BATMAN RETURNS

DECEMBER 17

It's an Action-Packed-Christmas Double Feature! Starting with Tim Burton's beloved cult-take on the caped crusader- BATMAN RETURNS at 6pm, followed by DIE HARD at 8:30! Sometimes Christmas lights aren't enough- you need explosions!

What does Batman Returns have to do with Christmas you ask? Often considered part of director Burton's unofficial Christmas trilogy (along with Edward Scissorhands & Nightmare Before Christmas), this snowy Gotham is "saturated with Christmas energy", but rejects conventional holiday norms to critique commercialism and the absence of true goodwill. So in effect- Batman must save Christmas from greedy humbugs, just like John McClane. Get a front-row seat to all the altruistic action, enjoy a kick-butt beer tasting by Rejects Beer before and between films, and make it an Action-Packed-Christmas Double Feature!

The monstrous Penguin (Danny DeVito), who lives in the sewers beneath Gotham, joins up with wicked shock-headed businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) to topple the Batman (Michael Keaton) once and for all. But when Shreck's timid assistant, Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), finds out, and Shreck tries to kill her, she is transformed into the sexy Catwoman. She teams up with the Penguin and Shreck to destroy Batman, but sparks fly unexpectedly when she confronts the caped crusader.

Divisive upon it's release for its darker tone and more overt violence/sexual content, Batman Returns has been reappraised as one of the strongest Batman films and a pivotal early example of auteur-driven superhero cinema that helped shape the genre's darker, more ambitious direction. The film is also recognized as an alternative Christmas classic due to its winter setting, festive imagery, and themes of loneliness and isolation.

Tickets: $25 for Double Feature of Batman Returns & Die Hard, or $15 GA, $13 Members.