Film Reviews

In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in her privileged world. One night, a new neighbor catches Diane's eye, and the enigmatic man inspires her to set forth on the path to discovering her own artistry.

Mathematician Mauno Mutikainen is accidentally pronounced dead as a result of an operation where a splinter is being removed from his finger (which he got by scratching his head). He is then cloned into a test-tube adult (a play on the phrase test-tube child) named Richard Ilyevitch Jyrä by his creator (father and mother) Dr. Jyrä (his name is intended to appeal to both American and Soviet sensibilities). Loiri and Ahonen play the roles of gangster attempting to kidnap Jyrä and/or Mutikainen, thinking they are the same person. Both would reprise their roles for 1980's Tup-akka-lakko. Additionally Loiri portrays a slew of characters such as a drunk hockey-fan attempting to get to Moscow and making a guest-appearance as Uuno Turhapuro at the end. Simo Salminen once more plays a character named after himself who is the head of a detective agency called Simon Enkelit (an obvious take on Charlie's Angels).

A poor young woman, who dreams of Bollywood fame, is caught in a love triangle between her childhood friend and a famous actor.

The caped crusader reluctantly agrees to let Batgirl and Nightwing take him on a long overdue vacation from crime-fighting, while Superman and the Justice League watch over Gotham City.

An action movie centered around a group of street racers.

The Emperor's armies have developed a new weapon: a thrown blade that can remove someone's head from long distance. As the paranoid Emperor begins decapitating anyone he fears might be a threat, his guard Mau Tang becomes disillusioned with the excesses of his master. He leaves his post and takes up the quiet life of farming and raising a family. Eventually, though, his past catches up with him, and he must find a way to fight the flying guillotine if he is to save his head.

Binta, a little girl from Senegal, tells us about the everyday life in her village, the importance of education for the girls, and about her father's great idea to make the world a better place.

Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi's recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss's brothel. With help from Denroku's daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.

The ten minute short Tommy Tucker’s Tooth from 1922, is a traditional black and white silent movie, with cards narrating the text and dialogue. It is an educational film, that combined live action and animation. I was surprised how little animation there was. But the scenes that blend live action and animation, though simple in our current day, were likely an interesting challenge for Iwerks.

Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as 'A Tribe Called Quest' have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what's next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.

Pure fantasia, a race to save the world from a fatal heart attack, juxtaposed against a love rivalry between two brothers - a mortician and an actor playing Christ - for the heart of a scientist studying the earth's core.

The vicissitudes of a newly graduated girl in the universe of the precarious work. Marta is a well- educated girl; she is curious and silent one, which finds work in the call center of a company that sells a futuristic appliance. So she finds out a new fantastic world formed by young telephone operator and fanatic seller, corporate jingle, motivational dance, prize giving, ovation and penance. A bittersweet picture of modern society narrated through the eyes of a funny young philosopher

In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as "firemen" to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation. Curious about the world of books, he soon falls in love with a beautiful young member of a pro-literature underground - and with literature itself.

Unemployed and recently dumped, Mitch and his buddy Sam start a revenge-for-hire business to raise the $50,000 that Sam's father needs to get a heart transplant. The dirty duo brings down a movie theater manager and hires hookers to pose as dead bodies during a live TV ad. When a wealthy developer hires the guys to trash a building (so that he can have it condemned), problems arise and a feud ensues.

Teenage siblings Nenette and Boni were raised apart as a result of their parents' divorce. Their mother, who doted on her son Boni, has died. He works for an interesting couple as a pizza baker, and is surprised and enraged when his younger sister, having run away from boarding school, suddenly turns up. There's a problem that they must confront.