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Bruce Willis trivia...are you up to it?

Congrats to Richard Garrard and Hope Dennis for winning passes last week. The correct answer to the Steve Carell question was "Bewitched" and "Dark Angel" was right on for the Jessica Alba challenge.

If you want to win, send us your answer to our Bruce Willis question to trivia@eagletheater.net and be the 17th correct entrant. One entry per email address. Go for it!

Here you go:

We've caught him "Moonlighting," watched him get "Moore" with Demi, and sat on the edges of our seat hoping that he wouldn't "Die Hard." Bruce Willis' ageless boyish charm has entertained us for a few decades now, and next to Eagle Theater manager Tom Welsh who is also follicle-challenged, Willis' bald dome is among the best known in the world. One of Willis' best roles was a dramatic turn in this 1999 M. Night Shyamalan film nominated for six Oscars. Got a tingle yet? What was THIS film?

Keeping score

"You can't tell the players without a scorecard."

That's the way we feel this week, with so much going on. But get your lineup card out, because we going to fill it out.

Leading off is Live Free or Die Hard, the new Bruce Willis movie that opened on Wednesday. This has gotten some very nice reviews and is a great popcorn thriller. Re-live the 1980's at the Eagle...

Batting second, and catching big crowds this weekend, is the opening of Ratatouille, the family Disney film about a rat who also happens to be a master chef. The previews have been hysterical, and we expect the field mice who occassionally sneak in the theater to be as entertained as you will be. If you feel something running across your feet during the movie, assume the best.

Hitting in the third spot is a great promotion we have in conjunction with Ickes Chevrolet-Cadillac. Jennifer Ickes has come up with a whole bunch of $2 off coupons for the film Transformers, which is scheduled to open on Tuesday, June 3. To get your coupon, just stop into their business at 111 N. Franklin in Robinson and register to win an oil change or a courtesy pass. Then get your coupon. Easy.

In the cleanup position is also Ickes Chevrolet-Cadillac. They will have some new vehicles parked in our lot during the run of Transformers, including a Hummer. If you are wondering what to buy your favorite theater owner for Christmas, this would be an excellent opportunity to shop for me.

Batting fifth in the Eagle lineup is a special sneak preview of Transformers. Although the movie opens next Tuesday, we will have an 8 p.m. Monday showing. It will be a great way to celebrate early for Independence Day. Transformers is substituting for Fantastic Four, which ends Monday.

Batting in the sixth position is a very funny Robin Williams movie, License To Wed, which starts Tuesday. It replaces Nancy Drew, who solves her last mystery on Monday.

Batting seventh is our FREE Summer Kids Series. Happily N'Ever After is next Wednesday's feature. We have been having sell-out crowds every week, and that takes some doing since we can seat 330. To spread things out a bit, we are asking day care customers to come on Tuesday morning, when we show the same movie to the Summer SUCCESS kids. That will give us some more capacity.

On the eighth spot in the lineup is our weekly trivia contest. Have you played yet?

Batting ninth, and pitching, is your Eagle Theater cast members. We are always pitching to make your experience at the theater enjoyable. Let us know if we can serve you better.

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There is the lineup. Get in the game this week and come see us!

Midweek course correction (and a new movie!)

We want you Live Free or Die Hard. It starts Wednesday, replacing Knocked Up and Surf's Up.

If you like Bruce Willis and remember the old "Die Hard" series, this could be a lot of fun. Bruce Willis is an inspiration to middle-aged men everywhere. My hero!

Our earlier posting didn't have info about this movie because I wasn't smart enough to read the fine print on the email that provided our bookings last week. It was a middle-aged senior moment, a glimpse into my near future, I think.

If you live outside of Crawford County, your newspaper won't have correct showtimes later in the week, so rely on the Monday and Tuesday editions of the Daily News in Robinson. The website also has been corrected (www.eagletheater.net), the hotline changed and the sign in front of the theater has a new teaser. It wears me out to type the changes we have to make when we don't get it right the first time!

Mark Live Free or Die Hard on your calendar for Wednesday. Give our air conditioning and soda machines a workout at midweek.

Steve Carell trivia

We are still waiting for enough correct answers to last week's Jessica Alba question to declare a winner, but it is time for a new question. To win, be the 13th correct entry, and send your answer in the subject line to trivia@eagletheater.net. One entry per email address, please.

Steve Carell is the star of "Evan Almighty." This funny guy currently stars in the television series "The Office," and he is well known for starring in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Anchorman," as well as the Jim Carrey vehicle, "Bruce Almighty." Do you remember the movie a few years back where Carell had a small role as Uncle Arthur in the movie that starred Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman. What was this movie, which was based on a 60's sitcom?

Almighty movies

I was refereeing a sibling fight this afternoon (something about a willful refusal to kill a spider when asked, followed by a punch, followed by a hurled bottle of Excedrin that hit a face, followed by tears) at about the same time I was reflecting on... Family Time at the Movies.

Last week, the entire clan showed up for Ocean's Thirteen. We sat in the cool auditorium, nursing drinks and passing popcorn back and forth. (It was Popcorn Thursday so the price was right, too.) Milk Duds were involved. And the movie was... good. Everyone liked it, but more important than the quality of the movie was the fact that we were together as a family doing something we all enjoyed. My son recently broke my heart by admitting he didn't like to watch baseball, so the circle of activities we all enjoy is getting tighter.

A few days later, three of us watched Nancy Drew. It was sweet, and the word is meant without the postmodern irony. The crowd was different than Ocean's Thirteen--more tweenagers, but it was a happy gathering.

Without getting as mystical as George Will gets about baseball, there is something magical about watching a film with a group, especially if part of that group are the people you are closest to. The smells, the darkened auditorium, the group laughs--you can't get that when you pop a DVD into the machine.

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Evan Almighty is the new movie this week, and it has lots of pixie dust. It is a PG-rated family comedy when one of the gentle comedic stars of the last five years--Steve Carell. Critics are pounding on it, but I don't think it will make much difference.

Bring the family out.

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We "sold" out Wednesday for "Barnyard," the latest free kid movie. A total of 332 went through the gate, and the popcorn and pop spills were setting new records. In short, we loved it. I really like seeing the grandparents bring the young kids out to see the movie. They are making memories those kids will remember decades from now. If you are of a certain age, you remember Saturday mornings at the Lincoln.

Jessica Alba trivia question

Jessica Alba opens Friday at the Eagle as Sue Storm in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. This young actress is the subject of our trivia question this week, and you can win a free pass if you are the 20th correct entry.

To enter, send us an email at trivia@eagletheater.net and put your answer in the subject line. One entry per email address. (Congrats to Jo Wachtel, last week's winner!)

Jessica Alba was voted number 4 in the Top 10 Sci-Fi Babes in 2002 for her role in this television series.She played Max, a genetically enhanced superhuman prototype in a post-apocalyptic America. The series only played for two years on Fox, but it (and Alba) developed a cult following. What was the series?

And now for something a little different...

As I write this, the carnival is going strong in Robinson. When I was a child, it was a lot of fun, but I've lost my innocence and I know longer see rides and fun--I see just another competitor for the entertainment dollar! I need an injection from a 12-year-old's DNA.

Eventually, the Ferris Wheel will be packed up, and the $5 hockey pucks masquerading as cheeseburgers will go back into storage, and it will be time to go back to the movies. Return, o' customers! Return to free refills! Return to the air conditioning! Return to Hollywood! Return to the Eagle!

Whew... All that hucksterism is making me tired, so maybe I'll just tell you about the new movies.

Nancy Drew makes its premiere this Friday, aimed right at your tweenager and your nostalgia bone. My wife Susan had a bookshelf full of Nancy Drew mysteries, so she will probably be on the front row, but my 16-year-old daughter is likely too cool to be there--certainly not with her friends. She might sneak into a matinee showing with mom if bribed with an offer of a free t-shirt in return for spending time with the 'rent.

The odd thing about this movie is the split critical opinion. Usually, critics are pack animals, traveling with the herd and their opinions gyrate in a narrow orbit between thumbs up and thumbs down. With Nancy Drew, however, they seem to either love or hate the movie. Go here and see what I mean.

If you liked "Spiderman 3," then plan on seeing Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the second movie based on the Marvel Comics superheroes. This is popcorn entertainment, good for a few hours out of the heat, with an agreeable story and plenty of action.

All Paris, all the time

For two days, the dominant news has been Paris Hilton's release and re-entry into jail. Helicopters followed her to court, and all we needed for a real flashback would have been a white Bronco moving at slow speeds.

As someone who makes a living in the entertainment industry, it might seem hypocritical of me to decry the state of pop culture.

But I couldn't help wonder how many civilians died in Iraq today. I couldn't help wonder how many American soldiers were maimed or killed. I couldn't help wonder how many more died in Darfur.

That doesn't seem to matter much. After all, we will always have Paris...

Your George Clooney trivia question

George Clooney reprises his role as Danny Ocean in the heist film, Ocean's 13, which is getting some pretty solid reviews. (Check them out here.) Cloney (aka "Tall, Dark, and Handsome") rocketed to our consciousness on the long-running television series, "E.R.," but he has a long and solid body of work.

This week we are looking for the 15th correct answer for the name of the 1980's television series where Clooney had a recurring role as George Burnett. The television show starred Charlotte Rae and featured  Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner.

Think you know the answer? Put the name of that television series in the subject line of an email to trivia@eagletheater.net. One entry per email address. If you want us to read the whole email, put a "*" by your answer.

If you are the 15th correct answer, you win a courtesy pass to the Eagle. If you know your birds and bees, you've got a shot this week.

Summer kids series schedule

A complete list of what is playing for our free Wednesday kids series movies is at www.eagletheater.net. Click on "Robinson, IL" and then on "Summer Kids Series 2007" and you are there!