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Film Reviews & Previews

‘GKIDS Animated 8’ Retrospective Features Eight Oscar-nominated Animated Films and a Chance to Win an Amazing Animated Film Prize Package

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Animated8_finalWe are pleased to present the GKIDS ANIMATED 8 series at our Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. From February 12th through the 18th, we will screen eight Academy Award-Nominated animated feature films including two of this year’s nominees, BOY AND THE WORLD and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE. Rounding out the eight are THE SECRET OF KELLS, SONG OF THE SEA, THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA, ERNEST & CELESTINE, A CAT IN PARIS, and CHICO & RITA. Click here to see the full schedule and to purchase tickets.

Thanks to our friends at GKIDS, we’re giving away TWO amazing prize packages sure to excite any fan of animated film. Earn contest entries by completing the tasks below. The more tasks you complete, the more chances you have to win!

'GKIDS Animated 8' Blu-ray Set and Collectibles Giveaway

PRIZES:

One Runner up will receive a GKIDS MOVIE PACK which includes BluRay/DVDs of The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris, Chico & Rita, Ernest & Celestine, Song of the Sea, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and When Marnie Was There.

One Grand prize winner will receive the GKIDS SUPER-FAN PACK which includes the GKIDS MOVIE PACK plus:

  • Limited Edition Song of the Sea Print signed by director Tomm Moore
  • Song of the Sea T-Shirt
  • The Tale of Princess Kaguya Folder
  • The Tale of Princess Kaguya Bamboo Keychain
  • When Marnie Was There Notebook & Pencils
  • When Marnie Was There Necklace
  • When Marnie Was There/The Tale of Princess Kaguya Postcards
  • Ernest & Celestine Sticker Sheets
  • Ernest & Celestine Coloring Book
  • Ernest & Celestine Temporary Tattoos

Best of luck and enjoy!

Filmmakers in Person for the Intense Horror Anthology SOUTHBOUND

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SOUTHBOUND is an acclaimed horror anthology with five short stories involving travelers on a highway at night. The segments were directed by David Bruckner, Roxanne Benjamin, Patrick Horvath, and the film collective known as Radio Silence. SOUTHBOUND made its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

The SOUTHBOUND directors will participate in Q&A’s after the following screenings: Feb. 5 – Fine Arts 7:30; Feb. 9 – NoHo 7:30; Feb. 10 – Monica Film Center 7:30; Feb. 11 – Playhouse 7:30.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm2XvmVHwOg

“There are monsters in SOUTHBOUND that are among the best I’ve seen onscreen in a long time.” (Luke Thompson, The Robot’s Voice)

“This anthology of five horror tales is the rare group effort without a dud, as it cruises through variations on the genre with style and confidence.” (Nicolas Rapold, Film Comment Magazine)

Anniversary Classics: February Screenings include LA DOLCE VITA in Santa Monica, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? with George Segal in West LA

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We’re celebrating Oscar season with screenings of two Academy Award powerhouses in our continuing Anniversary Classics Series.

La Dolce VitaFirst, we offer a 55th anniversary screening of LA DOLCE VITA, one of the most influential of foreign films, and the recipient of 4 Academy Award nominations in 1961 – Best Director and Original Screenplay for Federico Fellini, Art Direction and Costume Design (an Oscar winner for Piero Gherardi). Fellini’s sardonic take on the decadence of Rome in the 1960s reverberated throughout modern film history, and heavily influenced the 2013 Oscar foreign-language winner THE GREAT BEAUTY. So cruise along the Via Veneto with Marcello Mastroianni, then take a dip in the Trevi Fountain with the voluptuous Anita Ekberg, and see it all at the sleekly elegant, newly re-opened Monica Film Center!

LA DOLCE VITA will screen on Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30 PM at the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica. Tickets on sale now at laemmle.com/ac.

Next, we look back 50 years to celebrate one of the most provocative films in cinema history – WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966). The film adaptation of playwright Edward Albee’s scathing dissection of a marriage was brought to the screen with most of its graphic dialogue intact due to the relaxation of the censorious Production Code in its fading, final gasp. VIRGINIA WOOLF garnered a near-record 13 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for tyro film director Mike Nichols, winning 5 Oscars including Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress) and Sandy Dennis (Supporting Actress). The rest of the 4 character cast were also nominated: Richard Burton (Best Actor) and our special guest, George Segal (Supporting Actor) who will join us for a Q & A after the screening.

We are also presenting this screening as a tribute to the late Haskell Wexler who died late last year at the age of 93. Wexler won his first Oscar for filming VIRGINIA WOOLF in glorious black and white, an art form endangered by the mid-sixties.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? with special guest George Segal will screen on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00 PM at the Royal Theater in West LA. Tickets are on sale now at laemmle.com/ac.

Join the conversation in our Anniversary Classics Facebook Group.

Santa Clarita: Voice Your Laemmle Support at the City Council Vote on 2/9/16 at 6PM

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As our loyal Santa Clarita Valley fans know, we’re in negotiations with the City of Santa Clarita to bring a Laemmle Theatre to Old Town Newhall at the empty city-owned block at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Lyons Avenue.

On Tuesday February 9th, 2016, at 6 PM in the Santa Clarita City Hall there will be an important City Council vote on our project and we hope you’ll attend. Skip to meeting details.

Our proposed project will include a two-story, 7-screen theatre, ground floor retail space, and an outdoor space on the second level. It’s estimated to draw between 150,000 to 200,000 people per year to the Old Town Newhall district.

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The City Council will vote on the terms of the public-private partnership between the city and Laemmle Theatres. Similar partnerships in Pasadena, North Hollywood, and Claremont have already proven successful. We encourage everyone to visit one of these venues to experience firsthand the vibrant neighborhood feel projects like ours help shape.

Public support and outreach for the project and at the meeting is critical. You can help by attending. Supporters wishing to speak should fill out speaking cards. Alternativley, you can submit written comment cards before the meeting starts.

The Santa Clarita City Council meeting is scheduled for 6pm on Tuesday, February 9th:

Santa Clarita City Hall
23920 Valencia Blvd.
Santa Clarita, CA 91355 (map)

You can also email your local Councilmembers in advance so they have written evidence that the community supports our project. Here are their email addresses:

Please share this post with any other community members interested in voicing their opinion on this exciting project!

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For more on the project and the importance of community support, read the full statement from our partners at Serrano Development Group.

Photo Gallery: The All New Laemmle Monica Film Center

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If you haven’t had a chance to visit our newly opened Monica Film Center, you’re missing out! It looks fantastic and fellow movie nerds have already said it feels like home.

But what’s a movie theater without movies, right? Well, we’re off to a great start on that front as well! The latest Coen brothers film HAIL, CAESAR! opens this Friday. TROUBLEMAKERS: THE STORY OF LAND ART also starts Friday and the film’s director will participate in a Q&A following the 7:20PM show opening night. ANOMALISA, THE LADY IN THE VAN, and THE 2016 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT DOCS will continue through next week. Thursday is the last day to catch the Oscar-nominated foreign films, THEEB and MUSTANG.

We invite you stop by if you’re in the neighborhood, even if you don’t have time to see a movie. Need more convincing? Take a look at these photos!

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Starburst Lights Mezzanine

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4th MAN OUT Q&A Opening Night at the NoHo

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In 4TH MAN OUT Evan Todd (“Switched at Birth”) stars as Adam, a small-town, blue-collar mechanic who likes beer and hockey but surprises his buddies when he tells them he’s gay. Well meaning but perhaps fated to trip over themselves, hilarity ensues when said buddies all try to help Adam find a boyfriend. Parker Young (“Arrow”), Chord Overstreet (“Glee”), Jon Gabrus (“Younger”) and Kate Flannery (“The Office) co-star.
4TH MAN OUT director Andrew Nackman, actors Evan Todd, Parker Young, Jon Gabrus, Kate Flannery and producers Lauren Hogarth, Lauren Avinoam and Jed Mellick will participate in a Q&A moderated by Alonso Duralde of TheWrap after the 7:40 PM screening at the NoHo 7 on Friday, February 5th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmzBB7VjfzA

L.A. Times Trio of Great Film Critics of Yore on the Trio of Taviani Classics at the Ahrya Fine Arts

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Today begins our one-week mini-retrospective, A Taviani Trio, which features three of the Italian brothers’ best-loved films, Kaos, The Night of the Shooting Stars, and Padre Padrone. Today, the L.A. Times published excerpts from their original, glowing reviews:

“”Padre Padrone” (“My Father, My Master”) is a work of art, a poetically realized piece of social realism that stands in the same relation to conventional movie entertainments as Picasso’s “Guernica” to a war bond poster.” (Charles Champlin, 1978)

“”The Night of the Shooting Stars” is a jagged, amazing film, both breathtaking and satisfying at times…the Tavianis seem to have transcended their own material…to create an extraordinary film, both as harsh as that sunlit battlefield and as fanciful as a child’s imagination.” (Sheila Benson, 1983)

“In “Kaos,” Paolo and Vittorio Taviani make us feel that they have revealed the very soul of Sicily in their superb rendering of several tales by Luigi Pirandello…In collaboration not only with Guerra but also composer Nicola Piovani and cameraman Giuseppe Lanci, who contributed such glorious and stirring images and music, the Tavianis have revived the timeless pleasure of storytelling for its own sake.” (Kevin Thomas, 1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8z-iv2URAc
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CwMPhx0YcE

The Laemmle Monica Film Center Opens Friday, January 29th!

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UPDATE 1: Online tickets are now available. Go to and bookmark http://www.laemmle.com/theaters/3 for titles, showtimes, and more.

UPDATE 2: We’re open!

The wait is nearly over! After almost two years of development and construction, the all new Laemmle Monica Film Center opens this Friday, January 29th!

Second floor mezzanine. Chandelier coming soon.
Second floor mezzanine. Chandelier coming soon.

The Monica Theatre on 2nd Street has been a fixture in the Santa Monica arts scene for 44 years – first as the “Monica Twin” and since 1981 as the “Monica 4-Plex.” Now, after a complete rebuild, the venue’s storied past projects to an even brighter future.

The Monica Film Center now has six auditoriums, all with digital projection, comfy seating, and optimally proportioned, intimate viewing. Adjacent to the two auditoriums upstairs is a mezzanine lounge. In a first for us, visitors will soon be able to order beer and wine from the concession stand.

Later this year, Flower Child will open in the ground-floor restaurant space. A second restaurant, to be announced, will open on the rooftop deck.

Online tickets are available now. The films opening Friday are:

THE 2016 OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
ANOMALISA
THE LADY IN THE VAN
MUSTANG
THEEB

Thank you for your patience! We think you’ll agree that it has been worth the wait!

Be sure to follow @laemmle and @laemmlemonica on Twitter. You can also find us on Facebook at Laemmle Theatres and Laemmle Monica Film Center. Let’s not forget Instagram where we’re @laemmletheatres.

Quick tour of the Monica Film Center! Set to open Friday! #santamonica #sneakpreview #Laemmle

A video posted by Laemmle Theatres (@laemmletheatres) on


We will update this post with pictures, more details, and links to buy tickets soon!