The United
States faces an enemy of epic proportions. It’s not something
you can see on CNN or YouTube. It’s not as overtly in your face
as wars, natural disasters or terrorism. But this invisible,
insidious monster is rapidly growing into a behemoth,
threatening to spark an unthinkable catastrophe that will impact
the future of the nation and the lives of every single American,
no matter who you are. This monster is the national debt--now at
a gargantuan $9.5 trillion and counting. Former U.S. Comptroller
General Dave Walker (a/k/a the nation’s top accountant) and
Concord Coalition executive director Bob Bixby travel like town
criers across America on what they call a “Fiscal Wake Up Tour.”
Town by town, they’ve been arming citizens with information
about how we got into a sticky financial mess, why we must act
right now to stop it, and what we can each do to begin to free
the nation from the stranglehold of this colossal debt.
What Just Happened? (R) DAILY SHOWTIMES: 12:50p 3:05p
5:15p 7:30p 9:45p
Incredible cast
including Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, John Turturro
& Robin Wright-Penn. Middle-aged Hollywood producer Ben is
already in over his head trying to balance the tug-of-war of
having two ex-wives and two different families with his latest
business venture--the boldly "visionary" movie "Fiercely"
starring Sean Penn when everything that can go wrong goes
completely screwy. "Fiercely" looks like an audience-offending
flop which draws the ire of iron-gloved studio chief Lou, who
forces him into tangling with the film’s rebellious and
drug-addled director Jeremy. Meanwhile, he’s confused and
bewitched by his ex Kelly who can’t make up her mind about him;
shocked by his daughter Zoe, who seems to have grown up
overnight; infuriated by his screenwriter friend Scott who’s
trying to make a deal with him while making moves on his former
wife; horrified by a hirsute Bruce Willis and flummoxed by
Willis’ nebbishy agent Dick, who’s scared to death of his own
clients. Somehow amidst all the madness, treachery, deceit,
runaway egos, rampant commercialism, personal politics and
atrocious behavior of America’s dream-making machinery, Ben has
to find a way not just to make it to Cannes with a finished
film, but to cope.
Frozen River (R)
DAILY SHOWTIMES: 12:45p 2:55p 5:05p 7:15p 9:35p
Filmed in sub-zero
weather in upstate New York, writer/director Courtney Hunt's
award-winning debut feature is set in a real-life smuggling zone
on a Native American reservation between New York State and
Quebec, where the lure of fast money presents a daily challenge
to single moms who would otherwise be making minimum wage.
Strapped for money and having been deserted by her husband,
working class Ray (Melissa Leo) reluctantly teams up with Lila
(Misty Upham), a widowed Mohawk Indian, to smuggle illegal
immigrants across the frozen St. Lawrence River from Canada to
the U.S. in the trunk of a Dodge Spirit. Both women swear each
trip will be their last, but one final run across the river
leads to a showdown with the law on all sides. Grand Jury Prize
winner at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.