Now Playing at the Hillcrest Cinemas
and La Jolla Village Cinemas
 |
| During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing
was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers
from Australia and South Africa sacrificed
everything and put it all on the line to create a
sport, a culture, and an industry that is today
worth billions of dollars and has captured the
imagination of the world. With a radical new
approach and a brash colonial attitude, these
surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was
not ready for revolution. This is their exciting
story, told through the eyes and words and stunning
film footage of those who lived it. Featuring Wayne
Bartholomew, Ian Cairns, Tom Curren, Mark Richards,
Kelly Slater, Shaun Tomson and Peter Townend.
Narrated by Edward Norton. Directed by Jeremy
Gosch. Official
Web Site |
Now Playing at the Hillcrest Cinemas
and La Jolla Village Cinemas
Both Engagements Must End Thursday, July
31!
 |
Since their debut in the late 1960s, Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young have functioned as the "town
criers" of their generation. CSNY: Déjà Vu
finds the band heading out on their "Freedom of
Speech 2006" tour of North America, featuring music
from Neil Young's controversial "Living With War"
CD. With "Embedded" reporter Mike Cerre aboard, the
film documents audience reactions to the music and
the band's ongoing connection with its fans, all
against the backdrop of the Iraq/Afghanistan War.
Songs from the tour are woven together with
archival material, news footage, and audience
reaction and observations, as the film examines the
issues surrounding the integration of politics and
art. Directed by Neil Young. Official
Web Site
George Varga's San Diego
Union-Tribune review... |
Now Playing at the Ken Cinema
Must End Thursday, July 31!
 |
The true-life story of the passionate,
three-decade relationship between British writer
Christopher Isherwood (whose Berlin Stories
was the basis for all incarnations of
Cabaret) and American portrait painter Don
Bachardy, thirty years his junior. From Isherwood's
Kit-Kat-Club years in Weimar-era Germany to the
couple's first meeting on the sun-kissed beaches of
1950s Malibu, their against-all-odds saga is
brought to dazzling life by a treasure trove of
archival footage, Bachardy's contemporary
reminiscences, rare home movies (with glimpses of
glitterati pals W.H. Auden, Igor Stravinsky and
Tennessee Williams), reenactments, and, most
sweetly, whimsical animations based on the
cat-and-horse cartoons the pair used in their
personal correspondence. A joyful celebration of a
most extraordinary couple, directed by Guido Santi
and Tina Mascara. Official
Web Site
Bob Strauss's San Diego
Union-Tribune review... |
Now Playing at the Hillcrest Cinemas
and La Jolla Village Cinemas
 |
Pediatrician Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet)
still grieves the murder of his beloved wife Margot
(Marie-Josée Croze) eight years earlier. When two
bodies are found near the scene of the crime, the
police reopen the case and Alex becomes a suspect
again. The mystery deepens when Alex receives an
anonymous e-mail with a link to a video clip that
seems to suggest Margot is somehow still alive and
a message to "tell no one." Based on Harlan Coben’s
international bestselling thriller. Winner of 2007
César Awards for Best Director (Guillaume Canet)
and Best Actor. Official
Web Site
Rob Lowman's San Diego
Union-Tribune review... |
Now Playing at the Hillcrest Cinemas
 |
It's the summer of 1994, and the streets of New
York are pulsing with hip-hop and wafting with the
sweet aroma of marijuana—but change is in the air.
The newly inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is
beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives
against "crimes" like noisy portable radios,
graffiti and public drunkenness. Set against this
backdrop, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) spends his last
summer before college selling dope throughout New
York City, trading it with his shrink (Ben
Kingsley) for therapy, while crushing on his
step-daughter (Olivia Thirlby). Famke Janssen, Mary
Kate Olsen, and Method Man round out the cast in
this edgy, bittersweet and funny coming-of-age
story. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2008
Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by
Jonathan Levine. Official
Web Site
Nina Garin's San Diego
Union-Tribune review... |
Now Playing at the Hillcrest Cinemas
and La Jolla Village Cinemas
 |
Award-winning Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov
(Prisoner of the Mountains) illuminates the
life and legend of Genghis Khan. Based on leading
scholarly accounts, his stunning historical epic
delves into the dramatic and harrowing early years
of the ruler who was born as Temudgin in 1162. As
it follows Temudgin from his perilous childhood to
the battle that sealed his destiny, the future
conqueror is revealed not as the evil brute of
hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and
visionary leader. In a performance of powerful
stillness and subtlety, celebrated young Japanese
actor Asano Tadanobu (Zatoichi, Last Life in the
Universe) captures the inner fire that enabled
a hunted boy to become a legendary conqueror.
Masterfully blending action and emotion against
some of the most arresting terrain on earth, Bodrov
delivers an exciting and awe-inspiring tale of
survival and triumph, and a love story for the
ages. Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign
Language Film. Official
Web Site
Beth Accomando's
KPBS.org review and
interview... |
Starts Friday, August 1 at the Hillcrest Cinemas
and La Jolla Village Cinemas
 |
Evelyn Waugh’s heartbreaking romantic epic
tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the
loss of innocence in the pre-WWII era. Charles
Ryder (Matthew Goode) becomes entranced with the
noble Marchmain family, first through the charming
and provocative Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), and
then his sophisticated sister, Julia (Hayley
Atwell). The rise and fall of Charles’ infatuations
reflect the decline of a decadent era in England
between the wars. Co-starring Michael Gambon, Greta
Scacchi and Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain.
Directed by Julian Jarrold (Becoming
Jane).
Official
Web Site |
One Week Only!
Starts Friday, August 1 at the Ken Cinema
 |
Set in 19th century France, this sumptuous
drama chronicles the love affair between
tempestuous Spanish mistress Vellini (Asia Argento
at her most seductive) and distinguished, well-bred
Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Ait Aattou). Ryno's attempt
to remain faithful to his wife Hermangarde (Roxane
Mesquida), a highly regarded young woman of the
French aristocracy, profoundly fails as Vellini
reappears in Ryno's life, offering him the passion
and emotional connection he lacks in his marriage.
His reluctant obsession with Vellini eventually
overtakes his conscience, as he succumbs to the
deceitful path of infidelity. Written and directed
by Catherine Breillat (Sex is Comedy, Fat Girl,
Romance). Official
Web Site
Mick LaSalle's San Diego
Union-Tribune review... |
Starts Friday, August 1
at the La Jolla Village Cinemas
 |
| Feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (Ellen
Burstyn) has lived an unconventional life. Her
passionate heart has always ruled her head and her
choices have put her at odds with family and
friends. With her life nearly behind her, she sets
out in search of a way to reconcile herself to her
turbulent past. Through her reflections we come to
know a passionate and rebellious young bride, her
love for her two sons, the freedoms she claimed,
and the joys she denied herself. Co-starring Ellen
Page (Juno), Dylan Baker, Christine Horne,
Cole Hauser and Kevin Zegers. Written and directed
by Kari Skogland, based on the best-selling novel
by Margaret Laurence. Official
Web Site |
Starts Friday, August 1 at the Hillcrest
Cinemas
 |
Four desperate actors head off into the woods
to write the next great American screenplay—without
a clue as to how to get it done—in the new
tragicomedy from The Duplass Brothers (Jay and
Mark). While shooting their last feature film
The Puffy Chair, a crew member raised the
question “what’s the scariest thing you can think
of?” Someone immediately said “a guy with a bag on
his head staring into your window.” Some agreed,
but some thought it was downright ridiculous and,
if anything, funny (but definitely not scary).
Thus, Baghead was born, an attempt to take
the absurdly low-concept idea of a “guy with a bag
on his head” and make a funny, truthful, endearing
film that, maybe, just maybe, was a little bit
scary, too. Official
Web Site
Anders Wright's San Diego
CityBeat review... |
Starts Friday, August 8 at the Hillcrest Cinemas
 |
On August 7, 1974 a young Frenchman named
Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally
rigged between New York's Twin Towers, then the
world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour
dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for
psychological evaluation and brought to jail. Petit
spent eight months in New York planning the
execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends
and accomplices, he had to find a way to bypass the
World Trade Center's security; smuggle the heavy
steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers;
pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the
wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the
swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by
night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe
took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet
above the sidewalks of Manhattan. James Marsh's
documentary brings Petit's extraordinary adventure
to life through the testimony of Philippe himself,
and some of the co-conspirators who helped him
create the unique and magnificent spectacle that
became known as "the artistic crime of the
century." Music by Michael Nyman. Official
Web Site
A. O. Scott's New York
Times review... |
Starts Friday, August 8
at the La Jolla Village Cinemas
 |
| This heartbreaking and hilarious Sundance Film
Festival hit follows the lives of four real
teenagers—a jock, the popular girl, the artsy girl
and the geek—in one small town in Indiana through
their senior year of high school. We see the
insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the
first loves and heartbreaks, and the struggle to
make profound decisions about the future. With
extraordinary intimacy and a great deal of humor,
the film captures the pressures of growing
up—pressures that come from one's peers, one's
parents, and not least, oneself. Filming daily for
ten months, filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the
Ropes, The Kid Stays in the Picture) developed
a deep understanding of her subjects. The result is
a film that goes beyond the enduring stereotypes of
high school to render complex young people trying
to find their way into adulthood. Official
Web Site |
Starts Friday, August 8 at the Hillcrest Cinemas
 |
| A raucous throwback to the days of the Sergio
Leone spaghetti western, with a heaping helping of
testosterone-fueled chopper action thrown into the
mix. Writer/director Larry Bishop takes on a third
role as Pistolero, head honcho of the Victors, a
group of badass bikers who are out to avenge the
murder of one of their members at the hands of the
666ers, a rival gang whose actions live up to their
hellish moniker. Along with his cohorts, the Gent
(deviously portrayed by Michael Madsen) and the
mysterious Comanche (Eric Balfour), Pistolero aims
to take down the menacing leaders of the 666ers,
but a mutiny looms on the horizon when his
commitment to profit is questioned by a few of his
fellow Victors. Although there is enough sex,
violence, and all-out machismo to keep grindhouse
fans firmly plastered to their seats, Bishop's take
on the genre strays far from exploitation as he
weaves a twisting, multilayered tale of revenge,
loyalty and brotherhood. Co-starring Dennis Hopper,
Vinnie Jones and David Carradine. Official
Web Site |
One Week Only!
Starts Friday, August 8 at the Ken Cinema
 |
| In a time when Islam is under tremendous attack
from within and without, Muslim gay filmmaker
Parvez Sharma has dared to go where the silence is
loudest. In the world's first feature documentary
to explore the complex global intersections between
Islam and homosexuality, Parvez enters the many
worlds of Islam by illuminating multiple stories as
diverse as Islam itself. The film travels a wide
geographic arc presenting us lives from India,
Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa and
France. We meet men and women whose pursuit of love
has brought them into conflicts with their
countries, families and even themselves. Such is
the quandary of being both homosexual and Muslim, a
combination so taboo that very little about it has
been documented. Produced by Sandi Dubowski
(Trembling Before G-d). Official
Web Site |
Hillcrest Cinemas
(619) 819-0236
Ken Cinema
(619) 819-0236
La Jolla Village Cinemas
(619) 819-0236
|
