!

Friday, February 23, 2001 7:00pm
The Big Brawl (1980)
Rated R (99 minutes) Director: Robert Clouse
With Jackie Chan, Jose Ferrer, Kristine de Bell, Mako

Part of our Kung-Fu Extravaganza! By the director and the producers of "Enter The Dragon." Set in Chicago in the late 1930's, Jerry Kwan (Chan) has routed gangsters who try to muscle in on his father's Chinese restaurant. Gang leader Domenici (Farrer) selects Chan to be his man in an upcoming freeform brawl to be staged in Battle Creek, Texas. What carries this film is the tremendous verse of its action passages, which are not only bloodless but approach the grace and precision of ballet.

Friday, February 23, 2001 9:00pm
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Rated R (99 minutes) Director: Robert Clouse
With Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Shih Kien

Part of our Kung-Fu Extravaganza! The last film of Kung Fu superstar Bruce Lee was cited by critics as the masterpiece of martial arts filmmaking. Lee is sent on a mission to an island belonging to the evil crime boss Han (Kien) to break up a gang of white slavers and drug smugglers, under the guise of taking part in an invitational competition. Lee with the help of Roper (Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly) succeed in freeing hundreds of prisoners and in dispatching Han.

Friday, February 23, 2001 11:00pm
Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (1976)
Rated R (99 minutes) Director: Tso Nam Lee
With Bruce Li, Ma Chi Chiang, Tsao Shao Jung

Part of our Kung-Fu Extravaganza! In Hong Kong, David Lee (Li), The Tiger, hopes to unravel some of the rumors and mystery surrounding the death of his friend Bruce Lee. The search takes him to a deserted scrap-metal yard where he is attacked by twenty thugs. Later, he is set upon by a grotesque man. He is then lured to a stadium for a bout with the toughest Kung Fu girl in the world. Another running battle takes place from rooftop to rooftop. At Kowloon Bay, Bruce meets the king of Hong Kong's underworld in a gigantic battle. It's the Kung Fu thriller you dare not miss.

Saturday, February 24, 2001 7:00pm
The Last Emperor (1987)
Rated PG-13 (160 min.) Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
With John Lone, Joan Chen, and Peter O’Toole

The 1987 winner for Best Picture and a total 9 Academy Awards (out of 9!), Emperor is the biography of Aisin-Gioro “Henry” Pu Yi, who at the age of three was named the Emperor of China, and dies as a gardener at the Botanical Gardens of Peking after the Cultural Revolution. Told in an interesting flashback/flashforward style, we learn of Pu Yi’s childhood, the time he spent imprisoned in the Forbidden City, his term as the emperor, and his eventual release back to public life in 1959. Bertolucci was one of the first foreigners allowed to film within the walls of the Forbidden City.

Tuesday, February 27, 2001 Free Showing! 7:00pm
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Rated PG (165 min.) Director: David Lean
With William Holden, Sir Alec Guinness, and Jack Hawkins

Just like Snow White, “whistling while you work” was never the same after Kwai—even if the work was building a railway bridge in a harsh Asian jungle under gunpoint by your Japanese captors. Led by Col Nicholson, a stereotypical British officer, the prisoners score a moral victory over the Japanese by not only building the bridge, but running the whole show. Unknown to Nicholson, an Allied Forces demolition team are planning a spectacular opening for the bridge. We lost Sir Alec Guinness this year, and this movie is a perfect way to honor him.

Friday, March 2, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm, 12:00am
Almost Famous (2000)
Rated R (122 min.) Director: Cameron Crowe
With Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, and Kate Hudson

This story is loosely based on writer-director Cameron Crowe’s own teen rock critic adventures when at 15 he toured with Led Zeppelin for Rolling Stone. This 15 year old boy (Patrick Fugit) gets an opportunity to travel with a rock band, Stillwater (a fictional band) on a 1973 tour. As a teen, he makes record reviews for an underground newspaper. He submits those to Creem magazine writer, Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), and gets his attention. The two become fast friends and Bangs acts as his mentor as Rolling Stone magazine comes calling. Rolling Stone agrees to bankroll him on a trip with the group. There he meets the “Band Aids”, a group of girls that refuse to be called groupies because they are dedicated only to specific bands. While accepted by the band, they nonetheless refer to him as “the enemy - a rock critic”. This is one of the best films of 2000.

Saturday, March 3, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm
Chinatown (1974)
Rated R (131 min.) Director: Roman Polanski
With Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston

Nicholson stars as JJ Gittes, a former L. A. police officer who now works as a private investigator handling cases of infidelity and petty theft. His latest case brought to him by Hollis Mulwray, a wealthy California landowner, seems to be a simple adultery case; however, it turns into a mystery of murder, corruption, water, orange groves and incest. But don’t get too involved because, “It’s Chinatown.”

Friday, March 9 - Saturday, March 10, 2001
No Movies Due to Spring Break

Friday, March 16 - Saturday, March 17, 2001
No Movies Due to Spring Break

Friday, March 23, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm, 12:00am
The Way of the Gun (2000)
Rated R (119 min.) Director: Christopher McQuarrie
With Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, Juliette Lewis, and James Caan

Two petty if violent criminals kidnap a surrogate mother for a mobster’s baby. She is being paid $1 million for her service, so she (and the baby) should be worth at least $15 million, right? Mr. Parker and Mr. Longbow now have kidnapped the surrogate and are on the run from mobsters and their henchmen because the longest distance between two points is between a kidnapper and his money.

Saturday, March 24, 2001 7:00pm, 9:30pm
Wonder Boys (2000)
Rated R (112 min.) Director: Curtis Hanson
With Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, and Frances McDormand

Based on the book of the same name by Michael Chabon. Grady Tripp (Douglas), a Pittsburgh professor, is struggling to produce a follow-up to his first successful novel. While faced with writer’s block and the constant, hounding presence of his book editor, Douglas must also cope with the pregnancy of his college chancellor/girlfriend (McDormand), a young coed’s crush, and a college student (Maguire) who drags him on a wild Chicago weekend. Filmed between Robert Downey, Jr.’s jail stints, it was recently named one of the top ten movies of 2000 by Roger Ebert, this dry comedy ought not to be missed.

Tuesday, March 27, 2001 Free Showing! 7:00pm
Thelma and Louise will NOT be shown.
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Rated PG-13 (130 min.)
Director: Jon Avnet
With Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jessica Tandy
Sponsored by Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and the Association for Women Students

Evelyn Couch is having trouble in her marriage, and no one seems to take her seriously. While in a nursing home visiting relatives, she meets Ninny Threadgoode, an outgoing old woman, who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode, a young woman in 1920's Alabama. Through Idgie's inspiring life, Evelyn learns to be more assertive and builds a lasting friendship of her own with Ninny.

Friday, March 30, 2001 7:00pm, 9:00pm, 11:00pm
Best in Show (2000)
Rated PG-13 (89 min.) Director: Christopher Guest
With Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, and Eugene Levy

Following the success of their mocu-mentary Waiting for Guffman, Guest and Levy now tackle the absurdity and people associated with dog shows. The film records the exploits of 6 couples and their dogs as they prepare to travel to the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia, PA. This is one of the funniest and original movies of the year. Fred Willard’s ad-libs as the color commentator for the dog show are hysterical.

Saturday, March 31, 2001 7:00pm
Patton (1970)
Rated PG (172 min.) Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
With George C. Scott, Karl Malden, and Michael Bates

“Patton” tells the tale of General George S. Patton, famous tank commander of World War II. The film begins with Patton’s exploits in North Africa and progresses through the invasion of Germany and the fall of the Third Reich. Side plots also speak of Patton’s numerous faults such his temper and habit towards insubordination. Faults which would, eventually, lead to his being relieved as Occupation Commander of Germany. Written by Francis Ford Coppola, this film gives us an inside look at one of America’s greatest legends.

Tuesday, April 3, 2001 Free Showing! 7:00pm
Edge of Seventeen (1998)
Not rated. (99 min.)
Director: David Moreton
With Chris Stafford, Tina Holmes, and Andersen Gabrych
Sponsored by Spectrum

Set in Sandusky, OH in 1984, a teenager, Eric, copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in his pursuit of becoming sexually active in the Ohio gay community. The film is loosely based upon the screenwriter’s life growing up in Ohio. We follow Eric through his first sexual encounter to his introduction to gay culture and lifestyles.

Wednesday, April 4, 2001FREE SNEAK PREVIEW! 7:00pm
The Adventures of Joe Dirt (2001)
Rated PG-13 (?? min.) Director: Dennie Gordon
With David Spade, Christopher Walken, and Dennis Miller

From the producing team of the comedy smash Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo comes a hilarious comedy that says, "Life is a garden. Dig it."

He's the wrong person, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Joe Dirt (David Spade) is a janitor with a mullet hairdo, acid-washed jeans and a dream to find the parents that he lost at the Grand Canyon when he was a belligerent, trailer park-raised eight-year-old. Now, blasting Van Halen in his jacked-up economy car, the irrepressibly optimistic Joe hits the road alone in search of his folks.

As his wandering, misguided search takes him from one hilarious misadventure to another, Joe finds his way to Los Angeles, where a shock-jock(Dennis Miller) brings Joe on his radio show to insult him. But as Joe's life story unfolds, jeers turn to cheers, and an entire captivated city tunes in to hear the adventures of Joe Dirt.

Friday, April 6, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm, 11:30pm
Charlie’s Angels (2000)
Rated PG-13 (98 min.) Director: Joseph McGinty Nichol
With Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Bill Murray

This summer blockbuster is the movie version of the classic Aaron Spelling TV series which gave us Farrah Fawcett and hot pants!!! Programmer Eric Knox, owner of Knox Technologies, whose revolutionary voice-recognition software has been stolen, hires Charlie’s private investigation company and his angels. Charlie’s Angels Natalie, Dylan and Alex are sent to place a bug in the system of bitter rival Roger Corwin, who is under strong suspicion. But after the deed is done, the Angels and their boss Bosley face the fact of a destroyed home base as well as Charlie’s life in immediate danger. Real girl power and no guns!!!

Saturday, April 7, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Rated R (99 min.) Director: Peter Jackson
With Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, and Sarah Peirse

Based upon a true story that shocked New Zealand in the 1950s, this is Kate Winslet’s first film. Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme met in school during the 1950s. Since they are both somewhat outcasts form the other kids they become instant best friends. They proceeded to spend every minute possible together, often writing about a fantasy land of their own invention. More and more estranged from their respective families, the two girls realize that they are extremely different from most other people, and agree to take any steps necessary to ensure that they are not separated.

Friday, April 13, 2001 7:00pm, 10:15pm
The Right Stuff (1983)
Rated PG (180 min.) Director: Philip Kaufman
With Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, and Ed Harris

Thomas Wolfe’s book on the history of the U.S. Space program reads like a novel, and the film has that same fictional quality. It covers the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager to the Mercury 7 astronauts, showing that no one had a clue how to run a space program or how to select people to be in it. The pressure mounts to keep up with the advances of the Russians and to be the first country with a man in space. Thrilling, funny, charming and electrifying all at once.

Saturday, April 14, 2001 7:00pm
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Rated G (220 min.) Director: Cecil B. DeMille
With Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, and Anne Baxter

To escape the edict of Egypt’s Pharoah, Rameses I, condemning all first-born Hebrew males, the infant Moses is set adrift on the Nile in a reed basket. Saved by the pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, he is adopted by her and brought up in the court of her brother, Pharaoh Seti. Moses gains Seti’s favor and the love of the throne princess Nefertiri, as well as the hatred of Seti’s son, Rameses. When his Hebrew heritage is revealed, Moses is cast out of Egypt, and makes his way across the desert where he marries, has a son and is commanded by God to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews from slavery. In Egypt Moses’ fiercest enemy proves to be not Rameses, but someone near to him who can ‘harden his heart’.

Friday, April 20, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm, 11:30pm
Girlfight (2000)
Rated R (110 min.) Director: Karyn Kusama
With Michelle Rodriguez, Santiago Douglas, and Jaime Tirelli

An angry Brooklyn girl (Michelle Rodriguez) with a shaky relationship with her father and problems at school becomes the first female champion of boxing at the local gym. For the first time, this featherweight amateur begins to get a handle on her own life and even finds love in the boxing ring in this winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film at Sundance Film Festival.

Saturday, April 21, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm
Trainspotting (1996)
Rated R (94 min.) Director: Danny Boyle
With Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, and Jonny Lee Miller

A wild, freeform, Rabelaisian trip through the darkest recesses of Edinburgh low-life, focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit, and how the latter affects his relationship with family and friends: Sean Connery wannabe Sick Boy, dim bulb Spud, psycho Begbie, 14-year-old girlfriend Diane, and clean-cut athlete Tommy, who’s never touched drugs but can’t help being curious about them...

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 FREE SNEAK PREVIEW! 7:00pm
Driven (2000)
Rated PG-13 (?? min.) Director: Renny Harlin
With Sylvester Stallone, Kip Pardue, Til Schweiger, and Burt Reynolds

Set in the world of CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), a seasoned race car driver is hired to mentor an up-and-coming racer. As both men try and work together to move up the standings, they also must out-manoeuvre aggressive competition from a competing driver - and from each other, for the teacher and the student are both vying for the affection of the same woman.

Friday, April 27, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm, 11:30pm
Snatch (2000)
Rated R (102 min.) Director: Guy Ritchie
With Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, and Brad Pitt

Turkish, an unlicenced boxing promoter is pulled into trouble when he becomes involved in big time criminal Brick Top, who wants him to arrange a fight and fix it. Meanwhile, a diamond theft goes down but the 84 karat stone goes missing. This leads Avi, the boss who was supposed to receive the stone, to come to England to search for it, with the help of his cousin, Doug The Head and Bullet Tooth Tony. As events twist and turn, the two situations blend into one with a chain reaction of events carrying on for each and every character.

Saturday, April 28, 2001 7:00pm, 9:15pm
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Unrated (100 min.) Director: Darren Aronofsky
With Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans

This film set in New York City offers the parallel stories of a depressed woman(Burstyn) obsessed by television and her own waistband, even as she pops diet pills incessantly; and her son (Leto), who with his best friend (Wayans) and girlfriend, is addicted to heroin, and dreams of getting his hands on a pound of the junk so the three can become rich and buy a store.