City Guide
January Films
Everyone's a Critic: arborweb's culture blog
Note: Most educational documentaries are listed with the daily Events.
Ann Arbor Docu Fest. Screening of a different documentary film every Mon. FREE. 929-9979. Café Ambrosia, 326 Maynard, 7 p.m.
Jan. 9: “Hungry for Change” (James Colquhoun & Laurentine Ten Bosch, 2012). Documentary about the underside of the diet, weight-loss, and food industries.
Jan. 16: “Solartaxi: Around the World with the Sun” (Erik Schmitt, 2010). Documentary about an epic 18-month trip around the world in a homemade solar-powered car.
Jan. 23: “A Conversation about Race” (Craig Bodeker, 2011). Documentary exploring fundamental confusions about the nature of racism.
Jan. 30: “Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy” (Lea Pool, 2011). Documentary exploring the commercial underside of this well-known charity campaign.
Ann Arbor District Library. FREE. 327-4555. AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave., various times.
Jan. 18: “Cinema Night Special: An Evening of Experimental Films and Music.” Feature film is Somers Town (Shane Meadows, 2008), a warm-hearted portrait of an unlikely friendship between 2 boys growing up in inner London, a runaway from Nottingham and a shy young Pole, the son of an alcoholic laborer. Pro Kopf (Sascha Zimmerman, 2012) is a suspenseful 14-minute short about an executive who makes a phone call home at the wrong time, discovering an indiscretion that could lead to murder. Also, the local No Excuses Band plays a variety of classic rock, pop, and folk covers, along with some originals. 7-9 p.m.
Jan. 24: “Buck” (Cindy Meehl, 2011). Moving documentary about Buck Brannaman, a leading horse trainer who was the inspiration for the main character in The Horse Whisperer. One review calls it “a movie that actually could make the world a better place.” Followed by a discussion led by Kimberly Cardeccia, a professional counselor who has worked with horses for 30 years. 6:30-9 p.m.
Jan. 31: “Blacking Up: Hip Hop’s Remix of Race and Identity” (Robert Anderson Clift, 2010). Award-winning documentary exploring the meaning of the popularity of hip-hop among American white youth. Followed by a discussion led by U-M Community Scholars Program faculty and students. 6-8:30 p.m.
Ann Arbor Senior Center. Free. Film screenings Mon., 12:30-3 p.m., and occasional other days. Lunch available for $5.50 (age 60 & over, $3). 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; reservations required. 1320 Baldwin.
Jan. 9: “Jules and Jim” (Francois Truffaut, 1962). Charming, memorable tale about a friendship between 2 artists and their mutual love for the same woman. Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre. French, subtitles. 12:30-2 p.m. [jjh]
Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. $5 suggested donation. 327-0270. 704 Airport Blvd., 8 p.m.
Jan. 19: “Spiritual Cinema.” Screening of a feature film or several shorts TBA with spiritual themes. Followed by discussion.
Jewel Heart Buddhist Center. FREE. 994-3387. Jewel Heart (1129 Oak Valley Dr. between Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. & Ellsworth), 7 p.m.
Jan. 25: “4 Short Films.” An evening of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated shorts. Raju (Max Zahle, 2012) is about a German couple adopting a young boy in India who face a difficult choice, Time Freak (Andrew Bowler, 2011) is about a neurotic inventor who builds a time machine but gets caught up traveling around yesterday, The Shore (Terry George, 2012) is about boyhood best friends who reconcile after being estranged for 25 years because of a misunderstanding during the Northern Ireland Troubles, and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (William Joyce & Brandon Oldenburg, 2011) is a poignantly humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Followed by discussion.
Mental Health Recovery Book & Film Club. FREE. 709-2183. 2311 E. Stadium suite 105 (across from Trader Joe’s), 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 24: “Goodbye Solo” (Ramin Bahrani, 2008). Drama about the unlikely friendship between a southern good ole boy and a young Senegalese cabbie. English, French, Wolof; subtitles. Followed by discussion.
Michigan Theater Foundation. Unless there is a live show in the main theater, 2 or 3 different films are shown, usually twice, almost every night. For complete, updated schedules, see michtheater.org or call 668-TIME. This schedule also includes some State Theater films that have been announced in advance. For an updated schedule, see michtheater.org/state. Tickets (unless otherwise noted): $10 (children under 12, students with ID, seniors age 55 & older, & U.S. veterans, $8; MTF members, $7.50; films before 6 p.m., $7). Michigan Theater (unless otherwise noted), times TBA unless otherwise noted.
Opens Dec. 25: “Les Miserables” (Tom Hooper, 2012). Adaptation of the Broadway musical, itself an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s sweeping epic of 19th-century Parisian life. Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway.
Opens Jan. 4: “Hyde Park on Hudson” (Roger Michell, 2012). Drama about the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin, Margaret Suckley. Bill Murray, Laura Linney.
Jan. 9: “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” (Byron Haskin, 1964). Retelling of the classic Daniel Defoe novel as the story of an astronaut forced to crash-land on Mars. Followed by a 30-minute lecture by U-M atmospheric and space sciences professor Nilton Renno. 7 p.m.
Jan. 11 & 13-17: “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel” (Lisa Immordino Vreeland, 2011). Documentary about this influential editor of Harper’s Bazaar.
Jan. 11 & 13-17: “Chasing Ice” (Jeff Orlowski, 2012). Documentary about the effort to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers using time-lapse cameras.
Jan. 12: “Nameless Gangster” (Yoon Jong-bin, 2012). Korean box-office hit about a corrupt customs officer whose life turns around when he meets a powerful gangster. Time magazine reviewer Jacob Templin calls it “the Korean mob film that Scorcese would be proud of.” Korean, subtitles. FREE, 2 p.m.
Jan. 12: “Pink Flamingos” (John Waters, 1972). Tirelessly perverse black comedy exploitation film about 2 families who battle for recognition as “filthiest people alive.” Stars Divine. Also Reefer Madness (Louis Gasnier, 1936), the anti-marijuana propaganda film that survives as a campy cult favorite. 7 p.m.
Jan. 13: “The NeverEnding Story” (Wolfgang Petersen, 1984). Fantasy adventure about an unhappy boy who stumbles into the mythical land of Fantasia when he begins to read an ancient tome. Kids under 12, free. 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 16 & 17: “Chicken with Plums” (Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi, 2011). Comic drama about a renowned violinist who confines himself to bed to await death after his beloved violin is broken. French, subtitles.
Jan. 19: “Late Autumn” (Kim Tae-young, 2010). A young woman on a special weekend release from prison (where she’s serving time for killing her abusive husband) meets a man on a bus who works as a companion for lonely, older women. Korean, subtitles. FREE, 2 p.m.
Jan. 20 & 21: “Deadfall” (Stefan Ruzowitzky, 2012). Thriller that follows 2 siblings who decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist. Eric Bana.
Jan. 21: “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (Peter Jackson, 2001). First in a trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novels. When the young hobbit Frodo is entrusted with a powerful ring, he must venture on a dangerous journey to destroy it. 7 p.m.
Jan. 22 & 23: “The House I Live in” (Eugene Jarecki, 2012). Documentary about America’s criminal justice system and the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.
Jan. 23: “Refusing to Be Enemies” (Laurie White, 2002). 10th anniversary screening of 58-minute documentary about Zeitouna, a local discussion group of Arabic and Jewish women whose focus is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Followed by a Q&A with Zeitouna members. $8. 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 & 24: “The Big Picture” (Eric Lartigau, 2012). Thriller about a photographer who goes on the run after accidentally killing his wife’s lover. French, subtitles.
Opens Jan. 25: “On the Road” (Walter Salles, 2012). Adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s classic autobiographical road novel.
Jan. 25, 27, & 28: “Smashed” (James Ponsoldt, 2012). Comedic drama about 2 alcoholics whose marriage is put to the test when the wife decides to get sober.
Jan. 29 & 30: “Holy Motors” (Leos Carax, 2012). Sci-fi about a shadowy character who journeys from one life to the next, becoming, by turns, a captain of industry, an assassin, a beggar, a family man, and more. French, subtitles.
Jan. 31: Sundance Film Festival. Official 2013 Sundance Festival screening and world premiere of The East (Zal Batmanglij, 2013), a thriller about a secret agent who infiltrates a mysterious anarchist group. Ellen Page, Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Julia Ormond. $15 in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, Ticketmaster.com, and all other Ticketmaster outlets. To charge by phone, call (800) 745-3000. 8 p.m.
WCBN-FM. FREE admission. 763-3500. Arbor Brewing Company (114 E. Washington), 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 9: “Bye Bye Birdie” (George Sidney, 1963). Film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about an Elvis-like rock star who travels to a small Ohio town to make a “farewell” TV performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted. Ann-Margret, Dick Van Dyke, Bobby Rydell, Janet Leigh, Paul Lynde.
