Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview
The Story of Esther Costello	Eighteen-year-old Esther has been deaf and blind since the accident which killed her mother. Wealthy Margaret Landi, a native of Esther's village in Ireland, is talked into helping to educate and possibly heal Esther. Margaret grows to love Esther as a daughter, but finds Esther's innocence threatened by sleazy promoters and her own sleazy ex-husband. Radiant performance by Heather Sears. Based on a book that nearly had Helen Keller's co-workers suing for libel due to perceived parallels between Carlo Landi and the husband of Annie Sullivan
Jönssonligans största kupp	When Vanheden and Dynamit-Harry tries to break doctor Busé out of jail, they get Herman Melvin instead...
Rulers of the City	Tony, a mob loan collector, is dissatisfied with his station in life. Though he dreams of one day being rich, he is stuck with the dead-end job of beating up borrowers who fall behind in their payments. After meeting up with Napoli, another mob enforcer who's just been fired from his job, the two hatch a plan. Together, they will con mob boss Manzari out of a fortune, after which they can retire and live in luxury. Manzari, however, is not about to let them go so easily.
Spanish Lake	A bold and unflinching documentary on 'white flight' in the area of Spanish Lake, Missouri, a post WW2 suburb. The town experiences rapid economic decline and population turnover due to racism and governmental policies which support the white exodus. The themes of the film parallel America's growing political divide, racial tension, and rise of anti-government sentiment.
Just Cause	Bobby Earl is facing the electric chair for the murder of a young girl. Eight years after the crime he calls in Paul Armstrong, a professor of law, to help prove his innocence. Armstrong quickly uncovers some overlooked evidence to present to the local police, but they aren't interested - Bobby was their killer.
Along Came a Nanny	Hoping to catch a burglar, a cop (Cameron Mathison) goes under cover as a nanny in an upscale community. As he looks for leads, he becomes involved with a high-maintenance family and a pretty caregiver (Sarah Lancaster) nearby.
Between Your Legs	Miranda, a sex addict, works for a radio station and is married to a cop. She signs up for therapy in order to deal with her sex addiction. Also in the group is Javier, a sex-phone junkie. The two misfits hit it off and a torid affair ensues. But things get a little complicated when Javier finds out that this phone sex trysts have been secretly taped and being distributed all over Madrid, and that his ex-wife is living with his business partner. Elsewhere, while investigating a murder case, Felix discovers Miranda's affair with Javier.
The Little Apartment	Rodolfo and Petrita each live in separate quarters in dilapidated Madrid, while looking to have a little apartment (or "pisito", in Spanish dialect). Unfortunately their low salaries prevent them from acquiring one. Soon, Rodolfo's co-workers urge him to marry the old and frail Doña Martina, who is the main tenant in the apartment he boards in. According to Spanish rent-control law, he could inherit the lease from his spouse. Thus begin his misgivings and Petrita's. Written by Emilio
Berlin is in Germany	Berlin is in Germany is a tragic comedy in which an ex-prisoner from east Berlin must find his place in the newly united city. From Director Hannes Stöhr.
Altar	A young family find themselves in serious danger when they move to an isolated haunted house in the Yorkshire Moors.
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey	Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.
Cotton Mary	A British family is trapped between culture, tradition, and the colonial sins of the past.
Bewitched	A girl enlists a psychic to get rid of her murderous alternate personality.
Strangers on a Train	A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder...a theory that he plans to implement.
Annabel Takes a Tour	Annabel Allison, star of Wonder Pictures, is irked at her poor publicity, especially when a rival gets engaged to a Marquis; so she makes studio head Webb re-hire disgraced publicity agent Morgan for her personal appearance tour. The trip proceeds with a flurry of Morgan's crazy, slapstick publicity stunts. Then Annabel has her chance to "bag" a real Viscount.

The Story of Esther Costello

Eighteen-year-old Esther has been deaf and blind since the accident which killed her mother. Wealthy Margaret Landi, a native of Esther's village in Ireland, is talked into helping to educate and possibly heal Esther. Margaret grows to love Esther as a daughter, but finds Esther's innocence threatened by sleazy promoters and her own sleazy ex-husband. Radiant performance by Heather Sears. Based on a book that nearly had Helen Keller's co-workers suing for libel due to perceived parallels between Carlo Landi and the husband of Annie Sullivan

Jönssonligans största kupp

When Vanheden and Dynamit-Harry tries to break doctor Busé out of jail, they get Herman Melvin instead...

Rulers of the City

Tony, a mob loan collector, is dissatisfied with his station in life. Though he dreams of one day being rich, he is stuck with the dead-end job of beating up borrowers who fall behind in their payments. After meeting up with Napoli, another mob enforcer who's just been fired from his job, the two hatch a plan. Together, they will con mob boss Manzari out of a fortune, after which they can retire and live in luxury. Manzari, however, is not about to let them go so easily.

Spanish Lake

A bold and unflinching documentary on 'white flight' in the area of Spanish Lake, Missouri, a post WW2 suburb. The town experiences rapid economic decline and population turnover due to racism and governmental policies which support the white exodus. The themes of the film parallel America's growing political divide, racial tension, and rise of anti-government sentiment.

Just Cause

Bobby Earl is facing the electric chair for the murder of a young girl. Eight years after the crime he calls in Paul Armstrong, a professor of law, to help prove his innocence. Armstrong quickly uncovers some overlooked evidence to present to the local police, but they aren't interested - Bobby was their killer.

Along Came a Nanny

Hoping to catch a burglar, a cop (Cameron Mathison) goes under cover as a nanny in an upscale community. As he looks for leads, he becomes involved with a high-maintenance family and a pretty caregiver (Sarah Lancaster) nearby.

Between Your Legs

Miranda, a sex addict, works for a radio station and is married to a cop. She signs up for therapy in order to deal with her sex addiction. Also in the group is Javier, a sex-phone junkie. The two misfits hit it off and a torid affair ensues. But things get a little complicated when Javier finds out that this phone sex trysts have been secretly taped and being distributed all over Madrid, and that his ex-wife is living with his business partner. Elsewhere, while investigating a murder case, Felix discovers Miranda's affair with Javier.

The Little Apartment

Rodolfo and Petrita each live in separate quarters in dilapidated Madrid, while looking to have a little apartment (or "pisito", in Spanish dialect). Unfortunately their low salaries prevent them from acquiring one. Soon, Rodolfo's co-workers urge him to marry the old and frail Doña Martina, who is the main tenant in the apartment he boards in. According to Spanish rent-control law, he could inherit the lease from his spouse. Thus begin his misgivings and Petrita's. Written by Emilio

Berlin is in Germany

Berlin is in Germany is a tragic comedy in which an ex-prisoner from east Berlin must find his place in the newly united city. From Director Hannes Stöhr.

Altar

A young family find themselves in serious danger when they move to an isolated haunted house in the Yorkshire Moors.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.

Cotton Mary

A British family is trapped between culture, tradition, and the colonial sins of the past.

Bewitched

A girl enlists a psychic to get rid of her murderous alternate personality.

Strangers on a Train

A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder...a theory that he plans to implement.

Annabel Takes a Tour

Annabel Allison, star of Wonder Pictures, is irked at her poor publicity, especially when a rival gets engaged to a Marquis; so she makes studio head Webb re-hire disgraced publicity agent Morgan for her personal appearance tour. The trip proceeds with a flurry of Morgan's crazy, slapstick publicity stunts. Then Annabel has her chance to "bag" a real Viscount.