Film Reviews

It's the end of the school year. The long-awaited moment of the holidays is arrive. The little Nicolas, her parents and Grandma take the road towards the sea, and settle in for some time at the Hotel Beau-Rivage.

Forget the pie charts, color-coded maps and hyperventilating pundits. What's the street-level experience of voters in today's America? In a triumph of documentary storytelling, ELECTION DAY combines eleven stories--all shot simultaneously on November 2, 2004, from dawn until long past midnight--into one. Factory workers, ex-felons, harried moms, Native American activists and diligent poll watchers, from South Dakota to Florida, take the process of democracy into their own hands. The result: an entertaining, inspiring and sometimes unsettling tapestry of citizens determined on one fateful day to make their votes count.

A feature-length documentary centered around the Linotype typecasting machine. Called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by Thomas Edison, it revolutionized printing and society. The film tells the surprisingly emotional story of the people connected to the Linotype and how it impacted the world.

Truman Gates, a Chicago cop, sets out to find his brother's killer. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.

Maggie 's plan to have a baby on her own is derailed when she falls in love with John, a married man, destroying his volatile marriage to the brilliant and impossible Georgette. But one daughter and three years later, Maggie is out of love and in a quandary: what do you do when you suspect your man and his ex wife are actually perfect for each other?

In the office of Major Northfield, the quartermaster of the Pacific Coast, a leak has been discovered which may endanger the safety of American transports that are secretly carrying troops across the Pacific. Nara-Nara, a Japanese detective, is assigned to the case because his country has guaranteed safety to these transport ships. Nara-Nara believes that Northfield is guilty, although in reality it is Northfield's secretary Kitty Little, a girl of German ancestry, who is passing information to Dr. Ebell Smith, a German agent. Nara-Nara falls in love with Kitty, but soon after discovers that she is the leak in the quartermaster's office.

If you've never seen Nick Di Paolo live, this intimate setting captures the essence of what makes him stand out from other comics. "Another Senseless Killing" is 56 minutes of funny, ferocious, but always clever material. In Di Paolo's fifth special he skillfully mines the humor in such light hearted topics as Suicide and Roadside Memorials while also educating you on the finer points of A**hole Bleaching and the Evolution of Pornography.

In Montreal, the industrial François Delambre is called late night by his sister-in-law Helene Delambre. She tells him that she has just killed her beloved husband Andre Delambre, using the press of their plant to press his head and left hand. François calls his acquaintance, Inspector Charas, and later the reluctant Helene is convinced to tell them what happened. She explains that Andre had invented a matter transportation apparatus, and while experimenting with himself, a fly entered the chamber, exchanging one hand and the head with him after the transference.

The ugly duckling of a fraught middle-class household has her life turned upside-down by the arrival of a handsome German exchange student, in this caustic, absurdist satire of petit-bourgeois family life from Dutch director Michiel ten Horn. (TIFF)

"La La Wood" follows the legacy of Jiminy Glick, first introduced on "The Martin Short Show," who went on to get (non)-critical acclaim for his talk show "Primetime Glick," where Mr. Glick interviewed countless celebrities (which usually ended in verbally--sometimes physically--insulting/assaulting them). Now comes "La La Wood"--Jiminy Glick's home. This is his story (sort of).

American Pop is an American animated film that tells the story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music.

Abou Ben Boogie Release Date: 9/18/44 Direction: James Cullhane Story: Ben Hardaway and Milt Schaffer Animation Layout: Art Heinemann Animation: Paul Smith Musical Arrangement: Darrell Calker Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard Lyrics: Tot Seymour Music: Vee Lawnhurst Notes: Production Number: D-7 A Swing Symphony cartoon The second and final appearance of "Miss X." Michael Fitzgerald incorrectly lists this cartoon as an August release. Click here to see Abou Ben Boogie sheet music. Some animation of "Miss X" by Pat Matthews, deemed "too sexy," was cropped out of Castle Films home use prints.

After Kick-Ass’ insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, he joins a patrol led by the Colonel Stars and Stripes. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist — reborn as The Mother Fucker — only the blade-wielding Hit-Girl can prevent their annihilation.

Bert Haanstra paints a portrait of The Netherlands and the Dutch, in his own unparalleled manner. Partly with the aid of a hidden camera he observes people in the most diverse situations. He shows the unusual in the usual and the usual in the unusual. The harsh years of the post war era of reconstruction have passed and for most people life is better than before.

Three excitement-craving friends get more than they bargained for when they steal a hit woman's automobile.