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.

Download the 2026/2027 Flyer

Here is what’s playing soon:

  • The Father (2020)

    October 23rd

    We begin our season with a challenging, at times even baffling, depiction of advancing age and deterioration, but also a deeply moving human drama of both loss and caring.  Anthony Hopkins delivers no less than a staggering Oscar-winning performance as the father (also named Anthony) whose daughter (Olivia Colman) struggles to care for him as he insists on his independence even as his failing abilities make it impossible. Hopkins delivers a performance, as the saying goes, for the ages. You will long remember this one. Challenging? Yes. Moving? Enormously.  [97 minutes; color; Rated PG-13]

  • Of Human Hearts (1938)

    November 13th

    A single genuine incident during the Civil War involving Abraham Lincoln inspired this otherwise fictional depiction of 19th Century frontier life, faith and strife. Preacher Ethan Wilkins’ (Walter Huston) call to serve a poor community on the Ohio River sparks a lifelong feud with his headstrong, rebellious son Jason (James Stewart) with gentle wife and mother Mary Wilkins (Beulah Bondi) always striving for peace. A career as a doctor and then as surgeon in the Union Army will bring Jason a summons from the White House for—let’s say—a Presidential lesson never to be forgotten.  Of Human Hearts will indeed touch YOUR heart.  [103 minutes; b&w; Not Rated]

  • My Left Foot (1989)

    December 18th

    When they talk about legendary film performances, Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown is usually among them. And deservedly so. Brown, despite severely crippling cerebral palsy, learned to use his one controllable extremity—his left foot—to become an accomplished artist and writer. But My Left Foot is no “admire-the-brave-hero-who-overcomes-adversity” picture. It’s more of an “admire-the-hero-that-sometimes-I-don’t-like-at-all” experience. To be blunt, Brown as an adult can be petty, selfish, and demanding as well as inspiring. (Brown in his autobiography on which the film is based was objective and unsparing of himself.) Acclaimed and unforgettable, My Left Foot is one unique cinematic biography. [103 minutes; color; Rated R]

  • Rear Window (1954)

    January 22nd

    Time for another true classic from the director many of us call simply The Master: Alfred Hitchcock. Rear Window famously is a tour-de-force of film staging, filmed entirely on a single gigantic set depicting an New York apartment complex. Photographer L. B. “Jeff” Jeffries (James Stewart), laid up with a broken leg, becomes obsessed with observing at long distance the daily lives of his neighbors across a courtyard. Along with his girlfriend (a dazzling Grace Kelly in perhaps her best role), Jeff notices a disappearing wife and odd behavior by a husband that might . . .or might not . . . indicate something, well, murderous. Let’s just say that Hitchcock’s brilliant masterpiece gives a whole new meaning to “Here’s lookin’ at you.”  [112 minutes; color; Rated PG]

  • The Outrage (1964)

    February 19th

    A Japanese film classic reimagined as an American western? Yes, this is Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon set in the Old West with added twists and a superb cast. Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson, William Shatner and Howard Da Silva shine in the tale of a shocking crime that seems clear and simple and then proves at trial to be anything but, as we hear the story told by four different observers in four radically differing versions. Is truth absolute? Or in the eye of the observer? At the very least, you will observe that The Outrage is a brisk and certainly unconventional—yet irresistibly fascinating--departure from anything remotely predictable. [96 minutes; b&w; Not Rated]

  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

    March 19th

    Jean Brodie (the exquisite Maggie Smith, very much in her prime) is a teacher in an Edinburgh school for girls between the world wars. Formidable, dedicated and unconventional would only begin to describe both her and her teaching style. “Little girls, I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my pupils are the crème de la crème. Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.” Even when Miss Brodie’s enthusiasm for Mussolini and secret affairs with two fellow male teachers put her job at peril, she remains certain her girls will stand by her. But perhaps one protege (Pamela Franklin) has learned the lessons too well. And as for Jean—martyr or monster? (Or both?) [115 minutes; color; Rated PG]

  • Titanic: the Musical (2024)

    April 16th

    Titanic—a musical? Sounds crazy, no? How do you tell the story of the one of the last century’s most famous and most tragic events in musical form? Well, in the case of this smash Broadway hit (which we will see in a production by the Mayflower Theatre of Southampton, UK), the answer is with a lyrical and deeply moving portrayal of the hopes and aspirations of the three classes of passengers as well as the ship’s designer and crew. And make no mistake about authenticity—every named character is an actual person who was on the Titanic. (No Jack and Rose here.) This year we end our season with live theater and a stunning ensemble performance you will long remember.  [136 minutes; color; Not Rated]