A masterpiece in the beautiful main theater at the Coolidge with a new 35mm print. 'nuff said.

Prodigal Sons tells the story of three fascinating siblings: filmmaker Kim, a transgender woman; Todd, a gay man; and Marc, their adopted brother who discovers he’s the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. The bond between longtime rivals Marc and Kim, which defies both Kim’s gender and Marc’s pedigree, exists as the fascinating heart of the film, and is orbited by a colorful, articulate cast of characters, including jailhouse chaplains, Montana farmers, intrigued high school classmates, and Orson Welles’ soul-mate Oja Kodar, among others. Carol, the remarkably resilient mother who accepts her children’s surprises with grace and optimism, provides a strong backbone for the family, as well as a clear-eyed entry-point to this drama of Wellesian proportions. All along the way surprising revelations abound: Marc’s innate savant ability to play the piano, Kim’s smooth acceptance from schoolmates and community, and their younger brother Todd’s well-adjusted attitude about being gay. After pulling for this family through its trials and tribulations, we learn that a poignant sense of hope will carry them through

"David Dutten (Timothy Olyphant) is sheriff of Ogden Marsh, a picture-perfect American town with happy, law-abiding citizens. But one night, one of them comes to a school baseball game with a loaded shotgun, ready to kill. Another man burns down his own house…after locking his wife and young son in a closet inside. Within days, the town has transformed into a sickening asylum; people who days ago lived quiet, unremarkable lives have now become depraved, blood-thirsty killers, hiding in the darkness with guns and knives. Sheriff Dutten tries to make sense of what’s happening as the horrific, nonsensical violence escalates. Something is infecting the citizens of Ogden Marsh...with insanity. Now complete anarchy reigns as one by one the townsfolk succumb to an unknown toxin and turn sadistically violent. In an effort to keep the madness contained, the government uses deadly force to close off all access and won’t let anyone in or out – even those uninfected."

"The project centers on a U.S. marshal (Mark Ruffalo) who along with his new partner (Leonardo DiCaprio) travels to a Massachusetts island to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. During their inquiry , the two encounter a web of deceit, experience a hurricane and become involved in a deadly inmate riot that leaves them trapped on the island. Ben Kingsley will play Dr. Cawley, the hospital's enigmatic chief physician who must reluctantly play host to the two U.S. marshals."

""The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "Imperial" Presidency-answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people-in order to help end the Vietnam War. In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg shook America to its foundations when he smuggled a top-secret Pentagon study to the New York Times that showed how five Presidents consistently lied to the American people about the Vietnam War that was killing millions and tearing America apart. President Nixon's National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger called Ellsberg "the most dangerous man in America," who "had to be stopped at all costs." But Ellsberg wasn't stopped. Facing 115 years in prison on espionage and conspiracy charges, he fought back. Ensuing events surrounding the so-called Pentagon Papers led directly to Watergate and the downfall of President Nixon, and hastened the end of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg's relentless telling of truth to power, which exposed the secret deeds of an "Imperial Presidency," inspired Americans of all walks of life to forever question the previously-unchallenged pronouncements of its leaders. "The Most Dangerous Man in America" tells the inside story, for the first time on film, of this pivotal event that changed history and transformed our nation's political discourse. It is told largely by the players of that dramatic episode-Ellsberg, his colleagues, family and critics; Pentagon Papers authors and government officials; Vietnam veterans and anti-war activists; Watergate principals, attorneys and the journalists who both covered the story and were an integral part of it; and finally-through White House audiotapes-President Nixon and his inner circle of advisors."

"Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician."

"Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), the leader of a traveling show, has a dark secret. Thousands of years ago he traded the soul of his daughter, Valentina, to the devil. Now the devil has come to collect his prize. To save her, Parnassus must make a final wager: Whoever collects five souls first will win Valentina. Tony (Heath Ledger), a man saved from hanging by Parnassus' troupe, agrees to help collect them, with his eye on marrying Valentina."

"Hilarious and frequently surreal, this stop-motion extravaganza has endless charms and raucous laughs. Based on the Belgian animated cult TV series (which was released by Wallace & Gromit’s Aardman Studios), A Town Called Panic stars three plastic toys named Cowboy, Indian and Horse, who share a house in a rural town that never fails to attract the weirdest events. Cowboy and Indian’s plan to give Horse a homemade barbecue backfires when they accidentally order 50 million bricks. Whoops! This sets off a perilously wacky chain of events as the trio travel to the center of the earth, trek across frozen tundra and discover a parallel underwater universe of pointy-headed (and dishonest!) creatures. With panic a permanent feature of life in this papier-mâché burg, will Horse and his equine paramour—flame-tressed piano teacher Madame Longray—ever find a quiet moment alone? A non-stop whirlwind of inspired silliness that will leave you smiling. Voices by co-directors Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, as well as Jeanne Balibar and Benoit Poelvoorde. Please note: Despite occasional bad language in the subtitles, the French-language film is entirely appropriate for children."

"With all of the hubbub surrounding Rob Marshall's Oscar-baiting musical Nine, based on Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, we can't think of a better time to celebrate cinema's greatest maestro - and it also happens to be the 50th birthday of one of his masterpieces. In LA DOLCE VITA, Fellini's frequent collaborator Marcello Mastroianni plays a member of the paparazzi - back when that was a cool thing to be. From the first shot of a helicopter carrying a Christ statue over Rome, Fellini fills his film with portentous symbols but he never allows them to take away from the pleasure of watching Marcello track the highs and lows of the stars, playboys, and aristocrats of Rome - getting caught up in the lifestyle most of the time. Fellini's deft and gorgeous filmmaking brings the life of swinging Rome onto celluloid with exuberance and finesse, and then the music of Nina Rota (who composed most of Fellini's films) pulls it all together."

"After finally catching serial killer and occult "sorcerer" Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again. Contending with his partner's new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic - and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler."

"The relationship between a father and daughter is complicated by the arrival of a handsome young man."

"A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious digital 3-D sci-fi epic from Academy Award-winning Titanic director James Cameron. The film, which marks Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's Titanic, follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a war veteran who gets called to the depths of space to pick up the job of his slain twin brother for the scientific arm of a mega corporation looking to mine the planet of Pandora for a valued ore. Unfortunately the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na'vi, a 10-foot tall, blue-skinned native tribe who have been at war with the security arm of the company, lead by Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half alien/half human bodies which they can jack their consciousness into and explore the world in. Since Jake's brother already had an incredibly expensive Avatar grown for him, he's able to connect with it using the same DNA code and experience first-hand the joys of Pandora while giving the Scientific team, lead by Grace (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), some well-needed protection against the planet's more hostile forces.

On a chance meeting after getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. When word gets out of his increasing time with the alien species, Quaritch enlists Jake to do some reconnaissance for the company, as they'd like to persuade the tribe to move their home before taking more drastic measures to harness the treasure hidden below. Yet as Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake needs to decide which side he will fight on when the time comes. The film was shot proprietary FUSION digital 3-D cameras developed by Cameron in collaboration with Vince Pace, and offers a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects. The revolutionary motion-capture system created for the film allows the facial expressions of actors to be captured as a virtual camera system enables them to see what their computer-generated counterparts will be seeing in the film, and Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Weta Digital visual-effects house supervises Avatar's complex visual effects. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide"

"The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match."