Film Reviews

Like a warped fun-house mirror, the song-poem industry has run parallel to the mainstream music business for close to a century; it's estimated that over 200,000 song-poems have been recorded since 1900. The genre's durability can be traced to three of our deepest American desires - to be in show business, to get rich quick, and to share and express our deepest feelings. We meet several of the "songwriters" - from an elderly woman to a young African-American man to a small-town Iowan with big-time dreams - each of whom has been in the "business" for awhile, churning out odd compositions that cover the waterfront of American obsessions, from Jesus to genitalia, from politics to Elvis. We also meet the producers (often known as song-sharks) who hold out the tantalizing promise of fame to their eager customers, and the has-been musicians who sit in studios, day after day and year after year...

Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. When the Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family's crops, Lakshmi's father says she must leave home and take a job to support her family. He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi journeys to India and arrives at "Happiness House" full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution...

Teenage gang member Cal, hides his sexuality from the his fellow happy slapping gang members despite their often violent dislike of anyone that isn't the same as them, be they unsuspecting shoppers, foreign students, gays etc. When his world collides with Olivier, a student he rescues from a pointless beating, he encounters a lifestyle that presents as many new experiences as it does obstacles.

A man is forced to marry a tree to ward off ill-luck that surrounds his love-life which turns into a nightmare when the tree is embodied by a spirit with an unfinished business.

Spurred by a gun incident at a school, the women of one Texas town lead a movement to get rid of guns by withholding sex from their husbands.

Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.

Charlie and his partner are to deliver a piano to 666 Prospect St. and repossess one from 999 Prospect St.

A mother struggles to make a better life for her daughter.

Mary Brooks' father, who has been studying ancient tribes, falls into the hands of "the people of Zar, god of the Emerald Fingers." Tarzan helps Mary locate her father, rescues everyone from the High Priest of Zar, and takes Mary to his cave.

The boys head to Ireland after winning a contest to see Rush but are arrested by immigration and must perform a community service puppet show.

Time travel, still images, a past, present and future and the aftermath of World War III. The tale of a man, a slave, sent back and forth, in and out of time, to find a solution to the world’s fate. To replenish its decreasing stocks of food, medicine and energies, and in doing so, resulting in a perpetual memory of a lone female, life, death and past events that are recreated on an airport’s viewing pier.

Valentin Vaala's film from 1937.

Set against the lush backdrop of rural Laos, this spirited drama tells the story of scrappy ten-year-old Ahlo, who yearns to break free from his ill-fated destiny. After his village is displaced to make way for a massive dam, Ahlo escapes with his father and grandmother through the Laotian outback in search of a new home. Along the way, they come across a rocket festival that offers Ahlo a lucrative but dangerous chance to prove his worth.

The movie is set in the actual "Ki Mit Tud?" talent contest in 1962. In reality the contest in dance music category was won by an army brass band. "Omega" which later became one of the most successful Hungarian rock bands came out in the second place.

Little baby needs his pacifier, but loses it during a heist in a museum. What will he do? Short #3 from the 'Minions: 3 Mini-Movie Collection'.