Film Reviews

Helsinki, Forever is a montage film about the city of Helsinki by the award-winning Finnish film director and academic Peter von Bagh. The film draws a portrait of Helsinki and also acts as an essay on Finnish culture in a wider sense. It shows Helsinki as captured by leading Finnish feature film and documentary makers over a period of one hundred years.

This exhilarating two-part film (“Soldier Ivan Brovkin” and “Ivan Brovkin on the State Farm”) presented to the country a new national hero – kind, modest, charming and… ne’er-do-well. That “ne’er-do-well-ness” proved “Kharitonov’s special key to audiences’ hearts”. Following Brovkin’s appearance on the screen, Kharitonov had become a star of the national cinema, an idol for millions of people. His incredible popularity may be compared to that of another national hero – the world’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. And not surprisingly, it was Kharitonov who made a cameo appearance going up the festival stairs and followed with the adoring eyes of the heroines in V. Menshov’s Oscar-winning melodrama “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”.

Juno Mak’s debut feature Rigor Mortis is an eerie and chilling, contemporary action- and special effects-laden homage to the classic Chinese vampire movies of the 1980s.

A dying woman’s wish sends her son on a train journey from the steppes of Uzbekistan to the Russian hinterland in search of his father’s grave. Just as the traveler’s home city of Samarkand is situated on the border between East and West, Khamraev balances his film on the edge of two cultures, evoking the soul of Russia and the crumbling beauty of what was once the Silk Road.

The final chapter of George A. Romero's "Dead Trilogy". In an underground government installation they are searching for a cure to overcome this strange transformation into zombies. Unfortunately, the zombies from above ground have made their way into the bunker.

Wealthy Jae-hoon meets attractive writer Soo-jung through their mutual friend, filmmaker Young-soo. While Jae-hoon tries to pursue a romance with Soo-jung, things get complicated when it becomes apparent that Young-soo also has feelings for the young woman.

An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.

Bones Conway and Jack Kaufman didn't really know what they were in for when they enlisted in the U.S. Army; they just wanted to get a job and make some money. But these new recruits are so hapless, they run the risk of getting kicked out before their military careers even begin. Soon, though, they're sent to the Middle East to fight for their country -- which they manage to do in their own wacky ways.

Daryl gets out of jail after 5 years. His mother has died, his girlfriend is married, and he can't find a job. His new girlfriend Vanessa, whom he meets when a gunman opens fire on them, gets him a job as a car driver. Hitmen are still after them, and Vanessa tells Daryl that this is her former lover Ahmad who wants revenge.

A widow retreats to a remote cottage to recover following a suicide attempt, only to discover the place is haunted. A ghost story in the tradition of The Others and The Orphanage.

The filmmakers follow Oliver North's unsuccessful 1994 bid for a Virginia Senate seat, focusing on North's campaign strategist, Mark Goodin, and a Washington Post reporter. Mudslinging ensues.

The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the deep South at the turn of the 20th century. Regina Giddons née Hubbard has her daughter under her thumb. Mrs. Giddons is estranged from her husband, who is convalescing in Baltimore and suffers from a terminal illness. But she needs him home, and will manipulate her daughter to help bring him back. She has a sneaky business deal that she's cooking up with her two elder brothers, Oscar and Ben. Oscar has a flighty, unhappy wife and a dishonest worm of a son. Will the daughter have to marry this contemptible cousin? Who will she grow up to be - her mother or her aunt? Or can she escape the fate of both?

A boy who gets frustrated in love meets another boy who loses all of his memories and they find some ways to start a new life together.

Pop superstar Jordan Jaye has a big dream - he just wants to live like a regular teenager. When he's chased down by some excited female fans, he finds a perfect hideout and a reluctant new friend from a small town, high-school art student, Emily Lowe. Despite being from different worlds, they soon discover they have way more in common than they ever imagined. Over the course of several days, the two embark on an unexpected journey of friendship, first love and self-discovery -- proving that maybe opposites really do attract.

When six pals escape the chaos of the city for a brief getaway, the manor home they rent in the countryside may not be so idyllic after all… The party mood soon sours as strange phenomenon begins. The group initially attempts to rationalize the occurrences, but they soon escalate into horrifying paranormal events and, ultimately, the apparent possession of Giorgio. Desperate, the terrorized group pleads with the local priest to exorcise the unholy force. But its demonic powers may be more than he can handle… and a bigger menace than any of them could have imagined.