Film Reviews

America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. In this masterful, atmospheric adventure, a courageous young girl (Meredith Salenger) confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her extraordinary odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter (John Cusack). A brilliant, moving tapestry, woven of courage and perseverance.

An American journalist and his cameraman are caught in the combat zone during the first Russian airstrikes against Georgia. Rescuing Tatia, a young Georgian schoolteacher separated from her family during the attack, the two reporters agree to help reunite her with her family in exchange for serving as their interpreter. As the three attempt to escape to safety, they witness--and document--the devastation from the full-scale crossfire and cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians.

When a legendary escape artist comes up for parole after 30 years behind bars, a chance for freedom must be weighed against his infamous past.

Our three hapless heroes - Igor, Artyom, and Sauna - return for the third lesson from St. Valentine. This time they must learn the true value of fatherhood, but this time the kids are grown up...

Starbuck is a 2011 Canadian comedy film directed by Ken Scott and written by Martin Petit and Ken Scott. The main character David Wozniak is a perpetual adolescent who discovers that, as a sperm donor, he has fathered 533 children. David, a deliveryman for a butcher shop, is being pursued by thugs because he owes them money. Next, he is advised that more than 100 of his offspring are trying to force the fertility clinic to reveal the true identity of "Starbuck", the pseudonym he used when donating sperm. In addition, his girlfriend Valérie is pregnant with his child but doesn't feel that he is mature enough to be a father. Starbuck was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14 and 15, 2011. The film's title refers to a Canadian Holstein bull who produced hundreds of thousands of progeny by artificial insemination in the 1980s and 1990s.

After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school.

Francesca, a seventeen-year-old Roman, is finally sure she has found love. Almost sure. She spends the day observing other lovers' behaviors and considering whether she is ready to jump. Her age notwithstanding, this movie is more about coming of age than about improper or illegal romantic relationships.

Fish out of Water tackles the seven Bible verses used to condemn homosexuality and justify marriage discrimination. This feature documentary uses humor and original animation to make a traditionally complex and controversial topic accessible to those who don't like talking about religion and sexuality. Fish out of Water dives into the underbelly of America, crisscrosses red and blue states and talks to ministers from every denomination to uncover America's impassioned relationship with homosexuality and the Bible. With slapstick animation and quirky interviews taken everywhere from barbershops to mega churches, Fish out of Water delivers a voice to the oppressed and informs to the misled. Most importantly, Fish out of Water sits down with hundreds of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks to impart their experiences with faith and sexuality.

A Trip to The Moon is a science fiction film from the French film pioneer Georges Méliès from the year 1902 about a trip to the moon. The film was the first film with a self-contained plot and was the beginning of the Science Fiction genre.

Mixing his spontaneous creativity and absurd view of the world, stand-up comic Rory Scovel performs his first special in Charleston, South Carolina.

Kevin Laird is a Beverly Hills school teacher by day and a mystery man by night. Using his lambada dance moves to first earn the kid's respect and acceptance, Kevin then teaches them academics. But when a jealous student exposes Kevin's double life, his two worlds collide, threatening his job and reputation.

Two people play out a story of love and desperation that's enacted through music in this drama from writer and director Ivan Vyrypaev. Sasha (Alexei Filimonov) is a man in his twenties who lives in the small town of Serpukhov and has fallen in love with a woman who is also named Sasha (Karolina Gruszka).

In the small village where Amadeo lives there is no one good enough to challenge his skills at Table Football. But, while Amadeo may be a genius as a table football player in real life he's a loser. He's in love with Lara, his childhood friend, but he's so shy that he can't bring himself to confess his love for her. So he just hangs out in his quaint, timeless village. When Amadeo beats the village bully Flash at Table Football. The scene is set for an epic rivalry. Consumed with anger Flash vows to get even and 10 years later he returns as an International Superstar, a Football Icon and Galatico determined to wreak his revenge.

A detective sick and tired of the rampant crime and violence in his city, and constantly at odds with his superiors, is finally kicked out of the department for a "questionable" shooting of a vicious criminal. However, he is soon approached by a representative for a group of citizens who themselves are fed up with what they see as criminals going unpunished, and they make him an offer he may very well not refuse.

La Nuit du Carrefour (A Night at the Crossroads) may well be the least known of Jean Renoir's sound films. Adapted from a novel by Georges Simenon, the story concentrates on a gang of thieves who utilize a cross-road garage as the hideaway. During their last caper, the gang has accidentally murdered a jewel thief, and the heat is on. Winna Winifred, the beautiful ringleader of the gang, makes the fatal mistake of falling in love with Pierre Renoir (the director's brother), the detective who's been assigned to bring her in. The only one of Renoir's productions to thoroughly qualify as a "crime picture," La Nuit du Carrefour was often dismissed by the director, who felt that he was so successful in creating a "mysterious atmosphere" that no one understood what was going on (He did, however, enjoy working with Georges Simenon, who became a lifelong friend).