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Author Archive | Alex Kamody

Food on Film: JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI

Watch Trailer Director: David Gelb
Cast: Jiro Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Daisuke Nakazama
Language: Japanese

In the basement of a Tokyo office building, 85 year old sushi master Jiro Ono works tirelessly in his world renowned restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. As his son Yoshikazu faces the pressures of stepping into his father’s shoes and taking over the legendary restaurant, Jiro relentlessly pursues his lifelong quest to create the perfect piece of sushi.

“David Gelb’s thoughtful and wonderful documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, explores the dedication of this humble, bespectacled man, and the Zen-like focus he has for his work – or, as many would claim, for his art.” – Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“One of the film’s best moments of deliciousness comes with the revelation that Yoshikazu, rather than his father, made the sushi that won the Michelin inspectors over; so much for working humbly in the old man’s shadow.” – Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
“For all the trite sayings that come to mind, the story feels exceptional thanks to the subject, a self-made perfectionist still pursuing culinary transcendence.” – Stephanie Merry, Washington Post

 

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Running Time: 81 minutes81 MIN
PG Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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Knowing the Future Presents: The Imitation Game

Watch Trailer Director: Morten Tyldum
Writer(s): Graham Moore, Andrew Hodges (book)
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode
Awards: Oscar for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (2015)
Language: English

Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain’s top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

Presented with FREE ADMISSION by the College of Arts & Sciences’ Knowing the Future theme. Check out more films showing this semester as part of the Knowing the Future Series.
“It’s an undeniable pleasure to dig into a crackling spy thriller dished out by experts.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“Another must-see movie this year-end awards season (the other one is The Theory of Everything) is the brilliant encapsulation of one of the greatest stories of our time — the genius, heroism and ultimately shameful destruction of Alan Turing.” – Rex Reed, The New York Observer
“The disturbing, involving, always-complex story of British mathematician Alan Turing is a tale crafted to resonate for our time, and the smartly entertaining The Imitation Game gives it the kind of crackerjack cinematic presentation that’s pure pleasure to experience.” – Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times

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Running Time: 114 minutes114 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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Knowing the Future Presents: Children of Men

Watch Trailer Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writer(s): Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, P.D. James
Cast: Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Awards: Nominated for Academy Awards in Adapted Screenplay, Achievement in Film Editing, and Achievement in Cinematography (2007)

Children of Men envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world’s youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set against the backdrop of London torn apart by violence and nationalistic sects, the film follows disillusioned bureaucrat Theo (Owen) as he becomes an unlikely champion of Earth’s survival.

Presented with FREE ADMISSION by the College of Arts & Sciences’ Knowing the Future theme. Check out more films showing this semester as part of the Knowing the Future Series.

“Thrilling, important, and invigoratingly bleak, Children of Men is one of the very best movies to come out in 2006.” -Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

“An audacious, exhilarating futuristic thriller.” -Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

“Despite the bleakness of its vision, Children of Men is also thrilling, both for its groundbreaking style (there are action sequences here unlike any filmed before) and its complex, vividly realized ideas.” -Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

“This dystopian masterpiece of misery kept me wound up for hours after the credits rolled.” -Mark Rahner, Seattle Times

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Running Time: 109 minutes109 MIN
R Rated

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OU Presents: The Hunting Ground

Watch Trailer Director: Kirby Dick

From the team behind THE INVISIBLE WAR, comes a startling exposé of rape crimes on U.S. campuses, institutional cover-ups and the brutal social toll on victims and their families. Weaving together verité footage and first-person testimonies, the film follows survivors as they pursue their education while fighting for justice – despite harsh retaliation, harassment and pushback at every level.

When THE HUNTING GROUND is screened at The Athena Cinema in September, Ohio University will join the growing list of colleges and universities who want to join the ongoing effort to ignite change, ensure safety and demand justice on campuses across the country.

“An important film to see for parents, students and anyone involved with academia.” -Adam Graham, Detroit News

“Too few women (and men) have too little chance to share their stories. Dick’s film is a valuable spotlight.” -Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“You can read all the statistics you want, but there’s no substitute for bearing witness – especially in such overwhelming numbers.” -Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

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Running Time: 103 minutes103 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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A Place to Live: The Story of Triangle Square

Watch Trailer Director: Carolyn Coal
Writer(s): Carolyn Coal, Cynthia Childs

A PLACE TO LIVE chronicles the journey of seven brave individuals as they attempt to secure a home in Triangle Square, Hollywood, the nation’s first affordable housing facility for LGBT seniors. Since demand far exceeds the number of available apartments, a lottery system was set up to determine who would be selected. This film is a moving exploration of the applicants’ personal stories and the journey that brought them to the lottery and what the future might hold.

One night only, free admission! Sponsored by the School of Art + Design, The Interior Architecture Program, and the LGBT Center and featuring a talkback after the show with producer and Cincinnati native, Cynthia Childs.

“A warm and touching achievement that celebrates indefatigable spirit in the face of daunting obstacles.” -Phil Hall, Film Threat

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Running Time: 88 minutes88 MIN

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Parents Weekend: RAISING ARIZONA

Watch Trailer Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writer(s): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman

We’re celebrating OU Parents weekend with a showing of RAISING ARIZONA, an early Coen Brothers favorite about a couple (Nic Cage and Holly Hunter) who want to have a child… so they take one.

A surreal, hyperactive farce in which a bumbling petty thief and the lady cop who keeps arresting him fall in love and decide to start a family. When they discover they can’t have babies, they steal one from a furniture mogul who has just sired a set of quintuplets. The joys of parenthood are soon marred, however, by the difficulties of raising an infant on the run. The none-too-bright couple must flee across the southwestern desert in order to elude the villainous biker that has been hired to retrieve the tyke.

“A wacky, happy, daring, darkly comic tale of parenting outside the law.” -Rita Kempley, Washington Post

“Starting from a point of delirious excess, the film leaps into dark and virtually uncharted territory to soar like a comet.” -Geoff Andrew, Time Out

“To their old fascination with Sunbelt pathology, to their side-winding Steadicam and pristine command of screen space, the Coens have added a robust humor, a plot that keeps outwitting expectations and a…dollop of sympathy for their forlorn kidnapers.” -Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

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Running Time: 94 minutes94 MIN
PG-13 Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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100 Years of Athena: DO THE RIGHT THING

Watch Trailer Director: Spike Lee
Writer(s): Spike Lee
Cast: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee

Director Spike Lee dives head-first into a maelstrom of racial and social ills, using as his springboard the hottest day of the year on one block in Brooklyn, NY. Salvatore “Sal” Fragione (Danny Aiello) is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito), becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria’s Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin’ Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin’ Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

“Comes closer to reflecting the current state of race relations in America than any other movie of our time.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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Running Time: 120 Minutes120 MIN
R Rated

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No Pryor Knowledge: WATTSTAX

Watch Trailer Director: Mel Stuart
Cast: The Dramatics, The Staple Singers, Kim Weston
Language: English

This is a documentary about the 1972 Watts Summer Festival, which culminated in a day long concert by Stax Records artists at a sold-out Los Angeles Coliseum. The concert was headlined by Issac Hayes and the support acts included Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla, the Bar Kays and the Staple Singers. The film also features commentary by many African Americans who comment on how things were in Watts since the riots that tore the city apart seven years earlier.

“A candid, colorful and deeply meaningful sociocultural time capsule, one that captured the black community at the height of its political energy and optimism.” – Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post

“Not only documents the soul-titan concert held at L.A. Coliseum seven years after Watts burned, but illuminates the rue and kinesis of a city in full Black Power flower.” – Laura Sinagra, Village Voice

“The film is saved by the raw power of the performances, and especially, Richard Pryor’s bitterly funny observations.” – Michael Scheinfeld, TV Guide Magazine

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Running Time: 103 minutes103 MIN
R Rated

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ART OF WORLD ANIMATION SERIES

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zarafa_hires_1ZARAFA | Oct. 17 & 18

Under a baobab tree, an old man tells a story to the children around him: The story of the friendship between Maki, a little boy, and Zarafa, an orphaned giraffe.

THE PROPHET | Nov. 14 & 15prophet_hires_9

The Prophet, by Lebanese author Kahlil Gibran, is among the most popular volumes of poetry ever written, selling over 1000 million copies in forty languages since its publication in 1923. Gibran’s timeless verses have been given enchanting new form in this painterly cinematic adventure about freedom and the power of human expression.

 

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The Art of World Animation: When Marnie Was There

Watch Trailer Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writer(s): Joan G. Robinson (novel) and Keiko Niwa (screenplay)
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Kathy Bates, John C. Reilly

Sent from her foster home in the city one summer to a sleepy town by the sea in Hokkaido, Anna dreams her days away among the marshes. She believes she’s outside the invisible magic circle to which most people belong – and shuts herself off from everyone around her, wearing her “ordinary face”. Anna never expected to meet a friend like Marnie, who does not judge Anna for being just what she is. But no sooner has Anna learned the loveliness of friendship than she begins to wonder about her newfound friend… Based on the novel by Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There is the newest film from Studio Ghibli, and the second feature film by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the director of The Secret World of Arrietty.

Presented in English as part of our Art of World Animation Series!

“To those film lovers attuned to quiet moments and emotional nuance, this film has a shine all its own. The old-school hand-drawn animation celebrates sweeping landscapes and but also the telling detail, revealing character through spare gestures.” -Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

“There are moments of hushed magic here, of moonlit, seaside and tree-shadowed visual poetry, that rival anything Ghibli has ever created.” -Andrew O’Hehir, Salon

“Subtle, sometimes really sad and honest about the struggles of adolescence, ‘Marnie’ is a worthy last entry from Ghibli before the studio reportedly goes on hiatus.” -Sara Stewart, New York Post

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Running Time: 103 minutes103 MIN
PG Rated

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