Film Reviews

Follows the life and work of animator Lotte Reiniger.

F*** Off! shows no false respect towards the authorities in its impudent and candid reportage of the developing country/welfare state Finland. It is a cinematic parallel to Donner's New Book of Our Land (1967). The travelogue focuses especially on Finland's outsiders, low-paid workers and the unemployed. In desolate provinces, the inhabitants of a cold and barren country either humbly abide their fate, choose to move to Sweden or take refuge in excessive drinking. These images are accompanied by protest songs based on Donner's own prose and the lyrics of poet Jarkko Laine. Perkele is embodied in big business and the political elite.The jagged (anti)aesthetics of the film correspond to the underground movement and the radical politics of the time. The camera agilely penetrates everyday life. Though opposed to censorship, Fuck Off! itself transgresses the boundaries of privacy.

Patty McCormack's "Mommy" is psychotically obsessed with her 12-year-old daughter Jessica Ann -- so much so that when she finds out Jessica didn't get the "Student of the Year" award again, she solves the problem by murdering the teacher who didn't recommend her for it. She dismisses the killing as inconsequential ("a minor accident"), but the homicide detective assigned to the case suspects her immediately, and an insurance investigator who also suspects her tries to get close to Jessica Ann to find out what really happened.

The Baseline is the centre of the East London grime club scene and the queue regularly stretches around the block. Danny works on the door - breaking up fights and managing drunk kids. However, when he rescues Terry, the club owner and local gang leader, from a hitman, Danny is suddenly plunged deep into an underworld he had tried so hard to avoid. Danny is promoted to manager, but only on the condition that he turns a blind eye to the shady goings on both on and off the dance-floor. Danny and his girlfriend Jessica dream of setting up their own club, but Danny is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice when he has to choose between loyalty, morality and his own dreams of escape

In a small Welsh town where people talk to themselves we meet Jim, a lonely teenager who is given the chance to increase his popularity when a cool American kid moves in next door. Written and directed by Craig Roberts, who also plays the lead role.

This film explores the evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States, with an emphasis on the elitist theory of democracy and the relationship between war, propaganda and class. Includes original interviews with a number of dissident scholars including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Peter Phillips (Project Censored), John Stauber (PR Watch), Christopher Simpson (The Science of Coercion) and others. A deep, richly illustrated study of the nature and history of propaganda, featuring some of the world’s most insightful critics, Psywar exposes the propaganda system, providing crucial background and insight into the control of information and thought.

Taking place almost entirely over the course of one stormy night, a woman is terrified when an accused murderer escapes from a mental hospital and seeks refuge in her home.

A mix of cabaret and standup recorded at Joe's Pub in New York.

Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) is the head of a crumbling air freight service in desperate need of a replacement pilot. He is forced to hire a descredited aviator (Richard Barthelmess) who arrives with his wife (Rita Hayworth), Carter's ex-lover. Meanwhile, traveler Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur) tries to get close to the emotionally closed-off Carter. The film received two Academy Award nominations.

The Lovers is an epic romance time travel adventure film. Helmed by Roland Joffé from a story by Ajey Jhankar, the film is a sweeping tale of an impossible love set against the backdrop of the first Anglo-Maratha war across two time periods and continents and centred around four characters — a British officer in 18th century colonial India, the Indian woman he falls deeply in love with, an American present-day marine biologist and his wife.

Brooke, a plain but creative and hard-working student at the top fashion school in the nation, who has come a long way from her tough childhood spent going from one foster home to another as an orphan. She has always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, and is thrilled to finally be on her way. But, when the grandfather she never knew about passes away, her life is suddenly turned upside down. Not only has he left her his estate, but he's left her in charge of the family business, as mob boss to one of the top crime syndicates that has been trying to go legit. If that isn't enough, the handsome new student she's falling for is actually an undercover FBI agent aiming to get dirt on her to bring down the family empire.

A thriller set in turn-of-the-century Helsinki, Stolen Death uses elements of German expressionism to tell the story of Finnish resistance fighters smuggling arms to overthrow the Tsarist occupiers of Finland. Tapiovaara stresses the divided loyalties of the Finnish bourgeoisie, torn between preserving their privileged economic position and taking a risky stand for an independent Finland. Stolen Death can be viewed as a thinly disguised protest against the rise of the fascist movement in Finland in the 1930s. Tapiovaara's allegorical indictment of class inequality and the suppression of free speech and political expression, coupled with his death at 28 fighting the Russians in the Winter War of 1939-1940, earned him almost a mythic status in Finland.

Survivors of an airplane crash find themselves within the borders of a government testing area and pursued by predators.

When an elderly client loses a fortune on an investment, fearless Sally Lockhart will stop at nothing to rectify the situation — even if it means risking everything important to her in the process. As Sally sorts out the threads of the mystery — a magician being pursued by thugs, a clairvoyant who sees a brutal murder in the woods and a rich, heartless industrialist on a mad mission — nothing fits together. But as Sally closes in on the truth, it becomes devastatingly clear that her life will be forever altered.

A former witch loses her son while shopping. Knowing evil forces are still lurking, she frantically searches for him, but comes across a discovery.