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2 New Films This Weekend at THE NEON + LGBT Film Fest Line-Up!

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Hello Everyone.

After a phenomenal 10-week run, it’s time for MIDNIGHT IN PARIS to head out.  If you still need to see it (or need to see it one more time), you can find remaining showtimes on ourwebsite.  That said, PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES is leaving after just one week.  Hurry down if it’s still on your list.

In addition to holding onto BUCK, we will open two new films – SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN and THE DOUBLE HOUR.

Synopsis for SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN:  “In 19th-century China, seven year old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong – or “old sames” – bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, nu shu, between the folds of a white silk fan.In a parallel story in present day Shanghai, the laotong’s descendants, Nina and Sophia, struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship in the face of demanding careers, complicated love lives, and a relentlessly evolving Shanghai. Drawing on the lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or risk losing one another forever.What unfolds are two stories, generations apart, but everlasting in their universal notion of love, hope and friendship.” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)  Click HERE to be directed to SNOW FLOWER’s official website.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wlk7TsdhsY’]

Synopsis for THE DOUBLE HOUR: “Guido, a former cop, is a luckless veteran of the speed-dating scene in Turin. But, much to his surprise, he meets Slovenian immigrant Sonia, a chambermaid at a high-end hotel. The two hit it off, and a passionate romance develops. After they leave the city for a romantic getaway in the country, things suddenly take a dark turn. As Sonia’s murky past resurfaces, her reality starts to crumble. Everything in her life begins to change – questions arise and answers only arrive through a continuous twist and turn of events keeping viewers on edge until the film’s final moments.” (Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)  Click HERE to be directed to THE DOUBLE HOUR’s official website.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4loZt8-MRZw’]

Marketing pieces for The 6th Annual Downtown Dayton LGBT Film Festival are well underway, and I’m quite pleased with the line-up!  In the coming days, you’ll start to see stacks of postcards popping up all over town (if you’d like to place some at your business or favorite hangout, please let me know…I anticipate their arrival any day).

Here’s this year’s line-up:

Fri. Sept. 23 at 7:30 – THE GREEN – sponsored by Square One Salon & Spa

Fri. Sept. 23 postfilm – PARTY at SIDEBAR – sponsored by Lisa Hanauer & Sue Spiegel

Sat. Sept. 24 at 12:30 – GEN SILENT with THE COLONEL’S OUTING & FIRST AND LOVELISS – sponsored by Greater Dayton LGBT Center

Sat. Sept. 24 at 3:00 – TOP DRAWER SHORTS: I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK ALONE, REVOLUTION, LUST LIFE, CHANGE, THE QUEEN, and THE NOT SO SUBTLE SUBTEXT – sponsored by Miami Valley Fair Housing Center

Sat. Sept. 24 at 7:30 – TOMBOY – sponsored by PFLAG Dayton

Sat. Sept. 24 at 9:30 – GOING DOWN IN LA-LA LAND with 52 – sponsored by MJ’s Cafe, JOHN and Marion’s Piazza

Sun. Sept. 25 at 12:30 – CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE – sponsored by Human Race Theatre Company

Sun. Sept. 25 at 3:00 – WEEKEND with EMPIRE – sponsored by Ken Byers

Ticketing details, trailers, and news about visiting artists will be available soon on the festival website.  One special treat…The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will give a pair of tickets away at each LGBT festival screening to see Lynda Carter when she’s in town!

We don’t anticipate THE DOUBLE HOUR (and maybe even SNOW FLOWER) to stick around too long…so we hope you’ll hurry down.

Take care!

Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for August 19 – August 25:

THE DOUBLE HOUR (NR) 1 Hr 35 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 3:00, 9:30

Monday – Thursday:  2:20, 8:30

SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN (PG-13) 2 Hr

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:10, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 9:50

Monday – Thursday: 3:00, 5:30, 8:00

BUCK (PG) 1 Hr 28 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 5:15, 7:20

Monday – Thursday: 4:30, 6:30

COMING SOON:

As always, all dates are tentative.  Some of these dates will change.

In some cases, titles may disappear.

Aug 26   ANOTHER EARTH

Aug 26   THE GUARD

Sept. 2   THE TRIP

Sept. 9   LIFE ABOVE ALL

Sept 9   THE WHISTLEBLOWER

Sept 9  BEATS AND RHYMES: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Sept 23   HIGHER GROUND

TBD   SARAH’S KEY

TBD   THE FUTURE

THE NEON Gets To PAGE ONE

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Hello Everyone.

We’ve had a great summer so far…and you certainly helped to keep the ball rollin’ with BUCK.  Our weekend was fantastic, and positive word-of-mouth should keep this film going for a little while.  In addition to BUCK, we’re going to bring you another documentary which also has some great buzz – PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES.  In addition, we’re going to keep MIDNIGHT IN PARIS for yet another week.  Crowds keep coming to this little gem, and it’s quickly becoming one of our longest running and highest grossing summer films.

If you haven’t had a chance to see BEGINNERS, Thursday will be your last chance.  For showtimes for this week and next, visit www.neonmovies.com.

Synopsis for PAGE ONE:  “In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times deftly gains unprecedented access to The New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, PAGE ONE chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers like Brian Stelter, Tim Arango and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent. Meanwhile, their editors and publishers grapple with existential challenges from players like WikiLeaks, new platforms ranging from Twitter to tablet computers, and readers’ expectations that news online should be free. But rigorous journalism is thriving. PAGE ONE gives us an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-the-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching that produce the “daily miracle” of a great news organization. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of journalists continuing to produce extraordinary work-under increasingly difficult circumstances.” (Magnolia Picutures)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwTMFXgf95c’]

Click HERE to visit PAGE ONE’s Official site.  Click HERE to visit BUCK’s Official site.

In the next few days, I will release the entire line-up for The 6th Annual Downtown Dayton LGBT Film Festival.  The selection committee sorted through over a hundred hours of material in order to bring the best films to Dayton.  For a sneak peek, check out a trailer for our opening night film – THE GREEN – sponsored by Square One Salon & Spa.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4fZqbMrd2E’]

Hope to see you soon.

Take care!

Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for August 12 – August 18:

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13) 1 Hr 40 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 5:10

Monday – Thursday: 6:00

PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES (R) 1 Hr 28 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 3:10, 7:30, 9:30

Monday – Thursday: 3:30, 8:15

BUCK (PG) 1 Hr 28 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:20, 9:20

Monday – Thursday: 3:15, 5:30, 8:00

COMING SOON:

As always, all dates are tentative.  Some of these dates will change.
In some cases, titles may disappear.

Aug 19   SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN
Aug 26   ANOTHER EARTH
Aug 26   THE GUARD
Sept. 9   LIFE ABOVE ALL
Sept 9   THE WHISTLEBLOWER
Sept 9  BEATS AND RHYMES: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Sept 23   HIGHER GROUND
TBD   DOUBLE HOUR
TBD   THE FUTURE

Don’t Miss BEGINNERS! Prize Details Inside!!

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Hello Everyone.

If you still need to see THE TREE OF LIFE, Thursday (7/21) will be its last day at THE NEON (all showtimes are available at HERE).  On Friday, we will open the new film from Mike Mills – BEGINNERS – starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer (Plummer’s performance is an Oscar shoe-in for “Best Supporting Actor”).

Synopsis for BEGINNERS: “From writer/director Mike Mills comes a comedy/drama about how deeply funny and transformative life can be, even at its most serious moments.  BEGINNERS imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Golden Globe Award nominee Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Melanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds) only months after his father Hal (Academy Award nominee Christopher Plummer) has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father who – following 44 years of marriage – came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.” (taken from filmjabber.com)

Click HERE to visit the official site.  Below is a wonderful “Making Of” featurette.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dOYyCaH_t4′]

Before the 7:20 screenings of BEGINNERS on both Friday and Saturday night, I will be giving out a handful of T-Shirts and soundtracks.  So brush up on your NEON trivia – I hope to see you here!

On Saturday night, our large auditorium has been rented for a special event.   2 MUCH FLAVOR is a rollerblading documentary (a follow-up to SAVOR THE FLAVOR from 2008) by local videomakers Ryan Benner and Andrew Thompson.  A trailer is available HERE.  The movie will play on Saturday night, July 23 at 10pm.  Tickets will be $5 each.

Many of you have been asking and calling about BUCK.  We appreciate your patience as our schedule continues to re-arrange.  We will eventually play it!

Our new parking lot has new lines and is ready for parking!  You can access this lot (which has 2 different sections) from St. Clair.  One section exits onto 5th Street…the other exits back onto St. Clair.  All the spots are visible from our front window, and new light bulbs have been installed to make certain it is well lit.  As always, this lot if free to NEON customers.  If it is full, we can validate your ticket for the parking garage any time after 6:00 on weekdays or all weekend long.  If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to call or write.

Hope to see you soon.

Take care!

Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for July 22 – July 28:

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13) 1 Hr 40 Min

Friday: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40

Saturday: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:30

Sunday: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40

Monday – Thursday: 3:30, 6:00, 8:30

BEGINNERS (R) 1 Hr 45 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:20, 9:45

Monday – Thursday:  3:00, 5:30, 8:00

2 MUCH FLAVOR (NR)

Saturday: 10pm

COMING SOON:

As always, all dates are tentative.  Some of these dates will change.

In some cases, titles may disappear.

July 29 PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

July 29 DOUBLE HOUR

Aug 5 BUCK

Aug 5 SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Aug 12 BEATS AND RHYMES: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Aug 26 ANOTHER EARTH

Aug 26 THE GUARD

Sept. 9 LIFE ABOVE ALL

Sept 9 WHISTLEBLOWER

Sept 23 HIGHER GROUND

TBD THE FUTURE

Stayin’ Put for 1 More Week at THE NEON!

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Hello Everyone.

We had another great weekend at THE NEON…in fact, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS saw a small increase over the past few days.  Both THE TREE OF LIFE and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS will stick around for another week…and we plan to at least open BEGINNERS on July 15.

Visit each film’s website by clicking on the links below:

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

THE TREE OF LIFE

Our new parking lot has new lines and is ready!  You can access this lot (which has 2 different sections) from St. Clair.  One section exits onto 5th Street…the other exits back onto St. Clair.  All the spots are visible from our front window, and new light bulbs have been installed to make certain it is well lit.  As always, this lot if free to NEON customers.  If it is full, we can validate your ticket for the parking garage any time after 6:00 on weekdays or all weekend long.  If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to call or write.

Take a look at the trailer for BEGINNERS – opening on July 15.  You don’t want to miss this film!!

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUFUp6vsxg’]

Hope to see you soon.

Take care!

Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for July 8 – July 14:

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13) 1 Hr 40 Min

Friday: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40

Saturday: 12:50, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40

Sunday: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40

Monday – Thursday: 3:30, 6:00, 8:30

THE TREE OF LIFE (R) 2 Hr 18 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45

Monday – Thursday:  2:30, 5:15, 8:00

COMING SOON:

As always, all dates are tentative.  Some of these dates will change.

In some cases, titles may disappear.

July 15   BEGINNERS

July 15   BUCK

July 22   PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

Aug 5   SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Aug 12   BEATS AND RHYMES: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Aug 26   ANOTHER EARTH

Aug 26   THE GUARD

Sept. 9   LIFE ABOVE ALL

Sept 23   HIGHER GROUND

TBD   DOUBLE HOUR

TBD   THE FUTURE

THE TREE OF LIFE – The Most Talked About Indie of the Year at THE NEON!

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Hello Everyone.

As planned, the fantastically charming POTICHE was only here for a week.  And just as we suspected, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is still performing very well, and audiences are adoring it…so it will stick around for at least another week.

Today (6/24), we open the most talked about indie film of the year – Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE.  Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain, TREE OF LIFE was the winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.  This film has been given a 100% review by The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, NPR, USA Today, Variety, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, and many more.  Roger Ebert wrote, “The only other film I’ve seen with this boldness of vision is Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and it lacked Malick’s fierce evocation of human feeling.”

Synopsis for THE TREE OF LIFE:  “The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.”  (Fox Searchlight Pictures)  Check out the beautifully designed official site.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRYA1dxP_0′]

Last week’s screening of WE WERE HERE was a marvelous, sold-out event – with a beautiful film and an insightful and brave panel discussion.  Many thanks to all my friends and community partners who helped to make the evening such a success.

We will have a new neighbor in the next few days – Sabai: Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar. What we have been using for our parking lot for the past several years will soon become theirs.  Luckily, we will be able to utilize a new space that’s visible from our front windows.  Please start getting in the habit of parking in our new lot…though there aren’t parking lines yet, there will be soon.  We’ve painted a couple of the posts to make the lot quite easy to find.

Hope to see you this weekend.

Take care!

Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for June 24 – June 30:

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (PG-13) 1 Hr 40 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40

Monday – Thursday: 3:30, 6:00, 8:30

THE TREE OF LIFE (R) 2 Hr 18 Min

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45

Monday – Thursday:  2:30, 5:15, 8:00

COMING SOON:

As always, all dates are tentative.  Some of these dates will change.

In some cases, titles may disappear.

July 1  DOUBLE HOUR

July 8  BUCK

July 15   PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

July 15   BEGINNERS

Aug 5   SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Aug 12   BEATS AND RHYMES: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Aug 26   ANOTHER EARTH

Aug 26   THE GUARD

Sept. 9   LIFE ABOVE ALL

Sept 23   HIGHER GROUND