Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview		Toggle columns Title Overview
Promises	Documentarians Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg traveled to Israel to interview Palestinian and Israeli kids ages 11 to 13, assembling their views on living in a society afflicted with violence, separatism and religious and political extremism. This 2002 Oscar nominee for Best Feature Documentary culminates in an astonishing day in which two Israeli children meet Palestinian youngsters at a refugee camp.
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her	In California, a group of women struggle with personal problems as their paths intertwine in unexpected ways. Dr. Elaine Keener, the sole caretaker for her aging mother, turns to tarot card reader Christine for spiritual aid. Christine grapples with her own angst due to her lover's debilitating illness. Meanwhile, a bank manager deals with an unwanted pregnancy, two sisters pursue romantic interests and a housewife gets back into the dating game.
Beowulf	Beowulf is a wanderer who learns about a man-eating creature called Grendel which comes in the night to devour warriors trapped at the Outpost. The Outpost is ruled by Hrothgar. He has a daughter, whose husband may have been murdered by the Outpost's master of arms
The Witches of Oz	The Witches of Oz follows the exploits of the grown Dorothy Gale, now a successful children's book author, as she moves from Kansas to present day New York City. Dorothy quickly learns that her popular books are based on repressed childhood memories, and that the wonders of Oz are very, very real. When the Wicked Witch of the West shows up in Times Square, Dorothy must find the inner courage to stop her.
The Bear	Biopic about the great college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant of the University of Alabama.
Dark Streets	Chaz Davenport is a dashing bachelor who owns what promises to become the hottest new nightclub in town--if only the lights would stay on. Surrounded by the sumptuous blues music he adores, and with his pick of the gorgeous women who perform their sensual dance numbers onstage every night, Chaz is the envy of every man.
The Snow Queen 2: Refreeze	After the trolls' victory over the Snow Queen, Orm claims that he is destined to marry the princess and inherit great power.
The Dorm	The film follows a student, Vivian (Alexis Knapp) who begins college as a shy, self-consciousness freshman but who, after becoming a dorm mate of the popular Sarah (Cassie Steele), begins a complete transformation.
The King of the Kickboxers	Kahn is a heavy weight kick-box champion, who often kills his opponents in front of the running camera, to sell it on video tape. Jake had to witness once how his brother was killed by him, and now has come for revenge. But first he has to improve his fighting skills; he asks Phang, the only person in the whole world who ever had Khan down on his back, to train him until he is a match for him.
Gumnaam	Gumnaam is a 1965 Indian suspense thriller film directed by Raja Nawathe, starring Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Pran, Helen and Mehmood. Eight people are trapped on an island when their plane abandons them. They find a large mansion whose butler is expecting them. Then one by one, they die...
Surf Nazis Must Die	When the grandson of a gun wielding woman is murdered by neo-nazi surf punks in the post-apocalyptic future, this grandma hunts them down for some bloodthirsty revenge.
The Traveler	On a dark Christmas Eve in a small town, the lone Sheriffs on the night shift encounter a mysterious man who goes by the name of Mr. Nobody. As the night progresses, the Sheriffs discover that this isn't just a nobody, but a vengeful killer whose past threatens to haunt them all.
Men's Games	The group of stuntmen comes to the beach to shoot an adventure film. Guys are training all day long, polishing their skills. One of the stuntmen witnessed two men pursuing the girl. He saves her from bullies, and the fugitive finds protection and patronage in the crew. However, a woman's behaviour is strange: she keeps having nightmares, she's afraid of something or someone, but refuses to explain what was going on. Men realize that their new friend is hiding something ...
The Ceremony	Oshima’s magisterial epic, centering on the ambivalent surviving heir of the Sakurada clan, uses ritual and the microcosm of the traditional family to trace the rise and fall of militaristic Japan across several decades.
Superbia	The native people of the surrealistic land of Superbia, where men and women form separate societies, face the changes sparked by the first equal couple in their history.

Promises

Documentarians Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg traveled to Israel to interview Palestinian and Israeli kids ages 11 to 13, assembling their views on living in a society afflicted with violence, separatism and religious and political extremism. This 2002 Oscar nominee for Best Feature Documentary culminates in an astonishing day in which two Israeli children meet Palestinian youngsters at a refugee camp.

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her

In California, a group of women struggle with personal problems as their paths intertwine in unexpected ways. Dr. Elaine Keener, the sole caretaker for her aging mother, turns to tarot card reader Christine for spiritual aid. Christine grapples with her own angst due to her lover's debilitating illness. Meanwhile, a bank manager deals with an unwanted pregnancy, two sisters pursue romantic interests and a housewife gets back into the dating game.

Beowulf

Beowulf is a wanderer who learns about a man-eating creature called Grendel which comes in the night to devour warriors trapped at the Outpost. The Outpost is ruled by Hrothgar. He has a daughter, whose husband may have been murdered by the Outpost's master of arms

The Witches of Oz

The Witches of Oz follows the exploits of the grown Dorothy Gale, now a successful children's book author, as she moves from Kansas to present day New York City. Dorothy quickly learns that her popular books are based on repressed childhood memories, and that the wonders of Oz are very, very real. When the Wicked Witch of the West shows up in Times Square, Dorothy must find the inner courage to stop her.

The Bear

Biopic about the great college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant of the University of Alabama.

Dark Streets

Chaz Davenport is a dashing bachelor who owns what promises to become the hottest new nightclub in town--if only the lights would stay on. Surrounded by the sumptuous blues music he adores, and with his pick of the gorgeous women who perform their sensual dance numbers onstage every night, Chaz is the envy of every man.

The Snow Queen 2: Refreeze

After the trolls' victory over the Snow Queen, Orm claims that he is destined to marry the princess and inherit great power.

The Dorm

The film follows a student, Vivian (Alexis Knapp) who begins college as a shy, self-consciousness freshman but who, after becoming a dorm mate of the popular Sarah (Cassie Steele), begins a complete transformation.

The King of the Kickboxers

Kahn is a heavy weight kick-box champion, who often kills his opponents in front of the running camera, to sell it on video tape. Jake had to witness once how his brother was killed by him, and now has come for revenge. But first he has to improve his fighting skills; he asks Phang, the only person in the whole world who ever had Khan down on his back, to train him until he is a match for him.

Gumnaam

Gumnaam is a 1965 Indian suspense thriller film directed by Raja Nawathe, starring Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Pran, Helen and Mehmood. Eight people are trapped on an island when their plane abandons them. They find a large mansion whose butler is expecting them. Then one by one, they die...

Surf Nazis Must Die

When the grandson of a gun wielding woman is murdered by neo-nazi surf punks in the post-apocalyptic future, this grandma hunts them down for some bloodthirsty revenge.

The Traveler

On a dark Christmas Eve in a small town, the lone Sheriffs on the night shift encounter a mysterious man who goes by the name of Mr. Nobody. As the night progresses, the Sheriffs discover that this isn't just a nobody, but a vengeful killer whose past threatens to haunt them all.

Men's Games

The group of stuntmen comes to the beach to shoot an adventure film. Guys are training all day long, polishing their skills. One of the stuntmen witnessed two men pursuing the girl. He saves her from bullies, and the fugitive finds protection and patronage in the crew. However, a woman's behaviour is strange: she keeps having nightmares, she's afraid of something or someone, but refuses to explain what was going on. Men realize that their new friend is hiding something ...

The Ceremony

Oshima’s magisterial epic, centering on the ambivalent surviving heir of the Sakurada clan, uses ritual and the microcosm of the traditional family to trace the rise and fall of militaristic Japan across several decades.

Superbia

The native people of the surrealistic land of Superbia, where men and women form separate societies, face the changes sparked by the first equal couple in their history.