[Avon-theatre-news] AVON NEWS---SEPT. 4th, 2009

[Skip Huston]

"THE INFORMANT!" TICKETS START ON SALE NOW!!
Sorry, no phone or online orders, please!
(My sneaky way to get you in the theater and sell you the BEST popcorn!!)
AVON THEATRE NEWS & VIEWS 
Showtimes, Programs, Erudition and Miscellaneous Folderol 
"All of Life's Answers are in the Movies!"  -Dr. Skippy P. Huston
WEEK OF FRIDAY,  SEPT. 4th thru THURSDAY,  SEPT. 10th ONLY!!  
Check out our way cool website at: www.TheAvon.com

OPENING FRIDAY:  PONYO (G) Animated treat with the voices of Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett and Liam Neeson among others!!
                       THE BROTHERS BLOOM (PG13) Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz and Mark Ruffalo "caper comedy"!!

CONTINUING:      JULIE & JULIA (PG13) MERYL STREEP & AMY ADAMS!! AMBROSIA!!
                       500 DAYS OF SUMMER (PG13) Now see it at the Avon!! (where you wanted it all along!)

COMING NEXT FRIDAY: ADAM (PG13) A real surprise of a wonderful movie! 
                             FOOD, INC. (PG13) If you eat food, you better see this documentary!
COMING SOON:
ALL ON SEPT. 18th:
THE INFORMANT (R) If you don't know what this one is, I don't know what to say...
LOVE HAPPENS (PG13) Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart romance!
SHRINK (R) Kevin Spacey in an "Avon Discovery" about a psychiatrist in dire need of one!
...and LOTS more!!
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JULIE & JULIA (PG13) 
Ok, after 5 weeks of playing this, I can't think of anything else to say about it except YOU NEED TO SEE THIS AT LEAST TWICE!!!
MERYL STREEP and AMY ADAMS are a marvel!!
JULIE & JULIA (PG13)
(Showtimes in brackets are $5.75 'Bargain Matinees")
FRI: (4:00) - 7:00
SAT:(1:00) - (4:00) - 7:00 
SUN: (1:00) - (4:00)
MON thru THURS: 7:00
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500 DAYS OF SUMMER  (PG13) 
Pretty funny that this little gem played out at the "other guys" for 3 solid weeks doing no business whatsoever until WE brought it in last weekend and gave it the "Avon Seal of Approval"!! And, I really can't blame any of you (in fact, I love that you waited!) because this summer has been so filled with boring morphing robots, foul-mouthed maladjusts, and plain and simple "DUDS", it's been a veritable wasteland for good movies (and I mean "good" movies folks, not just money-making claptrap)! Well, here is one that you may not think you will like, but, guess what?? YOU WILL!!!
500 DAYS OF SUMMER  (PG13) 
(Showtimes in brackets are $5.75 'Bargain Matinees")
FRI: 8:00 
SAT: (2:00) - 8:00
SUN: (2:00) - (5:00)
MON, TUES & WED: 6:15
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PONYO (G) 
Considered one of the greatest artists currently working in animation, Hayao Miyazaki has crafted another masterpiece!
This features the voice talents of (among others) MATT DAMON, CATE BLANCHETT & LIAM NEESON, and here is what none other than ROGER EBERT said about it:
"PONYO" reviewed by Roger Ebert (FOUR STARS)

There is a word to describe "Ponyo," and that word is magical. This poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched. It's wonderful and never even seems to try: It unfolds fantastically. 
The G-rated feature tells a story both simple and profound. Sosuke, a 5-year-old who lives in a house on a seaside cliff, finds a goldfish trapped in a jar on the beach. This is Ponyo. Freeing her, he is rewarded by a lick on a finger that heals a cut. And by tasting human blood, we learn, Ponyo gains the ability to transform between fish and human.

This begins a friendship. Sosuke (the voice of Frankie Jonas, younger brother of the Jonas Brothers) protects Ponyo (Noah Cyrus, Miley's kid sister) in a pail until arms and legs pop spontaneously from her body and she becomes a little girl who speaks his language. He takes her to school and to the nursing home next door where his father works; all is wonderful until we discover that by crossing the divide between land and sea, Ponyo has triggered ecological changes that unleash a dangerous tsunami that floods Sosuke's village right up to the doorstep of his house.

This begins an exciting escape in a toy boat that Ponyo magically enlarges, and a dreamlike journey among flooded treetops in search of Sosuke's mother. From the surface, they can see giant prehistoric fish, awakened by the great wave, which cruise the highways his mother once drove.

This cannot help sounding like standard animated fare. But I have failed to evoke the wonder of Hayao Miyazaki's artistry. This 68-year-old Japanese master continues to create animation drawn by hand, just as "Snow White" and "Pinocchio" were. There is a fluid, organic quality to his work that exposes the facile efficiency of CGI. And, my God! - his imagination!

The film opens with a spellbinding, wordless sequence beneath the sea, showing floating jellyfish and scampering bottom-dwellers. The pastels of this scene make "Ponyo" one of the very rare movies where I want to sit in the front row, to drown in it. This is more than "artistry." It is art.

And consider Miyazaki's imagination as he creates a human protector of this seascape, Fujimoto (Liam Neeson). He is the father of Ponyo and her countless baby sisters (the biology involved is widely not explained). Although he seems sinister at first, his desire to keep Ponyo in the sea is eventually explained because of his concern for the balance of Earth's nature.

Already it is threatened by the debris of human civilization; we see a bottom-scooping ship dredge up tons of waste. Sosuke's happy life on the clifftop and the peace of his friends at the old folks' home are belied by the pollution so near at hand. Of course, it is up to Ponyo and Sosuke to set things back in balance.

Miyazaki is the Japanese creator of "My Neighbor Totoro," "Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle" and many other beloved films. Already I have heard from a few people who don't want to see it "because it's Japanese." This is solid-gold ignorance. "Is it only dubbed?" I was asked. You dummy! All animated films are dubbed! Little Nemo can't really speak!

Miyazaki is known as the god of American animators, and Disney has supplied "Ponyo" with an A-list cast of vocal talents, also including Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and Tina Fey. The English-language version has been adapted by John Lasseter ("Toy Story," "Cars") and, believe me, he did it for love, not money. There are so few movies that can delight both a small child and the adult in the next seat. Here is one of them!!! 

     Wow, can't say much more than that, can I?? It's here on an EXCLUSIVE and LIMITED engagement!!  
        
PONYO  (G)
(Showtimes in brackets are $5.75 'Bargain Matinees")
FRI: (4:45) - 7:45
SAT: (1:45) - (4:45) - 7:45
SUN: (1:45) - (4:45)
MON thru WED: 6:20
THURS: 7:15
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THE BROTHERS BLOOM (PG13) 
Maybe it's because my most popular film class series is the "Overlooked Films" I do in the Summer...
-or-
Maybe it's because I am constantly on the hunt for new and unique movies you may have missed!
Whatever the reason, this great film starring Oscar winners RACHEL WEISZ and ADRIEN BRODY and Oscar nominee MARK RUFFALO deserves your attention!
I love "caper comedies" and this is one of the best in a long time! 
It's only here for a LIMITED ENGAGEMENT, and you know that means to NOT delay!!
THE BROTHERS BLOOM (PG13)
(Showtimes in brackets are $5.75 'Bargain Matinees")
FRI, SAT & SUN: (5:00) 
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SEASON PASSES ARE BACK!! Look for them for a limited time only STARTING NOW!!
They are now called the "V.I.P. MOVIE PASS" !!
We will only sell a limited amount, so make your plans to get yours now. They won't last long, and, we are not going to sell beyond 100 of them this time. We need to better control them, so we will be limiting the number available. 
DON'T DELAY!!
V.I.P. Passes are good for 10 Movies (maximum two people at a time) and are: ADULTS: $70.00 SENIORS (60 and over) $52.50.
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HAVE A GROOVY LABOR DAY EVERYONE!!!
Sorry for the brief newsletter, but I want to try and salvage some last-chance summer fun out of what I think was a VERY cold and disappointing summer!
Let's get this summer over and done and get FALL started!!
Maybe next Summer will see the sweltering 90+ heat that I like so much!!!
Come See Me Soon, Folks!!
-Skip Huston
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