Film Reviews

In 1987, colour slides were found in a second hand book store in Vienna which turned out to be a collections of photographs taken in the Lodz ghetto by the Nazis' chief accountant. Walter Genewein boosted productivity in the ghetto while keeping costs down, a policy which led to the Lodz ghetto surviving much longer than any other in Poland. He recorded what he considered to be the subhuman aspect of the Jewish workers and he was concerned only with the technical quality of his photos. Director Dariusz Jabłoński's prize-winning film uses the photographs in a different way. He recreates for us the suffering of inmates, giving a compassionate picture of that it was like to be trapped in the ghetto. (Storyville)

Superfantozzi (1986) is an Italian film from 1986. It is the fifth film in the saga of the unlucky clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio. In this film, Fantozzi is portrayed in a surreal historical journey, from Genesis to 1980s.

A girl visiting her sister in Hollywood hopes for a modeling career, but is tricked by pimps into working at a brothel.

The landowner (Agha) of the Haraptar village marries off his old father with the young and beautiful Kiraz. But on the nuptial night, his father dies and everthing starts to go bad for the Agha. Due to the long drought and provocations of Kekec Salman (big brother of Kiraz), the peasants steal the crops and run away to Istanbul. Without the peasants and crops, Agha is also forced to sell the village and move to Istanbul. But he cannot keep up with the big city life and consumes all his money and belongings. Agha's wife and relatives leave him during this downfall.

After an attack leaves him in limbo -- invisible to the living and also near death -- a teenager discovers the only person who might be able help him is his attacker.

A pacifist village is beset by bandits in this martial arts thriller. "Savage Five" hands-down rivals the ornateness of "Kid With The Golden Arm" and the twist-heavy "Five Deadly Venoms". The always great David Chiang plays a lesser version of his Rover character from "Duel Of The Iron Fist", and Ti Lung, looking incredible here, is at his physical best. Accolades to Chen Kuan Tai and Wang Chung in great sympathetic roles, too. A kung fu classic where the actual martial arts display takes a back seat to the mesmerizing story.

School is out, and three girls head to the beach for vacation. Two of the girls are world-wise party-goers who attempt to loosen up their naive, virginal friend, whose uncle has allowed the girls to stay at his beach house. When the near-sighted, drug smuggling Captain Bly dumps his cargo of marijuana, the bales wash up on shore. The two party girls, Ginger and Ducky, quickly stuff the dope into giant bags and spirit it back to the beach house, where it fuels a party with assorted misfits, delivery persons, and passersby.

In the mountains, they stand alone against whatever will happen. For the several days they live in nature, they can rely only on themselves and each other. Elsewhere, there is always a fallback - here one is without a safety. This in itself can bring some to terror - the terror of having to rely on yourself - your own judgment, wits and fortitude. This is also the most incredible feeling of strength and independence. Knowing there is no safety means having to be one's own safety.

Jenny, a young American woman, moves to Paris and gets involved with Jack, who is seemingly the man of her dreams. However, he has a lot to hide and Jenny quickly gets entangled his dangerous lifestyle.

It has taken 10 years, two little Fockers with wife Pam and countless hurdles for Greg to finally get in with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack. After the cash-strapped dad takes a job moonlighting for a drug company, Jack's suspicions about his favorite male nurse come roaring back. When Greg and Pam's entire clan descends for the twins' birthday party, Greg must prove to the skeptical Jack that he's fully capable as the man of the house.

Doo-Sik (Jo Jung-suk) gets paroled from prison thanks to his younger brother (Do Kyung-Soo) Doo-Young. Doo-Young is a promising judo athlete. After 15 years, Doo-Sik (Jo Jung-suk) suddenly appears in front of Doo-Young and they begin to live together. Doo-Young becomes involved in an accident before the selection for the national team.

Mexican gunfighter Dave Robles outdraws the town's outlaw-turned-sheriff and is invited to fill the dead man's shoes. But a tin star doesn't bring automatic respectability and Robles is shunned by the town's leading citizens. His popularity with its less-savory element, particularly saloonkeeper Bannister, wanes dramatically, too, as he starts to take his job seriously. It is his love for a decent, caring woman that keeps Dave in town, but can she convince him to lay down his gun and start a new life?

“A marvelously clear picture taken from the top of the elevator of the Eiffel Tower during going up and coming down of the car. This wonderful tower is 1,000 feet in height, and the picture produces a most sensational effect. As the camera leaves the ground and rises to the top of the tower, the enormous white city opens out to the view of the astonished spectator. Arriving at the top of the tower, a bird's eye view of the Exposition looking toward the Trocadero, and also toward the Palace of Electricity, is made, and the camera begins its descent. The entire trip is shown on a 200-foot film. 30.00. We furnish the ascent in 125 foot film.” (Edison film catalog)

Joe and Lucy are roommates and best friends. Lucy, whose love life is embarrassingly dull, convinces Joe, who is infatuated with a neighbor he's never met, that if they don't have stable romances within a month, they must jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.

Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.