Board Picks
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
David Fincher · 158m · DCP
A frigid psychosexual mystery, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo leads its viewers from the icy streets of Stockholm to snowy rural Sweden as disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), aided by hacker Lisbeth Salandar (Rooney Mara), uncovers the deep-seated evils that reside in the core of the Swedish upper class. Scored by frequent collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, this gripping film is not one you should let slip by.
Saturday, January 11th 9:00 PM
Amateur (1994)
Hal Hartley · 105m · 35mm
Isabelle Huppert plays a virgin, “nymphomaniac” ex-nun who befriends Thomas, a man who wakes up with amnesia (and perhaps a dark past) in an alley. The search for his identity turns out more dangerous than expected, as the characters are embroiled in a world of crime, torture, and murder. Amatuer is the ultimate 90s neo-noir comedy by way of Hal Hartley, with Parker Posey and Michael Imperioli cameos and a soundtrack featuring Pavement and PJ Harvey.
35mm print from the Chicago Film Society collection at the University of Chicago Film Studies Center.
Thursday, January 30th 7:00 PM
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Anthony Minghella · 140m · DCP
A story that lends itself to adaptations ever since the publication of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley’s titular character (Matt Damon) is a high-strung imposter among the carefree elites that spend their time along the Italian coastline. The landscape’s sun-soaked beauty, Jude Law’s saxophone-playing, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s elegance lead one to understand Ripley’s fascination with them, and even fall under the spell themselves.
Saturday, March 1st 7:00 PM · Sunday, March 2nd 4:00 PM
The White Ribbon (2009)
Michael Haneke · 144m · DCP
A German village is beset by bizarre, sadistic acts of cruelty, seemingly targeting children and animals. Between these bursts of inexplicable violence, the ordered religious discipline and hyper-conservative conduct of the villagers persist, while the crimes go unsolved. In usual Haneke style, The White Ribbon unspools dispassionately, presenting three parallel strata of discipline (the film ends on the eve of WWI), uninterpreted and unmelodic.
Saturday, March 8th 5:00PM
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Peter Jackson · 179m · DCP
Frodo Baggins is fated to possess the one ring — and to destroy it. Thus forms the Fellowship of the Ring. Composed of an elf, a wizard, a sexy super-human (Viggo Mortensen), a dwarf, and many Hobbits, the Fellowship’s journey takes on epic proportions as they are relentlessly pursued by sinister forces from within and without. Picturing yourself as a hobbit running away from an army of orcs will motivate you for finals, while the film warms your heart.
