Movies that Matter
You are invited to free evenings of pizza, film, and conversation.
Open to the Public and Free!
First and Third Fridays, Neumayer Residence
Doors open: 6:15pm Movie rolls: 7:00pm sharp
| Next movie: | 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days |
| Date: | August 2, 2010 |
View Film Schedule
The showing of the movie will be followed by complimentary dessert and informal but lively discussion of the ethical and spiritual aspects of the film.
Please RSVP to Daniel Neumayer at 510-451-3009 or daniel@joyfulharmony.org by noon Friday so we know how much pizza to order (and specify meat or veggie :).
Location: 565 Bellevue #2407, Oakland, CA 94610
The movies are shown on our new 58" plasma HDTV with Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Our apartment has a breathtaking (really!) view of the entire Bay Area.
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Upcoming Movies
| 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days August 2, 2010 An amazing, critically acclaimed film from Romania. Synopis from MetaCritic: During the final days of communism in Romania, two college roommates Otilia and Gabita are busy preparing for a night away. But rather than planning for a holiday, they are making arrangements for Gabita's illegal abortion and unwittingly, both find themselves burrowing deep down a rabbit hole of unexpected revelations. |
 | Blazing Saddles August 20 2010 This classic Mel Brooks comedy tackles race relations head-on, no holds barred, no taboo left unchallenged, no line not crossed. The mayhem begins when the redneck citizens of a small town in the old west (who else would occupy the old west in a Mel Brooks film?) bizarrely elect a black man a sheriff. It’s all down hill from there in one of Brooks’ funniest films. With Brooks, Gene Wilder. |
Movies We've Watched Before
 | Almost Famous Jason Lee and Billy Crudup co-star in director Cameron Crowe’s enchanting coming-of-age story based on his teenage experiences. (Oscar for best screenplay.) A teenage writer (Patrick Fugit) gets the plumb assignment for covering his favorite band for Rolling Stone. With Francis McFormand as the boy’s mother, Kate Hudson as a band groupie, plus Jason Lee and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. |
 | An Education Nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Actress (Carey Mulligan) and Writing. In 1961 London, Jenny must choose between trying to get into Oxford, and the very different, much more exciting life offered by an older man. Her choices lead to a different kind of education, while her family is intrigued by the older man. With Emma Thompson as Jenny’s school mistress. Rated PG-13 |
 | Bagdad Cafe The 1988 classic about a group of misfits becoming a caring community at a small cafe in the middle of the desert. Jasmin, a German tourist who speaks no English, is dumped by her husband in the middle of the desert, winds up stumbling into the Bagdad Cafe where she becomes the catalyst that changes the lives of those who hang out there. CCH Pounder, Jack Palance. |
 | Crazy Heart Jeff Bridges won Best Actor in this audience favorite story of Bad Blake, a washed-up country music star struggling to recover his life. Down to playing bowing alleys, Blake is interviewed by a young reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal, nominated for Best Supporting Actress) and is set on a new trajectory. No Hollywood ending here, rather a bitter-sweet lesson of what is possible in life. Crazy Heart also won the Oscar for Best Song. |
 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind What if you could forget the terrible things that happened in you life, completely erase the memories? Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel (Jim Carrey) each undergo a medical procedure to erase their failed affair from their minds. Joel tries to cheat on the procedure, turning this romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist into a fascinating labyrinth. Oscar for Best Screenplay, 2004. |
 | Fargo Frances McDormand earned an Oscar for her turn as pregnant Sheriff Marge Gunderson, who's sharper than her Northern Minnesota dialect suggests. The intrepid Gunderson bangs on doors and asks questions to unravel a kidnapping plot and the string of murders it provokes. McDormand receives grand support from William H. Macy as a car dealer who conspires with hotheaded kidnappers Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare. |
 | Groundhog Day What do you get when a romantic comedy is written by a Zen-Buddhist? Groundhog Day! Our annual showing, during the week of Groundhog Day. The film explores the phases that a not-so-nice weatherman (Bill Murry) goes through when he is trapped (or perhaps blessed) with repeating the same day over 10,000 times until he gets it right. |
 | Julie and Julia Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Childs won her a nomination for best actress in this film based on two true stories. The New Yorker: “One of the gentlest, most charming American movies of the past decade. Its subject is less food as something to cook than food as the binding and unifying element of dinner parties, friendship, and marriage.” With Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci. |
 | Mostly Martha Fourteen international awards. Martha is head chef of a prestigious restaurant who communicates through cooking - the opening credits will make you hungry! A tragic death leaves Martha to care for her eight-year-old niece, an amazing head-strong girl. Together they learn what family and love are all about in this comedy/romance. Just the ticket for the holiday season. In German with English subtitles. |
 | O Brother, Where Art Thou In this rollicking, music-filled adventure, a trio of escaped prisoners embarks on the adventure of a lifetime as they set out to pursue their freedom and the promise of sharing in the division of a fortune in buried treasure. |
 | The Hurt Locker Nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Director (Kathryn Bigelow), Actor (Jeremy Renner) and Writing. Many say it is the first film to capture what the war in Iraq is like. Members of the EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) team must contend with their reckless new leader. As the city explodes into chaos, the leaders true character is revealed, and each man is changed forever. Rated R for war violence and language. |
 | Lone Star Director John Sayles invites you to return to the scene of the crime. Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Pena and Matthew McConaughey, in the 1996 mystery/romance which Roger Ebert calls "A great American movie, one of the few to seriously try to regard with open eyes the way we live now. This film is a wonder -- the best work yet by one of our most original and independent filmmakers -- and after it is over, and you begin to think about it, its meanings begin to flower." |
 | Precious Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Won for Writing and Supporting Actress. How could Precious, or anyone, survive being a sixteen-year-old African-American, trapped in Harlem, pregnant, subjected to the whims of her abusive mother? But Precious has learned to appear passive, while all the time watching for her chance – which comes when she transfers to a new school. Rated R Child abuse including sexual assault. Rated R for child abuse including sexual assault. This story of triumph over evil, is inspiring and also difficult to watch. A good choice to see in a friendly, supportive group. |
 | Rabbit-Proof Fence An amazing, true, story of children overcoming staggering odds. Until the 1970s, Australian law call for young girls of mixed aboriginal and European blood to be forcibly removed from their homes and placed in an internment camp to be trained as domestic servants. (more...) |
 | Schultze Gets the Blues A German mine worker, forced into early retirement, discovers Zydeco music, picks up his accordion, and takes a life-changing journey to Louisiana. A funny, touching film with great music and a good heart. In German with English subtitles. |
 | The Blind Side Nominated Best Picture; Sandra Bullock won for Best Actress. One act of kindness leads to another, and the next thing you know an affluent white Memphis couple has taken in a homeless black high school student. Thus begins the improbable tale of a poor young man with ambitions to play for the NFL. Based on a true story. |
 | Shirley Valentine Shirley, a middle-aged Liverpool housewife, spends her life taking care of her husband while talking to the wall, wondering what became of her life. An unexpected trip to Greece with a friend changes Shirley’s view of the world and herself. Pauline Collins was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. |
 | The Talented Mr. Ripley Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this tale of romance, mystery, and murder. Damon is Ripley, a lavatory attendant, who begins re-inventing himself when he is mistaken for a Princeton grad. Thus begin the deceptions. He loves the new identity and moves on to bigger games, becoming - and replacing - another man. |
 | The Truman Show What you would you do if one day you discovered that your entire life was the most popular show on TV - broadcast live, 24/7, from the day you were born? What if you found that your entire world was artificial, simply a giant studio lot? Jim Carrey plays happy-go-luck Truman, the unsuspecting lead in the ultimate reality show. </div> |
 | UP Can an animated film be funny, touching, and thought provoking? Yes, if it's made in Emeryville by Pixar. The funny, yet poignant story of 78 year old Carl, who gets a second chance at fulfillment. After attaching thousands of balloons to his house to make it fly, Carl discovers a young boy scout is an accidental stowaway. Up follows their adventures as they both learn what’s important in life. |
 | Up in the Air George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick were all nominated for Oscars for acting, plus nominations for Best Picture, Directing, and Writing. What if you spent your life traveling the country to fire people? What if you loved the life of all travel and no real connection with anyone? What happens when two unique women enter your life? This story has a lot to say about life in the USA. |
 | Wings of Desire The 1988 clasic is one of Roger Ebert’s Great Films, and certainly on of Wim Wenders’ best, this romantic fantasy tells the story of a Guardian Angel (Bruno Ganz) who (more...) |
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