Real Late Reels spring lineup opts for true stories, blockbusters

Photo+courtesy+of+Disney+Studios

Photo courtesy of Disney Studios

Benjamin VanHoose

Kent State’s Center for Student Involvement announced the spring schedule of titles for its Real Late Reels series — a selection consisting mostly of real life-inspired dramas.

Real Late Reels, held Friday and Saturday nights in the Kiva, brings second-run movies free to students, each screening worth 100 FLASHperks. Showtimes are typically 10 p.m. on both nights, with an additional 7 p.m. showing on Saturdays.

Five of the 13 films this semester are based on true stories.

“Loving” is about an interracial couple who fought for the right to marriage in 1967, and “Denial,” follows a historian exposing a Holocaust denier. Other entries grounded in reality include “Deepwater Horizon,” “Queen of Katwe” and “War Dogs.”

Kevin Hart’s latest theatrical comedy special “What Now?” stands as the lone comedy on the list. Hart performed for a sold out crowd at the M.A.C. Center in December 2014. Kent State’s Undergraduate Student Government reportedly paid the comedian $120,000 for the performance.

The newest Disney princess makes an appearance on the schedule. Animated musical “Moana” will be shown in April. An animator involved with designing the film spoke to KentWired last semester about the significance “Moana” had in terms of on screen diversity.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the cinematic extension of the “Harry Potter” universe, finds its way the lineup as well. 2016 was a big year for “Potter” with the debut of a hit stage production, two best-selling books and the launch of a new film franchise.

Kent even showed its love for the series by transforming Acorn Alley into Diagon Alley for a night last summer — an event that has also recently been announced to take place again this July. Kent State’s student-run Quidditch team, the Soaring Flashes, also gained official student organization status last semester.

Real Late Reels will conclude the semester on May 6 with the romantic drama “The Space Between Us.” The film, in theaters Feb. 3, centers on a boy born on Mars who falls in love with a girl from Earth.

Benjamin VanHoose is the features editor for the Kent Stater, contact him at [email protected]

See below for a complete list of titles to be shown as part of Real Late Reels:

1/21 — “War Dogs” (R)

1/27, 1/28 — “Deepwater Horizon” (R)

2/3, 2/4 — “Denial” (PG-13)

2/10, 2/11 — “Queen of Katwe” (PG)

2/17, 2/18 — “The Accountant” (R)

2/24, 2/25 — “The Great Gatsby” (PG-13)

3/10, 3/11 — “The Girl on the Train” (R)

3/17, 3/18 — “Kevin Hart: What Now?” (R)

4/7, 4/8 — “Loving” (PG-13)

4/14, 4/15 — “Moana” (PG)

4/21 — “Doctor Strange” (PG-13)

4/28, 4/29 — “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (PG-13)

5/5, 5/6 — “The Space Between Us” (PG-13)