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Film Reviews

Return to Halloweentown

As Halloweentown prepares to celebrate its 1,000th anniversary, Marnie Piper and her brother Dylan return to Witch University, where trouble is in session from the Sinister Sisters and from someone who's plotting to use Marnie's powers for evil.

Be Silent, Sorrow, Be Silent

Paula is a circus performer married to the alcoholic clown-acrobat Lorio. Lorio's heavy drinking leads to him being severely injured during a performance. This forces Paula and the now-crippled Lorio to become street musicians. This film formerly ran to 81 minutes – regrettably, the second half is considered lost.

Wonderful World

Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) is a failed childrens folk singer, a career proofreader, a less-than-extraordinary weekend dad, and perhaps the most negative man alive. Floundering in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comfort comes from regular chess games and friendly debates on game theory with his Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael Kenneth Williams). When Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's pessimistic worldview seems unequivocally confirmed. It takes an extended visit from Ibou's sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan) for Ben to realize that cynicism may be all a matter of perspective.

Punk's Not Dead

On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, and yes, shopping malls and stadium shows where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive. Thirty years after bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols infamously shocked the system with their hard, fast, status-quo-killing rock, the longest-running punk band in history is drawing bigger crowds than ever, "pop-punk" bands have found success on MTV, and kids too young to drive are forming bands that carry the torch for punk's raw, immediate sound. Meanwhile, "punk" has become a marketing concept to sell everything from cars to vodka, and dyed hair and piercings mark a rite of passage for thousands of kids.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure

The eccentric and childish Pee-wee Herman embarks on a big adventure when his beloved bicycle is stolen. Armed with information from a fortune-teller and a relentless obsession with his prized possession, Pee-wee encounters a host of odd characters and bizarre situations as he treks across the country to recover his bike.

Turn the River

A pool shark takes the ultimate gamble when she kidnaps her own son and flees her ex-husband.

Mark of the Astro-Zombies

No overview found.

Three Tough Guys

Isaac Hayes plays as Lee in his feature film debut, as Father Charlie and himself solve a bank robbery mystery that stretches across the city. After Lee is removed from the force due to $1,000,000 being stolen from the bank Father Charlie helps him to gain revenge for the loss of one of his friends.

Face-Off

Love story involving a Canadian professional hockey player and a hippie folk singer. Their union is tumultuous, as both try to come to terms with their differences in careers and lifestyles.

Nurse Betty

What happens when a person decides that life is merely a state of mind? If you're Betty, a small-town waitress and soap opera fan from Fair Oaks, Kansas, you refuse to believe that you can't be with the love of your life just because he doesn't really exist. After all, life is no excuse for not living. Traumatized by a savage event, Betty enters into a fugue state that allows -- even encourages -- her to keep functioning... in a kind of alternate reality.

Kitchen

Instructed by Warhol to write a vehicle for Edie Sedgwick in a “completely white” setting, scenarist Ronald Tavel created one of Warhol’s most iconic films. Here a group of performers of all stripes – the sink and litter basket receive equal billing to the human actors – are forced into Warhol and Tavel’s cruelly comical theatre of the absurd. Inside this cramped domestic space, boredom, confusion and a sense of existential dread hang heavy in the air. Warhol and Tavel transform the modern 1960s kitchen – replete with the latest gadgets and conveniences – into a chaotic laboratory for self-creation and interpersonal conflict.

Mona Lisa

George has just been released from prison, and manages to get a job driving an expensive call girl from customer to customer. Initially they don't get on - he doesn't fit in with the high class customers Simone services. Will they ever get on?

Alice's Wonderland

Instead of Wonderland, Alice visits the Walt Disney animation room.

Henri Georges Clouzot's Inferno

This documentary about Henri-Georges Clouzot’s unfinished 1964 psycho-thriller L’Enfer is as tantalizing as it is frustrating. Despite remaining one of the most masterful of French directors, Cluozot inexplicably seems to have lost control on the big-budget production of L’Enfer. The long-lost raw footage is intriguing and dazzling, infused with swirling lights and blue-lipped, cigarette-puffing fantasy temptresses. Although directors Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Mederea have managed to speak to numerous members of the original crew, this behind-the-scenes investigation has so little to say about the reasons behind Clouzot’s failure to complete the film. In spite of this, the undiminished power of Clouzot’s extraordinary images makes the documentary a fascinating watch.

Storefront Hitchcock

Live performance by Robyn Hitchcock, in... well, a storefront.

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