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Film Reviews & Previews

Steven Soderbergh’s “State of Cinema” address

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Recently retired from filmmaking, Steven Soderbergh delivered a terrific, funny, passionate and dead-on “State of Cinema” address at the San Francisco Int’l Film Fest in which he lamented the decline of Hollywood movies. He began by saying “the problem is that cinema as I define it and as something that inspired me is under assault by the studios and from what I can tell with the full support of the audience.”

Another highlight: describing meetings with the studio executives he disdains: “I want to jump up on the table and scream and go ‘do you know how lucky we are to be doing this? Do you understand that the only way to repay that karmic debt is to make something good, is to make something ambitious, is to make something beautiful, something memorable?'”

http://vimeo.com/65060864

Via Indiewire.

The New Look of Laemmle.com is Coming!

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Dear Laemmle Patrons,

It’s a time of transformation for Laemmle and I’m pleased to have this opportunity to share some exciting new developments with you. First and foremost, there’s our new location, the Laemmle NoHo 7! This state-of-the-art theater opened last December at 5240 Lankershim Blvd. in the heart of the North Hollywood arts district. The venue features seven screens, digital projection, stadium seating, and is only two blocks from Metro. With the NoHo 7, we look forward to contributing to the burgeoning arts and cultural scene in North Hollywood and the broader East Valley region.

On the virtual front, we have a brand new website in the works. It will include features such as Premiere Card ticket purchasing and reloading, site customization tools, staff reviews, theater blogs, and a slew of other enhancements. Once there has been some details relayed back to us by the web design team, that can handle website design in Vaughan and similar locations for example, we’ll get back to you with some more features and benefits of the newly designed site!

We’ve also seized this moment to update our logo and other communications with an aesthetic and attitude that better reflects who we are today and where we’re heading. The new header on this website is just the beginning. You’ll see further evidence of the new look in the coming days as we transition everything from our flyers and email newsletter to our for-sale merchandise and even employee uniforms (don’t be afraid to tell ’em how smart they look!).

As you may have heard, after two decades serving the Hollywood area we were unable to come to terms on a lease extension and have closed our Sunset 5 theater. We leave with fond memories and a deepening commitment to exhibiting quality film throughout Los Angeles. When the time is right, we will be back. In the meantime, we look forward to the imminent NoHo opening as well as other future projects where we’ll be taking on the role of both landlord and tenant.

Of course, these are just the highlights. To stay fully current with all things Laemmle, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and on our forthcoming blog. As always, we welcome and value your feedback.

On behalf of my father, Robert Laemmle, and our entire staff I want to thank you for your continued support of independent cinema in Los Angeles. We invite you to join with us as we embark on a new era for Laemmle. It’s one that will combine renewed energy and upgrades in services and facilities and with the one essential and unchanging thing that makes us who we are – our passion for exhibiting intelligent films to discerning audiences such as yourself.

See you at the movies!

Greg Laemmle

Q&A’s this week (11/2 – 11/6) at Laemmle Theatres

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Q&A's this week (11/2 - 11/6) at Laemmle TheatresORCHESTRA OF EXILES filmmaker Josh Aronson will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:20 screenings at the Music Hall 3 on Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd; plus Q&A after the 5:30 and introduction of the 7:50 screenings at the Town Center on Saturday, November 3rd.

From Academy Award-nominated director Josh Aronson, ORCHESTRA OF EXILES reveals the dramatic story of Bronislaw Huberman, the celebrated Polish violinist who rescued some of the world’s greatest musicians from Nazi Germany and then created one of the world’s greatest orchestras, the Palestine Philharmonic (which would become the Israeli Philharmonic).

Now playing at the Music Hall 3 and the Town Center. Plus, morning shows this weekend at the Claremont 5 and Playhouse 7.

Q&A's this week (11/2 - 11/6) at Laemmle TheatresFashion designer Ozwald Boateng, subject of A MAN’S STORY, will participate in a Q&A after the 7:10 PM screening at the NoHo 7 on Friday, November 2.

Already celebrated as one of the most talented menswear designers in the world, Ozwald Boateng is about to go bankrupt and divorce his first wife. Through luck and circumstance director Varon Bonicos is able to switch on a camera. It continues to roll for the next twelve years.

Now playing at the NoHo 7.

Q&A's this week (11/2 - 11/6) at Laemmle TheatresBURN filmmakers Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez will participate in a Q&A after the 3:30 PM screening at the NoHo 7 on Saturday, November 3.

From executive producer Denis Leary, BURN is a look at firefighting in Detroit with the highest arson rate in the country, and a budget crisis of epic proportions.

Now playing through 11/8 at the NoHo 7.

Q&A's this week (11/2 - 11/6) at Laemmle TheatresHIGH GROUND producer Don Hahn, (Frankenweenie, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:50 screening on Saturday, November 3 and the 3:15 screening on Sunday, November 4 at the Playhouse 7.

HIGH GROUND follows 11 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan join an expedition to climb the 20,000 foot Himalayan giant Mount Lobuche.

Now playing at the Playhouse 7.

Q&A's this week (11/2 - 11/6) at Laemmle Theatres

DEMOCRACY AT WORK Q&A schedule at the NoHo 7:

  • Friday (11/2) after the 7:50pm screening, producers Q&A after the screening (David Ciszewski, Sergio Crego, Susan Metzger)
  • Saturday (11/3) after the 7:50pm screening, Full Cast and Crew Q&A after the screening
  • Sunday (11/4) after the 7:50pm screening, producers Q&A after the screening (David Ciszewski, Sergio Crego, Susan Metzger)
  • Election Day, Tuesday (11/6) after the7:50pm screening, producers Q&A after the screening with actors Sean Spence and Robin Shelby

 

Now playing at the NoHo 7.

Full list of Q&A’s this week (10/26 – 10/29) at Laemmle Theatres

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Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresQ&As with YOGAWOMAN director Kate McIntyre Clere and special guests from the yoga community:

• Friday -10/26 at the Monicas following 7:40 show
• Saturday -10/27 at the NoHo 7 following 3:20 show
• Saturday -10/27 at the Monicas following 7:40 show
• Sunday -10/28 at the Playhouse 7 following 3:00 show

Plus, special prizes from YogaWorks for the first 100 tickets buyers for the 7:40PM show at the Monicas on Friday, 10/26. Prizes from Laura Jane for the first 100 tickets buyers for the 7:40PM show at the Monicas on Saturday, 10/27.

YOGAWOMAN reveals how yoga has transformed the lives of thousands of over-stimulated, overscheduled, and multi-tasking modern women from the streets of Manhattan to the slums of Kenya.

YOGAWOMAN is now playing at the NoHo 7, Monicas, Playhouse 7, and Claremont 5.

Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresSPLIT director Kelly Nyks will participate in Q&A’s after the 11:10 AM screenings at the Monicas on Saturday and Sunday, October 27 and 28.

SPLIT: A DEEPER DIVIDE is a riveting investigation into the partisanship paralyzing our politics, going beyond the bitter rancor to reveal the truth of why our country is more polarized and our politics more gridlocked than at any other time in recent memory.

SPLIT: A DEEPER DIVIDE plays Saturday and Sunday morning at the Claremont 5, Monicas, and Playhouse 7.

 

Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresGAYBY director/writer/co-star Jonathan Lisecki will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:40 screenings at the NoHo 7 on Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27.

Jenn (straight) and Matt (gay) are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, they decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old fashioned way.

GAYBY is now playing at the NoHo 7.

 

 

Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresBROOKLYN CASTLE director Katie Dellamaggiore will participate in Q&A’s at the Playhouse 7 after the 1:50 and 4:30 screenings on Saturday, October 27.

BROOKLYN CASTLE is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country.

BROOKLYN CASTLE is now playing at the Playhouse 7 and the Town Center.

 

Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresVERSAILLES ‘73 director Deborah Riley Draper will participate in Q&A’s after the 5 and 7:20 PM screenings at the Music Hall 3 on Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27.

When African-American models Billie Blair, Pat Cleveland, Alva Chinn, Norma Jean Darden, Charlene Dash, Bethann Hardison, Barbara Jackson, Jennifer Brice, Ramona Saunders, and Amina Warsuma boarded a plane from New York to Paris, they had no idea they would be part of a new world fashion order

VERSAILLES ‘73 is now playing at the Music Hall 3.

Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresMADRID, 1987 producer Jessica Berman will participate in a Q&A after the 7:20 PM screening at the NoHo 7 on Monday, October 29.

A journalism student is locked in the bathroom with a well-known and revered newspaper writer in Spain during the democratic transition that took place after Franco’s long dictatorship.

MADRID, 1987 is now playing at the  NoHo 7.

 

 

Full list of Q&A's this week (10/26 - 10/29) at Laemmle TheatresSEEDS OF RESILIENCY director Susan Polis Schutz will participate in a Q&A after the 7 PM screening at the Music Hall 3 on Friday, October 26.

The film introduces us to twelve diverse people who have survived tragedies and challenges by having great hope and helping others.

SEEDS OF RESILIENCY is now playing at the Music Hall 3 and Town Center.

Q&A with FRANCINE star Melissa Leo after 7:30PM show on Wednesday 10/24 in North Hollywood

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FRANCINE star Melissa Leo will participate in a Q&A at the NoHo 7 on October 24.Star of FRANCINE and Academy Award winner Melissa Leo will participate in a Q&A after the 7:30 PM screening at the NoHo 7 on October 24.

Buy tickets here.

Melissa Leo gives a fierce and restrained performance as Francine, a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison. Taking a series of jobs working with animals, Francine turns away others and instead seeks intimacy in the most unlikely of places. Gritty, elliptical, and voyeuristic, Francine is a portrait of a near-silent misfit and her fragile first steps in an unfamiliar world.

Q&A with WE ARE LEGION director Brian Knappenberger and Anons in Pasadena

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WE ARE LEGION director Brian Knappenberger will participate in a Q&A after the 4 PM screening at the Playhouse on Sunday, October 21.WE ARE LEGION director Brian Knappenberger and some members of Anonymous will participate in a Q&A after the 4 PM screening at the Playhouse 7 on Sunday, October 21.

Buy tickets here.

WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists, takes us inside the complex culture and history of Anonymous. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, and then moves to Anonymous’ own raucous and unruly beginnings on the website 4Chan.

Through interviews with current members – some recently returned from prison, others still awaiting trial – as well as writers, academics and major players in various “raids,” WE ARE LEGION traces the collective’s breathtaking evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown, global movement, one armed with new weapons of civil disobedience for an online world.

FOR ELLEN Q&A with Paul Dano, John Heder, and So Yong Kim

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Q&A after the 7:30 PM screening at the Music Hall on Friday, October 19.FOR ELLEN writer-director So Yong Kim and actors Paul Dano and John Heder will participate in a Q&A after the 7:30PM screening at the Music Hall 3 on Friday, October 19.

Buy tickets here.

Film Summary:

Aspiring rock star Joby Taylor (Paul Dano) has wanted nothing more than to “make it”, having flirted with fame but never crossed over into true success. In the midst of a low period in his life, he agrees to sign divorce papers with his estranged wife (Margarita Levieva) in order to see money from the sale of their home, only to discover that by signing the papers, he will forfeit all custody of his six-year-old daughter, Ellen (Shaylena Mandigo). With a good-natured lawyer (Jon Heder) unable to make headway in reversing the decision, and a girlfriend (Jena Malone) that represents an era of his life that he might be ready to graduate from, Joby negotiates a visit with his daughter to explore whether he is able to walk away from his child, and whether it might be too late for reconciliation.