The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

2009 (Terry Gilliam) PG, 122 min
Starring: Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Lily Cole

In this film, director Gilliam creates a lush, vibrant
dystopia, where everything, including black garbage bags, appears beautiful and alluring. The non-linear narrative follows Dr.Parnassus’ troupe of street performers, who subsist on the margins of society. Parnassus (Plummer, up for an Oscar for his performance), a monk, who is actually thousands of years old, makes several wagers with the devil, Mr. Nick, who’s much amused. (He’s played perfectly by Tom Waits.) Eventually, Parnassus falls in love and is so overcome that he promises any child he might father to Mr. Nick, who, in return, allows Parnassus to become the same age as the woman he adores. As their daughter, Valentina (played by the elfin Lily Cole)nears the age where they must relinquish her to Mr. Nick, Parnassus must find a way to save her. An exquisite, magically dilapidated cinematic masterpiece.

The Road

2009 (John Hillcoat) R, 111 min
Starring: Charlize Theron, Molly Parker, Robert Duvall, Viggo Mortensen

The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name, recounts a father and son’s post-apocalyptic journey towards the coast. Over a period of several months, they travel across the remnants of the United States, which has been decimated by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed modern civilization and apparently most life on earth as well. The landscape is completely barren, everything has been pillaged and starvation is the main concern. Encountering anyone else on the journey poses a severe threat, as cannibalism is common. There are Oscar nomination rumors about Viggo Mortensen's performance as the father and also for newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee as the boy. Environmental author George Monbiot (The Guardian) describes this haunting story of survival as one that: "will change the way you see the world.”

Where the Wild Things Are

2009 (Spike Jonze) PG, 100 min
Starring: Catherine Keener, Catherine O’Hara, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Max Records

Considering that the last time a beloved, slim, children's picture book was made into a Hollywood movie, we got the bloated joke-machine Shrek, it's remarkable that Spike Jonze has been allowed to make, well, a Spike Jonze movie. Being John Malkovich and Adaptation showed Jonze's surreal imagination, and he has used this to expand the 300-word original into an intense essay on childhood. Max, unruly, lonely and sensitive, escapes his mother (the wonderful Catherine Keener) and her reprimands into a raw fantasy world of monsters of Id and Ego, the beautiful, chaotic Wild Things. The expanded story catches Max on the cusp of understanding and abandoning his childhood, with grace and melancholy. Recommended for children over 8 but mostly for anyone who's ever wanted to fall asleep under a pile of huge, furry monsters.

The Hurt Locker

2008 (Kathryn Bigelow) 14A, 130 min
Starring: Guy Pearce, Jeremy Renner, Ralph Fiennes

From the intense opening of a bomb defusing gone badly awry, director Kathryn Bigelow sends a clear message to the audience that they’re in for over 2 hours of pressurized, white-knuckle, finger chewing tension. We are embedded in Iraq with a team of bomb defusing experts that’s dealing with the recent loss of a colleague and welcoming his replacement, Sergeant James (Renner), into their unit. James is at best a loose cannon who regards death as a competitor, one he is hell bent to beat. He plows his way toward some of the biggest trouble known, pulling his on-edge, reluctant teammates behind. But as the days wear on, and the missions grow increasingly more perilous, his cocky shield begins to crumble and we witness how even the brave find it hard to cope knowing that there’s a great chance they won't survive. It’s this unrelenting fear, this questioning of the unknown and the unnatural thirst for both that’s at the root of all war films, but with Hurt Locker, it’s acutely concentrated. Bigelow and her talented cast deliver a knife-edged film that’s been hailed as one of the genre’s best.

Coco avant Chanel

2009 (Anne Fontaine) PG, 110 min
Starring: Alessandro Nivola, Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde
In French with English subtitles

Audrey Tautou stars in this biopic about Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, which focuses on the younger years of ‘Coco’—before she transformed herself into the one word icon: Chanel. A young, chain-smoking, sarcastic Gabrielle spends her days practicing her craft and her nights working at a music hall singing naughty ditties, and later is torn between her struggles to assert herself and her romantic interludes with men. Coco avant Chanel is a film that ranks haute in fashion circles. It offers film-goers a chance to acquaint themselves with the woman behind the Chanel fashion line and the classic suit in an honest, candid and compassionate way.

Amelie

2001 (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) 14A, 121 min
Starring: Audrey Tatou, Mathieu Kassovitz
In French with English subtitles

Amelie tells the story of a young woman with a big imagination and an even bigger heart, who after years of living in relative isolation with her over-protective father, moves to Paris to work as a café waitress. After the death of Princess Diana, Amelie is inspired to devote herself to bringing happiness to other people. Her adventures lead her to return lost boyhood treasures to an elderly man and eventually to find happiness herself. Featuring stunning glimpses of Paris, scenes saturated in deep greens and reds, and heart-warming whimsical moments, Amielie is a truly delightful film that is sure to banish the winter blues.

Invictus

2009 (Clint Eastwood) PG, 133 min
Starring: Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Patrick Mofokeng, Tony Kgoroge

Clint Eastwood, winner of two Academy Awards each for Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven (plus an additional five nominations over the years), takes on another complex and stirring real-life story. Set during the early years of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Nelson Mandela’s term as president of South Africa, Invictus recounts how Mandela (Freeman) worked to unite black and white South Africans through his support of the national rugby team, the Springboks, despite the fact that the team was mostly white and had little support from black citizens. In cooperation with the team’s captain, Francois Pienaar (Damon), President Mandela pulled together a divided nation in support of their underdog team. A.O. Scott calls it “powerful, full of conviction and one of the most inspiring movies of the year.”

Nine

2009 (Rob Marshall) PG, 119 min
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz

His last two films were flops and he has only one week left to finish his current film, and no inspiration to see it through: director Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) is on the verge of a creative meltdown. This is to say nothing of the negotiations that he must endure with the various women in his life: his wife (Cotillard), his mistress (Cruz), his film star muse (Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Dench), an American fashion journalist (Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie) and his mother (Loren). Through dreams, drinks, and a little dance, Guido manages to keep everyone—including the audience—happy. This stunning ensemble cast does their best to pay homage to great Italian director Federico Fellini’s ninth film, titled 8 ½, and Italian cinema of the 1960’s. Nine was nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009 (Wes Anderson) PG, 86 min
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep

The latest offering from Wes Anderson is a stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book. The story begins with a wonderful chicken coop heist executed by the daring and dashing Mr. Fox (Clooney) and his wife Felicity (Streep). Accidentally triggering a fox trap and facing possible death, Felicity announces she is pregnant and asks Mr. Fox to vow that he will give up his chicken stealing ways for a safer, more stable career should they survive. The lure of having three of the biggest farms in the area right across from their new foxhole, however, proves too irresistible to Mr. Fox. Ensuing adventures include elaborate, acrobatic caper-like scenes, an aggressive counter-attack by the three farmers, and a genius rescue mission to free Mr. Fox’s captured nephew involving foxes, a badger, a rat, an opossum, a rabid beagle and many others. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a funny, heart-warming film about the importance of family, community and finding out what makes each of us uniquely fantastic.

The Blind Side

2009 (John Lee Hancock) PG, 128 min
Starring: Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw

Michael Oher was a homeless African-American teenager when he was taken in by an affluent white family in the American South. The product of a broken home, Michael lacked education and opportunities, which his 'new' family could provide. Sandra Bullock, in a Golden Globe and a SAG award-winning performance, plays the mother, and Kathy Bates plays the tutor who helps Michael achieve the grades he requires to get involved in the football team at school. Once Michael is recognized for his talent, he begins to excel in his new world. At the same time, he must navigate through its challenges and overcome them. On one level, this is a film about race, class and football (Michael was drafted into the NFL in 2009), but its deeper aspects show the value and power of family and the ability of one individual to change himself and those around him.

My School Cooperative Nursery Presents: Horton Hears a Who! Fundraiser

2008 (Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino) G, 86 min
Starring: Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Steve Carell

Whoville's in peril! Its location unjust,
it is sadly located on a speck of dust.

Too small to count, too small to see,
the Whos need a hero to give voice to their plea.

Enter an elephant named Horton whose message is sage:
"Even though you can't hear or see them at all,
a person's a person no mater how small."

This lesson of respect Horton tries to teach
to the animals of the jungle who are a bit hard to reach.

Dr. Seuss wrote the book, now the movie's been made
by the team that did Ice Age, a family fave.

Not to be missed, but don't take it from me,
a Toronto Star critic reviewed it nicely:

"'I'm happy to say,' critic Howell wheezed,
'They rise to the challenge! Dr. Seuss would be pleased!

This is animation most animate, a kid-pic so rare,
that even adults will fall off their chairs!'"

All ticket proceeds go to My School Cooperative Nursery. Tickets are $6. Babes in arms free. Face painting for kids.