Film Reviews

Mikolás and his brother Adam rob travelers for their tyrannical father Kozlík. During one of their "jobs" they end up with a young German hostage whose father escapes to return news of the kidnapping and robbery to the King. Kozlik prepares for the wrath of the King, and sends Mikolás to pressure his neighbor Lazar to join him in war. Persuasion fails, and in vengeance Mikolás abducts Lazar's daughter Marketa, just as she was about to join a convent. The King, meantime, dispatches an army and the religious Lazar will be called upon to join hands against Kozlik. Stripped-down, surreal, and relentlessly grimy account of the shift from Paganism to Christianity.

Lizzie Borden Took An Ax chronicles the scandal and enduring mystery surrounding Lizzie Borden, who was tried in 1892 for axing her parents to death. As the case rages on, the courtroom proceedings fuel an enormous amount of sensationalized stories and headlines in newspapers throughout the country, forever leaving Lizzie Borden’s name in infamy.

A successful, big city girl returns to her small town roots after a family emergency. Once there she goes on a soulful journey to reconnect with family and friends and finds romance along the way.

This short animation is about the darkroom between Eastern Europe and the American Dream. Prize of Land Baden-Württemberg from International Festival of Animated Film in Stuttgart, Germany 1992.

A young couple moves into a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania. What they don't know is that there is an unseen presence in the house, and that it wants to take possession of the wife.

Marina Pinares, the wife of the president of a South American country, insists on being his vice-presidential running mate in the next election. She's no stranger to assassination to get what she wants, so some suspect she'll kill her own husband after the election to become president. In a series of flashbacks we see her rise to power: a party girl willing to sacrifice a friend's virtue to gain favor; the lover of a soldier she later tortures; the mistress of the military man she soon marries.

Reinhard von Müsel, a poor nobleman's son, one day discovers that his sister, Annerose, has been sold to the royal family. To get her back he sets out to rise quickly through the military along with his friend Siegfried Kircheis.

When Kermit the Frog and the Muppets learn that their beloved theater is slated for demolition, a sympathetic human, Gary, and his puppet roommate, Walter, swoop in to help the gang put on a show and raise the $10 million they need to save the day.

Two women retreat to a lake house to get a break from the pressures of the outside world, only to realize how disconnected from each other they have become, allowing their suspicions to bleed into reality.

Gunfighter "Brazos" Kane lays aside his guns "forever" when he is forced to shoot his best friend, and decides to join another friend, Bob Tyrell, as a cowhand on the Inskip ranch. Upon arriving there he finds the bullet-riddled body of his friend. He carries the body to the Banner ranch, the largest in the territory, and is accused by Banner of murdering Tyrell; Banner orders Deputy Sheriff Bill Yount, who is in Banner's pay, to arrest Kane. But Kane has the sympathy of Banner's daughter, Jane, who notifies Inskip of Kane's plight, and Inskip arrives in time to prevent a lynching. Sheriff Kiscade dismisses the murder charge for lack of evidence. Brazos then sets out to find the killer of his friend. Bess Bannister, Jane's sister, is in love with the Banner ranch foreman, Bard Macky, and knowing that Bard killed Tyrell and that Kane will track him down, then hampers Kane's mission somewhat by pretending to be in love with him.

A man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.

When a team of Shaolin-trained kung fu actors is about to get their break in Hollywood, a mysterious and sadistic Director forces them to run a gauntlet through Los Angeles. The Director films their every move as they prove their prowess by provoking a rogues' gallery of underworld thugs and martial artists.

In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency. The country will vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to Pinochet extending his rule for another eight years. Opposition leaders for the ‘No’ vote persuade a brash young advertising executive, Rene Saavedra, to spearhead their campaign. Against all odds, with scant resources and while under scrutiny by the despot’s minions, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and set Chile free.

This film records a 12 day ritual performed by Mambudiri Brahmins in Kerala, southwest India, in April 1975. This event was possibly the last performance of the Agnicayana, a Vedic ritual of sacrifice dating back 3,000 years and probably the oldest surviving human ritual. Long considered extinct and never witnessed by outsiders, the ceremonies require the participation of seventeen priests, involve libations of Soma juice and oblations of other substances, all preceded by several months of preparation and rehearsals. They include the construction, from a thousand bricks, of a fire altar in the shape of a bird.

Manager Pascaline and chef Angelo have been, for several years, striving toward earning the coveted "chef's hat" in the Gault Millau restaurant guide. Tonight is Valentine's Day: one of the busiest nights of the year. Angelo provides an appropriate menu and Pascaline lovingly sets the tables. As always, Pascaline has everything under control. Her customers expect a lot tonight. For every couple that has won a table they expect to get love on their plate. Hopefully nothing goes wrong.