Casino Jack
(Screening Thursday, Sept. 30th, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.)
Kevin Spacey gives the performance of a lifetime as Jack Abramoff, the Washington, D.C., superlobbyist who found himself at the center of one of Washington’s biggest money scandals. Driven in equal parts by devotion to his family, his God, his politics and his own ego, Abramoff rises to the pinnacle of insider privilege — and plunges to the depths of rejection and public ridicule. Through it all, his wife, Pam, (Kelly Preston) and children stand by his side — which is more than can be said for his D.C. cohorts, played by Barry Pepper (Seven Pounds) and Jon Lovitz (Saturday Night Live).

Expecting Mary
(Screening Thursday, Sept. 30th, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.)
Mary is a teenager, pregnant and a runaway. But from the moment a kindly truck driver (Elliot Gould) gives her a lift, and the residents of a New Mexico trailer park take her under their collective wing, Mary’s life not only takes a turn for the better — she also learns indelible lessons about love, selflessness and family. The all-star cast includes Linda Gray (Dallas), Cybill Shepherd, Fred Willard (Best in Show), Gene Simmons (Kiss) and Della Reese (Touched by an Angel).

Stars Elliott Gould and Linda Gray are scheduled to appear in a Q-and-A session following the film.

Nowhere Boy
(Screening Thursday, Sept. 30th, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.)
“Oh, why couldn’t God make me Elvis?” moans a young John Lennon after seeing a theater full of girls swoon over a Presley newsreel. As he grows up in the Liverpool home of a button-down aunt (Kristin Scott Thomas), John’s search for an identity is complicated when, during his teen years, he reconnects with his real mother. Then one day he runs into a young lad who’s lost his mother to cancer, Paul McCartney. This film chronicles a period in the rock great’s adolescence that few knew about. Nominated for four British “Oscars,” Nowhere Boy opens in the U.S. on October 8.

Red
(Screening Friday, Oct. 1st, 2:30  –  4:30 p.m.)
Bruce Willis stars in this action comedy — based on a classic graphic novel — as a retired black-ops agent whose idyllic life is threatened by a high-tech assassin. To survive, he must assemble his old team of special agents. The dream cast includes Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, and Mary-Louise Parker. Red opens nationally on October 15.

Waiting for “Superman”
(Screening Friday, Oct. 1st, 12:00  –  2:00 p.m.)
We’re spending more than ever on public education — so why are so many of our schools still failure factories, more likely to produce dropouts than college graduates? In this acclaimed documentary, Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim pushes through the schoolhouse doors to speak with underserved students, their worried parents and visionary educators who are desperately trying to crawl out from under decades of well-intentioned reform and indiscriminate cash infusions. More than a movie, it’s a challenge to change the system. Go to www.waitingforsuperman.com to find out how.

Waiting for “Superman” opens in New York and Los Angeles on September 24.

Secretariat
Screening Friday, Oct. 1st, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.)
Based on the remarkable true story, Secretariat chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery — with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) — manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.

Secretariat opens nationwide on October 8.

Flipped
(Screening Saturday, Oct. 2nd, 12:00  –  2:00 p.m.)
In the tradition of his classic coming-of-age film Stand By Me, director Rob Reiner revisits the world of adolescent angst. Flipped is the story of Juli, an eighth-grader who’s been smitten with blue-eyed Bryce ever since the second grade — despite the fact that they have absolutely nothing in common. Through the ebb and flow of their relationship, the kids are given guidance, encouragement and balance by the adults in their lives, played by a stellar veteran cast including Rebecca De Mornay, Aidan Quinn, Anthony Edwards, Penelope Ann Miller and John Mahoney. 

Director Rob Reiner is scheduled to appear to talk about the movie.

Get Low
(Screening Friday, Oct. 1st, 9:30  –  11:30 a.m.)
“I’m after a funeral,” says mountain man Robert Duvall. “Boy are you in luck,” responds funeral director Bill Murray. And so begins the funny, touching, startling story of a man’s quest to hold his own funeral while he’s still alive. There are secrets to be revealed and scores to be settled — not to mention some unfinished business with the onetime woman in his life (Sissy Spacek). An audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, Get Low’s stellar cast also includes Gerald McRaney (Major Dad), Bill Cobbs (Night at the Museum), and Lucas Black (Jarhead).

Invictus
(Screening Saturday, Oct. 2nd, 2:30  –  4:30 p.m.)
Winner of this year’s Best Movies for Grownups Award, Clint Eastwood’s stirring account of the rugby game that saved South Africa ranks up there with the director’s monumental achievements. Oscar nominee Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela, who becomes president of the country while it is still reeling from the collapse of apartheid. To unite his shattered nation, Mandela enlists the help of the captain of South Africa’s national rugby team (Matt Damon) to make an improbable bid for the 1995 World Cup.