Hello book readers,

We have three spots available for anyone that would like to join a Book Club.

• Monday 3rd book club - one spot available

• Tuesday 3rd book club - two spots available

As the names suggest, these book clubs meet on the third Monday and the third Tuesday of each month respectively. The book clubs meet here at our centre at 7pm and take home a book for the month - 10 for the year.

There is an annual fee of $60 to cover book hire from Darebin Libraries and administration from our end.

You can join here.

Hello book lovers,

Have you been looking for a book club to join? We are now taking new members for spots in our existing book clubs for 2024.

Our book clubs meet monthly and we have vacancies in our evening:

• 3rd Monday of the month group

• 3rd Tuesday of the month group, and

• 1st Thursday of the month group.

The cost is $60 for the year. Books are supplied by Darebin Libraries. You can click on this link to join.

Note that the first meeting will be in February.

We look forward to welcoming new faces to these very successful groups next year.

We’re off to see Barbie with Movie Club on Tuesday 8 August. Tickets are $12 on cheap Tuesday … The movie starts at 12.50pm at Westgarth Cinema and we’ll be catching the 12.27pm train from Alphington if PT is your thing …

Personally I am really looking forward to it - I have heard lots of good feedback. And it’s always fun to keep up with the latest things right?

If you are thinking of coming along to Movie Club for the first time please let us know so we can look out for you. Email info@alphington.org.au or call 94997227.

Here’s the link to buy online tickets if you are super organised. Or you can just buy them when we arrive … it’s not usually packed out!

See you there. Leanne

Our second Movie Club date is approaching - Tuesday 14 March (after the long weekend) and we’ll be heading off to Westgarth Cinema to see Aftersun.

The movie starts at 12.45pm and we will catch the 12.27pm train from Alphington Station. We should be at the cinema around 12.40pm. You can meet us at ACC or at the train station (if you know what we look like). Same goes for the movies. To avoid missing each other, or missing any last minute changes etc., if you are thinking of coming along please join our Movie Club What’s App Group. Just email us here and we’ll send you the link to join.

Here are the details about the movie …

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Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal is luminous in the intimate, award-winning A24 drama from BAFTA-winning debut feature director Charlotte Wells. Winner of an incredible seven British Independent Film Awards and nominated for three Critics Choice Awards, critics have described the radiant debut feature from the Scottish filmmaker as "one of the year's best films". The spellbinding gem of a father-daughter drama stars Mescal (Normal People, The Lost Daughter) who delivers a masterclass in understated acting that reflects in his mesmerisingly natural rapport with extraordinary newcomer Francesca Corio.

This evocative 90s-set drama, with an effortlessly cool soundtrack to match, sees divorced dad Calum (Mescal) on a holiday with his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (Corio) to a budget Turkish resort. At the fading vacation resort, Sophie treasures rare time with her loving and idealistic father, Calum. As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't.

Aftersun draws you in like an ocean current, playing out sun-baked childhood memories woven together with tender home video footage almost like a dream, but there is an inescapable feeling that something darker lingers below the surface of this beach trip. Along with Mescal and Corio who flow through this searingly emotional film with a captivating chemistry that perfectly encapsulates the complex bond between parent and child, Wells has made an unforgettable and profound mark with this heart-stopping feature debut.

AWARDS

2023 Academy Award® Nominee

• Best Leading Actor – Paul Mescal

3 x 2023 Critics Choice® Nominee

• Best Actor – Paul Mescal

• Best Young Actor/Actress – Frankie Corio

• Best Original Screenplay

2023 BAFTA® Winner - Outstanding debut as a British Writer/Director/Producer – Charlotte Wells

Winner of 7 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA):

• Best British Independent Film

• Best Director – Charlotte Wells

• Best Screenplay – Charlotte Wells

• Best Debut Director – Charlotte Wells

• Best Cinematography – Gregory Oke

• Best Editing – Blair McClendon

• Best Music Supervision – Lucy Bright

We’re kicking off our new monthly Tuesday Movie Club on the 14 February and we’re going to see a romcom, from the makers of Bridget Jones Diary and Love Actually etc. So why not join us for a very romantic Valentine’s Day activity!

What’s Love Got To Do with It? is on at Westgarth Cinema at 12.45pm. The cost is $12.

If you want to come with us you’ll need to be at Alphington Community Centre at 12pm to catch the 12.07pm train at Alphington Station. We’ll arrive at Westgarth Station at 12.12pm. This gives us 30 minutes to walk over to the cinema and buy tickets etc.

If you plan to make your own way there that is great too! Just let us know so we can look out for you when we arrive.

If you are interested in joining in this activity please email us here. We propose to create a Movie Club What’s App group, so that we can easily organise this new ongoing monthly activity!

Here’s the official promo for the movie!

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A pitch perfect ballad of emotions, this romantic comedy follows a filmmaker who decides to document her best friend’s journey toward arranged marriage.

Moving between London and Lahore, this is a story of love, friendship, tradition and iconoclasm. How do you find lasting love in today's world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James, Rebecca, Darkest Hour), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr. Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath's (Emma Thompson, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) dismay.

For childhood friend and neighbour Kaz (Shazad Latif, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), the answer is to follow his parents' example and opt for an arranged (or "assisted") marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his journey to marry a stranger, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love.

Striking a touching balance between respect for cultural customs and belief in the power of romance, What’s Love Got to Do with It? offers an impassioned take on the notion of love, romance and finding that special someone.