June 3, 2010 -- The Not Shown Before at a Theater Near You free summer film series starts June 6 and runs to September 5 (film schedule, ratings, reviews and synopses below). Showings are each Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany County Public Library. This series is sponsored by the Albany County Public Library, the Wyoming Peace, Justice and Earth Center and the Laramie Film Society. The idea is to show some of the best films from last year that never made it to local theaters as well as some classics and films about peace, justice and the environment. We had a good response to this series last summer, so we decided to do it again.

There is no admission charge for these films and we provide free popcorn and pop. Three of us have been doing most of the work on this series, myself, Nancy Sindelar of the Wyoming Peace Justice and Earth Center and Lynn Hamblin of the Laramie Film Society. In addition to working on the film series, we are soliciting donations to upgrade the library's film facilities. So far, we have purchased various cables, HDMI, VGA, composite, component, S-Video, conversion cables, speaker wire, speakers, a surround sound amplifier and other equipment. We have also built a shelf near the ceiling to mount the library's new Hi-Def projector. The library has contracted with an electrician to install the wiring and outlets for the system. The library has also installed air conditioning in the room. So far, donations have covered food and film rental expenses and equipment upgrades. Come join us at the movies!

Following is the schedule for the film series. Each movie is given a quality rating and is linked to reviews. Below the schedule is a synopsis of each film and other information, including awards these films have won. An asterisk following the name of the film means the film is rated by means of an average of reviews of major critics at either the toptenreviews.com site or metacritic.com. It also means the movie is linked to the Movie Review Query Engine site (MRQE.com), where there are numerous reviews of each film. Other ratings and reviews are mine.

June 6 -- The Invention of Lying: This alternate reality comedy, written, directed and starring Ricky Gervais (“Ghost Town”), is about a place where nobody ever tells a lie, until one man invents lying, with comic results. Also starring Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, Fionnula Flanagan, Rob Lowe and Tina Fey. Rated PG-13, 100 minutes.

June 13 -- Earth: The first in Disney's new division “Disneynature” series of nature films follows three wildlife families, polar bears, humpback whales and elephants as they all make perilous journeys to survive during the course of one full year. These migratory journeys are covered by expert camera crews in Africa, in the frozen arctic and in the ocean. This film is narrated by James Earl Jones and was nominated for a BAFTA award and won Golden Screen and Bogey awards in Germany. It is rated G and runs 90 minutes.

June 20 -- Forbidden Planet: This classic science fiction film, loosely based on Shakespeare's “The Tempest,” paved the way for many science fiction films that followed in the years to come, but it was seldom equalled. In particular, this film was an inspiration for the popular TV series “Star Trek” and the Trek series and films that followed. It is also the first film with an entirely electronic musical score. Robby the Robot, one of the film's stars, went on to star in other films and TV episodes. The story, set in the 23rd century, is about an expedition by United Planets Cruiser C-57D to Altair Four to investigate the fate of a colonial expedition lost 20 years earlier. Attacks from a mysterious creature on the planet follow. This film was nominated for an academy award for its great special effects. Rated G, runs 98 minutes.

June 27 -- Rosewood: Filmmaker John Singleton, who made a big splash at the age of 23 with his 1991 hit, “Boyz 'N the Hood,” made this hard-hitting historical drama based on actual events in Florida in 1922. It tells of a murderous spree by whites on a neighboring black town, resulting in at least 70 deaths and the destruction of the town. This film won the Political Film Society, USA award in 1998. Writer Gregory Poirer won the Paul Selvin Honorary Award from the Writer's Guild of America for his Rosewood screenplay. The film was also nominated for a black film award at the Acapulco Black Film Festival. The film stars Ving Rhames, Jon Voight, Don Cheadle and Robert Patrick. Rated R, 140 minutes.

July 11 -- Ride the High Country: This classic western, directed by the renowned Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch”), stars two of the greatest cowboy screen legends of them all, Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea, as a couple of aging gunslingers hired to guard a gold shipment in the high Sierra Madre mountains of California. Scott and McCrea, who each appeared in dozens of westerns came out of retirement to star in this 1962 film which later won both a Golden Boot Award and a Western Heritage Award. Not rated, runs 94 minutes.

July 18 -- The Cove: The documentary exposes the brutal slaughter of dolphins in a hidden cove in Japan. It also exposes how dolphin meat, which is often contaminated by high levels of mercury, is often sold as whale meat. This documentary is constructed like a fictional caper movie as the filmmakers devise ingenious ways to get footage from this high security cove. The village in Japan where the killing is done is determined to keep its deadly secret. The filmmakers are determined to expose that secret to the world. The cat and mouse game gets intense. This film won the Academy Award for best documentary feature film of 2009. The film also won 12 other international film awards from film festivals, critic's associations and other film organizations. Rated PG-13, runs 92 minutes.

July 25 -- A Serious Man: This story, loosely based on the Biblical story of Job, starts out about 100 years ago in Poland with a story about a zombie-like man called a “dybbuk.” Then it skips ahead to America in 1967, but the story there is also filled with inexplicable mysteries as Larry Gopnik's well-ordered life suddenly falls apart. This black comedy devolves into chaos. Written and directed by the award-winning team of Joel and Ethan Coen, this film received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and best screenplay, and it was nominated for many other awards from critics organizations and film festivals. The film won the Robert Altman Award at the Independent Spirit Awards and won seven other awards from critics groups and other film organizations. Rated R, runs 106 minutes.

August 1 -- Pirate Radio (AKA The Boat That Rocked): In the 1960s British politicians decided to clamp down on Rock and Roll music by keeping it off the radio most of the time. A group of rebel disc jockeys outfit an old fishing trawler with a transmitter and some antennas and anchor it in international waters, just out of the reach of the government. The Los Angeles Times says the music played on that rocking boat “ ... The Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Hendrix, the Who, the Troggs, the Turtles, the Beach Boys, the Yardbirds, the Seekers ... nearly 60 cuts in all in what may be the coolest music-video masquerading as a movie ever ... it's hard not to feel the love as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans ... and others in the groovy ensemble spin this somewhat true but mostly tall tale ...” Rated R, runs 116 minutes.

August 8 -- The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters: This hilarious documentary film about championship competition among the nerdy players of “classic” video games like Donkey Kong, has better heroes and better villains than most fictional films. This film won four best documentary film of the year awards from film critics associations and was nominated for the same award by three other film organizations. Rated PG-13, runs 79 minutes.

August 15 -- Straight Forward: A new film from Laramie filmmaker Chris Hume (“Red State Road Trip 1 and 2”) concerns Jonathan Xander Braun, a homophobic homosexual. He is flamboyantly gay, but his greatest wish is to become straight. With no influence from political or church groups, Jonathan embarks on a journey to change his core essence - in his quest to attain the picket fence fantasy, complete with two kids, two Range Rovers, and possibly a wife. Hilarious and disturbing, "Straight Forward" examines the gender issues of today, and asks the age old question: can one fundamentally change one's innermost self? Unrated, running time, 73 minutes.

August 22 -- 2010: This 1984 sequel to the classic science fiction film, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” is, like the original, based on a novel of the same name by renowned science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. It picks up the story where 2001 left off, with another expedition to find out what happened to the ill-fated Discovery One spaceship and her crew. Starring Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban and Keir Dullea, who reprises his role as Dave Bowman from the first film. Nominated for five Oscars and three Saturn Awards, this film won a Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation. Rated PG, runs 116 minutes.

August 29 -- Betrayed: An undercover FBI agent falls in love with a midwestern farmer, only to find out that he is a terrorist in a white supremacy group she has infiltrated. This story has an interesting connection to Laramie that will be discussed before the film is shown. Starring Debra Winger and Tom Berringer. Rated R, running time 127 minutes.

September 5 -- Sita Sings the Blues: The ancient story of the Ramayana is given new life by pairing it with a modern day romantic relationship, and some wise-cracking shadow figures who help explain this seminal Hindu to western audiences. This animated film by American artist Nina Paley is done to the soundtrack of 1920s American jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. The animation, done in several colorful styles, is as haunting and unusual as the soundtrack. This film won four international awards, including a Gotham Award for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.” Not rated, 82 minutes.

To be notified by e-mail of upcoming films in the series, or changes in the film series schedule, subscribe to the Laramie Film Society's e-mail list at Topica.

Copyright © 2010 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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