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Kristen Stewart’s Thriller & Oscar Nom Coming to THE NEON This Weekend

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Hello Everyone!

Once again, we’re moving right along at THE NEON this weekend. If you still need to see Shirley MacLaine in THE LAST WORD or Woody Harrelson in WILSON, Thursday will be your last chance to catch these films at THE NEON. The gorgeous & masterful film FRANTZ (by one of my favorite directors) will stick around for one more week, and we’ll add two new films to the mix. PERSONAL SHOPPER, the new film by Olivier Assayas starring Kristen Stewart, will open Friday for one week. We’ll also open a film that was nominated for “Best Foreign Film” at this year’s Academy Awards – LAND OF MINE – for just three days beginning this Friday. For more details about our current films, please visit www.neonmovies.com

Synopsis for PERSONAL SHOPPER: “Olivier Assayas, the internationally-acclaimed director of CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA and SUMMER HOURS, returns with this ethereal and mysterious ghost story starring Kristen Stewart as a high-fashion personal shopper to the stars who is also a spiritual medium. Grieving the recent death of her twin brother, she haunts his Paris home, determined to make contact with him.” (IFC Films) Richard Roeper of CHICAGO-SUN TIMES wrote, “I can’t explain everything I saw in this film, but I was entertained and enthralled by every second of it.” This film is only scheduled to play for one week!

Synopsis for LAND OF MINE: Nominated for “Best Foreign Film” at this year’s Academy Awards, this powerful film is only scheduled to play for three days this weekend. “As World War Two comes to an end, a group of German POWs, boys rather than men, are captured by the Danish army and forced to engage in a deadly task – to defuse and clear land mines from the Danish coastline. With little or no training, the boys soon discover that the war is far from over. Inspired by real events, LAND OF MINE exposes the untold story of one tragic moment in post-war history.” (Sony Classics) Click HERE to visit the film’s official site.

Vu-Do Swing is now set to bring ALIVE AND KICKING to town on April 26 at 7:30. “ALIVE AND KICKING is a feature-length documentary that takes an inside look into the culture of swing dancing and the characters who make it special. We explore the culture surrounding Swing dance from the emergence of the Lindy Hop to the modern day international phenomenon. The film follows the growth of Swing dance from its purely American roots as an art form, to countries all over the world. Alive and Kicking looks at the lives of the Swing dancers themselves to find their personal stories and why this dance fills them with joy.” Click this LINK to watch a trailer and reserve your ticket.

The 2017 DAYTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL has announced their line-up, and it’s terrific. To read all about the numerous films, to watch trailers, to see the schedule of screenings and to purchase advance tickets, please visit the festival’s official website by clicking this LINK. The following list only reflects films that will be screening at THE NEON:
Apr 27 at 7:15pm – ON THE MAP
May 1 at 7:15pm – IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE
May 4 at 7:15pm – THE KIND WORDS
May 9 at 7:15pm – KEEP QUIET
May 11 at 7:15pm – SABENA HIJACKING
May 15 at 7:15pm – PERSONA NON GRATA
May 16 at 10am – THE PEOPLE VS. FRITZ BAUER
May 18 at 7:15pm – WOMEN’S BALCONY

On Friday, April 21, we plan to clear the decks and bring two new films to town…and we’ve decided to start them both a little early. COLOSSAL (starring Anne Hathaway) and LOST CITY OF Z (based on the beloved non-fiction book and starring Tom Holland & Robert Pattinson) will both have preview screenings on Thursday, April 20.

Thanks so much for your continued support.
See you soon,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for Tuesday, April 11 – Thursday, April 20:

THE LAST WORD (R) 1 Hr 48 Min
Wednesday-Thursday (Apr 12-13): 5:10
FINAL DAY – Apr 13!

WILSON (R) 1 Hr 34 Min
Wednesday-Thursday (Apr 12-13): 3:10, 7:30
FINAL DAY – Apr 13!

FRANTZ (PG-13) 1 Hr 53 Min
Wednesday-Thursday (Apr 12-13): 2:45, 5:15, 7:40
Friday & Saturday (Apr 14 & 15): 3:00, 7:30, 9:45
Sunday (Apr 16): 3:00, 7:30
Monday – Wednesday (Apr 17-19): 2:50, 5:10, 7:30
Thursday (Apr 20): 2:50, 5:10

PERSONAL SHOPPER (R) 1 Hr 45 Min
Friday & Saturday (Apr 14 & 15): 12:15, 2:30, 4:50, 7:15, 9:30
Sunday (Apr 16): 12:15, 2:30, 4:50, 7:15
Monday – Wednesday (Apr 17-19): 3:00, 5:20, 7:40
Thursday (Apr 20): 3:00, 5:20

LAND OF MINE (R) 1 Hr 40 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday (Apr 14-16): 12:45, 5:20

THE LOST CITY OF Z (PG-13) 2 Hrs 21 Min
Preview Screening – Thursday (Apr 20): 7:30

COLOSSAL (R) 1 Hr 50 Min
Preview Screening – Thursday (Apr 20): 7:40

COMING SOON:
(All Dates Are Tentative. Dates Often Move And Sometimes Disappear)
April 21 – COLOSSAL
April 21 – LOST CITY OF Z
May 5 – THEIR FINEST
May 26 – THE LOVERS
TBD – CEZANNE ET MOI
TBD – MAUDIE
TBD – NORMAN

Shirley MacLaine’s LAST WORD at THE NEON This Weekend

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Hello Everyone!

How can you not love Shirley MacLaine? From THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY to THE APARTMENT to THE CHILDREN’S HOUR to IRMA LA DOUCE to SWEET CHARITY to TERMS OF ENDEARMENT to STEEL MAGNOLIAS to POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE to BERNIE – there’s so much to love! This Friday, we will bring this legend’s latest film to town – THE LAST WORD – and MacLaine fans won’t be disappointed. We will also hold onto both KEDI and THE SENSE OF AN ENDING for one more week.

Synopsis for THE LAST WORD: “In THE LAST WORD, Shirley MacLaine is Harriet Lauler, a once successful businesswoman in tight control of every aspect of her life. As she reflects upon her accomplishment, she’s suddenly inspired to engage a young local writer, Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried), to pen her life’s story. When the initial result doesn’t meet Harriet’s high expectations, she sets out to reshape the way she is remembered, with Anne dragged along as an unwilling accomplice. As the journey unfolds, the two women develop a unique bond which alters not only Harriet’s legacy, but also Anne’s future.” (Bleecker Street) Click this LINK to visit the film’s official site.

Don’t forget about THE REEL PADDLING FILM FESTIVAL – returning to town this Thursday evening at 7:30. Advanced tickets are available on-line or at THE NEON’s box office.

“LUNAFEST, a national festival of women’s films, comes to Dayton for the 8th time this Sunday, March 26 from 3:00-5:00 pm at THE NEON. This season’s program of nine selected films will compel discussion, make you laugh, tug at your heartstrings and motivate you to make a difference in your community. Incredibly diverse in style and content, the films are united by a common thread of exceptional storytelling – by, for and about women. Two additional short films will be presented by Pens to Pictures, a local filmmaking collaborative that worked with incarcerated women at the Dayton Correctional Institute to help them make their own short films, from script to screen. Funds raised by this event will go to the Breast Cancer Fund and to Pens to Pictures. Tickets are $10.00 ($5.00 for students) and donations over this amount are gratefully accepted. The event is sponsored nationally by Luna, makers of the nutrition bar, and locally by Dayton Women’s Rights Alliance and the Dayton chapter of the American Association of University Women. Tickets are now available at THE NEON’s box office.” (Press Notes) Visit the Lunafest official site to check out clips from this year’s festival.

Equitas Health is bringing the film FREEDOM TO MARRY to town on Thursday, March 30 at 7:30. This film is “The nail-biting, untold story of how same-sex marriage became law of the land. THE FREEDOM TO MARRY follows Evan Wolfson, the architect the movement, civil rights attorney Mary Bonauto and their key colleagues on this decades long battle, culminating in a dramatic fight at the United States Supreme Court. More than the saga of one movement’s history, this is an inspiringtale of how regular people can change the world.” To watch the trailer and reserve your ticket, visit this LINK.

“On Saturday, April 8, from 9:00 am until Noon, come out to Kick-off and Celebrate MINORITY HEALTH MONTH! This event is free and open to the entire community. Starting at 9:00 am, there will be a free breakfast and health screenings (Hepatitis B, Cholesterol, Blood pressure and confidential HIV), and a live radio broadcast with WROU’s Host Faith Daniels! At 10:00 am, health leadership awards will be given to Gina McFarlane-El, CEO, Five Rivers Health Center, the 2017 Shero of Health recipient, and Richard “Clay” Dixon, for Community Action Leadership. At 10:00, watch the award-winning movie UNNATURAL CAUSES: IS INEQUALITY MAKING US SICK? How do you have good health? How do you live longer? Housing, education, community development and so much more impact choices, behaviors, health conditions, and quality of life. Get answers on how to improve health and quality of life. Free popcorn. Funded by Public Health, Buckeye Health Plan, and the Ohio Commission on Minority Health.”

Vu-Do Swing is hoping to bring ALIVE AND KICKING to town on April 26, but they still need to reserve 55 tickets by April 17 to make it happen. “ALIVE AND KICKING is a feature-length documentary that takes an inside look into the culture of swing dancing and the characters who make it special. We explore the culture surrounding Swing dance from the emergence of the Lindy Hop to the modern day international phenomenon. The film follows the growth of Swing dance from its purely American roots as an art form, to countries all over the world. Alive and Kicking looks at the lives of the Swing dancers themselves to find their personal stories and why this dance fills them with joy.” If not enough tickets are reserved by the deadline, your credit card will never be charged. Click this LINK to watch a trailer and reserve your ticket.

The Dayton Jewish Film Festival will kick off in late April, but they’ll have a sneak peek at this year’s fest during a screening of the classic film THE FRISCO KID (starring Gene Wilder) on Sunday, April 2 at 3PM. Brochures for the entire festival are now available in our lobby, and you can visit the official site to read about the films, watch trailers and purchase tickets in advance. This year’s line-up looks pretty amazing!

We’ve added numerous films to our “Coming Soon” list, and I’m very happy that we’ve added FRANTZ (from Francois Ozon) and THEIR FINEST (a period film with Bill Nighy) to the line-up – they are films I loved in Toronto, and I know you’ll like them, too.

Thanks so much for your continued support.
See you soon,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for Tuesday, March 21 – Thursday, March 30:

KEDI (NR) 1 Hr 20 Min
Tuesday-Thursday (March 21-23): 3:10, 5:15, 7:20
Friday & Saturday (March 24 & 25): 1:00, 5:30, 9:45
Sunday (March 26): 1:00, 5:30
Monday-Wednesday (March 27-29): 3:00, 7:40
Thursday (March 30): 3:00

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING (PG-13) 1 Hr 48 Min
Tuesday & Wednesday (March 21 & 22): 2:50, 5:10, 7:30
Thursday (March 23): 2:50, 5:10
Friday & Saturday (March 24 & 25): 3:00, 7:20
Sunday (March 26): 7:20
Monday-Thursday (March 27-30); 5:10

REEL PADDLING FILM FESTIVAL (NR) 2 Hrs
Thursday (Mar 23): 7:30

THE LAST WORD (R) 1 Hr 48 Min
Friday & Saturday (March 24 & 25): 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30, 9:45
Sunday (March 26): 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30
Monday-Thursday (March 27-30): 2:50, 5:10, 7:30

LUNAFEST + PENS TO PICTURES (NR) 2 Hrs
Sunday (March 26): 3:00

FREEDOM TO MARRY (NR) 1 Hr 26 Min
Thursday (March 30): 7:30

COMING SOON:
(All Dates Are Tentative. Dates Often Move And Sometimes Disappear)
March 31 – WILSON
April 4-9 – CONTEMPORARY COLOR (limited screenings, lots of local ties)
April 7 – FRANTZ
April 21 – COLOSSAL
May 5 – THEIR FINEST
May 26 – THE LOVERS
TBD – TONI ERDMANN, THE RED TURTLE, PERSONAL SHOPPER

THE SPECTACULAR NOW Opens & BLUE JASMINE Continues at THE NEON!

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The_Spectacular_Now_4Hello Everyone,

Wow! What an incredible weekend! FilmDayton had some nice crowds over the weekend (their line-up was awesome), and BLUE JASMINE became one of our biggest openings of the year! Many thanks to all of you who came out. We were busy, and it felt great!

If you still need to see THE WAY WAY BACK, you only have a couple more days. In addition, I hope many of you will come down for our special 4-day engagement of IN THE HOUSE – one of my absolute favorite films of the year (only a few people turned out on Monday). Thursday will be the last day for both films, and you can see their schedules on our official site – www.neonmovies.com. While BLUE JASMINE will certainly stick around, we have another hot, new film opening this weekend – THE SPECTACULAR NOW. This film has garnered high praise from The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Variety, Chicago Sun-Times and many more. We hope you’ll support it!

Synopsis for THE SPECTACULAR NOW: “This is the tale of Sutter Keely, a high school senior and effortless charmer, and of how he unexpectedly falls in love with “the good girl” Aimee Finecky. What starts as an unlikely romance, becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth – one that doesn’t look for tidy truths.” (taken from A24) This film stars Shailene Woodley – she played a daughter to George Clooney’s character in THE DESCENDANTS. She’s really wonderful. Click this LINK to visit the official site.

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“James Booker, the ‘Piano Prince of New Orleans,’ is resurrected in Lily Keber’s superb new documentary film – BAYOU MAHARAJA: THE TRAGIC GENIUS OF JAMES BOOKER. The documentary features concert footage, eyewitness accounts of the outrageous Booker in action and reflections from fellow New Orleans musicians Harry Connick Jr., Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Aaron Neville and others. 2013’s most talked-about music documentary, the movie captures the essence of this underappreciated virtuoso. Meet Lily Keber at THE NEON when she introduces her film and leads a Q&A session following the screening.” (taken from VSOP Press Notes) This film will play one time only – Wednesday, September 18 at 7:30. Tickets are already on sale at THE NEON’s box office.

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I’m sad to announce that THE NEON has lost a good friend. Harish Trivedi of The India Foundation passed away earlier this month. He was such a lover of film, and he provided the community with a wealth of knowledge and passion for Indian cinema. He was a great collaborator, and his spirit and drive were infectious. He will be greatly missed.

Unfortunately, Saturday’s screening of SALMA has been cancelled. We hope it will be rescheduled for a future event, but no further details are available at this time.

Thanks for your continued support!

We hope to see you soon!
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for Fri, Aug. 30 – Thurs, Sept. 5:

BLUE JASMINE (PG-13) 1 Hr 38 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30
Monday: 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:15
Tuesday – Thursday: 3:10, 5:20, 7:30

THE SPECTACULAR NOW (R) 1 Hr 35 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:40, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:40
Monday: 12:40, 3:00, 5:15, 7:40
Tuesday – Thursday: 3:00, 5:15, 7:40

COMING SOON:
As always, all dates are tentative. Many of these dates will change.
In some rare cases, titles may disappear.
TBD – BLACKFISH
TBD – THE HUNT
Sept. 13 – SALINGER
TBD – THE PATIENCE STONE
TBD – AUSTENLAND
TBD – WADJDA
Oct. 18 – ENOUGH SAID
Oct. 18 – INEQUALITY FOR ALL
TBD – CUTIE AND THE BOXER

Toronto Film Fest – Day #5

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Hello Everyone,

I have to make a confession.  Because we’re opening THE MASTER on Sept. 21, it has not been a priority for me to see during TIFF…especially because it’s always slated up against something else that I want to see.  That said, I did see the first 70 minutes today…and I found it quite engaging.  I’ll be anxious to see the rest!

The first film I saw today (in its entirety) was THANKS FOR SHARING – a dramedy about sex addiction.  Though there are lots of really funny moments, this film really does take the sex addiction part quite seriously.  Mark Ruffalo and Tim Robbins star along with relative newcomer Josh Gad …with supporting roles by Gwyneth Paltrow and Pink! (who is wonderful).  The film is directed by Stuart Blumberg.  Though this is his directorial debut, Blumberg has had his hand in filmmaking for a while.  (He wrote THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT a couple years ago.)  Though I thought this film was too long (I realize that I’m beginning to sound like Harvey Weinstein – who is famous for chopping filmmakers’ films), I do think it’s pretty good for the most part…and very audience friendly.

Next I saw the new film by Edward Burns – A FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS.  This film started out on a really strong note.  It was an honest, insightfully funny film about a dysfunctional family during the holidays.  Sadly, the film went in a couple directions that were very problematic, and the movie ultimately didn’t work for me.  However, there are a couple characters that made the film worth watching…particularly Anita Gillette (known recently as Liz Lemon’s mother on 30 ROCK).

Lastly, I saw what might be at the top of the list so far for me.  Francois Ozon’s new film is spectacular.  IN THE HOUSE is the story of a schoolboy who has taken an interest in writing and his grammar teacher who is helping him hone his craft.  As the boy continues to write a story about his voyeuristic observations regarding a family in his neighborhood, the teacher becomes more invested in knowing what happens next…all the while teaching the boy what works and doesn’t work narratively.  It’s a twisted, inventive story…and it’s as funny as it is thrilling.  Both Francois Ozon and Kristin Scott Thomas were at the screening.  I loved it!

Sadly, there are no trailers for the films I screened today…so I’ll leave you with one for THE MASTER.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ1O1vb9AUU’]

Thanks for reading!!!

Jonathan