Film Reviews

Sarah, a beautiful and gifted 15-year-old from a wealthy but chaotic family, holds on to one dream: to run away from home and to become a professional ballet dancer.

An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.

Frank, Sara and their two children have recently moved into the house of their dreams on the countryside. Frank is disturbed by mysterious sounds and somebody tears down the wallpaper from the walls. He contacts a ghost-hunter, Allan, to find out the truth.

Hannah, a young Jewish girl, is rescued from a concentration camp by her Polish boyfriend, and believes he died after their perilous escape. More than 30 years later, the married Hannah faces an emotional crisis when she learns he's alive.

A UFO enthusiast interviews Dan Aykroyd on the subject of extraterrestrials visiting Earth.

Feudal Japan, 1543 to 1562. Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big? Written by jhailey@hotmail.com

The frustrating adventures of a humble employee who all the time has to fullfill the wishes and desires of his bosses.

Eloise, having been relieved of maid of honor duties after being unceremoniously dumped by the best man via text, decides to attend the wedding anyway – only to find herself seated with five fellow-unwanted guests at the dreaded Table 19.

Lost and Delirious is the story of three adolescent girls' first love, their discovery of sexual passion, and their search for identities. Set in a posh, private boarding school surrounded by luxuriant, green forest, Lost and Delirious moves swiftly from academic routine, homesickness, and girlish silliness to the darker region of lover's intrigue.

The young Dr. Kildare treats and falls for impoverished ex-con Janet Healy, widow of a bank robber, who can't find her baby. Later she helps Kildare sew up gangster Hanlon in a tavern back room. Kildare pursues Janet and enlists Hanlon to help her; the gangster's solution, not surprisingly, is violent.

Marcia (Tatiana Saphir), a frumpy and overweight salesgirl who seems to lead a banal and dreary existence, goes to work one day. As she walks she catches the eye of a feisty butch punk woman named Mao (Carla Crespo) who tells Marcia she wants to seduce her. Marcia tells Mao that she's not a lesbian, but Mao is relentless. With the help of her friend Lenin (Veronica Hassan), Mao manages to talk Marcia into getting into a cab that the two lesbian women then immediately car-jack.

A tough cop's (Sylvester Stallone) seemingly frail mother (Estelle Getty) comes to stay with him and progressively interferes in his life. She buys him an illegal MAC-10 machine pistol and starts poking around in his police cases. Eventually, the film draws to a denouement involving the title of the film and the revelation that even though she seems frail and weak she is capable of strong actions in some circumstances, i.e. when her son is threatened by thugs and she shoots herself in the shoulder.

In World War II, the greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. While anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack by conventional means, so a plan is hatched for a special commando unit to attack it, using midget submarines to plant underwater explosives.

Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) stars opposite Jon Dore in this hilarious heist comedy written and directed by Jason and Randy Sklar (Cheap Seats). A disgruntled and bored bank teller named Ray (Jon Dore) finally gets his wish for some excitement when the branch is held up by two teams of crazy robbers disguised as Rocky I, Rocky II, Batman and Robin. As the robbery unfolds, the hostages fall victim to a comedic version of the Stockholm Syndrome and begin sympathizing with their dimwitted captors, which leads to an extended siege as Ray pursues a romantic relationship with one of the robbers (Kaitlin Olson).

Against all odds, the first theatrical production in over 20 years at Dominguez High School is going to be Thorton Wilder's American classic Our Town. The kids at this Compton school are about to experience more than a culture clash, as they embark on a rich journey and discover the educational and social value of theater. OT: Our Town tells the story of human spirit and its strength against the stereotypes holding them down. Where Thorton Wilder wrote about about little Grover's Corners, this documentary exemplifies how Our Town is every town. Our Town is Compton.