This week at Harbor Theater
"A House of Dynamite" - (R; 1 hour, 52 minutes) - Playing out a nightmare scenario with nerve-wracking plausibility, director Kathryn Bigelow's (Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) masterfully-constructed "A House of Dynamite." It is a hyperrealistic political procedural that embeds the increasingly tense viewer in the situation rooms and military outposts and presidential helicopters where the action unfolds. The film portrays what could happen if a nuclear weapon is fired from a submarine in the Pacific corridor towards continental United States, and how the chain of command would respond in the 18 minutes it takes for it to strike a major city. Focusing on how the morning unfolds for a handful of characters whose job it is to be armed with knowledge and preparation if the United States is faced with a hostile action, the film’s tension mounts to an almost unbearable level.
It’s an ensemble cast (Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Jason Clarke, Gabriel Basso, and Idris Elba) in the truest sense because every actor is a piece in the puzzle in the same way that each of the roles they play, and their real-life counterparts, have a specific function in the event of a nuclear attack. Everything everyone does is to serve the only person empowered to make any decisions, the president. Can you evacuate, can you warn, and more importantly, do you retaliate, and against whom when you don’t know who fired the shot? The result is a gripping and anxiety-inducing film that feels urgent and immediate. Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m. (OCAP), Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m.
“While all of this is unnerving, it's also thrilling to watch. Bigelow directs with a maestro's lucid precision, perfectly orchestrating the complicated shifts from person to person, time frame to time frame.” – John Powers, NPR
"Carvaggio" - Exhibition On Screen - (NR; 100 minutes) - Mystery, intrigue, beauty, passion, and murder all come to light in this extraordinary and dramatic biography of one of art history’s most revolutionary figures. Five years in the making, this is the most extensive film ever produced about Caravaggio, featuring firsthand testimony from the artist himself on the eve of his mysterious disappearance. Two shows only at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15. Tickets are $8 for members and $12 for non-members and may be purchased at the door. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. See the article about the film elsewhere in the paper.
"Frankenstein" - (R; 2 hours, 29 minutes) - Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley's incredibly influential 1818 Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus - the classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a story about stories, about fathers and sons, innocents and monsters, and the madness of creation, letting both Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and the creation (Jacob Elordi) tell their sides of the tale. The film opens in the desolate Arctic, where Victor has chased his creation, and flashes back as Frankenstein relates his life’s story. Aptly, this screen rendition is composed of stitched-together subgenres. It’s part fairy tale, part dark fantasy and part body-horror. But it’s perhaps best tagged as Gothic romanticism. Every frame is filled with burnished images, elaborate symbolism, ornate production design and a lyrical score. It’s resolutely performed by all, dazzles with craft, and throbs with the passion of its creator. Plays at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14; Saturday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 20. Shows at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2 p.m. (OCAP), Thursday, Nov. 20.
“The director [Guillermo del Toro] has filled Frankenstein with seemingly everything he loves, and it reflects his obsessions. It feels like the work of a true madman, and that’s really the only way anyone should make a movie of Frankenstein.” – Bilge Ebiri, The New York/Vulture
"Blue Moon" - (R; 1 hr 40 mins) - Richard Linklater’s excellent Blue Moon, tells the story of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart bravely facing the future as his professional and private life unravel. Confined almost entirely to a single location, "Blue Moon" unspools at Sardi’s, the legendary midtown New York restaurant, immediately following the opening of former partner Richard Rodgers’ "Oklahoma!" The date is March 31, 1943, and there’s a war on, although it’s a cold one between the former songwriting duo. Linklater captures the heart of the writer through one of the last nights in the life of Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), who was once one of the most acclaimed Broadway songwriters on the scene before fame and passion stopped returning his calls. He’s now the drunk at the end of the bar, the guy who gets there first and leaves last, and the one who can barely hide the pain behind his non-stop commentary on film, Broadway, and everything else around him. Working from a script by Robert Kaplow, Linklater has crafted one of his finest dramedies, a consistently fascinating exploration of the frailty of the artist, buoyed by one of Ethan Hawke’s most remarkable performances. Opening Friday, Nov. 21
“Blue Moon revels in a fine mind and a great soul, and Hawke’s embodiment of both is exalted and startling. His makeup renders him unrecognizable and is eerily compelling, while his vocal self-transformation is nothing short of miraculous.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker
"Lawrence of Arabia"- ALunch with the Classics series selection: "Lawrence of Arabia" - (1962 - PG; 3 hours, 48 minutes) - Join us on the fourth Tuesday of each month for a themed meal served at 12:30 p.m. followed by the feature presentation at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15 for members, $19 for non-members, or you can attend the film only for regular ticket prices ($8 / $12). On Nov. 25, 2025, we’ll present this sweeping epic following British officer T.E. Lawrence on his mission to unite the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. This cinematic masterpiece remains one of the most celebrated films ever made. ONE SHOW ONLY! Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1 p.m.
Harbor Theater offers shows nightly at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesday (OCAP – Open Caption Screening) and Sunday (regular screening). Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for children under 18. Member prices are $8 for adults and $6 for children under 18. ADA-mandated Audio Descriptive (AD) and Closed Caption (CC) devices are available for the visually and hearing-impaired. Inquire at the concession stand.
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185 Townsend Avenue
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
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