Film Reviews

The movie is about Sita, the Hindu Goddess from the epic "The Ramayana", who accompanies Lord Rama on a 14 year exile in forest. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. This movie tells the story of Rama and Sita, along-with a biographical account of the director's relationship with her husband. It intersperses events from the Ramayana, light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets, musical interludes voiced with archival tracks by Annette Hanshaw and scenes from the artist's own life. The ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales, sharing numerous themes.

On a summer break from college, Ivy, a young epileptic woman, struggles to balance her feelings for her fledgling boyfriend while her friend Al crashes with her for the season.

Frontier peacekeeper Sheriff Galt (Sterling Hayden) faces a crisis of conscience in The Iron Sheriff. In the aftermath of a robbery-murder, Galt follows the trail of evidence directly to his own son, Benjie (Darryl Hickman). Sworn to uphold the law at all costs, Galt is grimly determined to see that Benjie will receive a fair trial without any coercion on his part. But the townsfolk have already decided that the sheriff will try to spring the boy, and a lynch-mob mentality slows festers its way through the community. As the trial proceeds, it becomes obvious that Benjie is going to hang for his alleged crime, but there's still one or two surprises in store.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alum and WEEDS star Kevin Nealon focuses his wry wit on such universal issues as aging, having children, and conflict avoidance in this stand-up comedy special featuring a guest appearance by famed comic Garry Shandling.

Mahesh Deshmukh has joined the nation's armed forces as that he can honestly and patriotically serve the country. During his college days he has a run-in with fellow-collegian Mohini. A bet between his friends and himself ends up with him falling in love with Mohini, who subsequently realizes that he indeed has fallen in love with her, and she too reciprocates. Mohini's dad is an alcoholic and wishes that Mohini takes up dancing and prostitution so that he can get his daily dose of alchol. Mohini attempts to take refuge with Mahesh, however, cirumstances tangle Mahesh to such an extent that he is arrested, charged, and sentenced to stay away from Bombay city limits. When Mahesh returns, it is no longer the honest, and patriotic Mahesh, but a gangster named Munna, who has many old scores to settle.

After being captured and tortured by the psychopath Otis, teen cheerleader Riley Lawson escapes and informs her parents, who quickly sidestep sluggish FBI agents and take matters into their own hands. But the Lawsons' revenge plan hits a snag when Otis's unusual brother enters the picture.

After taking a wrong turn in their car, a young gay Russian couple witnesses what they believe is a vicious gay bashing; their quandary over what to do about it propels them into ever more dangerous territory. For Anton, the burden of what they may have witnessed outweighs Vlad's fear of probing too deeply into the incident. When the police prove indifferent, Anton talks his skeptical lover into launching their own amateur investigation into the incident. Their risky search for the truth has unexpected - and grim - consequences in this suspenseful drama that comments on the ongoing mistreatment of LGBT people in Russia.

Chen Zhen returns to the international compound of China only to learn of his beloved teacher's death. This is compounded by the continual racist harassment by the Japanese population in the area. Unlike his friends, he confronts it head on with his mastery of martial arts while investigating his teacher's murder.