The Assassination of Richard Nixon at the Grand Cinema

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (95 min, Rated R)

As the Watergate scandal is breaking and President Nixon can be seen all over the television and newspapers, Sam Bicke (Sean Penn) struggles to earn money as an office furniture salesman as he tries to win back his estranged wife, Marie (a brunette Naomi Watts). He has grand plans of starting a mobile tire store with his friend Bonny (Don Cheadle), but he is so blinded by truth and honesty that he stands in the way of his own potential success. His rage continues to build as he sees another man spending time with Marie and the kids until he cannot control it any longer and resolves to kill Nixon, whom he blames for all of society's ills. The story is told through a series of flashbacks as Bicke dictates into a tape recorder the sad details of his life to composer Leonard Bernstein, the only person he thinks will understand him. From the way he covets his mustache to how he reacts when he's around Marie, Bicke, who sees himself as representative of the loss of the American dream, is a simple man on the verge of exploding. Based on true events, the film also deals with the racism and sexism that was rampant in the early-to-mid-1970s.
'The highest possible thumbs up for Penn and a big thumbs up as well for first-time director Niels Mueller.'
-- Richard Roeper, EBERT & ROEPER
'The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a triumph for its star and the writers, who make us cringe with empathy for a man who taps into the latent loser in all of us.'
-- Jan Stuart, NEWSDAY

Bad Education at the Grand Cinema

Bad Education (109 min, Rated NC-17)
Pedro Almodovar's (Talk to Her) latest film takes place in Madrid in 1980. Enrique Goded, a young director, is looking through the tabloids to find a subject for his fourth film when a man claiming to be his old classmate, Ignacio Rodríguez, suddenly appears at his doorstep. He has brought a short story called "The Visit," and gives it to Enrique. The story was inspired by their childhood together and tells of the kids’ discovery of the cinema. Enrique reads "The Visit" with great interest and decides to adapt it into a film, a move Ignacio is ecstatic about. However, Ignacio immediately insists upon one condition: he play the lead. Enrique is not convinced his friend would fit the role and refuses to give it to him. After a violent argument, Ignacio disappears completely. In the days following the argument, Enrique can"t get the mysterious visitor out of his mind and decides to do some investigating. In pursuit of the truth, he uncovers many more questions and finds that he will have to pay dearly for the answers.
"Almodovar has toyed with film noir before, most memorably in his 1997 film Live Flesh. But his newest movie, Bad Education, is a delirious, headlong immersion and re-invention of a style."
-- Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"An Almodóvar film is always worth watching, and Bad Education is no exception."
-- Jean Lowerison, SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN