Category Archives: Film

Spike Lee celebration at CALS Ron Robinson Theatre – Part 1: DO THE RIGHT THING

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Do the Right Thing PosterThe Central Arkansas Library System is celebrating the works of Spike Lee in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater and you’re invited!

Join CALS on Friday July 12 as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Do The Right Thing” with a screening of Spike Lee’s 1989 classic film.

On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.

The film stars Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro, Frankie Faison, Robin Harris, Joie Lee, Bill Nunn, and Spike Lee himself.  Aiello earned an Oscar nomination in the Supporting Actor category, and Lee picked up an Oscar nom for his original screenplay.

Tickets for the “Do The Right Thing” screening are $5 for general admission seating. The doors open at 7:00 pm and the film starts at 8:00 pm.

Six Weeks of STAR WARS at CALS Ron Robinson Theater starts tonight with PHANTOM MENACE

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official poster for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom MenaceFor six weeks this summer, the Central Arkansas Library System is showing the first six episodes of the STAR WARS saga on Thursday evenings.  They are being shown in episode order, not release order, or any of the other orders dreamed up by fans.

Tonight is Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Jedi Master discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a young slave unusually strong in the Force. Anakin wins a thrilling Podrace and with it his freedom as he leaves his home to be trained as a Jedi. The heroes return to Naboo where Anakin and the Queen face massive invasion forces while the two Jedi contend with a deadly foe named Darth Maul. Only then do they realize the invasion is merely the first step in a sinister scheme by the re-emergent forces of darkness known as the Sith.

The film that re-started the franchise was released 20 years ago.  Telling the backstory of some of the characters from the first trilogy, it starred Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Terence Stamp, and Jake Lloyd.  Written and directed by George Lucas, it was nominated for three Oscars (Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects).

The screening starts tonight, July 11, at 7pm. Admission is $5.00.

During All Star Week – Movies in the Park presents THE SANDLOT

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Baseball players are sometimes referred to as “The Boys of Summer.”  So it seems appropriate that during the MLB All Star week, the Movies in the Park has a movie about baseball in its purest form.

Movies in the Park continues its 15th season tonight with The Sandlot.

When Scottie Smalls moves to a new neighborhood, he manages to make friends with a group of kids who play baseball at the sandlot. Together they go on a series of funny and touching adventures. The boys run into trouble when Smalls borrows a ball from his stepdad that gets hit over a fence.

Families, picnics, and leashed pets are invited to the park to enjoy movies under the stars, but no glass containers. Don’t forget the bug spray! An adult must accompany all children under the age of 18 and an ID is required. Chaperoned youth, sports, church and other groups are welcome!

The First Security Amphitheater will open an hour before film showings (approx. 7:30) and movies with begin at sundown each week (approx. 8:30).

For more information about Movies in the Park and to see which films will feature live performances or other activities before the showings, visit www.rivermarket.info or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lrrivermarket

$2 Terror Tuesdays at CALS Ron Robinson Theater – Tonight is 1959’s TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE

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Teenagers from Outer Space Poster$2 Terror Tuesdays continue tonight (7/9) at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater with 1959’s TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE.  Now while most parents may feel their teens are from another planet at times, this movie is about some teens who really were.

Teenagers from Outer Space is a 1959 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film released by Warner Bros. The film was produced, written, and directed by Tom Graeff. In the film, alien teenager Derek abandons his crew to search for a new life on Earth, while one of his crewmates is sent to kill him while they attempt to eradicate human life in order to farm Earth with giant lobster-like livestock they call Gargons.

For this film, all the dialogue was recorded first and the actors lip synced to it. This is the reverse of where actors usually record sound while filming and may have to go back into a sound stage to re-record dialogue and match the mouth movements on film.

The film was picked up by Warner Brothers for release because the studio needed a second film to be part of a double feature with a Godzilla sequel.

The showing starts at 7pm.  Cost is $2.

HAPPY FEET being shown at Clinton Center today

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Image result for happy feetThe Clinton Center’s popular Super Summer Saturdays are back – and this year they have penguins!

Join them tonight for a showing of Happy Feet (and make plans to come back in two weeks for Happy Feet Two on July 20).

The Little Rock Zoo is bringing hands-on activities designed to raise awareness about how plastic pollution affects animals and our environment. Movie screenings will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the activities will end by 7:30 p.m. In conjunction with our current temporary exhibit, Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea, these two FREE family programs will encourage environmental stewardship in a fun way.

Super Summer Saturday programming is FREE and open to the public, but admission fees are required to tour the museum. Click here to plan your visit to the Clinton Center.

Film “Swingin’ Timber” will be shown at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center today at 3pm

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On Saturday, July 6th at 3 p.m., Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will host a free showing of David D. Dawson’s film “Swingin’ Timber.” David will be in attendance at the screening.

“Swingin’ Timber” is the story of the Claybrook Tigers, a Negro leagues team formed by John C. Claybrook in Claybrook, Arkansas (a town which no longer exists today).

Entrepreneur John C. Claybrook was a farmer and lumberman who built the town of Claybrook around his businesses. He founded the Claybrook Tigers and built their stadium on his farm to try to stop his son from leaving their family businesses. The documentary tells the story of Mr. Claybrook’s town and his team.

Famous Negro Leagues players such as: Theolic “Fireball” Smith , Dan Wilson, Walter Calhoun, John “The Brute” Lyles, Logan “Eggie” Hensley, Alfred “Greyhound” Saylor, Roosevelt “Bill” Tate, W. H. “Big Train” Summerall, and Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe all played for Claybrook.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN on tap at tonight’s Movies in the Park

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Summer nights are the perfect escape from the hot days, especially when the River Market’s outdoor film series returns to the First Security Amphitheater.

Movies in the Park continues its 15th season tonight with The Greatest Showman.

P. T. Barnum dabbled in many careers and was rarely successful for long in any of them. This film tells the story of his rises and falls until he creates his famous circus, which later became part of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum, and Bailey Circus.

This 2017 movie stars Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Keala Settle, Sam Humphrey and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.  Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the songs for it and received an Oscar nomination for “This Is Me.”

Families, picnics, and leashed pets are invited to the park to enjoy movies under the stars, but no glass containers. Don’t forget the bug spray! An adult must accompany all children under the age of 18 and an ID is required. Chaperoned youth, sports, church and other groups are welcome! The amphitheater will open an hour before film showings (approx. 7:30) and movies with begin at sundown each week (approx. 8:30).

For more information about Movies in the Park and to see which films will feature live performances or other activities before the showings, visit www.rivermarket.info or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lrrivermarket