(Paul Brickman, US 1983, 98 min.)

30th Anniversary. A young Tom Cruise in briefs glides across his living room to the siren sounds of Bob Seger. Has any ’80s film been more iconic than Risky Business? It is hard to believe, but 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of this film, with a starmaking turn for a then 20-year-old Tom Cruise as rich kid Joel Goodson who takes advantage of his parents’ absence to turn his suburban home into a house of pleasure and profit. With an alluring supporting performance by Rebecca De Mornay, a moody soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, and a sly screenplay by writer/director Brickman, Risky Business is a crowd-pleasing comedy and a clever commentary on the growing greed of the young capitalists of the 1980s.

(Paul Brickman, US 1983, 98 min.)

30th Anniversary. A young Tom Cruise in briefs glides across his living room to the siren sounds of Bob Seger. Has any ’80s film been more iconic than Risky Business? It is hard to believe, but 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of this film, with a starmaking turn for a then 20-year-old Tom Cruise as rich kid Joel Goodson who takes advantage of his parents’ absence to turn his suburban home into a house of pleasure and profit. With an alluring supporting performance by Rebecca De Mornay, a moody soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, and a sly screenplay by writer/director Brickman, Risky Business is a crowd-pleasing comedy and a clever commentary on the growing greed of the young capitalists of the 1980s.

(Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/Ireland 2011, 118 min.)

Overlooked Indies. Decked out in eyeliner, a bouffant hairdo, and other Goth accouterments, ex-rock star Cheyenne (Sean Penn, modeled after The Cure’s Robert Smith) is bored by his retirement in Southern Ireland, spending his days skateboarding and playing handball in abandoned in-ground pools. When he receives word that his father is dying, he returns to New York for some sort of closure. The revelation that his father was interned in Auschwitz, however, sends him on a new path. Part road trip, part self-realization, Cheyenne’s journey across the continent brings him into contact with many people that flesh out his father’s life and circumstances. An unlikely road movie blending the comic with the tragic, this is a quirky, moving wonder.

(Jake Kasdan, US 1998, 116 min.)

Sherlock Holmes. Loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Holmes and Watson are transported to the late 20th century in the forms of Daryl Zero (Bill Pullman) and his personal lawyer Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller). Millionaire Gregory Stark (Ryan O’Neal) hires Zero to discover who is blackmailing him, but complications arise when the reclusive Zero becomes emotionally involved with a suspect. Kasdan, also the screenwriter, mines the misanthropic aspects of Holmes’s character to create a millennial misfit, a man who can neither meet his own clients nor bear to stray beyond his diet of canned tuna.

(Dean Parisot, US 1999, 102 min.)

To the Moon in June. Galaxy Quest is a sci-fi TV show, with a curious resemblance to Star Trek, that has been off the air for 18 years. But its cast, led by Jason “Cmdr. Taggart” Nesmith (Tim Allen) and Gwen “Lt. Madison” DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), is still packing them in at conventions. Used to being approached by fans, Nesmith humors a group of self-proclaimed aliens called the Thermians, who actually are aliens. They are dedicated Quest fans who have modeled their technology off of the show and round up the original cast to fend off an enemy force. An inventive, highconcept comedy, Galaxy Quest has gathered a dedicated cult following as both a loving parody/tribute to Trek and sci-fi fandom and a good, old-fashioned space adventure.

(Douglas Sirk, US 1959, 125 min.)

Sirk. In hopes of establishing a career, aspiring actress Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) moves to New York City with her daughter Susie. While visiting Coney Island, chance brings them together with Annie Johnson and her daughter Sarah. Taking on the African-American Annie as her maid, Lora forges a “family” of sorts in a cramped New York apartment. As Lora’s success mounts, her relationships begin to suffer, and Annie’s daughter becomes resentful of her mother’s subservient position. Based on the 1933 Fannie Hurst novel, Sirk’s notorious final feature is unique in its depiction of family strife and racial issues in 1950s America.

(Philip Kaufman, US 1983, 193 min.)

To the Moon in June. Based on the Tom Wolfe book of the same name, Kaufman’s epic launched the careers of Ed Harris and Dennis Quaid. The film follows the formation of the “Mercury Seven,” the first group of American astronauts selected to travel into space. Kaufman sheds light on the ups and downs of the selection process that deemed who had “the right stuff.” With aerial photography that continues to amaze 30 years after the film’s release, this big-screen spectacle should not be missed.

(Julia Loktev, US/Germany 2011, 113 min.)

Overlook Indies. A young couple (Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg), who pride themselves on taking the road less traveled, trek through the stunning Caucasus Mountains with the help of a local mountaineer and guide. Loving and affectionate, the couple start to feel the strains of travel and isolation bearing down on them, which culminates in a single, shocking act with lasting consequences. This subdued human drama plays out against the actual mountain range, itself a character in the film. Shot on digital equipment with vintage Russian lenses, the film recalls the visual glories of vintage Soviet cinema while exploring modern gender roles and what it means to be in a relationship.

(Julia Loktev, US/Germany 2011, 113 min.)

Overlook Indies. A young couple (Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg), who pride themselves on taking the road less traveled, trek through the stunning Caucasus Mountains with the help of a local mountaineer and guide. Loving and affectionate, the couple start to feel the strains of travel and isolation bearing down on them, which culminates in a single, shocking act with lasting consequences. This subdued human drama plays out against the actual mountain range, itself a character in the film. Shot on digital equipment with vintage Russian lenses, the film recalls the visual glories of vintage Soviet cinema while exploring modern gender roles and what it means to be in a relationship.

(Herbert Ross, US 1976, 113 min.)

Sherlock Holmes. An all-star cast brings Nicholas Meyer’s revisionist novel to the screen. Watson (Robert Duvall) grows increasingly concerned with Holmes’s (Nicol Williamson) cocaine usage and his intricate delusions about the mysterious Moriarty. In an effort to cure him, Watson tricks Holmes into a trip to Vienna and a meeting with Sigmund Freud (Alan Arkin). Freud’s addiction treatment, however, takes a back seat to the mystery of another patient, Lola Devereaux (Vanessa Redgrave), who has gone missing from the facility, a mystery only a clear-minded Holmes can solve. Laurence Olivier, Joel Grey, and Samantha Eggar round out the cast.

(Solyaris, Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR 1972, 167 min., Russian w/ subtitles)

To the Moon in June. Member’s Movie Night. Andrei Tarkovsky turns an innovative, pensive eye to the Space Age in one of his most critically acclaimed and globally recognizable efforts. In this visually stunning masterpiece, a psychologist travels to a space station orbiting the distant planet Solaris, finding the crew wrecked by emotional crisis and haunted by mysterious alien creatures. As he struggles to help the crew, he soon succumbs to the same crippling forces and discovers that the planet below is not what it seems. With patient, breathtaking cinematography and a metaphysically charged screenplay, this quiet gem of world cinema throws convention to the wind, inducing an experience that is dreamlike, cerebral, and unlike any other science-fiction film. Members admitted free.

(Douglas Sirk, US 1956, 99 min.)

Sirk. The spoiled, impulsive heirs of a wealthy oil baron, Kyle (Rock Hudson) and Marylee (Lauren Bacall), live carefree lives bent on their self-destructive tendencies. Unable to escape from their personal demons brought on by a lifetime of luxury, the tragedy that is their destiny spirals out of control when Kyle becomes suspicious of his wife (Dorothy Malone) and best friend (Robert Stack)—whom Marylee pines for endlessly. Beautifully illustrating the creative potential of Technicolor and widescreen, this carefully crafted melodramatic powerhouse is packed with a delirious combination of theatrics and style.

(La noche de enfrente, Raúl Ruiz, Chile/France 2011, 112 min., Spanish and French w/ subtitles, DCP)

Curator’s Choice. What are Ludwig van Beethoven and Long John Silver doing in a modern-day Chilean city? Why is poet Jean Giono also there, working as a teacher who asks his adult pupils to always keep their eyes shut? Shortly before his death at age 70, prolific master Raúl Ruiz (117 films in fewer than five decades) managed to complete his whimsical, poetic, and seductive farewell to this world, disguised as a surreal crime story. An office worker is waiting for a mysterious stranger who may or may not be about to kill him; more intrigued than concerned, he spends his time playing with words and imagining himself as a child. Ruiz’s dreamlike meditation on the meaning of life is humorous, elegant, and bursting with passion for French literature and for the director’s native country. It’s pure visual delirium, as youthful as experimental cinema can be.

(Philippe Falardeau, Canada 2011, 94 min., French, English, and Arabic w/ subtitles)

Overlooked Indies. Following the passing of an elementary school teacher in Montreal, Bashir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) is hired as her replacement. An Algerian immigrant, Bashir has trouble adjusting to the school’s rules, yet he comforts the students the best he can. When he discovers secrets of his predecessor’s death and his own hidden past begins to reveal itself, he forms a bond with the students that no one can break. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards®, Philippe Falardeau’s fourth feature, based on the one-man play Bashir Lazhar by Évelyne de la Chenelière, is a heartwarming exploration of teacher-student relationships.

(Philippe Falardeau, Canada 2011, 94 min., French, English, and Arabic w/ subtitles)

Overlooked Indies. Following the passing of an elementary school teacher in Montreal, Bashir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) is hired as her replacement. An Algerian immigrant, Bashir has trouble adjusting to the school’s rules, yet he comforts the students the best he can. When he discovers secrets of his predecessor’s death and his own hidden past begins to reveal itself, he forms a bond with the students that no one can break. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards®, Philippe Falardeau’s fourth feature, based on the one-man play Bashir Lazhar by Évelyne de la Chenelière, is a heartwarming exploration of teacher-student relationships.