" BELLE " DIRECTOR TO APPEAR AT BETHESDA ROW CINEMA ON SUNDAY

Belle, a historical drama opening today at Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, is generating a lot of buzz among movie critics. The film was inspired by an intriguing painting that led its director to research the history behind it. Based on a true story, the movie gives viewers a glimpse into the issue of slavery from a British perspective, and what impact a free black woman with aristocratic lineage may have had in a society where emancipation had not yet occurred.

Director Amma Asante will answer audience questions after the 1:30 PM showing this Sunday (May 11) at Bethesda Row Cinema, something I would like to see happen more frequently at the theater. So take advantage of the opportunity, long before Oscar buzz begins in earnest. You can order tickets for the 1:30 screening online now. To get some background, you can read Asante's letter to filmgoers, posted on Landmark Theatres' website.

Belle stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Elizabeth Belle, and also features Tom Wilkinson and Sarah Gadon.

Belle (PG)

Running time: 103 minutes

Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema

7235 Woodmont Avenue

Photo courtesy Twentieth Century Fox

LINCOLN BETHESDA ROW CINEMA EXCLUSIVE! TICKET LINKS AND SHOWTIMES

Steven Spielberg's epic Lincoln opens today in the Washington, D.C. area, exclusively at the Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema.  Honest rexaminations of Lincoln's term can spur even Lincoln fans like myself to ponder his actions in office.  Some things he did certainly stretched the rules and principles of the Constitution.  But was that a time and a cause for which the ends truly justified the means?  Now there's a conversation starter for after-movie conversations over hot meals at Bethesda Row restaurants!

But first you need your tickets!

Click the showtime to order, these are sure to sell out tonight!

7:00 PM

8:00 PM

9:00 PM

9:30 PM

10:15 PM

LED ZEPPELIN CELEBRATION DAY WEDNESDAY AT BETHESDA ROW CINEMA!

"LED ZEPPELIN

WEDNESDAYS!"

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

If only the legendary Anton Fig were here to give that the proper audio announcement.

Led Zeppelin fans, you are in for a treat at Bethesda Row Cinema this Wednesday night:  the long awaited and much-discussed concert film of the band's 2007 concert at London's O2 Arena is showing in hi-definition digital, with audio you simply haven't heard on your old CDs at home.

There will be two screenings Wednesday night, at 6:30 PM and 9:00 PM.

You could have dinner nearby, or enjoy the many options on the theater's hot concessions menu, including chicken fingers and the original Phillips Crab Pretzel.

Some interesting facts about the movie:

This was the first, only, and possibly last full-length Led Zeppelin concert since 1980.

20 million fans attempted to order tickets, but only 18,000 were able to obtain one!

Director Dick Carruthers used 14 cameras, capturing not only every angle, but incredible close-ups of Jimmy Page's fretwork.  If you ever wondered, "how did he play that," your question might be answered Wednesday night.

Have the best seat in the house Wednesday night at Bethesda Row:  tickets are $12.50.  Click on your preferred showtime to order:  6:30 PM or 9:00 PM

BETHESDA BAR ASKING PATRONS TO SOLVE A MURDER MYSTERY IN SEPTEMBER

DISPLACED THEATER

COMPANY PROMISES

"A WHOLE NEW

CRIME SCENE IN

BETHESDA"

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Whodunnit?  That's what Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle is hoping Bethesda barhoppers can answer.

Every Friday and Saturday, beginning September 14, the popular Bethesda pub will host a murder mystery dinner theatre production.  If this sounds like the shows you may have heard of, or attended, at the Blair Mansion, well... these are those shows.

Blair Mansion has closed, and the theatre company behind the mysteries is now decamping to downtown Bethesda.  And promising to bring "fear, mayhem and mystery" with them.  Come to think of it, that kind of sums up the parking experience in downtown Bethesda...

Shows will be held in the private dining room at Flanagan's.  Dinner will be served at 6:30 PM, and the show will start at 7:30.   The first show will be "Drop Dead, Gorgeous!," and a new show will be introduced every six weeks.  Organizers say the material is rated "PG-13" as an advisory to family patrons.

This is a new phenomenon for Bethesda; I can't recall a murder mystery dinner theatre here in my lifetime.

Tickets will be $47.50 each, and include the show, a buffet dinner, and taxes.  Beverages and gratuities will cost extra.  Order tickets online or by calling 443-422-3810.

The tickets are a little pricey, in my opinion, but you are getting dinner.  And it's definitely something new and different you can't find in DC, Clarendon, Rockville or Silver Spring.

Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle, 4844 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda.