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Theatrical Bookings in Focus (Dec. 4th):
GENTLEMEN BRONCOS @ Malco's
Studio on the Square
 With GENTLEMEN BRONCOS, Jared and Jerusha Hess return to form with many of the elements that made NAPOLEON DYNAMITE such a break out cult hit. Like
Napoleon before him, Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano) is a loner misfit who would rather spend his time alone in his room honing his craft than interact with other kids his own age. But while Napoleon was all about nunchuk skills and
drawing ligers, Benjamin dreams of just one thing: being a published fantasy/science fiction writer, like his hero Ronald Chevalier. With that goal in mind, Benjamin takes his latest story, YEAST LORDS, with him to a writing convention
specifically for other home-schooled children, and can't believe his eyes when Chevalier himself is one of the panelists and teachers for the weekend.
Like much of Hess' work, a lot of the comedy in BRONCOS is derived from the eccentric characters who inhabit a world that seems just slightly off center from ours. To make things even more sublimely ridiculous, though, throughout the film
we're also treated to several different versions of YEAST LORDS played as almost a film-within-the-film, and watching that story change as it passes through the hands of the various characters in the main film becomes one of the most
entertaining aspects of BRONCOS. The absolute highlights of the film, though, are twofold - the jet pack wearing stags armed with rocket launchers that the heroes of YEAST LORDS fly around on, and Jemaine Clements' outstanding portrayal of
the smug, egotistical, and ultimately delusional Ronald Chevalier, whose scene-stealing performances will undoubtedly generate some of the most frequently quoted lines from any film in the festival.
But don't be fooled; whereas NAPOLEON DYNAMITE has been met with criticism for being comprised almost exclusively of little moments of cleverness, BRONCOS fills in the gaps around the Rocket Stags and Chevalier-isms with real plot and, for
lack of a better word, heart. Anyone who ever spent a Sunday afternoon when they were fourteen trying to make their own movie in the backyard, or writing their own short stories or poetry, or even just building and painting models in their
room, will feel a true connection to Benjamin through that early adolescent dreamer that's still alive somewhere inside of all of us. Having that sort of protagonist we can easily and immediately identify with is new ground for the Hesses,
and it fleshes out the worlds they create perfectly. (Henri Mazza)
~ Fantastic Fest
THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX in
Wide Release
 Visionary director Wes Anderson's first animated film utilizes classic handmade stop-motion techniques to tell the story of the bestselling children's book
by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach).
Mr. and Mrs. Fox (George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr.
Fox's wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and, in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but also the whole animal community.
Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil farmers -- Boggis, Bunce and Bean -- who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost.
BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY @ Malco's
Ridgeway Four
 The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is the much-anticipated sequel to the indie cult classic, The Boondock Saints.
The film is the continuation of writer/director Troy Duffy's tough, stylized cutting edge saga of the MacManus brothers (Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery). The two have been in deep hiding with their father, Il Duce (Billy Connolly), in
the quiet valleys of Ireland, far removed from their former vigilante lives. When word comes that a beloved priest has been killed by sinister forces from deep within the mob, the brothers return to Boston to mount a violent and bloody
crusade to bring justice to those responsible.
With a new partner in crime (Clifton Collins Jr., Star Trek) and a sexy FBI operative (Julie Benz, TV's Dexter) hot on their trail…the Saints are back!
PRECIOUS @ Malco's
Paradiso
 With sheer audacity and utter authenticity, director Lee Daniels tackles Precious and creates an unforgettable film that sets a new standard for
cinema of its kind. Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a high-school girl with nothing working in her favor. She is pregnant with her father's childfor the second time. She can't read or write, and her schoolmates tease her for being fat.
Her home life is a horror, ruled by a mother (Mo'Nique) who keeps her imprisoned both emotionally and physically. Precious's instincts tell her one thing: if she's ever going to break from the chains of ignorance, she will have to dig
deeply into her own resources.Don't be misled -- Precious is not a film wallowing in the stillness of depression; instead, it vibrates with the kind of energy derived only from anger and hope. The entire cast are amazing; they carry
out a firestorm of raw emotion. Daniels has drawn from them inimitable performances that will rivet you to your seat and leave you too shocked to breathe. If you passed Precious on the street, you probably wouldn't notice her. But when her
story is revealed, as Daniels does in this courageous film, you are left with an indelible image of a young woman who -- with creativity, humor, and ferocity -- finds the strength to turn her life around.
~ Sundance Film Festival (Recipient of the Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic, the Audience Award presented by Honda: U.S. Dramatic, and A Special Jury Prize for Acting.)
AN EDUCATION @ Malco's
Ridgeway Four
 The 1960s were a time of change. So is life when you are 16. That combination propels An Education, set in London in 1961, and makes it an
unforgettable coming-of-age story.Attractive, bright, 16-year-old Jenny is stifled by the tedium of adolescent routine; she can't wait for adult life to begin. One rainy day her suburban existence is upended by the arrival of a much older
suitor, David. Urbane and witty, David instantly charms Jenny and introduces her to a glittering new world of classical concerts, art auctions, smoky bars, and late-night suppers with his attractive friends. He replaces Jenny's traditional
education with his own more-dangerous version. Just as the family's long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into Oxford has seemed within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life. Will David be the making of Jenny, or
her undoing?Every so often a performance comes along that is so captivating that it becomes an instant classic. Carey Mulligan's enchanting performance as Jenny is one of them. Channeling the spirit of a young Holly Golightly, she makes
Jenny's character blossom on screen from a girl into a woman, and transforms herself from an actor into a star. Director Lone Scherfig's complete understanding of Nick Hornby's extraordinary script brings its many dimensions to vivid life.
~ Sundance Film Festival (Recipient of the World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic and the World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic.)
PIRATE RADIO @ Malco's
Ridgeway Four
 In mid- to late-'60s Britain, an unusual yet colorful subculture sprang up and thrived as a product of the upswing in British pop music, only to meet
its doom within a few short years. Though the BBC functioned as the country's main source of news and music, its programmers offered very little airtime to rock & roll -- which left an overwhelming need unfulfilled. In response, small
bands of "pirate" radio enthusiasts set up broadcasting towers on boats just outside of English boundary waters, and transmitted signals to an estimated 25 million listeners, 24 hours a day and seven days per week. Unsurprisingly, the DJs
who took charge of these broadcasts could rival just about anyone in terms of flamboyance and outsized personalities. With Pirate Radio (released as The Boat That Rocked in the U.K.), writer-director Richard Curtis (Love
Actually) travels back to the Swinging Sixties and takes a headfirst plunge into this colorful realm.
The story opens in 1966, aboard a rusty fishing trawler christened Radio Rock and equipped with pirate broadcasting equipment. Here, the slightly daft elitist Quentin (Bill Nighy) presides over a motley crew of joint-toking, sex-hungry
disc jockeys including Dave (Nick Frost), a heavyset boob who nevertheless considers himself a hot property with women and loves to chase skirts; "The Count" (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an American DJ who aspires to be the first person to
drop an F-bomb over the British airwaves; the gloom-laden Irishman Simon (Chris O'Dowd); bonked-out hipster Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke); womanizer Mark (Tom Wisdom); Angus (Rhys Darby), a New Zealander whom nobody likes; and the only female
member of the group, lesbian cook Felicity (Katherine Parkinson). These misfits pull off quite a show -- enough of one that they attain the status of national idols for the youth culture -- but the super-conservative government minister
Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) detests the whole business and will do almost anything in his power to shut them down.
~ Allmovie.com
A SERIOUS MAN @ Malco's
Ridgeway Four
 Joel and Ethan Coen are at the top of their game, equally at home in serious drama and madcap comedy, working with the biggest stars in the world or
unfamiliar talent. Hot on the heels of No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading, they've switched gears again to deliver a pitch-perfect comic drama that takes them back to their roots in Minnesota -- a place they
haven't shot in since 1996's Fargo. Dry, hilarious and gloriously absurd, A Serious Man takes the Coens all the way back home.
It's 1967: Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) wants to be taken seriously, but he's assailed on all sides by disrespect. At home, his rotten children steal from his wallet and his wife pesters him for a divorce. She has fallen for their
hippie-styled friend Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed) and his empty, feel-good mantras. Worse, Larry's unemployed brother has annexed his couch and the family's only bathroom. He spends an awful lot of time in there draining his cyst. It's no
better at work. Larry's up for tenure at his college but a disgruntled student threatens to sabotage his reputation. Desperately clinging to his sanity, Larry seeks counsel from the wise and elusive Rabbi Nachtner (George Wyner). But to
get to Nachtner, he has to endure the First Rabbi, and then the Second.
Working with a crack team of actors drawn from Yiddish theatre, the Coens keep the story driving forward and the complications piling up. Blessed with a cosmic sense of life's absurdities, A Serious Man is sharp, precise and
superbly structured. Even the contrast of cinematographer Roger Deakins's composed images and the story's increasing chaos is held in perfect balance. But above all, this is a philosophical cry to the heavens, told in sophisticated
schtick.
~ Toronto Film Festival
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