Slow West: Leaving the Athena Thursday, June 18th

Watch Trailer Director: John Maclean
Writer(s): John Maclean
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn

At the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas (Michael Fassbender), a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way.

“It’s always entertaining to see a genre tweaked, at least when it’s done so with the proper mix of respect and madness at work in ‘Slow West.'” – Billy Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

“A western fable with an often dreamlike vibe, ‘Slow West’ proves to be a surprisingly sly tale of passion, greed and survival.” – Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

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Running Time: 84 min84 MIN
R Rated

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5 Flights Up: Playing tonight!

Watch Trailer Director: Richard Loncraine
Writer(s): Jill Ciment, Charlie Peters
Cast: Diane Keaton, Morgan Freeman, Cynthia Nixon

*Tonight is the final night to see 5 Flights Up.*

Forty years ago, artist Alex Carver (Morgan Freeman) bought a run-down apartment in a sketchy part of Brooklyn with his wife, schoolteacher Ruth (Diane Keaton). Today, their neighborhood is now very hip and their apartment worth a small fortune. The now-retired Ruth and Alex haven’t changed – they are still as much in love as ever. But they have let Ruth’s niece Lily (Cynthia Nixon), a real estate agent, list their property to see what the market might bear. On the eve of their open house, the Brooklyn Bridge is rumored to be under a terrorist attack, sending the media into a frenzy and people’s attitudes about living in New York. Closer to home, Dorothy, the Carver’s beloved dog, is suddenly having trouble walking. While Dorothy is having expensive treatment at the vet, Ruth convinces Alex to go apartment hunting in Manhattan, where they miraculously come across an ideal place they might actually be able to afford. As the world around them seems to mirror their own chaos and confusion, Ruth and Alex realize the same bond of love that has kept them together all these years will allow them to see their way through this crazy weekend as well.

 

“What a pleasure to see a simple, finely tuned dramedy about real adults with real emotions in a real-life situation.” – Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

“Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton have unexpectedly great chemistry in this warm and funny comedy about a couple who contemplate leaving a walk-up apartment in Brooklyn they’ve occupied for their entire 40-year marriage.” – Lou Lumenick, New York Post

“The lead performances are so perfectly in sync that Alex and Ruth really feel like an old married couple who know each other’s foibles and cherish every tic.” – Stephen Holden, New York Times

 

Closed Captioning devices are available for this film.

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Running Time: 92 min92 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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Beat the Heat: SONG OF THE SEA

Watch Trailer Director: Tomm Moore
Writer(s): Will Collins, Tomm Moore
Cast: David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Lisa Hannigan
Awards: Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards, 2015

From the creators of the Academy Award®-nominated The Secret of Kells comes a breathtakingly gorgeous, hand-drawn masterpiece. Based on the Irish legend of the Selkies, Song of the Sea tells the story of the last seal-child, Saoirse, and her brother Ben, who go on an epic journey to save the world of magic and discover the secrets of their past. Pursued by the owl witch Macha and a host of ancient and mythical creatures, Saoirse and Ben race against time to awaken Saoirse’s powers and keep the spirit world from disappearing forever. As enthralling for adults as it is for children young and old, Song of the Sea is a wonder of magical storytelling and visual splendor that is destined to become a classic.

 

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Running Time: 93 min93 MIN
PG Rated

A blissfully beautiful journey into Irish folklore.

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100 Years of The Athena: Mary Pickford’s Cinderella — One Day Only, Wednesday, June 3

Director: James Kirkwood
Writer(s): Charles Perrault (story)
Cast: Mary Pickford, Owen Moore and Isabel Vernon

Based on the fairy tale: Cinderella is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, but is able to go to the royal ball through the help of the Fairy Godmother.

On June 3, 1915, the Athena Cinema’s first-ever showing was Mary Pickford as Cinderella in this silent film. One hundred years from that day, the Athena will show Cinderella once again in what is sure to be a night to remember, complete with music, food, and history.

6:00 – 7:00: Join us at the Athena for an open house where there will be complimentary cake from bakeries all around Athens as well as champagne.

7:00 – 7:45: We’ll all head to the college green to enjoy a very special music presentation. Under the Elms Concert: Athena Cinema at 100: a Musical Celebration!

8:00 – 9:00: We’ll head back to the theater for a showing of the silent film that started it all, Mary Pickford in Cinderella, complete with live musical accompaniment from Derek DiCenzo.

 

A review from The Moving Picture World, January 2, 1915:

The Christmas release of the Famous Players Film Co. presents Mary Pickford in a charming version of the century-old classic, “Cinderella.” This idyllic story might have been written to order for “Little Mary,” so amazingly does the role of the ragged but beautiful cinder-girl fit her. Tender and pretty as is the old story itself, it has been so enriched in the film version, so many new features have been artistically blended with the old, in which the natural and the super-natural, the eerie and the human, mingle, and the romance of the handsome and courageous prince with the little maid of the cinders is so originally and exquisitely portrayed, that the picture promises to be as great a treat with the grown-ups as with the children.

“Little Mary,” whether as the poor, reviled little cinder girl, or the pretty, jewelled and ermined princess, is equally effective, and every passing phase of the sympathetic character is appealingly intensified by the beauty and grace of the wonderful little star.

Cinderella-Mary-Pickford

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Running Time: 52 Minutes52 MIN

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Danny Collins: Leaving the Athena Thursday, June 11th

Watch Trailer Director: Dan Fogelman
Writer(s): Dan Fogelman
Cast: Al Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer

Aging 1970s rocker Danny Collins (Al Pacino) can’t give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to rediscover his family, find true love and begin a second act.

“Al Pacino sells the heck out of his performance as Danny Collins.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“It’s never dull to watch pros like Pacino, Bening, Plummer, Garner and Cannavale interact – this is dream casting – and the film makes the most of that, along with a pleasingly comprehensive Lennon soundtrack.” – Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

“’Danny Collins’ is the cinematic equivalent of a well-sung easy rock tune, enjoyably light and bouncy, with some darker notes hidden within the chords.” – Tom Long, Detroit News

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Running Time: 106 min106 MIN
R Rated

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Welcome to Me: Leaving the Athena Thursday, June 11th

Watch Trailer Director: Shira Piven
Writer(s): Eliot Laurence
Cast: Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Linda Cardellini

What happens when a young woman with Borderline Personality Disorder wins the lottery? In the case of Alice Klieg (Kristen Wiig), she quits her psychiatric meds and buys her own talk show. Inspired by the immortal Oprah, she broadcasts her dirty laundry as both a form of exhibitionism and a platform to share her peculiar views on everything from nutrition to relationships to neutering pets.

“It’s a tricky business playing someone who is mentally ill and perhaps should be confined for observation, especially in a dark comedy. Wiig manages to make Alice funny as hell, endearing, sad and sometimes a little frightening.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“This is Wiig’s show, and connoisseurs of the comedy craft will flip for her.” – Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“By turns touching, amusing and genuinely disturbing, it defies expectations and easy categorization, forgoing obvious laughs and cheap emotional payoffs in favor of something much odder and more interesting.” – A.O. Scott, New York Times

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Running Time: 105 min105 MIN
R Rated

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Iris: Leaving the Athena Thursday, June 11th

Watch Trailer Director: Albert Maysles
Cast: Carl Apfel, Iris Apfel

Iris pairs legendary 87-year-old documentarian Albert Maysles with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. IRIS portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art and people are life’s sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment. Despite the abundance of glamour in her current life, she continues to embrace the values and work ethic established during a middle-class Queens upbringing during the Great Depression.

“Intimate, knowing portrait of a fashion icon who knows exactly who and what she is, and is often surrounded by people who don’t.” – John Anderson, Newsday

“There are few better ways right now to spend 80 movie minutes than to see Iris, a delightful eye-opener about life, love, statement eyeglasses, bracelets the size of tricycle tires and the art of making the grandest of entrances.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times

“The chief virtue of ‘Iris’ is its amiability – it’s a delight to spend time in Apfel’s company, and thanks to Albert Maysles, we can.” – Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

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Running Time: 83 min83 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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White God: Leaving the Athena Thursday, May 21st

Watch Trailer Director: Kornél Mundruczó
Writer(s): Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi, Kata Wéber
Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sándor Zsótér, Lili Horváth
Language: Hungarian

When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog Hagen, because it’s mixed-breed heritage is deemed unfit by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back towards each other. At the same time, all the unwanted, unloved and so-called unfit dogs rise up under a new leader, Hagen, the one-time housepet who has learned all too well from his journey through the streets and animal control centers.

“The hand that feeds – and also brutalizes – is righteously bitten in ‘White God,’ a Hungarian revenge fantasy that’s like nothing you’ve seen on screen before.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times

“The whole production speaks well for the power of film; it’s a serious stunner.” – Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

“What it all means is open to interpretation. Read it as a parable or as a horror movie. Read it as the story of love between a girl and her dog. Read it however you want. No matter what your take, you won’t be disappointed.” -Billy Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

“It all pays off with an astounding, extended climax that is as rousing and exciting as it is frightening – one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had watching a movie.” – Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

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Running Time: 121 min121 MIN
R Rated

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Clouds of Sils Maria: Leaving the Athena Thursday, June 4th

Watch Trailer Director: Olivier Assayas
Writer(s): Olivier Assayas
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant (Kristen Stewart) to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself.

“It meditates long and hard on questions of age, sincerity, celebrity and love, piling irony on irony. And it features a remarkably natural performance by Kristen Stewart that’s so unastounding it’s astounding.” – Tom Long, Detroit News

“Clouds of Sils Maria is fiendishly wise to the ways of show business, particularly the boxes in which it places women. But the film offers more than that.” – Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

“The movie, which Olivier Assayas wrote and directed, is a world of wonders, most of them cerebrally twisty and emotionally hallucinogenic.” – Wesley Morris, Grantland

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Running Time: 124 min124 MIN
R Rated

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Dior and I: Leaving the Athena Thursday, May 21st

Watch Trailer Director: Frédéric Tcheng
Writer(s): Frédéric Tcheng
Cast: Raf Simons, Marion Cotillard, Anna Wintour

Frédéric Tcheng’s solo directorial debut brings the viewer inside the storied world of the Christian Dior fashion house with a privileged, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Raf Simons’ first haute couture collection as its new artistic director-a true labor of love created by a dedicated group of collaborators. Melding the everyday, pressure-filled components of fashion with mysterious echoes from the iconic brand’s past, the film is also a colorful homage to the seamstresses who serve Simons’ vision.

“Fascinating, suspenseful, illuminating, and ultimately moving.” – Peter Keough, Boston Globe

“From creating photo files rather than sketching dresses, to fitting them on lithe human pipe cleaners who march them across the catwalk, the film is a serious look at a business containing surprising amounts of tension.” – Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“For all the seductive imagery of billowing apparel and impossibly angled high heels, Tcheng never loses sight of the people overseeing every stitch.” – Keith Uhlich, AV Club

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Running Time: 90 min90 MIN

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