Cinema Sampler begins again

Film series is free

 

The spring installment of Trine University’s free film series, Cinema Sampler, will begin again on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in Fabiani Theatre, and will continue on select Thursdays through April 23. The series, sponsored by the Trine Humanities Institute, will take the theme “Just Visiting.” A schedule follows.

Feb. 12 —“Wall-E,” a 2008 film, rated G and lasting 1 hour, 38 minutes. Celebrate Valentine’s Day with this latest entertainment from the Disney-Pixar animation team. Science fiction converges with romantic comedy to create an enchanting movie that is literally out of this world.

Feb. 19—“The Visitor,” filmed in 2008 and running for 1 hour, 44 minutes. Rated PG-13. One of the best reviewed films of the year, Tom McCarthy’s moving drama contains “brilliant and nuanced performances,” according to film expert Leonard Maltin, and a plot that leads its central character (Richard Jenkins) to profound life lessons.

Feb. 26—“Notorious,” a 1946 black-and-white unrated film, running 1 hour, 42 minutes. Many call this espionage story one of Alfred Hitchcock’s top masterpieces. Here, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman charm their way through scenes of passion (real and feigned) and, near the end, heart-stopping suspense.

March 19 —“The Secret Life of Bees,” filmed in 2008 and rated PG-13. It will run for 1 hour, 50 minutes. Director Gina Prince-Blythewood has skillfully adapted Sue Monk Kidd’s popular novel, a narrative of pain, youthful escape, and enlightenment in the American South. The film stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Paul Bettany.

March 26—“Man on Wire,” a 2008 film rated PG-13, will run for 1 hour, 34 minutes. It received an Oscar nomination this year. In August 1974, a young Frenchman secretly rigged a cable between the twin towers of the newly completed World Trade Center in New York City—and then walked repeatedly across the wire. This documentary recounts that illegal but giddy adventure with riveting anxiety.  

                

April 2—“Starman,” a 1984 film rated PG and running for 1 hour, 55 minutes. In director John Carpenter’s warm, sexy sci-fi game, Jeff Bridges (“TheBig Lebowski”) plays an affable alien who comes to earth in the form of the deceased husband of Karen Allen (“Indiana Jones” series).  Everybody wins.

April 16—“Transsiberian,” running 1 hour, 51 minutes. The 2008 film is rated R for violence and language. Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, and Ben Kingsley take us along on a trans-Siberian train journey from Beijing to Moscow. Chilling vistas showcase an intense psychological drama.  

April 23—“The Band’s Visit,” a 2008 film rated PG-18 and running for 1 hour, 27 minutes. “Egypt invades Israel—this time to make music. If this film doesn’t delight and touch you, maybe you should have your heart examined.” (Richard Corliss, Time)