Beat the Heat: FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Watch Trailer Director: Wes Anderson
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (novel) and Wes Anderson (screenplay)
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, and Athens County Children Services.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson. But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers — Boggis, Bunce and Bean — who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost.

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Running Time: 87 minutes87 MIN
PG Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Wes Anderson's utterly charming Fantastic Mr. Fox is that rarity: a children's movie for all.

Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
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IN BED WITH ULYSSES: One Night Only 6/16/16

Watch Trailer Director: Alan Adelson

The 2012 documentary IN BED WITH ULYSSES investigates renowned author James Joyce’s personal life during the period in which he wrote his most scandalous book, “Ulysses.”

This showing is sponsored by the Ohio University English Department. There will be a brief introduction and talkback with Dr. Carey Snyder regarding the documentary and James Joyce’s work.

“The movie lets fresh air into “Ulysses” like a gust from the Irish Sea.”- Andy Webster, The New York Times

“Like many biographies, this one connects Joyce’s work and life, but in this case it’s an extremely valid and rich comparison.”- Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times 

 

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Running Time: 1hr 10min110 MIN
Not Rated

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Beat the Heat: MATILDA

Watch Trailer Director: Danny DeVito
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book) and Nicholas Kazan (screenplay)
Cast: Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman and Mara Wilson

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, and Athens County Children Services.

Based on the book Matilda, by British children’s author Roald Dahl, this film moves the setting from the U.K. to the U.S.; otherwise it follows the original closely. Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is an extremely curious and intelligent little girl who is very different from her low-brow, mainstream parents (Danny DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman), who quite cruelly ignore her. As she grows older, she begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers. Not until a teacher shows her kindness for the first time does she realize that she can use those powers to do something about her sufferings and help her friends as well. Villains from the awful Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), headmistress of her miserable school Crunchem Hall, to her parents and older brother begin to feel her ire. Look for Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) in a small part as an FBI agent investigating Matilda’s shady father.

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Running Time: 102 minutes102 MIN
PG Rated

With her sweet-sad face, Mara Wilson is a perfect Matilda.

Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today
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Beat the Heat: JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

Watch Trailer Director: Henry Selick
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book), Karey Kirkpatrick (screenplay), Jonathan Roberts (screenplay) & Steve Bloom (screenplay)
Cast: Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley and Pete Postlethwaite

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

A young boy’s discovery of a gigantic peach triggers an eventful journey across the sea in this strikingly designed animated adventure. Young British lad James (Paul Terry) is orphaned by the death of his parents and forced to live with two cruel, repulsive aunts. The visit of a mysterious stranger provides a means of escape, however, through a magic bag of “crocodile tongues” that bring about the appearance of the giant peach.

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Running Time: 79 minutes79 MIN
PG Rated

A snappy, fun adaptation that entertains young viewers without speaking down to them.

Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Beat the Heat: THE WITCHES

Watch Trailer Director: Nicolas Roeg
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book) and Allan Scott (screenplay)
Cast: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling and Jasen Fisher

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling), young Luke (Jasen Fisher) inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. When they find that Luke has overheard, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson), Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.

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Running Time: 91 minutes91 MIN
PG Rated

A wickedly funny final bow for Muppeteer Jim Henson.

Rita Kempley
Washington Post
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Beat the Heat: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

Watch Trailer Director: Ken Hughes
Writer(s): Roald Dahl (screenplay), Ian Fleming (novel) & Ken Hughes (screenplay)
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes and Lionel Jeffries

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) is an eccentric inventor, widower and family man who invents a magical car that can float and fly in addition to the usual road travel. The evil Baron Bombast (Gert Frobe) tries to steal the car and the inventor, but he grabs Potts’ eccentric father (Lionel Jeffries) by mistake. Soon the family and candy heir Totally Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes) are off to rescue grandpa, who still believes he is in the British Army fighting in India. They fly to a fantasy land where all children are jailed, and the adults must rescue the children to insure a safe family reunion.

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Running Time: 142 minutes142 MIN
G Rated

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang contains about the best two-hour children's movie you could hope for, with a marvelous magical auto and lots of adventure.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Beat the Heat: WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Watch Trailer Director: Mel Stuart
Writer(s): Roald Dahl
Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum

In honor of the 100th birthday of Roald Dahl we are dedicating our annual summer Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Athens County fundraiser to the film adaptations of his books! Brought to you by Ohio University, Kids on Campus, Athens County Children Services, and Rocky Boots.

Mr. Wonka, the mysterious owner of the Wonka chocolate factory, has decided to hide five golden tickets in the wrappers of his famous chocolate bars. The five who find the golden tickets will be given a tour of the top secret factory by Mr. Wonka himself.

Charlie Bucket is a young boy with a heart of gold who loves chocolate more than anything else, but only gets to have one bar a year, which is given to him on his birthday. After finding money in a gutter, he buys two candy bars: one for him and one for his beloved Grandpa Joe. Inside one of the wrappers, they find a coveted golden ticket, and Charlie’s life is forever changed.

 

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Running Time: 100 minutes100 MIN
G Rated

...the best film of its sort since 'The Wizard of Oz.' It is everything that family movies usually claim to be, but aren't: Delightful, funny, scary, exciting, and, most of all, a genuine work of imagination.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY: Last Day Thursday, June 9th

Watch Trailer Director: Matthew Brown
Writer(s): Story by Robert Kanigel, Screenplay by Matthew Brown
Cast: Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons, Toby Jones, Raghuvir Joshi

A young, brilliant mathematician named Srinivasa Ramanujan from Madras, India earns admittance at Cambridge University, where he hopes to advance his research on number theory. Thousands of miles away from home in a country that’s at war, Ramanujan finds an ally in professor G.H. Hardy. Based on a true story.

 

“Like all good biopics, it leaves you wanting to know more about its subject and about the mysterious way that math geniuses think.” -Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times

“This is not so much a film about understanding the numbers, but understanding the men who made us see their merit, and the passion that drives each of us to find the true meaning in our lives. And that is a worthy lesson indeed.” -Miriam Di Nunzio, Chicago Sun-Times

*CaptiView® Closed Caption support is available for this film. All showings on Mondays will feature Open Captions.*

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Running Time: 108 min108 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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THE FAMILY FANG

Watch Trailer Director: Jason Bateman
Writer(s): Kevin Wilson (novel), David Lindsay-Abaire (Screenplay)
Cast: Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, Kathryn Hahn

Based on the best-selling novel by Kevin Wilson, THE FAMILY FANG follows the journey of Annie and Buster Fang, the children of two famous performance artists who often included their children in their work. Now adults, Annie is a successful actress and Buster is a slightly less than successful novelist. After both of their lives take a turn for the worse, Annie and Buster return home only to have their parents to vanish into thin air. As they search for their parents, both of them wonder if their parents are really in trouble, or if this is yet another elaborate performance.

 

“[A] smart, tart adaptation of Kevin Wilson’s best-selling 2011 debut novel, which thumbs its nose at the cliches of the over-trafficked dysfunctional family genre to dissect the sometimes lifelong quest of children to understand their parents in ways that are funny and bittersweet, poignant and often bracingly dark.”- David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“The Family Fang instantly invites its soon-to-be-captive audience on an absorbing, provocative, slightly fantastic path that’s like few others.” -John Hartl, The Seattle Times

“… a sharply drawn portrait of a dysfunctional, tortured artistic family that speaks affectingly to the troubled legacy that all parents inevitably bequeath to their children.”- Justin Chang, Variety

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Running Time: 1hr 45min145 MIN
R Rated

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SING STREET: Last Day Thursday, June 9th

Watch Trailer Director: John Carney
Writer(s): John Carney
Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Aiden Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Lucy Boynton

It’s 1985 in Dublin and teenager Conor Lalor has just learned that he will have to transfer from his esteemed private school to the dingy public school, where he knows no one. After developing a crush on the aspiring model Raphina, Conor tries to win her affection by forming a rock band with his new friends, and asks her to star in their music videos. As his school and home life become more turbulent, Conor immerses himself into his band and Raphina.

“Sing Street is a wholly appealing genesis of teenage romance and music-group therapy for one Irish boy and a instant retro classic for those still hungry like the wolf.” -Brian Truitt, USA Today

“It’s like a lost John Hughes movie with Irish brogues and cars that just happen to drive on the other side of the road.“- Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

“Carney understands how music not only provides a soundtrack for a life, but can change a life, too.” -Steven Rea,  Philadelphia Enquirer 

*CaptiView® Closed Caption & Audio Description support is available for this film. All showings on Mondays will feature Open Captions.*

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Running Time: 106 minutes106 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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