Friday Film Fare

Movie lovers know there’s nothing like a good film to help you unwind after a long week of work, school, and other commitments.  And Central aims to please with Friday Film Fare.  Jim Silverthorn, our resident cinephile, is your host for films ranging from the classics to more recent popular hits.  Plus, he’ll introduce you to lesser-known gems that will surprise and delight.  Please join us on the third Friday of each month at 7:30 p.m.  Admittance is free.  Just grab some popcorn and a soda - and make yourself comfortable in the Fireplace Room. Here is what’s playing soon:

  • Harriet (2019)

    October 17th at 7:30

    Some people in history seem more a force of nature than human. Some people seem truly touched by the hand of God. One such was the astonishing Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo in an epic performance). Tubman was born and raised in slavery, escaped from slavery, and then ventured back repeatedly to rescue scores of enslaved in seemingly miraculous missions. The slave owners called the mysterious figure “Moses.” And like that liberator of old, she led her people to freedom. Harriet is a meticulous as well as harrowing recreation of an era America must forever remember. [125 minutes; color; Rated PG-13]

  • Born Yesterday (1950)

    November 14th at 7:30

    Combine wry comedy, pungent social satire and one of the screen’s great comedy performances and you have—Born Yesterday. Judy Holliday recreated her Broadway role as Billie Dawn, the (everybody thinks) not-so-bright girlfriend of crude manipulator Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford), who in turn thinks he can make ever so many crooked deals on a visit to Washington, D.C. But when Harry hires a young journalist (William Holden) to give Billie a crash course in “culture,” the supposed dumb blonde wises up to a few things about honesty, fairness, American ideals... and Harry. Politics and shady deals being what they are, Born Yesterday is truly as fresh today as ever, as delightful as ever. [103 minutes; b&w; Not Rated]

  • The Holdovers (2023)

    December 19th at 7:30

    A decidedly unpopular instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school is forced to stay on campus during Christmas 1970 break and babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, the handful becomes just one troubled young man (Dominic Sessa). Along with the school’s cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is mourning the loss of her son in Vietnam, the three spend two very snowy weeks as a makeshift family through comic misadventures, self-discovery—and joy. Director Alexander Payne has crafted a fine skein of wry humor and warm emotion for any holiday season. [133 minutes; color; Rated R]

  • Conclave (2024)

    January 16th at 7:30

    It is one of the world’s oldest and most secretive of meetings—the conclave that elects a new pope in the Roman Catholic Church. With the death of an aged and much-venerated pontiff, Cardinal Lawrence, Dean of the College of Cardinals, (Ralph Fiennes) faces the task of organizing and supervising the crucial event. As deadlock looms among arch-conservative Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellito), moderate reformer Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) and seemingly accommodating but cunning Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), Lawrence uncovers conspiracy, blackmail and dark secrets that could shatter the holy faith itself. And over it all hangs the question--who is worthy? Who indeed could be worthy? That is what we must ponder in this tense, complex and brilliant drama. [120 minutes; color; Rated PG]

  • Witness (1985)

    February 13th at 7:30

    An eight-year-old Amish boy (the remarkable Lukas Haas) is the only witness to a brutal murder. Detective John Book (Harrison Ford) is assigned to investigate the case and protect the boy and his mother, who are in Philadelphia on a trip to visit relatives. But the lawman himself becomes the target of insidious forces in his own department and must seek protection in the simple, reverent, non-violent and—to his eyes—backward community of those he was to protect. Witness is a clever, at times amusing, at times edge-of-seat suspenseful drama of culture contrast and mystery with a sensitive undercurrent of caring but ultimately forbidden love. [112 minutes; color; Rated R]

  • The Power of the Dog (2021)

    March 13th at 7:30

    In the desolate landscape of 1925 Montana, sensitive widow Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and her quietly devoted teenaged son Peter (Kody Smit- McPhee) move to a ranch co-owned by her gentle new husband (Jesse Plemons) and his brother Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch). A tense battle of wills erupts between the new family members and the brutish Phil, whose volatility and coarseness stem from deep torment and repressed desire. Based on Thomas Savage’s enigmatic novel. The Power of the Dog is subtle but unrelenting in exploring the motives and the depth of the male psyche and how one might “deliver my soul from the sword, my darling from the power of the dog.” (Psalm 22:20.) [126 minutes; color; Rated R]

  • Stand by Me (1986)

    April 17th at 7:30

    The year is 1959 in this small woodsy Oregon town. The boys are 12 years old. There are four of them—sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough guy Chris (River Phoenix), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman) and scaredy-cat Vern (Jerry O’Connell). They’re looking for adventure. And they find it in an unforgettable two-day trek to find another boy who’s gone missing, a journey that becomes an odyssey of self- discovery, friendship and growing up. Director Rob Reiner fashioned an indelible portrayal of a way of life and a time in life. “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve... Did anyone?” [117 minutes; color; Rated PG]