This week at Harbor Theater
“80 For Brady” - (PG-13; 1 hour, 38 minutes) - Review by Harbor Theater audience member Alan H: “This movie proves that not only is Tom Brady the GOAT of the NFL world, but he is also a great actor. This movie is based on, or if you prefer, inspired by, a true story. The main character, the glue of the group, is a woman played by Lily Tomlin. This character was going through a terrible personal battle, when she came across the Patriot's game on TV, in which Tom Brady had to replace Drew Bledsoe, due to an injury. From that point on, she and her friends were smitten with Tom.
“Many years and Super Bowls later they decide that they want to go to Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas. They enter a radio station's contest to win tickets to the Super Bowl. I will not go into too much detail, other than to say that they make it to Houston. They get into some hilarious hijinks. The other three main characters are played by Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field. They all do a superb job portraying these very real characters. I imagine there must be additional pressure on actors when they are portraying real people. This was a great movie. I encourage everybody to see this movie. It's not just a film for Patriot's fans. It's not just a chick flick. It's a film for everyone! I give this film a 9.”
Included in the film are several major cameo appearances seen in the trailer, including celebrity chef Guy Fieri, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, and of course, the one and only Tom Brady! Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m.
“[80 For Brady] proves the old adage: you don’t need to make a movie for everybody, but it has to be for somebody,” says Paramount’s president of distribution Chris Aronson. “There aren’t a lot of movies [these days] that people can come out of saying, ‘That was really fun.'”
“In Search Of Haydn” – Composer Series – (102 minutes) - In this eagerly-awaited documentary, Phil Grabsky’s biographical account of Haydn’s life is a visual and aural extravaganza, including breath-taking performances by some of the world’s most celebrated musicians. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was one of the greatest musical innovators. Mozart and Beethoven greatly looked up to him as an inspiration and yet today in concert halls he is perhaps too often overshadowed in favour of his younger contemporaries. One show only: Friday, February 17, 2 p.m.
“Living” - (PG-13; 1 hour, 42 minutes) - Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor (Bill Nighy) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Kasuo Ishiguro). Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) is an ordinary man who has worked in an office pushing papers for years, never really getting anything done. When he gets terrible news that he has a terminal illness, he realizes that the dreams of his youth have come to nothing. He tries to tell his son and daughter-in-law about his diagnosis, but doesn't find the opportunity, which makes him feel even more alone.
Not knowing what to do with the time he has left, Williams bumps into Miss Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), who works in his office but needs a reference from him to apply for a different job. He takes her to Fortnum's for lunch to write the letter and her wonder and excitement at the simple pleasure of being in such a fancy restaurant opens his eyes. At the eleventh hour, he takes it up himself, despite his poor health, to turn his dull life into something wonderful. One Week Only. Opens Friday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19, 2 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.
“The great British actor Bill Nighy has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in this role as Mr. Williams, a pinched, humorless bureaucrat, or so it seems. His life has been an homage to dutiful respectability. As his doctor gives him a terminal prognosis, he realizes that for all his proper behavior from birth to near retirement, he forgot to live, to give and receive joy, to risk and rise. Based on a simple yet elegant screenplay adapted by Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day) from the 1952 Japanese masterpiece, Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, this wise and moving drama is an existential journey that celebrates learning how to live life, in all its fleeting beauty.”—AARP Movies for Grownups.
Coming soon: “The Whale” - Feb. 24.
Harbor Theater is open Wednesday through Sunday at 7 p.m. with a matinee only on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for members and children under 18. ADA-mandated Audio Descriptive (AD) and Closed Caption (CC) devices available for the visually and hearing-impaired. Inquire at the concession stand.