Film Reviews

SOMM: Into the Bottle raises the curtain into the seldom seen world that surrounds the wine we drink. How many people understand how wine is produced? How it is grown? What goes on in the cellar? From those questions to how many hands touch a bottle, to why wine costs what it costs, to how certain wines end up on a wine list, this is a never before seen look into the world of wine.

Thom Andersen's remarkable and sadly neglected hour-long documentary adroitly combines biography, history, film theory, and philosophical reflection. Muybridge's photographic studies of animal locomotion in the 1870s were a major forerunner of movies; even more interesting are his subsequent studies of diverse people, photographed against neutral backgrounds.

Apple. Intel. Genentech. Atari. Google. Cisco. Stratospheric successes with high stakes all around. Behind some of the world's most revolutionary companies are a handful of men who (through timing, foresight, a keen ability to size up other people, and a lot of luck) saw opportunity where others did not: these are the original venture capitalists. All were backing and building companies before the term 'venture capital' had been coined: companies that led to the birth of biotechnology and the spectacular growth in microprocessors, personal computers and the web. SOMETHING VENTURED uncovers the ups and downs of the building of some of the greatest companies of the twentieth century, and the hidden dramas behind some of the most famous names in business.

A rich man's wife finds she has a bad prenuptial agreement with an even worse husband. Over drinks with a stranger, she fantasizes about doing her husband in to void the prenupt. The stranger decides to turn her imagination into reality much to the wife's surprise.

Following folk musician Joan Baez on her extensive 2008-2009 tour, this film commemorates her career, which has spanned five decades. It includes concert and archival footage as well as interviews with such disparate colleagues, friends and admirers as Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson and David Crosby. In addition to the music, it also touchs upon Baez's long history of global social activism.

Jimmy Neutron is a boy genius and way ahead of his friends, but when it comes to being cool, he's a little behind. All until one day when his parents, and parents all over Earth are kidnapped by aliens, it's up to him to lead all the children of the world to rescue their parents.

One of the premier comedic talents in the entertainment industry, George Lopez stars in his second HBO solo special. George Lopez: Tall, Dark & Chicano is a live stand-up special performed in front of a packed arena crowd at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX.

Celebrated director Chu Yuan helms "Descendant Of The Sun", a Superman meets Hercules a la old style martial art film. Derek Yee is a magic solar baby sent Earthbound by a benevolent god, raised by an old carpenter, has martial art superpowers and "green kryptonite" loses them during solar eclipses. That's when the evil baby counterpart shows up. Demon-paced martial arts action by Jackie Chan's kung-fu classmates Yuan Pin and Yuen Hua compliments Toho Studio style special optical effects.

When teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan (Richards) and troubled bad girl Suzie Toller (Campbell) accuse guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Dillon) of rape, he's suspended by the school, rejected by the town, and fighting to get his life back. One cop (Bacon) suspects conspiracy, but nothing is what it seems...

Three old friends from college move back in together in an apartment in Munich for financial reasons

An overweight girl, Maggie Baker, is elected Homecoming queen by the mean girls in the high school.

Two college student decide to go spend some quality time at a beauty pageant with the help of their Porsche.

In his newest election special, Triumph reports from both political conventions, covering the candidates, photobombing news anchors, harassing and pranking delegates, and making sure Roger Ailes and Debbie Wasserman Schultz find their way back in.

A dedicated music teacher in East Harlem instructs a gaggle of underprivileged children in the art of the violin. In the climax, they play Carnegie Hall with some of the world's foremost fiddlers.

Fat German star restaurant chef Gregor shows romantic interest in waitress Eden Drebb. She's happily married to hunky Xaver Drebb, but feels romantically neglected. Gregor's deserts seduce her, first trough her brat daughter Leonie, to spend time with him and his fabulous dishes. That soon becomes a rather platonic affair, and domestic troubles. Xaver decides to exact revenge on Gregor, with tragic results.