Film Reviews

Stocky Greg's passion is football, and he rounds up his family from their respective church meetings and rushes home just in time to make the kick-off of the Sunday afternoon Vikings game. He has just planted himself in front of his massive television screen scarfing down chicken when his new home teaching companion, Nelson, calls to inform him that he has set an appointment to visit the Mori family in 15 minutes. Mormon males serving as home teachers are admonished to visit with their assigned families once a month, bring them a spiritual message, and provide help as necessary. Nelson, a nerdy "letter of the law" kind of Mormon who will not even purchase gas on a Sunday, intends to visit 100 % of his assigned families every month, and as this is the last day of the month even the many madcap mishaps that start immediately will not deter him from completing his duty despite Greg's griping and attempts to get back to the games.

Teenager Erik returns from Paris to Finland in a rowboat and is accosted by a gang of youths in the countryside. He walks to Helsinki, returns to his parents' home and his old high school filled with angry radical teens who, typically for the era, consider the teacher-imposed discipline as another form of capitalist imperialism. Almost reluctantly Erik drifts together with Annika, a girl from a wealthy family, and starts experimenting with sex and marijuana. In the same nonchalant manner Erik gets involved in demonstrations and school politics which escalate into a violent school strike leading to police intervention and heavy sanctions.

A series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn animation.

Two warring gang families (one African-American, the other Chinese) maneuver for bragging rights to the Oakland, California, docks. Hang SIng and Trish O'Day uncover a trail of deceit that leaves most of the warring factions dead … or worse!

A blonde (Sammi Davis) seduces a quirky liquor-store worker (Brad Dourif) as inspiration for her artist boyfriend (M.K. Harris).

1930's Pittsburgh, a brother comes home to claim "my half of the piano", a family heirloom; but his sister is not wanting to part with it. This is a glimpse of the conditions for African-Americans as well as some of the attitudes and influences on their lives. But whether he is able to sell the piano so that he can get enough money to buy some property and "no longer have to work for someone else" involves the story (or lesson) that the piano has to show him.

It's James Franco's turn to step in to the celebrity hot seat for the latest installment of The Comedy Central Roast.

One day, Jason finds an unusual board game called Mamba. When his surfer friends start to play, the games unleashes its deadly curse, killing the losers in a gruesome fashion. Supposedly it will grant the winner a wish. As his companions die off, Jason decides that the only way he can reverse the tragedy is by continuing to play. With his girlfriend, Erica, Jason rolls the dice and hopes to make his wish before one of them suffers a horrible fate.

With his customary restraint and ruthless attention to detail, director Jean-Pierre Melville follows the parallel tracks of French underworld criminal Gu (the inimitable Lino Ventura), escaped from prison and roped into one last robbery, and the suave inspector, Blot (Paul Meurisse), relentlessly seeking him. The implosive Le deuxième souffle captures the pathos, loneliness, and excitement of a life in the shadows with methodical suspense and harrowing authenticity, and contains one of the most thrilling heist sequences Melville ever shot.

In an apartment building where neighbors, friends, and family are living in close quarters, three male protagonists encounter three phases of manhood in Turkish society. Directors Reha Erdem's light touch and slyly amusing style do not miss the opportunity to illuminate some serious points in a strictly patriarchal society.

Rob Haley (Dougray Scott), an up-and-coming chef and restaurateur in London, is grief-stricken when he loses his wife. With encouragement from his infamous friend and real life TV Chef Gordon Ramsay, Rob decides to spice up his life by turning a run-down country pub into a gourmet restaurant. His food catches the eye - and taste buds - of beautiful American food critic Kate Templeton (Claire Forlani) and they soon both write a recipe for love that leaves both their hearts - and their stomachs - in full.

A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. However, the "adult" fetus turns into a homicidal psycho and looks for a new formula to prevent her from aging further.

On March 16 1978, the Red Brigade kidnap the Chief of the Christian Democraty, the party in power in Italy since the end of the war. Fifty-five days later, his corpse was found in the trunk of a red Renault.

The contemporary story of a priest who launches a centre for troubled youth in a small parish. He is a good priest and is well-liked by his congregation, which remains unaware of his complicated past.

Attempting to cure her mentally handicapped son's virginity, his mother and several friends embark on a cruise which strands them on nearly deserted island where lust and murder are on the menu!