Mothra, Willy Wonka, Harry Potter June 8, 2012

Toho, Oompa Loompas & Hogwarts

At The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel. (201) 798-6055 Fax: (201) 798-4020 Web: www.loewsjersey.org

A Not-For-Profit Arts Center in a Landmark Movie Palace

All Titles Screened in 35mm on our BIG 50ft Wide Screen

Friday, June 8 8PM
"MOTHRA" Starring Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoka Kagawa. Directed by Ishiro Honda. 1961, 101mins., Color, Japanese with English subtitles.
Japan is again being stomped by an oversized monster from the fertile imagination of Ishiro Honda and Toho Studios. This time it’s not a big lizard, but an insect – a moth to be exact. If “Godzilla”is an allegory of Japan’s being the victim of the first atomic bombs, “Mothra” is a cautionary tale about tampering with other peoples, cultures and nature. She’s every bit as destructive as her reptilian Toho cousin, though not from a malevolent nature, but rather from her sheer size and power when her environment is thrown out of balance. But don’t let the green message put you off – there’s a lot of fun here – great action plus some of the most well developed characters in the Toho canon. And you will never forget the tiny, twin fairies.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Saturday, June 9 6 PM
“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” Starring Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum. Directed by Mel Stuart. 1971, 98mins., Color.

An enigmatic candy maker invites five children and their parents on a tour of his manufacturing plant – a vast, psychedelically fantastic place that’s as much magical funhouse as it is factory. The tour becomes an adventure, with lessons along the way in everything from parental humility to gluttony to humility. One of the joys of the movie is the pre-CGI eye-poping sets and special effects. Both dark and sweet, just like chocolate, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” is a rare cinematic confection that manages to be both dark and sweet at the same time: a great film for kids that’s also a dark, ironic comedy – and a musical to boot! The movie was not well received when it premiered, but has since become a family classic. A recent remake has not dimmed the attraction of the original.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Saturday, June 9 8:10 PM
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris. Directed by Chris Columbus. 2001, 152mins., Color.

It would be hard to imagine a work of fiction that was more popular and influential with young people in the last half century than the Harry Potter series of novels by J.K. Rowling. And it would be hard to imagine a better cinematic adaptation of a novel, ever, than the Harry Potter movies. The Sorcerer’s Stone was the first film, and set the very high standard for the movie series. Upon his 11th birthday, Harry Potter, who lives in misery with an aunt and uncle that don't want him, learns that he is the orphaned son of powerful wizards. Harry is offered a place at prestigious Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards that exists in a realm of magic and fantasy outside the dreary existence of normal humans. Neither Rowling’s story nor te movie script disappoint when it comes to mining the great potential for fantasy, adventure and fun that this conceit opens up. Too often, movies that use CGI rely on it to cover up a thin story or slight acting, but that is certainly not the case here. The cast, especially the young stars, are superb, the script is good, and the eye-popping special effects work to complement, not overwhelm, the good script and superb acting.
$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

- - - Combo discounts available for multiple screenings in a weekend. - - -
**Film descriptions are compiled from various sources.

The Loew's Is Easy To Get To: The Loew's Jersey Theatre, at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, is directly across JFK Boulevard from the JSQ PATH Center with trains to and from Lower and Midtown Manhattan and Newark's Penn Station, and is minutes from the NJ Turnpike, Rts 3 and 1&9 and the Holland & Lincoln Tunnels. We're easy to reach by car or mass transit from throughout the Metro Region.

Discount off-street parking is available in Square Ramp Garageadjoining the Loew's at the foot of Magnolia Avenue off of Tonnelle Avenue, behind the Loew's. Patrons must validate their parking ticket before leaving the Theatre.

What’s Special About Seeing A Movie At The Loew’s? The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre is one of America’s grandest surviving Movie Palaces. We show movies the way they were meant to be seen: in a grandly ornate setting – on our BIG 50 ft wide screen! The Loew’s runs reel-to-reel -- not platter -- projection, which often allows us to screen an archival or studio vault print that is the best available copy of a movie title.

PLUS – Live organ entrance music (from the Loew’s magnificently restored pipe organ) before most screenings.
The Loew’s Jersey is managed by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc. as a non-profit, multi-discipline performing arts enter.

Classic Film Weekends are presented by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc.