By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Tired of watching soap operas and game shows on television?
If so, head down to the Turnage Theater in downtown Washington for afternoon movie matinees planned for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The shows begin at 2 p.m. and admission is $5, according to Scotty Henley, the theater’s executive director.
“We’re showing most of the previous week’s 7 p.m. movies as the next week’s matinees,” Henley said. “We plan to do this at least through September and October.”
Movie nights at the Turnage have been part of the schedule for several months, but the addition of matinee shows gives viewers a chance to see a favorite movie again, Henley said. It will also offer those who missed the movie the previous week another opportunity to see it, he added.
The matinees began last week and continue today.
September’s Turnage movie schedule is as follows:
• “Whatever Works,” a comedy by Woody Allen, stars Larry David as a man who hates the world. He’s convinced to take in a young, impressionable woman who didn’t know she hated the world until she met him. “Whatever Works” is shown at 2 p.m. today and Wednesday.
• “Seven Samurai,” which inspired “The Magnificent Seven” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” is a Japanese movie with English subtitles. The movie will be screened today and Wednesday at 7 p.m.
• “Moon” follows Sam Bell as he completes this third year of work on the surface of the moon. It’s billed as a science fiction film and offers stunning visuals and a fascinating storyline. “Moon” will be shown at 2 p.m. on Sept. 15-16, and 7 p.m. on Sept. 22-23.
• “Easy Virtue” is a screen adaptation of Noel Coward’s play and shows what happens when an English aristocrat of the 1920s brings home a modern American wife. The movie will be shown Sept. 15-16 at 7 p.m., and Sept. 29-30 at 2 p.m.
• “O’Horten,” a film by Norwegian director Bent Hamer, examines the positives and negatives of retirement as seen through the eyes of Odd Horten, a train engineer. The movie has English subtitles. It will be shown Sept. 29-30 at 7 p.m.
* The Turnage Theater will host a special nationwide release of the film version of Puccini’s grand opera “La Boheme” on Sept. 22, 23 and 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets for this event are $12 for general admission and $10 for Turnage Foundation members.
As part of a package deal with several downtown Washington eateries, movie patrons who purchase their tickets in advance can qualify for dinner discounts, according to Henley.
Lanier’s is offering a second entree at half price with the purchase of one at full price. Pia’s and The MapRoom are offering 15 percent discounts off regularly priced entrees.
To purchase movie tickets, visit the Turnage box office, located at 150 West Main Street in Washington, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased online at http://turnagetheater.com.