Hello Everyone,

Everything we’ve got is leaving! If you still need to see A ROYAL AFFAIR or SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, hurry down. On Thursday (Valentine’s Day) we’ll begin our exclusive engagement of QUARTET (which I’m certain will delight so many of you). On Friday, we begin one of the absolute best reviewed films of 2012 – AMOUR.

The Oscar-Nominated Shorts were a big success. Special thanks to all of you who came out and supported them. If at all possible (we’re not certain yet), we will have encore screenings of these films next weekend (Feb. 22-24). Remaining showtimes for this week are at www.neonmovies.com.

Synopsis for QUARTET: “Beecham House is abuzz. The rumor circling the halls is that the home for retired musicians is soon to play host to a new resident. Word is, it’s a star. For Reginald Paget (Tom Courtenay), Wilfred Bond (Billy Connolly) and Cecily Robson (Pauline Collins) this sort of talk is par for the course at the gossipy home. But they’re in for a special shock when the new arrival turns out to be none other than their former singing partner, Jean Horton (Maggie Smith). Her subsequent career as a star soloist, and the ego that accompanied it, split up their long friendship and ended her marriage to Reggie, who takes the news of her arrival particularly hard. Can the passage of time heal old wounds? And will the famous quartet be able to patch up their differences in time for Beecham House’s gala concert?” (The Weinstein Company) When I saw this film in Toronto, I knew immediately that we had to book this film…I deemed it “the next BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL,” and audiences across the country are loving it. Please help us spread the word…we want to let The Weinstein Company know that they made the right decision by giving us the exclusive engagement! Click on this LINK to visit the official site.

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Synopsis for AMOUR: Nominated for 5 Oscars – Including Best Picture, Best Foreign Film, and Best Actress – this is one of 2012’s Best Reviewed Films…with 100% reviews from THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, TIME, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES and many more! “Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple’s bond of love is severely tested.” (Sony Pictures Classics) If I was casting a ballot for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, this would be my pick! Click on this LINK to visit the film’s official site.

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“On February 23 at Noon, the Junior Leaguers of Dayton – an African American Women’s Service Organization – will hold an annual fundraiser which raises money for scholarships. They will screen the film RED HOOK SUMMER (directed by Spike Lee with James McBride as co-writer) – a coming of age movie about a young African American male who visits his grandparents living in the projects of Brooklyn New York. The discussion following the movie will be led by Dr. Michael Williams, a psychologist. The price is $30.00 which includes a movie ticket, glass of wine, soda, and popcorn. Student tickets are $15.00. Please contact Jackie Colvard for tickets at (937) 219-7501.” (taken from press notes)

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On February 28 at 7:30, Peace on Fifth will hold a screening of HALF THE SKY. More details will be available in next week’s newsletter.

Omari Matlock, a former Daytonian, will premiere his latest film – DESCENT OF A SUPERSTAR – on Saturday, March 2 at Noon. “When money power and fame is not enough, a young pop star turns to habits put in place by dark spirits.” A minimum donation of $10 is required for each ticket. Each ticket includes admission to the film and to the After Party/Networking event at Therapy Cafe at 3:00 (be sure to bring head shots, demo reels & resumes to this event if you are in or aspiring to be in the entertainment industry). Visit the facebook page for this film by clicking this LINK. Tickets will be available soon.

I’m excited to announce that Square One Salon & Spa has once again donated a prize for our Oscar contest! Feb. 24 marks the date of our Free Annual Oscar Party. Ballots are now available in our lobby and prizes have started to arrive (though you must be present at the party in order to win prizes). 15 films that are nominated for Academy Awards have screened at (or are coming soon to) THE NEON. Between these 15 films, there are 34 nominations. We hope you’ll make plans to spend this fun night with us. We will begin seating for this party as close to 7pm as possible…which is when the Red-Carpet pre-show begins. (We will begin collecting ballots on Sunday, Feb. 24 at Noon…collected ballots (only one per person present) will result in our seating priority.)

We hope to see you soon,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for Fri. Feb. 15 – Thur, Feb. 21:

QUARTET (PG-13) 1 Hr 38 Min.
Thur (Feb. 14): 3:00, 5:15, 7:30
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:45, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:40
Monday – Thursday: 3:00, 5:15, 7:30

AMOUR (PG-13) 2 Hrs 7 Min.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:30
Monday – Thursday: 2:30, 5:15, 8:00

COMING SOON:
As always, all dates are tentative. Many of these dates will change.
In some rare cases, titles may disappear.
March 8 – EMPEROR
March 22 – STOKER
March 29 – THE GATEKEEPERS
April 5 – ON THE ROAD
April 12 – NO

Hello Everyone,

It has been a busy day full of screenings and fun run-ins. I’ve seen 4 films, chatted with a few people who I met at this year’s ArtHouse Convergence in Utah, spotted a couple of my favorite critics, and secured more tickets for the next couple days.

I woke this morning at 6:00am and hopped on the subway by 6:45 in order to secure myself a place in line for tickets. I got my first picks and then headed into a screening of a South Korean film called IN ANOTHER COUNTRY with the always fantastic Isabelle Huppert. The story is about a girl who is writing a screenplay about a vacation town and a series of visitors – all played by Huppert. Though there are moments of charm and an understanding of what it’s like to be foreign (communication gaps, inability to read certain characters of handwriting, etc.), this movie didn’t work entirely for me. Some of the camera work turned me off, and the repetition of thematic material (though I understand that was the point) between each tourist was a little exhausting.

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Next I saw LAURENCE ANYWAY – the new film from Xavier Dolan (director of I KILLED MY MOTHER and HEARTBEATS). This is the story of the relationship between a man and woman…and what happens to their relationship once the man announces that he will have a sex change. There’s an interesting movie inside this movie…but at 2 hours and 40 minutes, it’s way too long and a bit of a tonal mess…with long stretches of realism, several moments of editing like an 80’s music video (ala HEARTBEATS) and a handful of visual metaphors that are lovely – but didn’t sync with the film (like W.E. last year, I’d like the opportunity to re-edit this film). All that said, the last 10 minutes are magical (I’m glad I stuck around). Though Melvil Poupaud (from TIME TO LEAVE) does nice work as the transgender male to female character, Suzanne Clement who does the best work in this film (she was the mother in I KILLED MY MOTHER, she was also in a great Canadian film called IT WASN’T ME, I SWEAR). Though not a huge fan of this film, I’ll be anxious to see what Dolan does next. I loved his first 2 films, and he’s only in his early 20’s.

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Then I saw AMOUR – the latest and most accessible film from Michael Haneke (THE WHITE RIBBON, FUNNY GAMES, BENNY’S VIDEO, THE PIANO TEACHER, and more). This Cannes winner is terribly heartbreaking and the most realistic, lovely, devastating, sweet, and honest depiction of an older couple I have ever seen. In this case, they’re dealing with a recently onset illness…and the wife’s desire to never be taken to the hospital again. (Isabelle Huppert has a small role…so she’s in the lead for most films I’ve seen with the same actress at TIFF.) This film is being released by Sony Classics, so I’m sure THE NEON will bring it to town.

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Lastly, I saw RUST AND BONE – the film I mentioned in yesterday’s update. I was not a big fan of A PROPHET – the director’s last film. And though I don’t completely embrace this film (physical, bloody violence almost always turns me off), I do see the brilliant artistry at work. It’s really nice to see that a director that is so full of a need to portray hideous violence is also able to show us warmth and gentleness. This film is about a father who is down on his luck and the orca trainer he meets at a club one night (brilliantly played by Marion Cotillard). Within the first act, there’s an accident at Marineland, and Cotillard’s character loses both her legs. This film is brutal…but it’s filled with honesty and wonderful moments. The photography is fantastic and the sound design is out of this world. Because Sony Classics has picked it up, I’m guessing it will come our way at THE NEON…and I’m guessing you’ll hear more about it come award season. Cotillard, Mattias Schoenaerts (the lead male) and director Jacques Audiard were all at the screening. Check out the newer trailer for this film at imdb.com

Thanks for reading. I’m off to bed.

More tomorrow,

Jonathan