Wisdom of Nuggets

STATE OF PLAY
Opening at the Nugget on Friday, May 1

Cast: Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright Penn, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Screenplay: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray
Length: 1:57
Rated: PG-13 for violence and profanity.
Subtitles: None

What’s STATE OF PLAY about?
STATE OF PLAY is a dark-alley journalism story crossed with a suspense thriller and a whole lot more.  Ben Affleck plays a crusading young congressman investigating a Blackwater-type private security company when his chief researcher, who is also his mistress, is brutally murdered and buried secrets start tumbling out. The ace newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), a close friend of the congressman’s, gets on the case and uncovers the threat posed by the company, while his sour editor (Helen Mirren) wants to pursue the tabloid side of the scandal. As Cal and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) work to uncover the killer’s identity, they discover a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation’s power structures. And, in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is ever safe.

Quote from STATE OF PLAY:
Della Frye (Rachel McAdams): Did we just break the law?
Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe): Nope. That’s what you call damn fine reporting.

What’s being said about STATE OF PLAY?
“Not only does State of Play work well as a political thriller, its pointed take on the failing state of newspapers and lax journalistic standards could not be more timely. Stunning widescreen cinematography and lavish sets add to the authenticity of a movie that in its best moments can be compared favorably with similar ’70s classics like All the President’s Men.”  Pete Hammond at Hollywood.com

See the STATE OF PLAY movie trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/stateofplay/

FAST AND FURIOUS
Opening at the Nugget on Friday, April 24

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Gal Gadot
Director: Justin Lin
Screenplay (such as it is): Chris Morgan
Length: 1:47
Rated: PG-13 for violence, profanity and sexual situations.
Subtitles: None

What’s FAST AND FURIOUS about?
When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker). But, as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And, from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: Push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.

Quotes from FAST AND FURIOUS:
Just a few of Dom’s one-liners:
“Ask any racer, any real racer. It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile; winning’s winning.”
“I live my life a quarter mile at a time.”
“SWAT came into my house, disrespected my whole family because somebody narc’d me out!”
“You’re gonna need more than that crotch rocket.”
“Hey, wait, hold up! I don’t have any cash, but I do have the pink slip to my car.”
“Wait, you just can’t climb in the ring with Ali ’cause you think you box!”
“Why don’t you girls just pack it up before I leave tread marks on your face?”

What’s being said about FAST AND FURIOUS?
“If you’re expecting a very slick, adrenaline laden car chase and car smash extravaganza strung together with a tiny plot, sparse dialogue and thin characters, you’re at the right movie. Mindless fun, well done.”  BFDeal at NuggetTheatre.com

See the FAST AND FURIOUS movie trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/fastandfurious/

Director Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning The Wrestler, the beautifully crafted vehicle for Mickey Rourke’s dramatic comeback role, will screen one time, Thursday, April 23, at 8:30 p.m. at the Nugget, in the Telluride Film Festival Presents! series.

“Like many great performances, it has an element of truth,” writes Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, “Rourke himself was once young and glorious and made the big bucks. He did professional boxing just for the hell of it. He alienated a lot of people. He fell from grace and stardom, but kept working, because he was an actor and that was what he did. Now, here is his comeback role, playing Randy the Ram’s comeback.”

Randy (Rourke) is estranged from his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) and has trouble sustaining any real relationships. He exists for the adoration from his fans and for the electricity he generates inside the ring, until, unexpectedly, he is forced into retirement after a heart attack. His sense of identity begins to disintegrate; re-evaluating the state of his life, he attempts to reconnect with his daughter, and pursues romance with Cassidy, an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei – also nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance).

But his passion for his art beckons him back to the life of wrestling, and Randy soon finds himself working his way up the independent circuit for one final opportunity to defeat his longtime rival.

There will be one show, at 8:30 p.m., on Thursday, April 23 at the Nugget Theater, one night only. The movie is rated R and runs 105 minutes. Tickets are $8. No Nugget Passes, please.

And don’t miss The Secret Garden, free at Sunday at the Palm on April 26

Free films and free flowers! As Telluride begins to bloom, bring the whole family to eprxience this an inspiring film about life, magic and flowers. The Telluride Film Festival’s Sunday at the Palm series presents Polish Director Agnieszka Holland’s award-winning adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved children’s novel The Secret Garden. The film follows young Mary Lennox, a strong-willed English girl orphaned by an earthquake in India who is sent to England to live with her uncle, a widower still in mourning for his wife, who died a decade ago, in a cold, unwelcoming Yorkshire mansion.

The resourceful and curious Mary she soon makes two exciting discoveries, first finding the key to a long-forgotten garden (locked up since the death of her aunt), and then discovering that she has a cousin, Colin, a sickly boy who must stay in bed and avoid daylight at all times. As Mary and her new friend, a local boy named Dickon, bring the garden back to life, they decide that Colin must see it. This decision will change several lives and will bring magic back to the entire house.

Critic Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, “It is a beautiful, intelligent film – a fable, a lesson, and an entrancing entertainment,” and while he predicted that “the summer of 1993 will be remembered as the time when every child in the world wanted to see Jurassic Park,” also released in 1993, “the lucky ones will see this one, too.”

Garden screens Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m., at the Michael D. Palm Theatre for the Performing Arts. Rated G, it is free to all; running time is 101 minutes

Sunday at the Palm is presented by The Telluride Film Festival, The Telluride Foundation and Telluride R1 School District.

I LOVE YOU, MAN
Opening at the Nugget on Friday, April 17

Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly
Director: John Hamburg
Screenplay: John Hamburg and Larry Levin
Length: 1:45
Rated: R for profanity and sexual situations.
Subtitles: None

What’s I LOVE YOU, MAN about? Paul Rudd is Peter, a successful real estate agent, who upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey (Rashida Jones), discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter quickly sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward “man-dates,” before meeting Sydney Fife (Jason Segel), a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But, the closer the two men get, the more Peter’s relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancee and his new found “bro,” in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a friend.

Quotes from I LOVE YOU, MAN:
Open House Couple: [after trying to discretely fart at an open house] “I like it, but I’m not sure about the space… I’m thinking it might be a little bit small.”
Sydney Fife: [Knowing he farted] “Totally, and it smells like fart.”

What’s being said about I LOVE YOU, MAN? “I LOVE YOU, MAN has everything going for it: a heartwarming story, a 1 hour and 45 minute running time and hilarious jokes that moviegoers will be quoting for years.  And by capturing the beauty of Venice Beach, Chinatown and Silver Lake, the city of Los Angeles has never looked better on screen.  And then there are Rudd and Segel — two very funny actors who you can’t help but love, man.” Scott Mantz at moviemantz.com

See the I LOVE YOU, MAN movie trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/iloveyouman/