Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview
Heavens Fall	Successful New York attorney Sam Leibowitz travels to the South in 1933 to defend nine young black men accused of raping two women on an Alabama freight train.
Seasons of the Year	Film-essay about shepherds living in the Armenian highlands, about the contradiction and the harmony between man and nature.
The Great Spy Chase	A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which have been inherited by the lovely widow.
Infinitely Polar Bear	A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
Mick Foley: Cheap Pops	Mick Foley shares humorous tales full of wit and wisdom from the WWE hall of Famer's storied career.
Russell Brand - From Addiction to Recovery	BBC 3 follows actor and comedian Russell Brand, as he campaigns for abstinence-based recovery programmes and the compassionate treatment of addiction as an illness rather than a crime
Southern Comfort	A squad of National Guards on an isolated weekend exercise in the Louisiana swamp must fight for their lives when they anger local Cajuns by stealing their canoes. Without live ammunition and in a strange country, their experience begins to mirror the Vietnam experience.
Tape	A three-character ensemble piece set within the confines of a tawdry motor lodge in Lansing, Michigan. After 10 years apart, three disparate people come together to play out the unresolved drama of their final days in high school. Intrigued, we watch as layers of denial are slowly peeled away. Suspense builds as each character is provoked into revealing his or her true nature and motivation. Mesmerized, we are drawn into their lives as they choose which cards to play and which cards to hold.
Fear of a Black Hat	Chronicling the controversial career of bad boys N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats), this uproarious 'mockumentary' lampoons all of hardcore rap's hot-button issues. This underground laugh riot recounts the rise, fall and resurrection of a clueless bunch of would-be rappers, Ice Cold, Tone-Def & Tasty Taste performing as N.W.H.
Red White & Blue	A woman attracts the attention of a psychotic former Army interrogator and an emotionally fragile young man caring for his ailing mother.
The Prophet	Exiled artist and poet Mustafa embarks on a journey home with his housekeeper and her daughter; together the trio must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in Mustafa's words will incite rebellion.
Beyond the Gates of Splendor	"Beyond the Gates" is a feature length documentary film experience about the Waodani Indians and the missionary men and women who have given their lives to reach them. This powerful emotional journey begins with the Waodani describing their way of life before the missionaries visited them in 1956. Narrated by the son of one of the missionaries and each of the wives of the men who died, the audience takes a nostalgic trip back in time to see how the men and women came to meet up with each other in Ecuador. An inspiring story of forgiveness and love.
Nightmare Factory	Nightmare Factory, directed by Donna Davies (Zombiemania), is the story of how one Pittsburgh boy’s fascination with monsters drove him to the very top of the Hollywood food chain. In 1989, Greg Nicotero, much to his parents’ chagrin, quit medical school and headed for Hollywood to pursue a dream of making monsters. Together with gore masters Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman, Nicotero went on to create KNB EFX Group, one of the most prolific makeup effects studios in the world. After twenty years as the “go to guy” for the world’s most successful horror/sci-fi films, Greg Nicotero is the first one directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez call.
The Barbershop	“Interior of Barber Shop. Man comes in, takes off his coat; sits down, smokes; is handed a paper by attendant, who points out a joke; both laugh. Meantime the man in the chair is shaved and has his hair cut. Very funny.” (Edison's Latest Wonders, 1894)
The Searchers of Happiness	During the 1920s, many impoverished Jews searching for a better life made their way to Birobidzhan, the Soviet Jewish Autonomous Region on the Chinese border. This melodrama tells the story of a Jewish family's immigration to Birobidzhan and their experiences as settlers on a collective farm in the area.

Heavens Fall

Successful New York attorney Sam Leibowitz travels to the South in 1933 to defend nine young black men accused of raping two women on an Alabama freight train.

Seasons of the Year

Film-essay about shepherds living in the Armenian highlands, about the contradiction and the harmony between man and nature.

The Great Spy Chase

A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which have been inherited by the lovely widow.

Infinitely Polar Bear

A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.

Mick Foley: Cheap Pops

Mick Foley shares humorous tales full of wit and wisdom from the WWE hall of Famer's storied career.

Russell Brand - From Addiction to Recovery

BBC 3 follows actor and comedian Russell Brand, as he campaigns for abstinence-based recovery programmes and the compassionate treatment of addiction as an illness rather than a crime

Southern Comfort

A squad of National Guards on an isolated weekend exercise in the Louisiana swamp must fight for their lives when they anger local Cajuns by stealing their canoes. Without live ammunition and in a strange country, their experience begins to mirror the Vietnam experience.

Tape

A three-character ensemble piece set within the confines of a tawdry motor lodge in Lansing, Michigan. After 10 years apart, three disparate people come together to play out the unresolved drama of their final days in high school. Intrigued, we watch as layers of denial are slowly peeled away. Suspense builds as each character is provoked into revealing his or her true nature and motivation. Mesmerized, we are drawn into their lives as they choose which cards to play and which cards to hold.

Fear of a Black Hat

Chronicling the controversial career of bad boys N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats), this uproarious 'mockumentary' lampoons all of hardcore rap's hot-button issues. This underground laugh riot recounts the rise, fall and resurrection of a clueless bunch of would-be rappers, Ice Cold, Tone-Def & Tasty Taste performing as N.W.H.

Red White & Blue

A woman attracts the attention of a psychotic former Army interrogator and an emotionally fragile young man caring for his ailing mother.

The Prophet

Exiled artist and poet Mustafa embarks on a journey home with his housekeeper and her daughter; together the trio must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in Mustafa's words will incite rebellion.

Beyond the Gates of Splendor

"Beyond the Gates" is a feature length documentary film experience about the Waodani Indians and the missionary men and women who have given their lives to reach them. This powerful emotional journey begins with the Waodani describing their way of life before the missionaries visited them in 1956. Narrated by the son of one of the missionaries and each of the wives of the men who died, the audience takes a nostalgic trip back in time to see how the men and women came to meet up with each other in Ecuador. An inspiring story of forgiveness and love.

Nightmare Factory

Nightmare Factory, directed by Donna Davies (Zombiemania), is the story of how one Pittsburgh boy’s fascination with monsters drove him to the very top of the Hollywood food chain. In 1989, Greg Nicotero, much to his parents’ chagrin, quit medical school and headed for Hollywood to pursue a dream of making monsters. Together with gore masters Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman, Nicotero went on to create KNB EFX Group, one of the most prolific makeup effects studios in the world. After twenty years as the “go to guy” for the world’s most successful horror/sci-fi films, Greg Nicotero is the first one directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez call.

The Barbershop

“Interior of Barber Shop. Man comes in, takes off his coat; sits down, smokes; is handed a paper by attendant, who points out a joke; both laugh. Meantime the man in the chair is shaved and has his hair cut. Very funny.” (Edison's Latest Wonders, 1894)

The Searchers of Happiness

During the 1920s, many impoverished Jews searching for a better life made their way to Birobidzhan, the Soviet Jewish Autonomous Region on the Chinese border. This melodrama tells the story of a Jewish family's immigration to Birobidzhan and their experiences as settlers on a collective farm in the area.