Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview
Predator	Dutch and his group of commandos are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen from guerillas in a Central American jungle. The mission goes well but as they return they find that something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of its victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through its eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting them for sport, killing them off one at a time.
Post Mortem	In Chile, 1973, during the last days of Salvador Allende's presidency, an employee at a Morgue's recording office falls for a burlesque dancer who mysteriously disappears.
Family Ties Vacation	The Keaton Family goes on a Family Vacation.
Killer Darts	They brutally killed his wife, wiped out dozens of his innocent people, and burnt his entire village down to a charbroiled crisp. Now, master Liou Wen-lung (Fang Mien) is out for revenge. Armed with a near-invincible sword style and a pack of killer darts, he heads out to settle a 10-year old grudge with the cold-blooded evildoers. Joining him is his son (Yueh Hua), an orphan named Yu Sien (Chin Ping) and his trusty servant.
Tetra Vaal	A faux advertisement for a third-world robotic police that established Neill Blomkamp's signature style of mixing lo-fi production with seamless CGI.
Smokey and the Bandit II	The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.
Death Duel	This martial arts spectacular showcases 20-year-old Erh Tung-sheng (a.k.a. Derek Yee). Even Variety noted: "Erh's charismatic screen presence should take him to superstardom like his older brother, David Chiang." The prediction proved correct, and his performance as ace swordsman Third Master is just what any producer would want. He fights evil, saves damsels in distress (including a kindhearted prostitute played by Chow Yun-fat's first wife, Yu An-an), and duels rival swordsmen to the, well, death.
My Twentieth Century	Separated identical twins ride an Orient Express unaware of each other: a feminist anarchist and a hedonistic courtesan, living under the powder-keg Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Separate families adopted the impoverished orphans. At the dawn of the 20th Century the double-blind experiment hits crescendo for Dora & Lili, born the evening Edison unveiled his incandescent bulb. In 1900, technology was accelerating, could women's rights and national self-determination keep pace?
Public Speaking	A feature-length documentary starring Fran Lebowitz, a writer known for her unique take on modern life. The film weaves together extemporaneous monologues with archival footage and the effect is a portrait of Fran's worldview and experiences.
A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness	A model (Yoko Shiraki) must cope with the stress of fame after a marketing executive (Yoshio Harada) transforms her into a sports celebrity.
King Dinosaur	Four astronauts in 1960 travel to a planet called Nova that has just entered Earth's solar system. The crew begins to study the planet to see if it's able to withstand a possible Earth colony. After first discovering normal Earth animals such as a kinkajou and an alligator, they soon encounter and battle giant insects, an enormous snake, prehistoric mammals, dinosaurs, and the titular character, King Dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Eventually, the scientists blow up the planet with an atomic bomb, killing all of its inhabitants.
True	The phone rings, startling Tomas, who is seated in front of the computer. He feels for the telephone receiver. Tomas is blind. His girlfriend, Francine, tells him that it's all over and she's leaving him. The phone drops back onto the hook. Tomas' mind races back in a dizzying flurry of images to the moment they both met, to the couple's most intimate moments together and to the tiny careless mistakes that eventually lead to the end of their relationship. TRUE is part of a compilation project entitled PARIS, JE T'AIME, in which a number of internationally renowned directors each tell a story in one of Paris' 20 arrondissements.
Here Is Your Life	A working-class boy struggles to find himself through a series of jobs and romances.
Wordplay	From the masters who create the mind-bending diversions to the tense competition at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Patrick Creadon's documentary reveals a fascinating look at a decidedly addictive pastime. Creadon captures New York Times editor Will Shortz at work, talks to celebrity solvers -- including Bill Clinton and Ken Burns -- and presents an intimate look at the national tournament and its competitors.
Good Morning	Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.

Predator

Dutch and his group of commandos are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen from guerillas in a Central American jungle. The mission goes well but as they return they find that something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of its victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through its eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting them for sport, killing them off one at a time.

Post Mortem

In Chile, 1973, during the last days of Salvador Allende's presidency, an employee at a Morgue's recording office falls for a burlesque dancer who mysteriously disappears.

Family Ties Vacation

The Keaton Family goes on a Family Vacation.

Killer Darts

They brutally killed his wife, wiped out dozens of his innocent people, and burnt his entire village down to a charbroiled crisp. Now, master Liou Wen-lung (Fang Mien) is out for revenge. Armed with a near-invincible sword style and a pack of killer darts, he heads out to settle a 10-year old grudge with the cold-blooded evildoers. Joining him is his son (Yueh Hua), an orphan named Yu Sien (Chin Ping) and his trusty servant.

Tetra Vaal

A faux advertisement for a third-world robotic police that established Neill Blomkamp's signature style of mixing lo-fi production with seamless CGI.

Smokey and the Bandit II

The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.

Death Duel

This martial arts spectacular showcases 20-year-old Erh Tung-sheng (a.k.a. Derek Yee). Even Variety noted: "Erh's charismatic screen presence should take him to superstardom like his older brother, David Chiang." The prediction proved correct, and his performance as ace swordsman Third Master is just what any producer would want. He fights evil, saves damsels in distress (including a kindhearted prostitute played by Chow Yun-fat's first wife, Yu An-an), and duels rival swordsmen to the, well, death.

My Twentieth Century

Separated identical twins ride an Orient Express unaware of each other: a feminist anarchist and a hedonistic courtesan, living under the powder-keg Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Separate families adopted the impoverished orphans. At the dawn of the 20th Century the double-blind experiment hits crescendo for Dora & Lili, born the evening Edison unveiled his incandescent bulb. In 1900, technology was accelerating, could women's rights and national self-determination keep pace?

Public Speaking

A feature-length documentary starring Fran Lebowitz, a writer known for her unique take on modern life. The film weaves together extemporaneous monologues with archival footage and the effect is a portrait of Fran's worldview and experiences.

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness

A model (Yoko Shiraki) must cope with the stress of fame after a marketing executive (Yoshio Harada) transforms her into a sports celebrity.

King Dinosaur

Four astronauts in 1960 travel to a planet called Nova that has just entered Earth's solar system. The crew begins to study the planet to see if it's able to withstand a possible Earth colony. After first discovering normal Earth animals such as a kinkajou and an alligator, they soon encounter and battle giant insects, an enormous snake, prehistoric mammals, dinosaurs, and the titular character, King Dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Eventually, the scientists blow up the planet with an atomic bomb, killing all of its inhabitants.

True

The phone rings, startling Tomas, who is seated in front of the computer. He feels for the telephone receiver. Tomas is blind. His girlfriend, Francine, tells him that it's all over and she's leaving him. The phone drops back onto the hook. Tomas' mind races back in a dizzying flurry of images to the moment they both met, to the couple's most intimate moments together and to the tiny careless mistakes that eventually lead to the end of their relationship. TRUE is part of a compilation project entitled PARIS, JE T'AIME, in which a number of internationally renowned directors each tell a story in one of Paris' 20 arrondissements.

Here Is Your Life

A working-class boy struggles to find himself through a series of jobs and romances.

Wordplay

From the masters who create the mind-bending diversions to the tense competition at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Patrick Creadon's documentary reveals a fascinating look at a decidedly addictive pastime. Creadon captures New York Times editor Will Shortz at work, talks to celebrity solvers -- including Bill Clinton and Ken Burns -- and presents an intimate look at the national tournament and its competitors.

Good Morning

Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.