MY SOUL TO TAKE...

Halloween starts next week at Living Room Theaters with a run of Wes Craven’s new horror film MY SOUL TO TAKE in 3D! The film begins a regular run on October 8.

In the sleepy town of Riverton, legend tells of a serial killer who swore he would return to murder the seven children born the night he died. Now, 16 years later, people are disappearing again. Has the psychopath been reincarnated as one of the seven teens, or did he survive the night he was left for dead? Only one of the kids knows the answer. Adam “Bug” Heller (Max Thieriot) was supposed to die on the bloody night his father went insane. Unaware of his dad’s terrifying crimes, he has been plagued by nightmares since he was a baby. But if Bug hopes to save his friends from the monster that’s returned, he must face an evil that won’t rest…until it finishes the job it began the day he was born.

Lesbian & Gay Film Fest...

The 14th Annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival begins Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 9 at Cinema 21, Living Room Theaters and the Hollywood Theater. Two of the best films in the festival, I KILLED MY MOTHER and BROTHERHOOD play at Living Room Theaters. I Killed My Mother plays Oct. 2, 4 and 6 at 6:30 pm each day. Brotherhood plays Oct. 3, 5 and 7 at 6:30 pm each day. As seating is limeted, we recommend reserving space by calling 971.222.2005. Space will be held until 20 minutes before each show.

RESTREPO...

RESTREPO is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

PUBLIC ENEMY No. 1...

The second film in the French gangster series MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 opens at Living Room on October 1.

Vincent Cassel’s central performance across both parts of the Mesrine films bristles with confidence as the brutal yet charismatic criminal Jacques Mesrine. Public Enemy No. 1 sees Mesrine back in France and in police custody, but not for long; his escape and subsequent life as top dog of France’s lawless underworld saw him become a ‘celebrity criminal’ and a household name.

FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES...

The excellent and informative documentary on American film criticism, FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES, opens at Living Room on Oct. 1. Directed by film critic Gerald Peary, the film is a comprehensive look at the history of film criticism and the people behind it. For the Love of Movies is narrated by Patricia Clarkson (currently starring in CAIRO TIME now playing at Living Room) and features interviews with some of the field’s greatest critics inclding Roger Ebert, Owen Gleiberman, J. Hoberman, Richard Corliss, and Molly Haskell.

HEARTBREAKER Begins Oct. 8...

The French comedy HEARTBREAKER, an international hit, opens for a run at Living Room Theaters on October 8. The film features two of France’s biggest stars, Romain Duris (Paris, The Beat That My Heart Skipped) and Vanessa Paradis (Girl on the Bridge).

Charming, funny and effortlessly cool, Alex (Duris) is a professional heartbreaker who for a fee can turn any husband, fiancé or boyfriend into an ex. Alex has one ironclad rule: He only breaks up couples where the woman is unhappy. His latest job will put that rule to the test. The target is Juliette, a beautiful heiress who is set to marry the man of her dreams. With ten days until the wedding, Alex has been hired by her father to carry out his most daring seduction yet that risks him being caught by his ruthless personal creditors, angry exes, and the beautiful and independent Juliette herself. But worst of all, will he discover to his own cost that when it comes to love, the perfect plan doesn’t exist?

How Middle Men almost didn’t show in Portlan...

Giovanni Ribisi looking more gruff than usual in Middle Men

There’s a movie opening with us tomorrow from Paramount.  It was a  little over a month ago when we found out that Paramount had decided to give us the movie, but they told us that it depended on how it did in its six opening “test” markets.  If it performed poorly on it’s opening weekend in those markets, the studio likely would not expand it’s release and essentially would kill the movie’s theatrical run.  That weekend came and went, and Middle Men opened on over 200 screens and grossed barely over $300,000 over the weekend on all those screens combined.

Paramount informed us that it would not be expanding.  We thought this movie looked interesting and that our audience would find it appealing.  We inquired if we could open the movie anyway, made a few concessions to the studio, and here we are on opening day.  The only location it’s likely playing in the country right now is with us.

It’s every guy’s dream story… instant wealth, hanging out with porn stars, and how the legend of Internet porn and e-commerce began.  Who wouldn’t want to check that out?  Starring Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, and James Caan it promises to be a good comedic romp.  Check it out and tell us what you think!

A Woman, A Gun, and A Noodle Shop...

The latest from Zhang Yimou, A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP opens at Living Room on September 17. The film is an adventurous, goofy remake of the classic Coen Brothers film Blood Simple.

Wang is a miserable yet cunning noodle shop owner in a desert town in China. Feeling neglected, Wang’s wife secretly goes out with Li, one of his employees. However, not a single move they make escapes Wang’s notice and he decides to bribe patrol officer Zhang to kill the illicit couple. It looks like a perfect plan. The affair will come to a cruel but satisfying end, or so he thinks, but the equally wicked Zhang has an agenda of his own that will lead to even more violence.

Zhang Yimou on IndieWIRE...

Living Room Theaters is excited to be opening A WOMAN, A GUN, AND A NOODLE SHOP, the latest film from the great Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, on September 17. The film is an adventurous, goofy remake of the classic Coen Brothers film Blood Simple. IndieWIRE has a great, insightful interview with Zhang Yimou. Check it out in anticipation of the film’s release.

Soul Kitchen Begins Sep. 10...

Soul Kitchen begins September 10 at Living Room Theaters

Fatih Akin new delicious and exhilarating movie SOUL KITCHEN opens September 10^th at Living Room. Soul Kitchen is built on the premise that if something can go wrong, it most certainly will, and Akin — who has said that he made the film as a way of making peace with his youthful past, a crazy whirl of working in restaurants and bars, and as a DJ — clearly relishes the chance to indulge in all sorts of morose slapstick. From the movie’s early shots of Zinos preparing food in the restaurant’s kitchen to a later scene in which young students from a nearby dance school flock onto the restaurant’s impromptu dance floor as if drawn by an invisible magnet (they also indulge in tons of food and drink), Akin finds joy and comfort in the idea of revelry and excess. He recognizes that plain old fun can’t solve life’s big problems, but it can at least keep pain and suffering temporarily at bay. Music, as the picture’s title (also the name of Zinos’ restaurant) suggests, doesn’t hurt either, and Akin has dotted the movie’s soundtrack with Kool and the Gang, Ruth Brown and numerous interpretations of “La Paloma.”

From Stephanie Zacharek at Movie Line