January 22 & 23, 2011 |
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The 33rd Annual Science Fiction Marathon
Admission is $8, and drops to $5 after 12 Monkeys.The 2011 Marathon features five full-length films, many short subjects, and a special selection of refreshments! Pizza pre-orders will be taken between I, Robot and 12 Monkeys for pickup at midnight. |
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Rated PG-13
format: 35mm |
I, Robot (2004)January 22, 2011 at 7:00 pm in 26-100Loosely based on the novel from Isaac Asimov, I, Robot is an action-packed, CGI-laden thrill ride from director Alex Proyas (The Crow). Set in 2035, Will Smith stars as Chicago law enforcer Detective Del Spooner. Called upon to investigate the mysterious suicide of scientist Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), Spooner deduces that Lanning didn't kill himself but was, in fact, murdered. Lanning worked for the US Robotics headquarters, where he constructed friendly robots designed to help humans with mundane tasks. Lanning's creations are prevalent all over the city, and have been fully integrated into the culture. They are allegedly programmed not to harm humans, but as Spooner digs deeper, his investigations lead him to a new type of robot that Lanning was working on before his death, and one of these models -- the highly charismatic Sonny -- becomes the prime suspect in the case. Spooner bears a grudge against robots due to an unfortunate incident, so his case against Sonny is met with shrugs of indifference from colleagues who know his prejudices all too well. [rottentomatoes.com] "A high-tech thriller that really works -- both because of its eye-popping visual feats and the ideas and humanity behind them." |
Rated R
format: 35mm |
12 Monkeys (1995)January 22, 2011 at 9:30 pm in 26-100In this intriguing science fiction film from director Terry Gilliam, penal colony prisoner James Cole (Bruce Willis) must travel back in time from the year 2035 to find the cause of a virus that killed five billion people in 1997. Cole's trip into the past won't be easy. For starters, he winds up in the wrong year on his first attempt. Once, as he time-travels, Cole ends up a prisoner in an insane asylum in 1990. There, he meets psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and inmate Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), who could hold the key to the epidemic's spread. [rottentomatoes.com] "...less an essay on the nature of madness than a crazy person's poem. It is wild and beautiful and deeply disturbing all at once." |
Rated PG-13
format: 35mm |
X-Men (2000)January 23, 2011 at 12:45 am in 26-100One of the most popular superhero teams in comic book history finally comes to the screen in this big-budget adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comics series. Psychic Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) leads a school of skilled mutants called X-Men, a peacekeeping force to safeguard the world against a race of genetically mutated humans known as Homo sapiens superior. However, Magneto (Ian McKellen), a mutant with a powerful magnetic charge, has also begun to organize a team to strike first against what he believes to be a threat from humanity. When he kidnaps Rogue (Anna Paquin) from the X-Men's compound, Xavier and his forces must rescue her, even as they continue to vie with Magneto for the fearsomely strong mutant battler Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Both Xavier and Magneto also have to contend with Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), a heartless political leader who wants a final solution against mutants on both sides. Fighting for the forces of virtue with the X-Men are Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Halle Berry as Storm, and James Marsden as Cyclops; Rebecca Romjin-Stamos as Mystique, Ray Park as the Toad, and Tyler Mane as Sabretooth are the minions of Magneto. [www.allmovie.com] "An entertaining adaptation of the classic comic book, boasting excellent special effects and sets." |
Rated PG-13
format: 35mm |
X2: X-Men United (2003)January 23, 2011 at 2:45 am in 26-100When a failed assassination attempt occurs on the President's (Cotter Smith) life by the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), it's Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his School for Gifted Youngsters who are targeted for the crime. While Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) try and locate the assassin, Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier (also known as 'Professor X') seek answers from their old foe Magneto (Ian McKellan) in his glass cell. Little do they know they're walking into a trap set by the villainous William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious governmental figure that figures into Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) secretive past and has information about the X-Men's operation supplied by Magneto. Meanwhile Wolverine, just home from a failed mission to regain his memory, is in charge of the students when a crack-commando team led by Stryker infiltrates the school by order of the President. With a mansion full of young, powerful mutants and the ferocious Wolverine in babysitter mode, can he defend the school against the one man who can answer his questions? What roles do the sinister Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) have in all of this? Why does Stryker want Professor X and his Cerebro machine? With the war between humanity and mutants escalating to extremes, can the rest of the X-Men trust their old foes to help them? [www.allmovie.com] "Bigger and more ambitious in every respect, from its action and visceral qualities to its themes." |
Rated PG-13
format: 35mm |
Independence Day (1996)January 23, 2011 at 5:15 am in 26-100The story begins with the approach of a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms, looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman), struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save the human race. [www.allmovie.com] "You know going in that Independence Day will have terrific effects and loads of action. But the filmmakers have also carefully crafted appealing characters and several good relationships, which they develop as the story unfolds." |
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