Film Reviews

Possibly inspired by the existential play No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, this story about five people living in close quarters in a small apartment conveys the same angst as Sartre's well-known story about the nature of hell. A single, older mother owns the apartment, where a nurse who has brought along a presumed lover tends her. The sick woman's son lives there, too, constantly thinking about how to get his hands on his mother's money. The last member of this unhappy "family" is a former teacher now down on his luck and out of work. The three men and the nurse are dependent on the sick woman, on her money and her apartment, just as she is dependent on them. Yet these individuals are two-faced, scheming, and prone to anger. Unable to break away and leave, at the same time they find no solace in staying -- making a difficult two hours of misery for the average viewer to take on without a therapist.

The central objective of this film is to reveal man’s condition as a modern slave within the context of the totalitarian mercantile system and to show the forms of mystification which mask his servile condition. Its aim is to attack head on the dominant world organization. The film is composed of imagery appropriated primarily from commercial movies and documentaries.

Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.

A young woman uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness.

Pip, a street kid just turning 18, receives his grandfather's World War II-era memoirs and discovers parallels to his own life.

When Campbell, a vehicle-less 20-something slacker, innocently makes the mistake of answering a FOR SALE sign placed on a dilapidated van, suspense and action take over as he is suddenly caught-up in a deadly game of cat and mouse that puts everyone close to him in mortal danger.

Missie's surprise pregnancy sets her on a new course that is both thrilling and terrifying. After all the planning and dreaming, she and her husband, Willie, have headed west in a covered wagon, leaving behind the prairie home of Missie's parents. Now, caught between the excitement of the new adventure and the pain of not knowing when she'll see her family again, Missie copes with the challenges, and cherishes the rewards, of her new homestead.

Based on the acclaimed memoir by renowned guitarist Andy Summers, Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police follows Summers’ journey from his early days in the psychedelic ‘60s music scene, when he played with The Animals, to chance encounters with drummer Stewart Copeland and bassist Sting, which led to the formation of a new wave trio, The Police. The band’s phenomenal rise and its highly publicized dissolution at the height of their fame in the early ’80s captured by Summers’ camera. Utilizing rare archival footage, Summers’ photos, and insights from the guitarist’s side of the stage, Can’t Stand Losing You brings together past and present as the band members prepare to reunite for the first time in two decades later for a global reunion tour in 2007.

A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.

When a substantial portion of the nation's populace falls victim to a deadly plague, the tyrannical government quarantines them in camps, offering no alternative except death in this cautionary tale from director Stephen Tolkin. But a gutsy rebel named Torch (Cuba Gooding Jr.) sets out to help the afflicted by leading an underground effort to spirit the victims to humane sanctuary. Moira Kelly co-stars as Gooding's love interest.

The flamboyant Victorian wit (Peter Finch) sues the Marquess of Queensberry for a sodomy slur, but it boomerangs.

Hoping to foil his own gold-digging wife's plan, a loathsome businessman arranges his own kidnapping, only to realize that there are plenty of other people interested in his wealth as well.

The Victoriastadium is totally destroyed in a bomb attack and Christina Furhage, head-responsible for the Olympic Games in Stockholm, dies with it. Why did someone destroy the stadium and why is Christina murdered? The police desperately seek for clues that will lead them to the perpetrator but without any luck. As the Olympic Games draws near the situation becomes more desperate. Annika Bengtzon, a reporter for Kvällsposten, se a connection that no one else sees and without understanding it she starts a carousel that in the end will threaten her own life.

Angel, a young intelligent and kind, aims to be a police inspector. Rafael instead is an expeditious, forceful and arrogant policeman. Meanwhile, Miguel and Mateo are part of Group 7, a group of rogue cops ready to do anything to achieve their goals.

Having lost a bet with documentarian Errol Morris, Werner Herzog eats his shoe.