March 2015 Highlights at the New Beverly Cinema

With Quentin Tarantino re-opening the New Beverly Cinema as a celluloid-only picture house, we are taking a closer look at some of the great movies he is programming each month. Every town on the planet should have a New Bev, but since it’s really a one of a kind type of place, here’s another way for you to discover the movies and hunt them down so you can program your own movie nights with friends. NOTE: We are not affiliated with the New Beverly Cinema.

2014 HIGHLIGHTS: OCTOBERNOVEMBERDECEMBER

2015 HIGHLIGHTS: JANUARYFEBRUARY

MARCH: Tribute to the 90s

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JFK (1992, Dir: Oliver Stone)

An intense, visceral, political mystery-thriller based on the true story of New Orleans DA Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) and his case on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Featuring an all star cast including Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Bacon, Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon and John Candy.

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Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990, Dir: Pedro Almodovar)

A dark romantic comedy starring Antonio Banderas as a mental patient newly released from the hospital that kidnaps a woman (Victoria Abril) in the belief that they were meant to be together and have children.

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Tommy Boy (1994, Dir: Peter Segal)

The late great funnyman Chris Farley is hilarious in this story of a hefty neer do well whose father (Brian Dennehey) suddenly dies leaving him to keep the family’s business (an automotive brake manufacturer) from falling into the hands of a corporate conglomerate. Farley’s good friend and fellow SNL alum David Spade, Rob Lowe and Bo Derek co-star in this goofy feel good film.

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The Matrix (1999, Dir: The Wachowskis)

An expert computer hacker named Thomas Anderson aka Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovers his life is actually an alternate reality computer program run by evil digital overlords. Along with the help of his mentors Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) Neo becomes a hi-tech freedom fighter trained in martial arts and gun-fu. A truly thrilling sci-fi action adventure. Co-starring Joe Pantoliano and Hugo Weaving.

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Fight Club (1999, Dir: David Fincher)

An insurance investigator (Edward Norton) with bad insominia finds friendship with the free thinking yet nihilistic soapmaker Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Together the new friends create an underground organization of fighters that beat each other up and wreak havoc on society. A truly mindbending, daring, darkly funny cinematic excursion. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk.

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Magnolia (1999, Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson)

An emotionally poignant interweaving tale dealing with themes of happiness, forgiveness and the meaning of life. Starring Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards.

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Chungking Express (1993, Dir: Wong Kar Wai)

The dreams of a girl of flying away forever, entanglements of city life and love, the buzzing of the metropolis, the smells, the colors, the sounds. Wong Kar Wai’s minimalist work is reminiscent of French New Wave classics, but with the neon chic of the 90s. A tremendously beautiful film – yet not his best work. Starring Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow. (Sebastian)

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Dazed and Confused (1993, Dir: Richard Linklater)

It’s the final day of school on the eve of summer 1976 and the excitement of being free is beginning. Soon all the kids are making party plans and as the sun goes down, the beer starts to flow, the weed gets lit up and the rock music blasts. It’s an adventure that lets you relive the wildness and abandon of those golden days when you were invincible and the only thing that mattered was looking for any new thrills that came along. Starring Jason London, Matthew McConaughey, Wiley Wiggins, Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams.

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Swingers (1996, Dir: Doug Liman)

A 90s time capsule/indie classic focusing on a close knit group of young unemployed actors trying to make it in Hollywood. The films’ title refers to the Big Band Swing revival that was popular at the time. Starring Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston, Heather Graham.

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Ed Wood (1994, Dir: Tim Burton)

This tribute to the “Worst Director Of All Time” is a comical look at Ed Wood’s personal troubles, his process of making movies and special friendship with Dracula actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau) in his later years when he was mostly forgotten by audiences. Johnny Depp shines as the kooky, movie obsessed, crossdresser with his stylized take that was a mix of “Ronald Reagan, Casey Kasem and The Tin Man”. Co-starring Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones.

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In The Soup (1992, Dir: Alexandre Rockwell)

An indie comedy gem starring Steve Buscemi as a writer who has drafted a sprawling screenplay that he’s desperately trying to sell off. He gets lucky when a guy named Joe (Seymour Cassel) appears and makes a deal for the script that involves unique financial terms. Co-starring Jennifer Beals.

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The Killer (1989, Dir: John Woo)

In this Hong Kong Gun Opera classic, Action star Chow Yun Fat is Ah Jong a hitman who, during a shootout, accidentally causes a singer (Sally Yeh) to lose her sight. Upon learning she could be blinded indefinitely, Jong decides to perform one last hit to get the money she needs for an operation. One of John Woo’s finest efforts that was inspired by such films as Magnificent Obsession, Le Samourai and Mean Streets.

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Speed (1994, Dir: Jan de Bont)

There’s a bomb on your bus and if the speed drops under 55 mph it will explode. What do you do? What do you do? Keanu Reeves is Jack Traven a hotshot policeman who chews gum. When a disturbed terrorist (Dennis Hopper) fails at killing a bunch of people on an elevator, he decides to try something a bit more easy next: he detonates a bus. Enter Annie (Sandra Bullock) a ditzy gal that boards another L.A. city bus which also has a bomb attached. When Jack finds out about this new threat, he’s determined to save the folks onboard by any means neccessary. The thrills are non stop in this 90s high octane road potboiler that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

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True Lies (1994, Dir: James Cameron)

To his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) Harry Tasker (Arnold Shwarzenegger) is just a dull computer salesman. What she doesn’t know is that he’s really a secret government agent who travels around the world spying and taking down terrorists. When Harry discovers Helen is cheating on him with a weaselly used car salesman (Bill Paxton) acting as a spy he decides to intervene and take her on a real adventure to rekindle their failing marriage. It’s a great little love story set within a highly charged action packed spy-comedy. Co-starring Tom Arnold, Eliza Dushku, Tia Carrere.

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Knockin on Heaven’s Door (1997, Dir: Thomas Jahn)

A rollicking German crime-comedy starring Til Schweiger and Jan Josef Liefers as two men with deadly diseases that decide to take one last trip to the oceanside before they die. Upon busting out of the hospital, they steal a car not knowing it belongs to a deadly criminal. Soon they are pursued by the police and the gangsters.
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Unforgiven (1992, Dir: Clint Eastwood)

One of the most successful modern westerns, and recently remade in Japan with Ken Watanabe. Unforgiven is about William Munny (Eastwood), a former gunslinging killer who sets out to play good samaritan but discovers that his past still haunts him and that swearing off killing wasn’t gonna last forever. Co-starring Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris. (Sebastian)

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The Silence of The Lambs (1991, Dir: Jonathan Demme)

Based on the follow up to Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon, rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) seeks the help of the brilliant but deadly criminal Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) in her mission to stop a serial killer called “Buffalo Bill” (Ted Levine). An edge of your seat thriller with amazing performances from all involved. Co-starring Scott Glenn.

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Pulp Fiction (1994, Dir: Quentin Tarantino)

Two years after his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, Writer-Director Quentin Tarantino unleashed a film phenomenon with this bombastic, non linear gangster-comedy which inspired a whole generation of kids to want to work at a video store. Taking concepts from the French New Wave, cheap dime store novels and classic B-film anthologies, QT’s pop culture filled film puzzle was a fresh, exciting experience for audiences around the world. Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis.

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Heat (1995, Dir: Michael Mann)

A superb crime-thriller starring Al Pacino as a Los Angeles police detective who’s obsessed with capturing an elusive, highly skilled professional criminal (Robert DeNiro) and his inner circle of thieves. One of Mann’s very best films co-starring Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Danny Trejo and Dennis Haysbert.

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The Blade (1995, Dir: Tsui Hark)

A highly stylized martial arts action masterpiece about a crippled swordsmith (Vincent Zhao) who learns a special technique which helps him get revenge on an assassin that killed his father. Co-starring Moses Chan, Hung Yan-yan, Song Lei, Austin Wai.

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