[Rose-movies] Rose Theatre Newsletter for May 22, 2006

[The Rose Theatre]

This week's newsletter includes:

    * SISTERS IN LAW starts Friday, May 26
    * AKEELAH AND THE BEE starts Saturday, May 27 (weekend shows only)
    * THE DA VINCI CODE held over
    * DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY ends Thursday, May 25
    * DUMA ends Thursday, May 25
    * Annual outdoor movie to be held Saturday, August 19 at Memorial 
Field
    * Admission Prices, Wheelchair Accessibility & Assisted Listening Devices
    * Gift Suggestions
    * Coming Attractions
    * Rose Theatre Movie Challenge
Show Times: Monday, May 22 - Thursday, June 1

SISTERS IN LAW - showing in the Rosebud Cinema
May 26---------------4:30, 7:30
May 27---------------4:00, 7:30 (Matinee at 4:00 on Saturday only)
May 28-June 1------4:30, 7:30

AKEELAH AND THE BEE - showing in the Rosebud Cinema
May 27---------------1:30, 9:40
May 28---------------1:30

THE DA VINCI CODE - showing in the Rose Theatre
May 22-26-----------4:00, 7:10
May 27---------------7:10, 10:00 (There is NO MATINEE on Saturday)
May 28-June 1------4:00, 7:10

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY - showing in the Rosebud Cinema
May 22-25-----------7:30

DUMA - showing in the Rosebud Cinema
May 22-25-----------4:30
                                 __________________________________________________

SISTERS IN LAW
Directed by Kim Longinotto
This film is not rated.  104 minutes.  In English and Pidgin with English 
subtitles.
<http://www.wmm.com>

The women of Kumba Town take no guff, thanks to the clear minds, bright 
spirits and rock-steady ethics of the Sisters In Law, Vera Ngassa (a 
prosecutor) and Beatrice Ntuba (a judge).  Warmly assembled by Kim 
Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, this winning documentary follows them as 
they nourish grass-roots feminism in a Cameroon village.  Men stupid, cruel 
or negligent enough to wind up in the courthouse swiftly find their idiot 
assumptions exposed in the light of constitutional justice: sorry, guy, 
your wife doesn't have to ask you permission to leave the 
house.  Patriarchal arrogance is knocked clean off their hapless mugs as 
the world's worst alibis crumble before the sisterly smackdown.

The cases are appalling.  Nevertheless, the movie doesn't depress.  When 
the right thing is done, it is uplifting in any context.  SISTERS IN LAW 
positively soars.

The movie plays like a cross between Ousman Sembene's vibrant parable 
MOOLADE and Raymond Depardon's gripping procedural THE 10TH DISTRICT 
COURT.  Committed, in strict verite, to the here and now, SISTERS IN LAW 
eschews the when and how.  I'd happily watch a biographical prequel to this 
particular slice of life.  Who are these women, and can they please take 
over the world soon?  (Excerpted from THE NEW YORK TIMES).

"I consider SISTERS IN LAW one of the best documentaries of all time, and 
Kim Longinotto one of the great documentary filmmakers of our day"- 
TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL.  "Upbeat...a surprisingly positive 
portrait"-VARIETY.  "Knocked me flat, earned my tears of shock and 
joy"-VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.
                                 ___________________________________________________

AKEELAH AND THE BEE
Directed by Doug Atchison
Cast: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne and Keke Palmer.  Rated PG for 
language.  112 minutes.
<http://www.akeelahandthebee.com>

Watch AKEELAH AND THE BEE and see something entirely unexpected: a preteen 
girl stealing a movie from Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.  That's 
not to say Bassett and Fishburne (reuniting for the first time since WHAT'S 
LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?) aren't on their game, but that the kid is 
something special.  Keke Palmer, who's been working in television and 
movies for the past few years, is a natural on screen.  As 11-year-old 
Akeelah Anderson, the youngest in a troubled South Los Angeles family, she 
has a sweet and slightly apologetic quality; this is a child who's loved 
but neglected, who nobody has time for.  She's not accustomed to attention 
and doesn't know quite what to make of it when she gets it.

Directed by Doug Atchison from his Nicholl Fellowship-winning screenplay, 
the movie represents the latest entry in a cinematic tradition that 
includes the riveting 2003 documentary SPELLBOUND.  It is the story of how 
Akeelah finds something that makes her feel special: spelling bees.  She's 
a bright girl who doesn't pay much attention  in school but has a knack 
with words.  Nobody knows about her talent until a halfhearted spelling bee 
takes place at her school.  She catches the eye of a local professor 
(Fishburne), who takes her on as a tutoring project.  Soon Akeelah is 
climbing the ladder of success letter by letter, with eyes on the grand 
prize: the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Along the way, Akeelah makes peace with her fiery mother (Bassett, who can 
do fiery like nobody's business) and finds a few new friends.  The movie 
focuses its highly optimistic gaze on the bee's community-uniting impact, 
as Akeelah becomes a local celebrity.  Palmer, smiling shyly in her 
wire-rimmed glasses, makes an appealing heroine whose smarts turn out to be 
her savior.  Frustrated by Fishburne's discipline early on, she calls him a 
"dictatorial, truculent, supercilious gardener" before flouncing off; even 
in her anger, she takes pleasure in words.

Standing on the big stage at the national spelling bee, tapping out the 
rhythm of the words as she spells them while her family cheers her on, 
she's finally comfortable--she's traveled a long way, but has finally found 
her home.  (Excerpted from THE SEATTLE TIMES and VARIETY).

"A jewel.  Akeelah and the Bee delivers a measure of movie pleasure I 
haven't known in quite a spell"-TODAY.  "Absolutely irresistible!  A rare 
feel-good movie that genuinely earns its emotions"-ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT.
                                 __________________________________________________

THE DA VINCI CODE
Directed by Ron Howard
Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Paul Bettany, Ian McKellan, Jean Reno, 
Alfred Molina.  Rated PG-13.  149 
minutes.  <http://www.sony/movies/thedavincicode/>

Famed symbologist, Professer Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is called to the 
Louvre museum one night where a curator has been murdered, leaving behind a 
mysterious trail of symbols and clues.  With his own survival at stake, 
Langdon, aided by police cryptologist Sophie Neveau (Audrey Tautou of 
AMELIE) unveils a series of stunning secrets hidden in the works of 
Leonardo Da Vinci, all leading to a covert society dedicated to guarding an 
ancient secret that has remained hidden for 2,000 years.  The pair set off 
on a quest through Paris, London and Scotland, collecting clues as they 
desperately attempt to crack the code and reveal secrets that will shake 
the very foundations of mankind.

The film was adapted by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A BEAUTIFUL MIND) from 
Dan Brown's best-selling book.  "By the time we'd all decided to make it 
into a movie, the book had gone from being a big hit to being a historic 
success story," says director Ron Howard (CINDERELLA MAN, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, 
APOLLO 13).  "It's more than just believing it would make a good movie 
story.  In choosing to take it to the screen you also have to ask yourself 
a lot of questions that the book poses to the reader.  I've never really 
been involved in a film project like this.  One that not only generates 
feeling and emotion and is entertaining, but also really stimulates great 
conversation."  (Excerpted from Sony production notes).
                                 ___________________________________________________

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY
Directed by Michael Gondry
With the Fugees, Kanye West, the Roots, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, 
Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu.  Rated R for language. 103 minutes.
<http://www.chapellesblockparty.com>

Joy overflows in DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY, an imaginative, music-filled 
documentary about a free outdoor hip-hop concert the comedian presented in 
Brooklyn in 2004.  The nominal idea, the comic explains to the camera, was 
"the concert I've always wanted to see."  It is perhaps the first movie 
since STOP MAKING SENSE to give you a blissful buzz.  The buzz comes from 
the music, which has a loose, burning joy that's rare to behold in a live 
rap performance, and also from Chappelle's wicked prankster's glee, which 
spreads through the movie like a happy virus.

Chappelle lives in Dayton, Ohio, and one of the amusing conceits of this 
film is watching him act out his determination to give "golden tickets" 
that provide free bus transportation and lodging to lucky townspeople.  He 
impulsively invites casual acquaintances, total strangers, and even an 
entire college marching band to a free concert a few days hence in 
Bed-Stuy.  A heady spirit of spontaneity permeates the proceedings, 
suggesting the entire picture, much like the concert it documents, was 
conceived, planned and completed in a single burst of creative enthusiasm.

It's not surprising that Chappelle's choice of music leans toward groups 
that have social and political consciousness.  It's not every rock concert 
that's going to have an appearance by Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., the son of 
the murdered Black Panther leader.  And the music is 
outstanding.  Chappelle was persuasive enough to talk the Fugees into 
reuniting after seven years, and their performance is electrifying, 
especially Lauryn Hill's touching, hip-hop-inflected version of Roberta 
Flack's "Killing Me Softly."  The beautiful and classy Jill Scott brings 
sweet jazz to the party, and Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Kanye West and Common 
turn the place out as well.  Although DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY offers 
performances by some of hip-hop's biggest stars, it is more a street-level 
view of how that music relates to the community than it is a concert 
film.  When Scott and Erykah Badu get down together behind The Roots, it is 
more a neighborhood jam than a star turn.

Academy Award winning director Michael Gondry, echoing techniques he used 
in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, keeps cutting between the run-up 
to the concert and the event itself, staging the film as a series of 
flickering time leaps that work on you almost kinesthetically.  After a 
while, you stop thinking about "past" and "present."  You're eager simply 
to be in the now, as content to watch a rapping Brooklyn waiter as you are 
to see an incendiary stage performance by Dead Prez, with their blistering 
indictments of white power.  The enthralling spirit of the movie, it's mood 
of exuberant democracy, extends to every rap and soul performance in the 
film.

Most fun of all, however, is basking in Chappelle's ability to be 
effortlessly funny.  His personality infuses the film with infectious good 
feelings.  Chappelle's talent and the characters in the movie give it a 
universal appeal, even to those unfamiliar with hip-hop.  All of a sudden 
you remember what it's like when a concert movie isn't just glorified 
music-television fodder but, rather, an event that can restore your faith. 
(Excerpted from ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NEW YORK 
TIMES, THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, THE SEATTLE TIMES and VARIETY).

"Dave Chappelle can make you laugh at anything!"-THE LOS ANGELES TIMES. "A 
Jubilant Lollapalooza!"-THE BOSTON GLOBE. "An exhilarating new film."-THE 
NEW YORK TIMES.
                                 __________________________________________________

DUMA
Directed by Carroll Ballard
Cast: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Eamonn Walker, Alexander Michaletos
Rated PG for mild adventure peril.  100 
minutes.  <http://www.dumamovie.warnerbros.com>

In a sane world, there would be dancing in the streets at the arrival of a 
film as magical and entertaining as Carroll Ballard's DUMA.  Sadly, we do 
not live in that world.  In our world, this enormously entertaining film by 
the director of THE BLACK STALLION, NEVER CRY WOLF and FLY AWAY HOME 
doesn't have a national release and is lucky to be on screens at all.  In a 
gross miscarriage of movie justice, Warner Bros. put this exceptional film 
in distribution limbo, aborting its wide theatrical release after 
capriciously deciding it wasn't commercial enough.

This says more about the cowardice of Hollywood studios than the wonderful 
quality of DUMA.  How Warner Bros. could neglect a new film by Ballard is 
beyond comprehension.  What's especially frustrating about the situation is 
that it is precisely the kind of film that audiences say they are hungering 
for.  It's non-saccharine story of a boy and his cheetah is an all-around 
delight, and, as fans of Ballard's previous efforts can testify, every bit 
as involving for adults as for younger viewers.  Like his earlier films, 
DUMA is the work of a magician, a director capable of joining visual poetry 
with matter of fact plausibility, someone adept at using the world of 
animals to give us moving insights into our own.  Simultaneously innocent 
and sophisticated, this honestly emotional fable shows why every Ballard 
film--and his last was released almost a decade ago--is a special event.

Given Ballard's gift for working with animals, it was inevitable that the 
director would make a film in Africa, where the wildlife is thick on the 
land.  This particular tale is based on a popular non-fiction children's 
book, "How It Was With Dooms," by Xan Hopcraft and Carol Cawthra 
Hopcraft.  Set in the harsh, beautifully photographed wilderness of South 
Africa, much of the film involves the recklessly boyish efforts of 
12-year-old Xan to return his pet cheetah to the wild.  Found as a cub, the 
now full-grown Duma is at risk in big-city Johannesburg.  So without 
telling his mother (Hope Davis), Xan treks into the dangerous Kalahari 
Desert, following the advice of his farmer father (Campbell Scott) to 
return Duma to his instinctive place in nature.  Xan is joined on his 
journey by Ripkun (Eamonn Walker) an enigmatic wanderer on a mission of his 
own.

As photographed by South African Werner Maritz, DUMA makes wonderful use of 
the beauty of more than 75 locations in that country.  He and director 
Ballard were clearly delighted by the opportunity to shoot with cheetahs, 
the fastest as well as some of the most regal animals on earth.  As always, 
Ballard is singularly fascinated by the mysterious bond between humans and 
animals, and his supreme patience yields hypnotic images that no other 
director would think to include.  What makes Ballard's films stand out, 
however, is his ability to add dramatic tension to his photogenic 
mix.  Paradoxically, the dramatic integrity that makes DUMA such a fine 
film also makes it difficult to sell.  Because its concerns are timeless 
instead of trendy, it is by definition unfashionable.  Because its 
characters have texture and complexity, because its story doesn't have the 
gooey heavy-handedness of the standard animal film, it is a trial for 
studio machinery geared to exploit the simplistic and one-dimensional.

Seeing DUMA during its run is a chance to experience a delightful film few 
others may be able to see as well as an opportunity to vote for the kinds 
of pictures you want in the future.  You can either send Hollywood a 
message in the only language it understands or resign yourself to a 
lifetime of empty, predictable dreck.  Stark as it sounds, those are your 
choices.  (Excerpted from the LOS ANGELES TIMES and the SEATTLE TIMES).

"A soulful, piercingly beautiful story"-THE NEW YORK TIMES.  "The year's 
best family film...moving and charming, it's a gem!"-LOS ANGELES DAILY 
NEWS.  "Exciting, engaging and beautifully made"-ENTERTAINMENT 
TONIGHT.  "The best American movie I've seen this year, a gorgeous 
adventure film."-NEWARK STAR-LEDGER.
                                 __________________________________________________

SAVE THE DATE!

Our annual outdoor movie is set for Saturday, August 19th.

Start dusting off those lawn chairs, begin stockpiling quilts and picnic 
baskets--only three more months until you'll be under the stars in Memorial 
Field!  There'll be music, dancing, door prizes and hot cocoa!

The film will be announced within the next few weeks.
                                 __________________________________________________ 


Admission Prices
General admission to the Rose is $8, senior citizens (62+) $7, children (12 
& under) $6.  The matinees are $1 less.  The box office opens 30 minutes 
before the first show of the day, and tickets may be purchased at that time 
for any show through Thursday, June 1.

Assisted Listening Devices
Since opening in 1992 the Rose has provided infrared headphones for 
customers with hearing impairment.  While the system has proved beneficial 
for many people, others have not benefited from it.  In an effort to 
provide greater flexibility in this area, we recently installed an 
additional assisted hearing system.

If your hearing aid has a telecoil, this new system might work for 
you.  The sound reaches the telecoil via a neckloop.  The system works in 
both auditoriums and may be requested at the concession.

WARNING: The telecoil/neckloop system is not to be used if you have a 
pacemaker.

Wheelchair Accessible
Both auditoriums are wheelchair accessible, as well as the main floor 
restroom.  If you phone our office ahead of time we'll be happy to reserve 
for you the designated seating area in either the Rose Theatre or Rosebud 
Cinema.  (360.385.1039)
                                 __________________________________________________

Gift Suggestions

Rose Theatre T-Shirts - $16.00
Rose Theatre Sweatshirts - $32.00
Admission Gift Certificates - $8, $7, $6"
Discount Cards - $35.00 - (five admissions) Saves $1 on each general 
admission ticket.
Concession Gift Certificates for any denomination
                                 __________________________________________________

Coming Attractions*

UNITED 93 - tba - Paul Greengrass' (THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) newest film about 
United Airlines' Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field on 
September 11th, 2001.  "Brilliant and momentous.  With more fictionalized 
9/11 films to come, is it too soon?  My answer is that if they truly help 
us--as the tightly focused 'United 93' helps us--to fill in the gaps in our 
knowledge and to pose more incisive questions, then it is not soon 
enough"-NEW YORK MAGAZINE.  <http://www.united93movie.com>

SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY - tba - A meticulous and humorous documentary about 
one of architecture's greatest legends.  Directed by Sydney 
Pollack.  "Lucid and engaging, 'Sketches of Frank Gehry' provides the 
enormously gratifying opportunity to spend an hour-and-a-half with an 
artistic giant"-VARIETY.

ONE: THE MOVIE - tba - A Detroit attorney woke up one morning and decided 
to ask enlightened individuals - Catholic priests, Buddhist monks, Indian 
yogis - What is the meaning of life?  So, he picked up a camera and made a 
most intriguing movie.  "Do not ask for answers to be given you.  If given, 
they would not be yours, and you would not live them. Instead, live in the 
questions, and little by little the answers will come.  And you will live 
them also."-Rainier Maria Rilke.  <http://www.OneTheMovie.org>

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION - tba - Garrison Keillor has turned his popular 
radio show in to a movie, directed by the 80-year-old Robert Altman.  The 
all-star cast includes Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Lily 
Tomlin and Mr. Keillor as himself.

WATER - tba - From India, this luminous film examines the plight of a group 
of widows forced into poverty at a temple in the holy city of Varanasi.  "A 
masterwork that stirs the soul"-TORONTO SUN.

*schedule subject to change.
                                 __________________________________________________

Rose Theatre Movie Challenge:  Which movie has had the highest total number 
of walk-outs at the Rose since the theatre's re-opening in 1992?  (Bonus 
points for correctly guessing the number).

Answers must be e-mailed to moviechallenge at rosetheatre.com with Rose 
Theatre Contest in the subject line. One winner will be selected at random 
from correct responses received by midnight, May 26, and will be notified 
by e-mail.  Your free pass will be held at the box office so you must 
include your name along with your movie challenge answer.  Passes are good 
for 30 days.
                                 __________________________________________________

Last Week's Question:  One of the musical artists in DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK 
PARTY has also received critical acclaim for his dramatic acting work on 
Broadway.  Who is the artist and what was the name of the play?

Answer: Mos Def, who starred with Jeffrey Wright in Suzan Lori-Parks' 2001 
play Topdog/Underdog.

Congratulations to RW, our winner this week.
                                 __________________________________________________

Soundtracks to movies featured at the Rose Theatre are available at Quimper 
Sound Music & Media, 901 Water Street, Port Townsend.  Your Rose Theatre 
ticket stub may be redeemed at Quimper Sound for $1 off any purchase of $10 
or more.  Offer valid for one month from movie date.  One stub per 
purchase.   Not valid on Quimper Sound gift certificates or tickets.

E-mail addresses are collected only for the Rose Theatre Newsletter.  They 
are not transferred to any third party for any reason.  Our complete 
Privacy Policy is available at <http://www.rosetheatre.com>
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