Spy movies offer a kind of exposure therapy—allowing us to walk up to the brink of our geopolitical fears, whether it’s the threat of World War III or the fear that our government is lying to us, without putting our lives at stake. But more often than not, these movies do everything they can to leave the real world behind.
A genre as cagey as its protagonists, spy thrillers have the ability to shift across a spectrum of reality, producing the dry (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”), the campy (any of the Roger Moore James Bond films), and everything in between. They can tackle real-world politics or take on over-the-top supervillains, offer getaways to exotic locales or lock you in the grim subfloor of a nondescript bureaucratic building.
Lying somewhere in the middle of those extremes is “Black Bag,” Steven Soderbergh’s latest addition to the spy genre, which opens at The Triplex this week. The story of a legendary spy (Cate Blanchett) investigated for treason by her husband (Michael Fassbender), “Black Bag” has all the movie-star style of a Bond film while existing in a world of office politics and detail-oriented investigation. It is fun, sleek, and unquestionably made for adults.
Now Playing
“September 5”
A real-life thriller chronicling one of history’s darkest days.
A tense thriller that puts you in the control room with the unlikely team that broke the story of the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics, “September 5” follows the ABC Sports crew who were forced to answer some of the hardest questions in journalism. Peter Sarsgaard leads an ensemble cast in this story of ethical complexity that will have you on the edge of your seat as it takes you beat by beat through one of history’s darkest days.
Part of our Limited Engagement series, “September 5” comes to The Triplex for one week, from March 14 to 20.
“Lost Highway”
An eerie neo-noir from David Lynch.
Take a trip into darkness in “Lost Highway,” the next entry in “Time to Wake Up: A Tribute to David Lynch.” A twisted neo-noir that blurs time and identity, “Lost Highway” follows Bill Pullman’s Fred as he gets pulled into a loop of crime, sex, and mystery that begins to test his sanity.
March 15, at 8 p.m.
“The Smell of Money”
BIFF’S Environmental Film Focus Series returns to The Triplex.
After decades of intimidation and defeat, Elsie Herring and her community teamed up with a gutsy small-town lawyer to take the world’s largest pork company to court. Their epic nine-year legal battle is the subject of “The Smell of Money,” the story of a community that risked everything to reclaim their rights to clean air, pure water, and a life free from the stench of sh*t.
A story about the power of love for one’s family and community to triumph over even the largest forces of injustice, “The Smell of Money” calls upon viewers to see the people behind what’s on our plates—and to join the fight for a better future for us all.
March 16, at 2 p.m.
“I’m Still Here”
Held over for one more week!
Nominated for Best Picture, Best International Feature, and Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards, Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” is a gripping story about pursuing truth while living under an authoritarian regime. Fernanda Torres stars as Eunice Pravia, a woman who risked everything to uncover the truth after her husband was abducted by Brazil’s military dictatorship.
“Mickey 17”
A sci-fi satire from the director of “Parasite.”
Visionary director Bong Joon-Ho follows up his Oscar-winning sensation “Parasite” with “Mickey 17,” a sci-fi satire that asks what it means to be “expendable.” When Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) signs up to become a clone serving out dangerous missions on an icy space colony, life becomes a never-ending series of ignoble deaths. But when one of Mickey’s iterations is proclaimed dead too soon, it sets off a series of events that bring the colony to the brink of revolution.
Ends Thursday!
Coming Soon
“Holland”
Don’t miss your chance to see the new movie “Holland,” starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, and Gael García Bernal, on the big screen when The Triplex hosts a special preview screening of the new Amazon movie with screenwriter and executive producer Andrew Sodroski on March 22!
A twisted tale of a teacher (Kidman) who upends her picture-perfect life while investigating a mysterious secret with her colleague (García Bernal), join Andrew Sodroski and Triplex Creative Director Ben Elliott as they sit down after the screening to discuss “Holland,” Andrew’s acclaimed script, and the long journey it took to make it to the big screen!
March 22, at 7 p.m.
“Snow White”
Hi ho! The first feature-length animated movie gets the live-action treatment in “Snow White”! Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”) steps into the iconic blue-and-yellow ensemble as the wayward princess who takes up with a septet of dwarves after her evil stepmother (Gal Gadot) tries to have her killed in an attempt to remain “the fairest of all.”
Starts March 21.
“No Other Land”
This year’s Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, “No Other Land” is an intimate depiction of the Palestinian experience that provides hope for one of the most pressing issues of our lifetime.
Made by a collective of four activists from Israel and Palestine, “No Other Land” follows Palestinian activist Basel Adra as he resists the forced displacement of his home by the Israeli military. Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham aids Basel in telling his story, but their friendship is tested by the gap in their living conditions, with Yuval living freely under civilian law and Basel under the repressive restrictions of military law.
Part of our Limited Engagement series, “No Other Land” comes to The Triplex for one week, from March 21 to the 27.
